It Began: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival (Zero Power Book 1) Read online

  The moment gone, she pushed off the door to go and look for Cooper. There was no time to waste on things that didn’t matter. Tessa and her grandmother were back in their rooms, her grandmother likely laying down for a nap.

  She found him in the kitchen still putting away their food. He was frowning, and his lips moved. She wanted to know what was on his mind, but she waited until he was finished with his task and noticed her.

  "Are they gone?"

  She nodded. "The whole family. Are you finished?"

  "Yeah, I'm done. Actually, I was thinking we could head over to my place right now and get that out of the way. We're lucky I put my key in my pocket or we would have had to break the door down. Usually, I put it in the car, between the seats on the drive when I have to rush to leave the house."

  At the reminder of what could have happened to them, they both wore grim faces. The second crash had moved the plane away from Cooper's car, and Clara had been curious enough to take a look, regretting it a moment later. She was sure Cooper would have seen it at some point as well. If she couldn’t help herself, he wouldn’t have stopped himself, either.

  They hadn't actually talked about the accident. Clara didn’t want to, and after last night, she was sure he didn’t either. When he didn’t say more about it, she didn’t push. They might need to have the conversation eventually, but they had other more important things to do now.

  "Let's go." She held the door open for him and he followed her out of the kitchen. "Do we need to take anything? Like a bag to put your stuff in?"

  "Thanks, but no. I have everything I need at my place. We'll just be carrying what's necessary."

  They found Viola at the bottom of the stairs, and Clara hurried over to her.

  "Grandma, I thought you'd gone to sleep."

  Viola smiled at her and gave her a light pat to the cheek. "Not yet, young one. I intend to, but maybe in an hour or so. And where are you rushing off to?"

  She glanced over her shoulder at Cooper. "We're going over to Cooper's place to get some things. He'll be staying with us until everything is sorted out."

  "Oh?" she peered at him in grandmotherly concern. "Is there a problem?"

  "No, grandma, he just didn’t want to stay at his place alone so I offered. Do you mind?"

  She scoffed. "Of course not. Both of you take care of yourselves and hurry back now, okay?"

  Clara gave her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, and then she and Cooper were heading for the door. "Keep an eye on Tessa and the house, okay?"

  "Of course, dear."

  She gave her grandmother one last smile and they stepped outside. They locked the front door, Clara sending a silent request to Tessa and Viola to stay safe until they got back.

  "Why don’t we ride bikes over?" Cooper suggested. "You have two in your garage, don’t you?"

  Clara froze, and then wanted to smack herself for not thinking of that before. She could have saved herself some energy when she left the house this morning. Though, maybe it was just as well she hadn't, she wasn’t sure how she would have juggled all she'd bought and a bike. Unlike cars, they should be able to work. The bikes had been presents for her and her sister when they were younger, but they should still be able to use them.

  They went over to the garage where the bikes were stored. The door opened by key, instead of one of those modern ones opened by remote, so they didn’t have to go through an inside door, at least. She let Cooper have the taller one that had been meant for Tessa, and Clara took the other one. She'd had some irrational fear they wouldn’t work and felt immense relief when they did.

  Clara was reminded of the day trips with their parents, when they'd ride their bikes outside the city. They could have just used her parents' bikes, since they were actually meant for adults, but Clara had put away everything that belonged to their parents. Whatever had been in the garage was shoved in a corner somewhere and put under a tarp, even the family car that she'd never let herself use.

  "This bike is practically brand new," he muttered as they dragged the bikes outside and he sat astride it. "It's so clearly unused…"

  He shot her an inquisitive look, and she smiled, wondering if it looked as sad as she felt.

  "It used to be Tessa's. It hasn’t been used since our parents died so many years ago. She got that one for her birthday, not long before the accident."

  Tessa had loved the present, she wouldn’t even look at it after the accident happened, though, and Clara couldn’t blame her. She had to use her own bike to get around, and would probably have continued with her job if she hadn't met Cooper and he offered to drive her.

  They started their way down the street, keeping an eye out for other people. Even though it was daylight, there really wasn’t anyone outside, but Clara expected they would come across at least one person. They couldn’t all be locking themselves inside their houses.

  While she was relatively sure that most of the people who hadn't been at the crash site the previous day wouldn’t think anything too big was going on, some people would figure it out, or decide to panic first and ask questions later. It was, perhaps, too early, but she didn't think she and Cooper were the only ones preparing.

  "Just how much food do you have at your place?" She glanced at him, in time to see his shrug.

  "Not a lot, to be honest. I live by myself, as I've told you, and I'm not much of a cook. So I stack up a lot on instant meals and frozen dinners. I don’t go shopping often, maybe twice a month, and I went just a few days ago so there should still be a lot of stuff left."

  She nodded, feeling some relief. If he had a lot of food at his place, that was good. Not good enough, but it was a start. Once all the frozen food in her fridge was gone, what was left over wasn’t going to last very long. She remembered all those times she got home after a grueling work day and decided she didn’t feel like eating. She wanted to curse herself now, knowing she'd been an idiot back then, and might actually know what it meant to go hungry involuntarily.

