Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the characters that appeared on the CBS version of Jericho. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: I forgot to mention it last chapter ~ Thank you all for the lovely reviews the past two chapters! It certainly increases my motivation to write!

Chapter VI: Four Horsemen

September 22, 2006

Bombs + 2 Days

By the time the rain had stopped, the all-clear had been given from Town Hall, and the patients moved back up to their rooms in the Medical Center, Jake wanted nothing more than to go home and collapse. He had heard a rumor of Grey Anderson forming a fact-finding group that would head out to discover what they could and he felt he should be there at the meeting at Bailey's to support his Father

Before he could leave the Med Center, he heard that Stanley Richmond had come in with possible radiation poisoning. Jake found him in the pediatric isolation room waiting for the all-clear. Stanley had told him about the escaped prisoners dressed up as deputies, and the gun fight between them and Emily Sullivan he had walked into. He also mentioned the line of tanks he had seen heading toward Denver.

"Have you thrown up since you were exposed?" Jake finally asked.

"Yeah, a couple times," Stanley said sardonically. "Apparently that's what happens when you drink a bottle of iodine. I need to get back to the house. I need to check on the livestock, I need to check on the corn. I need to get out of here."

"There's really nothing you can do right now," Jake responded sympathetically.

"He's right," Bonnie agreed with Jake. "You need to stay."

"I'm really sick of being poked with needles every ten minutes. They'll be sorry when my spidey- powers kick in," Stanley replied, making spider-man noises.

"Well you're still an idiot, so that's a good sign," Jake said with a laugh. He thanked Stanley for the information and headed for Bailey's.

Johnston and Eric were walking across the street from Town Hall to Bailey's when Jake arrived from the Medical Center.

"So, how were your shelter experiences?" Jake asked wryly.

"Pretty smooth, thanks to your Grandfather. I can only imagine how things might have gone if we hadn't been prepared. I guess you heard about Grey Anderson's plan," Johnston asked, shaking his head.

"Yes, that's why I'm here. I thought a little Green solidarity couldn't hurt during this time of crisis," Jake answered.

"Thank you, Son. The support is appreciated." Johnston gave his sons a nod as he pushed through the front doors of Baily's Tavern.

Grey was standing at the pool table with Abrahams, Crossfield, and several other employees from the salt mine. They were looking at road maps and discussing routing options.

"Abrams, you and Crossfield are taking the northern route up to the state police barracks in Broken Bow, Nebraska," Grey was making assignments. "I can go east to Topeka and connect
with the State Government, and Ridley can head west to Denver. Or what's left of it."

"He'll probably run into a ring of FEMA and EMS people before he ever gets in sight of the city. See what they know," Norman Perry recommended.

Johnston had heard enough and broke in. "Grey, what exactly are you planning here?"

"We're too vulnerable sitting here without knowing anything," Grey responded in an argumentative tone. "I think we should go out in each direction and figure out what's going on."

"North, south, east and west. Like the four horsemen of the apocalypse," Norm Perry chimed in again.

"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that," Johnston replied dryly. "Furthermore what makes you say 'we don't know anything'? We knew last night there were explosions in Denver and Atlanta. We learned from the folks that came in this morning from Kansas City that Lawrence, St Louis and Chicago were also hit. Oliver and Mr. Hawkins here have been taking turns manning the HAM radio and picked up news that Philadelphia, San Diego and Dallas had been hit. We not only survived the potential fallout rainstorm, I think we did very well. We are prepared for this. To go out driving around would be foolish."

When Jake heard his father mention the name Hawkins, his eyes shot up from the map and searched the room until he found his former classmate standing in the shadows, looking back at him. They exchanged nods, and Jake returned his attention to the heated conversation going on around him.

"If you insist upon going out there, you are certainly free to go," Johnston was saying, "but you go as a private citizen, with your own supplies. In my opinion, we have plenty of information to stay here and function, but not nearly enough information to go driving around the countryside stirring up trouble."

Jake, Eric and many of the members of the group were nodding in agreement with Johnston. Even as he spoke, the snow on the television of the tavern turned to a poor quality picture and a newscaster speaking an oriental language could be heard. Behind him, a map of the United States showed red targets over numerous cities.

