by Mark Goodwin
“We’ve got some catching up to do.” She let him help her to her feet. Buckley looked on anxiously, giving the occasional warning growl.
“You’ll be okay while I’m gone?”
“Yeah, thanks again.”
“Don’t talk about what happened on the phone. If you need to tell your friends, have them come over and tell them in person. I’ll be back.” Ulysses walked away.
Ava locked the door and hobbled to the shower. When she looked in the mirror, she saw a complete mess. A knot the size of an egg was on her eyebrow, her nose was crooked, and her top lip was swollen up like a tennis ball. Her ribs on both sides hurt like nothing she’d ever felt before, and her ankle was the size of a small cabbage. Ava opted for a bath rather than trying to stand up in the shower. It was a painful task, but she figured if her father had endured so much torture, she could handle this.
Thirty minutes later, she’d managed to dry herself off and get dressed. She heard a knock at the door. Her Glock was still in the glove box of the Jeep, the 1911 was still in the ceiling of the gym, and there was no way she could navigate around the house with one of her new battle rifles. Ava hoped it wasn’t someone trying to hurt her. She used the counter, chairs, and walls to support herself so she could get to the door on one foot. She checked the peephole to see Ulysses standing outside. Quickly, she unlocked the door. “Buck, be nice. He’s a friend.”
Ulysses walked in and handed her the Jeep key. He reached around to the back of his waist and pulled out her holster and the Glock. “I thought you might want this.”
“Thanks.” She tucked the pistol into her waist. “Please, take a seat. Or help yourself to some water, whatever you need.”
Ulysses sat down on one of the stools at the counter. “The streets are getting bad. I’m not sure if it’s going to be safe to stay here tonight.”
Ava plopped onto the couch. “I’m actually a little better armed than just the Glock. I think I’ll be okay.”
“That’s good, but no gun is going to protect you from fire and smoke inhalation. Antifa may get out of control once the sun goes down. If they start torching buildings and cars, you could get stuck. You’re already compromised because of your injuries. I have a place up in the Ozarks, but that’s a long drive, and I’m not sure you’d feel comfortable going there right now. Do you have somewhere nearby you can stay?”
Ava nodded. “Yes. My boss has some property outside of the city.”
Another knock came to the door. Ava hobbled over.
“Do you need help?” Ulysses asked.
“I’ve got it.” She looked out the peephole to see Charity. She unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door, forgetting how horrible she looked.
“What happened?” Charity covered her mouth. Her eyes scanned the inside of Ava’s apartment to see Ulysses. Charity screeched in horror and drew her .38 snub-nose revolver, pointing it at Ulysses with shaking hands. “It’s him! The lazy-eye stalker! What did he do to you?”
“No!” Ava yelled, putting her hand in front of the barrel.
Charity looked confused and still kept the pistol drawn in both hands as Ava explained that Ulysses was her father and had just saved her from Antifa.
The story didn’t seem to register with Charity for a while, but eventually, she lowered her gun. “He’s your father?”
“Look at him. Don’t we look alike?”
Charity studied the man’s face. She nodded as if conceding an argument. “I guess so.”
“So, this is my best friend, Charity. And this is . . . my dad, Ulysses.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His smile seemed anguished.
“Likewise.” Charity’s eyes were still huge with shock.
“Ulysses, I mean—my dad, says we should get out of the city. I’m going to call Dr. Hodge and ask him if we can come out.”
Charity nodded. “It’s pretty bad out there. I brought a bag in case I couldn’t get back home.”
“Is James working?”
“‘Til five.”
“Did you bring . . .?”
“My wedding present? Yes.” Charity glanced over at Ulysses.
“Good.” Ava called Sam Hodge. She explained her father had just gotten to town and asked if the offer to come out was still open. The doctor assured her that it was and that Ulysses would be welcome, just the same as Foley and James. Dr. Hodge informed her that he had plenty of storage space as well so she could bring anything she thought she might need if the situation became a prolonged event.
Ava looked up at Ulysses and Charity. “He said we can all come. I’ll need some help getting my supplies down to the Jeep. I want to take all of my canned goods, ammo, and plenty of clothes. It looks like this could be the beginning of the end.”
