Preppers of the Apocalypse - Part 2: Post Apocalyptic EMP Survival Read Online Free PDF

the clearing too.
So we can fill our bottles and use the water filter.”
     
    ***
     
    As
the sun began to fall from the sky and twilight settled over the sleepy
mountain, the three of them roasted the heck out of the meat, as Ellie put it. Chad
took over cooking duties under Ellie’s supervision, showing great patience as
she bossed him around. Ash guessed that as a recruit, the guy was used to
taking orders.  They sat in the pick-up truck under a twinkling night sky and
ate the meat.
     
    “It’s
sharp as hell, said Chad. “But you know what? Compared to the MRE’s, this is
the best meal I ever had.”
     
    When
they finished, Ash climbed into the driver’s seat.
     
    “We
lost a lot of time today,” he said. “So I think we better drive for a couple of
hours before we lose the light completely.”
     
    “It’s
getting dark. I’m not sure we should go,” said Ellie.
     
    “I’ll
drive slow and keep the headlamps on. If the terrain looks patchy, we’ll stop.
I just don’t want to sit still more than we have to.”
     
    “You’re
the boss,” she said. This time, it didn’t sound sarcastic.
     
    Ash
put the key in the ignition and twisted. The engine coughed, and then died. He
tried the ignition again. Nothing.
     
    “Oh
crap,” he said.

 
    Chapter 5
     
    A
popped car bonnet was always something of a mystery to Ash, but Chad didn’t
have the same problem. He stood above it with his sleeves rolled up to his
elbows, and looked at the wires and valves as if he was reading another
language, one that only he could understand.
     
    “Any
ideas?” said Ash.
     
    The
darkness of night had fallen on them completely now. Ash couldn’t see anything
further than fifty feet away, and it seemed like the blackness around them
smothered out all noise except the calls of birds and chirps of nocturnal
insects. It struck Ash that this was the real sound of the world. It wasn’t the
beeps of horns or hum of traffic. It was the calls of nature around them. When
all the people of the world were long gone, these sounds would remain.
     
    Chad
rubbed his forehead with his palm, smearing engine oil across his skin. For the
first time, he looked frustrated.
     
    “It’s
like a puzzle,” he said. “And I get OCD about it. Back in the barracks they
used to call me in for the tough fix jobs. You know, the real pain-in-the-ass
mechanical problems. I’d stay up all night trying to solve them, sometimes. I
wouldn’t sleep, wouldn’t eat. It made morning drills horrible. Try running ten
miles after getting two hours sleep.”
     
    “That’s
not healthy,” said Ellie.
     
    “Well
then, let’s get this thing running,” said Chad. His voice was tense.
     
    They
ran through a check list of everything that could possibly be causing to car to
struggle starting. They checked the battery terminal connections, the spark
plugs, and the choke. Chad inspected the distributor cap for any moisture, but
there was nothing obvious.  Two hours later, he slammed the bonnet down and
walked away from the vehicle. By now his hands and face were covered in oil, as
though he were trying to camouflage himself into the night.
     
    Ash
walked after him and put a hand on his shoulder. Chad spun around and knocked
his hand away.
     
    “Take
it easy,” said Ash. “We can figure this out.”
     
    “Figure
what out? Don’t you get it? The pick-up is screwed. And so are we. This whole
damn world is screwed and we’re trying to pretend everything is okay.”
     
    He
took sharp breaths, and Ash could tell that he was gritting his teeth.
     
    “I’m
just sick of it,” he carried on. “Sleeping in the pick-up. The MRE’s. This
stupid mountain. And what’s waiting for us at the end of it all, Ash? The city
is going to be ten times worse.”
     
    Ash
put his hand on his shoulder. “Just come back to the truck. We’ll figure
something out.”
     
    Back
at the truck, Ellie lit their last kerosene lamp. The other two had tumbled
over the side