by A J Newman
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Descent Into Darkness
American Apocalypse
Book 2
By
AJ Newman
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Acknowledgements
This book is dedicated to Patsy, my beautiful wife of thirty-four years, who assists with everything from Beta reading to censor duties. She enables me to write, golf, and enjoy my life with her and our mob of Shih Tzu’s.
Thanks to David, Mitchell, Sandy, Wes, Cliff, and Jeanette who are Beta readers for this novel. They gave many suggestions that helped improve the cover and readability of my novel.
Thanks to WMHCheryl at http://wmhcheryl.com/services-for-authors/ for the great proofreading. She has greatly improved my novels.
Thanks again to the state of Oregon for being such an excellent setting for this story. I thoroughly enjoyed my research trip to Oregon to visit Bandon, Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass, and all of the bergs and land between them. That area is the setting for this story and several of my other novels.
AJ Newman
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Copyright © 2018 Anthony J Newman. All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. All events, names, characters, and places are the product of the author’s imagination or are used as a fictitious event. That means that I thought up this whole book from my imagination and nothing in it is true.
All rights reserved. None of this publication may be copied or reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.
Published by Newalk LLC.
Owensboro, Kentucky
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Books by AJ Newman
American Apocalypse:
American Survivor Decent Into Darkness Reign of Darkness (Summer 2018)
Alien Apocalypse: The Virus Surviving
A Family’s Apocalypse Series: Cities on Fire – Family Survival
After the Solar Flare - a Post-Apocalyptic series:
Alone in the Apocalypse Adventures in the Apocalypse*
The Day America Died series:
New Beginnings Old Enemies Frozen Apocalypse
“The Adventures of John Harris” - a Post-Apocalyptic America series:
Surviving Hell in the Homeland Tyranny in the Homeland
Revenge in the Homeland...Apocalypse in the Homeland John Returns
“A Samantha Jones Murder Mystery Thriller series:
Where the Girls Are Buried Who Killed the Girls?
Books by AJ Newman and Cliff Deane
Terror in the USA: Virus: Strain of Islam
These books are available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HT84V6U
Books by AJ Newman & Mack Norman
Rogues Apocalypse Series:
Rogues Origin Rogues Rising Rogues Journey
AJ & Mack’s books are available on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Mack-Norman/e/B0779JZWC4/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
To contact the Author, please leave comments @:
www.facebook.com/newmananthonyj
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Prologue
This continues the post-apocalyptic survival story about how Joe Harp, who is just an ordinary man, survives the Apocalypse. He had never been in the military and had never been a prepper or doomsday nut. He knows how to camp, hunt and fish but not much else. He had lost his fiancee and best friend. His Grandmother, who he was devoted to, had died. Just when his world has fallen apart, it really falls apart. TEOTWAWKI hits the fan, and in Book I, he has to scramble to survive in the Oregon woods after China and North Korea conduct a two-pronged financial and then an EMP attack on the USA along with most of the rest of the free world.
He meets Madison who is kidnapped after a brief stay with Joe. Then he meets Cobie and Cloe, a mother and daughter who have been thrust into Joe’s life by the apocalypse. Romance starts but fizzles out as Joe’s protective nature kicks in. Joe tries hard to help everyone he meets, but his good intentions are not always appreciated by Cobie. Joe helps several groups of people survive and even reduces the number of criminals, thugs, and bad guys in the area with knives, guns, and a bow. Joe and Cobie are two people who frustrate each other and can’t seem to get along even though they need each other when the world descends into darkness.
Book 2, “Descent Into Darkness,” continues Joe’s story of survival through improvising and knowledge gained from survival manuals. He is still the good guy but can he survive long enough to learn the skills for long-term survival after the grid went down.
So, my question to you is – Will you be like Joe and fight to become the American Survivor or will you crawl into a hole and die? Your choice. I will fight like Joe does.
AJ Newman
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Chapter 1
Joe’s eyes snapped to attention with his body in a cold sweat. He was disorientated, and he felt threats all around him. His body was quickly deciding whether to flee or fight. Suddenly he saw a woman floating in the air beside him.
His dead Grandma stood before him, and he said, “Grandma, I don’t know if I can handle this shit. God must think a lot of me to place such a burden on my shoulders. Hell, he keeps kicking me in the balls and trips me when I try to get up. First Madison was kidnaped now Cobie is missing. That poor girl in the other room bawls her eyes out every night missing her momma. This sucks.”
“Joe quit whining and get your ass in gear. Get on your knees and pray to God for his help. Stop blaming him for things men with free will do. Go find your woman and kill the son of a bitches that took her. Love Grandma,” the smoky clear ghost of a woman said.
Joe had been dreaming and saw his Grandma talking to him. She was a feisty old broad who never pulled punches. Joe loved his Grandma and still counted on her for advice even though she’d been dead for several months.
