by Mark Goodwin
“I would have called, but cell service went out in Charlotte a few days ago.”
“Well, I’m glad you came.”
Gavin smiled. “Pretty good timing on my part, if I do say so myself.”
She put her other hand on his and pulled him closer. “Not just because you saved my life, although I am grateful for that. So, cell service is completely out?”
He squeezed her hands. “I think the government shut it down because it was doing more harm than good. Gangs and hoodlums were using it to organize.”
“What about first responders?”
He shook his head. “They’re all responding to their own personal crisis. Things got pretty rough in Charlotte. I holed up in my apartment for as long as I could. Fortunately, my Jeep didn’t get vandalized. I decided to get out while I still could. I have a cousin in Tennessee; Whiteville, it’s pretty remote. I wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay before I went.”
“Oh.” Kate felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her. She pulled back one of her hands and looked down at the quilt. “I see. When are you leaving?”
“I’d told Mr. Pritchard that I’d help get things back in order around here. We’ve been at it hard. We’ve got most of it cleaned up, but I’m beat. If you don’t mind, I’d like to crash here, on the couch or something. I need to get some rest before I go. I was thinking of heading out after midnight tomorrow night. Early morning hours seem to be the safest time to travel.”
“Sure, you can sleep here.” She felt despondent.
“Is everything okay? I mean, I know you’ve been through a lot, but you seem upset at me. If you’d rather I not stay…”
“No.” She looked up. “It’s not you, it’s me. I don’t know why, but I had it cooked up in my mind that you’d be staying longer. No reason, just my imagination, I guess.”
He bit his lip. “Why? How long did you think I was going to stay?”
She lifted her shoulders and looked away, her heart began to pound. “I don’t know, a while.”
“What’s a while? A couple days?”
She fiddled with the edge of the quilt. “I don’t know, maybe longer.”
“Do you want me to stay longer?”
She looked up into his eyes and nodded.
“I could hang around for a while.”
“How long is a while?” she asked.
He laughed and pulled her close. “You tell me.”
Despite her fear, her worry, and her grief, a smile began to creep across her face.
Gavin put his hand behind her neck and softly pulled her closer for a kiss.
Seconds later, she pulled away, still smiling and looked away. “So, were you really going to Tennessee, or was that just to make me beg?”
“I hadn’t exactly been invited, so I wasn’t about to impose myself upon you.”
“But it’s the apocalypse. One could assume that one’s company would be welcome.”
“Mmmm…” He tilted his head to the side. “One could, and one might; but personally, I need a formal invitation.”
She sat up straight in the bed and took both of his hands. “Okay, Gavin, will you please come stay with me? I’m a fair maiden in distress, and I could really use a knight in shining armor.”
He grinned. “I don’t know if I’m buying all that fair-maiden bit.”
“Oh? I’m not fair?”
“Fair, indeed, my princess, but in distress? I saw that guy’s face where you shot him—or at least what used to be his face. Nevertheless, I accept your invitation to stay for...”
“A while—a good long while.” She let him kiss her again.
Don’t Panic!
Inevitably, books like this will wake folks up to the need to be prepared. Or, they cause those of us who have already made contingency plans to take inventory of our skills and supplies. New preppers can find the task of hedging against an economic collapse, EMP, or societal breakdown to be a source of great anxiety. It shouldn’t be. By following an organized plan to advance your readiness goals a little more each day, you can do it.
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Thank you for reading
Cyber Armageddon, Book One:
Rise of the Locusts
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Stay tuned to PrepperRecon.com for the latest news about my upcoming books.
Keep watch for Book Two,
Feast of the Locusts
Can’t get enough post-apocalyptic chaos?
Check out my American Civil War 2.0 series,
Ava’s Crucible
The Second American Civil War Has Begun!
The deck is stacked against twenty-nine-year-old Ava. She’s a fighter, but she’s got trust issues and doesn’t always make the best decisions. Her personal complications aren’t without merit, but America is on the verge of a second civil war, and Ava must pull it together if she wants to survive.
The tentacles of the deep state have infiltrated every facet of American culture. The public education system, entertainment industry, and mainstream media have all been hijacked by a shadow government intent on fomenting a communist revolution in the United States. The antagonistic message of this agenda has poisoned the minds of America’s youth who are convinced that capitalism and conservatism are responsible for all the ills of the world. Violent protest, widespread destruction, and politicians who insist on letting the disassociated vent their rage will bring America to her knees, threatening to decapitate the laws, principles, and values on which the country was founded. The revolution has been well-planned, but the socialists may have underestimated America’s true patriots who refuse to give up without a fight.
Ava refuses to give in to fear, but she simply cannot survive on her own. She must deal with her crisis of faith and learn to trust others, or she’ll never make it through the bloodiest period of America’s history.
If you’ve enjoyed Cyber Armageddon, you’ll love my post-apocalyptic, end-times thriller series,
The Days of Noah
A hidden conspiracy. A shadow government. The CIA analyst who uncovers it all.
In an off-site CIA facility outside of Langley, rookie analyst Everett Carroll discovers he’s not being told the whole truth. He’s instructed to disregard troubling information uncovered by his research. Everett ignores his directive and keeps digging. What he finds goes against everything he’s been taught to believe. Unfortunately, his curiosity doesn’t escape the attention of his superiors, and it may cost him his life.
Meanwhile, Tennessee public school teacher, Noah Parker, like many in the United States, has been asleep at the wheel. During his complacency, the founding precepts of America have been systematically destroyed by a conspiracy that dates back hundreds of years.
Cassandra Parker, Noah’s wife, has diligently followed end-times prophecy and the shifting tide against freedom in America. Noah has tried to avoid the subject, but when charges are filed against him for deviating from the approved curriculum in his school, he quickly understands the seriousness of the situation. The sign
s can no longer be ignored, and Noah is forced to prepare for the cataclysmic period of financial and political upheaval ahead.
Watch through the eyes of Noah Parker and Everett Carroll as the world descends into chaos, a global empire takes shape, ancient writings are fulfilled, and the last days fall upon the once-great United States of America.
Read my EMP survival series Seven Cows Ugly and Gaunt
starting with book one,
Behold, Darkness, and Sorrow
Danny and Alisa's lives are turned upside down when Danny begins having prophetic dreams about the judgment coming upon America. Through one of Danny’s dreams, they learn about the imminent threat of an EMP attack which will wipe out America’s electric grid, sending the country into a technological dark age.
Living in a nation where life-sustaining systems of support are completely dependent on electricity and computers, the odds of survival are dismal. Municipal water services, retail food distribution, police, fire, EMS and emergency services will come to a screeching halt.
If they want to live through the most catastrophic period in American history, Danny and Alisa will have to race against time to get prepared, before the lights go out.
You’ll also enjoy my first series,
The Economic Collapse Chronicles
Dealing with the challenges of being downsized during a period of surging inflation, Matt and Karen Bair face the economic realities of Main Street. Government borrowing and monetary creation have reached their limits and America is on the cusp of financial annihilation. When funds are no longer available for government programs, widespread civil unrest erupts across the country. Matt and Karen are forced to move to a more remote location, and their level of preparedness is revealed as being much less adequate than they believed prior to the crisis. Civil instability erupts into civil war, and Americans are forced to choose a side. Don’t miss this action-packed, post-apocalyptic tale about survival after the total collapse of America.
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