FORTRESS: A Post Apocalyptic-Dystopian EMP Attack Thriller (Reckoning Book 3)

by Lee West

  FORTRESS

  Book Three in The Reckoning Series

  A novel by Lee West

  Copyright Information

  Copyright 2019 by Lee West. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author, except where permitted by law, or in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, contact:

  leewestbooks@gmail.com

  Contents

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  About the Author

  — 1 —

  Joe ran through the dimly lit east tunnel of the university. He and Meg had sought refuge at the university when troops took over Nancy and Brett’s house for quartering soldiers. The group barely made it to the university as the soldiers descended on the home. Once at the university, one of Nancy’s colleagues, Ed Camp, found them and took the group into the tunnel system for shelter. Roughly thirty people hid at the university in an effort to remain free from the heavily armed American soldiers who were rounding up all of the citizens.

  They thought the university would be a place of refuge for them. Just as they had thought Nancy and Brett’s house, far into the mountains, would be a place of refuge. Neither location proved to be safe from the ever-searching soldiers. Instead, they planned to eventually leave the university to seek help from Jeff, Joe’s brother. Joe adjusted his pace as the group of people running in front of him slowed, stopping in front of a set of doors.

  “This is it! Grab the bars!” yelled one of the men.

  Meg and Joe stood shoulder to shoulder with the others in their small group. As a team, they passed metal bars, books and heavy filing cabinets to the people who barricaded the entrance.

  “That should do it!” yelled another man.

  One of the women banged on the door and yelled, “Ready in here!”

  Unseen people on the other side attempted to open the door through the barricade. The barricade held, preventing the door from being opened more than an inch.

  “We should add a couple more metal bars!” said one of the men.

  “I agree. Then they won’t be able to open it at all. I don’t want the soldiers being able to look into this area. It could tip them off that we’re hiding down here,” said the woman.

  “Alright, everyone. Drill is over. Nice work. Let’s restock this stuff for the next time.”

  The team handed the barricade items back through the line, neatly stacking everything for use in an emergency. If the soldiers came again, Ed wanted the tunnel doors locked down within a couple of minutes, seconds if possible. Joe admired Ed for his leadership skills. He worked hard to keep everyone at the university safe. However, despite Ed’s best efforts, on the night they arrived, the soldiers had shot and killed a Chinese student as he ran through campus seeking shelter. The soldiers didn’t even bother to remove his body. They merely drove away moments later, as if killing the kid had been a routine part of the day. Joe’s stress level had skyrocketed when he learned of the killing. He needed to stay safe for Meg’s sake because without him, she had no one.

  He grabbed Meg’s hand as they walked back into the main part of the tunnels. The tunnel system enabled the university staff to shuttle supplies to and from the on-campus teaching hospital. Normally, robots roamed the dark hallways, silently doing the bidding of their creators. After the electrical outage, Ed had moved those who remained on campus into the tunnels. They’d heard stories that American troops were actively seizing citizens. Those who stayed on campus sought refuge from that fate.

  Once in the main spoke of the tunnel system, Meg flopped down onto the couch with a sigh. “I hope we don’t have to do that again for a while. I’m exhausted.”

  “Me too. It’s tiring. At least we’re getting better at it. Remember the first time we did it? That one lady hit Marty in the face with one of the metal rods.”

  “I’m glad he didn’t get hurt. But really, the scream he let out would’ve given all of us away!”

  “I think if there were troops searching the areas aboveground and someone screamed like that, they’d get tackled by the rest of us,” said Joe.

  Nancy and Brett entered the main area through the south tunnel. They had participated in the lockdown drill as part of another team.

  “Hey, guys! How did it go?” asked Brett.

  “Better than last time. No one lost an eye!” joked Meg.

  “Yeah. Us too. We’re getting faster at locking everything down. We just need to work on reducing the noise we make,” said Nancy.

  “Same here. Our team isn’t talking anymore while we move things, but we’re making a lot of noise setting up the barricade,” said Joe. “It would definitely draw the wrong kind of attention if the soldiers were close enough to hear it.”

  Ed walked into the area with a clipboard in hand. He smiled at them and said, “That was our best drill yet! We’re getting faster at securing the tunnels, that’s for sure!”

  “We were just saying that we need to get better at being quiet while we’re barricading the doors,” said Brett.

  “Maybe. I’m not too worried about it. We have plenty of people outside in hidden watch locations all over campus, covering the main entrance and other access points. We’ll have plenty of advance warning to get the barricades up well before they even stop their vehicles. Noise shouldn’t be a problem. We just need to make sure everyone is working toward the same goal,” said Ed.