"Was that Korean?" Eric asked when the signal was lost. "Does anybody know?"

"I think it was Chinese," Jake replied.

"Mandarin," Mr. Hawkins added.

"The question is, were they just reporting it, or were they behind it?" Jake asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Did Stanley see if there were any markings on the side of the tanks?" Eric queried.

"No," Jake answered.

"Maybe we're being invaded," Eric said glumly.

"Abrams and Crossfield are out. They won't drive into a war zone." Grey informed the group.

"Yeah, well, I don't blame them," Eric agreed. "Why don't you put this plan on hold right now? We saw one image; we'll probably see more."

"Going out is more important than ever, alright? If this country is at war, we need to know it," Grey persisted, returning to the maps and the group gathered at the pool table.

"Okay, we have Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia. What else did you see on the TV?" Jake heard Emily, Mary and others talking as they looked over a United States map, trying to remember what they had seen on the brief news feed. He tried to make his way toward Hawkins but was stopped by his father.

"So I've been wondering how you and that school bus made it past the Rangers on patrol the other night," Johnston asked Jake pointedly.

Jake looked a bit sheepish. "I took a shortcut across the back of the salt mine property and came into town through the parking lot of the farm equipment store. It's an old route we used to use when I was younger. Why do you ask?"

"We had a disaster drill the summer you were in Afghanistan," Johnston started his explanation. "It started out as an infectious disease scenario and turned into a zombie apocalypse scenario when some of the young people talked about reading those Walking Dead comic books. Apparently there's a town in the story that fortifies its borders and survives the apocalypse nicely. It got us to thinking, and we ended up reinforcing the perimeter of Jericho pretty well, leaving just six entrances for the Rangers to need to patrol. I certainly hope it will never come down to that, but I'm glad we have that safety net in place. Of course that had the farmers asking about their safety, so we ordered enough concertina wire to form a perimeter around the farms and the salt mine. We have two rows in place and had ordered a third but it hadn't arrived when all of this happened. At least we have the two."

"Wow, Dad, you all put a lot more effort into this while I was away," Jake said. "I can look over the plans and let you know of any more shortcuts I'm aware of."

"Thanks, Son, I appreciate it." Johnston replied as he was pulled away to discuss other matters.

Jake made his way to where Hawkins had seated himself in a booth, away from the crowd. "I take it you knew about the bombs before they went off?" Jake asked him pointedly.

"Well, yes, you could say that." Mr. Hawkins replied warily. "It's kind of a long story. I'll tell you sometime."

"I'll bet you will," Jake replied. "Just answer me this: Are we still on the same side?"

"I brought my family to Jericho, didn't I?" Mr. Hawkins asked indignantly.

"Well, yes," Jake answered, noting that Hawkins had not answered his question. "Why did you bring your family here, Mr. Hawkins?"

"Because I knew it would be a safe place, Jake," Hawkins answered in a somewhat patronizing tone, as though speaking to a child. "I'll explain the rest when we can speak freely. Come over to the house one day and we'll talk. I am told we bought the 'Old Thompson Place'," he added with a smirk.

"Alright," Jake replied, accepting that he wasn't going to get any further answers during the conversation. They parted ways and Jake checked in with his father again before heading home to Green Ranch.

It was Friday evening, and the McCalls would be holding their usual get-together; even the apocalypse couldn't stop that. The folks at the ranch house gathered around Jake when he arrived home, eager to hear what he had discovered in town. They had several hours before going to dinner at the bunk house, so the adults were seated in the great room while the children played outside with the McCall children and the babies had their afternoon nap.

Jake told them what he knew so far about the bombs falling in multiple cities, and the way they had learned about each of the various cities. "So we really have no yet who is responsible or how many cities have been affected altogether, but I think we are doing pretty well information-wise considering the grid has been down. The town did pretty well with the fallout storm, with a few notable exceptions.

