Free Ozark Retreat by Jerry D. Young Page A

with tools, service items, and spare parts.”
    “Wow! You know, I almost bought a Hummer, once. Just for kicks. I think I like this better.”
    “Maybe you have the prepper gene,” Brady said and Star laughed. Brady liked her laugh.
    He kept up a steady pace, going south on Highway 13, occasionally passing a vehicle going slower than he was. Much of the traffic was going around him, but he’d already seen enough vehicles off in the ditch, many of them four-wheel drive, than to drive the same way. And they hadn’t even hit the ice yet.
    Brady stopped and helped the first two vehicles they saw off the road, but there were just too many of them if they stopped and helped everyone. Emergency services vehicles, as well as maintenance vehicles were out in force. Brady decided to let them handle the job they were being paid to do. He quit stopping to help, even as the blizzard caught up and passed them.
    He slowed down to a crawl in four-wheel-drive but was able to keep going. The state had been plowing the road so the snow wasn’t too deep in the travel lanes yet, but it was building rapidly. They began to see more cars stopped. Not all of them were in the ditch. Some had just stopped in the travel lanes, afraid to go further in the blizzard.
    Brady carefully drove around them until finally they saw no one else. They were the only thing still moving. The snow was almost up to the bumper on the front of the Suburban, but it was a light, dry snow and the truck was able to push through it with little trouble on the somewhat aggressive all-weather Toyo tires the Suburban sported.
    Brady was about ready to pull to the shoulder and stop. The Suburban was losing traction occasionally now. But he decided to push on just a little bit further. He was glad he did, for in another mile they ran out of the snow fall like driving through a wall. There was only the lightest dusting of snow ahead of them.
    Unfortunately, as they hit Springfield, they hit freezing rain and were right back down to a crawling pace. But Brady kept it up. They were on the home stretch. Though he still had plenty of fuel, he topped the tanks again, so they could take a break and get something to eat and warm to drink, before they continued.
    “I don’t see how you do it,” Star said, as they left Springfield and picked up Highway 65 going south toward Branson. “I’d be a nervous wreck. I never would have made it through the snow, much less this. Especially in the motorhome.”
    “We aren’t there yet.”
    “I’ll shut up,” Star said. “I am a jinx.”
    No sooner than she had said it than a car on an intersecting road couldn’t stop and slid through the intersection. Brady had to swerve to miss it and the Suburban spun out, going down into the ditch on the right side. It still had a little bit of momentum and Brady floored the accelerator. The diesel engine roared and the Suburban began sliding all over, but Brady was able to get it back up onto the road.
    “Holy cow!” Star said. “That was some driving!”
    Brady looked back. The car had slid all the way across 65 and then kept going on the intersecting road. Brady wasn’t sure the driver had even seen the Suburban. He got out into the freezing drizzle and walked around the Suburban, checking for damage, but couldn’t see any.
    After a bit to catch his breath he got back in the Suburban and continued the journey. Suddenly, just north of Branson, the radio went dead, and the vehicle that was ahead of them slowed, and pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Though the next vehicle was some distance ahead of them, Brady was sure it had stopped, too.
    “This is it,” Brady said grimly.
    “What?” Star asked.
    “I think we just got hit with an EMP surge. See the cars up ahead? They suddenly came to a stop. At the same time the radio went dead.”
    “Oh. How come we didn’t stop?”
    “No critical electronic parts on the engine. EMP proof. But not the radio.” They were coming up on the