The World After: An EMP Thriller Read online

  “I guess… I guess we get onto the streets. Get a cab back to…”

  My speech trailed off. I looked up again, at the bridge running over the station. The cars, which had slammed into each other, all of them at a halt.

  “Or maybe I won’t get a cab. I guess I’ll—we’ll have to get a hotel here or something. Until the emergency services or the army or whatever figure something out.”

  Haz tutted and shook his head as we made our way around to the front of the station. “Just don’t get it do you, man?”

  “I don’t get what?”

  “Emergency services. Army. You’ve gotta remember that all those are gonna be cut off in the same way as us. So sure, they might start trying to straighten things out. But for themselves. On their own orders. If they don’t answer to anyone, then we all know that isn’t a good thing.”

  I shook my head, but I couldn’t deny I was apprehensive about what Haz was saying. “They’ll find a way to get things under control. I mean, you’re not telling me the entire government’s just going to give up their grip too, are you?”

  Haz shrugged. “They might not have a choice.”

  We stepped around the side of the overcrowded station, where many other people were getting the same idea as us, and then we stood and looked down at the ramp leading down towards Oxford Road, Manchester.

  Oxford Road was one of the busiest roads in one of the busiest cities in the UK. It was always rammed full with traffic, the sound of engines and horns honking filling the air.

  Right now, there were no engine sounds.

  There were no horns honking.

  There were just cars, all stacked up, some of them crashed into one another.

  A lot of people were in their cars, still twitching around with their phones. Others stood outside, and some even stood on their car roofs and lifted their phones to the sky, like that’d made a load of difference.

  As I looked down the stretch of Oxford Road, I saw the mass of cars going back as far as I could see. The lights of electronic billboards had gone out. The city was sleeping. Or, it was dead.

  But the people in it weren’t.

  “Believe me now?” Haz asked.

  There was a little grin to his face that suggested he was somewhat happy to be living in a world like this after all… but that smile soon washed away when the reality of his predicament set in.

  We walked, the three of us, zombie-like down the street. We heard men shouting at their wives. We saw people pushing one another as they argued over the positioning of their cars or the way one car had slammed into another. All of it was so feral, and I saw for definite the collective addiction to being so connected suffering its greatest withdrawal. Because no one was connected anymore. They were being forced to co-exist, something which the distraction of the screen and the selfie and the internet and the mass of information had relieved them of for so long.

  “One thing’s for sure,” Hannah said, as we made our way past an office block—a block that I didn’t want to tell any of them was my place of work. I looked at it. It didn’t seem like there was anyone in there. The place was dead. My hopes of getting my job, dead.

  “And what’s that?” I asked, with a sigh.

  She lifted her Kindle out of her pocket. “I should’ve listened to my boyfriend when he told me to carry a paper book with me.”

  She smiled. I smiled back. Haz smiled, too.

  The smiles were soon broken when we heard a scream coming from my workplace.

  Chapter Nine

  I heard the scream coming from inside the offices of my workplace and I knew I couldn’t just stand around.

  “I’m guessing you heard that?” Haz said. “And it wasn’t just, like, me hallucinating or something?”

  “No, I heard it,” I said. I walked towards the steps of Holmes & Wisdom. I could see that folders and papers had been dropped, obviously in a hurry to get out of there. I looked at the car park around the side. Some people that I recognised were in their cars. Others, nowhere to be seen.

  Those others included Gavin, my old boss.

  I hoped, wherever he was, that he was okay.

  The scream echoed out again.

  “Help us! Somebody help us!”

  “We can’t just stand around here,” Hannah said, stepping in front of me.

  “Wait,” I said, holding her hand to pull her back, something she immediately broke free of. “Sorry. It’s just… it could be dangerous in there.”

  “So, what? We’re supposed to just ignore this, are we? Damn, Scott. You must hold a real disdain for your work colleagues.”

  I felt my cheeks blushing then. Shit. She’d remembered where I said I worked. “I’m just trying to be rational, that’s all.”

  “Rational doesn’t include ignoring screaming people. Haz. Are you with me?”

  Haz rubbed the back of his neck and looked over his shoulder like he hadn’t heard Hannah.

  “I’ll take that as a no.”

  “I’ll just, um, keep watch out here. Okay?”

  “Coward.”

  “What?”

  “Scott. Are you with me?”

  I looked up at Holmes & Wisdom. Hannah was right. I couldn’t just ignore a scream, especially when it was from someone I probably knew. But that was part of my fear, here. Coming across someone I knew, someone I liked, in a horrible situation. The possibilities of why someone would be screaming spun around my mind. The electricity had gone. Maybe there’d been some kind of power surge. A surge that had killed people…

  I didn’t know. I couldn’t be sure.

  I just had to get inside and find out for myself.

  “Come on,” I said, walking past Hannah and leading the way.

  “Good,” she said. “Glad you’ve come to your senses. Haz?”

  Haz shook his head. He looked uncomfortable about all this, to say the least. “Like I said. I’ll keep watch.”

