by E S Richards
“I think so,” Harrison said half to himself, clearly thinking more about the gang’s name. “I can’t say for sure, but I know those guys have gotten pretty big in Chicago recently. Plus they were all wearing the same colors, and those tattoos they had were more than obvious.”
“Yeah,” Len pondered, “it’s as good a name as any for them. Although I agree, I’ll be happy if I don’t see another one of them for as long as I live.”
“The end of the world has that effect on people,” Harrison chuckled slightly to himself. “There’ll be a lot worse out there, I’m telling you.”
“The end of the world,” Len repeated Harrison’s words slowly, looking around at the abandoned cars and the still world that passed them by. “Do you really think it’s that bad?”
“Afraid so,” Harrison took in a deep breath before he spoke, trying to decide whether to share his true thoughts with Len or not. “This won’t have just been us, Len. South Haven should be all right being a smaller town and all, but all the big cities will be like Chicago. Some probably even worse. This wasn’t some man-made disaster, this was the real deal. Honestly? I’d be surprised if the whole world isn’t affected, not just the States.”
Len let the words wash over him like a cold shower, chilling him to his bones. The whole world. It seemed impossible, but Harrison also seemed to know what he was talking about. Len still didn’t understand what had happened with the sun and the power all cutting out—Harrison had half explained it but a lot of the information just went straight over his head. He liked to think that the government would have a plan, but if they’d been equally affected, who knew how long it would take before they could return to normal? Sooner rather than later, Len needed to accept that this was his reality and it wasn’t going to change the next morning.
“Oh, look!”
Harrison’s tone of voice suddenly changed causing Len to panic slightly before he noticed what his friend was talking about. About a mile further down the highway there was a giant hardware store, the sort of place that sold everything from fishing tackle to home furniture to hunting rifles. Len could see the light spark in Harrison’s eyes as he imagined the bounty they could find inside. It would be a treasure trove, providing looters hadn’t emptied the place out already.
“You think that’s still got stuff in it?” Len asked, voicing his concern as Harrison started to pick up his pace beside him.
“Only one way to find out!”
By the time the two of them reached the hardware store, Len was sweating buckets again. His rucksack was heavy on his back and he doubted whether they could fit anything else inside it, but at least checking out the store would allow him to take it off for a while and get out of the sun. His water was almost empty as well and the hardware store was probably his best opportunity to refill it.
“Stay behind me,” Harrison spoke quietly to Len as they approached the store entrance, removing his Glock from its holster and holding it firmly in his right hand. “There could be people inside.”
Len hadn’t thought of that possibility and immediately copied Harrison, although opting to string up an arrow in the bow rather than un-holster his pistol. Although Len had confidently fired the 9mm during the escape from the zoo, he still felt more comfortable with the bow.
As Harrison pushed open the door and moved inside, his head swung from one side to the other, scoping out the inside and checking for any signs of life. Len could see before he was even completely inside that the whole place had already been ransacked. The cash registers had been ripped open and display cases lay shattered on the floor. Full shelves, almost three times’ Len’s height had been pushed over, all of their contents taken save for a few items trapped beneath the shelves themselves. Harrison led Len on a full circle of the store, checking in the staff room, toilets, and the storage rooms as well before he cleared it and allowed them to relax.
“Definitely not the first people to have this idea,” Harrison huffed, placing his hands on his hips as he surveyed the store from beside one of the toppled shelves. “Must still be something left though. I say we search for an hour or so. Good to be out of the midday sun anyway.”
Len agreed with Harrison. Although it was another delay in their journey, it was finally one they had made by choice and he was thankful for the short break. Placing his arrow back in the quiver and setting it down against a wall with the bow and his rucksack he cracked his neck and started walking towards one of the shelves, hoping he could leverage some of the boxes free from beneath it.
It was hard work. After over half an hour Len couldn’t decide whether he was sweatier inside the hardware store or out of it. He and Harrison had worked together to lift several of the shelves to access the trapped boxes, but none of them had contained anything that Len regarded as very useful. Harrison had salvaged a collapsible fishing rod and some tackle, plus a couple of extra head torches, but aside from that almost everything of value had already been taken. Whoever had been in the store first had done an excellent job, no doubt supplying themselves for weeks, if not months.
