Absolute Darkness - A CME Survival Thriller Read online

  My spine straightened when a light flickered in my side mirror. I tightened my fists as I ducked down as low as I could.

  The light bobbed as it moved across the yard. A pale-yellow beam flashed into the back window.

  There was no doubt about it. Someone was coming.

  6

  I lightly shook Sam and covered her mouth. She grumbled and swatted at my hand.

  “Stop,” she said.

  “Sam! You need to wake up,” I whispered. “Someone’s coming.”

  She blinked several times as she looked into my eyes, trying to determine how serious I was. Her eyes narrowed as if she were angry, but then widened when she saw the light hit one of the shrubs near the front of the house.

  “Holy shit!” Sam gasped before covering her mouth. “I was mostly joking about that creep from the gas station. Do you think he followed us?”

  “I don’t know,” I said as a shadow moved past the window.

  A bearded man with floppy hair walked up to the door. He looked around before knocking.

  “Did you tell someone we’d be here?” Sam asked.

  I shook my head. “I have no idea who that is.”

  “Doesn’t look like the gas station guy,” Sam said.

  The man stepped over to the window at the front of the house and peered in between the curtains. He knocked again before running his hands through his hair.

  “We’re so dead,” Sam mumbled as she tried to sink down even further. “Tell Dott how much I love her, okay?”

  “What makes you think I’m going to survive this?”

  “Brunettes always live,” Sam said. “Redheads never make it.”

  I tapped my index finger to my lips only seconds before the light turned toward the SUV. Sam’s eyes searched the interior. She picked up my empty bottle of water and clutched it in her shaking hand.

  The bottle of water wasn’t going to help, but maybe the keys would. I gripped them tightly between my fingers. If I had to claw the stranger to fight for my life, I would. At least, I hoped I would.

  I wasn’t a violent person. I didn’t even like squishing bugs.

  The man knocked on the window, and we both screamed. Shock stretched his face as he took a quick step back.

  “Go away!” Sam shouted. “We’re armed.”

  “Whoa! I’m just here to check on Wanda Carter,” he said, keeping his distance. He slowly raised his hands. “I wanted to make sure she’s okay.”

  Sam’s eyes flicked to meet mine. “This guy knew your mom?”

  “Um,” I cleared my throat. “She recently passed away.”

  His jaw stiffened. “I don’t know what the two of you are up to, but if you hurt her—”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head, “she was my mom. She had a heart attack.”

  “Oh.” His eyebrows dropped, and the muscles in his neck softened. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  He scratched the back of his neck. “She was a nice woman.”

  “Again, thanks,” I said.

  He looked to the left and then to the right before setting his eyes back on the SUV. “Are you two okay?”

  “Why wouldn’t we be?” Sam snapped.

  The man’s lips curled on one side. “I don’t know. You’re hiding in an SUV for starters.”

  “We’re fine,” Sam said.

  “Do either of you need anything?” he asked, raising a brow.

  Sam turned to me. “What is this guy’s deal? Can’t he take a hint?”

  “Relax, Sam,” I said, studying the man outside the window. He seemed normal enough, but after what I’d gone through with Elijah, I knew what someone looked like didn’t mean a damn thing. “Well, the SUV won’t start.”

  “Yeah.” The man’s head bobbed up and down. “And it’s not going to.”

  “He did something to the car!” Sam hissed as she grabbed my hand and shook it.

  The man took a step closer. “It would be easier to talk to you if I didn’t have to shout through the window.”

  I reached for the handle, but before I could open the door, Sam launched herself across the counsel and grabbed my hand. Her perfect nails dug into my wrist.

  “Are you nuts?” Sam asked.

  “For what it’s worth, I’m not armed,” the guy said, clearly seeing Sam’s reaction. “Look, I’m just here to help, and if you don’t need it after what happened, that’s perfectly fine with me. I’ll just be on my way. Have a good night.”

