The Blackout (23 page)

Gary sighed heavily, resolved to continue on the current path.  He wondered how much harder it would be now to remain concealed.  People might be more active after dark with the return of the power.  But with more activity came more noise.  That he was OK with. 

He thought about Molly as he walked Thunderbolt back to their camp. 
Is the power on where she is?  Had it ever gone out?  Will she wonder where I am if I don’t show up in the next few days?
 
Will she think I’m dead, or not coming home?  Did she decide I was dead weeks ago?
He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind.  It wasn’t that much longer, right?  In the scheme of the journey, another twenty days wasn’t such a big deal, was it?  Maybe if he pushed Thunderbolt a little more they could make it eighteen or nineteen.  He always told Molly, “I’d rather get home alive and late than on time in a box.”   She’d never really cared much for that sentiment.  Gary didn’t think it comforted her much on those nights she expected him home but got a call he’d be gone one more night. 

He thought for a second. 
At this point, I wouldn’t make it home in a box.  If something happened to me, Molly would never know.   She would just wait and wait, until she could only assume I was dead, or wasn’t coming home. 
The thought hit him like a ton of bricks.
  I can’t let that happen to her.  I won’t let that happen to her. 

No matter what, he vowed he would be home in twenty days or less. 
Twenty more days, Molly.  Just hang on a little longer.
  He said it as much to himself as he did to her.

38.

In the first few days after the Restoration, a recording broadcasted on the radio on a loop feed.  Jimmy ran to Molly’s house with his radio so she could hear it, and they later called a town meeting so everyone could hear.

It was a man’s voice reading a letter from the government, though who the man was remained unclear.

My fellow Americans,

We are pleased to announce the recovery process has begun.  Power has been restored in various amounts to most of the country at this point.  However, please exercise caution.  Brownouts and even blackouts are still frequent due to overloading the fragile system that’s in place.  We request you only utilize necessary systems for the time being. 

It has become clear, and most scientists and government officials agree, that a catastrophic solar flare is what caused the Blackout.  It’s our understanding that the damage affected all of the north-western hemisphere.  It is only through the aid of our allies in Europe that we were able to recover as quickly as we did. 

As far as loss of life is concerned, officials hesitate to even provide an estimate at the current time.  We do know the toll is far-reaching, and has affected a large number of you listening now, and for that, we express our deepest sympathies. 

This is a time of hope.  Abraham Lincoln once said, “My dream is a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of the Earth.”  We strive to achieve that dream today, and only together will we be successful.  It has been 103 days of learning to survive, but together, we did it.  Now, we must work to restore the way of life we lost so suddenly. 

We will relay any new information as it becomes available through the use of this system. 

Thank you, and good night.

It was just over a minute long.  Seventy-five seconds to provide the information they’d been waiting 103 days to hear.  And yet, there were still a surprising amount of questions. 

Where will we go from here?  Will we go right back to our dependence on electronics, or will people use a little more caution? 
Molly wondered. 
And what about the more immediate future?  When will normal services be restored? 

Burt took charge once again, and elected to cancel classes for the week, in anticipation of the schools reopening.  However, Molly discouraged the idea of disassembling the wall in the days immediately following the Restoration.  She was concerned that chaos would reign in the outside cities, and felt they needed to stay on guard.  She expressed that they needed to stay in check, and remain self-sustaining for the time being, so as not to squander the resources they had worked so hard for.  Jimmy agreed, opting to err on the side of caution for now.

Most people concurred, but there were a few who disagreed, and wanted to take the wall down so workers could come into the town and get things up and running fully.  Burt considered their suggestion, and decided those who dissented with the way the town was handling the Restoration were free to set up camp outside the wall and wait for the “workers” who would come and offer them salvation, as it were. 

Ten people elected to camp on the other side of the wall, waiting for their “salvation.”  They took enough supplies to last a week, and set up shop within sight of the scouts protecting the wall.  The campers were to serve as ambassadors of sorts for the town, and welcome those who would provide information and restore full power to their little corner of the world.

They were dead before the end of the night.  Molly was sleeping when she heard it.  Her home wasn’t even that close to the wall, but she could still hear the screams.  They were quiet and distant, but they were there.  Dug whined softly upon hearing them. 

