The Pulse Effex Series: Box Set

by L. R. Burkard

  I felt frustrated. By the look on Andrea’s face, she did, too. Again I got to my feet. “Well, I think you two should at least say goodbye.” I left the room.

  I went to see Blake who confirmed that he’d volunteered, much to my consternation. I told him about Roper and our misgivings, but he was almost as thick-headed as Roper had been. They just didn’t see it.

  Blake asked me to go for a walk with him. It seemed like a revolutionary idea because we go nowhere these days. He only meant to walk on our land, but part of our 126 acres is a good strip of woodland. Dad used to hunt it during deer season and took down a number of good-sized bucks in it. Nowadays lots of our men hunt but we haven’t found much big game.

  Anyway, it felt like a visit to our old life—just walking hand in hand and wandering the woods. We didn’t feel a sense of peril such as we’d get out on the road. Maybe that’s because we knew there were lookouts around the property. But we also knew they couldn’t possibly watch the whole perimeter. We could easily get intruders coming through the woods; it was often their point of entry to the compound. But somehow we didn’t worry about it. That’s why it felt so wonderful, I guess. Other than just being with Blake.

  We stopped in a grassy glade and kissed a few times. I love Blake. I said, “Do you think things will ever change? When we can get on with life without having to worry about defending ourselves all the time?”

  He bit his lip, thinking. “I hope so.”

  I was, of course, hoping he’d say more. I wanted him to talk about the future—our future.

  “Do you think we have a future—together?” It was hard for me to say that but Blake is the kind of guy who needs a little nudge now and then. So I gave it to him.

  He seemed startled; then gazed at me. “Yeah. I hope so.”

  That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “We may not have a lot of time, to do things the usual way, you know?”

  “What do you mean?”

  I looked away. Staring at the trees ahead, I said, “I mean, like, waiting to finish college before marriage; or waiting to get married and have kids. We may be on borrowed time, already!” I was upset, now.

  He turned my face towards his. “Lex. You’re not even eighteen yet. I wouldn’t think about proposing—marriage—until you’re at least eighteen. Your parents would never let us—MY parents wouldn’t, either.”

  I took a deep breath. He was right, of course. “But maybe the rules need to change,” I said. “Because the world has changed.”

  He leaned over and kissed my forehead. Softly, he said, “If we got married and—well—if you got pregnant—do you really think that would be a good thing right now? Considering the danger we’re in—we don’t even know for sure yet, what we’re up against when it comes to hostiles. We don’t know if those mercenaries were just the beginning—or when our country is going to get its act together; IF it’s going to.”

  I felt very mixed up and wanted to cry.

  “Let’s go back,” I said, starting to rise. But he grabbed me and then pulled me up against him in a warm hug. Speaking softly in my ear, he said, “Look, I love you. I know it’s hard, waiting. But we need to do that. If we were older and already married, that would be one thing; but we can’t plan on bringing babies into this dark world.”

  I pulled away to stare at him. “You mean, ever? Even after I’m eighteen?”

  “I mean, now.”

  So this morning, Andrea and I watched from our windows while Roper and Jared left by horseback, their packs fat with supplies. She continued to stare out the window as she spoke in a subdued voice.

  “After you left yesterday, I was so angry at Roper I could have spit nails.”

  I almost laughed. That was a saying of my mother’s but it seemed like all of us on the compound had adopted it. But Andrea’s voice was serious and she wasn’t joking, so I stifled my amusement and listened.

  “He was so stubborn!” She turned to give me an exasperated look. “So I said, ‘Help me up,’ because with my one arm I couldn’t get up. When he did, he kept his hands around my waist, and I stared up at him.” Her voice got even lower. “You know how beautiful he is…Well; I stretched myself up and kissed him!”

  She darted her eyes at me to see if I was shocked I guess, or if I’d disapprove of her having kissed him. I smiled.

  “He didn’t stop me,” she added, quickly. “Unlike Blake.” Her face took on a rosy hue, because we both knew this was precarious ground to be on, discussing her ‘indiscretion’ with Blake. Anyway, she smiled. “He kissed me right back!”

  “Wow, that’s great!” I said. “I knew he liked you.”

  She looked at me sideways. “It about killed my bad arm when he held me but I wouldn’t have complained for the world. I actually started crying, it hurt so bad! He thought I was crying about him leaving.”

  We had a good laugh about that, but then she said, gasping, “But I was crying because he was leaving, too!”

  “So what else happened?” I asked.

  “He said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be back.’ He said it so nice. And he said, ‘If your mom is at your house we’ll get her and bring her back too.’”

  “Is that all?”

  She smiled to herself, remembering. “Well, he asked me why I kissed him.”

  “And?”

  “I said, ‘I told you why! I like you, you big goof.’” She wiped her eyes. “And then he said, ‘I like you, too. Young lady.’ That’s a joke between us,” she explained. “And then he kissed me again.” Fresh tears rolled down her face.

  “So why are you crying? I think this is great!”

  Andrea pointed out the window. “Because he just went out into that crazy dark world—with Jared, who may be crazy too, I don’t know—and I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again! If Jared comes back without him, I swear, I’ll shoot him!”