  I peeled Sam’s hands from me and opened the door. She pulled on my shirt, but I managed to get free without the fabric tearing.

  “Hey, sorry about that. What do you mean after what happened?” I asked.

  “The CME. It’s like a EMP ,” the man said, pointing to the sky. “That’s why your SUV won’t start. Nothing is going to start. The whole area seems to be without power.”

  “My microwave nearly burned the house down,” I muttered.

  Sam stepped out and stood next to me, crossing her arms like she was some kind of bodyguard. “My laptop shocked me.”

  “Yeah, you can thank the solar storm for that,” the man said, reaching his hand toward me. “Erik Price. I live down the road a bit. Mowed your mom’s lawn whenever I was in town.”

  “Melaney Carter,” I said, taking his rough hand in mine.

  He gave my hand a firm squeeze and turned to Sam. “Erik Price.”

  “I heard you. I’m standing right here,” Sam said, her brows skeptically squeezing together. She sighed and took his hand. “Sam.”

  “Like Madonna?”

  “Excuse me?” Sam said, unamused.

  “No last name. Never mind.” Erik turned back to me. “If you want, you two can come to stay with me until this all gets figured out.”

  Sam shifted her weight. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  “Suit yourself,” Erik chuckled.

  “Do you know when power might be restored?” I asked.

  Erik inhaled deeply. “Wish I knew. Could be days, maybe even weeks.”

  “Weeks?” Sam squealed. Her mouth dropped open as she turned to me. “Mel! I don’t have weeks. I need to get back to Dott.”

  “Where are you two from?” Erik asked.

  “Why are you so nosy?”

  “All right,” Erik said, walking backward. His eyes were locked onto mine. “If you need anything, I’m just a quarter of a mile down the road. Blue house. Can’t miss it.”

  I nodded, and Erik turned around. Sam’s hands were balled up into fists as she glared at his back.

  “Oh! Erik! One more thing,” I called, jogging to catch up with him. Sam released a loud sigh. “Is this solar storm thing over?”

  “Yeah. Well, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but if you’re worried about the sky falling, that isn’t going to happen tonight,” Erik said, the pupils of his blue eyes reflecting the colors in the sky.

  “So, it was just this CME thing?”

  Erik rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I think that’s going to be more than enough.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked, raising a brow.

  “I don’t know. I really don’t. But I think this isn’t something that just happened here,” Erik said, looking down at the ground. “If the electrical grid is destroyed, life isn’t going to be the same. It’ll be like being thrust back into the 1800s.”

  Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me back. “Good night, mister doom and gloom. We’ll call for a mechanic in the morning.”

  “Good luck with that,” Erik said, saluting her. “Evening, ladies.”

  Sam pulled me back to the SUV. I sat down and looked out the back window, but Erik Price was gone.

  Even though I was with Sam, I felt very alone. And scared.

  7

  I’d slept for maybe an hour before the sun came up. The sun was rising, erasing away the bright colors from the sky and giving everything a pale orange glow.

  Sam was still sleeping, and I didn’t want my g
rowling stomach to wake her. She needed the sleep after the hectic night. Then again, so did I, but there was absolutely no way I’d fall back asleep.

  I silently opened the car door and stepped out into the chilly morning air. I reached back into the SUV and took a pill from the bottle of medicine sitting in the cupholder.

  I’d wanted to blame Elijah for the increase in anxiety, but the truth was, it was something I dealt with long before I met him. After meeting him, it had gotten worse. I hated taking medicine, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to function without it.

  Anxiety. Depression because of the anxiety. Sometimes it seemed like an endless cycle. If it weren’t for my medicine, I’d be curled up on the floor of the closet, and that was before the solar storm and before Elijah.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Sam. Her eyes bolted from side to side under her eyelids.

  Silently, I closed the door without clicking it into place. My hands slid rapidly up and down my arms to keep me warm as I walked down the dirt path toward the bay.