The next morning, she walked Jimmy’s to find out what happened.  He told her that a group of Wanderers had come across the campers’ site.  They were poorly armed, and not anticipating the continued existence of Wanderers once power was restored.  So they were slaughtered, and their supplies were taken.  There wasn’t much the Watchers could do.

“We took out two of them, but not before they killed most of the campers.”  His voice was tired.

Molly puzzled over it, wondering why the restoration of power hadn’t, if not eliminated the Wanderers, then at least lessened their existence so a small group could be safe just outside the gates.  Why wouldn’t they take shelter somewhere, and take advantage of a life on the verge of being restored?  Unless they either didn’t know, or couldn’t get shelter somewhere.  All Molly knew was, they wouldn’t be offering any Wanderers shelter anytime soon, that was for sure.

Then she thought of Gary, trying to make his way back home.  He was a Wanderer to some people.  She thought of his picture on the bulletin board in Burt’s basement.  But no, he wouldn’t kill someone for their food or supplies.  He wasn’t like that.  Molly pictured him deep in the woods, the sun streaming through the treetops.  She saw him scrambling around desperately for food, searching for berries, water, anything that would help him sustain his life.  In her vision, he was gaunt at best, and appeared to be as desperately clinging to life as his clothing was to his body.  She saw him come across a sleeping woman, propping herself up with a backpack, filled with unimaginable treasures.  She saw the wild desperation in his eye as he picked up a rock and silently approached her.  He quickly dispatched her by bashing her head with the rock and relieved her of everything that might be useful to him, including her clothing.  Although she was much smaller than him, an extra layer was an extra layer as the weather became colder.  He darted off into the woods with his spoils, not to be seen again. 

Molly shuddered at the grim picture she’d created. 
What had Gary been through in the last 103 days?
she wondered.  She knew she’d done her fair share of things she didn’t know she was capable of even considering, in order to survive.  What had he done in the name of survival? 
Will I still know him?  Will he still be the man I loved? 
But, more importantly,
Will he make it home?

As the days passed the town struggled with brownouts.  The first blackout happened four days after the Restoration.  Panic threatened to settle into the town.  The thought that “salvation” had been so fleeting was too much for some folks.  There was even a suicide that night. 

The next day, Burt held a town meeting in the square and urged calm and patience as the government worked to restore some sense of normalcy.  His encouragement was enough to keep most people satisfied at least until the power came back on in limited supply the following day. 

However, he was curious about the state of things outside the town walls, and wanted answers for the campers’ deaths.  So, he organized a reconnaissance group of sorts.  Molly immediately volunteered to be part of the group, but was overruled unanimously.  Burt explained that after what happened to the campers, they wanted strong, big men who knew how to wield a weapon for this expedition. 

Four men were chosen, mostly ones without families or anyone depending too heavily on them.  However, most still had important jobs within the community, and if they were killed, the loss would be deeply felt throughout the town.  For example, Kevin Murphy had no children and was unmarried, but he lived with his sister’s family and helped to maintain the wall as a skilled craftsman.  Shane McKenzie was the town’s best hunter and often they had him to thank for fresh meat on their tables. Although he was married, he didn’t have any children.  Clint Black was responsible for making all of the town’s tools.  He was a blacksmith of sorts.  He helped maintain the farming equipment, everything used to build and keep the wall in good shape, everything for hunting and butchering animals. If something was broken, Clint could fix it.  But he was single, with no ties to anyone.  He lived alone in one of the homes closest to the wall. 

And then there was Jimmy.  He was selected to be their leader.  Just like the others, he had no kids, no family to speak of.  But he was pivotal to the town.  Only Burt and Molly were totally aware of how much he truly contributed.  Not only was he in charge of the Watchers, he was Burt’s go-to guy – his unofficial second-in-command.  He was the guy Burt always went to for advice, the guy Burt leaned on, the guy who came up with solutions, not questions. 

Molly approached him while he was packing a back for the trip.  “Jimmy, I wish you wouldn’t do this.” 

He kept packing.  “I know you do.”

“What if something happens?”

“It won’t.”

“But where would this town be without you?”