"Apparently Leavenworth was transferring several federal prisoners to Denver for trial and the bus was having trouble with a tire. Looks like they got off the I-70 and were headed for Wilson's Garage when the bus's tire blew out and the bus went into a ravine. The Sheriff and several deputies must have mistaken the prison bus for the school bus. They were shot and killed by a prisoner who had escaped his shackles and overpowered the guard." That information had reached Johnston just before Jake left town.

"Somehow, the prisoners got the better of Jimmy and Bill and had them tied up in the trunk of their sheriff's car. The escaped prisoners were dressed in Jimmy and Bill's uniforms when they came across Emily walking by the side of the road with a gas can."

"Wait a minute. What was Emily doing by the side of the road?" Heather broke in. "How could she have run out of gas in her own hometown?"

"I know, Babe," Jake reassured her, "I don't understand it, either. Or how she didn't think it was odd that she didn't recognize the two deputies who picked her up. But it is Emily we're talking about, here. I know better than to ask too many questions." Jake and Heather shared an eye-roll before he continued.

"The deputies said they were low on gas, too, so Emily directed them to Richmond Ranch. By the time Stanley got home from helping his cousins with the livestock, Emily and Bonnie had fed the prisoners breakfast and Emily was in a standoff with them. She ended up shooting one of them and he shot the other before they freed Bill and Jimmy and they all took shelter in their storm cellar. Stanley was exposed to some rain and went to the Medical Center to be evaluated. I found him in the pediatric isolation room waiting for his spidey-powers to kick in, so I think he'll be OK.

"In the meantime, Grey Anderson decided the town needed more information, so he organized scouts to go out in each direction. Dad tried to talk him out of it until we had more information or had a specific mission, but they seemed pretty determined. I think they were planning to leave this afternoon."

"Well, that's Grey Anderson for you," E.J. put in as the group dispersed. He continued to have trouble with his memory, but was very much aware of the current crisis, and glad for the preparations the town had made. He went to his room to have a rest before going to the McCalls.

In the Manhattan apartment of the Brady family, tensions were running high. The power had not been restored, and there had been no sign of FEMA or other government help. They had grilled the meat from the freezer during the first 24 hours and generally pretended as though nothing was happening. By the end of 48 hours, they had used up most of their water and food. They could see the chaos going on below their windows. Olivia had arrived home on Thursday afternoon, having come from school on foot. She had been chased by local hoodlums and lost her backpack, but was otherwise unharmed.

A meeting was called for Friday evening. Geraldine and Charles were invited to the Brady apartment to discuss the options of the group.

"We can't stay here very much longer without help. We've used up most of your supplies," Grant Stevens began. He had been the force behind holding a meeting and coming up with a plan of action if FEMA did not show up to help. "We appreciate you taking us in, but we have drained your resources. It is only a matter of time before all of the supplies have been used and you all have to make a decision anyway. I think we're better off traveling in a group. We saw what happened to Olivia yesterday. Each day will just get worse as people get more desperate. If we start out before we use all of our supplies, then we will have some food to take with us. What do you all think?"

"You know none of us has automobiles," Charles opened the dialog. "Where would we go? And how would we get there? I doubt there will be much in the way of public transportation available."

"We live in Jericho, Kansas," Grant answered. "We thought they were crazy, but Jericho has spent the past 5 years preparing for just this type of thing. Our teenaged daughter is there, so we will go there under any circumstance. The Bradys have family there. I'm sure Jericho will find a place for you if you want to come with us."

"Why, I can't leave," Geraldine cried in alarm. "Who would take care of my cats?"

"Perhaps you could find someone else in the building to watch them?" Grant asked hopefully.

"Oh, no," Geraldine exclaimed disdainfully. Generally, the folks in the penthouse apartments did not associate with the residents of the other apartments. "I'll just stay here with my kitties. I certainly don't want to travel in these conditions."

The group was somewhat surprised, especially the Stevens, who did know Geraldine as well. She was elderly, and somewhat frail, however. Grant wasn't sure she would travel well. Looking at the other members of the group, he wasn't entirely sure how well any of them would travel. None of them was used to roughing it or doing without the creature comforts. It had been difficult enough for them to live in their posh New York apartment without electricity; he could only imagine taking them on the road.

