Grid Attack (Cyber War #1) (2 page)

We all looked at each other, not saying anything and trying to digest what he was telling us.

“Look…” he sighed, “things are probably going to get pretty bad before they get better. This could just last a few hours, days, weeks…or even months. They don’t know just how bad it is or who even did this. There is a lot of speculation, but that is all I was able to get out of him at this point.”

He plopped down in his chair and looked us all over.

“You all go home. Do whatever you need to do to protect your families. Things could get pretty bad. But, if things come back online, you all will still have your jobs, providing we still have customers. Until then, we are unofficially closed.”

He opened his desk drawer and handed each of us an envelope.

“Now, I know it isn’t much, but it was all I had in cash. With the power down, there is no telling how long it will be before banking will work again. Hopefully, this will help with things until life gets restored to normal.”

He handed each of us an envelope. We all just nodded and took it.

“I would appreciate it if you would not panic and keep what I told you from my military friend to yourselves and immediate family. I will go out and tell the rest of the employees that we are closing until we know what is going on, but that additional information will be left out. Understood?”

Speechless, we all nodded not knowing exactly what to say.

As we all emerged from the office, the rest of the employees and front office ladies looked worried. I smiled as I made my way back to my office and began to put some personal items in a bag to take home.

The boss came out of his office and gathered up the rest of the employees, explaining the situation and giving them all envelopes as well. I made my way to the door, eager to get home.

As I was making my way out of the office, someone had brought in their personal portable radio from their car. It was one of the older sales people who should have retired ages ago, but that the boss kept on because he was a friend of the family.

He had a small transistor type radio similar to what my dad used to carry. I heard the static as he turned the knobs, trying to find a station strong enough for everyone to hear.

I stopped to listen as I heard someone reporting.

…
truck drivers are reporting outages across the lower 48 states. Some of the smaller towns are still operating, but they don’t know for how long. And some of the gas stations are still able to dispense fuel, but only to those who have cash…

Looks like Kat may have been right this time. Damn, I hate that I treated her concern like it wasn’t important. Shit. And the way this was being reported, things in society were going to break down fast.

I hopped in my truck and looked at my phone. One bar. I sent a quick text and told her to arm herself and that I was on my way home. I only hoped that she got it.

From what I understood, most cell towers had some backup generator power, but that power could be drained quickly if a lot of people were using the service. At least, I think that’s what Kat told me. I only half listened when she started to put on her tin-foil hat theories about how our grid could be taken down.

I also figured that somehow they stopped calls, but allowed texts because it didn’t use as much power. I imagine people were panicking trying to get hold of their loved ones.

I turned over my engine and pulled the envelope my boss had given me out of my pocket. Opening it, there was probably around $500 in twenty’s. That was a nice surprise.

I started to head for home. It was less than seven miles. Little did I know this would be a long trip.

Even though both Kat and I were legal to carry concealed, rarely if ever did I take my firearm to work because I would have to leave it in my truck and it was too much risk of it getting stolen.

Today was a day I wish I’d brought it and made a mental note to always have it on me from today forward.

As I pulled out onto the main four-lane road, it became clear that chaos had already started. There were lines at the gas station that carried for a mile in either direction.

Most people didn’t realize that all the gas pumps were now electric and wouldn’t work in a power outage like the old pumps. With the older pumps, you could still do a manual override to get the pumps to work, so you could just take cash and pump anyway.

Plus, the cash registers wouldn’t work either. They couldn’t use credit or debit cards, so the cops had been told to go to most of the gas stations and grocery stores to control crowds that were starting to build. That was only going to work for a few hours since there weren’t enough cops to cover all the stations and stores.

I made my way slowly through the cars, driving around them down the shoulder so I could get past.

Kat had always told me to keep my gas tank full instead of letting it get down past half a tank. I never worried about it because there was a gas station on every corner and unless I was going to be on the highway, there really was no need. Until now. I was glad I had filled up the truck the day before.

As I passed one station, the cops were already making arrests of people who were yelling and getting belligerent. That was unexpected. The power had only been out a few hours. Most people would just move on.

But there was something in the air. It was a new kind of panic and it set people off in a different way. I’m sure most people knew by now that this just wasn’t a normal power outage.

As the traffic thinned I breathed a sigh of relief and sped up to get home as soon as I could. Unfortunately, there was a traffic light that was out at a 5 way stop that people were trying to get through and it was a mess. People were honking and cussing at each other. You’d have thought we were in the middle of New York City with the way people were acting.

I sat patiently waiting as the lines of cars took turns going through the intersection.

My mind went back to what my boss had said.

An attack on the grid. I didn’t think to ask what kind of attack, not that it really mattered. Whoever attacked us, we were now at war with them.

War. Here. Now.

