EMP Catastrophe by Hamilton, Grace (books to read in your 20s female .txt) 📗

as they drove away. That was normal. Everything that had just happened…that was not.

Walking quickly, they stepped out of the prison and into the parking lot, beelining for Kathleen’s red SUV. Desperately, she thought about calling Matthew, but the thought of his chipper voice asking her how it went would send her into an anxiety-driven meltdown. She’d never felt so terrified for her brother’s life before, never felt so much hatred that she had to leave Max behind with people who didn't care about his sweet nature and good heart. But it was out of her control. She opened the car door and slammed it behind her.

In the sweltering heat of the interior, Kathleen took a deep breath. Would they put Max in solitary confinement? Did low-level drug criminals even qualify for solitary? That seemed so extreme when he was just helping his family.

She thought of Brady’s head hitting the concrete table. The crunch.

“Mom, start the car?” Allison asked, quietly.

“Of course, sorry.” Kathleen let out a shaky breath and stuck the keys in the ignition. She turned the engine over, waiting for the familiar rumble paired with the blast of air conditioning. The car made a clicking sound, but otherwise remained silent and off.

Kathleen bit her lip and tried again. Same result.

“Really?” she said under her breath to the car. “No, I’m serious. Are you really not going to work?”

“Is the battery dead?” Allison asked, almost as if her mother were a bomb that might explode at any moment. She wasn't wrong. “Maybe the lights were left on?”

Kathleen checked—nope, turned off. She tested the interior lights, anything that could have drained the battery. She put her hand over her eyes for a moment. “Allison, honey, I think we’re stuck. I’m gonna try and call your father.”

“Okay,” Allison said and bit her lip.

“I’m all right. We’re all right.” Kathleen gave Allison a wobbly smile. “I’m so sorry to fall apart on you like that. Are you okay?”

Allison nodded and then asked in a very small voice. “Will Uncle Max be all right?”

Kathleen didn’t know what to say so she lied, a lie to soothe them both. “He will. It’s Max. He’s a hero now.”

Allison chuckled. “He sure did take control of the room.”

“Yeah.” Kathleen held her phone up to her ear, Matthew already on speed dial. A strange beeping sound filled her ears, followed by a long blaring tone. Frowning, she looked at her phone, noted that she had no signal. “My phone is acting up. Can you try?”

Allison nodded, but moments later she frowned at her phone too. “I can’t reach anyone. Let me try Grandma.”

Kathleen looked at the wallpaper on her phone—a family photo from their first day in Galena, when they’d walked to a duck pond and fed the fowl small pellets for fifty cents. They’d all laughed when one of the ducks tried to chase Patton, when Allison had rolled her eyes but had a grin tugging at her lips, when Matthew had kissed her cheek and told her he still loved her after all these years.

“Mom, nothing’s happening. I can’t hear anything. I can’t get ahold of anyone.”

Kathleen sat in the parking lot without a car, a phone, or a brother. She thought the tears would spill out then, make her have to step outside to have a quick cry, but instead a smooth conviction rolled over her. First things first. Take care of her daughter. Get them someplace safe.

“Should I try my friends? We could get them to pick us up and hang out there until we get in touch with Dad. This stupid prison probably has some kind of police-wave that kills phone connection.”

“Sure. Should I go back inside and see if any of the guards have a jump?” Kathleen didn’t want to, but she would if Allison couldn’t get ahold of anyone.

Allison shook her head. “I don’t want you going back in there. Let me see if I can reach my friends.” She held the phone to her ear again, speed-dialing people Kathleen barely knew. A terrible feeling twisted Kathleen’s gut. She wanted to get home, hold her family close. Yet somehow, she felt as if the universe had turned against them. That something was terribly wrong and she was adrift in the chaos of it all, a life raft nowhere in sight.

9

The waterproof map felt slick in Matthew’s grip as he traced the path from their location to the highway with his fingernail. “We can definitely take this side road until we head up towards the interstate,” he said, nudging David to ensure he paid attention.

David peered over Matthew’s shoulder, his eyebrows drawn together. “Are we sure the interstate is the best course?”

Matthew glanced at his father in astonishment. “It’s the fastest way home, as you agreed on earlier. If we stick to back roads, there’s less of a chance we’ll find people to help us out. Better to be direct and forward. Why, are you nervous?”

David shifted uneasily. “No. I only worry about people being idiots.”

Matthew couldn’t help but laugh. “How do you expect to run a hotel that’s focused on people, then, Dad?”

David grinned at him. “Figured you’d take that responsibility. I’d fix things and secretly smoke cigars in the back while you dealt with the customers.”

“Oh, good to know. I had no idea the responsibility would all fall on me.”

“If you make a profit this year, I’ll let you share a cigar with me.”

“Promises, promises. Seriously though, Dad. The interstate is the best way. You agree?”

“Lead the way.”

Matthew folded up the map and stuck it in his pocket. Concrete crunched under their feet as they headed away from the big box stores and wide asphalt parking lots into side streets lined with smaller shops, trees, and at some point, residential houses. Matthew tried to temper his urge to conquer the distance and see how far he could go, but David’s shuffling contrasted with Matthew’s long strides. He had to admit, he was grateful for the hiking boots.

He looked