  I don’t think Andrea really meant that but I do worry about Roper. And even Jared. We need him to make more of his bombs.

  We are left with so many questions! Will they make it back? Will Jared find the supplies he needs? Will Mrs. Patterson—and my horse!—ever be returned to us?

  Honestly. I wish I knew.

  BEFORE YOU MOVE ON TO BOOK THREE:

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  (Few know how much it means to an author.)

  What did you like about RESILIENCE? Please share your thoughts on Amazon.com or Goodreads.com.

  The author and publisher thank you

  The Pulse Effex Series:

  Book Three

  DEFIANCE

  L.R. Burkard

  “AMAZING STORYTELLING!"

  In Defiance, the riveting story continues with even greater urgency."

  ANGELA WALSH, Publisher and Editor, Christian Library Journal

  Lilliput Press

  DEFIANCE Copyright © 2017 by Linore Rose Burkard.

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  All Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  Readers Praise Defiance

  With her Pulse Effex Series, (Linore) delivers action, adventure, and suspense that will captivate readers of all ages!

  MARK GOODWIN, Author of The Days of Noah Series

  The riveting story continues with even greater urgency! Ms. Burkard is to be commended for her amazing storytelling - and for portraying how God strengthens his people and gives hope in the darkest hour.

  ANGELA L. WALSH, Publisher, Editor, Christian Library Journal

  Hooks you from the very first scene and keeps you turning pages. Crackles with
tension as you get to know three ordinary teens thrown into a terrifying reality. Strap in and experience the Pulse!

  TERESA SLACK, Author of Joy Redefined

  You HAVE to read this series! I finished DEFIANCE after re-reading the first two again. ALL within a couple of days! It was awesome!.. I hope you have more coming!

  DAVID PERHAM, Pastor, Former Marine

  “You won’t want to put it down! You will be challenged in your faith as you read this series.

  JODIE WOLFE, Author, Reviewer

  Burkard does her usual great job telling each girl's story, thereby enabling us to keep them straight as we move from one point of view to another. A writer who can keep the reins of various plots in hand without overemphasis on any one is truly to be admired.

  PEGGY ELLIS, Writer, Freelance Editor

  What a climactic ending! If that bit with Sarah & Richard doesn’t get your heart pounding, you need to check your Pulse! (see what I did there?) ;)

  NICOLE SAGER, Author of Inspirational Fantasy

  A beautiful story that I highly recommend!

  LEE BROOM, Book Reviewer

  “I finished DEFIANCE in the wee hours this morning - a riveting read and a fitting finish to the series!”

  DAVID VAN VELDHUIZEN, PhD, Amazon Reviewer

  Who’s Who

  Andrea Patterson – Former rich kid, best friend of Lexie, rescued with her family and brought to the compound by the Martins (In Book One, PULSE).

  Lexie Martin – Farm girl whose homestead is now the compound.

  Sarah Weaver – Friend of both Andrea and Lexie; town girl, on the run with her brother since the pulse until reaching the McAllister’s homestead (in Book Two, RESILIENCE).

  Richard Weaver – Sarah’s brother. College kid, home on a winter break when the pulse hit.

  Mr. and Mrs. Martin – Lexie’s parents, farm owners whose land is now the compound.

  Blake Buchanan – “Boy wonder,” science geek, Lexie’s boyfriend.

  Roper – (Full name, Jerusha Roper). Handsome, trumpet-playing former youth minister intern and worship band leader.

  Jared Grice – Stoic ex-military man; came to the compound with his widowed mother, Jolene.

  Tex and Angel McAllister – The homesteading couple who took in Sarah and Richard.

  Lainie and Laura Martin – Lexie’s young twin sisters

  Justin Martin – Lexie’s toddler brother.

  Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan – Blake’s parents, good friends of the Martins’, the earliest people to move onto the compound.

  The Little Buchanans – Blake’s younger siblings.

  Aiden and Quentin Patterson – Andrea’s young twin brothers.

  The Wassermans – Young family, church friends, who joined the compound shortly after the Buchanans.

  Mr. Simmons – Ex-cop.

  Mrs. Schuman – The compound’s seamstress.

  Mr. and Mrs. Philpot – Latecomers to the compound; Mrs. Philpot is a registered nurse.

  Mr. Clepps – D.O. (Licensed physician; a doctor of osteopathic medicine).

  Marcus and Bryce – Brothers who lived together before the pulse; Bryce served in Iraq and suffers from PTSD.

  Jolene Grice – Jared’s mother, former neighbor of the Martins’.

  Mr. Prendergast – Large man from the neighborhood, never married; a former teacher.

  Cecily Richards – Tall, beautiful black woman of strong faith.

  Evangeline Washington – 11 year old daughter of Mr. Washington, left at the compound when her father disappeared on horseback with Mrs. Patterson, Andrea’s mother.

  Tiffany Patterson – Andrea’s mother, not seen since leaving the compound on horseback with Mr. Washington.

  Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.

  Isaiah 1:9

  He (the LORD) sent darkness, and made the land dark.

  Psalm 105:28a

  And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it.

