Darkness Grows: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (After the EMP Book 2)
Page 17
Madison scoffed in the back seat. “They all hate us, Mom. I read this article right before all of this and it said movie companies have to remove all images of the American flag in their ads in order to sell their movies in Europe. Think about it. A movie poster about the Civil War or World War II where they can’t show the American flag.”
“Madison’s right. A lot of places will cheer. The others will be afraid. Besides, we don’t know they weren’t affected, too.” He shook his head. “Like it or not, we can’t expect any help from anyone.”
Tracy looked out the window. All that they had built. Shops, restaurants, homes. Infrastructure. Technology. How many people worked for companies whose products were one hundred percent digital? The ingenuity of Americans was something to marvel.
In a half a century, the country had gone from small towns and backyard gardens to big cities with convenience stores on every corner. How many people even knew what a tomato plant looked like or could tell when a carrot was ripe and should be pulled from the ground?
Did anyone in a major city know how to hunt or raise livestock or even chop firewood and start a fire? Tracy had tried to teach Madison the basics. They backpacked, camped, and fished every summer—all the things Tracy wished she’d done as a kid.
But most families were glued to their screens, too busy typing away and snapping pictures of themselves to learn how to survive. While the world became increasingly complicated, the basics of life remained the same.
Food. Water. Shelter.
How had they forgotten that?
She tuned to her husband. “We really are on our own, aren’t we?”
Walter nodded. “Yes we are.”
Tracy reached out and rested her hand on top of his. “Whatever comes, we can face it together.” She turned to her daughter and smiled. It wouldn’t be easy, but every day that she got to wake up and see the face of her daughter and her husband would be a good day.
They might not have much, but they had each other. Together, they could survive anything. She dropped her hand and leaned back in her seat. All they needed to do was take it one day at a time.
Chapter Thirty-Three
MADISON
Backroads of Northern California
4:00 p.m.
Madison leaned against the back seat, Fireball soft and snuggly on her lap. She still couldn’t believe her father found them. To think she almost shot him before he called out.
She laughed to herself.
“Something funny?”
“Not really.” Madison leaned forward. “Hey, Mom? Can you try the radio again? We’re a bit farther north. We might pick up someone.”
“Madison, we’ve tried the radio every hour. There’s no one out there.”
“I know, but you could try again? Please?”
Her mother sighed and flicked on the radio, scanning through the AM stations. A flicker of noise caught Madison’s ear. “Go back. I heard something.”
Her mom slowed, going lower in the stations until a voice made her freeze.
“Again, this is Mandy Patterson from Chico State. If anyone can hear me, we need help. Things are bad here. Real bad. There’s five of us trapped in the radio building. We’re almost out of food and water and we can’t get out. The doors are locked from the outside.”
Madison held her breath.
“We’ve tried breaking the glass, but it’s got to be bulletproof or something. If we don’t get out of here soon… we’re all going to die. Please if you’re out there, again, this is Mandy Patterson from Chico State. I’m broadcasting from the radio building on campus.”
The Sloane family listened to the girl over and over until she ended the broadcast. Madison swallowed. If they tried to save her, it would mean putting them all at risk again. But if they ignored it and drove on…
“We have to help her.”
“Honey, we can’t.” Her mom turned around in the front seat. “We’ve already got seven people with us. There’s nowhere for any more to go. You’re crammed in the back seat with bottles of water and Drew is up in the Jeep with three teenagers and enough boxed goods to make anyone claustrophobic.”
“But she needs help!”
Her father spoke up. “We don’t even know if it’s real. How is she broadcasting? She can’t do it without power. If they’ve got solar or wind or some backup generator, then she should be able to get out. I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”
“Mom. Dad. Come on. What if that were me? What if I were stuck back at college begging for help? Wouldn’t you want someone to save me?”
Her mom exhaled and closed her eyes. “Chico State has a hospital, right?”
Madison hesitated. “I don’t know. It’s smaller than a UC school, but it should have a student health center, at a minimum.”
“That means current antibiotics for me and Drew.”
“If there are any left.” Madison’s father glanced in the rear view. “This is a terrible idea. It’s too risky.”
Madison glanced out the window, trying to place their location. “We can’t be that far from Chico. It’s north of Sacramento.”
Her father frowned. “I’d guess we’re about thirty miles due east.” He glanced at her mom. “If we’re going to make a detour, we should do it now.”
Her mom turned in her seat. “You really want to do this?”
Madison nodded. “Yes.”
“It will put all our lives at risk.”
“I know.”
“Someone might die. We could risk losing all that we have.”
Madison knew the danger. But she couldn’t leave someone to die. Not when she was pleading for help. “I know what we’re risking, but we have to try. If we don’t, what kind of people are we?”
Walter eased the car to the side of the road and honked the horn. The Jeep stopped just ahead. “Let’s talk to the others. We’ll put it up to a vote.”
Thank you for reading book two in the After the EMP series! In case you missed it, find book one here.
Want to read more of the Sloane family story? Subscribe to Harley’s mailing list for an exclusive companion short story:
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If you were hundreds of miles from home when the world ended, how would you protect your family?
Walter started his day like any other by boarding a commercial jet, ready to fly the first leg of his international journey. Halfway to Seattle, he witnesses the unthinkable: the total loss of power as far as he can see.
Hundreds of miles from home, he’ll do whatever it takes to get back to his wife and teenage daughter. Landing the plane is only the beginning.
Darkness Falls is a companion story to After the EMP, a post-apocalyptic thriller series following the Sloane family and their friends as they attempt to survive after a geomagnetic storm destroys the nation’s power grid.
Get Darkness Falls Now.
Acknowledgments
A huge thanks to all of the readers of Darkness Begins, book one in this series! I wouldn’t be continuing on with the story of the Sloane family without your support. Being able to write post-apocalyptic fiction and share it with you is the most incredible job in the world and I’m humbled by your enthusiasm!
If you 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.
Thanks again to my family for not only supporting this new endeavor, but helping fact check all those pesky little details. I couldn’t have done it without you.
My goal with every book I write is to not only entertain, but also inspire the survivalist inside each of us. Being prepared isn’t crazy, it’s smart.
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.
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Harley’s first series, After the EMP, follows the Sloane family and their friends as they try to survive in a world without power. When the nation's power grid is wrecked, it doesn't take long for society to fall apart. The end of life as we know it brings out the best and worst in all of us.
The apocalypse is only the beginning.
Contact Harley directly at:
www.harleytate.com
harley@harleytate.com