The End of the World Series (Book 1): Survive The Collapse

by McDonald, Clyde

  “I hope so,” the man muttered. “I’m so sick of guys trying to lord over us, like they’re so much better than us. They deserve to die.”

  Jake huffed out air through his nose, trying to keep his cool. He couldn’t stand these guys. They were so deluded that it scared him. Did they really believe that people should die just for being better off than them? Jake and Aby weren’t exactly rich and yet they were still being targeted. The driver had called them city folk as though the word was dirty in his mouth, as though they were automatically lumped in with the richest people on Earth just because they didn’t live in the countryside.

  Jake sighed. These guys were dumb as hell. That much was clear. So that begged the question...could he really kill them? Their ignorance was outstanding, but Jake wasn’t sure they were bad people. Just misled. Maybe they’d been joking about heading over to kill them…

  That’s what he wanted to believe. He wanted to think of any excuse not to go through with the killing.

  But then the driver had to go an open his dumb mouth.

  “I sure as hell can’t wait to get to them city folk at the cabin,” he laughed. “That girl in the window was hot...I definitely think we should keep her alive.”

  “Could be that tough guy’s wife,” his friend said, sounding amused. “He’ll turn in his grave when he realizes we’re having our way with his girl…”

  Jake clenched his fists. They weren’t even referring to Aby and yet the whole conversation sickened him. Megan had been through far too much already without these sickos hurting her more. The knife suddenly felt red hot in his hand, ready to kill. Jake wished he could push away the urge, but he couldn’t. He wanted them dead. He wanted them to pay for the things they planned to do, and the things they’d undoubtedly already done. He wasn’t going to stand for it.

  He needed to get closer. He walked carefully through the trees, finally concealed from the dark. He’d seen enough horror films to know how creepy he was being, but he told himself that the men deserved their fate. They were brutish, evil people. They wanted to do terrible things for no good reason. Jake wasn’t like them. He wouldn’t take any pleasure in his actions. He just had to survive. That was all.

  It was better that he survived than them. He’d treat his friends and potential allies with kindness. He’d never try and steal or deceive again if he could help it. But he was about to do both. He was about to deceive the men in a way they’d never been deceived before.

  And he was about to steal their lives from them.

  As he got closer, Jake dropped down onto his stomach and began to crawl through the undergrowth. He was making more noise than before, but he hoped the sound of his approach would be dismissed as an animal or the wind.

  His approach was slow and agonizingly scary. His heart thudded against the ground as he slid closer and closer. His hand almost cramped up several times from being gripped so tightly around the knife. His hands were sweaty too which didn’t help. But he kept on forward. He wasn’t about to back out now. With the sky dark above him, he couldn’t waste any more time. The other thugs could return at any time, or the pickup driver might decide to leave for the cabin.

  It was now or never.

  When he was mere meters away, a twig snapped beneath him. The two men jumped, glancing around them. Jake pressed his face into the dirt and hoped he wouldn’t be seen.

  “Did you hear something?” the driver asked.

  There was a pause. Jake held his breath.

  “Nah. Probably just a squirrel or something.”

  The men paused again before returning to their conversation. Jake waited some time before he allowed himself to slowly raise his head again. The men had their backs to him, which was perfect. He thought of ways he might be able to take them by surprise. He could maybe cut both their throats in one quick slash. It was definitely doable since there were only two of them.

  His knife would be swift and deadly. Much less fuss than shooting them would be. He could be silent, get to them before they knew what hit them. He shuffled even closer, his heart racing. He was ready to strike -

  The driver stood up all of a sudden, stretching and yawning loudly. Jake froze in place. “I’m going to take a piss.”

  Jake’s heart jumped with cruel excitement. If he left the campfire behind, he’d be able to take them out one at a time. His chances would be much improved. But instead of leaving, the guy unzipped his pants right there and sighed as he began to pee close to the flames.

  Jake’s heart leapt in horror. If the man turned, Jake would be seen. He had maybe ten seconds left to have the element of surprise on his side. He had to strike now.

  It was time.

  Seventeen

  Aby

  Aby went back inside with butterflies in her stomach. She tried to memorize Jake’s face when he left to go and protect them all. She tried to remember how their last kiss had felt. But she felt nothing, but fear. Not for herself anymore, but for the man that she loved. All she wanted was for him to come back so they could face whatever came next together. But he wasn’t coming back. Aby was almost certain of that.

  She could feel tears springing to her eyes, but she had to be the strong one. Jake leaving was the first sign that everything was about to fall apart. Aby tried to mimic his calm confidence, but it was impossible when her only thoughts were how that confidence was going to get him killed.

  When she saw Megan stood anxiously close to the door and Deron still cowering in the corner, she realized that she needed to make it seem like everything was fine. She forced a smile for them.

  “Jake has gone to follow the guys from the truck...they didn’t seem like the friendliest guys, but he thinks he can handle them. So we just need to stay here and lay low until he comes back.”

  “What if someone attacks us?” Megan asked. “How are we supposed to protect ourselves.”

  Aby hesitated. The gun was practically burning a hole in her pocket. But somehow, she didn’t think it was a good idea to tell the others she was armed. She took a deep breath.

