Survive the Onslaught
A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller, The End of the World Series book 2
Clyde McDonald
Copyright © 2020 by Clyde McDonald
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
1. Jake
2. Aby
3. Jake
4. Aby
5. Jake
6. Megan
7. Jake
8. Jake
9. Aby
10. Jake
11. Aby
12. Jake
13. Aby
14. Jake
15. Megan
16. Jake
17. Aby
18. Jake
19. Aby
20. Jake
21. Perry
22. Megan
23. Jake
24. Aby
25. Jake
26. Aby
27. Getting Out by Ryan Westfield Preview
One
Jake
The open road had seemed so thrilling at first, but as Jake eyed up the gas meter on the minivan, his heart sank. They were very quickly running out of gas and he had no idea what they were going to do about it.
Aby hadn’t noticed yet and was staring out of the window while Megan snoozed in the back seat. Jake took a deep breath. He didn’t want to disappoint his fiance by telling her that they were running low, but he knew he didn’t have much choice. They had to do something about it, after all.
“Aby?”
She turned to him with a carefree smile. It was a smile he hadn’t seen much of lately. Not since the EMP hit and their lives turned upside down. He swallowed. How could he wipe that look from her face?
“Yeah?” Aby said, tilting her head against the back of her seat. Jake sighed.
“We’ve got a problem...we’re running out of gas.”
The smile disappeared from Aby’s face. “What? So soon?”
“We’ve been driving a long time, Aby. It makes sense. I should’ve checked sooner…”
Aby ignored him and leant over his body to check the meter. “Jake! How could you miss this? We’re running on empty!”
“Hey, it’s not that bad. We’ve still got an eighth of a tank.”
“Oh, that’s generous. I think you should check again. This is ridiculous, Jake, we’re going to have to stop now…”
“What are you fighting about?” Megan said drowsily, sitting up in the back seat. She wiped at her eyes and Jake felt a pang of jealousy. Of the trio, Megan was always the one oblivious to any goings-on, always the sheep of the pack and never the leader. She never had to be the one to make difficult decisions, or keep an eye on the gas.
“We’re running a little low on gas…”
“We’re screwed, Megan, there’s nothing left…”
“Hey!” Jake snapped. “Enough. We have some left. Now, the road looks safe enough, there’s no one here...I’m going to stop the van so we can talk about this...rationally.”
Aby said nothing, crossing her arms across her chest in irritation. Jake sighed as he slowed the minivan down and parked up. He felt like he and his fiance had run through every emotion since this all started, but they never fought. They were always too conscientious of each other to bite back at each other.
Until now, apparently.
There were a few minutes of silence in the van while everyone took in the gravity of the situation. Megan leaned forward so she could be a part of the discussion that was about to happen.
“What are we going to do?” she asked. Jake almost rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like she ever came up with any ideas.
“Unless we can find some gas...we’re going to have to abandon the van. It’s useless otherwise. I mean, we could probably sleep in the back for a few nights...but we’re too exposed on the road. If things start to get really ugly…”
He didn’t need to finish that sentence. The three of them knew all too well what it would cost if they collided with the wrong people. They’d had their fair share of lucky escapes, after all. They’d even lost a friend along the way. Jake closed his eyes when he thought about Derron, lying dead in the road. He’d been a liability, but at least he had been on their side.
“Well, the cabin was a mistake. We know that now. We need to be around trustworthy people,” Aby thought aloud. “Maybe if we can find a community of people that we trust…”
“Like who? Everyone is out for themselves right now, Aby. We can’t trust anyone’s intentions, even if they seem good,” Jake said dismissively. “Maybe we can head out into the woods for a while to figure things out. The weather is good for now...we have all of the summer ahead of us. It would probably be safe until winter.
“I don’t think that we can assume everyone is bad,” Aby said, continuing her train of thought as though Jake hadn’t spoken. “And small towns are better than in big cities. People know one another there. They wouldn’t just turn on people. And surely they’d have empathy for a few people who are just looking for safety?”
“How are they meant to know they can trust us?” Jake hit back. “I mean, I wouldn’t trust us right now if I knew our story so far…”
Aby fell silent. They’d all done things they regretted. Especially Jake. He’d killed people. He’d used fear tactics to escape both the police and some travelers. He’d risked his life multiple times for the good of his group and he’d still failed. Now, he’d failed them once again by letting them run out of gas. He needed to take control, but this time, he had to do it right.
“I’m a little worried about the idea of going into a town,” Megan said after a while. “You never know what people might be thinking or feeling. With everything going on, it seems like a risky move.”
Jake felt a little smug for a moment that Megan had discounted Aby’s idea, and then he immediately felt guilty. He had no reason to want to tear Aby down, his emotions were just running high. And if he was honest with himself, he didn’t like the idea of Aby having more clue about how to help than he did. He was meant to look after her. He wanted to.
