Dark Days (Book 1): The Collapse

by Davis, James

  “Damn it! Those bastards are stealing our supplies!” Clay said, taking aim at them.

  “No! Don’t shoot yet.” Hank scolded before looking over at Clay.

  “Don’t need to give away our position just yet.” The men looked like they were straight out of the movie Deliverance.

  “Shit, we need to get the hell out of here before these fucking hillbillies spot us.” Clay said to himself. He let out a soft whistle to get Hank’s attention and they slowly started moving away from the road taking short, deliberate steps.

  “We should probably either get the hell out of here before they see us, or get a plan of attack together then ease back up there to take them all out.” Clay said, looking over at Sarge.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Hank said suddenly, as he turned and snuck off to find a tree, cupping his hand under his ass.

  “Where you going?” Clay chuckled.

  “I got a turtle head poking!” Hank said without looking back. Clay had to choke down a loud laugh. Hank always did this right before a firefight. When they were deployed overseas they had to plan their missions around Hank’s pooping habits so they didn’t get killed when the enemy heard the loud farts Hank would let out. Seconds later Clay heard just that, a loud fart followed by a splattering sound.

  “SHHH! Damn man, your ass is literally going to get us killed! I thought you would have outgrown that shit by now. We’re not twenty anymore.” Clay said in a loud whisper. Hank couldn’t help but chuckle. This entire situation was absurd, and if he died while taking a shit then so be it.

  A few minutes later Hank was settling back in beside Clay and Sarge as they watched the group of men take all their supplies.

  “Nice of you to join us again, everything come out alright?” Clay said a little bit louder than he should have. Hank winced, “Lower your voice before Willie Bubba over there hears us.” Out of nowhere a gravelly voice said, “Lay them there guns down and put your hands up before I put a bullet in the back of your fucking heads!”

  Clay and Hank stiffened and did as they were told. They turned to see their captors, all holding deer rifles, and shotguns. There were six men standing in a half circle around them, all aiming a gun at their heads.

  “What’s your name?” The apparent leader of this shit head group asked Clay. He looked up at the man, seeing rotten stumps where teeth had once been.

  “No offense man, but your breath is kicking. You should probably go home and brush that tooth.” Suddenly the snaggletooth bastard’s revolver slammed into the side of Clay’s head, splitting open a nasty gash above his ear and knocking him out cold.

  “You motherfuckers will pay for that!” Hank screamed seeing his brother slump over unconscious. A loud boom sounded as old snaggletooth’s head exploded, sending bits of hair, skull, and brain matter flying in all directions. Another rifle report sent the men dropping to the ground as they watched another of their group collapse with a giant hole where his chest should have been. Hank took this opportunity to grab his AR and crawl over to Clay, who was slowly starting to come around.

  “Who is shooting?” Clay said in a strained voice as he winced in pain from the gash on the side of his head. His head was still fuzzy so he decided to stay down a bit longer. Hank pulled Clay behind a downed tree and started laying down fire towards the four men that were now hiding behind trees of their own. His head finally cleared up enough to join the fight, so he grabbed his rifle and popped up to start shooting when another loud boom rang out causing him to drop back down.

  “Who the fuck is that shooting the damn cannon?”

  “I don’t know, but let’s pray whoever it is doesn’t start firing on us.” Hank said peeking over the tree, only to have bark explode in his face.

  “Ahh, fuck!” he screamed rolling back away from the tree, holding a hand up to his bloody face.

  “What happened?” Clay screamed over a barrage of gunfire.

  “Fucking shrapnel exploding up from that damn tree got me!” Hank replied as he used a bandana he kept in his back pocket to wipe the blood from his eyes.

  “Are you alright?” Clay asked, popping up to let off a few more rounds.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, just keep laying down cover fire so I can get this blood out of my eyes.

  “Alright, when we hear them slow to reload again, we’re going to jump up and wait for one of those fucks to poke their toothless head out again, then we’re going to lay it on ‘em thick.”

