Outside, there were plenty of people and plenty of cars, but none of the cars were running and almost everyone was walking. The scene was the same - people standing around non-running cars with the hood up looking underneath as if they would find an easy fix to the same problem everyone else had.
It also meant no running taxis or buses either so Patty had no idea how she was going to get across town to her client's office. Further, her phone and the hotel phone weren't working so she couldn't call to let them know her predictament. The only option she had right now was to find a working phone and contact the client, her job and home to check on her daughter.
Across the street from the hotel was a large CVS drugstore which Patty crossed over towards to see if their phones worked. The front doors were blocked open and a clerk was standing behind the counter ringing up a single customer's purchases.
"Pardon me, ma'am, but do you have a payphone here?" Patty asked the clerk.
"Yes, ma'am, but it don't work right now. None of the da phones are working they all broken." the clerk replied.
"Oh, I see." Patty said despondently. She needed to call her client or her boss, but what she really wanted to to was check on Elena and her parents. She knew her daughter was safe with her parents, but she did want the child to worry as she had the night before she left on her trip.
Looking around the store, Patty thought about the power outage and what she would do if she had been at home. Typically, a power outage meant keeping the fridge and freezer closed and possibly getting ice from the local market. It also meant dependancy upon flashlights and portable lighting until the lights came back on.
In 2000, a tornado ripped through Fort Worth and the surrounding area which resulted in power being off at her parents for two days. During that time, she remembered how her father had a working generator to keep the freezer cold and how her parents had numerous lanterns and other supplies on hand just for an emergency.
This same philosophy was subtly ingrained in Patty growing up and as the enormity of the situation in Shreveport dawned on her, she determined it might be wise to pick up some things at the drugstore.
Patty picked up a shopping basket and put inside a flashlight with two packs of batteries, a package of emergency candles and a three pack of Bic lighters. That took care of lighting in her room if the outage lasted into the night.
Next up, snacks and food. The restaurant might not get their lights on for some time and room service was out so it would be wise to have something to eat with her. She picked up two cans of nuts, a dozen protein bars, four tunafish lunch kits, a handful of bananas, a box of crackers, and a dozen bottles of water.
When Patty went to the register, the clerk looked at what she had and rolled her eyes,
"The register don't work and I gots to do this with paper so hold up, honey."
"If the register is not working, how are you taking credit or debit cards?" asked Patty.
"We just be running a print and when the power comes on, we will runs them all. I needs your phone number in case theres a problem." she replied.
"And what if my phone never works again?" thought Patty.
-------------------
After making her purchases, Patty went back to the hotel and asked the bellman if she could drop her shopping bags and laptop case with him to hold. After he took the things and gave her a claim check, she asked for directions to the nearest Grayhound bus station.
"Sure, it's only a few blocks away. Walk out of the hotel, go left and walk two blocks, then take the first right on Ohio Street. Go another block or so and it's on your left side, can't miss it."
"Are you planning on taking the bus home, ma'am? I thought you flew in to Shreveport?" the bellman asked.
"I did, but if the power is out here it might be at the airport, I might as well see if there is a bus leaving for Dallas/Fort Worth I can take in the meantime. It's good to have options, you know?" Patty replied.
"Sure, I guess. Well, good luck." he answered and turned back to the busy lobby.
Patty left the hotel and with the bellman's instructions, found the Grayhound station. Like most stations in urban areas, there were several homeless looking characters standing (or passed out) around, so she kept her caution up.
Inside, there were fewer people than she thought, but a fair number were standing around the lobby. She made her way to the counter and after a ten minute weight, found herself getting the chance to speak with one of the clerks.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Are there any buses leaving today for the Dallas/Fort Worth area?"
"No, ma'am. None of the buses are leaving at all. I had my last one leave at 5:30 this morning and nothing has run since."
"Have they been cancelled for a reason?"
"The buses don't start, ma'am and they don't run. We got three buses on site in the garage and all the mechanics can't figure out the problem other than the starters have been fried."
"Fried? As in burned out?"
"Yes, ma'am that's it. Unless you want to buy a ticket and hold on to it for later, we don't have nothing running today and won't tomorrow unless I get some running buses. Next!"
Patty walked away from the counter and sat down in a chair. This was larger than she believed and she quickly ran through her options and possible solutions.
First, get to the airport and see if flights are leaving. That meant a several mile walk carrying most of her stuff and there was no guarantee she would find a flight or if planes were leaving at all.
Second option, find a running car and drive home. From what she had seen on the streets nothing was running so that was out.
Third option, wait for another option to present itself. There was no reason to believe that this problem was larger than the Shreveport area and that meant that some sort of government action would be forthcoming much like New Orleans after Katrina. Therefore, it might be a few days before transportation would be available and the best option was to wait where she was.
