Emerging Chaos (EMP Disaster Book 1) by Grace Hamilton

Author:Grace Hamilton [Hamilton, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

18

At first, Melanie was going to climb in the back seat, but then her daughter crawled into the back and sat beside Lizzy. She took the front instead. Once they were all inside the Jetta and the doors were shut, the whole day finally caught up to Melanie. The sheer horror of what had happened just swept over her, and she began to tremble violently, worrying at the denim of her purse with both hands. Mark didn’t start the car right away. Instead, he was turned in his seat, looking at her, clearly concerned about her well-being. She met his gaze and tried to give him a reassuring nod.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Lizzy and I are both fine. Can we just get out of here, please?”

“That was your boss,” he said, “but who were the other guys with him?”

“It turns out our boss is part of some cult or club,” she said. “It’s a long story. He was going to give us a ride into town, but then everything went to hell. Long story short? He’s a maniac.”

She glanced out her window and saw people carrying the bodies of the two strangers away. She couldn’t tell if either of them was alive, but they’d left quite a bit of blood on the pavement. Melanie felt another twinge of guilt.

“Please, can we go?” Lizzy said, leaning against the back of Mark’s seat. She was clutching her inhaler in her hand, as if comforted by the feel of it. Her face was flushed, eyes wet from crying. “I really want to check on my parents. If things are even worse than this in town, I don’t know how they’ll manage.”

“Okay, we’re going,” Mark said. He grabbed the key and turned the ignition.

The car didn’t respond. It didn’t do anything at all. Melanie glanced at the dashboard and realized the instrument panel wasn’t lit up. As Mark turned the ignition again, she reached up and pressed the button to turn on the interior lights. Nothing.

They looked at each other.

“Oh, no,” she said, her heart sinking.

“What? What is it?” Shona asked nervously from the back seat. “What happened to the car?”

“It’s dead,” Mark said. “It got fried.”

“Why?” Shona said. “Is it because of the lights in the sky?”

“Related,” Mark replied. “The plasma cloud causes a shock wave of charged particles when it hits our magnetic field. That’s why we’re seeing auroral lights in the sky right now. Our magnetic field is going haywire, and all of that activity is wreaking havoc on electrical systems…including my nice Jetta.” He sighed and patted the steering wheel in what seemed like an affectionate gesture. “I’m afraid the car is toast.”

Lizzy dragged her hands through her hair, making a long, exasperated sound. “My poor parents are probably going crazy right now, worrying about me, wondering what to do, confused. I can’t just sit here, guys. I have to get to them.”

“Well, the car’s not going anywhere.” Mark gestured out the window. “I’m afraid we’re on foot now.”

Melanie turned and scanned the traffic.

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