“I’ll help you get everything downstairs.” Charity took out her phone. “And I’ll have James pick up the rest of my stuff on his way out to Dr. Hodge’s.”
Ulysses stood up. “You girls worry about getting everything staged by the door and wait for me to get back. I’m going to find some crutches for Ava. I shouldn’t be gone more than thirty minutes.”
“Do you need my Jeep?” Ava offered the key to him once more.
“Yes, thanks.” He took it, smiled, and let himself out the door.
Ava turned to Charity. “Do you remember where I stashed that 1911?”
“Yeah, in the ceiling of the gym bathroom. It’s still there?”
Ava nodded. “Can you go get it for me?”
She took Ava’s gym-pass card and a backpack. “Be right back.”
Ava called Foley. “Hey, we’re heading out to Paleface in a while. Dr. Hodge said he’d like you to come as well.”
“Is Hodge the only one who wants me to come?” Foley asked.
“And me. Are you working?”
“I’ve told my pool crew and my lawn guys to finish up the jobs they’re on and call it a day. Are you driving out there, or do you want to ride with me?”
“Charity’s here. She’ll follow me. We’ll be leaving in an hour or so. James is coming after five. And my dad just showed up. He’s coming.”
“Your dad?”
“Yeah, long story. I’ll tell you later. I’ll see you there?”
“I should be there by three this afternoon. Talk to you then.”
Ava clicked off the phone.
Charity returned minutes later and handed the heavy backpack to Ava.
“Thanks.” Ava checked the pistol and ammo inside. “You’ll have to warn Foley about my appearance when he gets to Hodge’s; give him a heads up on what happened so he doesn’t freak out.”
“Like I did?”
“Yeah.” Ava smiled. “You’re a good friend.”
“So are you.” Charity helped Ava pack her things.
Ava told Charity all about her father’s ordeal while she gathered the things she needed to take to Hodge’s place.
By eight o’clock that evening, everyone had arrived at Sam Hodge’s property. Betty Hodge assigned sleeping quarters. Ava, Charity, and Buckley shared the largest guest room, which had a king bed. It was on the ground floor of the house, which made it easier for Ava to navigate with crutches.
James and Foley each got one of the smaller guest rooms upstairs. Ulysses took the apartment above the garage.
Then everyone gathered in the Hodges’ living room to watch the election results as well as the news reports of the riots, violence, and chaos going on in Austin and around the country.
At ten o’clock, the news anchor said, “Our station is ready to project that Maxwell Markovich will win the presidential election. We have over 95 percent of the precincts in Florida reporting. Markovich has that state hands down. Roughly 90 percent of the Texas vote is in, and it shows a strong lead for Markovich. At this point, it would take a miracle for the Ross camp to pull off a victory this evening.
“The Democrats have picked up two more votes in the Senate and nine more in the House. This coming January, Markovich will have
virtually no opposition implementing the sweeping changes he has promised. Everything from the million-dollar wealth cap to a complete ban on semi-automatic firearms is on the table next year.
Ava watched in disgust. “We’ll see about him not having any opposition. This election was flat out stolen by Antifa.”
“Ross will fight it,” Ulysses said. “He knows what happened.”
Foley brought Ava a fresh ice pack from the kitchen to put on her swollen face. “If Markovich wants my guns, he’ll have to take them bullets first.”
Sam Hodge stood. “There’s not much to celebrate. Betty and I are going to head on up to bed. You folks stay up as late as you like. What’s ours is yours, so help yourselves to anything you want.”
“Thanks again for letting us come out here, Dr. Hodge.” Charity sat on the floor, at James' feet. He’d taken one of the recliners.
Hodge helped his wife up from the couch. “If things spiral out of control, it’ll be me thanking all of you for being here. Betty and I couldn’t hold this place by ourselves. And let’s make it Sam for the time being. We can go back to saying Dr. Hodge when we get back to the office.”
“Thanks, Dr. Hodge—I mean, Sam.” Ava waved with her free hand. She grabbed her crutches. “I think I’m going to hit the hay also. It’s been a rough day.” She looked at Ulysses. “But even with everything that happened, getting jumped by Antifa, losing the country to a communist dictator, it was still the best day of my life.”
