by Harley Tate
He shook his head. Back when they were still together, silent conversations were their norm. Was it coming back? Were they coming back?
The cat mewled behind him and Keith twisted around. Bear shoved his nose into the box and a paw reached up and batted it. Bear wagged.
“Careful, buddy. That one’s got claws.”
Bear flopped down beside the box and the scraggly cat climbed over the edge and tumbled into his fur. The little thing burrowed into Bear’s side and settled down, tabby fur blending with golden retriever fluff. After a moment, Bear wrapped a paw around the cat and settled in, closing his eyes.
Keith had never seen anything like it. His dog had never been around cats and certainly never befriended one. He shrugged. Guess the end of the world changed Bear, too. Keith turned back to the outside as Lainey readied a microphone.
She stood with her back to the mountains, where even from that distance, Keith could make out the plumes of smoke rising into the sky. They had been lucky to escape the fire and the teenagers who looted Jerry’s place. Ever since Lainey told him about the threat, Keith had been caught up in a whirlwind of panic and action.
Were the four of them designated to make it to Canada? Would they find Lainey’s family? He hated to tell her that the chances were slim. After barely escaping Los Angeles, where the grid never failed and there hadn’t been time for a mass panic, he couldn’t imagine what Chicago must be like.
Jerry leaned against the side of the van. “You mind if I do the camera work?”
Keith shook his head. “Be my guest. I’m not much use at the moment.”
Owen handed a small handheld camera to Jerry. “I can stream this one direct to my tablet and send it out no problem.”
“Then let’s do this.” Jerry stepped away from the van and positioned himself to catch the best view and light. He nodded at Lainey and held his three fingers up. As he curled the last one down, she stared into the camera.
“Hello, my name is Lainey Sinclair. It’s been five days since a nuclear bomb exploded in downtown Los Angeles.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
LAINEY
I-15 North of Victorville, CA
Thursday, 3:00 p.m. PST
Lainey finished the spot and handed the cordless microphone back to Owen. He set to work, compiling the footage from the fire and what she just recorded into one file, and working his magic to create a single three-minute report. On a regular day, Lainey would watch the footage, add suggestions and comments, and see if she needed to re-record part of the segment.
Now she just hopped up onto the edge of the van and leaned against Keith’s shoulder, thankful to be alive. He wrapped an arm around her.
After watching Owen for a few minutes, she voiced the doubts creeping into her mind. “Do you think we can make it all the way to Chicago?”
“It won’t be easy.”
Lainey pulled away to look at Keith’s face. “But we have a chance, right? I mean, after all we’ve been through?”
He nodded. “We have a chance. But Lainey, you need to be prepared for—”
She held up a hand. “I know. My mom might be gone. My sister, too.” She swallowed. “But I have to try.”
“As long as you understand finding them might be impossible.”
She did understand, although it nearly broke her heart to consider it. Her sister’s plane could have fallen from the sky and her mother’s condo could have been blown to bits. Either one could have died from radiation poisoning. She shivered as Owen stepped toward them.
“All uploaded. Should hit the inbox of CTV News any second.” He exhaled and glanced toward the north. “Let’s hope that’s enough to get us safe passage.”
Keith shifted beside Lainey. “What does that mean?”
“Owen still thinks the Canadian border will be closed at this point. If we need to flee to Canada, our coverage on the attack might give the border patrol a reason to let us cross.”
“What about your mom and your sister?”
“I don’t know.” It was the truth. Lainey didn’t know what to think about her family. She still wanted to find them, but—
Owen held out the tablet. “I’m done, if you want to check your email. Satellite is still connected.”
Lainey took the tablet with an appreciative smile and navigated to her web email. She almost dropped the tablet when one new message caught her eye. “It’s from Midge!”
She clicked on it and began to read.
Hey Sis,
If you’re reading this, then you have access to email and aren’t dead. Hooray.
I’ve made it all the way to Michigan (don’t ask), and I’m heading up to Suttons Bay to find Mom ASAP. I told her to go to Dottie’s lake house before the bomb. Hopefully she’s there.
Got the deets on where to go long-term. I should send it encrypted, but don’t have time. Head to Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. I’ve got friends there. Ask for TX. Tell them MFly sent you and you’ll be golden.
As soon as I find Mom, I’ll let you know.
Midge
Tears dripped onto the tablet screen as she handed it back to Owen. Her sister was alive. She was alive and so close to finding her mom that Lainey could barely breathe.
“Is it good news?”
She nodded and wiped at her face. “My sister’s in Michigan. She’s on the way to find my mom. She thinks she’s up the coast in Suttons Bay.”
“So where does that leave us?” Owen’s question brought Lainey back to the moment. “Are we still going to Chicago or straight to Canada?”
Lainey didn’t know. Part of her still wanted to head to Chicago, but part of her wanted to cross the border and find Midge’s contact while they still had a chance. She turned to Keith. “What do you think?”