  John 1:5

  Chapter 1

  SARAH

  I saw him through the morning fog, appearing like a phantom out of the haze. You’d think the sight of a man approaching through the field would send me scurrying to the house in alarm. You’d think it would have me shouting for Angel and Tex to come with rifles at the ready. But I knew who it was. I recognized the wearied determination. That deliberate walk.

  But not at first. I’d been out at dawn fetching the morning’s water at the pump, and I froze when he came into sight, my heart thumping with fear. People were about the scariest thing you could encounter these days. Then I saw: It was Richard! He’d left me here at Tex and Angel McAllister’s homestead three weeks ago. When he left without a word to any of us, the McAllisters let me move from the barn loft to their living-room so I wouldn’t be alone at night.

  See, the McAllisters took us in, letting us sleep in the barn. After the EMP knocked out the electric grid in the dead of winter seven months ago, we were forced from our apartment by a building fire. At first we’d taken shelter in the town library—everyone from our building did. But the library was dirty and crowded, and we were slowly starving. I lost my mother and baby cousin Jesse to starvation.

  As soon as the weather allowed, we took off to make our way to Aunt Susan’s farm. It was a treacherous journey and we never got there—instead, we ended up here with Tex and Angel. They were wonderful to me and extra kind since Richard took off. But I missed my brother.

  A huge lump filled my throat when I saw how defeated and beaten he looked. But I swallowed it and slammed down my half-filled bucket, and ran. I barreled into him, crying on his shirt.

  “Hi, sis.” He wrapped a weak arm around me. Poor Richard! He must have endured a lot out there. I couldn’t talk. I’d been afraid I’d never see him again, that he’d disappear like Dad, and Jessie, and Mom. I didn’t realize until seeing him how convinced I’d been of that.

  Finally, I pulled my head back to study him. My normally handsome brother was disguised beneath a coat of mud and grime, out of which dull eyes returned my gaze.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  He stared, saying nothing, filling me with alarm. What had happened to him? I knew we’d get the details eventually, so I forced myself not to ask. From the house, the dogs barked with excitement—they knew it was Richard, too. I heard the door open and, turning to look, saw Tex and Angel emerge while the dogs spilled out at their heels. Tex carried a rifle in one hand. I came apart from my brother and smiled as the couple approached. They searched Richard’s face, unsmiling. Weren’t they glad he was back?

  Richard hadn’t welcomed their Christian evangelizing, true, but he was a good hand on the homestead. He chopped and stacked wood, and had been learning to hunt and process meat. He fished, caught frogs, and set traps for small game. He plucked a newly-slaughtered chicken faster than Angel; and he dug holes for garbage—the stuff that wasn’t biodegradable and had to be disposed of somehow. He’d even been the one who always checked the pit (the one I’d fallen into) and the snare that sent him hanging upside down when we first got here. He made sure the traps were set properly, and checked to see if anything was in them.

  “Hello, Richard,” Tex said, in his heavy voice. Tex had the build and look of a motorcycle gang member, but he was a lot less scary than he appeared. Angel, petite but stocky, nodded her greeting at Richard, her green eyes softer than her husband’s.

  While Richard tried to deflect the eager attention of all three dogs as they greeted him, she said, “You must be hungry. We’re just getting breakfast. Come on in.”

  Tex, however, hesitated. He studied my brother. “Why’d you come back?”

  I didn’t think he was sorry to see Richard; I think he wanted to know what made him return when he’d run off like a scared rabbit only weeks ago. Richard sniffed and swallowed. He looked down for a moment. “I had to.”

  We turned towar
ds the house. “I’ll get the bucket, you go ahead,” Tex offered, bending down to grab it when we reached the pump. But suddenly the dogs barked differently. They’d come alert, ears perked, and were staring hard across the field to the woods—the direction Richard had come from.

  Half-hearted yaps could be ignored, or even a couple of barks by one of the animals. And sometimes the dogs barked at nothing—maybe a bird taking flight, or an animal they could sense or smell that we couldn’t see. But before we could stop him, Kole was off, barking furiously, running towards the wood line. Angel grabbed Kool's collar and I got Kane’s—just in time.

  Tex shouted after Kole, but the dog was off like a thoroughbred at the races. Nervously, I fingered my pepper spray—danger was never far these days. Besides looters and marauders, there were foreign guerrillas on our soil to worry about. Even with Kane at my side I never went out without it. It was the only weapon the McAllister’s would trust me with until I submitted to more shooting lessons. For my own safety, they said.

  I wanted to learn gun safety and how to shoot; I just couldn’t find a good time to do it. Whenever Tex or Angel were ready to spend time on it with me, I had something else to do or was in the middle of something I didn’t want to quit. Deep inside, I guess I didn’t want to learn. If I knew how to shoot I might have to use that knowledge. I might have to kill someone. I’m glad Angel and Tex have guns but I don’t think I could live with myself if I had to use one on a human being. I still avoided the memory of the time I put a knife in a man’s back to save Richard’s life—I could hardly bear to think about it. I couldn’t imagine having to deal with more such gruesome memories. So, I just kept putting off lessons.