STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 2

  The uproar that followed was full of confused shouts, yelled denials, loud sobbing, and wailing. Mrs. Moore raised her hands and waited for the crowd to calm down and was about to speak when Emily stood and turned to the group.

  “I was watching the news on my phone before it went out!”

  As everyone was now focused on Emily, she lowered her voice and told what she had seen on CNN then quickly turned around and sat back down.

  “Well, that certainly makes things somewhat clearer, thank you, Emily, for that information. So, we have some important decisions to make and we must make them fairly quickly.” Mrs. Moore scanned the group to see if they were following her words and then continued.

  “Everything will be different now. We cannot count on the government to take care of us, so we will have to take care of ourselves and that means working together. We won’t be able to fly home now, so we have to decide if or how we will get back to Canada.”

  Suddenly Mrs. Davis, a parent chaperone, jumped to her feet.

  “What are you talking about? Of course we will go home! The authorities will get this straightened out and get us home. We must be patient and wait for help. All this talk of not counting on the government is irresponsible of you, it will only panic the children. I suggest we return to the hotel and wait for the management to sort this out!” She finished while looking around the group for support. Everyone stared at her and then swung their eyes back to Mrs. Moore to see what she would say.

  Calmly Mrs. Moore tried to explain the situation. “Mrs. Davis, I understand your reasoning but this is not a normal situation. We can walk back to the hotel but please understand, there will be no power to the elevators so that means climbing 10 flights of stairs as that is the floor we are on. Also, the room doors all have electronic locks that won’t be working so we will have to break the doors open. It will also be very dark in the hallways with the lights out. Next, the management and staff are just people like us that will most likely all leave to check on their own families. With almost all transportation not working, the government will not be able to move around to help most people. Therefore, as I said, we must take care of ourselves. This will be a huge challenge. Food, water, and safety must be our first priority. With no electricity, the water will not flow. With no transportation, food will not be delivered. And finally, with over ten million people in this area and no real law enforcement, within days this city will explode with violence. We know of one plane crash but there were probably more which means fires. With the roads blocked by broken-down cars and fire trucks not working anyway, the fires will burn out of control. Does everyone understand what I’m saying? The best thing we could do is try to leave this city as soon as possible.” With that final statement, Mrs. Moore sat down.

  Chapter Two

  Alex looked at her watch and was surprised to see that only 20 minutes had passed since all this started. It was only 8:30 am and it felt like late afternoon to her.

  “Does your watch work?” came from over her shoulder. She turned and saw it was Quinn asking.

  “Yes, it’s only 8:30,” she told him.

  “Why do you think your watch works? Mine is dead. It was a digital I got last year.”

  “Don’t know but maybe because it’s really old. I have to wind it every morning, it was my grandmother’s.”

  “Good to know. Some really old stuff might still work,” Quinn replied with a smile. “Listen, if this is what Mrs. Moore is talking about and after what Emily saw on CNN it sounds like it is, we really need to come up with a plan and I don’t think we should take too long.”

  Staring into Quinn’s eyes, Alex couldn’t help but wonder how he seemed so calm. Living on a farm meant you learned to keep your head in the game and make quick decisions. Working with animals is always tricky and can be unpredictable but this was so far from anything they could relate to, that Alex felt like she was barely holding on. The one thing she did know was that she trusted Quinn one hundred percent. They had been friends forever and he’d always had a good head on his shoulders. Even when Josh was doing crazy stunts or pranks, Quinn could always steer the situation the right way so everything worked out. Alex always thought that sometime in the future she and Quinn would end up together as a couple. It just never seemed to be the right time and they were always so comfortable together that there was never any pressure to be more than the good friends they were.

  A sudden thought jumped center stage into Alex’s mind and she gasped. “Oh my God! What about radiation. Don’t we have to think about radiation if a nuclear bomb went off?”

  “Whoa, Ok, hold on, “said Quinn. “Other than that plane crashing no one saw an explosion or heard anything. No mushroom cloud on the horizon like you always see in the movies, so whatever happened, it wasn’t that close but yeah, definitely something to keep in mind. Right now, we are in the middle of millions of people and that is really far from my comfort zone. So, the sooner we get out of here and into the countryside, the better I’ll feel. Let’s grab the rest of the gang and talk to Mrs. Moore. No one else seems to be getting it together so let’s talk to her and see if she has a plan.”

  Alex went over to get Emily who was talking to Mason and his friends. When she told Emily what she and Quinn had discussed, Mason jumped in and said they would come and talk to Mrs. Moore as well. With a shrug, Alex turned away and headed back to Quinn who had rounded up Josh and found David. As her group of students approached Mrs. Moore, Alex noticed others heading the same way. Cooper and Dara, a girl from town with black hair and bright blue streaks running through it, joined up with Quinn’s group. Alex arrived in time to hear Quinn ask Mrs. Moore how she knew so much about nuclear bombs.