  Clara couldn’t say she was looking forward to it.

  Once they got there, besides clothes for Cooper, they were going to have to look at what else he had of use. He might have medication or first aid equipment at his place, and she thought it might come in handy, just in case. They didn’t keep a lot at home, besides medication for Tessa's condition, that she didn’t even take, and Viola's as well.

  They arrived at the wreckage of the plane crash and stopped a bit of distance away. There wasn’t really a way through, unless they went around the plane, and as far as she could tell, the situation hadn't changed from the day before.

  "Why don’t we go around another way?" Cooper suggested.

  Clara rolled her eyes, even though she appreciated his attempt at subtlety. Neither of them wanted to go through that route. She hadn't seen what happened on the other side of the crash and she really didn’t want to.

  They rode to Cooper's flat and left the bikes outside. They rushed in, Clara following Cooper's lead, realizing she'd never been to his place before. It was always him coming over to her house. He let them inside, and she gave herself a few seconds to look around before they were rushing to pack whatever they could take. They took all the food first, because it was the most vital. They wouldn’t be coming back for a while, if at all, so there was no need to take everything. Then she helped Cooper pack what he would need, taking only as much as they could comfortably carry.

  Cooper handed her a full bag. "Can you take this to the other room? I'm going to change then we can go."

  She nodded, leaving him alone as she moved to the door, arranging what they would be leaving with beside it. She was a little worried they would go outside and find the bikes were already gone, so she was hoping they would hurry up.

  Cooper came out with another bag and Clara watched as he packed some personal items. She saw him pick up a photo album, and took photos out of the few picture frames he had around and put the pictures inside the pages of the album. She caught a few of hi
m and her, and he stopped with a frame in his hand. She went closer, curious. She remembered the picture, they'd taken it together at one of the school's sports competitions.

  She wanted to rush him, but seeing the photo reminded her, again, of what they were losing. He glanced down at her and smiled, something so small and sad she didn’t think it belonged on his face, and she felt her heart clench painfully. He glanced back at the photo and huffed lightly before pulling the photo out of the frame and putting it with the rest.

  "I wonder when I'll be back here again," he murmured, putting the album and some other things in the bag. "If I'll ever be back here again. I mean, it's a tiny place, and I can't really say it’s a home, but it was home to me for years."

  "I'm so sorry, Cooper." She blinked tears out of her eyes. She had never thought she'd see the day when Cooper, of all people, got sentimental. She was seeing sides of him she'd never seen before. "We can come back any time," she promised and meant it.

  But he just gave her that too small, too sad for his face, smile again, and it felt like her heart was breaking. "I'd feel safer around other people. I can't ask you to stay here with me when you have your family to look after and I dont think I can face staying here alone. It's funny, you know, I lived on my own since I was nineteen and I left my parents place, but now… the thought scares me."

  She couldn’t help herself, she stepped forward and pulled him into a fierce hug. She couldn’t imagine ever being alone. Even after she'd lost her parents, she had her sister and grandmother, and she was going to do whatever it took to make sure they were okay. Cooper had just been adopted into the family, so that included him now, too.

  "You won't have to stay here alone. If you ever want to come back, if you forgot something you think you'll need, I'll come with you. We will always go back to my place after. My family doesn’t mind you sticking around."

  She hadn't exactly asked Tessa, but her sister had tolerated Cooper on several occasions when she didn’t do even that for plenty other people. Clara pulled back to see him grinning down at her. It was still weak compared to his usual, but it was a start she could be thankful for.

  Cooper gave the room one last fleeting look as they were picking up bags and leaving his place once again.

  They got outside, and Clara couldn’t even say she was surprised. Two young men had just found their bikes and picked them up. They were starting to ride away when she and Cooper made it out.

  "Hey!"

  She saw Cooper try to chase them down, but only one of them glanced back as they rode away, speeding up. Cooper, slowed down by his heavy backpack, didn’t get far before he stopped.

  "Cooper, it’s okay. Just let them go."

  They were too far to chase after with the luggage they had on, and they couldn’t leave the stuff to be taken away, either. Even worse, leaving one person—and it would likely be her, since Cooper was faster—who might get attacked if any more daring idiots passed by.

  Losing the bikes was the least of their worries. There were still the pair that belonged to her parents, but she wouldn’t break those out unless they absolutely had to.

  Clara sighed as she followed Cooper, stopping beside him long enough to grab the sleeve of his shirt and tug him along.

  "We don’t have a choice, we'll just have to walk home in the dark. We might as well start that way now."

  Chapter Twelve

  Clara and Cooper trekked back home. The sun had already hit the horizon, turning the sky and the clouds into various shades of flame around where it was sinking. Soon, it would go down, and then darkness would come in.

  There was little hope of them making it back before nightfall, but she still sighed when she realized it was going to be full dark in a matter of minutes and they weren’t even close. Clara was tired already from little sleep and her heavy backpack, considering the way was longer than it had been from the store, her weight this time heavier, too.

