The End

DECEMBER 6, 2014

Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan

“Get your asses on that bird, boys, go, go!” Gunny yelled at his Marines.

The CH-53 was waiting, ramp down and props moving. Sebastian stood in his designated stick, weighted down by his gear and his thoughts. As they boarded, the crew chief pointed for them to go directly to the front of the helicopter.

All the Marines in his squad sat down one after another without much thought, this was a normal drill for them. Sebastian turned and peered through the small window behind him. He saw one helicopter after another spread out along the flat plain with lines of Marines slowly boarding. He looked past the choppers to the mountains; he thought that he’d probably never see this place again. How strange, he thought that the US spent so much blood and treasure to help create a new democracy while theirs at home was now in peril. Looking back now it seemed like such a waste. He turned his head back around and looked at his fellow Marines all sitting on the webbing. After Gunny boarded the crew chief lifted the ramp and readied the chopper for liftoff. Like he always did, Sebastian said a ritualistic prayer. As he finished his prayer, he felt the chopper start to lift. There is nothing like flying in a chopper, the combination of the sound and smell was unique. He quickly turned around again and looked through the glass. The glare of the sun first blinded him, then as the chopper banked, the mountains came into view again. He wanted one last look at his home away from home. Facing forward he settled in for what he knew would be a long ride by tipping his helmet to cover his eyes and went to sleep.

Sebastian’s slumber was interrupted by Tomlinson tapping his arm.

“Hey corporal, we’re getting close!” Tomlinson yelled.

Sebastian sat up and looked over his shoulder out the window. All he saw was blue sky and blue water below. Then the ships came into view when the chopper banked to the right.

There below him was the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group. On board was the 11^th Marine Expeditionary Unit, who has been at sea for months now in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. His unit would be sharing quarters and the ship’s amenities with a bunch of grunts from 1^st Battalion 1^st Marine Regiment, a sister unit from Camp Pendleton.

“Let’s go, Marines, move!” Gunny hollered. Sebastian and his team of Marines stood up and walked off the chopper. They proceeded down the ship’s tarmac toward the aft of the ship. The cool ocean air felt good and helped to mask the strong smell of fuel. Sebastian also could smell the saltiness of the ocean. He loved ship life, and especially loved the port calls; unfortunately there would not be liberty anytime soon. The days of pulling into foreign ports and enjoying the local flavor were over.

Not long passed before they were led off the flight deck and into a passageway. After maneuvering through tight narrow hatches and down steep stairwells loaded with their gear, they finally reached their new home. Upon entering they could see that it hadn’t been vacant for long.

“Nice of them to clean up for us,” a Marine said sarcastically.

“Gunny, what’s up with this shit? We get left with cum-stained sheets and a head that’s totally unsat!” another Marine hollered, after exiting the head.

“Marines, I understand you’re upset, but this isn’t the Ritz. Get this place cleaned up before chow at 1700. Corporal Van Zandt, come here,” Gunny said in his loud and commanding voice.

Sebastian dropped his pack on a rack and walked up to the Gunny.

“Yes, Gunny.”

“Grab a working party of three Marines and make sure our gear that’s coming in gets down here. Once that’s done, make sure you get some chow, okay?”

“Copy that, Gunny,” Sebastian said. He turned around and walked back to his rack.

Tomlinson looked at him, “I’ll help out.”

“Thanks, go get Morris and Randall too,” Sebastian said.

As Sebastian and his working party were making their way through the maze of passageways toward the flight deck, they ran right into some unexpected commotion. A group of armed Marines were forcibly escorting some naval officers down the narrow passageway.

“Step aside, coming through!”

Sebastian and his Marines stepped back out of the way as best they could as the armed Marines quickly passed by. Sebastian noticed the officers were a high-ranking bunch. He had been in long enough now to know something was up and that he had never seen a Navy captain being escorted away by a group of enlisted Marines.

“What was that all about?” Tomlinson asked aloud.

“I don’t know, but it didn’t look good,” Sebastian responded. “Let’s get topside and see if something is going on.”

They hurried the rest of the way without further incidents, opened the hatch to the flight deck and stepped out. The bright sunlight blinded them all as they stepped over the hatch entrance onto the deck outside. There was a flurry of activity on the flight deck with more choppers coming in.

Sebastian recognized a Marine from S-4, his unit’s logistics and supply unit. He approached him and asked, “Has the gear started arriving yet for the STA platoon?”

“No gear has arrived yet, we’re just getting the last of the personnel, then the gear will follow; probably within an hour or so,” the S-4 sergeant answered him.

“Thank you.” Sebastian said and turned back to his Marines. As he was walking back, he looked up toward the super-structure and saw Barone just outside the bridge talking with another Marine. The other Marine was waving his arms around in what appeared to be anger.

Sebastian walking back to his Marines said, “Look there,” pointing toward Barone.

All the Marines turned around and looked up.

“Something doesn’t seem right, now does it?” Sebastian said.

“If I were a betting man, which I am; I would say it looks like the Colonel is getting his ass chewed,” Tomlinson said jokingly.

San Diego, CA

Gordon shot up in his bed, awakened by cries from down the hall. He tossed off the covers and got out of bed.

“What is it?” Samantha said a bit alarmed.

“I think it’s Haley. I’ll go get her; I think she’s having a nightmare,” Gordon said quietly. He cautiously walked down the darkened hallway to her room. When he got to Haley’s bedroom door, she let out another cry.

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!”

He quickly opened the door and stepped inside. “It’s okay, sweetie, Daddy’s here.”

“Daddy, Daddy,” Haley said with a terrified and sobbing voice. She was sitting up in her bed and staring into the darkness of her room.

Gordon sat down on the bed, grabbed her and brought her close. He hugged her and kissed her head. “It’s okay, sweetie, Daddy is here now. It’s okay.”

“It’s so dark,” she said still sobbing, she had lost some of her breath with all of the heavy crying.

Haley’s room had a night light before, but with no power it was completely dark.

“I know honey, but it’s okay now. Do you want to come and sleep with Mommy and Daddy?”

“Yes,” she answered. Her face was planted against Gordon’s shoulder.

Gordon could feel her wet tears on his shoulder. He patted her head and back and then whispered to her, “Daddy’s here, I will never let anything hurt you.”

Gordon stood up, still holding Haley close, and walked back to his room. He climbed back into bed with Haley clinging to him.

“Come here, honey,” Samantha said sweetly and softly to Haley.

“Momma,” Haley said reaching out to Samantha.

“She was afraid of the dark,” Gordon told Samantha.

“I figured as much,”

Gordon stood back up and was walking for the bedroom door when Samantha asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going downstairs; I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep now.”

He carefully made his way down the stairs to the kitchen. Out of habit, he attempted to turn on the kitchen light, but the reality of the event yesterday suddenly came back when the lights did not turn on. Finding his way to the couch, he sat alone in the dark and thought about the events and the future. Today would be a busy day again. Knowing he couldn’t hold out what he thought was happening; he planned on informing those in the community today. He was sure by now that most knew something was terribly wrong but many were not aware of how severe it was. Looking outside, the setting crescent moon took him back to the day he first met Samantha. Sitting back comfortably in the couch he thought about the weekend they had met. His thoughts raced back to that Friday afternoon over nine years ago.

Gordon had just gotten out of the Corps and was staying in Southern California. He had no interest in going back east. He had created a small group of friends, some in and some out of the Marine Corps. One of those friends was Nelson Williams; a firefighter in Oceanside. Gordon had met Nelson while going through a water safety qualification course back in 2002. Nelson was also an Oceanside lifeguard and an instructor for the Marine Corps’ Water Safety Course. Gordon and Nelson had hit it off right away. They were both the same age and had identical views of the world and politics. Nelson was throwing a party for Gordon and some of his fellow Marines from 3/1. It promised to be one of those parties that lasted all weekend. Nelson had two different reasons for throwing a party for Gordon. The main one was to introduce him to his girlfriend’s best friend, Samantha. Nelson’s girlfriend, Seneca, knew Gordon’s type, short, blondish hair, curves with a bit of sweet and feisty thrown in. Fortunately for Gordon, Seneca’s friend from school, Samantha, fit that description. Nelson knew they would be a match and he couldn’t have been more right.

