The first morning was the worst so far. I woke up to nothingness, a lot of nothingness. No electricity, no air conditioning, no lights, no sounds, and no coffee. That really sucked. I like to have a cup of coffee right away in the morning. I went to my cellphone to check the time, and what I found baffled me. Nothing, absolutely nothing.
I had just charged the phone, and it was almost brand new, so I knew it shouldn’t have been dead, but it was. Not like a no service dead. More of a completely dead type dead. The screen was blank, and I couldn’t wake it up. I tried to plug it in to see if that would help. No electricity though, duh. This was weird.
After wandering around in the morning darkness inside, I finally went outdoors to see if I was alone in my battle for answers. I quickly discovered that was not the case. A number of neighbors in my cul-de-sac already were on their driveways, some in small groups speaking in low tones, some just standing alone staring strangely into space.
I went over to Alexis and Jim’s across the street. They both were looking for the same answers everyone else seemed to be missing. They were normally happy people. They always smiled and said hello anytime you saw them. This morning, their expressions seemed dark, almost grave.
“What’s up guys?” I tried to slap a smile on as I approached. It didn’t work though. They looked at me sullenly.
“This is weird, Bill.” Jim shook his head as he spoke clutching Alexis tight in his arms. “Really weird. No power, no lights, no gas, no nothing man.” He looked oddly at me. “And my car won’t start. I mean … nothing.” I thought Alexis seemed more scared than bewildered. I tried to put a positive spin on the situation.
“I’m sure whatever it is will be all cleared up soon. Probably no big deal.” I glanced at Jim; he wasn’t convinced. I could see it in his eyes.
Alexis had a far off look on her face; she seemed to have not listened at all. “Jim, why aren’t the cars working? How am I supposed to get to work? I have an important conference call later,” she said, and I heard the fright in her voice that her face then failed to hide. Jim could only shake his head. He had no idea.
I knew at that moment something big had happened, something huge. No power or cell service was one thing. Cars not going, now that was something entirely different, something that really got my attention.
“I’m going to head up to Main Street,” I said. “Maybe I’ll find an answer there. And don’t worry about work right now, Alexis. We’ll get this figured out soon I bet.” They weren’t even listening. I nodded as I walked away.
I walked five blocks straight north of my place to get to Main Street, the main road in town. Not very creative but it worked. This wasn’t the world’s biggest suburb, so keeping things like street names simple fit pretty well. What I saw on my five-block journey bothered me even more than the goings on back in my neighborhood.
By the sun, I guessed it to be maybe 8 o’clock. The sky was blue and cloudless. The day promised to be another hot mid-August Minnesota summer event. Without air conditioning, people were already opening their windows. People were everywhere outside – on their front lawns, in their driveways, heads under hoods of cars, children trying garden hoses with fruitless results. It seemed most of the population had awakened to the same situation. And no one seemed to have any answers.
The five-block stroll only took me a few minutes. What I found on Main Street worried me even more. Or should I say what I didn’t find on Main Street bothered me greatly. People were out, just like in my neighborhood and the neighborhoods I had traversed in getting here. But the road was quiet, eerily quiet. Where by this time there would usually be a great deal of traffic, there was none. Stores remained closed. Even the gas station just down the road to the west was closed yet. They opened every day at 4:30 a.m. like clockwork. That morning, the station was dark and dead. I could only stare at the eerie scene.
I started back for my house quickly. This just didn’t feel right. Nothing felt right. As I cut through a path halfway home, I saw an older man from church sitting on his front porch. Jack Thomsen looked determined. Between his legs sat a shotgun, most likely loaded, I’m sure. Jack had on dirty shorts and a dirty white T-shirt. Sweat had already made its way through the fabric and stained the white material. He smiled cautiously as he saw me approach.
“Bill, morning,” he said, nodding his head slightly as I walked carefully to his front porch. I stopped ten feet short not wanting to provoke an armed man.
“Mr. Thomsen.” I smiled as best I could and looked at his weapon. “Don’t you think it’s a little premature to be armed?”
