by Bowman, Dave
Please let them go away.
Annie took a deep breath. She would have to do something. She didn't know if she could defend the house against three people, one with a big rifle, but she would have to try.
She looked around, trying to figure out what to do with herself. Should she start shooting from the window now? Should she wait until they tried to break in? She swallowed as bile rose in her throat.
Outside, the driver took a few steps forward. Gravel crunched beneath his boots. Finally, he spoke.
"Annie?"
Jack!
Annie threw the front door open and stood staring in the doorway with her mouth open.
Was it him, or was her mind playing tricks on her? Could it really be him, finally?
"Annie! Oh, God, it's you!" his familiar voice came.
Annie tried to push the screen door open, forgetting it had been latched, and fumbling with it in frustration. Finally, she emerged from the house just as he set his rifle down and ran up the porch.
"Jack! It's you!"
He bounded the steps and then, just like that, he was standing before her. Her eyes moved over his face quickly, still in shock and confusion, and then he took her in his arms.
She felt her shoulders shake from a mix of laughter and tears as she held him close.
“You finally made it back to me,” she said, murmuring into his chest.
He pulled back to look at her, studying her face in the darkness.
“I was so afraid this house would be empty,” he said, trailing the back of his hand down her cheek. “I was so afraid I’d lost you.”
She nodded, tears falling from her eyes. “I was so afraid I’d lost you.”
She looked over the bruises and cuts on his face, the long stubble marking the passage of time, the way he held his body – he was clearly in pain from various injuries.
He had been through so much – they both had. The weight of it all hit her all at once. They had come so close to losing each other. She buried her face against his jacket once more, and he held her tight.
The sound of movement behind her startled her.
“It’s about time you showed up.”
Jack looked up to see Charlotte standing behind them on the porch, leaning against the doorway with a big grin on her face.
“Charlotte?” he asked. “Is that you?”
“In the flesh.”
Jack returned the smile, happy to see another familiar face, and glad that his wife hadn’t been alone all this time. He turned to look at the Porsche. “Whose car is that?”
Annie looked back at Charlotte. “Long story,” Annie said, her eyes sparkling. “But how did you make it all the way from LA?” she asked. “Whose truck is that?”
Jack turned to the Bronco to see Brent and Naomi getting out of the vehicle.
“I guess we all have some catching up to do,” Jack said. “But first, introductions.”
38
"More reconstituted mashed potatoes, Naomi?" Annie asked as she passed the serving bowl around the table. "They at least remind you of homemade."
Naomi laughed and took the bowl from Annie. Jack looked down at his own plate as he finished up his first serving, then took seconds of everything. It was the first decent meal he'd had in a week, and he was ravenous.
Across the table, Brent and Charlotte were laughing about the antics of some minor Austin celebrities. The two had never before met, but they had hit it off in a friendly kind of way.
The five of them had slept in – rising with the sun would begin tomorrow, they agreed – and were now enjoying lunch prepared over the gas stove from an assortment of items from the pantry.
Jack watched as Annie exchanged some pleasantries with Naomi. Jack had told his wife about Naomi's story, and how she had reluctantly accepted his help. Annie was happy to help out the young woman, especially after all Naomi had been through.
As for Brent, Annie had met him a few times before at Jack's office parties. He seemed a bit more mature this time around, which was good. Maybe surviving the attacks had made them all wise up a little.
Jack had been a little nervous to bring two new people to the house, but Annie was so far pleased. The ranch house was a little isolated, it was true, especially since most of the neighbors Jack had grown up with had moved away over the years. The extra company not only made the house less lonely, but the extra hands would be welcome as they set about making the homestead self-sustainable.
Naomi, for her part, seemed unsure of her new surroundings, but open to the change. In any case, the despondency that had taken root on her face seemed to be lightening. She knew that LA was no longer a place she could survive in, and she was grateful to the Hawthornes for giving her a new home.
After lunch, Jack and Annie excused themselves for a walk around the property. They left Naomi and Brent in charge of clean-up, and Charlotte returned to the living room to rest.
"Thanks for taking care of my wife while I was gone," Jack said to Charlotte as he walked past the couch and headed toward the front door.
Charlotte laughed. "More like she took care of me!"
Jack smiled. He had already heard the stories, and his comment was tongue-in-cheek.
"Really, Jack, you should see her with that gun!" Charlotte said, grinning at Annie. "She's a modern day Annie Oakley. I wouldn't get on her bad side if I were you."
Jack winked at his wife. "I won't."
Outside, Jack and Annie stepped out on the porch. Jack turned to look at her, and she gave him a smile.
It was that smile he had missed so much. He still could hardly believe he was back home.
"I thought you didn't hear me on the phone that day," he said. "I thought I'd have to go all the way to Austin to find you."
"Wait, when? What did you think I didn’t hear?" Annie asked, frowning.