  I could hear the water sloshing up against the rocks. There was a sound that didn’t sound familiar.

  As I drew closer, I saw a hunk of metal scratching against the rocks as the water attempted to push it ashore. Scattered along the rocks and in the water were other types of debris. It wasn’t until I saw a suitcase floating on the gentle waves that I realized what I was looking at.

  A plane had crashed into the bay. By the looks of all the pieces floating around, no one would have survived.

  Down the shore to the south, a man was standing on a short dock, loading items into a small motorboat. His ball cap hid his face, but he acted as if it were just any other day.

  Perhaps things had already been fixed. I should have tried my phone instead of wasting time watching the sunrise.

  He looked at me over his shoulder and waved. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like the man who’d checked on us last night.

  I waved back but spun on my heel to go back to the SUV. The motor started, and the rumbling sound faded.

  “Jesus, Mel,” Sam said, climbing out of the SUV. “You just leave me in the middle of nowhere?”

  “You had your weapon,” I said, gesturing at the water bottle.

  “You’re so funny,” Sam said, holding up her phone. “It’s still dead. SUV won’t start either. How are we going to get someone out here to help us?”

  My eyes shifted to the house. “I still have to clean this place.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Sam asked, placing a hand on her hip. “You can’t expect me to sit out here unable to speak with my daughter.”

  “No, I guess not,” I said, pressing a finger to my temple. “I’m just not entirely sure what to do. No phones. No car. Nothing.”

  “Exactly,” Sam said. “I’m not entirely sure why you’re not freaking out a little more.”

  My eyes narrowed. “That’s what you want? Me to freak out? Honestly, I’m trying to hold it together because if I lose it, I’m not sure what will happen.”

  “That medicine must be magical,” Sam said, looking away.

  I pressed my lips together, not sure what to say. I turned on my heel and headed toward the house. Maybe it was better if we didn’t talk at all.

  “Where are you going?” Sam whined.

  I ignored her and walked into the house. The lingering smoke from the small fire assaulted my lungs, forcing me to gag out several deep coughs.

  I grabbed a bag of chips from the counter and tore it open, popping two or three of them into my mouth at the same time. My stomach was swirling from hunger and nerves. I prayed I’d be able to keep the food down.

  “Okay,” Sam said softly, stepping up behind me. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m scared, and I miss Dott.”

  “It’s fine. I’m scared too,” I said, meeting her gaze. “I don’t have any idea what to do. We probably should have accepted help from the guy down the road.”

  “We don’t know anything about him,” Sam said. She sighed and buried her face in her hands. “You’re probably right. I don’t know why I’m so paranoid. I’m not used to strangers just striking up conversations with me.

  I opened my mouth, but she held up her hand. She tilted her head to the side.

  “I know, I know. Welcome to Wisconsin,” Sam said.

  I reached over on the counter and grabbed a second bag of chips. “Hungry?”

  “Please,” Sam said.

  I tossed her the bag, and she ate just as ravenously as I had. She sat down on the only empty chair and looked over at me.

  “Seriously though, what are we going to do?” Sam asked.

  “I think we need to figure out what’s going on first,” I said.

  “And how do we do that?”

  I tossed my empty bag of chips in the already full trash. “We’re going to have to talk to people.”

  “Like that guy from last night?” Sam cocked her head to the side. “You really don’t think that was odd he came snooping around here in the middle of the night?”

  “Yeah, him. He’s the closest neighbor.”

  “If he’s even your neighbor.”

  Exasperation dropped my shoulders.

  “Can you blame me for being cautious?” Sam asked. “You’re not the best judge of character.”

  “You’re never going to let it go, are you?” I asked. “Elijah was perfectly normal when we met.”

  Sam groaned. “Okay, you’re right. We’ll talk to the guy, but I doubt he’s going to have any new information.”

  “We’re going to have to wait to talk to him,” I said.

  “Why?”

