Stay Out of the Shadows: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller
Page 1
Stay Out of the Shadows
A.P. Madden
Copyright © 2021 by A.P. Madden
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is purely coincidental.
Chapter 1 - Caelan
Chapter 2 - I Told You So
Chapter 3 - You Wouldn’t Have
Chapter 4 - Naomi
Chapter 5 - In The Dark
Chapter 6 - Mutants
Chapter 7 - And Men
Chapter 8 - Home
Chapter 9 - The Factory
Chapter 10 - I Can Try
Chapter 11 - Promise Me
Chapter 12 - Birdsong
Chapter 13 - Seth
Chapter 14 - Too Fast
Chapter 15 - The Garden
Chapter 16 - I Did It
Chapter 17 - The First Punch
Chapter 18 - Rendezvous
Chapter 19 - Who Would Miss Him?
Chapter 20 - An Opportunity
Chapter 21 - Morgan
Chapter 22 - As Good As Dead
Chapter 23 - Get Up
Chapter 24 - Two of Us
Chapter 25 - Saying it
Chapter 26 - Breathing
Chapter 27 - Addison
Chapter 28 - Who Are You?
Chapter 29 - Family
Chapter 30 - The Forest
Chapter 31 - Fire
Chapter 32 - A New Day
Chapter 33 - Preparing
Chapter 34 - War
Chapter 35 - Tell Him Myself
Chapter 36 - It’s About Yours
Chapter 37 - Wouldn’t Count On It
Chapter 38 - Reconsider
Chapter 39 - Just In Case
Prologue - Alone
Luke was sitting at home when the world ended.
Three days later, he huddled in a bunker with his family and friends while the city burned around them.
Three months later, he wandered alone.
Three years later, he found Caelan.
***
Chapter 1 - Caelan
Luke ran down the street, cursing his own stupidity. He should have known better. He barely knew them, he shouldn’t have trusted them, and now he was paying for it. All he had left was a backpack with enough food for a few days and his recent pharmacy haul.
No weapons. No allies. No shelter.
Gunshots pierced the air. Luke ducked and tried to make himself a smaller target while he sprinted to the corner. Motorbike tires squealed on the street behind him, and he lunged for the corner, throwing himself behind cover just seconds before bullets cut through the air where he was standing.
Luke pushed himself up and sprinted into a wide alley with sunshine streaming down into it. His backpack was heavy on his back and it slowed him down, but he didn’t abandon it. It was a risk, but leaving it here would guarantee that he wouldn’t make it to the end of the week.
Luke ran through the streets, taking sharp turns and vaulting over fences. He almost slipped into a dark alley, but the low growl and shifting movement stopped him. A huge shadow rose up from a dark corner, and Luke caught a glimpse of sharp teeth and shining eyes.
He was moving too fast to turn around so he grabbed the wall and shoved himself in another direction. He didn’t have time to think about getting too close. He should have known better. He learned a long time ago to stay out of the dark.
He kept running, keeping to wide streets and alleys with sunlight, and soon the sounds of his pursuers began to fade. He didn’t slow down until he couldn’t hear them at all, and he finally let himself stop, leaning against a wall to catch his breath.
He put the back of his head against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment.
A low hissing noise caught his attention.
Opening his eyes, he scanned the street until he found it. There was a small mutant creature hiding from the bright sun beneath an abandoned car. Its eyes were locked on him, and it hissed and spit and bared its teeth, desperate to get to him.
Luke stayed where he was. He was safe from it while the sun was out. It couldn’t get to him, no matter how much it wanted to attack. The sight of him standing so close to it must have been unbearable - it tried to crawl out from under the car and cried out in fury and pain when the sunlight hit it.
Luke turned away and kept moving. The men might have been expanding their search area. He didn’t have the luxury of resting, not yet, and he needed to get further away before he found somewhere to crash for the night. He had a few hours until dusk, and he wanted to be safely locked inside a building before darkness fell and the monsters came out.
The alley opened into another street, and he walked straight out before he realised there was a group of men standing to his left. They were all armed, and one of them was sitting on a motorbike. Luke cursed and threw himself behind a car as gunfire erupted.
After a few seconds, he realised he was still alive. His hands ran over his body quickly, checking for blood or injuries, but somehow, he was unharmed. No one chased him or stepped into sight to finish him off. He frowned and kept listening. Was it possible that he wasn’t the target?
He heard a motorbike engine, cheering and whooping from the men. The voices cut off sharply when more gunshots cut through the air. Luke kept his head down and waited, expecting the worst. There was a crack and then an explosion, and he felt a wave of heat. From his hiding place, he could see smoke billowing up. The motorbike must have gone up in flames.
Somehow, he was still alive.
Luke couldn’t see beyond the car without revealing himself, so he just listened. There was silence for several seconds, and he tried to hear beyond his heartbeat pounding through his ears. He heard a quiet grunt. One of them was still alive.
