The Days Before: A Prequel to the Five Roads to Texas series (A Five Roads to Texas Novel Book 8)

by Brian Parker

  She looked up, wild-eyed at the crewmember. “Are you kidding me? Did you see what we just passed?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I did. We all did. The pilot is going to land the plane though, so you need to turn that off so your signal doesn’t interfere with any of the plane’s electronics.”

  “Oh, bullshit,” she hissed, then clamped her hand over her mouth in horror. She never cursed. “Sorry. You and I both know that—”

  The flight attendant snatched her phone from her hand and ended her call. “What the hell?” She tried to stand, but her seatbelt restrained her.

  “Ma’am, we are all under a lot of stress right now,” he said, his voice escalating. “You need to calm down and turn off your electronics as directed by the FAA.”

  “Mom, calm down and do what he says,” Mackenzie said from the seat in front of her. “You’re making a scene.”

  “Is there a problem, ma’am?” another flight attendant asked as she moved up close beside the first.

  Cameron seethed internally. There was nothing she could do right now, but she would report the man—she glanced at his nametag—Kenneth. She would report Kenneth to the airline when they landed for taking her cell phone from her hand. “Fine,” she said. “Just give me my phone.”

  Kenneth glared at her for a moment, then handed the phone back to her as it began to ring. He shook his head in warning and she declined Malcolm’s call. Then, she went through the process of turning it off while the flight attendants watched her.

  “Thank you,” Kenneth said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He shuffled past her seat toward the rear of the plane to stop any other cell phone violators.

  They were on the ground in minutes. As soon as the wheels touched down, Cameron tried to power on her phone, but the low battery indicator flashed at her. She’d let Donovan play games on it during the flight and hadn’t noticed how low the battery had become. Now there wasn’t enough juice to run the power cycle.

  “Oh, great,” she muttered. “Mackenzie, let me use your phone to call dad.”

  “Use yours,” the teenager replied.

  “My battery is dead. Donovan played games on it. Just let me borrow your phone for a couple of minutes.”

  The girl made the exasperated sigh that seemingly every teenage girl learned once they went to middle school and kept using until they graduated from high school. It was one of the most annoying sounds Cameron could think of, especially since she heard it so often from her oldest daughter.

  “Hold on, folks. We need to—”

  The plane suddenly veered to the left before the pilot could finish his statement. All of the passengers gasped or cried out as one. Then the front wheel ran off of the tarmac, bouncing the big plane and jostling everyone inside. Donovan jumped up and down beside her, laughing at the fun ride the pilot gave them.

  The airplane pulled to the right and the wheel hit the edge of the pavement, flinging everyone in the opposite direction. The engines revved, increasing thrust, which pushed the wheel back onto the runway. The pilot steered the plane drunkenly off the runway down one of the many access roads to the airport.

  “Folks, this is your captain again,” the main said over the speakers, noticeably upset. “Sorry about that. The ground crew was on the runway. There must have been a mix-up with the tower. Ah, we’re gonna try to get everyone to the terminal in time to make your connecting flights.”

  “What are people doing on the runway?” Cameron muttered. They’d been delayed because of debris, but wouldn’t the tower know that their ground crew was still out there?

  The plane lurched to a halt, sending Donovan forward in his seat. Only the seatbelt he wore stopped him from slamming into the seatback in front of him. Cameron looked out the window. Several people were running toward the plane. They all appeared…

  “Is that blood?” Mackenzie asked.

  “Oh God,” Cameron moaned. “The infection…”

  Her father had said there was an infection. She’d seen plenty of horror movies in her lifetime, a lot of them dealing with pandemics and plagues. That was the only explanation for it. The Army. The people running toward the plane… There was some type of outbreak in California.

  “Folks, that ground crew is in our way again,” the pilot said. “Sit tight while we call the tower and try to figure out what’s going on.”

  “Mom?” Mackenzie asked. She was beginning to realize that things weren’t as they were supposed to be either.

  “Just hold on, Mackenzie.”