Gordon’s thoughts were jolted back from his thoughts when he felt a touch on the shoulder.

“Oh my God, you scared me,” Gordon said with a hushed voice so as to not wake the kids.

“Are you okay? I wanted to check on you after I put Haley back to sleep.”

Gordon could see her partially illuminated by the faint moon-light coming through the door.

“I was just relaxing and thinking. Come here, sit next to me,” Gordon requested.

Samantha took a few steps and then Gordon grabbed her by the waist and swung her down onto his lap. He put his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the lips. She then rested her head against his shoulder.

“I was thinking about when we met,” Gordon said. “Remember that weekend?”

“I sure do,” she said softly. “I knew when I first saw you that we’d be married.”

“I lost all of my mojo when I saw you. I knew after our first conversation that you were a keeper, but what sealed the deal was when you saved my ass,” Gordon said with a chuckle.

“Your ass needed saving. Plus, I wasn’t going to let four guys beat up my future husband.”

Still chuckling, Gordon followed up by saying, “Nelson still mentions that fight every time we get together. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it, but I am reminded often. You have quite a right cross when you’re holding a bottle.”

“I told them to get off of you, but they didn’t listen,” Samantha said with a sweet and soft voice.

“Please remind me to always listen to you, okay?” Gordon said, hugging Samantha tighter.

“What I need to remind you of is, to stop taking on groups of people by yourself at one time.”

“Wait a minute, I didn’t take them on or start it. It all started when they wanted to kick Sebastian’s ass for flirting with one of their girlfriends. I thought I had smoothed everything over, but those college frat boys thought they had us outnumbered six-to-two. When that guy laid hands on Sebastian, all negotiations ended,” Gordon said, sounding more defensive.

“I remember, but I also remember you not liking it when they called you ‘Scarface’,” Samantha said, rubbing Gordon’s arm.

“I don’t care what people say to me. But Sebastian always gets himself into trouble. That’s not the first time I’ve gotten him out of a rough patch. He just opens his mouth and says shit he shouldn’t and it goes from there. He’s the one that starts it with people; I just usually have to finish it for him.”

“Well, that time at the beach, I think they got the upper hand.”

“I know. It irritates me still to this day that I didn’t see that guy to my right.”

“Honey, you can’t get mad, he hit you with a 2 x 4. Anybody would have dropped from that.”

“I’m just glad that you smashed him in the head with that bottle,” Gordon said, he paused for a moment then continued. “Where would I be without you? You have been taking such great care of me since then,” Gordon said, embracing her tighter.

Samantha was running her fingers through his hair and said softly, “Of course I take care of you. You’re my man and you take such good care of me and the kids. I will always have your back.”

Samantha then lifted her head and kissed him passionately on the lips.

38,000 ft over Alabama

“President? I’m President of the United States?” Conner said out loud to himself after waking from a restless sleep. He looked over at his wife’s empty cot. He wondered where she might be. So much had happened in one day to the both of them. In one day he had lost his son, hundreds of thousands of Americans were dead and his country was plunged into darkness that would last for months if not years. Over the next weeks and months, more and more Americans would die from dehydration, starvation, lack of medicine, disease and violence. He was now the one responsible for protecting those 315 million Americans. The questions started coming to him. Was he up to the task? How would he respond? How would he ever know who did this? What about further attacks? How could he stop those attacks? The questions kept pouring into his mind. The overriding question was. How can he protect the American people in such a weakened state? He knew then he must respond soon. The United States had many enemies, and they would definitely attempt to capitalize on their weakened state.

Standing up with renewed purpose he walked out of the room and down the narrow hallway to the front communications area. He needed to speak with Griswald immediately.

Opening the door to the Communications Central Area he found Griswald talking with his aide.

“Mr. President,” Griswald said standing up quickly.

“Sit down, General,” Conner said closing the door behind him. “General, what assets do we have at our disposal this minute?”

“Sir?” Griswald asked looking confused.

“The overriding question that I keep asking myself is, how can we protect the American people from further threats or from our enemies taking advantage of our current state?” Conner spoke quickly, almost in a ramble of thoughts. “General, how can we prevent our enemies, like North Korea or Iran from attacking us? We are paralyzed here. Why wouldn’t they take advantage and move on us? Why wouldn’t they attempt an invasion or work toward doing more damage? How can we rebuild with that threat hovering over us?”

“Mr. President, those are all good questions. Why don’t you take a seat and we can discuss this.”

“I don’t need to take a seat! What I need are answers!” Conner snapped.

Griswald looked surprised by Conner’s behavior. “I suggest we first gather our cabinet and conference with what military commanders we have and then sit down to analyze these threats to see what we can do and how we can move—”

“We don’t have time to gather a cabinet and analyze data!” Conner yelled.

“Excuse me, sir,” Griswald said looking a little taken aback as he relaxed more into his chair.

“General, I need a briefing in 30 minutes on what assets we have from as simple as a grunt on the ground to where our nuclear subs are located.”

“Yes, sir, I will have the information for you as best as I can, but nothing has changed with our forces since yesterday,” he then looked at his aide, who nodded.

“Just do it, General!” Conner barked.

“Yes, sir,” Griswald said.

Conner just looked at Griswald briefly then turned around and left the room just as abruptly as he had entered moments before.

Griswald looked at his aide again and said, “See what we can find out from our units around the world, do the best you can do.”

“Yes, sir,” the aide said standing up.

“One second,” Griswald said.

“Sir?”

“Does it seem like the president is a bit overwhelmed?”

“Sir?” the aide asked looking confused.

“Nothing, now go get me that information and confirm our transport once we land,” Griswald said pointing toward the door, motioning his aide to leave.

“Yes, sir,” the aide said leaving the room.

Griswald sat back in his chair. He wondered to himself what type of response they could muster with what available and operational assets they had around the world. He wasn’t sure what kind of response the president wanted when they didn’t know who attacked the country. He understood that the new president had a lot on his plate, but he also knew that what steps the United States took next must be carefully calculated.

San Diego, CA

Gordon awoke suddenly. He opened his eyes to see Haley with the remote for the TV.

“Daddy, can I watch TV?” Haley asked, looking innocent and holding the remote in front of his face.

Gordon had fallen asleep on the couch with Samantha but she was nowhere to be seen. Looking outside, he saw the grayish sky of a typical Southern California morning.

“Where’s Mommy?”

“Mommy is upstairs sleeping. TV please,” Haley said, still holding the remote in Gordon’s face.

Gordon sat up, stretched and said, “Honey, I’m sorry but the TV doesn’t work. Can I read you a book?”

“No, I want TV,” Haley said, looking disappointed.

“Honey, like I said; the TV doesn’t work,” Gordon said, looking at his determined daughter.

“Can you fix it Daddy? I want to watch Disney Junior.”

“Sweetie, if I could fix it I would,” Gordon said as he reached over and picked her up. He kissed her on the cheek and forehead, “Believe me honey, if I could fix it I would.”

“I love you, Daddy,” Haley whispered to him.

Gordon’s eyes teared up as he hugged her even tighter.

“I love you, too, sweetheart; you’re my baby girl and I’ll do anything for you. I will fix the TV, I will do what I can to fix it all, I promise you,” Gordon said hugging Haley tight as tears slowly rolled down his cheek.

“Why are you crying Daddy?”

“Because I love you so much,” Gordon replied not telling her all the reasons he was crying. He kissed her again on her head. He then said, “Run upstairs and get your three favorite books, I’ll read them to you.”

“Thanks, Daddy!” Haley said, jumping off of Gordon and running toward the stairs.

Gordon watched her as she ran. He felt like the world was on his shoulders. Today would be a big day for him and his family. He would finally reach out to his neighbors and inform them of what he thought had happened and try to start coordinating a community-wide effort for mutual survival. All of this would happen, though, after he spent a few moments of quality time with his daughter.

His thoughts were interrupted with Haley jumping into his lap. She held more than three books under her arms.