Patty stood up and decided to go back to the hotel and find out if there was any news and see what was going on there. Her room was paid up through Sunday and her employer or client would be able to find her if they needed to.
Once outside, a mangy looking man lounging against a nearby wall whistled at her as she walked from the station. Normally, this was an annoyance all women deal with in urban areas, but a thought dawned on Patty as she walked, "If she was attacked or robbed, how would she call 911?"
Patty began to mull on protection and self defense as she hurried back to her hotel and familiar surroundings.
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Saturday
Friday
SHTF Fiction - The Burnout Chapter Two
The next morning, Patty checked the clock and found she had woken right on time. Always an early riser, she had no problem waking up and was actaully looking forward to the day.
After a quick stretch, Patty took a shower, put on her make up, fixed her hair and took out the business suit she planned to wear that day.
She then filled and turned on the coffee pot in the room for a quick cup before heading downstairs and hopefully getting a continental breakfast before heading to the clients.
Before all of that. she phoned her parents to check in with her daughter.
"Mom, it's me Patty, what's wrong with your phone, it's all scratchy sounding?" she asked when her mother picked up.
"Oh, they are probably working on the lines or something. How are you doing, baby?"
"Good mom. You really should get a cell phone. I never have these problems. How is Elena? Can I talk to her?" Patty asked.
"She's right here eating breakfast. Here Elena, its your mom."
"Mommy! Are you coming home today?" she asked.
"Oh, baby, I would love to, but I have to work. Don't worry, I will be home soon. Are you being good for Abuela and Abuelo?"
"Yes, mommy. I miss you." said the small voice on the phone.
"I miss you too baby. I...*" the phone cut off and for a brief moment, Patty could swear she heard a small crackling sound and caught a faint whiff of something burning.
Simultaneously, the lights in the room flickered and went out. Then there was the distant sound of a car brakes and the crunch of an impact out the window of her hotel room.
Patty went and looked out the window and from the seventh floor, she was able to see the street below and saw none of the cars were moving.
"Now that's odd," thought Patty, "There must have been a power outage or something."
Patty checked her phone and saw it was completely dead. While her nightly habit was to charge the phone on the nightstand like she did at home, she assumed that maybe she forgot to do it last night. She plugged it into the charger and picked up the room phone, but found it dead as well.
Patty had a slight discomfort in her belly when all this happened, but she took a deep breath and told herself not to go off the deep end until she had all the facts.
Patty left her bags in the room, but picked up her purse making sure her room key was in it. She went into the hall, closed the door securely and went to the elevator. After pushing the down button a couple of times, she realized the power was out in the elevevator as well.
That meant walking down (and up again later!) seven flights of stairs. As she headed down to the lobby, she counted her blessings that she was not in the elevator when the power went out as she could have been stuck in there for hours.
In the lobby, it was a scene of mild confusion and typical business travel chaos. A group was standing around the front desk asking questions simultaneously. One man was wearing a white bath robe and was holding a cell phone up demanding service.
In the attached restaurant, there were only a few tables, but they were sitting in the dim light as there were no working lights in there at all. A waiter was lighting a candle on one patron's tables while mouthing what appeared to be an apology.
Patty turned and nearly ran smack into the man from the bar, Lamar Hughes.
"Ms Valdez, good morning and wish it were under better circumstances!" he said loudly. "Looks like we will be getting our rooms comped! I only wish this was the Ritz Carlton and dinner was thrown in for the inconvience!"
"Good morning, Mr. Hughes, oh Lamar, and please, call me Patty. Any idea what's going on with the lights?" she asked.
"No idea at all. But its more than the lights. My phone is not working and neither is the air conditioning or the electronic lock to my room. I can handle waiting in the lobby, but me without air conditioning? Perish the thought! If it keeps up, I am going to my car in the garage and will run it to stay cool!" he laughed.
"The electronic locks? I had not thought about that and I have to get my bag for my meeting. Let me see if I can get some help getting into my room." said Patty.
Patty found a bellman trying to stay out of the way in the corner of the lobby near a large closet where they stored bags for guests.
"Excuse me, but I have a problem and I hope you can help me with it," she said.
The bellman turned and giving Patty a quick lookover and said, "Yes ma'am, how can I help?"
"It sounds like the room key cards aren't working. Is there another way to get into my room? I need to get my laptop bag for my meeting this morning." she asked as helpless as possible.
"Yes ma'am, we have a regular master key to open doors. I will need to get the front desk to validate your ID before I let you in." he said.
They went to the front desk with Lamar tagging along more out of boredom than any thing else. The bellman went around behind the counter by way of a locked door and met Patty around front a few seconds later.
