EMP Catastrophe | Book 1 | Erupting Trouble Hamilton, Grace (read book .txt) 📖

The employee nodded, listening intently. Matthew noted his name tag said Jordan and wondered why the man didn’t look more concerned. “You’re in a similar state to everyone else here, I’m afraid. I’ve had customers looking for help all day, but we’ve lost electricity, and nothing seems to be working, not even our landline phone. I’ll keep you gentlemen in mind if the cars start back up or if I meet someone who can give you a ride. Right now, though, sounds like you’re looking for hiking supplies. Long-term stuff. Finding the best stuff is something I can help you with, if you don’t mind.”

“That would be great,” Matthew chimed in and let David lead the way as Jordan helped them navigate the store.

“You’ll need boots,” Jordan said, beelining to the back near a wall of display shoes. He picked out a couple and set them in front of David and Matthew. “These ones have great tread, but since you’ll be walking on pavement, you won’t have to deal with spikes for rougher terrain.” He spoke as if it was normal for two men to come into his store with a plan to walk across state lines. Matthew tried to hide his headshake of disbelief.

“Once you pick out a boot you like—and really try them on, like jump up and down in them, bend them around—you’ll need to get lightweight packs. You don’t want to fatigue yourselves hauling weight you don’t need. You’ll also need,” and here, he held up a hand, ticking off the items off his fingers, “a solar charger with a flashlight in case you get caught out at night, a pocket knife for obvious reasons, first aid kit, refillable water canisters, none of that plastic decomposable stuff.”

“You’ve done this before,” Matthew joked, and David jabbed him with an elbow.

Jordan gave Matthew a solemn look. “You’re thinking of walking to Galena. I know you’ll be looking for help, but you should be prepared for the eventuality that you’ll have to walk all the way.”

Matthew swallowed hard. “Right.”

“Then, make sure you get a bunch of power bars. They don’t taste great, but they’ll get you through a week for sure. Lots of calories, preservable, and easy to eat on the go. It’s warm outside, so you’ll want a bandana to keep the sun and sweat out of your face. Plus, they’re nice if you need them for other purposes. You know how to get to Galena without a map?”

“We do, but it would probably be beneficial to have one just in case,” David said.

“Spot on. You’re a planning man, aren’t you? It’s always good to have one just in case you have to take an alternate route. There’re waterproof ones near the front of the store. And this is the most important item: toilet paper.”

Matthew guffawed, his laugh ringing in the store. “You can’t be serious.”

“I doubt you’ll be finding leaves to use,” Jordan said.

“We won’t need toilet paper,” Matthew said.

“Sir, I don’t mean to sound impertinent, but I’ve met a lot of people like you today. People who think I’m just an employee and don’t know what I’m talking about. They ignore my advice and come back hours later getting exactly what I told them to. I’ve bagged peaks and faced off with bears, and let me tell you, I know when to trust my gut. This power outage is unusual. This whole thing makes me feel like something bad is happening and it’s only going to get worse. I want to make sure you’re prepared for that.”

“We appreciate it,” David said holding his hand out for Jordan to shake. Jordan took it, and the two shared a moment, as if they spoke a language that Matthew hadn’t learned.

“I need to help some other customers, but please come find me if you need any more help,” Jordan said, bouncing over to another aisle.

“What a nutter,” Matthew said softly once Jordan was out of earshot. “Bagging peaks. What, does he scale a mountain a day or something? The power is out. It’s not like the world is ending.”

David didn’t say anything, testing out the hiking boots the way Jordan had instructed with a gravitas that, to Matthew, grew into the ridiculous.

“He’s got a screw loose,” Matthew reiterated, watching David’s face. David’s silence said more than anything, and it rankled to know that he sided with Jordan rather than Matthew on that issue.

Once they had a set of boots picked out, they walked through the aisles, grabbing the gear Jordan had suggested. David stuck to the list almost obsessively, picking up every item Jordan had mentioned. Even the blasted toilet paper, priced stupid-high because it was marketed toward rough-and-tough adventurers. To Matthew’s surprise, the store still had a lot of goods available, and he wondered if the other customers hadn’t been able to pay for the overpriced supplies—after all, Jordan had said nothing was working. Matthew paused, studying the day packs available, when he caught sight of Brenda and Jacob. He smiled in recognition, wondered how the couple from the parking lot had ended up here. Brenda was close to Jacob, her tone pitched in a way that spelled an argument.

“This is idiotic,” Brenda snarled as she tossed a camp stove back on the shelf. “We don’t need any of this stuff. We should just go home, instead of wasting money on dried pea soup.”

“How are we gonna get there, huh? You’re in dress flats.”

“I spent less on designer sandals than those hiking boots you’re insisting we buy,” Brenda said. “The power is out, that’s it! That’s it! If you’re so worried about the world ending, you can stay here instead of buying supplies for a short walk home.”

“It’s not just about walking home,” Jacob said, heated. “It’s that we don’t have any supplies at home. We can’t cook food on nothing, Brenda. We’re screwed if the power doesn’t come back on.”

“It’s gonna come back