Ulysses looked down for a moment. Then he looked back up with tears in his eyes. “Mine, too.” He walked over to embrace his daughter very gingerly.
After a long hug with her father, Ava turned to Foley. “Can you help me to my room?”
“Sure.” He followed her to the downstairs guest room and placed her crutches next to her bed.
“Can I have a good night kiss?” he asked.
She glanced up at him. “My face looks like roadkill. Are you sure you want to kiss me?”
He smiled. “You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“You’re delusional, but I’ll take it.” Ava put her arm around his neck as he gave her a very gentle kiss, being careful not to hurt her injured lip.
Afterward, Foley turned out the light and closed her door. “Sleep tight and feel better.”
“Good night.” Ava delicately pulled the covers up over her aching body. She suspected sleep would be elusive. Her entire being hurt, and her mind swirled with imagined scenes of the coming bloody conflict in America. But she’d found her father; and in so doing, had fulfilled a childhood fantasy, which she’d forced herself to let go of years ago. Horror and elation danced through her thoughts in perfect symmetry. The future seemed bleak, but she felt sure she could face it with the good people God had put in her life.
Don’t Panic!
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Thank you for reading
Ava’s Crucible, Book One:
Divided We Fall
If you liked the book, please take a moment to leave a five-star review. It helps more than you can imagine.
I love hearing from readers. So, whether it’s to say you enjoyed the book or to point out a typo that we missed, drop me a line. [email protected]
Stay tuned to PrepperRecon.com for the latest news about my upcoming books, and great interviews on the Prepper Recon Podcast.
Continue the adventure with
Ava’s Crucible, Book Two: Embers of Empire
If you’ve enjoyed Ava’s Crucible, you’ll love my post-apocalyptic, end-times thriller series,
The Days of Noah
Tennessee public school teacher, Noah Parker, like many in the United States, has been asleep at the wheel. During his complacency, the founding precepts of America have been slowly, systematically destroyed by a conspiracy that dates back hundreds of years.
Cassandra Parker, Noah’s wife, has diligently followed end-times prophecy and the shifting tide against freedom in America. Noah has tried to avoid the subject, but when charges are filed against him for deviating from the approved curriculum in his school, he quickly understands the seriousness of the situation. The signs can no longer be ignored, and Noah is forced to prepare for the cataclysmic period of financial and political upheaval ahead.
Meanwhile, in an off-site CIA facility outside of Langley, rookie analyst Everett Carroll discovers he’s not being told the whole truth. He’s instructed to disregard troubling information uncovered by his research. Everett ignores his directive and keeps digging. What he finds goes against everything he’s been taught to believe. Unfortunately, his curiosity doesn’t escape the attention of his superiors, and it may cost him his life.
Watch through the eyes of Noah Parker and Everett Carroll as the world descends into chaos, a global empire takes shape, ancient writings are fulfilled, and the last days fall upon the once-great United States of America.
And check out my EMP survival series Seven Cows Ugly and Gaunt
starting with book one,
Behold, Darkness, and Sorrow
Danny and Alisa's lives are turned upside down when Danny begins having prophetic dreams about the judgment coming upon America. Through one of Danny’s dreams, they learn about the imminent threat of an EMP attack which will wipe out America’s electric grid, sending the country into a technological dark age.
Living in a nation where life-sustaining systems of support are completely dependent on electricity and computers, the odds for survival are dismal. Municipal water services, retail food distribution, police, fire, EMS and emergency services will come to a screeching halt.
If they want to live through the most catastrophic period in American history, Danny and Alisa will have to race against time to get prepared, before the lights go out.
You’ll also enjoy reading my first series,
The Economic Collapse Chronicles
Dealing with the challenges of being downsized during a period of surging inflation, Matt and Karen Bair face the economic realities of Main Street. Government borrowing and monetary creation have reached their limits and America is on the cusp of financial annihilation. When funds are no longer available for government programs, widespread civil unrest erupts across the country. Matt and Karen are forced to move to a more remote location, and their level of preparedness is revealed as being much less adequate than they believed prior to the crisis. Civil instability erupts into civil war, and Americans are forced to choose a side. Don’t miss this action-packed, post-apocalyptic tale about survival after the total collapse of America.
CLICK HERE to be notified when new books by Mark Goodwin are released!
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