Darkness Rises: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (After the EMP Book 3)

by Harley Tate

  So far, the house had been a boon of non-perishable food and water and most importantly, ammunition. Thanks to the gun-loving men they disposed of, they now had ten boxes of 5.56 and four of 9mm. No more shotgun shells, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Madison was thankful they found any at all. Add in the guns and knives they confiscated from around the place and they were finally prepared for another ambush.

  She looked over the dining room table piled with everything from cans of tuna and baked beans to boxes of crackers and a case of warm beer. They didn’t know who lived here before the men took over, but thanks to their membership to Costco, Madison found an entire bin full of batteries in all sizes and a massive pack of unopened toilet paper.

  There were even clothes in the closets that fit most everyone, including jeans and T-shirts and some nice new socks. They decided the night before that anything in the house on Dewberry Lane and this one was fair game. But they wouldn’t break into another residence unless they were desperate.

  It was arbitrary and sort of silly, but Madison liked it. They weren’t just roving and pillaging and stealing with abandon. They took what they could use from houses already compromised. They weren’t adding to the destruction.

  “Do you think we’ll be able to find any goats?”

  Madison glanced at Brianna leaning over the supplies on the table. “Maybe, why?”

  “When I was a kid we had a neighbor with two little Nigerian Dwarf Goats. Combined, they produced a gallon of milk a day.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  She shook her head. “Nope. They could never drink it all so I had all the fresh goat milk I wanted as a kid. My mom even made yogurt out of it.”

  Peyton scratched at his head. “How did it taste?”

  Brianna laughed. “Kinda like grass, to be honest. But milk is milk and a little seventy-five-pound goat is easier to manage than a two-thousand-pound cow.”

  “Those little guys weigh seventy-five pounds?”

  Brianna nodded. “We had a goat versus kid weight contest when I was nine. The goat won.”

  Madison laughed. She had spent her fair share of time around pigs and cows and sheep for 4-H, but growing up next door to dairy goats had her beat. “Were they loud?”

  “Oh yeah. Whenever it rained and they were stuck outside, the little one would start screaming and the big one would kick at the garage door. They were worse than dogs.”

  Peyton shook his head. “I will never understand how Los Angeles and Sacramento were part of the same state. The closest I ever got to a goat was the San Diego zoo.”

  The thought sobered Madison right up. “Do you ever think about your dad?”

  Peyton exhaled. “Once in a while. But it’s like I said before, there’s nothing I can do. He kicked me out of the family. He doesn’t want to see me and the barricades around LA would keep me out.” He paused for a moment and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I made my choice when I stayed at college. You all are the only family I’ve got left.”

  Madison smiled. “You’re right. We are family.”

  Her mom busted in the back door, struggling with a giant sack. “I found a twenty-five-pound bag of rice in the freezer out back.”

  Peyton rushed to help her and the two of them managed to set it on the table.

  Her mom exhaled in relief. “The rest of the freezer was hazmat material, but the rice looks fine.”

  “Who puts rice in the freezer?”

  Her mom shrugged. “Bunches of people. It’s not a bad idea to store bulk rice that way. It keeps the bugs out of it.”

  “Eww.”

  Madison nodded in agreement with Brianna. “Bugs are going to be more and more problematic, I bet. Without power, we won’t have any freezers for a while.”

  “Not until we get farther north. It snows in the winter up in Truckee. We should be able to store any meat we kill outside from November to March.”

  Her mom set the sack on the table and wiped her forehead. “Are you sure your parents won’t mind us showing up? I know we’ve been through this before, but I can’t help but ask again.”

  Brianna nodded. “I know, but I mean it when I say they’ll welcome you. After all you’ve done for me, they wouldn’t have it any other way.” She glanced at Madison and smiled. “And Madison’s my roommate; they have to let her family in.”

  “What about me?” Peyton stood by the door, his lips thin with concern.

