36 Hours: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Fiction Series (21 page)

Colton pushed open the doors into the convenient store and immediately felt three sets of eyes staring a hole through him. Behind the counter was a large man sporting a rotund belly and a wifebeater shirt. Two other men stood across the store from him, drinking beer. Colton stopped dead in his tracks, not sure of where to start. Finally, after a brief stare-down, he turned his attention to the man behind the counter.

“I need some gas. How much is it a gallon?”

The man stared back and didn’t respond.

“Where you from?” asked the tall, lanky beer drinker to his right. Colton didn’t want any trouble, but he was extremely nervous at this point. These guys weren’t the Welcome Wagon.

“I’m from Nashville,” he replied with his best Southern accent.

“That’s a pretty car you got there, bud,” said the beer drinker’s companion after letting out a belch. “Say, you been down on your knees, bud?”

Colton felt panic as a scene from Deliverance flashed through his head. As he saw them staring down at his knees, Colton remembered he’d ripped them open ducking from the gun fire. They were now covered in dried blood.

“Looks like he’s either been prayin’ or messin’ with them boys in Lonoke County!” laughed tall and lanky. This elicited a series of guffaws and bellows from the Hazen boys. Colton didn’t like where this was headed and quickly glanced outside to see if any other customers were headed this way. The parking lot and gas pumps were empty except for his Corvette. The driver of the big rig was gone as well.

“Listen, fellas, I’d like to talk some more, but I really need to fill up, pick up a few things, and hit the road. So how much is your gas?”

The big man behind the counter responded, “It’s four hundred a fill-up, full service, of course.” This brought another roar of laughter from the peanut gallery. Colton was trying to assess whether these three clowns were a threat or simply enjoying themselves at his expense.

“Okay,” said Colton. “I saw an ATM sign outside. Where is it?” He looked around and found it for himself. He studied the ATM and learned he could only withdraw two hundred dollars at a time, with a fee of six dollars for each withdrawal. T-Ricks must not have gotten the memo from the President about price-gouging.

“Well, bud, ain’t you gonna use it? There ain’t no full service on the ATM pump.” More roars of laughter as the sound of another sixteen-ounce beer being opened urged Colton to get a move on. Colton made three withdrawals, giving him around eight hundred dollars.

He walked to the cooler and grabbed three bottles of water and two packaged egg salad sandwiches. He found a bag of Munchos potato chips and set the items on the counter. He looked around for a phone car charger. If the circumstances had been different, he would have asked to use the phone. At this point, he just wanted to get the heck out of Dodge, or Hazen, in this case.

“Do you have a car charger for a cell phone?”

The man turned and pulled one off a pegboard rack behind him. An orange sticker revealed a price of twelve dollars. “They’re a hundred dollars, today only,” he announced. More roars of laughter from his entourage.

“Say, bud,” said tall and lanky, walking closer to Colton. Colton glanced outside again, seeking any type of assistance. Still the same three cars and no new patrons. “Whadya say I take your shiny Vette for a little ride after I fill ’er up. I’m tired of drivin’ that old Wagoneer. Ya wouldn’t mind that, now would ya?”

Colton instinctively backed away from the man, who was getting too close for comfort. He held up both hands and said, “Listen, I just wanna get back to Nashville. Let me pay your friend for the gas and these other things, and I’ll get out of your way.”

“C’mon, Bubba, leave ‘em be,” said the man behind the counter.

“Yeah, Otis is right,” said Bubba’s sidekick.
Bubba and Otis. No surprise there
. Bubba pressed forward.

Colton’s survival instincts took over. Every human being was capable of a fight-or-flight reaction when threatened by a potential attack or threat to their survival. Colton’s reaction was swift and based on his years of training. His options were to flee, run out the door as fast as he could and find gas elsewhere, or he could fight, which was not his nature, but might be his only option, though not likely to end well.

Or he could negotiate, which was his forte. Colton was always a very quick thinker. During any negotiation, you had to be able to react and seize an opportunity when it presented itself. Colton had a solution.

