Alone, Book 3: The Journey by Darrell Maloney Page A

whim, I plugged it into my generator, and was amazed to find out it still works. It loses about ten minutes a day, but for the most part it still ran.
         “I also had a floor lamp in my attic that still worked. So that made me wonder. If some things survived because they weren’t connected to a power source at the time of the blackout, and therefore escaped the massive power surge that the EMPS created, wouldn’t the same apply to automobile parts that weren’t connected to a car?”
         The only one of the three who knew anything about cars was Shadow, who nodded his head and said, “Stands to reason.”
         Dakota scratched his chin. Stan’s face was not unlike a deer staring at a car’s headlights.
         Dave went on.
         “The key, of course, is the battery. It is, in essence, its own electrical system. Therefore, any battery that contained acid at the time of the blackout is shot and cannot be repaired.
         “If you have any chance of bringing any of your vehicles back to life, you’ve got to find batteries that are still dry. Then you have to find the acid to put in them.”
         Shadow looked at him and asked, “Where in heck do we find batteries like that?”
         “Look at tractor dealers, or farm implement companies. When the government mandated sealed batteries for passenger vehicles, the agricultural lobby got an exemption for farm equipment. They still make the old fashioned kind of batteries, where you can pop the tops off and add water occasionally. But they only sell them for industrial vehicles and farm equipment.
         “If you can find such batteries, that’s what you need. They were sold dry. They weren’t activated until they were sold, and then the dealer put acid and water in them. Since they’re still sitting on the shelf and still dry, the EMP wouldn’t have had any affect on them.
         “Find those batteries and you have a chance at getting your vehicles running again.
         “Then go to an auto parts store. Buy new parts to replace your entire electrical system. Or, bypass your fuse box like I did and just connect the basics. My lights and radio don’t work, but I don’t care. It’ll get me to Kansas City and back, and that’s all I care about.”
         Dakota looked at Shadow.
         “Does what he’s saying make sense to you?”
         Shadow thought hard, but couldn’t see any holes in Dave’s theory.
         “You mean if I replace the electronic ignition, the fuel injection system, the battery and the starter, it’ll work?”
         “I’d replace the solenoid too. In fact, the starter may be okay if the solenoid fried first and the surge never got to the starter. Also, the alternator or generator.”
         Shadow looked at Dakota.
         “Hell, I think he’s onto something.”
         Dakota stated the obvious.
         “Well, no shit, Sherlock. He got his own vehicle running. What I want to know, is if we send you and a couple of saddlebags into town, can you bring the parts back and do the same?”
         Shadow swallowed hard.
         He hated to commit himself to a result he wasn’t sure of.
         But, on the other hand, he was a cowboy.
         And a cowboy’s life was, after all, full of risks.
         “If a city slicker can do it, I can too.”
         Then he turned to Dave and asked him, “Anything else I need to do after I get it all put back together?”
         “Yep,” Dave said with a slight grin.
         “Pray.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 20
     
         Dakota put the lid back on the jar of provisions and returned it to the back seat of the Explorer.
         Then he went back to Dave and shook his hand again.
         “Do you expect to come this way again?”
         “I don’t know. Maybe. If I-35 is still blocked I’ll have to bypass it again.