“Let’s just try that one last box,” Harrison said hopefully as he pointed to the final box trapped underneath another huge metal shelf. It was about two meters long and a little under a foot wide, almost the entire thing wedged beneath unyielding metal. “One more and we’ll get some food then head back on the road.”
“Okay,” Len wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, the constant heavy lifting not something he’d done since building James’s tree house two years ago.
The two men strained against the shelf as they had with the previous ones, using an abandoned crowbar they’d found to leverage the metal. The box was stuck firmly underneath it and it took almost five minutes of effort to lift the shelf just enough for Harrison to kick it to one side, allowing them access to the packaged treasure.
“Here goes,” Harrison took in a breath as he opened the box, praying to find something useful inside.
***
About an hour later, the two men were back on the road. Their stomachs were fuller from the small meal they’d eaten inside the hardware store, and Harrison had a huge grin on his face. Slung carefully over his shoulder, in a similar fashion to how Len wore the bow and arrows, was a Remington M24A3 sniper rifle. The weapon was chambered for the powerful .338 Lapua Magnum long-range cartridge, giving it a range of 1500 meters. It also came equipped with a fold-down bipod and detachable back-up iron sights to increase the scope on the already impressive firearm.
Len couldn’t believe they’d found it, Harrison’s face lighting up like he was a kid on Christmas morning at the sight of the gun. Len had argued that it might be too heavy to carry with them, or make them more of a target if they came across anyone else, but Harrison refused to leave the gun behind. He knew it would provide them with a great advantage if they were approaching hostile towns and besides, Remington Arms was one of his favorite firearms manufacturers. The weapon deserved to be in the hands of someone who would show it the proper respect.
They looked a formidable pair as they walked down the center of the highway, each of them kitted out and ready for whatever came their way. It had happened before—where Len had set out on a journey with Harrison—but this time felt different. This time they weren’t just leaving his street in Chicago, they were really going somewhere and something told Len they were going to make it.
Solar Crash Book 3
Available Now!
Other Post-Apocalyptic Books from Mike Kraus
Final Dawn: The Complete Original Series Box Set
Clocking in at nearly 300,000 words with over 250,000 copies sold, this is the complete collection of the original bestselling post-apocalyptic Final Dawn series. If you enjoy gripping, thrilling post-apocalyptic action with compelling and well-written characters you’ll love Final Dawn.
Final Dawn: Arkhangelsk: The Complete Trilogy Box Set
The Arkhangelsk Trilogy is the first follow-up series set in the bestselling Final D
awn universe and delivers more thrills, fun and just a few scares. The crew of the Russian Typhoon submarine Arkhangelsk travel to a foreign shore in search of survivors, but what the find threatens their fragile rebuilding efforts in the post-apocalyptic world.
No Sanctuary
A nationwide terrorist attack has left the country in shambles and the country's transportation capabilities are crippled beyond repair. Frank Richards barely escapes with his life when he watches his truck explode in front of his eyes. As chaos descends across the country, Frank's home-grown survival and preparedness training and the help of a mysterious stranger he meets are the only things he can rely on to see him safely across the thousand miles separating him and his loved ones.
Surviving the Fall
Surviving the Fall is an episodic post-apocalyptic series that follows Rick and Dianne Waters as they struggle to survive after a devastating and mysterious worldwide attack. Trapped on the opposite side of the country from his family, Rick must fight to get home while his wife and children struggle to survive as danger lurks around every corner.
Prip’Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl
Two teens and two Spetsnaz officers travel to the town of Prip’Yat set just outside the remains of the Chernobyl power plant. The teens are there for a night of exploration. The special forces are there to pursue a creature that shouldn’t exist. This short thriller set around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster will keep your heart racing right through to the very end.
Other Fantasy Books from Mike Kraus
The Makeshift Wizard: Death Magic
The Makeshift Wizard series is a new action-packed urban fantasy series from bestselling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus writing as MJ Kraus.
My job was supposed to be easy. Investigate a bleed farm, find the a-hole vamps who've been kidnapping Normals and bring down some street justice. Now I've got a relic in my hands that was created with the blood and death magic of an elder Vampire and a whole lot more questions than answers.
THE
FALL
SOLAR CRASH
Book 2
By
E S Richards
Mike Kraus
© 2019 Muonic Press Inc
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