  Hannah sighed. “You do that. Wimp.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing!”

  Hannah and I stepped through the doors of my Holmes & Wisdom offices. They were automatic, but the glass had been smashed from the inside, summing up the desperation of whoever was inside to get out, for whatever reason. As I crunched over the broken glass, I questioned whether I could really believe that society would revert to such a state in such a short space of time.

  I looked over my shoulder onto the car-packed road, listening to the arguments, the frustration, all bubbling over the surface… yeah, I could believe it.

  Humanity was rearing its ugly head. I wasn’t sure it would ever be able to cover itself up again, not even if the power came back.

  When the power came back.

  I looked around the reception area. The desk had been vacated. A couple of phones had been left behind. I lifted them, checking them just in case, but they were down completely. Just as expected.

  The clock was stuck at eight thirty-two, just like my watch, just like every other timepiece.

  The scream echoed through the building again. It came from the right.

  “We’re in the lift! Someone, please! We can’t get out!”

  My stomach sank, then. I thought I vaguely recognised the voice, but I couldn’t be certain to who it belonged.

  But they were in the lift. Of course they were. Trapped in an elevator when the power had gone out. I couldn’t think of many things more terrifying.

  “It’s okay!” Hannah called. “We’re here! We’re coming for you!”

  Silence, as we stood in front of the heavy metal doors of the lift.

  Then, “Okay. Oh, thank God. I thought we were going to be in here forever.”

  “Where’s the lift shaft?” Hannah asked.

  “The lift shaft?”

  “You know. Like you see on films. There’s always a way of getting into the lift shaft and, like, opening a little hatch on top of it, isn’t there?”

  “I… well. On films, maybe.”

  “You’re sayi
ng you don’t know where your workplace’s lift shaft is?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. The next time I get hired, I’ll remember to make a careful note of where the nearest lift shaft is.”

  Hannah shook her head. “Let’s try the stairs.”

  We made our way up, searching for some way into the lift. In the end, we were led right up to the roof.

  When we stood on it, we looked out over the city. The sun was high, now. It seemed brighter than I was used to seeing it. There was a light breeze in the air.

  But the scene in front of me was well and truly staggering.

  The entire city, as far as I could see, was at a gridlock.

  People were standing on top of buildings opposite, just like me.

  Holding their phones into the air.

  Losing their minds.

  Everyone so disconnected.

  Everyone on their own.

  And when I saw that sight, I realised for the first time—despite everything I’d seen already—that this was the world now. The power was gone. I didn’t know how far this blackout stretched, but it was happening in central Manchester, and as far as I knew, it could be happening elsewhere, too.

  I saw lines in the sky, where planes had spiralled out of control. I could only think of the devastation of all the many passenger jets flying through the sky, suddenly losing the ability to stay in the air.

  I knew some pilots would still be able to land those planes, steering them to safety.

  But most of them wouldn’t. There would only be so much space on runways and open fields.

  Most of the planes would slam into the earth, taking people on the ground out as well as the people on board.

  “Scott?” Hannah said.

  I turned around. She was standing by an open door.

  “Looks like I found the hatch,” she said.

  I walked over to it. It was quite a drop down. There was a metal ladder-like grip on the side running down it.

  “After you?” she said.

  I felt fear grip hold of me as I held onto the rusty old climbing ladders and made my way down the hatch. “Much appreciated.”

  The further down I got into this dark, damp hatch, the more I longed for the light of above. What if I fell? What if the elevator came back to life and shot up towards me? Was that even possible?

  As I considered these scenarios, I realised just how little I actually knew about electricity myself, and the way the world worked. Sure, I could criticise people for naively poking their phones into the air. But was I much better, much more qualified or adept, really?

  I reached the top of the elevator, and I gripped its sides.

  With some force, I yanked it open.

  When I opened it, I saw one unfamiliar face looking back at me, and one familiar face, too.

  I helped the man out. He was a muscular black guy who was here to work on the IT systems, apparently. His name was Remy. He seemed a nice enough guy, but the irony of him here to work on IT on the day IT became obsolete was certainly lost on him.

  The second person—the woman—I recognised.

  The last time I’d seen her, she’d made my interview hell.

  “Scott?” she said. With relief or disappointment, I wasn’t sure.

  “Julia. Pleasure to see you again.”

  She gave me that same condescending smile she’d given me back in my first interview, and I helped her out of the elevator.

  When we got out, we filled the pair of them in on what had happened to us. Haz made his way up to the roof now we were sure it was safe.

  We looked out at the city, me, Hannah, Haz, Remy, and Julia. All of us were silent. All of us were absorbing what we were looking at, what we had to face.

  “If it’s global…” Haz started. Then he stopped. His morbid curiosity seemed to have changed to a genuine fear.

  But I couldn’t shoot down his fear anymore. I could only feel it, just like he did.

  “What do we do?” Julia asked.

  I took a deep breath as the shouts and cries of the city echoed around me.

  “We have to get out of this city,” I said. “And we have to find out just how widespread this blackout really is. Fast.”

