Stay Together Chapter 13 by Maira Dawn
Chapter 13
(COPYRIGHT©2024 MAIRA DAWN)
The sun beat down on their group through the open sides of the parking garage. James slammed the hood of his car in frustration, sweat beading on his brow. He exchanged a grim look with Ian, whose face was also etched with concern. The reality of their situation was sinking in deeper with each failed attempt to start the vehicles.
“Dang it,” James muttered under his breath, running a hand through his close-cropped hair. “We need these cars to work.”
Ian sighed heavily and shook his head. “I don’t understand what’s happening. First my car, now yours...”
James clenched his jaw as he tried to ignore the creeping sense of dread that threatened to swallow him whole. “We know. We just don’t want to believe it.”
Ian glanced at the women and children who stood at the other end of the vehicle, then whispered. “EMP. It has to be.”
James winced. Saying it out loud was worse. He glanced at Ian. At least he had the retired pilot’s steady presence. The man was resourceful. Together, they’d find a way to get through this.
“Step one. Get home,” James said. “How far away is yours?”
“It took us a couple of hours to get here.”
“We’re closer,” James said. “Driving — about 20 minutes. But walking? 8 to 10 hours with the kids. They are no hikers. But we could get there in one day. If you want to head out with us, you could stay at our house until we can figure something out. It be safer than being on the road by yourselves.”
Ian nodded and glanced at his wife. “Telling the others will be the hardest part of this day.”
James chuckled. “You got that right.”
It went better than James had hoped. It was clear that the kids wanted to bemoan the situation they were in, but they were old enough to realize that there wasn’t anything anyone could do.
Liz, as always, had his back. She put a comforting hand on Emily’s shoulder, offering her a warm, reassuring smile. “We’ll figure something out. We always do.”
“Mom’s right,” Mike chimed in, trying to sound brave despite the tremor in his voice. “We’ve faced tough times before.”
“You’ve got a point, Bud!” James added. “And we always got through it.” He plastered on his most confident smile and his family mirrored it, though apprehension showed in their wavering expressions.
“What we need now is a paper map,” Nancy said, bustling to the hood of the car as she pulled one out of her large purse. “I grabbed his out of our car. Let’s do this the old-fashioned way.” She opened the map up and slapped it onto the hood.
Just like they had in the “old days” before GPSs, they gathered around the paper covered with different colored lines and stared at it.
“I was thinking,” Liz said. “Would it be better to stay off the highways?”
Ian put a hand to his chin. “I’d hate to think things would start up already, but you do have a point.”
“Troublemakers will go where the crowds are. More people to pick on,” Nancy offered.
“I agree,” James replied. “And we may have more of a chance to find a working vehicle walking through the neighborhoods than on a highway.”
Even though it was the middle of the summer and the days were long, the sun was heading toward the horizon, casting long shadows across the parking garage. James clenched his jaw as he surveyed the immobile cars surrounding them, decision-making under these conditions frustrating him.
“We can’t stay here,” James said. “We need to keep moving, and yet the sun is going down.”
Ian nodded in agreement. “I’d hoped for the cars and it wouldn’t have mattered. But I don’t think we should walk through the night.”
“Absolutely not,” Elizabeth added, her voice resolute. “We don’t know what’s out there.”
“I guess the best thing to do is to start in the morning,” James offered. “Then we’ll have the entire day to get home.”
“Why don’t we just sleep in the cars?” Nancy suggested. “And head out as soon as the sun comes up.”
Once everyone had agreed on a plan, Ian and Nancy walked to their car at the top of the ramp. They waved before getting into their car.
James worked at getting the middle seats down in their SUV, creating a sleeping spot for the ladies. He ran a hand over his son’s head. “You’re with me, son.”
The boy giggled and ran to the front passenger seat. “It’s a camp-out!”
“Don’t get too excited,” Emily said. “We don’t have any blankets and pillows. It won’t be very cozy.”
Mike waved his hand at her. “Aww, I can sleep through anything.”
She laughed, remembering the many times she’d barely woken him up by shaking him awake. “Believe me, I know!”
The next morning as they walked down the long winding road away from the airport, James couldn’t help but look back at the deserted cars still in the parking area. He glanced upward, noticing that through the windows of the terminal, people stared out at the rising sun with no discernible emotion on their faces, as if they were already numb.
The sight filled him with unease. He’d already spent most of the uncomfortable, sleepless night struggling with the idea that there might be something he could to do to help the people stuck at the airport. Logically, he knew that wasn’t true. He couldn’t do anything that the emergency and security teams were already doing.
No, he was doing the best thing he could do. Get his family moving before they became like some zombie at the window with no motivation to move on.
James faced forward and looked down the road. What were they in for? The thought of leading his family into unfamiliar areas for over 10 hours sent chills down his spine. How would his kids, who were more used to screens and controllers than physical activity, fare on this journey? It would be a grueling for them even if everything else went well.
It had been approximately 14 hours since the EMP had gone off, if he was calculating correctly. Society was sure to go downhill. How far had it gone so far?
He prayed the roads were clear of anyone wanting to take advantage of him or his family — and for the strength to lead his loved ones.
Whatever it took, he’d get his family home. He was the husband, the dad, their protector. It was his job to guide them safely home. He steeled himself to give every last ounce of strength he had to see them through this daunting task.
James rolled back his shoulders as he glanced at his family. He’d give everything he had to get this done.
Continued . . .
Please remember this is a developing story and in a rawer state than what I publish. As such, it has only been self-edited and you will see some errors.
In addition, some changes may occur between now and publishing, including major storylines. I try to avoid this, but it sometimes happens.
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