  “I don’t think we need to be concerned about that. We’re out in the middle of nowhere...those guys are probably the only people out here. Relax, or try to...maybe get some shut eye. I’ll stay awake and watch out for Jake.”

  Aby felt pleased that she’d come up with a sensible solution to the tension in the room. If the other two could sleep for a while then maybe by the time they woke, Jake would be back, and everything would be okay. Plus, they were all tired. Their sleepiness was dragging them into the darkest recesses of their minds. Aby knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep with Jake out there and the threat of the thugs was still very much imminent, but the illusion of safety for Megan and Deron was already seeming to calm them down.

  “Well, I’m just glad Jake didn’t drag us out there to fight. I have no desire to suddenly act all heroic and do something stupid,” Deron said thoughtlessly. Aby felt a rush of irritation at him. If he wasn’t such a coward then maybe he could’ve been trusted to defend the cabin. Then Aby could’ve gone with Jake and had his back.

  But the fact was, Deron wasn’t going to change. Megan wasn’t, either. Their fear was stopping them from adapting to the situation. But it was early days. Aby knew they had to take it one day at a time. If they survived the night, then maybe she’d work on building their character tomorrow. Until then it was up to her to be the brave one.

  Deron settled into a chair with ease and dozed off almost immediately. It was hard to imagine that only minutes earlier he’d been hiding from his own shadow.

  Megan nestled herself on the sofa and pulled a spare blanket over herself. Aby felt a little sympathy toward her. She’d survived a lot. She deserved some time to get her strength back up. In her quiet way, she was a thousand times braver than Deron could ever wish to be. And when she reached to squeeze Aby’s hand, Aby couldn’t help feeling love for a woman so pure and sweet.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Megan said. It almost sounded as thou
gh she was trying to convince herself, but it made Aby feel a little better too. She nodded and then Megan lay down on the sofa and tried to sleep.

  Aby watched the sky darken and then closed the blinds. She didn’t want to know what was out there, even if that was foolish of her. Back in her own home, she felt safe contained between four walls, but in the cabin, she felt as though all of the walls had been stripped away and left her exposed. What good would glass windows be against gunshots? What good would a sturdy door be against some brutish thug? All the walls did was keep them out of sight, but what good was that when the monsters already knew their hiding place?

  “I can’t sleep,” Megan whispered after a while. Aby sighed.

  “Alright. Well maybe we should find something to distract us.”

  Deron sighed from across the room. “Now I’m awake, too. What are we meant to do? It’s not like we can watch TV, is it?

  “We could start with sorting out some of the supplies. It would be useful to know how much we have left,” Aby said. Megan sat up with a warm smile.

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  Aby thought she could get used to being the one with the good ideas. But the thought only reminded her that she was preparing for a world where Jake didn’t come back. She busied herself by walking into the kitchen and starting to look through the cupboards. The other two followed her, groggy from their short naps. For a strange moment, Aby felt like they were like her own oversized children stuck in the bodies of adults.

  “What will we do if food runs out?” Megan questioned, as though Aby had all of the answers. Die, Aby thought darkly, but that’s not what she said.

  “Well...I suppose we’ll learn to hunt. We’ll be careful with our rationing and scope out the area to find any leftover supplies...maybe we can even grow vegetables in the garden. There’s always a way to keep going.”

  “Who knows...maybe we’ll get some friendly neighbors along the way,” Megan said brightly. Deron scoffed.

  “Yeah, because the neighbors have been so friendly so far.”

  The women ignored him. “Maybe,” Aby said as though Deron hadn’t said anything at all. “If we find some people we can rely on, then we can build a bit of a community. Share our supplies or trade...I mean, people lived like this for hundreds of years. No electricity doesn’t have to mean the end of life...once people realize that this is the new way of life, things will calm down. People won’t act so stupid anymore.”

  “You hope,” Deron muttered under his breath as he tapped his fingers on each of the tins in the cupboard, silently counting them. Megan glanced at Aby and offered her a tired smile. Aby took that as Megan’s polite way of rolling her eyes at Deron, communicating to Aby that she found him just as annoying as she did. Aby was getting fonder of Megan by the second.

  “Fear is making us crazy,” Aby said, thinking about the gun she was keeping in her pocket so casually. “But when that fear passes...everything will be okay.”

  It was then that Aby heard the knock on the door. She glanced at Megan in shock. Was it possible Jake was back already? Was their time to be afraid over?

  She suspected not when the realist in her took over. The pressed a finger to her lips to silence the other two, once again feeling like the only responsible adult in the room. She crept back through to the living room and the others followed behind her hesitantly. They waited, silent. Aby was suddenly glad she’d closed the blinds.

  Her imagination was running away with her. She imagined that any manner of terrifying things might be waiting for her on the other side of the door. Whoever it was had a very deep voice and was whispering to someone outside. She swallowed anxiously. So it wasn’t her husband.

  There was another knock on the door, this one much louder and insistent. Aby jumped back.

  "Who's there?" she cried, and then immediately wished she hadn’t.

  "Bob and Bill.”