  “I think I saw him head out to go fishing,” I said, scrunching up my nose. “Fishing? Like you don’t think that’s weird?”

  I shrugged. “Lots of people come here to fish.”

  “No, I mean, if there was this CME thing that took out the electrical grid, he’s just going about life like nothing happened?” Sam asked, cocking a brow.

  “Maybe he’s hungry?”

  “Or maybe he was just messing with us, and there isn’t anything wrong,” Sam said. “How far is that gas station?”

  I chewed my cheek. “Four miles? There is another town to the north.”

  “Is that one closer?”

  “Not really,” I said.

  “Well, we can walk four miles!” Sam said, clapping her hands together. Her grin quickly turned into a frown. “Although, I’d much rather do it on a full stomach. You think your mom has anything we can eat?”

  I shook my head. “Cleaned the fridge. Anything that would have been in there would probably be spoiled by now anyway.”

  Sam reached up to open the cabinet closest to her. A stack of papers rained down on her head.

  She placed her hands on her hips as she kicked her feet out of the mound of papers. “Where is the pantry?”

  I jerked my thumb to a small closet next to the fridge.

  “Is anything going to jump out at me?” she asked with her hand on the knob.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” I said.

  We both froze at the sound of someone knocking on the door.

  “Hello?” the male’s voice called.

  Sam and I exchanged a quick look. I wasn’t sure, but it sounded like Erik.

  “You look for food,” I said as I walked toward the door. “I’ll handle this.”

  Sam muttered something, but I ignored her and put a smile on my face. I opened the door just a few inches, a habit from when I lived with my mother and didn’t want anyone to see inside the house.

  Erik was holding a bucket and grinning. “Morning. I just wanted to stop by and check on you.”

  “Oh, thanks. We’re fine. Nothing is working yet, though.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think it’s going to come back on anytime soon,” Erik said. “I talked to a buddy of mine in town, and everything is shut down. He heard from someone with a radio that it’s out all over the United States.”

  “They must be
working on getting it all fixed, though, right?” I asked, clasping my hands together to stop them from shaking.

  Erik studied me for a long moment. “Yeah, I have no idea. The tourists were still bumming around, but there wasn’t much they could do in town. They couldn’t even spend their money without power to run the credit card machines. There were a few fires and minor gas explosions. It’s a bit chaotic.”

  “Okay, so what are we supposed to do?” I asked, swallowed down a sour lump at the back of my throat. “Surely the government is going to do something to help people out.”

  “I wouldn’t count on that,” Erik said, holding up his bucket of fish. “Hey, so my offer stands. If we’re in this for the long haul, it might be easier for us all if we stick together.”

  “Yeah, I think we’re going to stay here,” I said. “We might walk to town and see if we can find someone to help us.”

  Erik placed his hand on the back of his neck and turned toward the bay. He squinted his eyes.

  “I could give you a ride in my boat,” Erik said, turning back to meet my gaze. His blue eyes glimmered in the sunlight. “It’s much quicker than walking. You’ll be wasting your time, though. You’re not going to find anything.”

  Sam stepped up behind me. I could feel her frustration like a blast of heat radiating out from her.

  “I don’t think you understand. I have a daughter back in Massachusetts who needs me to get back to her,” Sam said, clicking her tongue. “I have to get back to her. If I have to walk, I will.”

  Erik took a step back. “Like I said, I can give you a ride to town, but there isn’t anything that will help you. People are on the verge of panic. They’re all trying to make sense of this all.”

  “Meanwhile, I guess you’ll just happily fish the day away,” Sam snapped, tapping her foot.

  “Sam!”

  Erik laughed. “It’s fine. I didn’t know what else to do. I could sit around staring at the walls, or I could find dinner. Man’s still gotta eat, you know?”

  “Help is coming,” Sam said.

  “Maybe, eventually,” Erik said, leaning toward Sam. “You do realize I’m just as trapped as you are.”