36 Hours: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Fiction Series by Bobby Akart Page B

have a nice day.”
    Madison fidgeted nervously and wiggled her hand to encourage Alex to get out of her chair to join her.
    “Well, this is not the normal procedure. Just allow me to call Mrs. Grace and confirm—”
    “Oh, that won’t be necessary. Again, I’m sorry to interrupt. We’ll just be on our way. Come on, honey.” Madison pushed past him and motioned for Alex to come along. Alex gathered her things, finally, and started toward the door.
    “Mom,” said Alex, stopping just short of leaving, “what’s wrong? If I leave school early, I won’t be able to play in my match this afternoon. Can’t this wait two more hours?”
    “No, Alex, it can’t.” The teacher started to dial the front office again. “Your dad sent me for you. We have to go, now !”
    “But, Mom,” started Alex, but then they both heard her cell phone vibrate in the pocket of her school-issued blue blazer. Alex pulled out the phone and looked at the alert with her mom. She studied the display, which read FlareAware Alert—G5 Extreme—Geomagnetic Storm Warning .
    “Let’s go,” said Madison and grabbed her daughter by the hand.
    “Wait,” came the voice of the teacher from inside the classroom, but it was too late. Madison and Alex ran through the hallways toward the front of the building, where their SUV remained parked with the hazard lights flashing.
    The security guard left his post to report to the principal’s office following the teacher’s phone call. He and a guidance counselor chased after the Ryman women as they scurried out of the building.
    “Thelma and Louise!” shouted Alex as she slid into the passenger seat. Madison laughed with her daughter as they roared out of the parking lot.
    “I’m sorry for the drama, honey.”
    “No prob, Mom. Is Daddy okay? Is he coming home?” asked Alex nervously.
    “He’s fine, honey and I think he’s on his way.”
    Alex looked around the school parking lot. “Do you think I’ll get suspended?”
    “Nah. Maybe detention, or you’ll write sentences. Somehow, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue for a while.”
    Madison gunned the accelerator and increased her speed as she turned off Old Hickory Boulevard onto Interstate 24 toward the city. “See what you can find on the radio.”
    Alex bounced through several SiriusXM channels and finally settled on CNN. She then turned her attention to the FlareAware app. She read the alerts aloud.
    “An Earth-directed CME at 09:23 UTC. A G5 geomagnetic storm warning has been issued. Then there’s a link to a YouTube video.”
    Madison glanced at the phone to see for herself and almost got hit by an eighteen-wheeler that suddenly changed lanes in front of her.
    “Mom!” Alex exclaimed.
    “Sorry,” apologized Madison.
    “Maybe I should drive.” Alex laughed, partly serious.
    “Not gonna happen. Are you going to the video?”
    “Hang on, jeez Louise.”
    Alex played the video as Madison exited westbound onto Briley Parkway. She was going to avoid downtown traffic, and the loop would drop her off near the grocery stores. She glanced over at the phone again.
    “I don’t hear anything. Can you turn it up?” asked Madison.
    “Mom, you’re driving me nuts. The video doesn’t have sound. It just shows this black-and-white image of a blast coming from the sun, followed by a bunch of numbers. I’m looking for Dr. Stanford’s YouTube channel for an update.”
    Madison kept driving while Alex searched for more information online. She scrolled through the Sirius channels, but found nothing on the dedicated news networks. Why hasn’t the government issued a statement? Maybe it was nothing? Did Colton panic because Alex and I were worked up into a frenzy?
    “She hasn’t issued an update, and I can’t find anything else online,” said Alex, interrupting Madison’s inner debate. “I’m checking Twitter now.”
    “Why Twitter?”
    “News breaks faster on Twitter than anywhere else, Mom. Everybody has a cell phone with