The Gathering Storm (Surviving the Fall 2)

“It’s awful.” Dianne looked around again. “How are you doing, Jim? Are you heading to stay with family?”

Jim looked down at his motorcycle and gear and laughed. “I wish! No, they’re too far to reach. I’m heading to one of the federal shelters, up north near D.C.”

“Federal shelters?” Dianne furrowed her brow. “The feds are erecting shelters now?”

“Yep.” Jim nodded. “The states don’t have the capacity to do much right now so the feds are trying to set up shelters for people. I don’t know the details but they’re providing food and a bed. I’m not equipped to hold out here for very long so I think my best bet is to get there and hope for the best.”

“Is that where everyone else in town went?”

Jim shrugged. “I’m not sure. After the insanity in town last week I’ve been hiding out in my house trying to figure out what to do. I would assume that most folks around here have left, unless they’re like your family in which case I bet they’re holed up on their property waiting for everything to blow over.”

Dianne shook her head. “Damn. I guess I didn’t know it was getting that bad.”

“I think, based on what I’ve heard and what’s going on, that things aren’t going to get better anytime soon.” Jim started putting his gloves back on. “You all take care, though, okay? If you have the fuel, you should think about heading up north, too. The shelters are going to fill up fast, I suspect.”

Dianne smiled and stepped back from the motorcycle as Jim stepped back on. “Thanks, I appreciate the information. Take care of yourself, okay? Be safe on the roads out there.”

Jim nodded and slid his helmet back on, then turned to wave at the children standing behind Dianne. “Take care, you three! You too, Mrs. Waters! I hope to see you again soon!”

Mark, Jacob and Josie all waved goodbye as their teacher pulled away, weaving in and out of the wrecked cars as he made his way to the highway and started heading north. Dianne and her children stood and watched him drive away for a couple of minutes in silence before a chorus of frustrated clucks from the chickens pulled Dianne out of her thoughts and back to reality.

“All right, kids! Back in the truck. Let’s get home.”

“Mom?” Josie took Dianne’s hand as the four walked back to the truck and climbed inside.

“What’s up, sweetie?”

“Is Mr. Sandberg going to come back soon?”

“I’m not sure about that. I hope so, though. He’s a very nice person.”

“And a good teacher, too!”

Dianne smiled at Josie and started up the truck. “I’m sure Mr. Sandberg will be fine and I hope he’ll come back soon. For now, though, let’s worry about getting all this stuff home and unloaded, okay?”

As Dianne slowly backed up through the tangled mess of cars on the road, she said a silent prayer for Jim Sandberg on his journey. Traveling nearly three hundred miles in the hopes of finding shelter wasn’t something she would wish on anyone and she was enormously grateful for the fact that they had enough supplies to last for a long time at their home.

The other related thought that she kept trying to push out of her mind was back yet again as she thought about Jim riding across the state. Dianne’s hands clenched the steering wheel as she fought back a tear. I don’t know where you are, Rick. But you’ve got to make it back. Please make it back.

Chapter 15

US Government Facility

Five days before the event

Air Force One is in the air, rising to meet a fuel tanker for a midair refueling. The computer systems inside Air Force One have been sealed off from the outside world, and the only access is through a single laptop at the back of the plane. Disconnected from any of the plane’s systems or any other computers on the aircraft, the laptop is the only means of communication into and out of Air Force One.

A group of men in suits sit huddled around the computer screen as they watch a streaming broadcast of BBC News. A reporter stands in front of an office building where individuals are pouring out onto the street, each of them carrying a nondescript white box filled with their personal possessions. The President emerges from his private office into the room with the others and takes a seat near the edge.

“Turn the volume up, dammit.” He growls and one of his aides hops up and turns the volume up. The voice of the woman is warbled as it comes through the tinny speakers, but even with the distortion it’s clear that she is panicked despite her best attempts to remain calm.

“Recapping our top story today, the FTSE had fallen sharply on reports that oil giant BP has suffered catastrophic losses in the Arctic, Russian and South Pacific exploratory platforms. Losses suffered by the company as well as damages are expected to be in the trillions of dollars. As you can see behind me, BP isn’t the only one to suffer today as US-based technology giant Computech Incorporated has laid off ninety percent of its workforce in a move that industry experts describe as ‘unprecedented, without merit and absolutely mind-boggling.’ The exact reason for the layoffs has yet to be publicly disclosed, but—”

The President jabs his finger at the screen and turns to Dr. Evans, who is flipping through a three-ring binder on the other side of the small room. “Evans! What do you make of this?”

Dr. Evans glances over at the screen. “Damocles is experimenting, sir. It’s testing its new environments and learning about the systems involved.”

“Why the hell would it be tanking companies and getting people fired?”