Read Online Alone, Book 3: The Journey by Darrell Maloney - Free Book Online
Authors: Darrell Maloney
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a few days ago for about the fourteenth time, and it got me thinking.
Enough about that. More about us.
I haven’t seen any FEMA people or troops yet. Maybe they’re afraid of bad weather. Maybe they melt when they get wet. Maybe I’ve just been lucky. Or, I’m hoping, maybe Frank just heard rumors that aren’t true.
In any event, I’m not going to let my guard down. I’ll continue to move only as fast as the darkness and conditions will let me.
And, God willing, I’ll be there in three or four days.
I have to go now, babe. I’m losing my light. I’ll relax for now and see if I can get a bit more sleep, and will set out again around midnight. All the highway nomads should be safely tucked away by then.
I love you. Kiss my girls for me and tell them I love them too.
Chapter 15
“Please, God…”
Dave crossed himself, held his breath, and turned the key.
The starter hesitated for just a second before turning over.
That single second was all it took, though, to let Dave know the battery was a bit weaker than when he’d started it the night before.
He now knew that the alternator was shot. It wasn’t using the engine’s power to recharge the battery when the vehicle was running.
It had been ruined by the EMPs almost a full year before.
Before he’d climbed into the vehicle he’d taken two of the five gallon Jerry cans out of the back and topped off the gas tank.
Although the gas gauge, like all the other things that went through the electrical system, was no longer working, he knew instinctively that a full tank would get him through another night.
He’d be driving a little faster tonight, of course, since he was out of the city and the rain wouldn’t slow him down.
But he’d used only a third of his tank the night before. Even at slightly higher speeds, he’d have plenty.
The battery was more worrisome.
How many starts did he have left, before he drained all the battery’s power and it went dead? One? Two? Five?
He’d never used a battery without the aid of a generator or alternator before. There were a couple of times in his life when the charging system on one of his vehicles went bad, sure. But he’d always gotten it fixed right away.
The jump starter he brought along as a backup was capable of starting the vehicle at least twice, maybe three times. So it wasn’t a major crisis. He didn’t have to worry about being stranded anytime soon.
But if he couldn’t find a new alternator, one that was undamaged, the SUV he was driving would eventually die for good, and would be as worthless as the thousands of other relics blocking his way to Kansas City.
He’d been able to solve all of the problems that popped up to this point. But this, this was one he had no idea how to fix.
It would worry him through the night.
He was roughly thirty five miles from the center of Austin. He didn’t drive through Austin often, and in fact hadn’t done so in several years.
But from what he remembered, the interstate cut through the west side of the city and missed the congested downtown area.
Or was it the east side?
He couldn’t remember.
Not that it mattered much. I-35 would take him almost to his final destination. It was, in essence, his ticket to reuniting with his loved ones
It was the little things that Dave had missed the most since the blackout. The things he always took for granted, and never gave a second thought to.
Those things that turned into big things when he no longer had them.
Like, for example, the ability to just open up his freezer and get a few ice cubes when he wanted to get a cold drink of
Enough about that. More about us.
I haven’t seen any FEMA people or troops yet. Maybe they’re afraid of bad weather. Maybe they melt when they get wet. Maybe I’ve just been lucky. Or, I’m hoping, maybe Frank just heard rumors that aren’t true.
In any event, I’m not going to let my guard down. I’ll continue to move only as fast as the darkness and conditions will let me.
And, God willing, I’ll be there in three or four days.
I have to go now, babe. I’m losing my light. I’ll relax for now and see if I can get a bit more sleep, and will set out again around midnight. All the highway nomads should be safely tucked away by then.
I love you. Kiss my girls for me and tell them I love them too.
Chapter 15
“Please, God…”
Dave crossed himself, held his breath, and turned the key.
The starter hesitated for just a second before turning over.
That single second was all it took, though, to let Dave know the battery was a bit weaker than when he’d started it the night before.
He now knew that the alternator was shot. It wasn’t using the engine’s power to recharge the battery when the vehicle was running.
It had been ruined by the EMPs almost a full year before.
Before he’d climbed into the vehicle he’d taken two of the five gallon Jerry cans out of the back and topped off the gas tank.
Although the gas gauge, like all the other things that went through the electrical system, was no longer working, he knew instinctively that a full tank would get him through another night.
He’d be driving a little faster tonight, of course, since he was out of the city and the rain wouldn’t slow him down.
But he’d used only a third of his tank the night before. Even at slightly higher speeds, he’d have plenty.
The battery was more worrisome.
How many starts did he have left, before he drained all the battery’s power and it went dead? One? Two? Five?
He’d never used a battery without the aid of a generator or alternator before. There were a couple of times in his life when the charging system on one of his vehicles went bad, sure. But he’d always gotten it fixed right away.
The jump starter he brought along as a backup was capable of starting the vehicle at least twice, maybe three times. So it wasn’t a major crisis. He didn’t have to worry about being stranded anytime soon.
But if he couldn’t find a new alternator, one that was undamaged, the SUV he was driving would eventually die for good, and would be as worthless as the thousands of other relics blocking his way to Kansas City.
He’d been able to solve all of the problems that popped up to this point. But this, this was one he had no idea how to fix.
It would worry him through the night.
He was roughly thirty five miles from the center of Austin. He didn’t drive through Austin often, and in fact hadn’t done so in several years.
But from what he remembered, the interstate cut through the west side of the city and missed the congested downtown area.
Or was it the east side?
He couldn’t remember.
Not that it mattered much. I-35 would take him almost to his final destination. It was, in essence, his ticket to reuniting with his loved ones
It was the little things that Dave had missed the most since the blackout. The things he always took for granted, and never gave a second thought to.
Those things that turned into big things when he no longer had them.
Like, for example, the ability to just open up his freezer and get a few ice cubes when he wanted to get a cold drink of
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