“Here, Daddy!”

“What’s this? Looks like more than three books,” Gordon asked smiling.

“Read to me, Daddy!” Haley said with excitement in her voice as she rested against his chest.

“Looks like five books.”

“Please, Daddy, read them all!”

Gordon chuckled and said, “Sure thing, honey,” he opened the first book and began to read.

USS Makin Island, Arabian Gulf

The level of activity had been at an all-time high on the ship since their arrival earlier in the morning. Some typical, but also some unusual, but these were unusual times. His unit had already settled into their new home aboard the USS Makin Island. Sebastian and his team of snipers were relaxing in the berthing area and using the break to play spades.

“Are you fucking kidding me!” Tomlinson yelled as Sebastian threw down the ace of spades and took the last trick.

“Sorry, buddy but you dealt them,” Sebastian said winking at Tomlinson as he picked up the cards.

“I dealt you like every spade in the deck. Such bullshit!”

“I think this last hand has given me the game and that 20 spot,” Sebastian said reaching over and grabbing the $20 bill next to Tomlinson.

“Want to go again?” Sebastian asked Tomlinson.

“Why not, what good is the money now anyway?”

As Sebastian was shuffling the deck of cards, the berthing area hatch opened and Gunny appeared.

“Marines, listen up!” Gunny hollered with his scratching voice.

Everyone stopped talking and all eyes focused on Gunny.

“Marines, we have a ship-wide formation on the flight deck in 15 minutes. Get your asses squared away now, be up there in 10, do you hear me?” Gunny yelled.

Various Marines acknowledged by yelling back, “Yes, Gunny!”

The snipers began collecting themselves and putting on their blouses and boots.

“I wonder what’s up now?” Tomlinson asked out loud.

“There’s going to be a lot of these, I suspect, so get used to it,” Sebastian replied back. He put on his blouse and grabbed his cover from his rack.

When Sebastian and Tomlinson walked through the hatch they ran into a line of Marines trying to go up the ladder well. They waited a few moments and lost their patience.

“Fuck this, follow me,” Sebastian said.

Tomlinson followed Sebastian down the narrow and busy passageways. They came to a closed hatch and opened it, but were quickly stopped by an armed Marine on the other side.

“Off limits.” the Marine commanded.

“Off limits?” Sebastian asked.

“You heard me, corporal, this passageway is closed off,” the Marine said.

“Come on, sergeant, let us cut through here so we can get to the formation, all we need to do is go up that ladder well right there,” Sebastian said pointing over the Marine’s shoulder at a ladder well just a few feet away.

“No, corporal, this is off limits. I suggest you turn around and find another way.”

“Come on, Sergeant … Devonshire,” Sebastian said pausing to look at the name badge on his chest.

Sebastian then heard some loud commotion down the passage and saw two Marines wrestle another Marine to the ground. A third Marine, an officer, entered from an adjacent hatch near the fight and helped the two Marines. The officer then looked down toward Sebastian and yelled, “Sergeant, shut that fucking hatch now! This area is secure and off limits!”

“Sorry, corporal,” Devonshire said, quickly closing the hatch in Sebastian’s face.

Sebastian turned to Tomlinson and said nothing. They both stared at each other for a moment and then Tomlinson said, “What the fuck is going on?”

“I don’t know, but let’s get topside,” Sebastian said.

When they both finally reached the flight deck their platoon was already formed up, as were thousands of other Marines and sailors. They quickly ran over to their platoon and got in the last row. Gunny Smith turned to them and just leered.

“Marines and sailors of the USS Makin Island, attention!” Master Sgt. Simpson yelled and turned around. Barone approached the master sergeant and returned his salute. Simpson stepped to the right and marched off.

“At ease!” Barone yelled. “You all know we are living in unprecedented times. Our country has suffered an attack that has brought it to its knees; our families have suffered and are suffering right now. Many thousands have already died. We have lost our entire federal government to an attack on our capital. The president and vice president are dead. There is a new president; Speaker of the House Conner was sworn in just hours ago. We still do not know who committed this attack but we do know that they also succeeded in Europe and over China. We have learned that there was an attempt over Australia but our Australian brothers stopped it. With many of our allies down and our enemies still out there, we have been ordered to go back east to assist in the search and rescue efforts while our families suffer at home without our care. Since yesterday, I have been approached by many platoon commanders expressing your concerns, specifically your concerns for your families wherever they may be. I am here now holding this formation to inform you there have been some changes to our mission again,” Barone paused and looked around at all the Marines and sailors before him. He looked down at his boots and then looked back up and continued.

“We are not going to the East Coast; we are going back to California! I stand here before you, letting you all know that I have listened to your concerns; I heard you! We are going to go home to take care of our families!”

Many Marines and sailors started yelling their approval to what they were hearing.

Barone raised his arms and yelled, “At ease, at ease!”

The hoots and “Ooh rahs” stopped after a few moments with the assistance of platoon commanders yelling for everyone to be quiet.

Once the quiet returned, Barone continued, “This change in mission does come at a price. I started this formation by telling you that we are living in unprecedented times and unprecedented times sometimes require unprecedented actions! Sometimes we must look at what is happening around us and make decisions that at first may seem incorrect but are really the correct decisions. I have made a decision that may not seem to some of you as correct, but which I know is the right one. I have made this decision and I am willing to suffer the consequences of it. I am now going to ask you, not tell you; what you need to do. I am not ordering you to make the same choice I made, I am asking you to come with me.”

Many of the Marines and sailors were looking around. Whispers and murmuring could be heard everywhere. Marines and sailors were accustomed to taking orders, now they were being given the ability to choose.

“I have secured command of this ARG; I have arrested those commanding officers who would not join me in our new mission. To some, I am committing mutiny! But in my heart I know what I am doing is right for our families regardless of what they call it.”

The sound of talking and murmuring grew louder as the shock of what Barone was saying began to sink in.

“I have heard your needs and desires, I have turned us around and we are heading for San Diego! Those of you in formation who wish to join me and go back to California so you may be with your families and protect them from the dark days ahead will be rewarded. If your family is not there but you wish to join us on the trip there you are welcome. If you do not wish to continue with us once we make landfall, you may depart then with no questions asked. Now, if you do not wish to join us at all then we will drop you off on Diego Garcia.”

Barone took another pause and looked around.

“I feel it is important that in order for me to lead you on this new mission I should explain how I came to this decision. I have been a Marine for 18 years. I love the Marine Corps. I love my country and I love my Marines and their families. I cannot in good conscience lead us to the East Coast to clean up something that I feel is a total loss. I cannot lead you knowing that your families are at risk. Our federal government is gone; those authorities back in California are also gone. Without power and equipment our families are being left to fend for themselves. Our mission back east is to dig up dead bodies. By the time we make it back home we would be doing the same thing, but those bodies would be of our families and friends. This is why I have done this. I ask you to join me on this new mission. It will not be easy, and we will be alone, but I do not see our country being the same again. I have given you the new mission; I am giving you the choice to join me. We are now living in a new world. Who out there will join me?”

Thousands of Marines and sailors yelled in unison, “Me, sir!”

“Who will join me?” Barone repeated even louder.

“Me, sir!”

Sebastian just stood there stunned and confused; he liked what he heard from Barone but he also felt that by joining him he’d be turning his back on his country. He then thought of Gordon, Samantha and the kids. When the colonel again yelled, “Who will join me?” Sebastian raised his right arm and yelled, “Me, sir!”

Dade County, FL

Conner could hear all the activity outside on the tarmac. Their landing had gone smoothly; in fact everything seemed to be moving too smoothly. While they waited for the convoy that would take him to meet his new vice president, Conner and Griswald were just finishing up a briefing.

“General, thank you for putting this all together so quickly,” Conner said.

“Mr. President, you’re welcome. I hope this has helped you understand how we sit and what options you have when you make the decision to respond. What are your thoughts on a response?” Griswald asked.