  Chapter Ten

  I walked with Hannah, Haz, Remy, and Julia as we tried to figure out where the hell we were going to go next.

  We decided to get away from Oxford Road, for a start. That place was no fun for anyone. The rest of the roads weren’t much better, in fairness. There were cars abandoned, some of them in the middle of the road, others just on the edges of driveways. However, there were also a lot of people still sitting in their cars, waiting. Others were struggling with their phones.

  “Some of these people won’t even know how widespread it is,” Haz said. “That’s the scary thing. They don’t have any news. As far as they’re concerned, they’re just having a rough day. They have no idea.”

  “We have to take advantage of that,” Hannah said.

  I turned to her. I was surprised by how direct and assertive she was being, especially after we’d only all recently agreed that this really was as serious a situation as Haz was suggesting.

  “And how do we do that?” Remy asked. He was mostly silent, but he seemed like a good guy. Like me, he was sceptical about this blackout, at least initially. But he was growing in certainty that something terrible and disastrous had happened the further we walked into the suburbs, and the more he saw just how much things had gone to shit.

  “I’d say the first thing we do is get to a store,” Hannah said. “If we’re going to be walking, we need some water, and some food for that matter.”

  “Better be quick,” Haz grunted. “As soon as people realise this isn’t just a momentary blip, they’re gonna be straight in those stores salvaging everything they can. It’s gonna be ugly.”

  Julia frowned. “How do you know all of this?”

  Haz smiled. “Television and video games, mostly.” He side-glanced at me and Hannah. “You know. Those things for ten-year-olds.”

  Expectedly, Julia didn’t see the funny side.

  “There’s a convenience store a few streets down,” I said. “It’s not the biggest place. One of these express shops. But it’s not in such a busy area. I reckon we’ll be able to pick up a few things on our way.”

  “Maybe the power will be back by the time we get there,” Julia said, optimistically.

  I tilted my head to one side. As much as I didn’t like Julia—and I had good reason not to—I had to sympathise with her naivety. I didn’t want to face up to the task at hand, either. I knew we were going to encounter some awful things; things we wanted to forget. I didn’t know how long this blackout was going to last.

  But I knew, for sure, that the government, the police, the army… they weren’t in control.

  We’d seen a few police officers back at Oxford Road. They were on foot, trying to restore order within the crowd. Fights had broken out, as the battle for information—humanity’s addiction—spilled over. Not just amongst the crowds, but the police, too.

  I knew that it would only get worse if the problem weren’t resolved soon. The riot police would come in. Maybe the army would come in. There would be a struggle for power, none of it sanctioned by the government.

  Or maybe hope would prevail.

  Maybe, just maybe, humanity wouldn’t go the way of the movies but would actually find a way to be strong and pull together in the face of adversity.

  I smiled. “Yeah, right.”

  “What was that?” Julia asked.

  I looked to my left, realising I’d spoken aloud, and also realising I was walking just with Julia. Remy was just ahead of us, and Hannah and Haz were leading the way.

  I shook my head. “Nothing.”

  “I swear you spoke.”

  “Just thinking aloud. Let’s get to the shop.”

  “Scott,” Julia said. “I…”

  I looked around at her, and for a moment, I thought she was actually going to say
the words she’d owed me for so long.

  Then she took a deep breath and carried on walking. She didn’t say another word.

  I didn’t hate many people, but I hated Julia.

  What she’d done when I was suffering through my mother’s death.

  What she’d done when Harriet was hit by that car.

  The lack of compassion she’d shown. The sheer disdain for another human.

  I couldn’t ever forgive her for that.

  And now I was stuck with her.

  We reached the shop a few minutes later. There were a couple of people inside, all of them scrambling to fill their baskets and trolleys with water, the last of the fresh meats, tins, things like that.

  “So, Haz,” I said. “Any idea of an ideal post-apocalyptic shopping list?”

  Haz smirked. “What do you think? Follow me.”

  We made our way to the cheese counter, where Haz took a few kinds of cheeses with skins on—they would stay fresh for a while, he insisted. We also took plenty of peanut butter, for protein, and Haz grabbed a couple of rucksacks and a few bits and bobs that I didn’t really get a chance to look at, too. Of the things I did notice, there was everything from protein bars to metal cooking pots to water bottles to first aid kits and travel towels. He really seemed to know what he was looking for.

  “It’s impressive, you know?” I said.

  Haz frowned. “What is?”

  “Your knowledge for all this stuff. Fair play, kid. I thought you were an annoying shit when we first met. Now, you’re growing on me.”

  Haz smiled. It was the warmest, most genuine smile I’d seen from him. His eyes actually lit up as if the approval had sparked something inside him. “Thanks, Scotty-b—”

  “Call me Scotty-boy and we’re through,” I said.

  We walked around the aisle where the bottled water and other drinks were stacked. I grabbed a coke, which Remy took from me and put back on the shelf.

  “Feel free to drink that crap,” he said, “but don’t be asking for any of my water when you get dehydrated.”