  Aby took a deep breath. She knew they were mostly likely the lackeys of the men who had been there earlier. Aby wondered if they were armed or whether they were so sure of themselves that all they needed was their fists. Aby swallowed.

  "I don't know anyone by that name. Please leave."

  "You're going to let us in,” one of them said threateningly. “We don’t need your permission, you know...we could just bash our way in, if that’s what you want…”

  “Come on, we just want to be friends," the other said in his deep voice, a tinge of humour in his tone. He was enjoying scaring her, Aby realized. She thought of every bad word she knew and wished she could scream them all at the men outside, but she stayed completely silent. She needed to be calm.

  She heard the slam of a door behind her and sighed. Deron had locked himself in the bathroom to hide. So it was two on two. Aby turned to Megan and saw that she was holding a knife in her shaking hands. She was pressing her lips together as though she was stopping herself from screaming in terror. Aby knew how she felt. She backed up so that she and Megan were standing side by side, a united front if nothing else.

  “You’re not coming in here,” Aby said firmly, trying to keep the tremor of fear out of her voice. “Stay away.”

  “No way. We’re getting what we came here for,” the gruff one growled. And then, without much warning, they began to bash against the door. Aby’s heart jolted with every thud against the door. She was terrified of what would happen next, but her hand went instinctively to her pocket and she pulled out the Glock, aiming it at the door with a surprisingly steady hand. Megan gasped.

  “Aby…”

  “We have to. It’s us or them,” Aby whispered. But as she did, her hand began to quiver a little. It was becoming so real.

  But the door wouldn’t hold for long. Aby prepared herself as the wood began to crack. She took deep breaths and kept her gaze steady. She clicked off the safety.

  As a large man finally barrelled through the broken door, Aby cried out and shot the gun. It kicked back and she stumbled in surprise, her back hitting the wall. It took her a moment to realize that she’d actually hit her target.

  The man fell down with a horrifying cry. Aby, shocked, stared at the gaping hole in his stomach as blood pooled onto the floor. She felt sick, knowing she was the reason a man was dying right in front of her. Megan screamed and Aby was frozen, unable to move from her spot.

  “Aby, look out!”

  Her eyes focussed just in time to see the second man running at her, fury in his eyes. He was out for revenge. As his body slammed into her she dropped the gun and her head slammed against the wall.

  The man grabbed her by the throat and pinned her. As she began to lose the ability to breathe, Aby stared into her assailant’s eyes. They were bloodshot and angry and full of so much hate that Aby couldn’t bear it. She kicked her legs at him, trying to release herself from his grip, but it only made him squeeze her neck tighter.

  Aby’s ears seemed to be muffled. Even as Megan cried out, bashing the man on the head with something Aby couldn’t quite see, she barely heard a thing. Her eyes closed involuntarily as though she was being dragged quickly into a sleep she’d never wake up from.

  Goodbye, she thought as the darkness closed in.

  Eighteen

  Jake

  It has to be now, Jake told himself as he was already moving forward. The man who was sitting down was significantly smaller than the driver and Jake found himself wishing the two of them were reversed. Taking down the first man would be easy. But battling someone twice his size? That was going to be hard.

  Jake held his breath as he crouched right behind the first man. He’d been so silent that he hadn’t even been sensed. He knew he had to do it right away.

  He sliced the man’s throat. At first, there was silence. And then, while the other guy quietly peed, the man began to choke. Blood gargled in his throat and he fell from the stool he’d been sat on. Only then did the other man turn around.

  Jake could feel the warm, wet blood on his hands as the knife trembled in
his grip, but he was far from done. He tried hard not to think of what he’d just done, but the shock on the driver’s face was enough to make him feel sick to the stomach. He’d managed to make his enemies bleed, but he looked more human in that moment than he had when he was goading him from the pickup truck. Pain and emotional agony crossed the driver’s face and it occurred to Jake that he’d just killed someone’s friend. Someone’s son. Someone’s husband, perhaps. Maybe even someone’s dad.

  The pickup driver’s face shifted from hurt to anger. He clenched his fists.

  “You’re going to wish you were never born, boy,” the man growled. And in that moment, Jake was too terrified to move. The man removed a flashlight from his belt and shone it right in Jake’s face, blinding him to the point where he saw nothing, but white and strange squiggles in his vision.

  “I should’ve known it was you...getting brave are you, kid? Let’s see how brave you are when you’re bleeding out on the ground…”

  Jale closed his eyes, waiting for his fate. A gunshot fired and the very sound of it felt like it ripped a hole through Jake’s heart. But no pain came. He wasn’t hit.

  It brought Jake back to his senses so quickly that he didn’t seem to think before he moved. He grabbed the driver’s companion and held him up in front of him desperately like a human shield. The man was dead weight in his arms, but he gripped him tight, terrified to let his only defense go even as his arms began to ache.

  Now that the torch wasn’t in his eyes, his vision was returning to normal. He could see the driver struggling with the gun in his hand, trying to get it to work. Jake figured out quickly that it was jammed. He needed to strike now. If the gun was the driver’s only weapon, his knife might be enough to take him down.