“General, I think it’s important to respond very soon. I believe we can’t wait too long. When I spoke with the Australian prime minister, they hadn’t gotten much of anything from the individuals they had captured on that container ship. The main concern I have is that whoever committed this might attack us again, and soon. I also don’t believe this was a rogue group. I believe it was orchestrated by a nation state. What we do know is that these attacks only targeted us and our allies, yes China and Russia were also affected but you know who wasn’t? South America, Africa and the Middle East were not attacked. I don’t think that was accidental. I feel whoever committed this came from there or was supported by a country in that area.”

“Sir, I would agree with you that more than likely a nation state like Iran or Pakistan was behind this.”

“I wanted to bring this up earlier but you didn’t mention our nuclear forces.”

“Our nuclear forces?”

“Yes, general; I believe the only acceptable response would be to respond with a nuclear attack. We do not have the time or the resources financially to commit air or ground forces. I say we nuke the bastards and move on!”

“Mr. President, while I agree we should respond with the same force. I have to ask, who do we use them against? We don’t know who attacked us.”

“That, general, is the question, and one we may not be able to answer anytime soon, if ever. I ask you this: How can we even think of rebuilding if we might be attacked again? What we do know is there are many countries that do not like us. Many have worked against us before; they have supported terrorist organizations openly and have wanted our demise. If they didn’t directly take part in this, haven’t they indirectly supported it?”

“Mr. President, are you suggesting that we nuke them all?”

Conner sat there for a brief second looking at Griswald. There was an odd silence in the room. The air was thick with tension. All eyes were on the president, waiting for him to respond to Griswald’s question.

“Yes, general, I am suggesting we nuke them all! We have to assign blame and make it happen. Our countrymen would demand an immediate response.”

“Mr. President, do you know what you are asking? By unleashing our nuclear arsenal we will kill millions of innocents.”

“Are there innocents anymore? What about those innocents in our country? What about them? We can’t invade these countries and spend years attempting to seize them. We need to neutralize this threat once and for all. And that is by killing all of them!”

“I understand you are upset, Mr. President, but maybe a more measured response like airstrikes or cruise missiles.”

“There cannot be a measured response; we must once and for all destroy our enemies. Here is what I want now. What would it take to destroy our enemies in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, North Korea, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia?”

“All of those countries? You want to attack all of those countries with our nuclear forces?”

“I want to look at our options, General.”

“Mr. President, I am concerned about this approach.”

“I respect your concern, but please get me the information as soon as you can,” Conner just looked at Griswald then continued by pivoting the conversation, “Have you secured transport for me to go meet Governor Cruz?”

“I believe so,”

“Great, thank you. I want to leave in 20 minutes,” Conner said standing up. “I hope to return with Governor Cruz and his family. From here, we’ll go to Colorado. Thank you again,” Conner finished and left the room.

Griswald stood up and watched Conner leave. After he left, Griswald turned to General Houston the commanding officer from Homestead Air Force Base, and said, “Are you as concerned as I am?”

“Gris, look, our country has been hurt badly, I agree with the president. We have to have a firm and prompt response. Waiting only invites further attacks.” Houston said with his southern drawl.

Interrupting him, Griswald fired back with anger, “What will the world think of us if we wipe each one of those countries off the map? There has to be another way.”

“As I see it, we should get all of our troops who are left overseas back here to help support getting this country back on its feet. The world is a different place now; I don’t know when it will recover. We have a chance now to take out once and for all those countries that dislike us and seek to do us harm. We have the legitimacy for this attack based upon what has happened here.”

Griswald, looking frustrated and angry stood up from his chair and pushed it back hard against the wall. He paced back and forth and then responded to General Houston’s comment, “General, with all due respect. That is a piss-poor reason to kill millions of innocent people. While I somewhat agree in the use of our nuclear forces against those who actually perpetrated this act, we must determine with confidence who actually did it! We cannot and must not kill millions of people out of the excuse that we have been attacked and we do not get along with those people!”

“Well Gris, at the end of the day, it’s not your decision; it’s the president’s.”

Griswald just looked at Houston with a blank stare. He then looked at the map on the table and said, “You’re right Houston; those decisions are always left to whoever is the commander and chief.”

Houston cocked his head a bit, not sure of the tone in Griswald’s comment.

Griswald then continued by saying, “Let’s go make sure the convoy is ready to take President Conner.” He immediately left the room followed by his aide and other officers who were in the room for the briefing.

Houston, still sitting in his chair, leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. Placing his head in his hands, he took a long sigh and said, “May God save us all.”

San Diego, CA

Gordon’s senses were alive with the sounds, smells and feel of nature unfettered by what had happened to mankind. The birds were still chirping, the wind still had that cool ocean feel to it, the sun’s warmth was still there along with the smell of sage that permeated the air. What was missing was the daily hum of traffic, the loud lawnmowers or leaf blowers. Those sounds were replaced by the sound of people walking, talking and kids playing in the street. Many people now spent time outside their homes; no longer were they able to hide inside with their TVs, computers and other electrical devices. Electricity created the modern world and had given people many luxuries but it had also divided and made them a people who only interacted online. There was peacefulness about it all that Gordon liked.

He knew it would not last, he knew eventually people would start to tear at each other for what few resources were left. He had returned from another successful trip to a grocery store. Their cache of food and supplies were now enough to keep his and Jimmy’s family alive for about a year. Upon their return, he stopped by each house in the neighborhood and dropped off handwritten notes. The note asked everyone to meet in the central park later in the day. He was now en route to go meet with Mindy Swanson, the HOA president. He wanted to sit down with her to explain his theory and present his solutions to confront the problem. Gordon knew that for long-term survival the neighborhood needed to come together so they could coordinate efforts to collect food, water, fuel, medicine and other items. Pooling the talents of his neighbors was critical to his plan.

Standing nervously in front of Mindy’s door, he took a deep breath and knocked. He had known Mindy for three years. They had met within a week of their moving into the neighborhood but he never really got to know her except for her reputation as a tough as nails person. She usually got what she wanted and was someone who wasn’t afraid of speaking her mind. They initially had a cordial relationship, but had a falling out 18 months ago because of his response to a rash of break-ins in the neighborhood. Even though Rancho Valentino was gated, thieves had managed to gain access and break into homes. He had written a letter to Mindy and the board recommending some action be taken. With no response, he went to the next board meeting and laid out his recommendations. All at the meeting expressed support for his plan but decided not to approve it because of how it might look. This angered him; they were more concerned with appearances than results. Instead, they opted for an approach of posting signs and creating an open channel of communication with police. He argued that wouldn’t stop the break-ins; unfortunately, he was correct. Within days of the signs being posted two more homes were broken into. Taking it upon himself he conducted foot patrols. One night, he managed to catch those responsible. What he thought would be praise from Mindy and the board turned out to be condemnation and ridicule. She expressed openly at the next meeting and through a letter to all homeowners that she and the board did not appreciate or condone what they called his “vigilante” behavior. Gordon never forgave Mindy for the way she treated him. The entire incident split the community and created an atmosphere of mistrust that still existed.

The door opened and there stood Mindy. She was in her early 40s, average height, slender with shoulder-length black hair.

“Gordon, hi?” she said looking surprised to see him.

“Hi, Mindy, I want to talk to you about the blackout,” Gordon said trying to be very professional. “Is now a good time?”

“Sure, come on in,” she answered, opening the door fully.

Gordon walked in and stood just inside the foyer.

“Let’s go into the living room. Can I get you water or something else to drink? Not cold, of course.”

“Water would be great.”

Gordon walked over to the couch and sat down. She came over with a warm bottle of water and handed it to him.

“Thank you.”

Mindy took a seat in the leather chair across from him and asked, “So, how is your family?”

“They’re fine, thanks; listen I’d like to cut straight to the situation, if you don’t mind,” he said as he sat up on the edge of the couch and put the water on the table next to him.

Mindy’s body language signaled that Gordon made her uncomfortable.

Nodding, she said, “Sure, go for it.”