  “Grandpa!” one of the twins shouted, pointing wildly out the window.

  “Oh God,” Cameron repeated. Her father was one of the people on the runway, wasn’t he? He was one of the infected that he’d warned her about and now the girls saw him. “Girls, don’t look,” she ordered.

  “Grandpa’s coming!” Colleen shouted, pointing out the window.

  Cameron unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped across the aisle. Her father’s distinct neon green and blue Bronco that he called “The Beast” bounced across the grass toward the plane. Behind him, a large hole in the chain link fence showed where he’d driven The Beast through the perimeter. Several people were already picking their way through the wreckage behind him. Cameron squinted, they had the telltale red blotches on their clothing as well.

  “Girls. Girls!” Cameron said. “Unbuckle your seatbelts.” She turned and unbuckled Donovan. “Let’s go, baby.”

  “Ma’am,” a familiar voice said harshly. “Ma’am, the fasten seatbelt light is still on. You’ll have to return to your seat.”

  “Shut up, Kenneth. Have you seen what’s happening outside?” She glanced beyond him as people gasped.

  Her father had ran down several of the ground crew running toward the plane. He pulled up beside the big jet and opened the door. He waved frantically for her to see him. Then, amazingly, he pulled a pistol from his dashboard and fired at someone out of her line of sight.

  “Ma’am, the pilot is—”

  Cameron punched him squarely in the jaw and he fell away, screeching.

  “Mom!” Mackenzie shouted.

  “Kids, let’s go. We’re getting off this plane. Now!”

  She picked up Donovan and grabbed Melissa’s hand, pulling her to the aisle. “Mom, this is embarrassing.”

  “Mackenzie, I need you to trust me. Can you do that for me, please?”

  Her daughter glanced from her to the other passengers who looked on in shock. “Mom…”

  “No questions. If we stay on this plane, we’re going to die.”

  Several people within earshot began shouting questions and crying. Somewhere in Mackenzie’s mind, what she said clicked and the girl stood up, pushing her way past the woman beside her. “Let’s go,” Cameron said.

  She rushed toward the exit door on the side nearest her father’s truck and lifted the handle. Alarms blared as the door swung away and a bright yellow safety slide automatically inflated.

  “Go! Go!” Cameron shouted, pushing the twins in front of her down the slide. She turned her head to make sure Mackenzie was still with her and then held onto Donovan tightly as she slid down the rubber slide toward her father.

  THE BEGINNING

  The story continues where this one ended in The Five Roads to Texas: a Phalanx Press Collaboration.

  Want more from Brian Parker?

  Find all of his books on Amazon.com:

  www.amazon.com/Brian-Parker/e/B00DFD98YI

  About the Author

  A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Brian Parker was born and raised as an Army brat. He's currently an Active Duty Army soldier who enjoys spending time with his family in Texas, hiking, obstacle course racing, writing and Texas Longhorns football. He's an unashamed Star Wars fan, but prefers to disregard the entire Episode I and II debacle.

  Brian is both a traditionally- and self-published author with an ever-growing collection of works across multiple genres, including sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, horror, paranormal thriller, militar
y fiction, self-publishing how-to and even a children's picture book—Zombie in the Basement, which he wrote to help children overcome the perceived stigma of being different from others.

  He is also the founder of Muddy Boots Press, an independent publishing company that focuses on quality genre fiction over mass-produced books.

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  Facebook: www.facebook.com/BrianParkerAuthor

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  www.PhalanxPress.com

  FIVE ROADS TO TEXAS SERIES

  From the best story tellers of Phalanx Press comes a frightening tale of Armageddon.

  It spread fast- no time to understand it- let alone learn how to fight it.

  Once it reached you, it was too late. All you could do is run.

  Rumored safe zones and potential for a cure drifted across the populace, forcing tough decisions to be made.

  They say only the strong survive. Well they forgot about the smart, the inventive and the lucky.

  Follow five different groups from across the U.S.A. as they make their way to what could be America’s last stand in the Lone Star State.

