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

“It’s okay. We’ll find him. I’m Matthew and that grump over there is my father, David.”

“Thank you so much for helping me. I’m Shane. My boy’s name is Tommy. He’s got black hair and is wearing a shirt with turtles on it.”

“Hang on.” Matthew paused, something clicking in his brain. “Is your car running? Most of the vehicles here are dead.”

“Yeah, it’s the weirdest thing. My car’s old, like the vintage ’70s kind, not one of those newer Beetles, that I inherited when my dad passed. We were driving to visit my brother when everything just…stopped. It was like all the cars coasted and came to a halt. I thought there was an accident or something, you know? Then no one moved for an hour, and I got out and people said they couldn’t start their cars at all. Mine still ran, but I was blocked by everyone else. There was no room to maneuver around and out. There must be something to say for older designs, right?”

Matthew smiled at Shane. “Yeah, no kidding. We just came from Madison. My car died too.”

“And then I was stupid enough to leave Tommy in the car to try and get us out of the deadlock. I can’t believe how idiotic that was.”

“Don’t worry about it. Every father makes mistakes. We’ll find him.” Matthew raised a hand and ushered David over. David’s shoulders slumped, as if fed up with Matthew’s antics, but he ambled over and shook hands with Shane.

“Where do you think your car is?” David asked.

Shane pointed back the way they’d come. “Somewhere up there. White VW Bug.”

David sighed as both he and Shane began picking their way across the line of cars. Matthew spotted a tall SUV and walked over to it. Finding the big vehicle empty, he scrambled up on a Camry next to it and then leap-frogged onto the SUV’s hood. The metal made a soft indentation sound from holding Matthew’s weight. “Sorry,” he said to the vehicle, and added another apology for good measure for the owners. The metal felt hot to the touch, but Matthew managed to climb the SUV’s roof to survey the interstate, like a ship captain looking over the endless expanse of ocean. Shading his eyes with his hand, he peered in every direction.

It was like he thought. In the direction of Galena, stalled cars filled the road as the interstate cut into the horizon. Shapes that he assumed were people looked like tiny black ants moving off the exits, seeking some kind of shelter in the meager shops lining the highway. Worry curdled Matthew’s stomach, but he couldn’t let the Galena pathway distract him. A man had lost his son. He turned back around to face the way they’d come from, and studied the cars, searching for a glimpse of white.

He attempted to name the cars he did see, moving from eggshell-white hatchbacks to beige sports cars to dirty-white vans, until he glimpsed a familiar dome-shaped roof wedged between a couple of tall trucks. “Dad!” Matthew shouted, and both Shane and his father looked back at him. Matthew pointed in the direction and snapped his fingers. “Couple of car rows down, looks like it’s surrounded by big trucks. I think I see it!”

Shane jogged across the cars, glancing back to ensure he was still following Matthew’s directional finger, until a sound of joy filled the air. From his bird’s eye view, Matthew watched Shane dodge into the car and pull out a sleep-drunk child, holding him fast with cries of relief.

Matthew clambered down from his perch and headed in the same direction. Relief filled him from head to toe, a sudden reaffirmation of the path he’d always tried to walk. When he caught up with them at the white Bug’s side, David gave him a soft smile of approval. Shane clasped Tommy close to his chest, holding him tightly. “Thank you so much, oh my god, thank you so much,” Shane repeated. Tears peppered his cheeks. Matthew peeked inside the Beetle to see the backseat littered with toys and blankets, and yes, many turtles.

“No problem,” he said quietly, as Tommy wrapped his arms around Shane’s neck, holding on while Shane tried to control his crying. “I’m glad we could help.”

“If you hadn’t been there, I could’ve been looking for who knows how long. Tommy could’ve gotten heat stroke, he might’ve been taken or something, I can’t even imagine. Seriously, thank you both so much.”

Matthew nodded, and David uttered a stilted, “Of course.”

Finally, Shane eased Tommy back inside the car. He stood up straight and gave Matthew and David a relieved smile.

Hope bloomed in Matthew’s chest. This might have been a fortuitous meeting. “I don’t mean to sound rude,” Matthew started, “but would you be able to give us a ride? We’re heading towards Galena, and you’re the only working car we’ve seen for miles. We’d really like to get home.”

Shane’s face fell into a guilty look. “I’m so sorry, but I’m heading in the opposite direction. I need to get back home to my wife. She’ll be worried sick. I was supposed to call her but my cell doesn’t have signal. Galena is…well, more than a couple hours out of my way, and I have less than a half-tank as it is.”

David snorted softly and gave Matthew a pointed look. Matthew ignored David and plastered on a smile. “That’s all right. I understand. My wife is worried sick about us too.”

“I feel awful. If we were heading in the same direction, I’d love to give you two a ride. For helping me. You have no idea how appreciative I am to have run into you both.”

“It’s fine,” Matthew said, allowing his smile to turn genuine when Tommy peered out the window at them, soft with sleep and rubbing his eyes awake. “Dad?” Tommy asked, his voice small. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Shane said, wiping his eyes. “We’re heading back home.”

“We aren’t seeing Uncle Cory?”

“No can do, champ. We have