“We’ll never know, because I’ll be back here later tonight.”

She touched his shoulder.  “Jimmy.”

He turned to face her.  “Molly.”  His expression softened and he shrugged his shoulders.  “Look, you only have to manage for a few hours!  Burt will be here.”  He embraced her, and she relished the feeling of safety she always had in his arms.  “It’ll be OK.” 

“Promise?” 

“I promise.”

The expedition made their plans and left first thing the next morning.  They planned to be back before dark, so when dark came and went, they all feared the worst.  Molly even took a shift on the wall to help watch for them.  The next morning, she helped to prepare for the arrival of people with injuries.  They sterilized sheets for bandages, tried to gather what was left of their medications and hoped for the best. 

They arrived midday.  Kevin and Shane carried Clint roughly between the two of them.  Kevin had his legs, and Shane had him behind the shoulders.  He appeared to be totally unconscious.  They were directed to the makeshift hospital and put Clint on the bed closest to the door.  Those with more medical knowledge than Molly had descended on him. 

Kevin and Shane collapsed in a heap on the other side of the room, well clear of all the action. 

She went over and squatted down in front of Shane.  He seemed a little dazed, as did Kevin.  “What happened?”

“I’m not really sure, it’s all such a blur.  We ended up going too far to make it home yesterday, so we camped out in the woods.”  He paused, reliving the memory.  “It was just before daybreak when they found us.  Looking back on it, it was kind of stupid of them to attack us like that, there were only two of them and four of us.  But, one of them managed to do some damage,” he gestured towards Clint, “obviously.”

“Where’s Jimmy?” 

Shane glanced around.  “He isn’t here?  He said he’d meet us here.  He created a diversion, got the attention of the attackers so Kevin and I could get away with Clint.  We expected him to be here, since he could move faster than us.” 

Molly tried to process what it all meant.  The only definitive thing she could come up with was, “No, he isn’t here.”

The days passed and Jimmy didn’t show up.  So Burt decided to hold a town meeting.

They gathered in the square with Burt at center stage.  “I’m sorry to say, what little information we were able to gather isn’t good.”

Murmuring passed like a wave through the crowd, and people shifted their weight uncomfortably. 

“It seems,” he paused waiting for the murmuring to die down. “The situation is similar to ours in the next closest town – they have a limited power supply, however anarchy has overtaken the fragile balance established during the Blackout.  Chaos seems to be running rampant outside our walls.  Although there isn’t much left to loot, people are stealing from each other, killing for food, lodging and other goods, the list goes on.  They are angry at this transitional phase.  The general feeling was the power went out in a flash, so when things didn’t come back as suddenly, people revolted.”  He paused, letting people chew on that.  “We’ve paid a high price for this information, and I don’t intend to squander it.”  He paused, collecting himself.  “Jimmy, the head of the Watch, is still missing, and presumed dead.”  His voice cracked a bit when he said “dead.” 

Molly gasped.  Sure, it had been three days he’d been outside the wall, two of them on his own, but he was hearty, and smart about stuff like this.  If anyone had a chance out there, it was him.  A thought occurred to her. 
If Jimmy couldn’t even make it out there, how is Gary supposed to?

Burt interrupted her grim thought.  “Although we’ve had no new information from the radio broadcast, I think it’s safe to assume we’re still pretty much on our own.  Therefore, I feel we should resume normal operations tomorrow.  I also think we should redouble our efforts on the wall.  Those of you willing to take an extra shift, please let me know and we will give you a slot.  Your efforts will be much appreciated, and may even save lives.  At best, it will be an unnecessary precaution.  In all honesty, my instincts tell me this will pass rather quickly.  Even if they take a while to improve the power grid, people will settle down.  This slight change has upset the way of things, but people will adapt more rapidly I think, because the change wasn’t as dramatic, and it was a positive change, not a negative as the Blackout was.  Please try to remember what we do have.  Lights in our homes.  Power for our refrigerators and hot water heaters.  But more importantly, we have each other.”  He paused and made eye contact with Molly.  “Together, we will get through this uncertain time, the same way we got through the first days of the Blackout.”  He paused, surveying the uncertain faces in the crowd.  “Are there any questions?”