by Mike Kraus
Jane and Dr. Evans both remained quiet for several seconds before Jane raised her hand. “Question. What’s buttoning-up?”
“They’re going to close the main doors.” Dr. Evans removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Damn. Did anyone tell you why?”
“No. It’s busy as hell up there, though. Everyone seems to be in a mild state of panic about it.”
“No doubt.” Dr. Evans sighed. “We should get our things together. Jane and I were able to find some information that will prove useful once we’re on the road.”
Rick nodded. “Good. Explain it to me when we’re in the car. For now let’s get our bags and as much food and water packed up as we can fit without looking overly suspicious.”
“How are we going to get back out there with our bags without getting stopped, though?” Jane asked.
Rick gave a sly smile. “Don’t worry. I think I’ve got that covered.”
***
“You have got to be kidding!” Jane hissed at Rick as they walked down the corridor in plain view of a large number of military personnel.
“Keep quiet and smile!” Rick whispered back to her through gritted teeth.
Jane shook her head and forced a smile that she wasn’t feeling on any level. Walking a few feet behind Rick she carried two large black trash bags, one in each hand. Dr. Evans was behind her carrying the same while Rick had a large green wooden box in his arms. After watching a few people carrying empty boxes and more than a few black bags out earlier in the day, Rick had come up with the idea of sneaking their gear out via the same means. Though the plan was basic and seemed obvious he was glad to see that they were getting even less sideways glances than they had earlier in the day when they walked in and out while carrying nothing.
Look like you belong and nobody questions anything. I guess that works in NORAD, too. Rick suppressed a chuckle and stepped to the side to avoid running into someone coming through the interior door. He, Jane and Dr. Evans then passed by the twenty-five ton vault door and headed for the exit when Rick heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, what are you doing out here this time?” Rick lowered the box and saw the same soldier who had stopped them earlier. He flashed a smile and hefted the box back up.
“Somebody has to get all this out so we volunteered to help. The less trash inside makes it better for everyone, am I right?” Rick tried not to sound too overly enthusiastic about the task but he could tell that the soldier wasn’t completely convinced.
“Go ahead and set that down. I need to check it first.”
Rick kept his smile steady as he lowered the box to the floor. He glanced at the outer door, mentally going through the plan for what they would have to do if they were caught.
“Go ahead and open it up for me.” The soldier kicked at the box with his boot. Rick bent over, grabbed the top of the box and gently pulled it open. Inside sat a pile of refuse that he and Jane had collected from several garbage cans around the buildings while Dr. Evans had been busy finishing his packing. While not overly smelly the garbage had a definitive odor to it with the lid to the box open and the guard crinkled his nose. He stepped back and shook his head with a sour look on his face. “Better you than me. Go on, get it through.”
Rick nodded and picked the box back up, glanced back at Jane and Dr. Evans and continued on through the outer door. The soldier barely gave Jane and Dr. Evans a passing glance as they walked by and in a matter of seconds all three were standing out in the tunnel.
As soon as they had passed the vault door they headed to the right, going deeper into the tunnel towards the general’s car. Instead of stopping at it, though, they went past it and gathered together at the back of the sedan. Rick lowered the box gently to the ground to avoid any excess noise while Jane and Dr. Evans dropped their black plastic bags and tore them open. Each of the plastic sacks held one of their bags of gear at the bottom with a large pile of crumpled-up paper at the top. Rick quickly glanced through the bags to verify everything was there and nodded at Jane and Dr. Evans.
“Nice work, you two.”
“No way.” Jane shook her head. “That was all you. Brilliant thinking, filling that box with garbage like that.”
“I figured that guy would want to see something so I made sure he had a show.” Rick picked up his bag and peeked around the side of the sedan. “Dr. Evans, you’ve got the computer, right?”
“I do, yes.”
“Good. If you’re both ready to go then let’s get the hell out of here. We’ll throw the bags in the trunk, Jane will get in the back seat while Dr. Evans gets in the passenger seat then I’ll get in the front and we’ll take off. Sound good?”
“Let’s blow this joint.” Rick smiled at Jane’s reply. He stood up and hurried toward the sports car, opened the driver’s side door and got the keys off of the center console. He went around to the trunk, unlocked it with the key and threw his bag in. Jane and Dr. Evans threw theirs in next and went around to get into the car while Rick gently closed the trunk. Once Jane and Dr. Evans were seated Rick went back around, climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled his door closed.
“Good grief!” Rick reached for the controls to the seat on the left side, adjusting it forward and upward. “I guess this is his car. The seat’s practically sitting in the trunk.”
“Hallelujah! I see some leg room starting to appear back here!”
“All righty.” Rick buckled his seatbelt and looked at his companions. “Fasten your belts and hold on to your butts. This might get bumpy.”
Author’s Notes
September 8, 2017
You’re still reading this story? Wow! Thank you so very much for continuing on; it’s readers like you who have made this an incredible experience. I’m pretty sure you’re going to like where the story goes from here. :)
Chekhov’s Gun is a principle in in writing that says that every story element should be relevant. If a story talks about a gun in the first chapter then that gun needs to be fired in the second or third chapter. If it’s not going to be fired then it shouldn’t be in the story in the first place. So… basically it’s foreshadowing. But the term “Chekhov’s Gun” sounds way cooler.