Joe lay awake collecting his thoughts before rising for the day. Several months had passed since the North Koreans nuked the USA and the world went to shit. Joe thought back to what he and his friends had sacrificed and had to do to survive. He rewound his thoughts back and even surprised himself that he had stood up to and even killed men that threatened him and his friends. The reality slapped him in the face, and he knew the worst was yet to come. Someone had taken Cobie, the woman he loved. His job now was to find Cobie while keeping her daughter, Cloe, safe.
Joe’s hip, chest, and leg were still painful, but he ignored them the best he could by taking over the counter painkillers. He knew he couldn’t let his pain stand in the way of his mission to find Cobie.
Joe and Cloe were up before dawn and on the move early. The morning was cold, foggy, and misting rain. To say it was gloomy was a gross understatement. Normally, the sun would be lighting up the eastern skyline, but today it was dark outside. The air was thick with the smell of pine and so heavy with humidity it was difficult to breathe. Joe looked out the cabin door with tears in his eyes wondering if he would ever see his one true love again.
Cloe walked up behind him and asked, “Joe, will we be able to find the tire tracks since it rained last night?”
Joe and Cloe stood at the fork in the road where Joe had lost the tire tracks last night. They belonged to the vehicle of the people who took Cobie. It had started raining hours ago, and the rain had washed all tracks from the dirt and gravel road in both directions. Joe and Cloe were dry below the ponchos; however, their feet would soon become soaked. It was early morning, and the temperature was only in the mid-forties.
The cold damp air seemed to make Joe’s wounds hurt more today than since he was wounded. He wondered if the old folks were right about pain being worse in bad weather. He knew it didn’t matter because he had to man up and get the job done.
“Cloe, the trail to the right heads through the valley where you and your mom saw the men kill the two men and where you ran into the Islamic men. I think we should head that way and check out the ranch where your mom found the woman captive. What do you think?”
“I don’t know if mom is that way or the other, but I do know there are bad men that will eventually cause us trouble. Let’s go and see if they are still there. We can kill the rest of them,” Cloe said.
“First let’s place these plastic bags over our socks and then the water won’t seep into our feet. Let’s go over to that log over there and fix this wet feet issue,” Joe said.
“Poor Bennie always has wet feet,” Cloe replied as she took her shoes off.
“We’ll fix him some shoes after we find your mom. He will be okay until next winter, and we’ll have doggie booties by then,” Joe said.
They walked on the Forest Service road heading southeast. Joe’s best guess was the road would take them past the meadow where the Muslims had killed the two men and then just north of the ranch where Cloe and Cobie found the captive woman.
“Cloe, it’s raining pretty hard so make sure you listen for cars coming toward us from both directions. We can’t afford to have someone sneak up on us or run us down,” Joe said as he trudged along.
The road turned southeast as the rain pelted them. The clouds and fog in the mountains had settled down lower as they walked higher up. The air was thick with humidity, and they felt as though they were walking under water.
“Joe, look up at that ridge. That’s where we hid when those Muslims were chasing us. The ranch house is over there. That’s where they killed that woman and shot mom. I killed two of the bastards,” Cloe said in an excited voice.
“Let’s proceed cautiously and move a bit south and come up from behind the ranch. I want to keep our home location secret. I think the rain and wind will erase most of our tracks where we disturbed the grass,” Joe answered.
Joe just realized that Cloe was openly talking about killing men. She was almost thirteen and had endured great suffering the past two months, but this talk made Joe cringe. He hoped he could find her mom and shelter both of them from this cruel new world.
They walked for another hour when Cloe told Joe it was time to head northeast to the ranch house. They soon saw the top of the tall barn, stopped to rest, and watch the house before searching it for Cobie or the terrorists.
“Cloe, look over there by that log. Aren’t those chipmunks cute? Hold on to Bennie, so he doesn’t go chasing them.”
“They’re not as cute as my rabbits, and one of them wouldn’t make a meal,” Cloe said.
Joe brought up several topics to keep Cloe’s mind off her mom to no avail. Cloe asked numerous times how soon would they find her mom. Joe’s heart was broken, and he couldn’t even admit to himself that they would probably never find Cobie.
“Cloe, stay here and watch the area for threats while I sneak up to the house and see if anyone is here,” Joe said.
Joe low crawled to the back of the house while trying to keep a couple of shrubs between him and the back windows. The pain in his hip and chest burned and made his life miserable. He stood up, looked into the window on the right side, and didn’t see anyone inside. He checked the next window and again there was no one present. Joe waved to Cloe to bring Bennie and join him.
Joe then worked his way around the house to the deck and peered into the kitchen windows. The house was empty, but he did see blood stains on the floor.
“Cloe, keep your eyes open and follow me into the kitchen. Watch the area behind us and the deck for intruders. I’ll watch the front and sides,” Joe instructed.
Joe walked into the kitchen and on to the hallway that went to the bedrooms and great room. He could see the great room was clear and then pushed open the first bedroom door. It was clear, as was the guest bathroom. The next bedroom was clear but had stacks of food, cases of water, and camping supplies. Joe moved on to the master bedroom, opened the door and the stench from the room almost knocked him down. Suddenly there was a blur heading at him, and he was knocked down to his knees. He felt the animal’s hot breath on his neck but was relieved when the wet tongue licked his face.
