to metal rings on the front straps. He had a leg holster for his pistol but decided to forgo wearing it while still in the city. Having a worried, pissed-off cop seeing a side arm would not be wise. He put the pistol into the fanny pack and put a rag over it. The two extra mags went in his front top pocket of the cargo pants. Some extra rounds went into the other pocket.
Shit, this stuff is heavy, Lee thought once he took the full load. He guessed it was at least fifty to sixty pounds. Lee took one last look inside the car to ensure he had not left anything behind, left the doors unlocked, and headed toward the stairs.
Chapter 2
2330, Day Zero, Garrett Household, Agua Dulce, California
Madison Garrett was woken from her deep sleep by the front door slamming and then her youngest son Logan shouting in a frantic voice, “Mom, Mom, wake up, something is wrong.”
Madison opened her eyes to a bright light from the upper corner of the room. The LED battery-powered emergency lights were on. Her husband Lee had installed the lamps around the house a few years back. The few times they had come on because of a power outage, they annoyed the heck out of her. The emergency lights did provide decent light in the room. She slid her legs out of bed, arousing the two family cats sleeping on the bed near her legs and feet. She heard Logan again. “Mom!”
“I’m coming, Logan. Calm down,” she replied while pushing her feet into her plush house slippers. She looked back to see the time but found the digital clock to be dead. She thought, Well the power is definitely out.
Madison came out of the room, finding Logan standing at the bedroom door. She could see him clearly in the living illuminated by another emergency light. She also noticed two plug-in emergency flashlights were shinning up the walls above their respective wall sockets. Emergency socket lights all around the house were another one of Lee’s safety items.
“What is it, Logan? You scared me and the cats half to death,” Madison asked.
Logan was huffing and puffing and sweating prolifically on his forehead and chest. His shirt was soaking wet. She knew it was not a hot night outside, “So what gives?”
While trying to catch his breath, Logan explained, “I was on the 14 freeway, and all the cars just stopped suddenly, even mine. I managed to pull over to the center divider okay, but a lot of people crashed. I guess they lost control of the cars without power brakes and steering.”
“All the cars?” Madison asked.
“Yes, Mom, all of them. After I pulled over and started looking around, I could tell the powers out as far as I could see. I have never seen it so dark. The glow from LA over the mountains is gone. It is pitch-black outside, and you can see a zillion stars.”
“Where were you when the car quit, and what did you do?” Madison quizzed Logan.
“I was just about to the Agua Dulce Exit. I did not have to walk far. I grabbed my Bug-out Bag that Dad gave me and walked—well, ran mostly home,” Logan answered.
Logan was the youngest of the Garrett children. He was eighteen and still living at the Garrett house while attending college in the San Fernando Valley and working part-time at a restaurant in Santa Clarita. Madison knew he had been working that night and was on his way home from work. Like the other Garrett males, Logan was about 5'11" and lean. He still had a huge head of dark wavy hair, which was out of control at most times day or night. It was a massive mess of tangles after his jog from the freeway. He tried to push it into place, but it was pointless as the thick locks fell as they may around his face.
Madison said, “So it may be all this crazy stuff your dad has done for years might have just paid off. Speaking of your dad, I hope he is all right. I spoke to him earlier tonight before bed.”
Logan answered, “It seems like it. Everyone on the freeway was standing around wondering what to do. Most people did not even have water. The people that were a long way from home looked really worried. There was nothing I could do. I gave my water, emergency food, a couple of lighters a flashlight and my emergency blanket to a couple with two small children. After that, I did not stay around. I grabbed my bag and headed here.”
Logan continued, “While I was hiking up here, I turned on the little two-way ham radio Dad put in all our bags. I turned it to the FM channel but could not pick up a single radio station. That is not right. I guess with the power out, our TV and satellite are not working either,” Logan answered.
“I think it has to be much more than a local power outage Mom. Some of the people on the road said they had heard news broadcasts on the radio just before everything died. The news was saying there was an unconfirmed nuclear explosion in Washington, DC.”
Madison froze when she heard Logan’s statement. It took her a moment before she could even speak again. “Logan, your dad has some electronics packed in metal boxes out in the main storage shed. One of the boxes says emergency radios. Go get that box. We can see if our base station radio works and try calling the other kids.”
Logan headed out the door with a flashlight, and Madison went to the kitchen to check on the refrigerator. She opened the refrigerator door, and it was dark. No light was on, and she heard no sound. She knew Lee had installed a battery system, which was connected to the solar panels. The batteries powered some kind of “converter.” She knew it was meant to keep the refrigerator and freezer in the garage running if a power outage occurred. But it was not working.
Logan returned shortly with the large metal case. He sat the heavy box on the dining-room table and he and Madison looked at the label taped to the top.
Emergency radios:
1 Ham radio—Preprogrammed to match all portable radios
1 battery powered AM-FM-Weather-Short Wave
1 crank powered AM-FM-Weather
1 spare wire type antenna
1 roof mounted magnetic antenna
Copies of all instructions and manuals
They opened the metal box. It had metal Mylar tape around the seam, which they peeled off. Inside was a lining of thick plastic material, which they folded back, exposing several smaller Mylar bags. Inside one of the bags with a label marked “Ham Radio.” Madison pulled out that bag as well as one labeled “battery-powered emergency radio.” Logan removed the small ham radio from the shiny protective bag and carried it to a corner cabinet of the dining room. Lee had given the family members instructions of how to install the radio. The cabinet had a power cord and an antenna cord inside one of the upper cabinets. The top of the radio had a taped on laminated card containing instructions.
1 Connect antenna to the back
2 Plug in the power connector
3 Turn on power.
4 Display should read “3-13”—This is the preset frequency that matches all the portable radios.
5 If display does not read 3-13, read the detailed instructions on the back of this card.
6 Once radio is on, press button on mic and talk. Use our planned call signs:Home = Garrett BaseMelinda and James house = Garrett EastLawrence’s apartment = Garrett WestPortable radios = Garrett mobile 1–6 (age before beauty)
Logan