  WJ Lundy ~ Brian Parker ~ Rich Baker ~ Joseph Hansen ~ Allen Gamboa

  Foreword by JL Bourne

  Book 2: After the Roads by Brian Parker

  Book 3: For Which We Stand by Joseph Hansen

  Book 4: Convergence by AJ Powers

  Book 5: Showdown at Chimney Rock by Rich Baker

  Book 6: The Road to Hell by Brian Parker

  Book 7: One Nation by Joseph Hansen

  Book 8: The Days Before by Brian Parker

  SIXTH CYCLE

  Nuclear war has destroyed human civilization.

  Captain Jake Phillips wakes into a dangerous new world, where he finds the remaining fragments of the population living in a series of strongholds, connected across the country. Uneasy alliances have maintained their safety, but things are about to change. -- Discovery leads to danger. -- Skye Reed, a tracker from the Omega stronghold, uncovers a threat that could spell the end for their fragile society. With friends and enemies revealing truths about the past, she will need to decide who to trust. -- Sixth Cycle is a gritty post-apocalyptic story of survival and adventure.

  Darren Wearmouth ~ Carl Sinclair

  The Invasion Trilogy

  Aliens have planned against us for centuries... And now the attack is ready.

  Charlie Jackson's archaeological team find advanced technology in an undisturbed 16th Century graves. While investigating the discovery, giant sinkholes appear across planet, marking the start of Earth's colonization and the descent of civilization.

  Charlie and the rest of humanity will have to fight for survival, sacrificing the life they’ve known to protect themselves from an ancient and previously dormant enemy. Even that might not be enough as aliens exact a plan that will change the course of history.

  Darren Wearmouth

  DEAD ISLAND: Operation Zulu

  Ten years after the world was nearly brought to its knees by a zombie Armageddon, there is a race for the antidote! On a remote Caribbean island, surrounded by a horde of hungry living dead, a team of American and Australian commandos must rescue the Antidotes' scientist. Filled with zombies, guns, Russian bad guys, shady government types, serial killers and elevator muzak. Dead Island is an action packed blood soaked horror adventure.

  Dead Island: Dos and Dead Island: Ravenous are available now!

  Allen Gamboa

  INVASION OF THE DEAD SERIES

  This is the first book in a series of nine, about an ordinary bunch of friends, and their plight to survive an apocalypse in Australia. -- Deep beneath defense headquarters in the Australian Capital Territory, the last ranking Army chief and a brilliant scientist struggle with answers to the collapse of the world, and the aftermath of an unprecedented virus. Is it a natural mutation, or does the infection contain -- more sinister roots? -- One hundred and fifty miles away, five friends returning from a month-long camping trip slowly discover that death has swept through the country. What greets them in a gradual revelation is an enemy beyond compare. -- Armed with dwindling ammunition, the friends must overcome their disagreements, utilize their individual skills, and face unimaginable horrors as they battle to reach their hometown...

  Owen Ballie

  Torment (The Soldier Book One)

  From the War on Terror a world crippling Bio-Weapon is released. The United States scrambles teams of scientists from the Centers For Disease Control. America's top field agent are tasked with collecting samples and developing a cure.

  Thus, begins the greatest outbreak in the history of human kind. In the wake of the fast spreading pandemic, state and local governments, desperate for answers, rush to provide relief to the devastated and overwhelmed communities. Experts in Bio-Medical Research are desperately summoned to Atlanta and military facilities across the country.

  On a cold morning, the men of India Company, Second Platoon, are alerted and rapid-deployed to Virginia. Their mission: to recover and escort experts in bio-medicine, specifically in the development and production of vaccines. With faulty intelligence and half-truths, Second Platoon moves forward. What they find is worse than anyone could have predicted. What was a rescue mission, turns into a struggle for their own survival.

  Donovan’s War

  With everything around him gone. Tommy Donovan must return to the war he has been hiding from. When his sister is taken, the Government fails to act. Tommy Donovan will take the law into his own hands. But, this time he isn't a soldier, and there will be no laws to protect evil. This time it's personal and he is making the rules.

