Devil's Homecoming: A Post Apocalyptic EMP Survival Fiction Series (The Blackout Series Book 6)
Page 20
For a split second, the Durhams were frozen in time. Alex fired again, this time with deadly accuracy. Three rounds tore into Ma Durham’s frail body, knocking her backward into a post and then causing her to somersault over the rail into the wet grass.
Rollie’s training allowed him to react. He whipped out his sidearm and fired several shots at Alex, the last of which hit the handguard of her AR-15 and twisted it out of her grip. She was spun to the ground and reached for her rifle as more shots embedded in the ground next to her. Rollie attempted to fire again, this time turning his attention to Stubby. Stubby ducked and rolled down the hill to evade the shots. Rollie’s magazine was empty.
As he regained his footing, Stubby fired back. His rounds sailed past Rollie and hit Junior in the shoulder, spinning him around to his knees. Junior desperately tried to retrieve his sidearm with his left hand, but three more quick rounds by Stubby obliterated his arm and sank deep into his chest. Junior Durham died instantly while his body was rolling down the front steps of Cherry Mansion to join his mother.
Stubby turned his rifle on Rollie and squeezed the trigger.
Click—click—click.
The M4 he’d taken from Rollie’s men jammed. Stubby quickly attempted to clear it.
“I’m gonna drag you to hell with me, Crump!” shouted Rollie as he began to charge.
Stubby reached for his sidearm when the roar of the wind filled the air. Before he could get off a shot, a one-hundred-fifty-year-old oak tree was uprooted from the rain-drenched turf. Its massive arms in the form of branches came crashing to the earth, trapping Alex and Stubby underneath.
Chapter 46
Late Afternoon, December 3
Cherry Mansion
Savannah
Alex had attempted to roll away from the tentacles of the oak tree but was pinned down by its grasp. Pain ripped through her pelvis and right arm as both bore the weight of the top of the tree. Her face had been scratched open by smaller branches, causing blood to flow from her forehead and cheeks.
She shouted for Stubby, who had been fifteen feet to her left. He didn’t respond. She tried to wiggle loose, but was trapped by the weight.
“Stubby! Stubby! Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he groaned a reply. “I’m buried under these …”
“Good,” growled Rollie as he stood up in the yard, emerging from the cover of the smaller branches. “It’ll save me the trouble of burying ya after I kill ya!”
Alex watched as Rollie tore through the fallen branches and made his way toward Stubby, who was wrestling to free himself. She tried to pull her weapon, but it had fallen out of her holster when the tree pinned her down at the hips.
“Stubby, watch out! He’s coming!”
“Shut up!” Rollie snarled, taking a broken branch and heaving it in her direction. “Don’t go anywhere; you’re next!”
More limbs cracked and Rollie began to stomp on them in an effort to reach Stubby, who was only ten feet away.
Alex wiggled and even dug at the turf to free herself. She frantically attempted to get out from under the tree while also searching for her sidearm.
Whack!
Arrrrggggh!
Rollie was upon Stubby and hit him across the jaw. Stubby found the strength to push the tree branches off his chest and slid underneath them to avoid another blow. It wasn’t fast enough to avoid the kick to his ribs, which sent him rolling downhill into another pile of broken branches.
Stubby got to his feet and lunged at Rollie, driving his head into the younger man’s stomach. Rollie groaned and gasped for air after he hit the ground with a thud.
Holding his aching ribs, Stubby ran past Rollie’s outstretched hands and attempted to get to Alex. She was having some success in moving the tree down her legs, which allowed both hands to be free.
Rollie lunged and jumped on his back, forcing them both into a pile of debris. Like a crazed ape, Rollie delivered blow after blow to the back of Stubby’s head.
“Stop! You’ll kill him!” shouted Alex.
“You betcha! Then you’ll be next, hussy!” Rollie fired back.
He continued to beat Stubby until Rollie lost his balance and slipped, catching his foot under the tree. Stubby had an opening. He attempted to stand and help Alex once again, but Rollie grabbed him by the foot.
Then Rollie pulled Stubby toward him, grabbing his ankles and his pants for leverage. This stopped Stubby’s attempt to reach Alex and allowed Rollie to free himself.
That was when Alex saw Rollie reach for Stubby’s knife, which was tucked into the sheath around his leg. She had to help. With all of her strength and using the adrenaline that powered her body, Alex heaved the heavy tree branch off her leg.
She found her footing and ran toward the brawling men, but not before Rollie thrust the knife into Stubby’s belly. His cackling laugh caused the hair to stand up on her spine.
He hissed into Stubby’s ear, “Every man has a devil, and I’m yours, Crump. You’re not strong enough to live through this storm.”
Alex jumped on Rollie’s back and screamed in his ear, “Wrong! I am the storm!” She plunged the knife into Rollie’s neck and twisted it, causing blood to spurt all over the men.
Holding his throat, Rollie rolled down the hill. He attempted to gurgle out a laugh through his bloody grin.
Alex pounced on him. Finish it, she thought as she jammed the knife into the devil’s empty heart.
“Go back to Hell!” she screamed in his face.
After one final twist, she scrambled up the hill to where Stubby lay against the trunk of the fallen oak. He was covered in blood and clutched his stomach where more blood was oozing out.
The floodwaters had risen even more, reaching the root-ball of the tree, causing it to rock back and forth. She helped Stubby to his feet and draped his arm over her shoulder. Using Alex as a crutch, Stubby made his way to the front porch steps before collapsing.