  “Well dear, I’m a prepper and have been for years. If you don’t know what that is I will explain. There are a lot of people who believe that the world as we know it will someday change drastically. Whether it is a pandemic of some sort, an economic crash or nuclear war, civilization as we know it will end and chaos will ensue. So, we prep for it. Knowledge is a prepper’s biggest asset so we research different scenarios and plan for as much as we can so that we will hopefully survive. I must say that for all the prepping I have done over the years, being at Disneyland was not one of the options I was prepared for.”

  Mrs. Moore seemed to be reflecting on that statement and was clearly not pleased. She seemed to center herself and focused back on the group of students surrounding her.

  “All right students, time to make a plan. The best chance of survival is to get away from large populations and that means cities. So, as I’m sure no cars are working that means walking. Now it might seem impossible to walk all the way back to Canada but it isn’t and people have walked even further. That, of course, is the worst-case scenario. Next would be bikes. Students such as you should easily be able to bike a hundred kilometers a day but probably quite a bit more than that. The best case would be if you could find an older vehicle. Anything in the 70’s and older should work just fine. The problem with newer vehicles is that they rely on electronics so they would have shorted out. Older cars don’t have many electronics in them so that is good. The bad news is we have to find them.”

  As she paused to catch her breath Mason jumped in with a question. “You really don’t think there will be any government coming to help?”

  Surprisingly it was Dara who offered an opinion. “I like to read apocalyptic books and in every one, it’s always the people who got out of the cities fast or are already in rural areas that survive. The people who stay in cities almost always die.”

  With a sneer on his face Mason’s friend Mark, who was best known as a bully, interrupted. “Shut up Freak. No one cares about your dumb Goth punk books.”

  Dara shook her head with disgust and took a step back. Emily was looking at Mason to say something to his friend but he had a small smirk of his own. Lisa gave a quick giggle but sucked it back when Mrs. Moore glared at her. Quinn took a step toward Mark with an angry face just as Alex lo
udly called out, “You ass!”

  Mrs. Moore took a quick step, blocking Quinn, and declared, “Yes. Yes, he is an ass.”

  This made everybody stop and stare at her in shock. No one could believe that a teacher had said such a thing.

  “My goodness that felt wonderful! I’ve wanted to say that ever since I met you, young man,” she exclaimed to Mark. “Do you really think now, in this situation, that type of petty bullying is helpful? No, don’t answer. Just stand there with your trap shut and let me tell you something. What Dara said is the exact truth of the situation. You would not know that or understand as you mainly read comic books. So … Hush!”

  It was very difficult for Alex not to burst out with laughter at the expression on Mark’s face. With his red hair and fair skin, he looked like a tomato that was about to burst. Mason finally stepped in and gave his buddy a jab in the ribs with his elbow and a quick shake of his head. Mark took a step back and kept his eyes on the ground as he tried to cool down.

  “Now as I was saying, we should leave here as soon as possible. I would not bother going back to the hotel as it is in the wrong direction and we have the important things such as money and passports with us. Clothing can be replaced. Time cannot. We should walk northeast until we find a sporting goods store and then buy backpacks, camping supplies and bikes if we can. Money should be working for a few more hours before people start to understand the situation. Some form of weapon should also be procured. Things will get very dangerous and it’s best to be prepared to defend oneself,” Mrs. Moore stated in a no-nonsense way.

  Alex couldn’t help but be a bit shocked by Mrs. Moore. She had always been a very matronly lady and somewhat strict, but this was not at all what Alex would have expected to lie at the core of her personality. She had always enjoyed Mrs. Moore’s classes as they tended to be a challenge with some good debates, but this was an altogether different lady.

  “Mrs. Moore,” Mason stepped forward, “Why would we try to cross two countries overland when we are so close to the ocean? We could find a boat and easily sail all the way back up to Canada. It would be much quicker and not so physically demanding.”

  Before Mrs. Moore could reply, both of the parent chaperones - Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Hardsky - along with a man no one knew, came up to the group. Mrs. Davis started up right away.

  “Norma, this gentleman is also Canadian and he has advised us that our best option is to go to the Canadian Embassy here. They are required to care for us and see to it that we get home,” she said triumphantly.

  Mrs. Moore looked the man over and questioned him. “Where are you from, sir?”

  “Please call me Paul. I’m here with my wife and daughter from Toronto.”

  Mrs. Moore then started firing questions at the man. “First, there is no embassy here, only a consulate and is it not in downtown Los Angeles? Wouldn’t you have to walk through a lot of very poor, possibly dangerous, neighborhoods? Other than allowing us inside, what do you think they could do for us? Won’t there be thousands of Canadians going there? With no transportation how will they send us home? And if they can’t send us home, how will they feed us? Thank you, Mr. Paul but I do not believe that you can answer any of those questions in a way that would make it worth going there.”

  As she started to turn away from him, he grabbed her arm, and with panic in his voice loudly stated, “It is their job! They have to take care of us!”

  Mrs. Moore gave the man a very steely glare. “Unhand me and remove yourself from this area, sir. Attend to your own family and I will attend to my students.”

  The man moved away angrily and Mrs. Davis immediately took up his case.

