Catastrophy of the highest order..part one

You wake up like always but this time you notice that the power is turned off. You are out in your truck you notice that the engine has quit. You look at your cellphone to get an idea of the time but it's not working. You reach for the ignition switch to turn over the motor but nothing happens. Seems the batteries have died. You look over at the other trucks and none of them are running either. Some of the reefer drivers are trying to start their units back up but to no avail. Seems they have also "bit the dust". A few drivers are milling around in the parking lot so you join them. No one seems to know what is going on. You look out on the roadway and you notice a couple of trucks have actually just stopped on the roadway and a few cars also. No traffic is moving at all and it's eerily quiet all around.


You decide to try to use the pay phone in the truck stop so as you are walking that way you notice that it is closed. The shift on duty has left and placed a sign on the door that says "Closed until further notice".


Ok..so no bathroom and no shower today and you think further on to how you will have no coffee. Now things are getting serious here.


Now your thoughts fall to your family. Are they ok? How can you get in touch with them? All kinds of thoughts are racing through your mind and you are worried. How can you get back to them? What mode of transportation will you use? Do they have electricity? Do they have food and water? Does their car work? Now you have worked yourself up into a state of agitation and you feel helpless. You are not sure what to do or where to start. There is really no place around to walk to and there is nothing to do. It's mid-morning and things are hitting you that you'd rather not think about.


Why is there no traffic? What are you going to do for your next meal? How long until the power comes back on? You and everyone else in the truck stop is at a complete loss of what to do. No one has any answers at all. One driver went over to the fuel island to get some water from the spigot but nothing came out. The doors to the store are still locked and there are no employees in sight. You and the others didn't know that the employees had closed up in the middle of the night after the power went out and walked home to check on their families.


No one else's cell phones are working. No laptops will fire off and no wi-fi signal is available even if they did. But you don't know that. What is going on????


So, you and the other drivers sit there and try to figure it out. One of them has a few supplies in his truck and a few of the reefer guys have some food. One driver is hauling a load of water but none of them want to break any of it out until they get word back from someone on what to do. The frozen food is thawing out and will soon start to become just cool and over the next couple of days will become inedible. A few days after that and you won't be able to stand the smell of it.


Town is a few miles away and the silence in the world is getting to you. No planes overhead, no motors running, no electric motors, lights or signs are on. It's a spooky feeling. One driver has a gas grill and he is heating up some water for his coffee. He offers some up to you and you are grateful for it. There are around 35 of you in the truck stop and everyone is thinking of what to do.


One driver says he was up late last night and saw a flash of light off to the west and right after that was when everything went blank. So you and all the other drivers thought that it might have been a power plant going kaput. How did that affect the trucks though? It's getting around lunchtime and the sound of an engine finally breaks the silence. Everyone turns to see an old 1966 chevy driving past at a high rate of speed. It goes right past the intersection of the truck stop and veers onto the interstate squealing tires and hauling ass towards the north. This puzzles you and the others because here is a motor that is working. Why won't the trucks start and where is everyone else at?
Some of the trucks had good batteries and the lights on them work but nothing is starting up. Still no phones, no internet, no tv and no electricity. You are still in the dark and getting more worried with every passing minute.
The heat from the day has thawed the frozen meat in three of the reefers and the drivers broke out some of it. A couple of guys had a grill and before long supper was ready for everyone. There were still about 35 of you there and the clerk had come back to check on things along with the manager. Seems like everything in the store was ok, but with no electric and no water they couldn't offer the drivers any showers or sell them anything, much less pump any fuel. There were no trucks needing any and no cars coming by to fill up. It was one of the strangest days you can ever remember but it was going to get a lot worse before it got any better. You just didn't know it yet....