  “No one with arms like yours gets turned away by the Clifton clan. My dad will take one look at you and calculate all the firewood you can chop in an hour. You won’t be able to leave even if you wanted to.”

  Peyton exhaled in relief. “Chopping wood is one thing I’m good at.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll go see what else I can find in the shed.”

  He disappeared and Madison turned to her mom. “I’ll help you finish in the garage.”

  Brianna clambered off the couch and made her way into the kitchen. “What should I do?”

  Madison’s mom pointed to the shed. “How about you help Peyton? We’ve gone through the house. All that’s left is the outside.”

  Brianna nodded and disappeared out the back door.

  “You really think her family will be as accepting as she says?” Madison leaned against the counter and wrapped an arm around her ribs.

  Her mom thought it over. “I wish I knew, but I’ve never met them. All I can say is, I wouldn’t be so quick to invite a bunch of strangers in. Not if I had the kind of setup Brianna says they do.”

  Madison nodded. She felt the same way. “If they turn us away, what will we do?”

  “Find somewhere else to settle down. There have to be some abandoned places up north of here. If we can’t find a cabin or a house, we can find an RV and set it up somewhere remote. That could tide us over for the winter.”

  “Then what?”

  Her mom turned to her with a smile. “Let’s just take it one day at a time.”

  DAY FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  TRACY

  University Library, CSU Chico

  9:00 a.m.

  “They have books on everything from hydroelectric to solar to wind power. Even zero footprint living.”

  Madison held up a stack of books and Tracy smiled. “A university as big as this should have everything we need. I just wish they had kept a card catalog instead of converting everything to electronic records.”

  “Tell me about it. This hunt and peck is exhausting.” Peyton pulled out a book and read the cover with a snort. “Stock Market Investing For Dummies. Don’t think anyone will be needing that for a while.”

  “How about 101 Ways to Make Money on the Internet?” Brianna held up another.

  “There’s always this one: Get Rich or Drown Trying: A Guide to Deep-Sea Treasure-Hunting.” Tracy shook her head. There were more books in that library that would never be helpful for anything more than a good laugh or a warm fire than she ever thought possible.

  A few weeks ago, if anyone even mentioned the possibility of using the library as kindling, she would have gasped and called them barbaric. But now all these books would keep someone alive. “Let’s bring a few to use as fire-starters.”

  “Mom!” Madison’s mouth gaped open.

  “She has a good point. Some of the older ones have good paper for burning.”

  Her daughter shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re talking about burning books.”

  Tracy exhaled. She understood the revulsion. It wasn’t something she wanted to consider, but desperate times might call for desperate measures one day. “It would only be in an emergency.”

  Madison frowned at her mother and set the stack of books to take on the table. “If you’re serious, then we’re bringing ones I want to read.” She stomped out of the nonfiction section and made her way across the floor.

  “Where are you going?”

  Madison called out without turning around. “Romance!”

  Even Peyton laughed. “No way! I�
��m going to the thriller section. I’m not spending the rest of forever with nothing to read but chick books!”

  “Don’t knock them ’til you try them.” Brianna pushed one book back on the shelf before pulling out another. “Some of those romances are pretty good.”

  “You read them too?” Peyton stared at Brianna. “I don’t believe it.”

  She shrugged. “I might have borrowed a few of Madison’s this past year.”

  Tracy smiled so wide her cheeks hurt. Seeing the three of them back to their teasing selves lifted her spirits like nothing else could. “As soon as you all find what you want, we should go. We still need to hit the farm before we head out.”

  Brianna nodded. “We can meet you out at the truck if you like.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Tracy watched each of the kids head off to different directions of the library, all looking for the last of the written fiction to be found in these parts for a while.

  Tracy turned in a circle, staring at the thousands of books lining the shelves. Printing presses and editors and graphic artists. Novelists and biographers and textbook writers. All gone. How long would it take for them to come back?

  When would America be strong enough to rebuild? What would it look like when it did?

