Free Preppers of the Apocalypse - Part 2: Post Apocalyptic EMP Survival by Godsby Jim Page B

ground.
     
    ***
     
    A
few hours later, after finding nothing useful, they sat in the pick-up truck.
They decided that the best thing to do would be to drive through the Lantern
Mountains. The road through them started ten miles away and came out somewhere
near the city. It meant going back on themselves, but there was no other
option. It wasn’t as if they could move the plane wreckage away from the tunnel
entrance.
     
    “It’ll
take over a week,” said Ellie. “But there’s no other way through.”
     
    “Maybe
we should head back to the ranch,” said Chad.
     
    Ash
shook his head. “No way. I need to get to Georgia. When all of this started, I
was on my cell with her. She told me that someone was in the house with her. An
intruder. And then my cell died. So I need to find her.”
     
    “We
better talk supplies, then,” said Ellie.
     
    They
worked out that they had enough MRE’s to last nine days if they rationed
themselves. A man needs roughly 2500 calories a day and a woman 2000, but they
were looking at getting 1600. If something happened on the mountain pass and
they needed more food, they were going to have to hunt. In terms of water they
were okay. They had enough bottles to last a week, and they had water filters
with them. It just meant that when the bottles ran out, they’d have to find a
stream.
     
    It
took thirty minutes to get to the mountain pass. The road was muddy and it was
a stretch to even describe it as a road. The Lantern Mountains were rocky and
seemed to be made mostly of dark coloured jagged stone that stretched
monolith-like into the sky. It was a place that many animals called home, with
common reports of rabbits, deer, and even the occasional mountain lion.
     
    While
animals of all kinds flourished in the environment, it wasn’t as friendly to humans.
In some areas there were small patches of forest, and the road wound through
terrain that was never really designed for travel. It was going to be a long
trip.
     
    “Here
we go,” said Chad, as Ash drove the pick-up onto the trail. “I love a road
trip. Someone crack open the beers.”
     
    After
an hour of driving Ash realised what a tough ride this was going to be. He was
limited to going twenty miles an hour because the road would twist without
warning, and in some places there was a drop at the side of them. As he guided
the truck along a relatively straight stretch, the vehicle jolted and Ash saw
something fly across his windscreen. He killed the engine.
     
    “What
the hell was that?” said Ellie. “It looked like a bird flew across.”
     
    Ash
wound down his window and saw a coil of rope on the ground next to the wheel.
His chest tightened as he realised what had happened.
     
    “Get
your gun.” he said.
     
    Ellie
looked at him in surprise, but she followed his order and picked up her HK45
pistol and put it in her pocket.
     
    Two
men stepped out from the trees in front of them. They were dressed up to the
nines with camouflage hunting gear, and they held shiny-looking crossbows in
front of them. Their hunting jackets and khaki trousers looked spotless, and
Ash got the sense that these guys were hobbyist hunters at best.
     
    Ash,
Ellie and Chad got out of the car. The taller of the men, who held his crossbow
awkwardly, screwed up his face.
     
    “Better
stop where you are,” he said. His accent wasn’t local. If anything, it sounded
like he was from New York.
     
    “Come
on boys,” said Ellie, and pointed to the police badge on her jacket. She had
her gun hidden in her pocket.
     
    The
smaller man spat on the floor. He had a ginger beard that was light on his face
but thick around his neck. He reminded Ash of a colleague at a sales office he
used to work at who used to spend his weekends on adventure trips, but got
scared when he saw a spider.
     
    “The
badge doesn’t mean shit now, darling,” he said, with a voice like sandpaper.
     
    “What
do you want?” said Chad.
     
    The
taller man grinned. “A