Ryan Westfield - Final Panic

It hadnt been long since the EMP. But itd been long enough for society to start to unravel. Violence was everywhere. Those whod survived were in hiding, trying their best to seek out whatever meager existence they could.

Jim, Aly, Jessica, and Rob had taken shelter in Alys uncles lake house, a couple of hours from Rochester. Theyd only barely survived an attack by a neighboring family. Aly had been shot, and when the infection had gotten bad, Jim had ventured outside the relatively calm area of the lake to get the antibiotics shed needed.

Jim had just barely made it back. And his wife, Aly, had just barely recovered from her infected wound.

It wasnt like there were any hospitals or doctors they could get to. If the penicillin hadnt worked, there wouldnt have been much more they could do.

Shortly after Aly had woken up, her uncle Jordan had reappeared.

It was his lake house that theyd taken shelter in. And, frankly, Jim had been glad to see that Jordan had been gone when theyd arrived.

The brother of Alys mother, Jordan was the black sheep of the family. And it wasnt like he hadnt earned his reputation. Hed been an alcoholic for years, if not decades, and hed spit in the face of every opportunity hed been given. Hed been arrested for minor and major infractions more times than one could count.

How Jordan had even supported himself had always been a mystery to Jim.

Right when the Carpenters had been defeated, when Aly was recovering, when it seemed like the lake house was enjoying a period of relative calm, Jordan had shown up, looking like hed been through hell.

Jordan was emaciated, looking like he hadnt eaten in weeks. His hair was longer than Jim remembered, and filthy. He wore a patch beard on his dirty face, and his unpleasant stench filled up the room.

What the hell did you do to my house? said Jordan, his lips twisting up viciously.

Lets take a step outside, said Jim, gripping Jordans upper arm firmly. Just you and me. Well discuss this. Alys weak. Shes still recovering.

Jordan gave him a stiff nod. Maybe he realized he didnt have much choice in the matter.

Jim caught Alys concerned look as he led Jordan out of the room.

When they were finally outside, out of earshot of everyone else, Jim said, Where have you been, Jordan? We thought you were dead.

Is that why youve taken over my house? And thrown everything out?

Jim just stared at Jordan for a moment, studying his face. There were scratches on his cheek, and what looked like the remnants of a black eye. Had he been in a fight? What had he been doing since hed disappeared?

We threw out the trash, said Jim. You didnt exactly keep a clean house. There were empty bottles everywhere, and fast food wrappers. We practically couldnt move. It was disgusting.

Youre not answering my question. What the hell are you all doing here?

What everyone else is doing, trying to survive.

Trying to survive? Dont give me that line. Thats what Ive been doing all my life.

Something wasnt adding up. The conversation was strange. But then again, it nearly always was with Jordan.

We had nowhere else to go. Rochester was becoming dangerous. Fast. We didnt think youd mind your niece and husband staying with you, considering the circumstances.

You could have called first. Set something up. Isnt that the way things are normally done? Even these days.

Suddenly, it was if a light dawned on Jim.

Dont you know about the EMP? said Jim.

The what?

The electromagnetic pulse. It knocked out all electronics. Everythings down. Societys falling. And fast. You dont know, do you? Where have you been?

Jordan stared at him with a blank expression on his face. Ive been getting sober.

Jim looked Jordan up and down. You dont look sober.

Jordan held out his hand, flat, with the palm down. Look. Its not shaking. And I havent had a drink in three months.

Where were you? You dont look like youve been in rehab.

Rehab? That doesnt work. None of that stuff works for me. I did it my own way. Living rough in the woods.

Youre telling me youve been living rough in the woods by yourself while trying to kick drinking? For several months? And youre just coming back to society now, and have no idea what an EMP is or whats happened?

Jim wasnt exactly buying it. It was too far-fetched. But then again, Jordan really didnt seem to know what was going on.

But did Jordan ever really know what was going on? He was an exceptionally odd guy and always had been.

Hey there!

Jim spun his head and reached for his revolver.

Someone was shouting at them, from somewhere down by the road.

Jim and Jordan were standing only partially out of view from the road, next to a large pine tree.

Get down, hissed Jim, as he crouched down.

Get down? What the hell are you talking about?

Jims eyes scanned the area, looking for who had shouted.

Hey! I see you two over there. Come on, Im not going to bite.

Jim finally located the source of the voice. The man was standing on the other side of the road. He was far away, but Jim could make out his clothes.

He wore a police uniform. Pants, shirt, and everything. He even had one of those wide-brimmed hats that highway patrolmen sometimes wore.

Jims mind immediately jumped to the cops that hed been forced to run away from. And to the memory of breaking Aly out of a jail cell in Pittsford.

What the hell are you doing down there? said Jordan loudly. Stand up like a man. Youre scared of a cop? I thought you were on the up-and-up. And whats all this about society falling apart?

Ill have to explain it to you later, hissed Jim.

The cop didnt stop waving, and now he was walking towards them. He took long strides, closing in on them fast.

Jim stayed in the crouching position, with both legs bent. He held his revolver steady and pointed right at the oncoming cop.

The story Jordan had told Jim wasnt entirely true. Well, not entirely might even be a stretch.

The part about being away for a long time was true enough. But Jim had already known that.

The rest, well, that was more or less a complete fabrication.

Jordan had actually sobered up quite a bit. But that had purely been by accident.

Hed been having trouble making ends meet for years now. Hed lost one job after the other. And the ones that he had managed to keep, where the boss would tolerate his drinking, well, he had always ended up realizing that he didnt like working that much. The pay was too low for the effort, he thought.

So, when a job had come along that paid a lot more for a lot less effort, Jordan had jumped at the chance.

Hed left his home at the lake and traveled northeast, up near the Canadian border, where hed worked growing and harvesting marijuana for some guys hed met through the local bar.

Theyd worked out in the boonies, far away from any stores, and they didnt like to travel into town much since they were trying to keep a low profile.

Jordan didnt know quite how hed gotten more or less sober. Maybe itd been the work, being outside, less access to alcohol, or the increased availability of pot.

But the reality was hed only had a couple small nips of vodka yesterday. And none today. That, for him, was as close to sober as he was ever going to get.

Hed been at the pot farmers camp when the EMP had hit. Of course, they hadnt known what it was that had happened.

Thered only been three of them total at the camp. Theyd just sold off a good haul the past week, and theyd sort of been sitting around trying to figure out whether to split with the money or stay around and get another crop going. Earning even more money, of course, was tempting.