  “Norma, really that is the best idea. We can’t be responsible for all these students in a crisis! We need to go to the authorities for help and the Canadian Consulate is our best bet.”

  Mrs. Moore sadly shook her head and looked around at all the student in the class. Everyone seemed to have been listening to all the discussions about what to do. Most students looked unsure and confused and some were still crying. The only other teacher, Ms. Scott, was still sobbing in the arms of another parent.

  Mrs. Moore stepped away from Mrs. Davis and raised her arms. “All right students, your attention, please! We have been discussing the best way to go forward and there are two different opinions as to the best course. We will discuss both with you and answer any questions to the best of our ability and then you will vote on what you feel is the best choice for each of you.”

  Mrs. Davis was incensed by this and turned to Mrs. Moore. “You can’t be serious! They are children and don’t know what’s best for them! Letting them vote is ridiculous and totally irresponsible!” she said in a huff.

  “I disagree,” Mrs. Moore cut her off, “They are all sixteen and older and after being informed, have the right to choose. After all, this decision may mean life or death for them and I am confident that they are mature enough to have a say in their future.”

  “Well, MY daughter will not be voting on anything! This is a decision for adults, not children,” she said forcefully.

  “Very well, Mrs. Davis as you are her parent that is between the two of you. But as the rest of the young adults are without parental representation they will make their own decisions.”

  She turned back to the students and noticed that a few were smiling and that Mrs. Davis’s daughter was looking miserable.

  “As I was saying, the first choice is that we will all try to walk to the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles which is about 20 to 30 miles away. We will then hope that they will help us to get home.” She paused looking at everyone’s faces to be sure they all understood the scenario and then continued. “The other choice is to try to leave the city as quickly as possible and hope to find bikes or other transportation along the way. After leaving the city we would then continue our way north towards Canada.

  Now, you have all heard the different discussions about both these options and I will try to answer any questions.” She finished and waited expectantly.

  Alex and the other students around her looked to each other and Quinn said, “Let’s step away for a minute.” They all moved away from their teacher and once again it was Quinn that started the discussion. “Does anyone here want to go to the consulate?” he asked. Everyone shook their heads no and Mason and Mark made comments like “idiots” and “suicide”.

  “All right, so we are all agreed that we need to get out of here and on the road.” He quickly did a head count. “Ok there are ten of us to start and who knows how many others will want to join us. But if it’s ten plus Mrs. Moore I think that would make a good team to work out duties like standing watch and camp chores. And we can rotate so no one has all the crap work.”

  Quinn was about to continue when Mason jumped in. “Hey, who made you the team captain? I’m the quarterback here and I don’t agree with your plan at all and neither do my friends!”

  Then everyone started talking at once and the group quickly split into two camps. Josh and Mark were starting a shoving contest when Emily yelled out, “STOP IT!”

  It was such a surprise coming from soft-spoken Emily that everyone stopped talking and pushing and turned to stare at her.

  “Mason! Quinn! We have to work together on this or no one will survive! Mason if you don’t like Quinn’s plan then tell us what you think we should do and we can discuss it. But no more fighting! The longer it takes for us to figure it out, the harder it will be once we get out there.” She sat down on the ground with a frustrated expression and waited. Mason looked like he wasn’t too happy his girlfriend had called him out but took a deep breath and sat down beside her.

  Once everyone was sitting again and looking to him he began. “Ok, I agree we need to get out of here but I think going thousands of miles across two countries is stupid. I say we head to the coast and get a boat. We sail it right up to Vancouver and then hike the rest of the way home.” There was a smug smile on his face as he finished.

&nbs
p; Quinn was looking at him waiting for more. When he realized that there was no more to his plan, he shook his head.

  “That’s it? Go get a boat and sail it away? Haven’t you been listening? Nothing works! Boats have motors, same as cars. Even if you found an old one, what would you do? Steal it? We are going to try to buy bikes, not steal them. Ok, so now you have stolen a boat. Do you have any idea on how to sail on the ocean? Man, come on! At least on land, you can’t drown and what about food and water? That’s almost as bad as staying put and waiting for help!”

  Mason gave him a look of contempt. “I’m not a total idiot you know! I was thinking of getting a sailboat so it’s just a matter of getting out of the marina and then using the sails. As for stealing it, well… it’s a brand-new world and survival of the fittest is the new law of the land. We can stock up on food and water on the way to the coast and we can also fish if we have too. It beats killing ourselves walking or biking thousands of miles. My old man always says “Work smarter, not harder.” Anyways, that’s what we are doing and I don’t need to talk about it with you. If you make it home I’ll be sure to have a cold beer waiting for you. You will really need it by then.”

  Before Quinn could say anything else Mrs. Moore called them back over to the main group.

  Once they were sitting again she began. “Now that we have answered your questions it’s time to vote. All those wanting to head to the consulate raise your hands.”

  Alex was shocked that all the students and adults except for Mrs. Moore and her and Mason’s group raised their hands.

  With a frown of disappointment on her face, Mrs. Moore said, “And those wanting to leave the city?”