  She shook her head and picked up the stack of reference books on the table. Whatever happened next, at least they would be prepared to survive it. She made her way out of the library and over to the truck.

  Walter opened the passenger-side door and Tracy smiled. “Hey there, little mister. How are you today?” She set the books down and reached out to pet Fireball on the head.

  “I see how it is. The furball gets a smile and a scratch behind the ears and I get ignored.”

  Tracy grinned at her husband. “Not entirely.” She leaned forward and kissed him, savoring the brush of his beard against her lips. “But you have to admit, he’s a bit cuter than you.”

  Walter pretended to be offended. “What? You don’t like the lumberjack look?”

  “It’s growing on me.”

  Walter’s leg healed a little bit more each day. In not too long, he would be able to ditch the cane and walk on his own. She hoped he would regain full range of movement, but even if he didn’t, he was still alive. That was what mattered.

  The sound of chattering and laughing pricked Fireball’s ears and he clambered over Walter’s shoulder to look out the back.

  “The kids are coming.” Tracy patted Walter’s good leg. “Scoot on over and give me some room. I’ll let Peyton drive to the farm.”

  “Fine, but he’s not driving all the way to Truckee. That kid can’t miss a pothole to save his life.”

  Twenty minutes later, they all piled out of the truck and the Jeep and stood in the middle of the abandoned farm. The dead body of the man they killed still lay in the dirt, flies buzzing all around.

  “You all are sure it’s clear?” Walter stuck his head out the window and hollered at the rest of the group.

  Tracy nodded. “We drove through three times and Peyton and Madison scoped out the buildings. It’s empty.”

  “Good.” Walter leaned back, about to roll up the window and wait out their search, when the little cat jumped in front of his face. “Hey!”

  He reached for the little cat, but the scrap of fur was too quick. Fireball darted away from the truck and disappeared into the closest barn. Tracy took off after him.

  It was irrational and crazy, but that little cat meant more to her than Tracy could ever explain. She needed him. “Fireball! Fireball! Here kitty, kitty.”

  He mewled and she followed the sound, stopping in mid-stride when she rounded the corner of two bales of hay. Fireball stood in a crouch, ears flattened. He’d cornered three chickens in the back of the barn.

  Tracy whooped in joy. “Guys! Over here!” She rushed in and scooped the little cat up with no more than a meow of protest as Madison and Peyton rushed inside. “Fireball found us some chickens!”

  Madison laughed in delight. “I’ll look for a crate to put them in.”

  “I’ll take Fireball back to the truck.” Tracy walked outside with the cat in her arms as Brianna busted out from the pasture beyond the fence.

  The feisty blonde gripped her knees as she sucked in a breath. “There’s two pygmy goats just out beyond the trees. If we can find some rope, we should be able to walk them back to the truck.”

  Tracy couldn’t believe their luck. The site of so much confusion and pain was turning out to be a boon of resources. Chickens and goats. She glanced at the dead body no more than thirty feet away. She could smell his rotten flesh, but it didn’t turn her stomach.

  They had won. Despite being shot at and losing Tucker and Drew, the Sloanes, Brianna, and Peyton had survived. With any luck, they would be bringing plants and animals and a whole lot more to the Clifton family cabin.

  She handed Fireball back to her husband with a smile. “Today is a good day.”

  He smiled back. “Tomorrow will be even better.”

  DAY SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  MADISON

  Truckee, CA

  4:30 p.m.

  It had taken them an entire day to navigate the back roads with two vehicles, two goats, three chickens, and a yowly cat, but they were finally in Truckee. Brianna led the way over bumpy dirt roads that wound higher and higher into the mountains toward her family’s cabin.

  Beautiful didn’t begin to describe the tree-filled hills and grass-covered meadows. In the fall when the rains returned the entire place would be verdant and teeming with life. Even now with more brown patches than green, the birds chirped and the blades of grass bent in the wind. It was so far removed from the destroyed cities they left behind.