  “There should only be three of them left, unless the two drivers made their way over here.” Clay said, counting the dead men. As they waited for the men to reload they heard another loud boom, the first one in the past few minutes. They could now hear a man screaming in pain as he watched his buddies retreat back through the woods to their trucks.

  “I can hit one of them before he gets to the truck,” a familiar voice screamed out. “That guy sounds really familiar.” Clay said, shoving in a new mag. BOOM! The big gun fired again.

  “I felt that one vibrate my chest.” Hank said as he searched the area for more enemies. Satisfied the immediate threat was gone, he turned to face Clay with wide eyes

  “Was that Chr…” he started but a large framed man came running down the embankment toward them. Before they could get their rifles up, the man dropped into a baseball slide, sending dirt, leaves, and sticks flying toward their faces. Clay and Hank jumped to their feet ready to fight.

  “Sit down! You know you two little bitches ain’t gonna do shit!” That familiar voice from earlier stated. Clay and Hank both started to laugh, realizing it was their brother Chris. They both dropped back down, pulling Chris down with them and grabbing each of his arms, securing them in place.

  “What was that you called us?” Hank said.

  “I believe he called us little bitches. That’s what I heard. What about you Hank?”

  “Oh fuck, you guys know I was just messing around.” Chris interrupted.

  “Yep, I heard him call us little bitches too. We have to teach him a lesson, right?” Hank said as he tossed his left leg over Chris’s securing him even more. Chris was twisting and turning, trying to flip himself out of the pickle he had screwed up and got himself in… again. He knew what they we’re about to do. They did it almost every single time he came home now. Clay was on top of him, holding his arms down letting a large wad of spit hang down until it almost touched Chris’ face.

  “Come on man, just stop. That shit is nasty.” Chris pleaded.

  “I thought we were little bitches and wouldn’t do shit? Where’s that tough guy act now?” Hank said with a chuckle.

  “Clayton Mitchell, you better not spit on him!”

  “Daddy!” The two new voices hit Clay like a ton of bricks as he rolled off to the side of his brother, trying to find them. Tears filled his eyes when they landed on Ashley and Emma. Clay got to his feet and took off in a sprint toward his family. It had been days since he last seen or heard from them. He was starting to get worried that something awful may have happened to them while he was trying to get home. Clay barely slowed down when he reached them, grabbing them both up and hugging them like he was never going to see them again. They were all crying at this point, even Hank, Karen, and Chris who had made their way up to the reunion. Clay turned to look at his little brother, with tear filled eyes he grabbed him and squeezed him tight, thanking him over and over.

  “Little brother you don’t know what this means to me, thank you so much for being there.” he said choking down another sob.

  “Daddy where have you been?” Emma said, standing there with her hands on her hips just like her mother did when Clay did something stupid. This got a laugh out of everyone.

  “I’m sorry monkey, I’ve been trying to get home as fast as I can with your Uncle Hank and Aunt Karen. I’ll tell you all about it once we all get somewhere safe.” Clay grabbed his wife and daughter one more time in a giant bear hug,

  ”I love you guys so much.” he said giving them both one l
ast squeeze. He kissed Emma’s forehead and set her down then kissed Ashley,

  “Alright y’all gather around. We need to discuss our next move.”

  “Where’s the Suburban?” Clay said, looking up and down the road, then over to Chris.

  “Oh yeah, forgot to pull it out of the woods. Wait here and I’ll go get it.” Hank looked over at Ashley,

  “How much room is left in there? Are the dogs gonna be able to fit in the back?”

  “We might have to shuffle some stuff around, but I’m sure we’ll all fit just fine.” Ashley said while she watched Clay playing with Emma. Moments later a big white 1978 Chevrolet Suburban rolled to a stop beside them.

  “Y’all need a ride?” Chris said rolling down his window. They made room for everyone, putting Sarge and Bella in the very back.

