Outage (Powerless Nation #1) by Ellisa Barr

set out the next morning to get the truck. The worst part of the walk was lugging the gas can the whole distance. The fumes made her light-headed, and it was heavy and awkward and kept banging into her leg.
    When she got to Courtney's house, she saw the young mother out working in her yard while her kids played in a plastic turtle sandbox. Courtney had a hoe and it looked like she was ripping out the shrubs and flower bushes that lined her yard.
    “What's going on?” Dee called.
    Courtney shaded her eyes and smiled when she saw Dee. “I found some old seeds in the garage and I'm going to plant them. I've just got to clear out some of these shrubs first and make room.”
    “That's a great idea,” said Dee, thinking about her grandpa's garden. Some of his plants were already knee-high. “Isn't it a little late for planting though?”
    Courtney shrugged, “I've got to do something. Maybe I can cover them when it gets cold, or even bring them into the house. I already have a few potted tomatoes and herbs.”
    “I wish I could stay and help,” Dee began, but Courtney interrupted.
    “You've already done enough,” she said firmly. “You gave me hope that my Rob is walking home from Spokane. When he gets here we've got food and we're going to raise a garden and take care of our kids. So don't worry about us. Not at all.”
    They chatted for a few more minutes about the kids, and then Dee resumed her walk. Talking about Courtney's husband walking from Spokane made her think about her parents. She'd been dealing with one emergency after another and hadn't let herself consider their situation. Now, walking down a deserted country road, she couldn't think about anything else. Were they stranded in the middle of the ocean? Although she'd pretended to ignore them when they talked about their trip, she knew their itinerary by heart. Yesterday they were supposed to spend the whole day at sea. Maybe they hadn't been in range of the EMP. Even so, from what Jennifer had said it would still be a major obstacle for the ship to dock and unload its passengers.  
    Once her parents disembarked they'd be in a city where they had no family or friends, no food or supplies, and they'd have to travel more than three hundred and fifty miles over the Cascade Mountains to get to her. Even if their car still worked, they wouldn't be able to get it out of Seattle. Not when it practically took an army to get a fire truck across a small town.
    Dee finally reached the truck, and she climbed in and rested her head on the steering wheel while tears dropped down her cheeks. She'd been so awful to them this year. Dee had blamed her bad behavior on losing her brother, but hadn't they lost a son too? They hadn't deserved the way she'd been treating them.
    Had she even waved goodbye to them Sunday? She knew she hadn't said a word.
    Dee tried to pull herself together. She was wasting time. If Jennifer was right and this thing was as bad as she thought, Dee was going to be here for a while.
    Just for a while. “Don't say forever. Don't say forever,” she told herself fiercely. “They are coming back.”
    Dee was wiping her eyes when she heard a sound she'd only heard on TV. When she turned her head, she was looking straight down the barrel of a gun.

CHAPTER SEVEN

    T HE MAN HOLDING THE gun was in his mid-twenties, with messy brown hair and hands that shook.
    “Don't shoot,” Dee said, putting her hands where he could see them.
    “Does that thing work?” asked the man.
    “It's... out of gas,” Dee stalled, trying to think. She couldn't let him steal the truck. All of their food and supplies were locked in the cargo box in back.
    “Get out,” said the man, waving her aside with the barrel of the gun.
    Her legs barely supported her as she opened the door and slid out. She was right next to the man, and his hands were shaking so hard she was afraid he was going to shoot her by accident. “Get over there,” he said, pushing her roughly to one