  But she kept her thoughts to herself. She didn’t want to complain when Cooper had more on him than she did. She shifted the straps on her shoulders again so they were settled more comfortably. It didn’t change the weight of it, though, and she thought it would break her back before they made it back home. She put her arms under the bag and pushed it up so it wouldn’t weigh so much on her shoulders. The instant relief made her sigh again, though she knew she couldn’t keep it up for long.

  Cooper had been quiet too long, and she almost smacked herself when she realized. She looked sideways at him, then fully when she saw his eyes roving around the terrain. He seemed… nervous. She frowned and looked around, wondering what he was looking at, or looking for.

  "What is it, Cooper? What's wrong?"

  He spared her a quick glance before he was looking around again. He even checked behind them, turning completely around, and then facing forward again.

  "It's nothing."

  She scowled, wanting to smack him. He glanced at her again and noticed her expression.

  "Okay, so it isn’t nothing. It's getting late and the bikes were already taken from us. I just… don’t think the streets are safe. Not anymore."

  Dammit!

  Somehow, Clara had forgotten. Of course the streets wouldn’t be safe, especially after dark. She'd had the thought yesterday, after the crash and the aftermath. When she'd thought about one of them getting attacked for their stuff before, when they saw their bikes getting taken away, she had assumed they'd be okay as long as it was two of them.

  That wasn’t true, though. They were carrying a lot of luggage and they had a distance to go. Already she felt exhausted, and she didn’t think Cooper was too far off. Neither of them knew how to fight, at least she didn’t, though Cooper didn’t strike her as the kind of guy that went around throwing punches.

  Clara became more wary, nervous that someone might try to attack them. She pulled her arms out from under the bag on her back, knowing she'd need her hands, whether or not she could do anything with them. Instead, she held onto the straps in a tight grip, looking around as cautiously as Cooper did.

  As they reached the site of the plane crash once more, they heard a commotion coming from across the town square. They glanced over at each other, silently agreeing to go investigate the sound. They discovered a group of young boys, just like the two that took their bikes, were breaking into the store Clara had stopped at just that morning.

  She remembered the store owner, how the man had warned her about the lack of supplies and felt concern. He might still be in there, and she felt immediate concern. When she took a step forward, though, she felt a hand grip her shoulder to keep her still. She looked up to Cooper who was frowning down at her, but she knew he was just concerned.

  "Clara, we can't," he murmured, keeping an eye on the boys, but holding tight to her shoulder.

  They couldn’t have been younger than the kids that went to her high school, but there was a relatively large group of them—they were more than two, and that alone made them a large group. She could understand his caution, but she firmed her jaw.

  "We can't just let them get away with it. It's not their stuff to just take. And what if there's someone in there and they hurt him?"

  "Clara," he said insistently, leaning closer and speaking rapidly. "I want to help, believe me, I do. But this isn’t a fight we can win, we should just move on. There are more of these boys than there are of us, and they don’t have all the stuff we're lugging around."

  Clara just slid out from under his hand and he thinned his lips in disapproval.

  "They can't get away with stealing, Cooper. We haven't done that and it’s only day two of whatever the hell is going on. The man that owns that store may have a family, like I do, and he's going to want to look after them. Look at those boys and tell me they're doing this because they're starving."

  Cooper looked at them, anxious, but she knew he saw what she did. Those kids wanted to break in there because they saw an opportunity to get things without having to pay for them. They were
all well dressed and probably had families of their own. They could have been lost to the crash, but Clara didn’t think they would be out here if that was true.

  She decided to intervene, because how could she not? If people were deteriorating this quickly, it would be every man for himself soon, but not yet.

  "Hey! You guys."

  She felt Cooper come to a stop beside her several feet away from those boys. She wasn’t stupid enough to try and get too close, even with Cooper standing beside her. A couple of them heard her and turned around, and they stopped the others that were still trying to break through the glass, all of them shifting their attention to her and Cooper.

  "Get lost, lady," one boy sneered.

  Clara resisted the urge to return the expression. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

  One of them laughed and glanced over at his friends. "What does it look like we're doing, lady? Why don’t you and your boyfriend mind your own business, huh? We're a little busy right now."

  She felt her hands clench at her side as the other boys let loose low chuckles at her expense. It reminded her so much of dealing with delinquent students, the kind she could never handle without help, only this situation was so much worse.

  But she wouldn’t back down now.

  "What you're doing is wrong."

  The same boy that spoke before snorted. "Please. We're just doing what everyone will be doing soon enough," he pointed out. "We're just getting ahead of the game."

  So they likely knew the situation wasn’t going to get resolved soon, or guessed—or they just didn’t care. Clara could never guess with teenagers.

  "It's barely been two days," she argued back. If they couldn’t last that long, no matter what they took from that store, they weren’t going to survive on it long, but she didn’t tell them that. "You guys need to stop what you're doing right now and get home before it’s fully dark."

  "Why? No one will catch us, and what's there to go back to, anyway? There are no lights, there are no security cameras. It’s the perfect crime, so why the hell should we turn back, just because some old lady told us to?"