With episode 6 of Surviving the Fall we’re finally starting to see some big guns firing that have been hanging around since the beginning of the series. I’ve been patiently waiting to bring the Carsons and Statlers back into the story as well as re-introduce the two jerks that tried to steal Dianne’s truck. There’s also the bit about Rick’s job that gave him the right type of expertise to be able to work with Dr. Evans to figure out what to do about Damocles. That’s pretty handy, eh?
Tying story threads together throughout a multi-book series is challenging and despite writing down my plans and doing frequent checks to make sure I keep up with things, sometimes something will slip through the cracks. While I’m hesitant to admit some of the larger changes I’ve made in the story for fear of pulling the curtain back too far I thought this might be interesting.
Okay, so, if you were to peek at my original overall outline for Surviving the Fall you’d see that the people who were going to arrive to help Dianne weren’t actually supposed to be the Statlers. They were originally going to be her parents. What I realized when I got into book 5, though, was that I hadn’t talked enough about Dianne’s parents to make this a storyline that would make any sense whatsoever. I would have just been bringing in some random people halfway through and introducing them with no context.
When I realized I had backed myself into this corner I tried to figure out what I thought would be the next best answer (but which I think actually turned out to be a far better one). Enter Jason and Sarah. They (and the Carsons) were mentioned multiple time at the start of the story and there was context to them coming back in. I won’t disclose their original fate (except to say that it was not dissimilar to what the Carsons have gone through) but them acting as helpers to Dianne and the kids was a much better story idea than the one I originally had
.
While Jason and Sarah were introduced originally as longtime friends of Dianne and Rick, there’s still a bit of wariness with having new people involved who aren’t blood relatives. It’s the apocalypse after all and people are going to do whatever they need to do to survive. Thankfully the Statlers have nothing but kindness in their hearts (so far, anyway). This particular storyline also really fits with what we learned in previous books about the Statlers being out of town and since they know the Waters and the Carsons then it becomes natural that Jason and Sarah would band together with Dianne to help figure out what happened to Tina and Dave.
My point is that in the end my original mistake turned out to be better for the story than my original plan would have been. That happens to me a lot when I’m writing and is one reason why my books can sometimes take a while to write. I’ll be writing along, making good progress when I’ll realize that a story element that I had originally planned would be far better if I changed it to something else. Sometimes that change is small and sometimes it can be large enough to affect the rest of the series.
Episode 6 of Surviving the Fall was definitely the easiest to write of all of them so far. I’ve reached the point in the story where it’s almost writing itself and when I sit down to add to it the words just flow onto the page. With the end of this book we’ve now reached what is essentially the point of no return in the story. Rick and Dianne have both been set on paths that will demand the very best from them. If they don’t provide their best, there will be very real long-term consequences for them and for the world at large.
If you enjoyed this episode of Surviving the Fall or if you didn’t like something—I’d love to hear about it. You can drop me an email or send me a message or leave a comment on Facebook. You can also sign up for my newsletter where I announce new book releases and other cool stuff a few times a month.
Answering emails and messages from my readers is the highlight of my day and every single time I get an email from someone saying how much they enjoyed reading a story it makes that day so much brighter and better.
Thank you so very much for reading my books. Seriously, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I put an enormous amount of effort into the writing and all of the related processes and there’s nothing better than knowing that so many people are enjoying my stories.
All the best,
Mike
Other Post-Apocalyptic Books from Mike Kraus
Final Dawn: The Complete Original Series Box Set
Clocking in at nearly 300,000 words with over 250,000 copies sold, this is the complete collection of the original bestselling post-apocalyptic Final Dawn series. If you enjoy gripping, thrilling post-apocalyptic action with compelling and well-written characters you’ll love Final Dawn.
Final Dawn: Arkhangelsk: The Complete Trilogy Box Set
The Arkhangelsk Trilogy is the first follow-up series set in the bestselling Final Dawn universe and delivers more thrills, fun and just a few scares. The crew of the Russian Typhoon submarine Arkhangelsk travel to a foreign shore in search of survivors, but what the find threatens their fragile rebuilding efforts in the post-apocalyptic world.
No Sanctuary
A nationwide terrorist attack has left the country in shambles and the country's transportation capabilities are crippled beyond repair. Frank Richards barely escapes with his life when he watches his truck explode in front of his eyes. As chaos descends across the country, Frank's home-grown survival and preparedness training and the help of a mysterious stranger he meets are the only things he can rely on to see him safely across the thousand miles separating him and his loved ones.
Surviving the Fall
Surviving the Fall is an episodic post-apocalyptic series that follows Rick and Dianne Waters as they struggle to survive after a devastating and mysterious worldwide attack. Trapped on the opposite side of the country from his family, Rick must fight to get home while his wife and children struggle to survive as danger lurks around every corner.
Prip’Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl
Two teens and two Spetsnaz officers travel to the town of Prip’Yat set just outside the remains of the Chernobyl power plant. The teens are there for a night of exploration. The special forces are there to pursue a creature that shouldn’t exist. This short thriller set around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster will keep your heart racing right through to the very end.
Other Fantasy Books from Mike Kraus
The Makeshift Wizard: Death Magic
The Makeshift Wizard series is a new action-packed urban fantasy series from bestselling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus writing as MJ Kraus.
My job was supposed to be easy. Investigate a bleed farm, find the a-hole vamps who've been kidnapping Normals and bring down some street justice. Now I've got a relic in my hands that was created with the blood and death magic of an elder Vampire and a whole lot more questions than answers.
The Long
ROAD
Surviving the Fall Series
Book 6
By
Mike Kraus
© 2017 Mike Kraus
www.MikeKrausBooks.com
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