Luke risked a peek around the side of the car. The man was standing beside an overturned car with his hand on the dented metal. He leaned heavily on it while he clutched his side. He was in his late twenties or early thirties, a man who looked like he knew how to handle himself.
He didn’t seem to be part of the gang, judging by his clothes, and Luke guessed that he was their actual target. The man turned and put his back against the roof of the overturned sedan and slid down to the ground. He sat on the ground with his eyes closed. There was blood pouring between his fingers, and his face was contorted in pain.
Luke watched him for a few seconds. He didn’t look like he was a threat anymore, but appearances could be deceiving. Luke glanced at the pistol that the man had dropped beside him. If he was going to make a run for it, he was going to stay out of the man’s line of sight.
Luke looked at the alley he came out of - he knew he could make it, he would be gone before the stranger even knew he was there - but he didn’t move. He wasn’t sure why he hesitated. Running was the right choice. He got lucky - the gang members were killed by this stranger, and now he had a chance to escape. He didn’t need to get involved. Walking away was the smart thing to do.
He looked at the empty street around him. There were abandoned office buildings, apartment blocks, shops full of food an
d clothing. Everything he needed was waiting for him. That was why he came to this area in the first place. The gangs had picked everywhere else clean.
Luke looked back at the man. His chest moved slowly, evenly.
Luke stood up and walked towards him. “This is a terrible idea,” he muttered. “But what are my other options? Go back to scavenging for scraps and hiding from the gangs?”
He knew he would have looked insane to anyone else, but he spent a lot of time alone these days, and talking to himself helped to fill the silence.
Luke kicked the gun away. The man barely reacted, slowly opening his eyes and looking up at him. “I thought I got all of you,” he said.
“I’m not with them,” Luke said.
“Sure, you’re not.”
“I’m serious. I... I have medical supplies.”
The man laughed and then groaned, clutching his side. “Is this a joke, kid? Just kill me and get it over with.”
Luke kneeled beside him. “My name’s Luke,” he said, shrugging off his backpack. “Let me see the wound.”
The man’s eyes were sharp and piercing, and he watched Luke closely. “You’re serious,” he finally said.
“Yeah, I am.”
“Why?”
Luke pulled out a few things and lay them on the ground. He knew what the man was asking. “I’ve got nothing else to do.”
The man was silent for a moment. “Caelan.”
“Unusual name,” Luke said.
Caelan shrugged and pulled the edge of his shirt up. His hands were weak, and Luke took over, lifting the bloody shirt. He took one look at the wound and grimaced.
“Not good, huh?” Caelan smirked. “Figures.”
“I’m not a doctor,” Luke said. “You might be okay.”
“You fill me with confidence,” Caelan said.
Luke would have laughed, but he was busy rummaging through the things he took from the pharmacy. He spent several minutes patching up Caelan’s wound, and when he was done, his hands were covered in blood.
Caelan watched him as he worked, but he only spoke once. “How old are you? Sixteen?”
“Seventeen,” Luke said.
Caelan suddenly hissed in pain. “Careful.”
“It’s okay, I’m done,” Luke said.
“Thanks, kid,” Caelan said. “You’ve done your good deed. Your conscience can rest easy. I’ll take it from here.”
Luke zipped up his backpack and got to his feet. “Come on,” he said, extending a hand.
Caelan looked surprised. “What are you doing?”
“Helping you.”
“Why?”
Luke shrugged. “What do you mean? I’m helping you because I can.”
Caelan examined him for a moment. “That’s not an answer. I don’t have anything you want. No weapons, no supplies, nothing. We both know you’re not doing this out of the kindness of your heart. Those kinds of people are long gone.”
“You’re wrong. There are still good people out there.”
“Maybe,” Caelan said. “Are you saying you’re one of them?”
Luke glanced at the empty buildings around them, thought about going back to his endless struggle to survive, and he decided to tell the truth. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Caelan grinned and took his arm, letting Luke pull him to his feet. “I appreciate the honesty.”
Luke pulled his arm over his shoulders, and he supported Caelan’s weight as they moved away from the carnage.
***
Chapter 2 - I Told You So
Luke walked down the middle of a deserted street on the outskirts of the city. There was a machete strapped to his back and a handgun in a sheath on his belt. He pretended not to hear their boots on the ground until they were in sight.
“Hey, kid, what are you doing in our territory?”
Four men, two standing in front and two bringing up the rear. The biggest man seemed to be in charge. Luke wasn’t surprised - these groups always followed the biggest, meanest, cruellest man they could find. Only two had guns, the others were holding a baseball bat and a lead pipe. Both weapons were covered in old, dried bloodstains.
“I want to join you,” Luke said.
The leader gave him a dark grin. “Here to prove yourself, then.”
“Maybe,” Luke said. “Depends on what you’re offering. You’re not the only ones in the area.”
The man’s eyes narrowed and he hefted his rifle. “You’re playing a dangerous game, boy.”