Alex took off her jacket and pressed it against Stubby’s wound. She didn’t bother to look at it. She knew it was bad.
“Stubby, can you hold on to this? Can you keep pressure on it while I get help?”
Within seconds, her jacket was soaked with blood. Alex looked around frantically, unsure of what to do. She jumped up and ran onto the porch, thinking she might find some medical supplies inside the house.
“Alex, no,” Stubby groaned. “It’s too late.”
“No, it’s not,” she pleaded. “Stubby, you can survive this. Look what we’ve been through.”
Stubby smiled as Alex returned to his side. “No, Alex, my days are done.”
“Bessie! Think about Bessie. She loves you. You fight for your life, for her. For me!”
Stubby touched her bloodied face and nodded.
The water levels crept closer to the house, overtaking the bodies of the dead Durhams. Rollie’s corpse was entangled in tree branches and sank below the surface of the river, only to emerge farther downstream. Ma’s body began to float, and then it was joined by Junior’s, which rolled over face down in the water.
Out of frustration, Alex stood and grabbed the Brumby Rocker. She heaved it at Betty Jean Durham’s gunshot-riddled remains, temporarily sinking it under water before it bounced back to the surface.
“Rot in Hell! All of you!”
Alex began to sob and she rushed back to Stubby’s side. “Stubby, please. You can’t die. I need you.”
She was crying uncontrollably, clutching him close to her chest. “I need you more than you know.”
Stubby reached his arm around her neck and pulled her close to his ear. “Alex, a soldier can only die once. I’ve done my duty. This is my time.”
Alex wailed, screaming, “No, no, no,” repeatedly. “You have to fight to live. Don’t give up!”
The waters rose and the Durhams were carried downriver, one by one, swirling and bobbing until they disappeared into the murky water.
As darkness overtook the day, Stubby pulled Alex’s head down an
d whispered, “Alex, no matter what happens to me, always lead the way.”
Epilogue
Five Years Later
Near Lick Creek
Shiloh Ranch
Life is about change. At times, we make choices that lead us in a different direction. Other times, choices are made for us that alter the path we follow forever.
In the 36 hours leading up to the solar storm, Alex sensed that the life she knew, and had become comfortable with, would be gone. She didn’t focus on what she had to give up in this new world without power. Instead, she embraced the challenge and adopted a survival mindset.
Alex dismounted from Snowflake, her faithful companion since her arrival at Shiloh Ranch. Despite the fact that the world was rebuilding, and transportation was returning to an extent, Alex still preferred Snowflake to get around. The two were inseparable when she was around the ranch proving that sometimes, your best friend doesn’t always have to be a human.
She tied the reigns to the four-year-old apple trees planted atop the Indian Mound overlooking Lick Creek to the south and the fields full of dairy cows to the north. The Tennessee River flowed along nearby, having been returned to the confines of its banks several years ago.
It had been rough-going for the surviving residents of Shiloh Ranch. Despite the removal of evil from their adopted town, the difficulties of healing and rebuilding faced the locals, as well as the families throughout the region.
Full of emotion, Alex walked through the grass which crunched under feet from the first frost. Seeing the gravestones instantly brought tears to her eyes. She knelt between them and laid magnolia tree branches neatly tied with twine on top of each grave.
“Sorry, but flowers are in short supply in December.” Alex attempted to mask her grief by making light of the tradition. She wiped away the tears and managed a smile.
Alex learned that people lose people. We are constantly losing things as we grow and adapt to ever-changing conditions in our lives. But, that’s what life’s about. Over time, Alex decided it’s what you gain from that loss that makes life worth living.
“Well,” she started. “A lot has happened since I stopped to talk with you guys last. For one thing, Beau proposed to me and we’re gonna get married next summer. He wanted to get married right away but I told him it would have to wait until after I get my feet wet on the Governor’s new advisory board.
“Which, of course, is the second thing I have to tell you. The Governor has offered me a position on his West Tennessee Rebuilding Commission. My job is to work with local governments on getting reestablished and helping coordinate rebuilding efforts.
“As the power is restored to the small towns and rural counties of West Tennessee, I’ll coordinate their local efforts with the state government. Beau will be able to travel with me so we can always be together.
“I miss you both so much. Even though you’re gone, you haven’t gone away. I feel you walking with me — unseen, unheard, but always near. I’ll always love you both. Trust me, I will never give up my feelings for you. Life will go on, but it’ll never be the same.”
Alex rose from her knees and touched her fingers to her lips, and planted a kiss on the gravestone of Clarence “Stubby” Crump, beloved husband, Army Ranger and Hero.
Alex also planted a finger kiss on Bessie’s gravestone as well. She’d died months afterwards from pneumonia. But Alex firmly believed that she couldn’t bear the loss of her beloved husband.
“He was a good man, Allie-Cat, and Bessie loved you as her own. We’ll always keep them in our prayers.”
“I know Daddy. You never quite get over it. You just slowly learn how to go on without them.”
Alex turned and walked into the arms of Colton and Madison. Together, the Rymans were a family which had faced the depravity of man, and survived.
Thanks for reading!
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Copyright Information
© 2017 Bobby Akart Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Bobby Akart Inc.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Dedications
Acknowledgements
About the Author, Bobby Akart
About The Blackout Series
Previously in The Blackout Series
Epigraph
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Epilogue
Copyright Information