  Madison reached forward and punched the controls on the dash, pulling up the CD player.

  Her mother glanced over from the driver’s seat. “What are you doing?”

  “Checking something.” Madison pushed a few buttons and music blasted from the speakers.

  Her father laughed.

  “What is it?” Madison thought she recognized the singer, but she’d never heard the song.”

  Her mother joined in with the chorus belting out the words.

  “It’s the Eagles. You have to have heard this.”

  Madison looked at the display on the dash. “‘Love Will Keep Us Alive’? It sounds corny. When was it recorded?”

  Her father shook his head. “Before you were born. And now I feel old.”

  Madison scrunched up her nose. “Sorry. But hey, I found us some music!”

  “That you did. Turn it up, Tracy!”

  Her mother turned up the volume and rolled down the front windows. Fireball scrambled down onto the floorboards to hide from the wind and Madison stuck her hand out the window. It had been a crazy few weeks, but for the first time since the power grid failed, Madison really felt alive. They had survived everything from shootouts to car crashes and everything in between.

  Now they were a few minutes away from the start of a new chapter. Brianna’s lights flashed ahead of them and she slowed the Jeep.

  As she turned off the gravel road onto a dirt driveway, Peyton stuck his head out the window. “Is that the Eagles?”

  “How do you know?”

  “My dad helped sign them when they got back together in 1994. I hung out with them when I was really little.” He smiled a bit. “I did tell you my dad had a nice pool.”

  Madison shook her head in wonder. Peyton was as nonchalant about his life before as he was about starting over way up here in the mountains.

  Brianna hopped out of the Jeep and unlocked a metal gate, swinging it wide to accommodate the vehicles. She turned to Madison’s truck and shouted. “Can you shut this after you get through?”

  Madison nodded and waited until her mom drove through the gate in Brianna’s wake to hop out and secure it closed. She turned and watched as Brianna drove straight down a small drive toward a little cabin at the end of th
e road.

  She climbed in the cab as two people rushed out of the cabin and ran toward the Jeep. The brake lights flashed on, Brianna jumped out, and in seconds the little trio was all wrapped up with each other hugging and laughing.

  Madison’s mom drove the truck slowly down the driveway and parked it just behind the Jeep.

  Brianna pulled away from the embrace and pointed at the truck and Peyton inside the Jeep, her face lit up like a kid on Christmas.

  Madison turned to her mom. “I guess this is it.”

  Her mom nodded. “I guess so.”

  The cabin looked small at first, but the more Madison peered past the vehicles, the more she saw. Multiple chimneys and fenced-in areas of yard. Fruit trees all in a row along one side. Land perfect for a pasture and a greenhouse beyond.

  She turned around in the truck and smiled at her dad. “Are you ready?”

  Her father looked at her, eyes glassy as he smiled. “You first, honey.”

  Madison opened the door to the truck and jumped out, making her way over to Brianna who grabbed her in a fierce little hug. “Mom, Dad, this is my roommate, Madison. She’s funny and smart and really, really good with plants. She can shoot and take care of animals and I can’t wait until you meet her parents.”

  Brianna waved at Madison’s mom and dad and they waved back. “Mrs. Sloane can make dinner out of a can of peas and thin air and her dad can fend off a billion men with a handgun and crappy flashlight. Oh!” She squealed as Peyton hopped out of the Jeep. “And Peyton! He can chop all the firewood!”

  Everyone standing around in the little circle laughed. Brianna’s mom wiped at her face and held out her hand to Madison. “Welcome to the Clifton cabin, Madison. It’s a pleasure to have all of you.”

  Her father hobbled over to stand next to Madison and introduced himself. After everyone shook hands, he cleared his throat. “Brianna insisted that you would want us to stay, but I want to just say from the beginning that we don’t have to. We know this is your land and your cabin and we are more than happy to find our own way.”