"Mellissa? This lady can't get into her room and I need to verify her ID to let her in with the master key." said the bellman to a harried young woman with three guests shouting at her simultaneously.
"The systems down so you'll have to pull the guest card. If she has a valid ID, you can let her in, but hurry back down, we are going to have a bunch of checkouts this morning," Melissa replied.
The bellman, whose nameplate said Jerry, pulled a small box from a back counter and asked for Patty's driver's license. He then located her registration card and returned her identification and asked her to follow him upstairs where he could open the door for her.
While walking up the seven flights of stairs, they made small talk.
"Have you been outside, ma'am? It looks like cars are having problems too. I just looked out the window and noticed, but I hope the hotel van runs, I am going to need it to run guests to the airport." Jerry said.
"No, I hope taxis are running. I have a meeting in about an hour, wait.." Patty checked her watch and noticed it was no longer running either. "Say, that's strange. I wonder if it's the battery or something."
They finally reached the seventh floor and Jerry walked her down the hallway (which as dark with the exception of light filtering through the windows at each end of the hallways.
"Here we go," said Jerry as he unlocked the door to her room and let her in. He then stood in the door as Patty grabbed her bag and checked her phone which was not only deaad, but had not charged. Patty was already getting warm from the trips up and down the stairs and grabbed the only bottle of water in her room. "This is going send water sales through the roof" she thought. And for some reason, that thought stuck in her mind.
"Here," she said as she held her door open and took two dollars from her purse and handed it to Jerry. "I know you are in a hurry to get back downstairs so I won't hold you."
"Thank you ma'am, please let me know if you need anything else." and then he hurried back to the stairwell which is what Patty wanted him to do.
Patty blocked her door open with her bag and walked the length of the hallway and found what she was looking for, the maid's cart. She had heard it early this morning in the hallway while she was getting ready and having stayed in enough hotels, knew the maids would drop carts in the morning at each floor so the beds could be made up.
But Patty was not looking for extra sheets or towels. Rather, she spied a dozen water bottles sitting on the cart in the center compartment. She only took six however along with some extra bars of soap, wash cloths, and a handful of chocolate mints the maids leave on the bedside table.
Next, she took her ice bucket and the plastic liner down to the ice machine and found that although the control button no longer functioned and released ice without power, there was still a large mound in the catch container below. She filled up the bucket and the bag and brought them both to her room. She put them in the mini bar fridge for the time being and put five of the new water bottles in as well.
At least now she had a supply of reasonably cold water which might come in handy if the power stayed off for a few hours.
After securing her door, she went downstairs to the lobby and saw the situation was the same as before. Rather than deal with the chaos, she went outside to locate a taxi to get to her appointment.
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After a quick stretch, Patty took a shower, put on her make up, fixed her hair and took out the business suit she planned to wear that day.
She then filled and turned on the coffee pot in the room for a quick cup before heading downstairs and hopefully getting a continental breakfast before heading to the clients.
Before all of that. she phoned her parents to check in with her daughter.
"Mom, it's me Patty, what's wrong with your phone, it's all scratchy sounding?" she asked when her mother picked up.
"Oh, they are probably working on the lines or something. How are you doing, baby?"
"Good mom. You really should get a cell phone. I never have these problems. How is Elena? Can I talk to her?" Patty asked.
"She's right here eating breakfast. Here Elena, its your mom."
"Mommy! Are you coming home today?" she asked.
"Oh, baby, I would love to, but I have to work. Don't worry, I will be home soon. Are you being good for Abuela and Abuelo?"
"Yes, mommy. I miss you." said the small voice on the phone.
"I miss you too baby. I...*" the phone cut off and for a brief moment, Patty could swear she heard a small crackling sound and caught a faint whiff of something burning.
Simultaneously, the lights in the room flickered and went out. Then there was the distant sound of a car brakes and the crunch of an impact out the window of her hotel room.
Patty went and looked out the window and from the seventh floor, she was able to see the street below and saw none of the cars were moving.
"Now that's odd," thought Patty, "There must have been a power outage or something."
Patty checked her phone and saw it was completely dead. While her nightly habit was to charge the phone on the nightstand like she did at home, she assumed that maybe she forgot to do it last night. She plugged it into the charger and picked up the room phone, but found it dead as well.
Patty had a slight discomfort in her belly when all this happened, but she took a deep breath and told herself not to go off the deep end until she had all the facts.
Patty left her bags in the room, but picked up her purse making sure her room key was in it. She went into the hall, closed the door securely and went to the elevator. After pushing the down button a couple of times, she realized the power was out in the elevevator as well.
That meant walking down (and up again later!) seven flights of stairs. As she headed down to the lobby, she counted her blessings that she was not in the elevator when the power went out as she could have been stuck in there for hours.