The poor dog had been locked in the room for a long time. The only thing that saved the poor animal was that someone had used the room to store food and water. The dog had chewed on the plastic water bottles and lapped up the spilled water. The German Shepherd had eaten her fill of pasta, beef jerky, and other foodstuffs that were sealed in soft packaging. She only had a few more bottles of water and would have died in a week.
“Nice dog, but you have pooped all over the place. Let’s get out of here,” Cloe said.
“I’ll let him out so he can hunt and find water,” Joe told Cloe.
The dog took off running west, and they never saw her again. Joe took a few bottles of water and some canned meat, and they explored the ranch but didn’t find anyone or any clues about where Cobie might be.
“Cloe, it’s noon, and we will eat lunch in the barn and then head on east. My map shows several Bed and Breakfast hotels by Howard Prairie reservoir. We’ll search them and then call it a day,” Joe said.
Joe needed the rest during lunch and popped some more pain pills. He washed them down and saw Cloe staring at him.
“Joe are you okay?” She asked.
“I’m fine. It’s just a touch of rumatiz as my Grandpa used to say.”
Joe finally saw the Hyatt Reservoir to his right and led Cloe to the road that ran along the northwest side of the lake and on northeast to Howard Prairie Lake. Hyatt Prairie Road was a paved road and made the going much easier for the two travelers. Joe checked his map from time to time as the road wound around Hyatt Lake. They walked three and a half miles until they came to a fork in the road. Hyatt Prairie Road split left, and Howard Prairie Road darted to the right.
Cloe pointed and said, “That sign says the Sutter Family B&B is a half mile on up Hyatt Prairie Road and The Rose Petal B&B is half a mile to the right on Howard Prairie Road. You da’ boss. Which way?”
“Let’s go to the Rose Petal B&B and see if anyone is home,” Joe said.
They took the road on the right and soon came to the driveway to the Rose Petal on the left. There was a sign that read:
The Rose Petal Bed & Breakfast
The only 5 Star B&B in Southern Oregon
Stay for a day or stay for a month.
Alex & Sydney Harrison Prop.
“Follow me about 50 feet behind and to my right. Watch for anyone hidden in the bushes and trees. Look at each window to see if anyone is watching us. Shoot to kill if you see anyone who is trying to harm us,” Joe said.
Joe walked just inside the trees about 75 yards from the house until he was behind the house. He then scrambled across the back lawn behind the pool house to a large barn. The forest floor was littered with fallen trees and branches, which made the going tough. He didn’t see any dangers, so he waved for Cloe to join him. Cloe sprinted over to Joe, and they watched the back of the hotel but didn’t see any movement for several minutes. Then a door opened on the bottom floor, and a man walked outside, walked to a large woodpile, and began to select an armful of wood.
“Keep your hands where I can see them, mister,” Joe said as he advanced to the man.
The man turned his head to look at Joe and saw a man and a young woman who both had rifles pointed at him. The man said, “You got the drop on me. Take whatever you want. I don’t have much, but it’s yours. Just don’t shoot me.”
“We aren’t thieves. We just want some information,” Joe responded.
“Well, what do you need to know? I’ve been hiding up here since the bombs fell. My wife and daughters are in the hotel,” the man said.
“I’m looking for my wife. She left our camp a few days ago and didn’t come back,” Joe said.
“There have been several people come through here lately. She could have been with them, and I would ne
ver know to think twice about it. Hey, my name is Mal,” he replied.
“I’m Joe, and this is my daughter Cloe. My wife would have been a prisoner. She wouldn’t have gone along without a fight. Well if you don’t know anything we’ll head north to the Sutter B&B to see if anyone is there,” Joe said.
The man kept his eyes on Cloe as he talked giving Joe an uneasy feeling. Joe moved, and the man’s eyes snapped to focus on Joe.
“Could your wife have been injured? Several days ago, several trucks came through and stopped to get water. There was a young woman in the bed of the truck covered in blankets. I asked about the woman. One of the men replied that they found her about five to ten miles back toward Ashland. She had a gash on her head and was unconscious. She had black hair and was very beautiful,” Mal said.
“That’s my mom. Which way did they go?” asked Cloe.
“They wanted to get to Keno. I told them their best bet was to double back toward Ashland and get on Highway 66 to take a good road to Keno, but they persisted in taking the old road to Keno through the woods. That damned road is rough as a cob and winds all over the country, but it will get ya there eventually,” Mal said.
“How many trucks and how many people were in the group? Were they armed?” Joe asked.
“There were two pickups and seven or eight people not counting the injured woman. Hell, everyone is armed now. Most don’t have fancy ARs like you two though,” Mal, answered.
Joe asked, “Have you seen any strangers around that have military vehicles?”