“Maybe I don’t. But maybe it’s time to stop taking shit from these Reapers and start kicking their ass for a change.”
Abrahams decided to try a different approach. “Talk to me about this way to kill these things,” he said, “And get to the point quickly, please.”
“It’s a new kind of bullet,” Walker answered. “Doesn’t matter where you shoot a Reaper. It kills them instantly.”
“Wait, what?”
“We call them Reaper Killers,” Walker continued. “Get me a workbench, and I’ll show you how to make them.”
THE END
The Story Continues
The Story Continues…
… in Wretched Uprising
Author Notes and Acknowledgments
Author Notes:
Whew! This book was the most difficult one I’ve written to date. There were lots of personal life challenges, overwhelming amounts of work with my day job, and even a global pandemic being nearly constant distractions. I was deeply challenged to attempt to get my daily words written, and I wasn’t always successful.
But “inch by inch,” it’s a cinch. And some days it felt like I was literally moving slower than a sloth’s pace.
So this book may have taken me longer to write than usual. But I hope you enjoyed it as much as the previous books in this series.
On to the notes…
As of this writing, there is no Disciples of the Divine cult.
There is a Fieldcrest Drive in Rehoboth Beach. The house credited to Larry’s brother is a fictional description by this author. Any resemblance to any existing home on Fieldcrest Drive is purely coincidental.
The Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware, is an absolutely wonderful place to take a day trip. I definitely recommend checking it out. There is lots of great military history contained inside and outside of its walls.
As of this writing, admission was free and no battles between humans and Reapers have occurred there.
The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant is a chemical weapons destruction facility. It is located at the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) near Richmond, Kentucky.
The plant is dedicated to the destruction of 523 short tons of sarin, VX, and mustard nerve agents.
Destruction of this stockpile is a requirement of international treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The United States Congress passed legislation mandating the destruction of the remaining U.S. national chemical stockpile by April 2012.
The deadline has been extended more than once. The most recent extension, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, pushed the deadline to Dec. 31, 2023.
The M55 rocket was a chemical weapon developed by the United States in the 1950s. The United States Army produced both sarin and VX warheads for the M55.
The M55 was never used in combat, and in 1981 the Army declared it obsolete.
In 1985, Congress ordered the Department of Defense to destroy the complete U.S. stockpile of GB, VX, and HD weapons.
A deadline of December 31, 2004 was set.
Because of problems with the M55 rocket propellant, disposal has been extremely difficult.
Unlike other chemical warfare artillery rounds, it is not safe to just burn the whole rounds. A much more complicated process must be used.
As of this writing, there are still thousands of M55 rockets in storage. There are also plenty of VX warheads, too.
“What the hell do you think I’m doing? Ordering a pizza?” uttered by Sams is a riff off a line in the classic action movie “Die Hard”.
“You’re not Jack Bauer” is a tip of the hat to the old TV series “24” where Kiefer Sutherland would rush from scene to scene and all over town like a one-man army.
Mel Brooks’ “History of the World, Part 1” might be one of my favorite movies of all time. Very funny… and very politically incorrect. Especially the part of the movie where Brooks himself plays the king. So I paid a bit of tribute when Beeks thought, “It might not be a perfect life, but it was still damn good to be the king.”
Special thanks to:
To my wife, my two children, and my mom. Thank you for everything you do and who you are. I love you.
To my editors, Pat, Jen, and Wendy. Your efforts to whip my manuscript into even better shape is often overlooked, but always appreciated by me.
To Tom Abrahams, Sam Sisavath, Steve Konkoly, and Nicholas Sansbury Smith. Each of you are a great indie author. Each of you have offered up advice and help when I’ve needed it. I’m deeply appreciative.
Last, but not least, to my current and new readers. I hope you enjoyed Wretched Aftermath. If so, please take a few moments to leave a review where you purchased this novel. As a self-published author, every honest review helps other people know about my books and inspires me to keep writing them.
Thanks again for reading this book. You’ll also want to sign up for my email newsletter at http://www.egmichaels.com, which will alert you when the next E.G. Michaels book is ready for your enjoyment. Periodically, I’ll also share news, updates, and even other books I’ve read that I think you’ll enjoy.
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The Wretched Series | Book 4 | Wretched Aftermath Page 27