Madison said, “So it may be all this crazy stuff your dad has done for years might have just paid off. Speaking of your dad, I hope he is all right. I spoke to him earlier tonight before bed.”
Logan answered, “It seems like it. Everyone on the freeway was standing around wondering what to do. Most people did not even have water. The people that were a long way from home looked really worried. There was nothing I could do. I gave my water, emergency food, a couple of lighters a flashlight and my emergency blanket to a couple with two small children. After that, I did not stay around. I grabbed my bag and headed here.”
Logan continued, “While I was hiking up here, I turned on the little two-way ham radio Dad put in all our bags. I turned it to the FM channel but could not pick up a single radio station. That is not right. I guess with the power out, our TV and satellite are not working either,” Logan answered.
“I think it has to be much more than a local power outage Mom. Some of the people on the road said they had heard news broadcasts on the radio just before everything died. The news was saying there was an unconfirmed nuclear explosion in Washington, DC.”
Madison froze when she heard Logan’s statement. It took her a moment before she could even speak again. “Logan, your dad has some electronics packed in metal boxes out in the main storage shed. One of the boxes says emergency radios. Go get that box. We can see if our base station radio works and try calling the other kids.”
Logan headed out the door with a flashlight, and Madison went to the kitchen to check on the refrigerator. She opened the refrigerator door, and it was dark. No light was on, and she heard no sound. She knew Lee had installed a battery system, which was connected to the solar panels. The batteries powered some kind of “converter.” She knew it was meant to keep the refrigerator and freezer in the garage running if a power outage occurred. But it was not working.
Logan returned shortly with the large metal case. He sat the heavy box on the dining-room table and he and Madison looked at the label taped to the top.
Emergency radios:
1 Ham radio—Preprogrammed to match all portable radios
1 battery powered AM-FM-Weather-Short Wave
1 crank powered AM-FM-Weather
1 spare wire type antenna
1 roof mounted magnetic antenna
Copies of all instructions and manuals
They opened the metal box. It had metal Mylar tape around the seam, which they peeled off. Inside was a lining of thick plastic material, which they folded back, exposing several smaller Mylar bags. Inside one of the bags with a label marked “Ham Radio.” Madison pulled out that bag as well as one labeled “battery-powered emergency radio.” Logan removed the small ham radio from the shiny protective bag and carried it to a corner cabinet of the dining room. Lee had given the family members instructions of how to install the radio. The cabinet had a power cord and an antenna cord inside one of the upper cabinets. The top of the radio had a taped on laminated card containing instructions.
1 Connect antenna to the back
2 Plug in the power connector
3 Turn on power.
4 Display should read “3-13”—This is the preset frequency that matches all the portable radios.
5 If display does not read 3-13, read the detailed instructions on the back of this card.
6 Once radio is on, press button on mic and talk. Use our planned call signs:Home = Garrett BaseMelinda and James house = Garrett EastLawrence’s apartment = Garrett WestPortable radios = Garrett mobile 1–6 (age before beauty)
Logan continued to connect the circular connector on the antenna and then the power plug. Both were tricky, but he did so easily. Then he turned on the radio. The small digital screen lit up and after a bunch of random flashing, it stopped and displayed “3-13” just as the instructions said it should.
“So far so good,” Logan said.
While Logan had been hooking up the two-way radio, Madison had been rotating the dial and flipping between AM and FM on the small battery-powered radio. She was trying to find a station that was broadcasting. Similar to Logan’s experience with the small portable radio, she was not having any luck. She switched to the Short Wave setting and started scanning those frequencies slowly.
Logan then said, “Well, this radio seems to be working, so let’s try calling the other kids.”
Logan picked up the mic, but just as he did, the radio came to life. “Garrett Base, this is Garrett West. Do you copy?”
Startled, Madison and Logan looked at the radio in shock and then realized that it was Lawrence calling from his radio. Logan answered, “Lawrence, is that you?”
Lawrence called back, “Yes, Logan, it is me. I have been calling for about ten minutes and hoping someone would answer. Are you guys all right? Are you there with Mom?”
“Yes, I am here with Mom. My car quit on the freeway and I jogged here and woke her up. Is the power out at your apartment?” Logan asked.
“Yeah, power is out. Cars and other electronics are dead. My car will not start.”
“I just got this radio hooked up and working. I have a hunch Dad might have been right about a lot of this. We are worried about him. He called Mom from Vegas a few hours ago. I hope he is okay,” Logan said into the radio mic.
“Don’t worry about him. We know he has more stuff and plans up his sleeve than most anyone in the country. He will be okay.”
Madison asked for the mic from Logan and said, “I imagine you are right, Lawrence. If your car is out, Lawrence, how will you get here?”
“Richard Silva and his wife live about two miles from here. I am going to pack up some of my stuff and make my way to their house. I will use my mountain bike. My roommate has already left to go to his parents’ house that is close to here. I am not sure what they will do from there.”
Lawrence was the oldest of the Garrett children. He had enlisted into the Army at the age of eighteen, became an Army Ranger, and had numerous deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places. Many missions and deployments were so top secret he never told the family about them. He, like Logan, was now attending college working on a criminology degree with hopes of joining one of the three-letter federal agencies. He and a friend from school had rented an apartment in Newhall about fifteen miles from the Garrett house.
Richard Silva was a non-active-duty marine who worked for Lee. He was a stocky 5'9" who believed completely in the saying “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” He worked out regularly and went to the range frequently to keep up his shooting skills. Richard and his wife, Dena, had a standing invitation to the Garrett house if a major disaster or emergency occurred. Dena was a short, frail brunette who looked as if a weapon would knock her over if she ever fired one. But Richard was always joking about how Dena could whoop him if she wanted, and Lee figured being a marine, he would be of great help in defense of the house. Richard was agreeable to the arrangement and stored certain things at the Garrett house. The couple had also contributed to the emergency food supplies and other prepper equipment.
“Are you using the large radio or one of the small ones?” Madison asked.
“This is the larger one. I hooked it up like Dad showed us, and I guess it works,” Lawrence replied.
“I will bring it with me. I have a large pack. I will bring as much stuff as possible. I will try the smaller radios once I am outside and in a clear spot. Leave your large one on. I guess you have not heard from Mel and James?” Lawrence asked,