In the lobby, it was a scene of mild confusion and typical business travel chaos. A group was standing around the front desk asking questions simultaneously. One man was wearing a white bath robe and was holding a cell phone up demanding service.
In the attached restaurant, there were only a few tables, but they were sitting in the dim light as there were no working lights in there at all. A waiter was lighting a candle on one patron's tables while mouthing what appeared to be an apology.
Patty turned and nearly ran smack into the man from the bar, Lamar Hughes.
"Ms Valdez, good morning and wish it were under better circumstances!" he said loudly. "Looks like we will be getting our rooms comped! I only wish this was the Ritz Carlton and dinner was thrown in for the inconvience!"
"Good morning, Mr. Hughes, oh Lamar, and please, call me Patty. Any idea what's going on with the lights?" she asked.
"No idea at all. But its more than the lights. My phone is not working and neither is the air conditioning or the electronic lock to my room. I can handle waiting in the lobby, but me without air conditioning? Perish the thought! If it keeps up, I am going to my car in the garage and will run it to stay cool!" he laughed.
"The electronic locks? I had not thought about that and I have to get my bag for my meeting. Let me see if I can get some help getting into my room." said Patty.
Patty found a bellman trying to stay out of the way in the corner of the lobby near a large closet where they stored bags for guests.
"Excuse me, but I have a problem and I hope you can help me with it," she said.
The bellman turned and giving Patty a quick lookover and said, "Yes ma'am, how can I help?"
"It sounds like the room key cards aren't working. Is there another way to get into my room? I need to get my laptop bag for my meeting this morning." she asked as helpless as possible.
"Yes ma'am, we have a regular master key to open doors. I will need to get the front desk to validate your ID before I let you in." he said.
They went to the front desk with Lamar tagging along more out of boredom than any thing else. The bellman went around behind the counter by way of a locked door and met Patty around front a few seconds later.
"Mellissa? This lady can't get into her room and I need to verify her ID to let her in with the master key." said the bellman to a harried young woman with three guests shouting at her simultaneously.
"The systems down so you'll have to pull the guest card. If she has a valid ID, you can let her in, but hurry back down, we are going to have a bunch of checkouts this morning," Melissa replied.
The bellman, whose nameplate said Jerry, pulled a small box from a back counter and asked for Patty's driver's license. He then located her registration card and returned her identification and asked her to follow him upstairs where he could open the door for her.
While walking up the seven flights of stairs, they made small talk.
"Have you been outside, ma'am? It looks like cars are having problems too. I just looked out the window and noticed, but I hope the hotel van runs, I am going to need it to run guests to the airport." Jerry said.
"No, I hope taxis are running. I have a meeting in about an hour, wait.." Patty checked her watch and noticed it was no longer running either. "Say, that's strange. I wonder if it's the battery or something."
They finally reached the seventh floor and Jerry walked her down the hallway (which as dark with the exception of light filtering through the windows at each end of the hallways.
"Here we go," said Jerry as he unlocked the door to her room and let her in. He then stood in the door as Patty grabbed her bag and checked her phone which was not only deaad, but had not charged. Patty was already getting warm from the trips up and down the stairs and grabbed the only bottle of water in her room. "This is going send water sales through the roof" she thought. And for some reason, that thought stuck in her mind.
"Here," she said as she held her door open and took two dollars from her purse and handed it to Jerry. "I know you are in a hurry to get back downstairs so I won't hold you."
"Thank you ma'am, please let me know if you need anything else." and then he hurried back to the stairwell which is what Patty wanted him to do.
Patty blocked her door open with her bag and walked the length of the hallway and found what she was looking for, the maid's cart. She had heard it early this morning in the hallway while she was getting ready and having stayed in enough hotels, knew the maids would drop carts in the morning at each floor so the beds could be made up.
But Patty was not looking for extra sheets or towels. Rather, she spied a dozen water bottles sitting on the cart in the center compartment. She only took six however along with some extra bars of soap, wash cloths, and a handful of chocolate mints the maids leave on the bedside table.
Next, she took her ice bucket and the plastic liner down to the ice machine and found that although the control button no longer functioned and released ice without power, there was still a large mound in the catch container below. She filled up the bucket and the bag and brought them both to her room. She put them in the mini bar fridge for the time being and put five of the new water bottles in as well.
At least now she had a supply of reasonably cold water which might come in handy if the power stayed off for a few hours.
After securing her door, she went downstairs to the lobby and saw the situation was the same as before. Rather than deal with the chaos, she went outside to locate a taxi to get to her appointment.
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Junk Silver Tips To Survive the End of the World One Year Food Supply 72 Hour Bag
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