“Mindy, what we are experiencing now, this blackout; is not a normal blackout. I’m sure you have now heard the rumors of an attack. What I wanted to share with you is that I think I know what happened. I believe we have been attacked with some type of electromagnetic pulse weapon; it’s the only type of weapon that can cause this type of blackout. We’ve had blackouts before, but now our cars don’t work, cell phones don’t work, nothing electronic seems to work at all. What could have caused this are two things: a major coronal mass ejection from the sun or an EMP detonation. I am guessing we would have been warned about the CME so the EMP makes more sense,” Gordon said. He was speaking quickly, and Mindy was trying to take it all in.

“Wait a minute; what you’re guessing is that we’ve been attacked with some type of magnetic weapon? This is why nothing works?”

“Yes, we have been attacked by a nuclear weapon that was blown up somewhere in the high atmosphere.”

Not letting Gordon finish, Mindy yelled out, “Gerald! Gerald! Come down here now!” Gerald was Mindy’s husband; he was a lanky tall man in his mid-50s. He was a very successful financial analyst in Rancho Santa Fe.

“Gordon, if you could wait a minute, I want Gerald to hear this.”

“Sure, no problem,” Gordon reached over and grabbed his water.

Gerald walked into the room and approached Gordon with his hand outstretched. Gordon stood and shook his hand firmly.

“Good to see you, Gordon,” Gerald said.

“Nice to see you, too,”

“Gerald, please take a seat. I’ll just quickly tell you that Gordon has stopped by to give us his opinion on what he thinks is going on with this blackout,” Mindy said to Gerald.

“Oh, really?” Gerald said looking over at Gordon then taking a seat in the other leather chair next to Mindy, “What do you think is going on, Gordon?”

“I have been explaining to Mindy that this is not a normal blackout. My experience and training coupled with what has happened leads me to believe this situation has all the trademarks of an EMP bomb.”

“EMP?” Gerald asked.

“Sorry, electromagnetic pulse. Essentially, someone has detonated a nuclear bomb high in our atmosphere. The resulting effect fries everything electrical. What I don’t know is if this is more local, regional or nationwide.”

“What does all this mean?” Gerald asked, looking very interested.

“That is a good question. If this is widespread, then we must come together as a community and work toward securing as much food, water, medicine and other resources as we need to survive.” Leaning forward toward Gerald, Gordon looked intense and finished by saying. “Gerald, what you do for a living is now over for as long as the lights are out and with all power out across the area our focus has to be getting and stocking up on the items I mentioned. I feel it is important that we move now, not tomorrow, this is why I have had flyers circulated across the neighborhood today calling everyone to come meet in the central park this afternoon.”

“Why didn’t you come to us first before taking it upon yourself to circulate a community meeting?” Mindy asked looking a bit put out.

Gordon looked at Mindy and said, “Mindy, please don’t take offense but I thought I needed to act, I feel this is a life-changing event and we must act now. I am not trying to step on anyone’s toes here.”

“I am the HOA president and I feel it’s important that I was informed before you decided to organize a community meeting. What if you’re wrong? By having a meeting and announcing to our friends and neighbors your theory you could start a panic,” Mindy said in a scolding way.

“Mindy, please stop, just stop. This isn’t necessary,” Gerald pleaded.

“No, Gerald, I won’t. I am the head of this HOA and I feel it is important that we should have vetted his theory before we just jump to conclusions,” Mindy continued.

“Gordon, I appreciate your theory, but we should wait a few more days to make confirmation of it before we make any announcements and plans within our community,” Mindy said firmly.

“Sorry, Mindy, I will not stop my meeting, I have the right to talk to whomever, those who decide to come to my meeting, I will give them the truth. This is not some average situation. We do not have the luxury of waiting a few days. There are only a few days of food to go around in grocery stores as it is, and that counts the perishable foods. If this community is to survive ‘til help comes, we must act now. I will not wait for you. I thought it prudent and respectful to come to you, but I can see that you still hold a grudge after the last incident. I’m not here to usurp what power position you think you have; I am here to ensure that as many people survive what is coming!” Gordon said, he was clearly disturbed by Mindy’s attitude. He stood up and continued to speak, “You can join us at 3 p.m. in the central park. I’ll announce to whoever shows up what I know is going on. Then I’ll begin to organize efforts for our collective survival. You’re more than welcome to come and participate but if you don’t that’s fine too.”

“Gordon, wait,” Gerald insisted, he looked at Mindy and shrugged his shoulders.

Mindy just sat; she was tapping her fingers on her crossed legs. Her anger was just hiding behind her pursed lips. She let out a deep sigh and said, “Gordon, I like you; I do. I just think that you approach things differently than most people. You’re kind of a bull in a china shop. I prefer the way of careful and diligent thought versus shoot from the hip decision making; however, I would agree that something is different with this particular situation and I will come to this meeting. I will trust your instincts on this one and only hope that you are not right for all of our sakes.”

“Thank you, your support will be helpful. With that said, then should we go over what I propose?”

“Sure,” Mindy said, nodding her approval.

Gordon sat back down and pulled a pad of paper out of his backpack.

“I have drawn up a plan for us to work from, and I made you a copy,” he said handing her a second pad of paper.

She took the pad and reviewed them, “Well, based on what you have here, I would have to say this is a serious situation,” She handed the pad to Gerald, who looked it over and handed it back to Mindy.

“Look at page 2, item 7.”

“Thank you, Gerald, yes I saw that. So Gordon, looking at this, it appears you are recommending we become, essentially our own town?”

“Yes and no. We have 324 homes in our neighborhood. Without most vehicles and specifically without support from anyone we have to tackle all the responsibilities that a town must….”

Interrupting him, “Like having a sheriff?”

“Yes, I just used that for lack of a better word, but we will need a sheriff, militia or security force to protect what we have.”

“And who do you recommend for that position?” Mindy asked, with a rhetorical tone.

“Without knowing everyone else in the community and their specific talents, I would volunteer myself for that position.”

With a slight grin, Mindy said, “Of course.”

“Mindy, if that’s a problem then we can hold an election and see who our neighbors think would be best suited. Listen, I’m not here to gain position, all I want to do is survive this.”

“Gordon, let me contact the other board members; have a quick meeting. We will all be at the 3 p.m. gathering today. Okay?” Mindy stood up and Gordon followed. She walked up to Gordon and put out her hand, “Thank you for informing us of what you think is going on.”

Gordon took her hand, “You’re welcome. I’ll just show myself out.” He turned and left. After closing the door, he murmured, “What a bitch.” As he walked off, he thought to himself how clueless and insecure some people were. He looked around the neighborhood and everything looked normal per se, but it would change and change soon. He hoped he was wrong, he longed for his theory to be completely wrong, but knew he was right. He thought that for too long many Americans had taken everything for granted and assumed life would continue on uninterrupted. But history shows that it doesn’t; all throughout time civilizations have risen and fallen, and now this could be the end of the American Dream.

USS Makin Island

Sebastian stood on the railing of the USS Makin Island and looked at the white heads of the waves of the Indian Ocean. The cool breeze felt good on his face in contrast to the warmth of the waning sun. He looked across and saw the USS New Orleans just in the distance; the entire ARG was now heading in a southerly direction toward Diego Garcia. After the stunning announcement at the formation earlier, Gunny had collected his entire platoon in the berthing area to see what each Marine felt about their new mission. The decision was unanimous; all were in support of it and wanted nothing more than to get back to California. There were rumors of a few Marines and sailors being taken into custody because they disagreed. This was done as a procedural maneuver to prevent any type of conflict. Sebastian felt good that the decision-making of possibly leaving was taken away from him. No one knew what the future held, but when you’re in the Marines there never is a guarantee of anything.

The hatch behind Sebastian opened and Tomlinson stepped out. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his blouse pocket, lit one and leaned on the railing next to Sebastian.

“This is all really somethin’ isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yes, it is. I agree with Barone, we have to get home. We have to take care of our own, period,” Sebastian said.

“I’m nervous about my family back east, but I guess there wasn’t much I could have done even if we went to the East Coast.”

“At least your girl will be fine,” Sebastian said, turning to look at Tomlinson.

“How do you think we’ll be able to get into Diego Garcia without causing a problem?”

“I don’t know,” he said looking up at the bridge of the ship. “But I bet they have a plan.”