“Listen, Bubba, I have a deal that you’re gonna like,” said Colton as he pulled the keys out of his pocket. Bubba stopped and took another swig of beer, followed by a series of belches that came out of his throat like
burpity, burp, burp, burp
.

“Well, bud, I’m in a dealin’ frame of mind. Whatcha got?”

Colton began to feel the tension ease out of his body. The boys were on his turf now.

“How ’bout a simple trade? My Corvette for your Jeep Wagoneer. Straight up, and I’ll even spend another couple of hundred bucks with Otis on some things for the road.”

Bubba started laughing and spilled some of his beer, drawing an admonishment from Otis. “Party foul, brother.”

Bubba glanced past Colton and stared at the car. Then he stroked his beard. “Title for title?”

“Well,” started Colton. “Yeah, except I don’t have the title. I’d have to mail it to you.” This brought roars of laughter from everyone.

“Do it, Bubba,” said Otis. “You don’t need the man’s title. Your daddy’s sheriff. You could drive around this county with the top off and your pants around your knees without gettin’ stopped. Besides, you’ve been wantin’ new wheels for a while now.”

“Yeah, Bubba, make the deal!” encouraged his sidekick.

Colton held his breath. Every good closer knew when to shut his mouth. The only movement he made was raising his right arm to show Bubba the key ring with the shiny, stainless Corvette logo engraved on it.

Bubba stared at the car, finished off his beer, let out the obligatory chorus of burps, and said, “Deal!”

Chapter 38

4 Hours

7:45 p.m., September 8

Ryman Residence

Belle Meade, Tennessee

Alex continued to monitor the news while Madison completed her rummaging through the pool house. She was still troubled by the visit from the Wrens. They were nosy neighbors and huge gossips. On the surface, their offers of helping others in the HPA would appear admirable. In reality, it was a way for them to brag on their good deeds and stay in everybody’s business. Her biggest fear was the spreading of false rumors about Madison’s injuries. As she looked back on the conversation, Christie and Shane implied Colton was responsible for the beating.

Suddenly, Alex was yelling for her through the back door. “Mom, are you out here?”

Madison dropped everything and ran onto the pool decking. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s Dad! He sent us some texts!”

Madison’s heart was racing. She would never admit it, but she was genuinely thrilled, and relieved, that Colton was not hurt or worse. She’d kept busy preparing during the day, but now her thoughts were constantly on Colton.

“What do they say?” she asked, greeting Alex at the French doors. Alex quickly read the series of text messages.

“They must have all come through at once,” replied Alex.

C: I’m on my way. Dallas was chaos. Flights x-celed.

C: East of Little Rock now. Had to rent a car. A vette.

C: Traded the vette for a beater truck. Will explain.

C: I miss you guys. Love you more than you know!

Madison began to cry uncontrollably.
He’s safe and on his way!
Alex also started crying and hugged her mom. The entire day, they had endured so much yet continued to put on a good front for each other. They were Ryman women and would stay strong for each other. But for the moment, they let it all out.

“See, Mom.” Alex laughed, wiping away her tears. “I knew it all along.”

“Ha-ha, Alex. Of course you did.” Madison grinned and sniffled. She wiped her nose on her sleeve, which was allowed during mother-daughter moments. Alex did the same, which elicited more laughs of relief.

Madison turned her attention to the last of the things she found in the pool house, which included some snacks, cases of soda, and a hammock. Alex quickly helped her, and they locked the door behind them.

“Honey, let’s pull all the curtains closed and turn off any unnecessary lights. At night, people can see in, but we can’t see out. I thought about that when the Wrens arrived at the front door. I wonder how much they saw?”

“Too much, obvi,” replied Alex. “They should mind their own business.”

“I agree,” said Madison. “How about your daddy renting a Corvette. Do you think he’s having a midlife crisis?”

“A what?” asked Alex as she dove back into her laptop.

“Nothing.” A siren wailed as two police cars sped down Harding Place towards Belle Meade.

“Holy crap, Mom! Check this out!” shouted Alex.

“What is it?”

“We’re famous! Janie just emailed me this. Someone filmed us at the ATM and posted it to YouTube. Well, Channel Five posted it. Check it out!”