“I don’t think going into the woods works either,” Megan said softly. “I don’t know about you, but I have no idea how to hunt or forage for food...I’d probably end up eating a poisoned berry and dying on the spot. We don’t have any materials to help us either...I just think it might be a little optimisitic to think we can do it.”
Jake sighed. She was right. He’d come up with another bad idea. At the start of the whole thing, he’d felt a strange sense of control over what was happening to them. He was better prepared than most. He’d had a casual hobby for doomsday prep, but even that hadn’t prepared him for what they’d faced in the past few days. It also hadn’t prepared him to live in the woods.
“You’re right. But we’re running out of options here. Anyone else got any bright ideas?”
“Honestly? I just want to choose whatever option keeps us out of trouble. I can’t shake the feeling that we’ll never stop running from what happened,” Aby said with a shudder. They’d had the police on their tail for a while after a misunderstanding at the cabin they’d been living in. Jake and his friends called their actions self-defense, but the police saw it as murder.
But they hadn’t seen another car for a long time. Jake kept looking out for car headlights, but he had to remind himself that most of the vehicles had been wiped out b
y the EMP. They were very lucky to still have a working van to drive them away from the trouble they’d run into. The police had cars too, but Jake was sure they wouldn’t have chased them this far. Or rather, he hoped he was sure.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be giving up on the van so easily,” Jake said after a while. “It’s served us well this far. We just need to find a way of getting some gas and then we can keep driving.”
“To where?” Aby asked. “You just want to drive forever, Jake?”
“I want to drive until we’ve had time to think,” Jake said firmly. “Without the van, we won’t be able to carry half our supplies. Unless we find somewhere safe to settle down, we can’t survive without the van. It’s our only hope. So let’s find a way to siphon some gas from somewhere.”
Aby glanced at Megan, silently asking her opinion. Megan nodded eagerly and Aby sighed, looking out the window again.
“Alright. I guess we’ll do it your way again.”
Jake didn’t miss the angry tone of Aby’s voice as he started the car up again. He knew he’d hurt her feelings by dismissing her ideas. But he’d kept them alive so far. Even though he’d made mistakes, he was good under pressure. They needed him to keep taking charge.
He was their only hope.
He carried on driving, trying not to be hyper-aware of their dwindling gas supply. It wouldn’t do them any good to panic, after all. It was dark now and it was hard to see much. The road was rural anyway so there was a good chance they wouldn’t find what they were looking for. The thought made Jake’s heart squeeze anxiously inside his chest.
But after some time, he spotted a house up ahead. Killing the engine, he began to unfasten his seatbelt. Aby grabbed his arm.
“Hey. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to see what that house has to offer.”
“You didn’t even speak to us about it first...stop rushing off like you’re some kind of superhero. You’re being reckless. You’re going to get us killed.”
The comment stung. It made Jake feel like Aby didn’t have any faith in him. Maybe she was right not to, but Jake’s instincts always steered him in the right direction. He wasn’t looking for trouble.
“I’ll be in and out of there fast. I want to see if I can steal a garden hose. That way we’ll have a way to get gas when we find a car. Are you okay with that?”
Aby tightened her lips. He could see that she thought it was a good idea in theory, but in practice, she didn’t want him to go through with it. He squeezed her knee.
“It’s alright. I’ll be in and out. Take the driver’s seat. I’m not expecting trouble, but you should be ready to go if there are any issues.”
She nodded and he took that as a sign that he was free to go. He stumbled out of the car and began to jog, his adrenaline fuelling him toward the house. He kind of liked the feeling. He wasn’t scared the way he had been back at the cabin. Yes, he was stealing from someone, and yes, they might get angry and start a fight, but it still felt low risk. He had the Glock with him and his instincts felt razor-sharp.
He’d be in and out of there in no time.
Creeping into the garden, lit only by the moon in the sky, Jake searched around for a hosepipe. He’d never siphoned gas before, but luckily, his doomsday prepping had taught him how to do it. He told himself that whoever he was stealing from wouldn’t miss a hosepipe anyway.
He almost tripped over the hosepipe, which was how he found it. Grinning to himself, he grabbed it and began to coil it up quickly, ready to make his escape. He felt like he’d gotten away with it. No one would ever have to know what he’d been up to…
But then he heard the sound of a door closing inside the house. He froze. He held his breath.
A curtain nudged.
“Someone’s here!” a voice cried.
Jake began to run.
Instinct took over once again. His feet pounded so hard against the ground that he almost felt like he might fall through it. The coil of hosepipe on his shoulder was surprisingly heavy and it left him feeling unbalanced. He made it back up to the road. He could see the minivan waiting for him and the headlights came on, anticipating his arrival.