  “I’m driving.” Clay said, climbing in the driver’s seat.

  “Hank and Chris, you two sit by windows and keep your guns ready.”

  “All I have with me is the Lapua in the back and my .45.” Chris said.

  “Here, take my AR for now until we get to camp. I’ll use my pistol since I’m driving. Everybody ready to go?” Clay asked as he shifted the truck into gear.

  “You think we should take at least one of those trucks those ass clowns brought?” Hank asked.

  “Nah, it’s gonna be hard enough to find fuel for the truck we have.” Clay replied as he pressed his foot down on the gas.

  “How far are we from the camp?” Ashley asked, leaning forward with her arms wrapped around Clay’s chest.

  “We have about an hour to go.” Clay stated. “Anybody hungry?” Karen asked.

  “Heck yeah, we are!” The group said simultaneously as they turned to look at Karen. She turned and grabbed one of the bags from the back and handed out granola bars and a bottle of water to each person. They all ate in silence. The only sound being the engine and the large mud tires whining against the pavement. Clay kept the truck at a steady 45 miles per hour as he weaved in and out of stalled cars that littered the roadway. It was a surreal scene, seeing all the stopped cars and stranded travelers on the side of the road. It was going on three days and the country was already being brought to its knees. There seemed to be no end in sight. What would the next few weeks bring? More tragedy and destruction? Things would surely get worse before they got better.

  “Want me to take over?” Ashley asked, “you look pretty tired babe.”

  “I'm alright, we don't have much longer to go. Did you and Chris run into any problems?” Clay replied.

  “Yeah, pretty much as soon as we left the house. There were some assholes blocking the road trying to make people pay a toll. They said if we didn't have any money, that I could pay the debt in other ways. It made me sick to think that people are already stooping that low.”

  “So how did you guys get past?” Clay said, his anger growing by the second.

  “Chris took care of it.” Clay burst out laughing,

  “He did huh? Hey Chris, when did you start blowing hillbilly’s?” Chris just held up a one-fingered response. Ashley choked down her own laugh and said,

  “That is not what I meant! He got out of the truck and the next thing I knew the guys blocking the road were running as fast as they could away from him.”

  “Did Chris pull a gun out or something?” “No, he left them in the truck. I don't know what he said or did to them, but whatever it was they did not want any part of it.” Clay laughed and looked in the mirror at Chris, who wasn't paying any attention to them now.

  “For real Chris, how did you get them to leave so easily?” Clay asked.

  “I just asked them to leave politely.” Chris replied with a huge grin.

  “I seriously doubt that's what happened.” Clay said as he turned the corner to the road their camp was on.

  “We're just about there guys,” he said getting the group’s attention.

  “Alright Clay, stop before we get in sight of the driveway so I can jump out and grab the .308. Give me 5 minutes to get into position before you move, so I can be your overwatch.” Chris said meeting Clay’s eyes in the mirror.

  “Alright, while Chris is getting into position the rest of us need to jump out and double check weapons, ammo and gear. If there's someone at the bunker waiting for us we may have to shoot our way in.” Clay stated as he put the truck in park.

  “Ashley, Karen, you two stay in the car with the kids and dogs. Stay low behind the seats so no one can see you and check your guns. Make sure you have a round chambered and ready to go.” Hank said as he turned to look at the girls. They finished checking everything while Chris took off through the woods carrying his large rifle on his back.

  “Remember when we were able to do that?” Hank said nodding his head towards Chris.

  “Yep, I sure do. Those were the good old days when we could run for miles without stopping.” They both chuckled, remembering their glory days. Now they were both middle aged and feeling the effects of Father Time.

  “He should be in position by now, you ready?” Hank asked.

  “Ready as I'll ever be.” Clay replied.