“Major Ashley, how are things proceeding?” Barone asked his young executive officer. Major Ashley was a handsome man with light brown hair. He stood 6 feet tall and was chiseled. He graduated Quantico top of his class, and went through the ranks very fast due to his superior intelligence and political prowess.

“Sir, 2/4’s company commanders are reporting that we have 17 Marines who are not in agreement with our new mission. Those Marines have been taken in custody.”

“Captain, what about 1/1?” Barone asked turning to Captain Tetter, who was 1^st Battalion 1^st Marines liaison on the Makin Island. He was as wide as he was tall. He was the kind of guy you’d find in the gym twice a day, but with his shaved head not one you’d want to meet in a dark alley.

“Sir, we have 38 Marines. I believe that is because you are the one taking control.”

“Do you have any recommendations?” Barone asked

“Yes, sir. I do. You need to have a joint formation with Lt. Col. Silver and show that there is solidarity between both battalion commanders.”

“Okay, let’s do that immediately. I won’t have a formation but a joint announcement and have us both speak about the new mission. Please make it happen when you get back to the New Orleans.”

“Yes, sir,” Tetter said.

Looking to the lone naval officer in the room, Barone asked, “How is the Navy looking?”

“Not good, sir, we’ve lost about 20% of our personnel across all ships. We’ve had some altercations and it might inhibit our abilities to operate the ARG effectively,” Navy Lt. Montgomery said. Montgomery was of average height with sandy blond hair. Not of impressive stature, he made up for it with his cockiness and straightforward style.

Barone had been pacing the room for the entire briefing. He finally walked to his chair and sat down. He turned to Montgomery and asked, “What are your suggestions?”

“Sir, I don’t know, many of the men feel like you have taken their ships. The talk is that these are Navy ships and the Marines have stolen them. We also have the issue that not everyone has family in California. Some actually had family back east.”

“I realize that not everyone has families in California, but many do. I can’t make everyone happy. Going to California is the best plan. Like I said, once we land, if anyone wants to go on their own they can. We will give them a weapon and some supplies. I think we should also offer an incentive. All men in the end have something they want, everyone can be bought. In my announcement with Silver I will announce that all those who join us will receive bonuses”

“Bonuses?” Montgomery asked.

“Yes, we need to incentivize them. At the moment we cannot offer pay. But soon we will have things of value.”

“What will that be, sir?”

“Gold and land,” Barone said.

“Really?”

“Yes, that will be our plan for payment for their loyalty. We will find gold and we have land back at Camp Pendleton that we will give to those who join our cause. We will give each a house and an acre of land.”

“How the hell can we do that?” Montgomery asked.

“Mr. Montgomery, we can do anything we want right now, we are Marines and we have 3,000-plus well-armed fighting men who want to get home and want to know they will be taken care of. We will figure out the land issue later and the gold will come.”

All men at the table were looking at one another.

Ashley asked, “Sir, what is our objective in going to Diego Garcia? I have to assume it’s more than just dropping off those who do not support us. It’s a risky operation, you must know that.”

“Gentlemen, in order for any army or navy to operate we must have food, water, fuel and supplies. Diego Garcia has all of them, plus the 2^nd Squadron of MPS ships are there. We need those ships and we will take those ships.”

All the men in the room nodded.

“Smart move, sir,” Maj. Ashley said, still nodding.

“From there we’ll head back north and cut through the Straits of Mallaca toward the western Pacific.”

“Will we stop in Hawaii, sir?”

“Not a chance. That would be a bad move. By then the word will be out that we have mutinied. I don’t want to engage in combat operations against fellow Americans. That’s something I wish to avoid at all costs. All I want is to go back home, defend our families and help rebuild.”

“So then the plan is after we hit Diego Garcia is to head non-stop for San Diego.”

“Correct. That is the plan, but as usual plans can change and we need to be flexible,” Barone looked around the table and asked, “Is that all, gentlemen?”

“Sir, what are we calling this mission?” asked Ashley.

Barone sat for a second then responded, “We will call it Operation Homestead.”

Dade County, FL

Conner could see why so many people moved and retired in Florida. The weather was perfect, it was December and the temperature was in the mid-70s. The convoy of Jeeps pulled up to the front gate of Gov. Cruz’s house. Conner jumped out of the Jeep and walked up to the gate. He was met by two guards.

“May we help you, sir?” one of the guards asked.

“Yes you can, I need to speak to Gov. Cruz immediately,” Conner said standing there alone with his convoy behind him.

“Sir, may I ask who wishes to see him?” the guard asked looking over Conner’s shoulder at the small convoy of Jeeps with armed soldiers and plain clothes men accompanying this stranger.

“Tell him it’s Brad Conner and that it’s a matter of national security.”

“One minute, sir,” the guard said. He backed away from the gate and approached his colleague. They whispered to each other before one of them started to walk briskly back toward the house.

Dylan stepped forward and handed Conner a binder and said, “Mr. President, what else should I bring with us for the meeting?”

“Nothing, Dylan, I won’t need anything and I’ll go by myself. This needs to be a private meeting. I’ve known Andrew since college and the best way to get through to him is to have us talk privately.”

“Yes, sir,” Dylan responded and walked away from Conner.

Conner walked back and forth in front of the gate, thinking about what he would say to Andrew. They had met each other in graduate school at the University of Iowa. They both were pursuing their master’s degrees in American history. They both instantly clicked and spent a lot of time together. Not only did they share the same views on politics, they shared the same interest in sports and good beer. After grad school, they both found themselves successfully entering politics, with Andrew ascending to the governor’s office for two terms in Florida. Andrew had been term-limited out of office and had since been spending his time writing his memoirs. If he could convince Andrew to become his VP, he would have a trusted ally and friend to help lead and rebuild the country.

Conner’s thoughts were interrupted with seeing Andrew walking down the driveway along with one of the guards.

Andrew Cruz was the same age as Brad Conner, in fact they were only months apart. Andrew was of average height and very slender. While Brad did not take good care of himself physically, Andrew made running a daily part of his lifestyle. His hair was black and full, his eyes brown and his skin an olive tone which hearkened back to his Cuban ancestry.

“Open the gate,” Andrew ordered.

Both guards manually opened the gate and Andrew stepped through and gave Conner a big hug.

“When my guard told me that you were at my front gate, I was who? Brad, what are you doing here? What’s going on?” Andrew asked after embracing his old friend.

“Andrew it’s good seeing you, especially with all that’s happening. Can we go somewhere private and talk?”

“Absolutely, follow me,” Andrew said motioning Conner to follow him inside the gate.

“So how is the family, Brad?”

“Not good; my son Bobby is dead.”

Andrew stopped walking and responded to the shocking news, “What? Oh my God Brad, I’m so sorry. How did it happen?

Conner had also stopped; he was looking down at the ground. The loss of his son was visible on his face when he looked up. He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice cracked.

“Brad, come over here, sit down,” Andrew motioned to a bench in a garden.

“No, not necessary,” Conner said forcing the words to come out. He cleared his throat and said, “Andrew, there’s been a couple of major attacks against the United States.”

“Yes, I had been watching the news until all the power went out yesterday.”

“No, Andrew not those small car bombings or mall shootings; someone has detonated an EMP bomb over the US. They also detonated a nuclear weapon in Washington, D.C.,” Conner said, his face now clear of the pain from his son’s death.

“What?” Andrew asked with shock on his face.

“The president, vice president and all of Congress is gone. We have not been able to get on the ground in D.C. to get a confirmed report, but our aerial photos show the city leveled. If someone has survived, they’d be lucky.”

Andrew was in total shock. He walked away from Conner to the bench he had pointed at earlier and sat down.

“Andrew, I’m here because I am now the new president and I need a vice president, I need someone I can trust, someone who thinks like I do but also has a good head on their shoulders. I need you right now. Your country needs you right now. We need to get this country back up.”

“Brad, this is unbelievable. So the lights are out because of the EMP burst?”

“Yes, it appears to have been a super-EMP, because its effect is continent wide. It’s really bad, Andrew, the entire power grid across the country is down, and whoever did this to us, also attacked Europe and Asia. Australia managed to thwart the attack.”

