Get Out of Denver (Denver Burning Book 1) by Algor X. Dennison Page A

cabin communities that peppered the hills above Denver.
    They followed the tracks for several hours without stopping. The railroad grade kept fairly level, and they were both in good shape. They sipped water and ate dried fruit, jerky, and Clif bars from McLean’s pack as they walked, to keep their energy up. They were silent for long periods, steadying themselves mentally.
    It helped that they were walking through some very beautiful areas. The serenity of the pines towering on either side of the track was comforting, and the scent of sun-warmed earth and leaves relieved some of the morning’s trauma.
    At one point Carrie asked more about the EMP, and McLean shared what he knew. “It may have been an airburst from a nuclear weapon,” he said. “If one was detonated in the stratosphere, its effects could spread over a large part of the country.”
    “Does that mean we’ve been exposed to radiation?” Carrie asked.
    “The radioactive fallout that happens in a nuclear strike is the result of many tons of dirt and debris being thrown up into the air by the massive explosion. In a very high altitude airburst, there would be no debris, and the heat and force of the detonation obviously didn’t extend down to the ground in any noticeable way. I think we’re okay.”
    “That’s good,” she replied. “You’d think if someone had access to a nuclear missile, though, they’d just hit the city with it and destroy everything. Why kill the power but leave everything intact? Do you think someone’s going to invade?”
    “I doubt it. I don’t know of any countries with a real motivation to launch a land invasion of America. Take us down a notch, sure.”
    “Well, how long does it take to fix this stuff? Can all those cars be repaired, have their batteries replaced or something?”
    “No. The EMP literally fried all the circuitry. A lot of brand-new electronics will have to be built and distributed, and I can’t see how that’s going to happen when the factories are silent and the trucks can’t get it all to market anyway. No, I think the world changed today, at least here in Denver. And it’s not going to be the same again for a very long time. Maybe never, if this is global.”
    They came out of the trees into a valley crisscrossed by roads, but no one was visible and they couldn’t hear any vehicles running. They stuck to the tracks as they cut through the less-populated side of the valley, keeping their distance from the homes they saw. Up ahead they could see a good-sized mountain peak, which was about to block out the lowering sun.
    “That’s Bear Mountain,” McLean announced, tucking the map back into his pocket. “Highway seventy-three joins up with seventy-four on the other side of it, in another little valley where a friend of mine runs a little horse ranch in the town of Evergreen. We’ll stop there tomorrow to resupply, maybe get some horses if he’s feeling generous. That would make the rest of our journey a lot easier, because we still have at least fifty miles to go.”
    The sun slipped down behind the hills and they began looking for a secluded place to camp. They found a culvert where a creek ran under the railroad track, and set up a little camp at its mouth, sheltered from the elements and hidden from view. The only gear they had was what McLean had packed in his bag, but it was sufficient. There was no tent or sleeping bag, but he had a small tarpaulin and some paper-thin folded emergency blankets that would keep them warm enough even if it got very cold during the night.
    “I can’t offer you a very comfortable night,” he told Carrie, “but will ‘survivable’ do?”
    “It’s better than the alternative,” she said. “And anyway, I think I’m tired enough to sleep through a…” She trailed off, deciding not to mention whatever disaster had been on the tip of her tongue. The irony would be chilling, not humorous. The only things they hadn’t actually been through in the past