My stomach started to ache and my chest tightened. I could feel my anxiety rising and I hadn’t even made it to my turn in the intersection yet.

I tried to shake off the feeling and turned on my radio trying to find any station that was broadcasting. Most of it was an eerie dead air with the exception of a few stations that were reporting what they knew.

…
Anyone who can go home is encouraged to do so. Do not waste fuel going places that are not necessary. Until we know when the power will resume, it is best to save the gas for use in an emergency. If we don’t have power by tonight, please remember to check on your neighbors. It is supposed to get pretty chilly out there, and there was talk of some kind of storm heading our way in the next few days…

Taking a deep breath, the cool air of fall felt good after a blazing hot summer. The breeze helped to relax me as we inched closer trying to gauge who was next to go through.

Just before my turn to go through the intersection, two people decided it was their turn and punched their engines in anger, leading to a crash right in the middle of the lanes. It wasn’t like they were going fast enough for anyone to get hurt, but it did enough damage to their cars that they would need to be in the shop for a while.

A rather large black man jumped out of his entangled Cadillac and began to yell expletives at the guy in the new F150. He was cursing and kicking the truck as everyone else tried to inch their way around the two vehicles.

Out of the F150 stepped a big red headed man in overalls. His clothing didn’t suit the look of his truck. He appeared a bit hillbilly but the truck was spit shined.

Before I knew what happened, they were both out of their vehicles in the middle of the road screaming at each other.

“What the hell is wrong with people?” I said out loud to myself, just shaking my head and looking around to see if there was another way to go around.

It was at that time that things began to go in slow motion. Just like in the movies.

The Cadillac guy pulled a pistol out of his back and began to shoot at the F150 guy. The F150 guy turned to try to run but didn’t make it far before he fell to the ground.

“What the hell?” I said as I quickly crouched down into my seat, only allowing my head up high enough to peek over the dashboard. Damn, I needed my gun.

Just then, the F150 guy rolled over and had pulled a pistol out of his front pocket. With a couple of rounds, he took down Cadillac man. Now, they both lay in the middle of the road, bleeding out.

For a moment, no one else moved. And no one got out of their vehicles. It was just too dangerous. Everyone just sat in place for a few moments. Almost as if to give a moment of silence for what had just happened.

Anxiety rolled through my body. I began to feel hot and my throat was dry.

I needed to get home to my Katherine. I was half-way there and it had already been an hour to go 4 miles.

I’m sorry I doubted you, Kat
, I thought to myself. She had always said to be mindful, that we should be preparing for “just in case.” That it was like having insurance.

I had always been resistant and I was now regretting that decision, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it right now.

I was jolted back into my current environment as I saw a couple of young men run over to the dead bodies lying in the middle of the street, grabbing their guns and running off into the neighborhood.

That was a dangerous move and I decided it was time to go, so I put my truck in drive and slowly drove around the accident and through the intersection.

Normally, I am the type of person who would stop and offer to help. But not this time. This time, it was every man and woman for themselves.

Others followed as I felt the tension and anxiety begin to leave my body in relief that I was getting closer to home.

The rest of the way home was uneventful and I was grateful for that. I almost felt back to normal as I turned down the dead end street where we lived.

That changed when I pulled up to the house, only to find Kat’s truck wasn’t there.

I pulled in and turned off the engine. Maybe she pulled the truck behind the fence into the back yard to hide it. That sounds like something she would do.

Fumbling with the door, I sprung out of the truck and called to her.

“Kat? Katherine?” I yelled as I made my way over to the little gate to the back yard.

Nope. No truck.

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes and said a little prayer.

“Please, God. Let her be safe and bring her home to me.”

I let myself in the house and ran upstairs, grabbing my pistol. There was a box of ammo out already and a note.

“I just went to see if I could get gas and any extra food. Don’t worry, I will be okay. I’m armed.” It said.

She had no idea what was out there. No idea how people were already reacting.

All I could do now was wait and pray.

Chapter 3 - Katherine

I knew Tony would have difficulty getting back. I also knew that getting fuel or any kind of food would be next to impossible, but I had to try. It would be our last run because I already knew how our country’s food supply worked. I had to try to get everything I could NOW.

Ever since the U.S. went over to the “just in time” system, there is maybe three days worth of stock in any grocery store, IF that. Plus, debit, credit, and EBT cards wouldn’t work if there was no power.

Only cash. I knew that and had several places on my person that I decided to put a few twenty’s that I could use. I figured if I tossed a twenty at them for a loaf or two of bread and a half gallon of milk, I would be good to go, providing I could actually make it back to my truck without being robbed.

The anxiety was high as I made my way through the store. I hated being in an enclosed environment in a situation like this. I made a mental note of all the exits as I went through. That wasn’t something I had ever done before but now that all hell was breaking loose, it seemed like a good idea.