Luke shrugged. “Everything is dangerous these days.”
The leader watched him for a long moment, and Luke tried not to show how tense he was.
Finally, the second man spoke. “We have food, supplies, protection. Ride with us and you can do whatever you want, take whatever you want. No rules except that you follow my lead.”
Luke looked away, pretending to think about it, but really he was scanning the side of the street for Caelan. His friend should have been here by now. “That’s not anything different than the other gangs would offer me.”
“Women, too,” he said. “As many as you want. It’s not like the old world, kid. You don’t have to wait for permission. You can take what you want. We’ll help you.”
Luke wasn’t surprised by what he said, but it still turned his stomach, even though it was the whole reason they were here. It was why they had targeted this specific group and why Luke was putting himself right in their crosshairs.
The world had gone to hell a long time ago. In the aftermath, people reacted in different ways. Some came together, supported each other, tried to rebuild. Others thrived in the chaos. They stole, killed and took whatever they wanted from anyone who was unlucky enough to cross their paths.
“Tempting,” Luke said. Finally, out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement at the corner. “But I’m going to have to say no.”
The leader’s face twisted into a snarl. “Big mistake.”
Before he could raise his rifle or say anything else, a gunshot pierced the silence. He froze for a moment, and then his body crumpled to the ground. The other man yelled in outrage and turned to Luke, but Luke was ready for him, and he fired once. His aim had improved a lot recently, and the man jerked backwards.
The two surviving men roared and started running at Luke. They assumed he was the one who fired both shots. Caelan stepped out from behind them and took them both down with two clean shots.
“You didn’t have to kill them,” Luke said.
“Of course I did. They had weapons.”
“We could have forced them to surrender.”
“Too risky,” Caelan said.
Luke looked at the men on the ground, grimacing at all the blood. “Did you get the girl?”
“I did.” Caelan gestured, and a teenage girl took a few tentative steps out from behind a parked car.
She was pale, but she relaxed slightly when she saw the men on the ground. “You killed them.” She took a shaky breath and nodded. “Good.”
Luke lowered his gun and walked over to them. The girl had been taken against her will by the men that now lay on the ground. Her family pleaded for help from the other people they met in the ruins of the city, but no one else would help them. The raiders were dangerous and ruthless, and no one wanted to risk drawing their attention.
“Can we go now?” Caelan demanded. “We saved her, so your conscience can rest easy. You’ve done your good deed. Now let’s get out of here before the gunshots attract anyone else.”
Luke couldn’t have done it without Caelan, but Caelan had made it very clear that he was against the idea. Among a stream of colourful cursing, Caelan called it an ‘insane suicide plan’ and told Luke that he was an idiot. But he still came through when Luke needed him.
“We need to get her back to her family,” Luke said.
“No, we don’t. She can find them herself. Can’t you?”
The girl hesitated. “I... I guess so.”
“See?” Caelan said. �
�She’ll be fine.”
“She’s obviously not fine. It’s okay, we’ll bring you,” he told her.
“Luke-”
“We’re bringing her. We can’t just leave her out here. Like you said, the gunfire might attract people, or worse.”
Caelan watched him for a long moment, and then he shrugged. “Fine. Just remember that your stupid decisions are going to get us in trouble, eventually.”
Even though Caelan’s tone was light, Luke felt guilt coiling in his stomach. He forced himself to ignore it. He could apologise later. For now, they had to get the girl back to her family.
They were halfway up the street when they heard the engines.
Three cars raced up the street behind them, swerving around the dead men and chasing them.
The girl started to run, but Caelan grabbed her arm. “Don’t. We don’t have time to escape, and running will just make it worse.”
One of the cars stopped near the dead men, and the other two rushed to block off their exits. One stopped in front of them, swerving around them to block off the road ahead, and the other turned and stopped behind them. Multiple guns poked out from the windows, and doors opened and more men with weapons stepped out.
The girl made a small, frightened noise and ran to the side, slipping between two cars and sprinting to the next side street. The gunmen watched her go, but they decided not to shoot, and none of them chased her. Within moments, she was gone.
Luke and Caelan slowly raised their hands. Luke hoped that it was a good sign that they hadn’t killed the girl. Most gangs would have given chase, at least, and many would have shot her as soon as she tried to flee.
The third car finally joined the others, and Luke watched as the doors opened and a tall man in a clean shirt and a blue tie stepped out. He had a small, smug smile on his face, and three armed men stepped out. Now, Luke and Caelan were outnumbered heavily, and he still had no idea what they wanted.
“We took a good look at your fallen friends,” the man said, nodding to the dead men down the street. “My men recognised two of them. They’re well known members of a gang that has been giving us quite a lot of trouble recently. I would thank you for taking care of them, but I doubt it was an altruistic act. All the gangs in the area change leadership every few months, and it almost always involves the old leadership being killed by their allies.”