But as the headlights lit his way, he saw a pothole in the road. Before he could swerve it, his foot caught in it and he fell down.
His face smacked against the floor.
Two
Aby
Aby cried out in horror as she watched Jake fall on his face right in front of her. She had no idea why he’d been running anyway, but seeing him fall so hard made her wince. She was about to get out of the car and help him, but then she saw the reason he was running.
There was a man pursuing him angrily down the road, his face red and full of fury. As Jake stumbled to his feet, Aby saw that he had the hosepipe wrapped around his shoulder. She felt a pang of anger at her fiance before the fear set in. If he didn’t make it back to the car, who knew what the man would do to him?
Aby knew she had to stay in the car. She had to be ready to drive. She gripped the steering wheel hard.
“Oh my God,” Megan said, watching the scene unfold anxiously. “That guy looks so angry!”
“Jake’s got his hosepipe,” Aby said, still prepping to drive off as fast as she could. She couldn’t decide how insane the situation was. Yes, Jake was a thief. Yes, she hated that they were stealing anything at all.
But it was just a hosepipe, right?
She knew she had to let it go. They were doing what it took to survive. And now, she had to think on her feet.
She surged the van forward, meeting Jake in the middle as he stumbled a little drunkenly toward the vehicle. She suspected the smack to his face when he fell had affected his balance. He covered his eyes with a wince, blinded by the headlights and she hastily turned the lights down so he could see.
He made it to the car door, throwing the hose in first before clambering in the passenger seat. Aby felt a surge of anxiety when she saw the man chasing Jake was nearly on them. She wondered what to do. Should she drive toward him and scare him off? Should they give the hosepipe back?
No. There was no turning back.
But as Jake tried to close his passenger door, the man reached them. He wedged his shoulder through so that Jake couldn’t slam the door shut. Grabbing Jake by the shirt, he snarled in his face.
But Jake was prepared. Within seconds, he’d shoved the Glock in the man’s face, breathing hard. Aby’s heart stopped for a moment.
There they were again. About to do something so sinister and terrifying that it made Aby feel sick. There was no returning from threatening someone with a gun. There was no returning from ending someone’s life.
She willed Jake not to shoot. The man looked terrified now, his anger gone as quickly as it started. Jake gasped for air.
“I don’t want to do it. I really don’t,” he rasped. “Don’t make me do it, man.”
The man seemed too scared to move or speak. He stared Jake directly in the eyes, but not confrontationally. It was like he was stuck, unable to move an inch.
“I don’t want to shoot you. It would be a pointless loss of life,” Jake insisted, though it was hard to trust a word he said when the gun seemed so comfortable in his hand. The man was sweating profusely now and it trickled down his cheek like a tear.
“We don’t want anything else from you...just the hosepipe,” Aby said quietly. “We’re sorry. We need it or we’re going to be in real trouble.”
There was silence in the car. Slowly, the man began to back off. Jake adjusted himself so that he could pull the car door closed, but he kept the gun trained on the man.
“Drive,” he murmured to Aby. She did as he asked.
She refused to look back at the man they’d left on the side of the road. She knew that they hadn’t taken anything from him that would cost him his life. She knew that he’d be okay now that they were driving off. Maybe he’d even become a little more streetwise. Perhaps he’d learn to protect his property better.
But she still felt awful. She was sweating now too and she raised her hand to her forehead to wipe the beads away.
No one said anything for a long time. It felt too much like acceptance; like they were comfortable with the way things were now. Aby glanced at Jake and saw that his face was bleeding from where he’d hit the gravel. Usually, she’d be fussing over him, trying to clean him up. But not anymore. He’d made the decision to go out there by himself.
He could deal with the consequences.
“Is no one going to say anything? No one got any thoughts on that whole mess?” Aby said sharply. There was another long silence. Megan shuffled uncomfortably in the back seat.
“I’m not sure it was worth it,” she said quietly. “Things could’ve gone much worse back there. If he’d had a gun...if Jake had accidentally pulled the trigger...all for a hosepipe!”
“No harm done,” Jake muttered, even as he was wiping a bead of blood from the cut on his face. Aby gripped the steering wheel hard.
“I disagree. I don’t want to go through that again. I don’t want to take risks we don’t need to make. We could’ve gotten ourselves killed, or killed that innocent man.”
“You don’t even know him. You don’t know what kind of person he is,” Jake said, fumbling for an excuse. “Besides, look at it this way. This new world isn’t safe. A lot of people are going to die. It’s going to get messy out here and we have to protect our own backs. If we’d killed him....maybe he would’ve died some other way. But I was never going to pull the trigger. You know that, right?”
The End of the World Series | Book 2 | Survive The Onslaught Page 1