The Storm Rises by Kyle Pratt

Author:Kyle Pratt [Pratt, Kyle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Camden Cascade Publishing
Published: 2018-09-20T18:30:00+00:00

Day Seven

Portland, Oregon, Saturday, September 10th

It might have been a normal early morning drive with the family, except for the pistol on his hip and that he drove a deuce-and-a-half truck. Carol sat beside him. The boys had opted to ride in the back.

The night chill clung to the morning air, but the rising sun shone through the side window as Franklin drove past the steel-and-barbed-wire gate. So much had changed in a week. The small compound of the Cyber Intel Center had expanded to encompass the University of Portland and surrounding neighborhoods. This area, like that in Salem, had limited power and water. Perimeter gates, fences, and walls were under construction around the clock.

The guard waved him through the gate and Franklin turned left along an empty street of shuttered and boarded buildings.

A few blocks later, he turned down a residential street; several people ran from their homes and waved frantically, trying to get him to stop. A man ran at the truck.

Carol gasped.

Franklin yanked the wheel right and missed the man by inches.

A thump came from the back of the truck. James laughed.

“Are you okay?” Carol called over her shoulder.

“Yeah,” James shouted. “Logan fell, but he’s fine.”

Another person stood waving in the street.

Franklin drove around him.

“They’re hungry,” Carol whispered as she stared at the adults, children, and dogs that dotted the roadside.

“Yes,” Franklin replied, keeping a watchful eye for anyone else who might try to stop the truck. His family was a bit hungry, but these people would soon be starving—and they knew it. Leaving the defensive perimeter around the base with his family might have been a mistake. He pressed the gas.

At the back of his mind, a thought niggled like a thorn, painful and irritating. How soon would hunger turn to desperation, chaos, and rioting? He would keep his family close to home, and as safe as he could.

“There’s the street.” Carol pointed.

Torn from thought, Franklin pulled the wheel hard to the left, inducing another thud and a laugh from James.

Franklin backed the deuce into his driveway and parked. As he stepped from the vehicle, Ted hurried over from next door.

“How come that truck works, but so many others don’t?” his neighbor asked.

“Hi, Ted. Good to see you.” Franklin forced a grin.

“Oh, yeah. Hi, Dirk. Glad to see you’re okay.”

“You too, Ted. I don’t know the details, but military vehicles are built to withstand EMPs.” Franklin turned to Carol as she helped the boys from the back of the truck.

“Hi, Dirk.” Another neighbor joined them, but, unable to recall his name, Franklin just smiled and nodded.

Carol passed the house key to the boys and they ran to the house, then she smiled and greeted both neighbors.

“How are you doing for food?” Ted asked.

“None here,” Franklin interjected. He had no intention of telling Ted about the backpack full of food and water he had brought to the other house, or the remaining supplies Carol had taken from this one.

“I still have some food, but a lot of it will spoil soon.

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