“Brad, I’m in shock. I don’t know what to say right now,” Andrew said, looking flabbergasted.

“Andrew, say yes. I need you. We don’t have much time. I need your counsel as I need to make a crucial decision very soon. We must respond! I have a plan, but I want to run everything by you. I also need to create a line of succession if I die. I wouldn’t want anyone else to succeed me but you.”

“Brad…I,” Andrew said and then paused. He then stood up and put out his hand. Conner grabbed it and shook it firmly. “I’m with you, what do we need to do?”

“You need to go inform your wife, gather your family and everything you’ll need to bring with you. I don’t know when we’ll ever come back here. From here we fly to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. Can you get everything done in an hour or so?”

“An hour? I don’t see why not,” Andrew said and stepped away. He then stopped and turned and said, “Brad, we can fix this together, thank you for allowing me to serve my country.”

“Andrew, I wouldn’t have called on anyone else.”

San Diego, CA

Gordon looked at his watch; it was 3:10 p.m. and only about 150 people had gathered so far. He was willing to wait a bit longer but he couldn’t believe people wouldn’t come, when the announcement was clear that it was an emergency community meeting.

Jimmy walked up and patted Gordon on the shoulder. Looking out on the crowd of his fellow neighbors chatting and kids playing, he asked, “Where’s everyone?”

Looking perturbed, Gordon said, “I don’t know; but I do know that I can’t wait for everyone, and someone that is also notably late is Mindy and her cohorts.”

“Hey, that was a good haul we had this morning, good job on getting in through the shipping doors. I have to say I’ve only seen people shoot locks on doors in movies, now I know you can really do it,” Jimmy said. He was in a good mood. The past day and half had made him feel alive in a way. He was enjoying the adventure of it all.

“How’s Simone doing?”

“She’s good, man, no worries; thanks for asking.”

“Glad to hear it,” Gordon said. He then looked at his watch again and saw that it was now 3:14 p.m. “I’m going to start. Screw Mindy and her bullshit.”

“Hey, bud, her timing is impeccable, over there,” Jimmy said pointing to the far corner of the park. “Here she comes with her entourage.”

Gordon saw her leading a group of people, as they came into focus he could see the board members following her.

Mindy walked up to Gordon and said, “Hi, Gordon, sorry we were late but the meeting lasted longer than we had expected.” She looked around at the group gathered and then finished her thought by saying, “Thank you for waiting for us,” She then turned away from Gordon and spoke loudly, “Neighbors and friends of Rancho Valentino, thank you for coming to this emergency meeting!”

Everyone in the group started to quiet down and all turned their attention on Mindy.

“I need everyone to listen, so please pay attention!” Mindy said.

The last murmurs and chatter stopped after a brief moment.

“Friends and neighbors, we have called this emergency meeting to inform you of some troubling news. This blackout we are experiencing is not normal and unfortunately may not end anytime soon. With that in mind, we feel it is important to look inward and work together as a community to confront this problem. We do not know when the power will come back on, but it might be weeks if not months. Without power and more importantly without operational cars, the access to those things we need like food, water and medicine will be restricted. Your HOA board feels we need to come together now and work to limit our exposure to this issue.”

All eyes were on Mindy, including Gordon’s. Gordon was just amazed by Mindy; he didn’t understand why she never pursued real politics.

“We are working on a final plan and will present that to each homeowner very soon. What we recommend is to conserve water and to ensure you eat those foods that are perishable first. If any of you have any questions, please ask them.”

A gentleman in the crowd raised his hand.

“Yes, go ahead,” Mindy said pointing at him.

“Mindy, what do you know about this, you seem to know more?”

Mindy paused and looked around at the board; she then turned and looked at Gordon.

Someone else then shouted from the crowd, “Tell us what you know!” Then someone else yelled, “If you know something, tell us!”

Mindy looked back toward the crowd and then to the man who had asked the first question. “Ahh, yes, well, we have a theory, or I should say that Mr. Van Zandt has a theory about what might have happened. We, meaning the board, are not sure about this theory, but felt it prudent to act because this blackout is unique,” Mindy looked nervous and out of sorts.

Someone from the crowd yelled, “What is it? What is this theory?” then another person yelled, “C’mon, we have a right to know!”

Mindy, looking more uncomfortable, turned back to Gordon and waved for him to approach. She then turned back to the crowd and said, “Mr. Van Zandt will tell you his theory.”

Gordon walked up and looked at Mindy, who backed up a step. Gordon turned and began to address the crowd.

“Friends and neighbors, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this blackout we are experiencing is not going to end anytime soon. Based upon the facts, nothing more; I believe we have been attacked with some type of electromagnetic pulse weapon or EMP. What an EMP weapon does is fries everything that is electrical. This is why our cars don’t work or our phones or anything that we have that is electrical even if it was on batteries. I know my neighbor, James, James are you out there?” Gordon asked peering into the crowd looking for his elderly neighbor.

“Here, Gordon!” James responded from the back of the group.

“Yes, James there has heard the emergency broadcast system on his radio announcing that we have been attacked,” Gordon paused for a few seconds then continued. “An EMP is a very destructive weapon, depending on where it was set off and how large of a weapon it was, this blackout could be local, regional or even nationwide.”

Dozens of people in the crowd started talking among themselves. The chatter became louder and louder.

Gordon continued, “I approached Mindy late this morning and informed her of my theory and presented her with a plan to survive this.”

“Survive?” someone yelled from the crowd.

Looking very serious, Gordon yelled back, “Yes, survive! People, let me explain. There is no help coming anytime soon; if my guess is right we are on our own. We must act now to secure as much food, water and other supplies as we can to get through this. If this attack was nationwide, the lights will not come on for possibly years. Let me just lay it out to you. We live in a city of about 2.3 million people. San Diego is a semi-arid desert; there is not a lot of agriculture around, at least not enough to support 2.3 million people for a sustained period of time. Right now, grocery stores are not being restocked; they have but a day or two of food in them. Water will soon dry up because the pumps that bring it in are down. We must act now to get as much of the supplies we will need to last us at least a year if not more. We should prepare ourselves for the fact that some of us will die.”

“Gordon, that is enough, now you’re just scaring them!” Mindy snapped at him.

Gordon ignored her and continued, “There is not enough food and water for 2.3 million people in this area. If you want to survive what is coming, we must start today to go out and get these supplies. We cannot wait for the board to come back in a few days.”

“Gordon, that is enough!” Mindy snapped again, this time walking up to Gordon and taking his arm forcefully.

Gordon looked at her and said, “Let go of my arm.”

Mindy looked out into the crowd and said, “I am sorry for Mr. Van Zandt, we on the board feel he is being a bit sensational and we must think clearly before we overreact.”

“Let him speak!” someone yelled from the group. “What about my husband?” someone else yelled. “He hasn’t come home yet from downtown.”

Gordon shrugged off Mindy’s grip and answered the woman who asked about her husband. “Your husband is probably fine; it just takes a while to walk here from downtown. Friends and neighbors, I am not overreacting, this situation is not normal. Who out there happened to see that commercial airliner fall from the sky yesterday?”

About a dozen hands raised.

Gordon, sensing he had an upper hand with the group, pressed his case further.

“You’re right, that is not normal; typical blackouts do not cause cars to just stop working, cell phones not to turn on or planes to fall out of the sky! I know this is hard for everyone to deal with, but our life, the life we knew before is over. The jobs you had before, they are gone. We must start now to go out in organized groups to secure these resources before others do. The plan I gave Mindy addressed the things we need to do. We first must start with a headcount to see how many people we have in the neighborhood, how many are on medications, any with medical issues. We need to know what talents or trades you have that will benefit us.”

Gordon turned and looked at Mindy, who had hate in her eyes. He turned back to the crowd and finished by saying, “Please line up in a single file line, I will take your name down, how many in your household, address and talents that can serve our community. So please form a line over there, okay?”

People started to move and the line started to form. Gordon turned back to Mindy and said, “Sorry, but your typical bullshit won’t fly here, I won’t allow it. We have to act now. So you can either work with me or get the fuck out of my way,” Gordon walked away and approached the first person in line.