  “I hope it’s enough next time. I don’t want a repeat of what happened the other night,” said Nancy.

  Ed’s head dropped at the mention of the dead student. “Me neither.”

  Although no one blamed Ed for the death, Joe could tell the man took responsibility for it.

  “Speaking of lookout duty, how can we be part of that? I could use some time outside the tunnels,” said Joe, trying to take Ed’s mind off the murder.

  “I have Larry coordinating the lookout rotation. You can catch up with him at lunch to arrange some time outside,” said Ed.

  Joe had another reason for volunteering. The tunnels gave Joe a deep sense of claustrophobia. He never knew how much he depended on the reliable turning of night and day to regulate his entire system. Being underground without access to either the light of the sun or silvery moonlight disorientated him. He recalled feeling this way during his time in t
he Navy. Shipboard life did not allow for the opportunity to breathe fresh air and bask in the sun. Instead, long days and nights were spent on duty within the bowels of the ship. The thought of sitting on watch, even in an exposed area of campus, filled him with hope.

  — 2 —

  Meg rinsed her face with cool water from the bathroom sink. The water ran down her sweaty neck, cooling her. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of being clean. For a moment she pretended that nothing had changed in either her life or the world. Meg envisioned a normal Saturday morning with Joe, trying to decide if they should go to the farmers’ market or simply putter around the house. For just a few seconds allowing herself to indulge in the fantasy she had created.

  She opened her eyes, facing the cold reality of their changed world. In her darkest moments of despair, she questioned whether stealing a lifeboat and fleeing the cruise ship had been their best course of action. She often wondered where they would be if instead they had chosen to stay with the ship as it sought safe harbor in a faraway port.

  She glanced at herself in the mirror as she straightened up from washing. The image staring back at her looked distinctly different than her normal healthy, attractive self. Her once glossy, always clean hair sat in a stringy greasy mass on her head. Meg knew if things continued in the same way, she would be wearing dreadlocks as her hair began to clump and knot itself. Turning from the mirror, she reminded herself not to look at her image again.

  “I’m starving. Let’s get some lunch,” she said to Joe when she emerged from the bathroom.

  “Me too. Do you like the idea of standing watch? I thought it might be nice to get out of the tunnels a little.”

  “I love the idea. I don’t even care if we aren’t as safe out there. The darkness is starting to play tricks on my mind. I’m seeing things in the shadows.”

  “Me too. I think we need a break from the darkness of the tunnels.”

  They walked to a nearby conference room. The people hiding at the university had turned the room into a windowless cafeteria, safe from the view of outsiders. The room also allowed them easy access to one of the tunnel entrances, a necessary feature to survive the frequent military patrols. Everyone needed to be able to quickly disappear into the tunnels with as little noise and chaos as possible if they were to remain hidden.

  “Look, Mike and Frank beat us here,” said Meg.

  “That’s no surprise. Those two are always eating,” said Joe, squeezing her hand.

  “Hey, guys!” said Meg, joining them.

  “I wonder what they have for us today?” said Mike.

  “I’ll eat anything at this point,” said Frank.

  “Me too. I wish I’d brought more of the survival cakes from the lifeboat!” said Mike.

  “Those things were so gross. I don’t know how you ate so many of them!” said Meg.

  “Seriously. I’ve never seen someone enjoying those things so much!” said Frank.

  “What can I say? I have simple tastes. A hunk of sugar is pretty much all I need,” said Mike, smiling.

  “I hope they have something a little better than those for lunch today. I’m famished,” said Joe.

  “We volunteered to stand watch at one of the locations outside,” said Meg.

  “I’d like to do that as well. Who should I talk to?” asked Mike.

  “We talked to Ed. He seems to be the one running the watch-standing schedule,” said Joe.

  One of the men who worked in the kitchen came into the conference room with a large bowl of food. He set it down on the table they used for the buffet line and left the room. Moments later a woman came into the room with several smaller containers of food.

  “All set! Help yourselves!” said the woman.

  Meg did all she could to remain seated. She didn’t want to be the first one to run for the buffet line. She noticed that others in the room shifted in their seats awkwardly, likely thinking the same thing.

  “I’m not shy!” said Frank, slapping the table and standing up.

  Once Frank approached the bowls of food, the rest followed.

  Having returned to the table with his bounty, Joe said, “My favorite! Canned bean salad and canned mixed tropical fruit!”

  “Sort of makes me wonder if the food is better in one of the government prison camps,” said Nancy, joining them.

  At the start of their adventure together, Meg didn’t care for Nancy’s company. As time went by, she found the woman’s caustic wit to be a much-needed relief in times of high stress.