His brow pinched and he slid his arm away. “Is Midge certain your mom is there?”
“It’s where she told her to go.”
“But there’s no confirmation yet?”
Lainey shook her head.
“Then I vote we stick with the plan. Head toward Chicago. If we can stay connected with the satellite and keep checking email, then we’ll get confirmation soon. If Midge finds your mom, then we change course and head up to Canada straight away.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
Lainey let Owen’s question hang in the air until she’d sucked in as deep a breath as she could manage. “Then we head to Chicago and see if we can find her.”
Owen closed the cover on the tablet and climbed into the van to power down the satellite dish. Jerry leaned against the van. The four of them made an unlikely team, but they had survived this far by working together. She had faith they could survive a trip across the country and a search for her mother, if need be.
She cleared her throat. “Thank you all for coming with me. None of you have to put yourselves at risk to find my family. If you ever want to bail—”
“Pfft.” Owen waved her off. “We’re TV people, Lainey. What better way to follow the story than to go in search of your family? Either way we get a human interest piece out of it.”
From the grin on his face, she knew Owen was blowing off the import of her statement to lighten the mood. She appreciated the gesture.
“The kid’s right,” Jerry chimed in. “If we didn’t have a story to chase, what would we do all day?”
Keith stretched. “Now that Sports Center is off the air, I haven’t a clue.”
Lainey laughed, and the guilt of bringing these three men along for what could be a wild goose chase eased. They were sticking by her because they wanted to, and that was a good enough of a reason for her.
She motioned to Jerry. “You need a break or are you still good to drive?”
He tossed her the keys. “I could do with a nap, to tell you the truth.”
So could they all.
Keith spoke up. “You gettin’ soft on us, Jerry?”
“Yeah, I took you as a sleep-when-you’re-dead sort of guy.” Owen grinned and climbed in
to the back of the van. The cat extricated itself from Bear and padded over to Owen’s lap.
Jerry groaned and headed straight for the passenger seat. “Don’t let that thing up here while I’m sleeping.”
Lainey shook her head and smiled. She couldn’t imagine better companions on this new adventure. She climbed up into the driver’s seat, shut the door, and started the engine.
Thank you for reading Shelter In Place.
Lainey’s story continues in Make The Cut, book three in Nuclear Survival: Western Strength.
After the unthinkable, how far would you go to find your family?
Lainey, Keith, and Bear have survived a nuclear explosion and a tortuous escape from LA. With no leads as to her family’s whereabouts, Lainey is stymied. The reporter in her craves information; she’s not used to making decisions in the dark.
Without any news, would you still have hope?
When Keith suggests they head to her sister’s intended destination, Lainey agrees despite her gnawing fear. The trek out of California is harder than either of them expect. By the time they reach the border, neither are optimistic about the journey.
Hard choices will be made and lives lost.
Thanks to a lucky encounter in a small, rural town, Lainey finally uncovers the information she’s been seeking. But weeks into the apocalypse, the border with Canada is fraught with danger. It will take all their strength to make it across alive and reunite with the family Lainey is desperate to find.
The attack is only the beginning.
Want to know how it all started? Subscribe to Harley’s newsletter and receive First Strike, the prequel to the Nuclear Survival saga, absolutely free.
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If you found out the world was about to end, what would you do?
Four ordinary people—a computer specialist, a hacker, a reporter, and a private investigator—are about to find out.
Each one has a role to play in the hours leading up to the worst attack in United States history.
Will they rise to the occasion or will the threat of armageddon stop them in their tracks?
Also by Harley Tate
NUCLEAR SURVIVAL
First Strike (exclusive newsletter prequel)
Southern Grit:
Brace for Impact
Escape the Fall
Survive the Panic
Northern Exposure:
Take the Hit
Duck for Cover
Ride it Out
Western Strength:
Bear the Brunt
Shelter in Place
Make the Cut
AFTER THE EMP
Darkness Falls (exclusive newsletter prequel)
Darkness Begins
Darkness Grows
Darkness Rises
Chaos Comes
Chaos Gains
Chaos Evolves
Hope Sparks
Hope Stumbles
Hope Survives
Find all of Harley’s releases on Amazon today: www.amazon.com/author/harleytate.
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading book two in the Western Strength series. This trilogy will complete the Nuclear Survival Saga (Southern Grit and Northern Exposure are complete trilogies and available now). I hope you enjoy all three books!
As I mentioned before, a few liberties may have been taken, especially with place names and other minor details in writing this series. I hope you don’t hold it against me!
If you enjoyed this book and have a moment, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. Every one helps new readers discover my work and helps me keep writing the stories you want to read.
Until next time,
Harley
About Harley Tate
When the world as we know it falls apart, how far will you go to survive?
Harley Tate writes edge-of-your-seat post-apocalyptic fiction exploring what happens when ordinary people are faced with impossible choices.
The apocalypse is only the beginning.
Contact Harley directly at:
www.harleytate.com
[email protected]