  "Alright let's move." They both held their rifles at a low ready position as they continued down the road. Seeing the entrance to their property they both sped up to a slow jog. They carefully made their way up the dirt driveway and stopped to look around, seeing that everything was exactly how they had left it. "Home sweet home," Hank said with a small grin on his face. "Indeed." Clay replied with a grin of his own. With that they turned to go get their family.

  Chapter 7

  Clay drove the Suburban up the short driveway and stopped next to the small building, anxious to get inside their bunker. They all jumped out and headed straight for the door. Clay placed a thumb on the scanner then entered a five-digit passcode. A soft click sounded letting him know the door was ready to open. Chris pushed open the door and stepped inside, the diesel generator kicked on powering up the lights. Inside was a steel hatch with a large keypad on the right side. Chris put in another passcode and a woosh of air released around the edge of the door causing an audible hissing sound.

  Hank and Clay walked in behind their family just as Chris lifted the hatch to reveal a short ladder. Chris went down first, followed by Clay, then Hank who said.

  “Wait here ladies, we’re going to go turn on the lights and air filtration system.” The two women nodded and watched Hank disappear down the ladder. Once inside, they started flipping switches to turn the main lights on throughout the bunker. When the lights were on, they made their way to the control room, where all the major systems were set up. They did a quick systems check to make sure everything was in good working order, then Hank walked over to the far wall and flipped a breaker which turned on the air filtration system.

  “Looks good to me,” Clay said looking over to his brothers who were giving him the thumbs up.

  “Alright, let’s go get the women and kids down here.” Chris said.

  “Welcome to your home away from home ladies." Hank said, with a wave of his hands.

  “Please tell me we have hot water, I need a shower like you would not believe!” Karen exclaimed.

  "Trust me, we believe." Clay teased, holding his hand over his nose.

  "Shut up Clayton!" Ashley said, giving her husband a playful slap on the shoulder.

  “Why yes, yes we do." Hank said, gallantly holding out his arm for Karen to grab. "Follow us and we will show you to your quarters m'lady.” he continued, attempting a terrible British accent. The two women giggled before each grabbing their respective husband’s arm. The men led their wives a to the far end of the bunker into a small dimly lit hallway. The hallway had a single wooden door on each side.

  “Pick one” Hank said pointing at the two doors. The women both went for the same door and crashed through the doorway into a small bedroom with its own private bathroom. They were both laughing as they helped each other up.

  “They're the same right?” Ashley g
iggled, dusting herself off.

  "They sure are. These two rooms are the only two with their own private bathroom. The other two rooms have to share a bathroom.” Clay confirmed. Ashley headed for the opposite room and closed the door behind her.

  “Let’s go get the dogs down here then get cleaned up ourselves.” Hank said as they walked out of the bedroom.

  “Sounds like a plan to me.” With that the two men headed back to the entrance. Clay got the dogs and lowered them down to Hank before he followed behind them. The two dogs started going around sniffing everything as they made their way farther into the bunker. Clay went to the storage room where he found Chris already looking for a decent meal for everyone.

  “Beef stew and crackers sound good for dinner?” Chris said inspecting the shelves of canned foods.

  “Yeah, that’s fine with me. I’m sure everyone else will enjoy that as well.”

  “Alright brother, I’ll handle this, you and Hank should go get cleaned up with your ladies. I’ll grab a shower after I bring the food out to the kitchen.” Chris said grabbing an armful of cans.

  “Thanks Chris, you’re a damn good brother!” Clay said, as he walked out the door. An hour later, everyone was cleaned up and finishing dinner. Toby and Emma were already asleep on the couch with The Lion King playing on the TV. Ashley covered the two kids up and grabbed Clay by the hand pulling him towards the bedroom.

  “Y’all have fun!” Hank said with a laugh. Just then Karen grabbed Hank and forcefully pushed him down the hallway towards their room. Chris laughed as he pushed away from the table and got to his feet.

  “Guess I’m going to watch Lion King.” he said to himself as he flopped down into the recliner and stretched out, falling asleep almost immediately.