He grinned. “When you can explain to me what’s going on, I’ll put the gun away, Bill. Maybe.” He peered down the street at his neighbors. They were doing the same thing as my neighbors – exactly nothing.
“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for all of this. I just think we need to keep level heads for a little bit yet. We can’t assume anything bad has happened.”
“Tried your lights yet, Bill?”
I nodded slightly.
“How about your water or your car?”
I could only shrug.
“Yeah. No phone service either. Nothing on the house phone, and the cells are all dead too.”
He had a point. This didn’t look good. Whatever it was. I held my hands up in a sign of peace. “Let’s just let this play out a little more before we jump to any rash conclusions, Mr. Thomsen. That’s all I’m saying.” I hoped – no prayed – my words got through to the older man.
He scowled at me. “I’m going to protect what is mine. That’s all I’m doing right now. Until we can get back to normal, I’m going to do just that.” He looked up closer at me. “I recommend you go home and do the same, Bill. Protect your family.”
His last words shot through me like a lightning bolt. My family! I shook my head. My wife and kids were 300-plus miles away from home. The kids were staying with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple weeks. Sharon should be on her way home. She wouldn’t believe what she’d find when she got here. If she got here. Somehow, in her mind this would all be my fault.
“Okay, I’m going home, Mr. Thomsen. If you need anything you know where to find me. Just be cautious, please. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” I turned and left for home.
He called out as I hit the street, “Arm yourself if you have a gun, Bill. Do it now before it’s dark. Before it’s too late.” I felt a shiver run through my entire body. Before it’s too late.
By the time I got home, I could see everyone in the neighborhood was up and outside. Larger groups had formed. Everyone wanted, needed, what we sorely lacked: information. Instead of going inside, I met up with the largest group, eight adults of various ages. It sounded like panic had set in … already.
Mrs. Johnson, the neighborhood busybody, was in full gear this morning. “We have to get out of here. It’s not safe. I just know something terrible has happened.” Without her news to watch or her radio to give her all the information she needed, she tended to panic. “The government should be helping us by now. Where are they?” Several heads nodded.
I frowned. “Let’s all just settle down.” I put my two cents worth in quickly. “I’m sure the people at the city office are already at work on the problem and will have information for us later today.” I looked at the tense faces. “There is no need to panic.”
“Yet. You meant to add yet, right Bill?” my next-door neighbor Ted stared intently at me, and then the group. I smiled a stupid little smile at all of them.
“No. There is just no need to panic; at all.” There, solved that issue. However, more heads shook than nodded at my words.
“Nothing electronic is working, Bill. Anything with a computer chip or that needs power or any of that stuff isn’t working.” Ted looked at the assembled mass now all looking scared. “That’s a problem. A big problem.” Ted looked back to me for answers.
I had none. “We just need to remain calm until we know what’s going on. Okay?” A f
ew more heads showed signs of agreement. “Let’s just play it cool. I’m sure we’ll have answers later.” I started for my house. “I’ll stop by everyone’s place in a little bit. Let’s set up a cookout with our propane grills for supper time.” I smiled again. “Unless everything comes back on, and we all have to get to work that is.” I saw a few smiles finally.
I was sick of being the calm logical one this morning. I had only been up just more than an hour and had already seen things I would have never dreamt. I headed inside my house to make a list to pass around the neighborhood. There were eight houses in our cul-de-sac, so I needed eight copies. I wanted to keep these eight separate family units as close to being on the same page as possible.
I found a pen and paper and started:
1. Open your freezer and fridge as little as possible
2. Shut off all electrical and gas connections coming into your house
3. Do not try to use your water in your home
4. Find candles now for later
5. Later today bring your grills out front, and we’ll have a community cookout
6. REMAIN CALM!
That pretty much covered it. Now I just had to make seven copies on my copy machine and… dang it. No power, no copies. Okay, not a big deal, I thought. I’ll just write it out seven more times. That only took me two minutes. Happy with my message I got up and went to go back outside. Buddy acted like he could use some exercise, so I brought him along. Maybe a dog would help diffuse any tense feelings I’d most likely find out there. Buddy was happy to oblige.
Chapter 3