  “We would’ve had better food for a little while if we’d stayed on the cruise ship. I suspect the staff would’ve done everything they could to give the appearance that things were just fine,” said Brett.

  “You’re probably right. Everything would’ve appeared fine, until it wasn’t,” said Nancy.

  “I’m relieved we did what we did. Who knows where that ship is right now. Could be anywhere,” said Frank.

  “If I stayed on board, worrying about my family would’ve destroyed me,” said Mike.

  “Is it better on land? Given what we found at your house and in the city?” asked Brett.

  “Probably. At least I’m not visualizing them alone in the house, slowly starving to death or being attacked by strangers. Somehow, knowing they’re in government custody eased those worries, even though I’m now worried about them being in custody. At least they aren’t starving to death alone in the house.”

  Meg couldn’t help but notice the catch in Mike’s voice as he talked about his family. She and Joe had promised they would help Mike find his wife and children. She felt very strongly about keeping their promise. Mike and Frank could have easily left the two of them on the doomed cruise ship. Instead, they’d trusted the couple enough to bring them into their bold plan. She and Joe knew they needed to repay Mike’s kindness by helping him find his family.

  — 3 —

  Nancy sat with Brett in her office, cherishing the scarce time alone with her husband. Their new circumstances did not allow for much individual privacy, despite their best efforts. Even sneaking off into a dark corner of the tunnels failed to guarantee that they would not be disturbed. People ran through the tunnels at all hours of the night and day. Some people walked the tunnels on their way back and forth from watch duty, while others simply used the tunnels for exercise.

  Sitting next to Brett on the couch in her office, she leaned in and kissed him again. She wanted to hold on to this moment forever.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  “Not much. I’m just feeling lucky to have you at my side. I’m not sure how Mike is holding it together.”

  “I agree. I’d be beside myself if we weren’t together. I just wish we were together at home, like we always thought would happen in a disaster situation,” he said.

  Lacing her fingers around his, she leaned back into the couch. She allowed her legs to remain draped over his as she reclined.

  “I know. We did so much planning for disaster situations. Our house has stockpiles of everything needed to survive. We even have fresh well water and plenty of medicine saved up. Now the government thugs are using our stuff. So much for disaster planning. I guess you just never know what’ll happen.”

  “You got that right. Never in my life would I have predicted that we’d be displaced from our home so that the military could quarter soldiers. The worst part of this whole thing is that there’s no one to complain to!” said Brett excitedly.

  “I guess being able to post a negative review or fill out a form at some dusty, gray government office, protesting the use of our property, would make everything better,” said Nancy jokingly.

  “You know what I mean. I feel a sense of hopelessness at our situation. Like we have nowhere to go to get help. If the entire government has turned against its people, what hope do we have?”

  “Our situation isn’t hopeless. We’re here, fighting by staying out of the fray. They haven’t gotten to us ye
t and they won’t. Being on the outside will enable us to properly record history. Someone needs to do that. Otherwise no one will ever know what happened here. Besides, being on the run with you is sort of sexy,” she said, winking at him.

  “I like the way your mind works.”

  She leaned into him and kissed him passionately on the lips. “You’ll see, everything will eventually work out.”

  “‘Eventually work out’? Where’s the fighter I married? I thought you wanted to join the resistance?”

  “I wanted to until the military took over our house. Now I just want to hide until everything clears itself up. I guess I’ve turned into an armchair resister.”

  “I’m not sure that’s an option. We can’t just sit here on the sidelines while others are fighting for our very freedoms! What is all of this for if we aren’t willing to stand up for what’s right?” said Brett, waving his hands around.

  “You don’t think recording history is enough of a protest?”

  “Not even close. I think we need to do everything we can to thwart the military’s efforts,” he said.

  “I wonder what the group we ran into in the city is doing to resist? From Marvin’s explanation, they seem like a very serious bunch. Maybe after a few days or so of rest, we should consider joining forces with them?”

  “You don’t want to go with Meg and Joe to the survivalist camp to search for his brother?” he asked.

  “Not really. Joe isn’t even sure where the camp is or if his brother will still be there. I’d rather not be searching the entire mountainside for some camp that may or may not exist. We should try to find the resistance force.”

  “Maybe you’re right. I thought we might stay behind simply so we didn’t slow them down. However, using our time to find the resistance might be worthwhile.”

  A quiet tap sounded at the closed office door. Nancy immediately sat upright, disentangling herself from Brett.

  “You guys in there?”

  “It’s Marvin. I’ll let him in,” whispered Brett.