Madison closed the last of the living room curtains and turned off the foyer light. She used her toes to kick off her sneakers and ran to join Alex on the sofa. Alex pushed play.

The video started after Madison was initially knocked to the ground. It showed the man trying to wrestle the money away, and the voices of the other ATM customers could be heard in the background.

“
Should we help her?
”

“
I’m not getting out of line
.”

“
Oh, look at the girl
.”

From the left side of the camera operator’s perspective, Alex ran by in a flash, raising the golf club with all her might, which produced a downswing landing squarely in the mugger’s ribs. The crack could be heard over the microphone.

“Holy sh…!” exclaimed one of the bystanders as Alex pummelled the man. “Dat girl be kray-kray!”

The video ended with Alex helping her mom to her feet.

“Wow,” said Madison, collapsing back into the oversized sofa. “It happened so fast.”

“
Kray-kray
,” muttered Alex. “I’ll show you crazy. I should have grabbed another club and beat all of those people for not helping. Can you believe that, Mom?”

Alex reached for the remote and turned to channel five, WTVF. The news did not replay the attack, but their crews were all over town. The reason for the Belle Meade Boulevard closure was revealed. A woman had been stabbed multiple times in an apparent carjacking. Two men had attacked her and attempted to steal her car. They drove off but lost control on a curve and crashed into a tree. The police were still searching for the two men, but the news reporter indicated that first responders had their hands full and had been unsuccessful in their search.

The news anchor, Carrie Sharp, reported that local law enforcement was unable to enforce the curfew. They were overwhelmed responding to reports of looting and strong-arm robberies. A melee had broken out at a Walmart in North Nashville as a group of teens stormed the sporting goods department. They caught the clerk off guard and performed a smash and grab, stealing guns and ammo. Store security personnel were powerless to stop their escape.

Madison switched the channel to Fox News, which showed scenes of the National Guard moving into place in the nation’s capital. Barricades were being established to prevent access to the city. The headlines changed continuously, but indicated the President, the Vice President, and the Cabinet were being moved into undisclosed, secure locations.

Finally, a BBC report showed a video of a group descending upon the French village of Bugarach. A small town in southern France, it was prophesized that Bugarach was the only place to survive an end-of-the-world event. For many years, it was rumored the local mountain—the Pic de Bugarach—held mystical powers. Visitors were known to perform strange rituals, which at times frightened the local population. Now, it had become a perceived place of refuge.

Madison thought about their home and its location. They were surrounded by twenty-five thousand people in their zip code of 37205. If she included the adjacent neighborhoods in 37215, the population doubled to fifty thousand. Within a few square miles! All of those people could become a threat when they became desperate.

What about outsiders? She had never experienced anything like those men attacking their truck today. And a carjacking on Belle Meade Boulevard? That was a first in her dozen or more years of living on Harding Place. Her mind began to race. If this was the reaction of people before the solar flare hit, what would it be like when the power went off? Especially when the nation learned that it wasn’t coming on again for a long time.

She got off the sofa and began to wander aimlessly through each room in their home. She went upstairs and approached all of the windows, cautiously looking around the perimeter of their yard. She never thought of where they lived as a place to
hunker down
, as they said on TV shows. Now she was looking at it from a different perspective.

Is it safe here, a place of refuge?
Belle Meade was known as the wealthiest zip code in Metro Nashville.
Would it be an obvious target for looters and thugs?
She shuddered as she unconsciously shook off the thought.

She wanted Colton home.

Chapter 39

3 Hours

8:15 p.m., September 8

Interstate 40

West Memphis, Arkansas

It was pitch dark now, and Colton was concerned about the effect the President’s curfew order would have on his ability to pass through Memphis. News reports from major cities were pretty bleak. The country was already slipping into anarchy.

Colton didn’t feel one bit guilty for duping Bubba out of his 1969 Jeep Wagoneer. Of course, on the surface, the deal was very one sided. The Vette was probably worth eighty thousand dollars. But he didn’t own it. His American Express Gold card would cover the loss to the car rental company, and he might be faced with a hefty credit card bill, if it even mattered after tonight.