Jimmy stepped up next to him and said, “You the man, great speech.”

“Help me. Take this notepad and form another line or we’ll be here all day.”

Gordon and Jimmy worked until the sun set. They tried to help answer as many questions as they could. The back and forth with Mindy was noticed by all and even commented on by some. Gordon had not wanted the meeting to go in that direction, but he knew he was right and that Mindy seemed more concerned about pretense and procedure than about getting things done. Even in his frustration with her, he felt a bit sorry for her. How could she grasp the magnitude of what had happened and what would happen? Most people had never experienced the things he had. He had traveled the world, seen combat, seen death and taken life himself. He knew that when the sun was rising in the morning that he needed to be out with Jimmy and others looking for food. Even though the sunset signified the day was over, his work was not. He would have to go home and pore over all the info and start to form the teams. One of the other major problems was getting the rest of his neighbors onboard, and to help find those who had not made it home. He also knew that he would have to go back to Mindy and make amends; in order for the community to move forward everyone needed to work together. He would give her a few days; he knew that eventually she would come over to his side. What she probably needed was to see the reality start to hit home. Until then, he was the leader of the community and that brought responsibility. He was used to leading, and in some ways was happy to have it.

Walking into his house, he heard a voice he had not heard in a long time. Looking down the candle-lit hall he saw Nelson.

“Nelson?”

“Yep, it’s me good buddy!” Nelson yelled.

“Oh my God, am I glad to see you!” Gordon exclaimed.

Nelson greeted him with the same upbeat and humorous attitude that was his trademark, “Hey man. Great to see you! How about paying the electric bill?”

Gordon smiled and said, “Nelson, my man, it’s going to take more than a check to get the lights back on.”

Nelson was tall with an athletic build. His hair was a light brown with natural highlights of blonde from spending so much time outside. He was a very active person, if he wasn’t working at the firehouse, he could be found on his board in the ocean surfing. He was generous of spirit and with anything he had. He felt it important to give to his hometown; this is why he became a fireman and EMT. Gordon liked Nelson for his fun-loving and carefree attitude as well as his strong family values and principled beliefs. Nelson had resented how San Diego had changed since his childhood; gone in many ways were the days of flip-flops and beach shorts. He felt San Diego had become just a mini-LA, or, as Nelson put it, Hell A. Nelson and Gordon got along from day one, they appreciated many of the same things like good beer, great whiskey and a lifestyle that was about working and playing hard.

While the events of the day could be measured as positive, the sight of Nelson made the day perfect. Gordon hoped Nelson wasn’t just passing through. He needed quality people on his team, and Nelson had the skills needed and the right attitude to see any job done.

“Can I get you a drink?” Gordon asked.

“I can never say no to you.”

“Not until you eat some dinner,” Samantha said from the kitchen.

Gordon turned his attention to Samantha, who was busy making dinner on a Coleman stove that sat on top of the old burners of their electric range. Four lanterns provided adequate light for her to work.

“How long before dinner?” Gordon asked, walking into the kitchen and kissing Samantha on the head.

“Almost done. Can you please put the paper plates and plastic utensils out?”

Looking over at Nelson, who winked, Gordon replied, “Sure.”

“Samantha, I’m amazed by what you can do with only candlelight and a propane stove. The stew was great,” Nelson said, relaxing into his chair.

“Thank you, I’m glad you liked it. I have to say I miss my salads but hopefully in a few months we’ll have some fresh veggies,”

“Hey, sweetie, I was going to take Nelson to my office to discuss some things, OK?”

“Sure.”

“Follow me; let’s go to my office so we can chat.”

Gordon grabbed a lit candle and escorted Nelson across the house to his office. Along the way Gordon grabbed two glasses and a bottle of Maker’s Mark.

As Gordon poured a glass of bourbon for Nelson, he said, “I have to say my friend, seeing you is really good.”

“Same here, buddy. I’m glad you all are okay,” Nelson said, now settled into his chair.

Gordon sat down and asked, “So I know you’re not here just for the whiskey. What’s up?”

“Remember all those conversations we had over a glass of good bourbon like this? Well, as soon as the lights went out I knew some shit had gone down so I decided to check on you.”

“You made the right call. What are your plans?”

“First, I’d like to know what you make of all this?”

“To make a long story very short, I think we’ve been attacked by an EMP and this is all the calm before the shit storm begins,” Gordon said, then took a big drink of whiskey.

“I figured something like that happened, so let me ask you the same question: What are your plans?”

“Well, right now, I’m hunkering down with my family, we have stocked up on food and water. Now I’m trying to get the neighborhood organized. Things are going to get real bad and we need to be ready for when it does.”

Nelson took a drink and said, “Damn, I love Maker’s,” He looked at the glass and then asked with a slight grin, “I suppose offering someone a little ice would be out of the question.”

Knowing Nelson’s sense of humor Gordon played along, “I only serve ice to my upstanding and reputable guests.”

Nelson smiled and said, “So what do you think is going to happen?”

“Before I answer that, what’s up with your firehouse? What have you heard?”

“Nothing, just rumor; the station is completely down, no power, trucks don’t work. I stopped by and only the chief and another guy were there. Their replacement shift never made it in. The chief asked me to stay, but I told him I had things to do and that I’d swing back around to see what I could do for them. I have to admit, it kinda seems useless now, based on what you’re guessing happened. If we don’t have operable trucks and such, what’s the use of a fire department? I’m tellin’ ya, Gordon, this is some crazy shit. I knew you’d have a good feel for what was happening since you were Special Forces and all.”

“I wasn’t Special Forces, just a grunt, buddy.”

“So tell me, what do you think is going to happen now?”

“Well that would have to be the golden question; you remember what happened after Katrina and Sandy, don’t you? Well it will be a thousand times worse but there will be no National Guard or police to come help. This thing has paralyzed everyone. I guess for now the local and county governments are scrambling but they will soon break down under the stress of it all. I guess after only a few days all government will be gone.”

“Really, that soon?”

“Yeah, let’s face it; we are humans and for one, how do people get to work? How do they do anything even if they make it to the offices? If local government lasts a few days, that would be a generous, now some of the military locally might have been hardened against the attack but they will first take care of their own. That leaves all 2 point whatever million out there fending for themselves with enough food to last three days at most. The wheels of this bus will come off fast. It’s very simple, Nelson. We need to move on this fast and get as much as we can. That then leaves me with asking you, what are your plans? We could use you around here.”

“Well, now that you’ve left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling; I don’t know.”

“We could really use someone of your talents here. You can stay here, and to be honest we could also use your vehicle. What we can provide is a secure area with food and water. You can help with our community clinic or hospital. I understand that you may want to go stay with your family, but what if I sweeten the pot and offer them all sanctuary here behind our gates?”

“Well, your gates aren’t all that,” Nelson said with a chuckle.

“What?”

“I made it in here now didn’t I and I’m not Special Forces like you.”

“That will end soon. The gates were left open right after the attack. My plan is to lock this place down and create a mini-city state. My plan calls for all services that a town has from hospital to militia.”

“Damn, man, you don’t waste time,” Nelson said as he leaned forward and poured each of them another glass full of Maker’s.

“This is life and death Nelson, truly life and death. Please say yes and let’s get your family here ASAP. We could use good people like you here.”

“I’m tempted, let me sleep on it. By the way, is it cool if I crash here tonight?”

“Of course you can stay. Even though you haven’t given me an answer let me show you my detailed plan and get your thoughts.”

Gordon spent the next hour covering in great detail his plan for Rancho Valentino while also dropping hints to Nelson to stay onboard. He needed more people he could trust and with strong skills like Nelson. The world was different now; the skills needed to survive were only in a few hands. The skills of yesterday were now worthless. The skills needed in a cubicle were of no value, a degree in human resources or marketing wasn’t going to cut it in this new economy. In one flash; the world had gone back to the 18^th century, but without the knowledge of those foregone years. Once the war over resources began, things would be violent and bloody and Gordon not only needed food and water, he needed all the able-bodied people he could get to protect what they had.