  The Darkness (The Invasion Series Book One)

  While the world falls apart, Jacob Anderson barricades his family behind locked doors. News reports tell of civil unrest in the streets, murders, and disappearances; citizens are warned to remain behind locked doors. When Jacob becomes witness to horrible events and the alarming actions of his neighbors, he and his family realize everything is far worse than being reported.

  Every father's nightmare comes true as Jacob's normal life--and a promise to protect his family--is torn apart.

  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

  Alone in a foreign land. The radio goes quiet while on convoy in Afghanistan, a lost patrol alone in the desert. With his unit and his home base destroyed, Staff Sergeant Brad Thompson suddenly finds himself isolated and in command of a small group of men trying to survive in the Afghan wasteland. Every turn leads to danger.

  The local population has been afflicted with an illness that turns them into rabid animals. They pursue him and his men at every corner and stop. Struggling to hold his team together and unite survivors, he must fight and evade his way to safety. A fast paced zombie war story like no other.

  W.J. Lundy

  ZOMBIE RUSH SERIES

  New to the Hot Springs PD Lisa Reynolds was not all that welcomed by her coworkers especially those who were passed over for the position. It didn’t matter, her thirty days probation ended on the same day of the Z-poc’s arrival. Overnight the world goes from bad to worse as thousands die in the initial onslaught. National Guard and regular military unit deployed the day before to the north leaves the city in mayhem. All directions lead to death until one unlikely candidate steps forward with a plan. A plan that became an avalanche raging down the mountain culminating in the salvation or destruction of them all.

  WAYWARD SON

  His perfect life in its late autumn years, Bob Johnson is offered the chance of using a prototype technology to traverse gateways into alternate realities. A chance to change the course of history and possibly the nature of certain people. Bob seizes the opportunity to rescue his soul…and get revenge on those who are trying ruin everything he cherishes. His reality will never be the same again…

  Joseph Hansen

  ZED’S WORLD

  BOOK ONE: THE GATHERING HORDE

  The most ambitious terrorist plot ever undertaken is about
to be put into motion, releasing an unstoppable force against humanity. Ordinary people – A group of students celebrating the end of the semester, suburban and rural families – are about to themselves in the center of something that threatens the survival of the human species. As they battle the dead – and the living – it’s going to take every bit of skill, knowledge and luck for them to survive in Zed’s World.

  BOOK TWO: ROADS LESS TRAVELED

  A terrible plague has been loosed upon the earth. In the course of one night, mankind teeters on the brink of extinction. Fighting through gathering hordes of undead, a group of friends brave military checkpoints, armed civilians, and forced allegiances in an attempt to reach loved ones. Thwarted at every turn, they press forward. But taking roads less traveled, could cost them everything.

  BOOK THREE: NO WAY OUT

  For Kyle Puckett, Earth has become a savage place. As the world continues to decay, the survivors of the viral plague have started choosing sides. With each encounter the stakes - and the body count - continue to rise. With the skies growing darker and the dead pressing in, both sides may soon find out that there is No Way Out.

  Rich Baker

  Grudge: Operation Highjump

  The United States Navy led an expedition to Antarctica in December 1946, called Operation Highjump. Officially, the men were tasked with evaluating the effect of cold weather on US equipment; secretly their mission was to investigate reports of a hidden Nazi base buried beneath the ice. After engaging unknown forces in aerial combat, weather forced the Navy to abandon operations. Undeterred, the US returned every Antarctic summer until finally the government detonated three nuclear missiles over the atmosphere in 1958. Unfortunately, the desperate gamble to rid the world of the Nazi scourge failed. The enemy burrowed deeper into the ice, using alien technologies for cryogenic freezing to amass a genetically superior army, indoctrinated from birth to hate Americans. Now they’ve returned, intent on exacting revenge for the destruction of their homeland and banishment to the icy wastes.