Geraldine had collected her things and returned to her home, declaring that she had no further interest in the meeting. Grant proceeded with his agenda for the meeting.

"So, is everyone else up for a road trip?" Grant asked, trying to drum up enthusiasm.

"You never answered Charles' question. How will we get there?" Olivia asked in a disrespectful tone that had Grant wondering if Skylar sounded like that to others.

"Well, we all have sturdy legs. We can walk about ten miles per day when we cannot find rides. We can camp at night or stay wherever we can find lodging."

"You've got to be kidding, I am not walking to Kansas," Olivia cried, revolted with the very thought of going to Kansas, let alone walking there.

Grant was growing impatient with Olivia and her attitude. He took a deep breath and turned toward Bob and Sharon. "I understand that Jericho wouldn't be your first choice, but it may be your only choice given the circumstances. Miranda and I need to get home to Skylar. Are you coming or not?"

"Why, I don't know," Sharon prevaricated. "Couldn't we just give it a few more days and see if FEMA doesn't come and fix things? We paid taxes all those years for them to help if we needed help, and I think this qualifies."

Charles broke into the conversation for the first time. "I'm afraid Grant is right. I don't think help will come. If it does, it will be too little, too late. We had best take care of ourselves. I have some camping equipment and a backpack. I think we'll find that the Duntreaths also have backpacking equipment. We've discussed backpacking trips in the past. They are our absent neighbors," he explained, turning toward Grant Stevens. "Do you think it would be considered stealing under these circumstances," He mused thoughtfully.

"I really don't think they'll be back," Grant answered gently. "Shall we look in their apartment for the things we need? We can start a pile of things here by the elevator. Let's see if we can get packed up tonight and leave first thing in the morning, OK?"

Charles had a key to the Duntreaths' apartment, so he and Grant went in to look for supplies. They must have had a dog that they had boarded or took with them because a flat of canned dog food was located in the pantry. They took that to Geraldine to feed her cats, and planned to leave Geraldine the keys to all of the apartments when they left so she could help herself as needed.

Charles had been correct. They found two light-weight backpack frames and extensive gear including a decent stash of freeze-dried food. It wouldn't get them all the way to Jericho, but it would help. They put the backpacks and food by the elevators and noted that the others had placed things there as well. They went back for a compact camp stove and a tent. Then they looked through the rest of the apartment for useful items. They would need items for barter once their supplies ran out, and perhaps to pay for transportation. Paper currency would probably not be useful for long. Charles had volunteered to bring his coin collection to barter. They found Zoe Duntreath's jewelry and scooped it into a bag. They also brought all of the coffee they could find.

The pile by the elevators was growing. They brought out a bathroom scale to equalize the loads based upon the size of the individual. The three men would carry the bona fide backpacks and the three ladies would carry day packs. They would plan to use the canned food first because it was heavier to carry. They had no firearms, but managed to locate a few knives between the Duntreaths' apartment and Charles supplies to be used for self-defense and possible hunting. They also found several individual water filter/purification systems. They would start with as much water as they had and could carry and then purify what they could find. And hope to find helpful people along the way. Charles and Grant exchanged their concerns about taking this group half way across the country on foot, but there was little choice in the matter.

Jake and Heather were heading to the McCalls with the three babies that evening when Jake's radio went off. Johnston informed him that Norm Perry had brought back a flight data recorder from a plane that had landed near the Smokey Hill Bridge. He wanted Jake to come in to town to see if they could listen to it. Jake got Heather settled and headed for town.

The Sheriff's Office was crowded with people as Jake sat down in front of the old reel-to-reel player. He was soon able to load the tape and locate the last 30 seconds of recording. As he played it for the group, he became aware of another voice in the background. He was able to isolate it and reassure Emily that the plane of her fiancé Roger had landed safely. He held no ill wishes toward Emily and was happy to be able to be able to give her this piece of good news. Not all of the people on flights had been so lucky.

Once he completed the task that brought him to town, Jake left Town Hall. Gail had mentioned that the town was having a Bar-B-Q of the meat from Gracie Leigh's store. The atmosphere was festive, but he didn't stay. He couldn't wait to be back at Green Ranch with his family.