Jack looked at her. "Just before we lost the connection. I told you to get out of Austin, to come here."
Annie shook her head. "No, I never heard you. But it didn't take long to figure out that the city was too dangerous. This was the best option we had. Especially when our house was taken over by squatters."
Jack felt a rush of anxiety as he recalled Annie’s stories of her encounters. All the near misses. He had come so close to never seeing her again.
The anxiety was quickly replaced by elation as it hit him just how lucky he had been. He scooped her up around her waist and carried her playfully down the stairs as she yelped and laughed in his ear. He returned her to her feet on a clump of grass near the front step.
The two walked hand-in-hand toward the backyard. She talked excitedly to him about her ideas for the garden. He did his best to listen, but he often found his thoughts drifting to the horrors he had seen in White Rock.
Last night, Jack had told Annie the summary about what had happened there, but he hadn't gone over every gory detail. She had listened with wide eyes, shocked by what he had seen in Arizona.
Today, he walked with a rifle slung over his shoulder. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to let his guard down again. And he figured that was a good thing.
"With five of us, our food supply won't last through the winter," Annie said. "I'm hoping I can get some potatoes and cabbage going."
Jack nodded. "We might have to go out and do some scavenging in abandoned houses or stores. We’ll need more food sooner or later. It’s better to stock up now. And I want to fill the gas tanks up, maybe find some more warm clothes. Odds and ends."
Annie turned to look at him with fear in her eyes. "I hate the idea of going back out there. It's so dangerous.” She sighed. “But I know you're right. We don't have enough here."
They stood before the old garden patch, which was overrun with hearty weeds.
"Getting this garden in shape is going to take some work," Annie said. "Oh, and some animal protein would be good. Maybe someone in town would trade us a couple of chickens for some packaged food. Eventually, we’ll need more animals if the power doesn’t
come back on anytime soon. And goats, too. But well, the garden and maybe some eggs would be a good start."
"Good idea," Jack said. "And we'll have to do some repairs to the house. The roof looks bad in a few places. But first things first – we'll need some kind of outhouse. Maybe a composting toilet."
Annie nodded. "Yeah, definitely."
"And this garden won't be big enough," Jack said, staring at the patch he used to work in as a teenager. "We'll have to expand it by quite a bit."
Annie nodded. "I can start today. Brent and Naomi can help us, right?"
Jack smiled. "Yeah, I think they both have experience digging."
Annie bent and pulled at some weeds. "This native grass is tough. Strong root system."
Jack nodded. "I know those weeds well." He walked along the edge of the garden, where he and his brother had spent so many hours weeding and watering. Now that he was back in his old childhood home, his thoughts often turned to Paul. Jack wished they had sorted things out between them years ago. Now, there was no way to contact his brother. Wherever he was, Jack hoped he was well.
And Jack knew that Annie was thinking about her own family. Her parents lived in an isolated spot, and her brother, sister and niece were scattered throughout their pockets of the southeast. Jack could sense Annie’s growing worry over her family, and her desire to see them again.
As Annie inspected the soil, Jack looked over the property, his eyes drifting out to the empty highway. The five of them had a lot of work ahead. They weren't in the lap of luxury by any means, but they had a lot more than many people, especially after the attacks. And their relative advantage meant that they would be a target.
Out there in the country, several miles away from even a tiny town, and sitting on several valuable resources – they were vulnerable. They'd have to be vigilant to protect their food, water, weapons, and home.
Somehow, Jack knew the fight wasn’t over. He’d have to go on protecting what he cared about, and fighting to ensure they could go on living.
“Jack? You okay?”
Annie looked over at him from her corner of the garden, then began to cross the distance toward him. He met her halfway and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Fine,” he said, smiling and pulling her close.
“You look lost in thought,” she said, smiling at him.
“I was just thinking about what it took for us all to get here,” he said. “How hard it was to get to this place right here.”
Annie nodded. “We did the impossible – we found each other. And we made it out here.”
“If we can do that, we can do anything,” Jack said, smiling at his wife. “As long as we’re together, we’re going to make it.”
Thank you for reading Survive the End, Book 3 in the Atomic Threat series.
If you enjoyed this book, I'd really appreciate it if you could review it on Amazon. The book market can be tough, and every little review helps!
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Until next time,
Dave
About the Author
Dave Bowman is a writer and native Texan. When he's not writing about the end of the world as we know it, he can be found planning for his future homestead or haunting his favorite barbecue joint.
Also by Dave Bowman
Read my other post-apocalyptic thrillers:
Survive the Blast (Atomic Threat, Book 1)
Get Out Alive (Atomic Threat, Book 2)
Fight to Survive (After the Outbreak, Book 1)
Fight to Live (After the Outbreak, Book 2)
Fight to Be Free (After the Outbreak, Book 3)
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