Shock Wave

by Keith Taylor

  Karen stared up at the woman, certain she was delusional. She couldn't possibly believe something that insane. “What are you talking about?”

  As the canvas flap swept back yet again and the soldiers climbed aboard to take another of them, Valerie stood and presented herself to them, allowing them to grab her arms. As they silently pushed her towards the back of the truck she turned and met Karen's eyes one last time.

  “Karen, we did this to ourselves.”

  ΅

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  ONE NEW MESSAGE

  JACK DIDN'T WANT to open his eyes.

  He didn't want to see Boomer's body. He wanted to remember her as she was, not laid out at the feet of the sheriff, his revolver still smoking. The memory of the gunshot repeated in his mind, and even if he didn't have the image in his head he knew the sound would haunt him forever.

  But then another sound came, this one unexpected.

  “What the f―”

  That was the voice of Ray.

  Jack opened his eyes to a scene that made no sense to him. Boomer was still at the sheriff's feet, alive but terrified, shivering and eyes wide in fright at the sound of the gunshot. Above her Parsons stood, but he looked down in confusion at his chest, staring at a growing bloom of red spreading out across his shirt. As Jack watched he took a staggering step back, then another, and then he stumbled to his knees.

  A few steps behind him Ray held Jack's pistol out ahead of him, pointing it over Jack's shoulder at something behind him. He squeezed the trigger and Jack screamed at his legs to throw him out of the way, but the gun only gave a metallic click.

  It was empty.

  Jack had no clue what was going on, but finally his legs began to respond to his orders. With a burst of power he forced himself to his feet and barreled forward towards Ray. As the man dropped Jack's empty gun and fumbled at his holster for his own, Jack covered the distance between them in just a couple of seconds before he threw himself at Ray's waist, his full weight driving into his belly. The man doubled over with a pained grunt, folding to the floor. The gun went skittering out of his hands and across the asphalt.

  Jack pulled himself up on his elbows, ready to rain blows on the man below him, but through the red mist he could see there was no need. Ray was out cold, knocked out when his head thunked against the asphalt.

  He rolled off the unconscious man, still trying desperately to get his bearings. Beside the police cruiser the sheriff was slumped to the ground, his immense body still, a pool of blood spreading out around him. A few steps from him Cathy held herself in an alert crouch, confused and uncertain what was happening. Boomer lay flat on the ground, still frozen in fear but apparently unharmed.

  And then Jack saw it. Standing by Cathy's truck, his tweed jacket bunched up as he held his arms out in front of him, Garside stood with Cathy's gun clutched tightly in his hands. He stared ahead at the body of the sheriff, the gun still trained on him.

  “Doug,” Jack said quietly, afraid that any sound might make him squeeze the trigger again. “Doug, are you OK?”

  Garside's hands began to tremble. With a blink he seemed to come to, and he looked down at the gun almost as if he hadn't realized he was holding it.

  “He... he shouldn't have threatened the dog,” Garside muttered, slowly lowering the gun until his hand hung limp at his side. “He shouldn't...”

  Now he carefully lowered the gun to the ground and took a step back from it, a look of shock on his face.

  “Oh, God, what did I do?” His eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at the sheriff's body. “Jack, I shot a policeman! I... I didn't mean... What did I do?”

  Jack carefully approached Garside, kicking the gun away as he reached it, and he wrapped his arms around the Englishman's shivering shoulders.

  “You saved us, Doug,” he said, smiling. “It's OK. You saved our lives.”

  Garside pulled away in shock. “But... but I shot a policeman. Look,” he pointed to the Parsons' prone body as Jack led him gently towards the police cruiser. “Look, I killed him. He's dead.”

  Jack turned to Cathy as he led Garside to the rear door of the cruiser. “Are you OK, Cathy? Are you hurt?”

  Cathy shook her head, her face pale but her body intact. “No, I'm... I don't know how, but I think I'm alive.”

  “Then let's get the hell out of here before anyone else shows up.” He pulled open the door of the car and carefully guided Garside onto the back seat.

  “Are you taking me to prison?” Garside asked in a shaky voice, looking up at Jack with glazed eyes.

  “No, Doug,” Jack replied in a kindly voice. “I'm taking you to get a nice hot cup of tea, and then we're going to find your wife. Doesn't that sound good?”

  Garside nodded, his face drained of color and his hands trembling. A wan smile flitted across his face.

  “I think I'd quite like a cup of tea, yes. But then I think I'll have to go to prison. I shot a policeman, Jack.”

  Cathy appeared beside Jack, in one hand holding Boomer by the collar and in the other clutching the sheriff's revolver. Her own gun she'd picked up and tucked back into its holster at her waist. “It's OK, Doug,” she said, pushing Boomer into the back of the cruiser before climbing in beside Garside. “He wasn't really a cop. He was just an asshole with a badge.”

  “But I killed him,” Garside insisted, trembling as Cathy tugged off her jacket and draped it over Doug's shoulders.

  “Good,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. “Jack, I think we should find that cup of tea sooner rather than later. I don't know how to treat shock, but I think tea might be a big part of it.”

  Garside stared at Jack as he climbed in the front seat and turned the key. “Yes, tea. I'd quite like a cup of tea.”

  Jack nodded and smiled in the rear view as he pulled the cruiser back out into the street, maneuvering around the sheriff's body and Ray, still unconscious on the asphalt. “You've earned that tea, buddy. Let's go find it.”

  As the cruiser passed Ray's pickup and the road stretched out ahead of them Jack suddenly felt a rush of optimism. He had no idea why. They'd lost half a day in Plumas Creek. He'd almost been imprisoned by a bunch of prepper lunatics, and he'd almost lost his dog and his new friends. The only win had been leaving in a car with... he glanced at the fuel gauge... with a full tank of gas, and it had almost ended in disaster.

  But still Jack felt euphoric. As the sign for the turnoff to highway 89 approached he felt a sudden rush of energy. He felt as if he was beginning the final leg of the journey. He didn't know how, but he knew he was just a few short hours away from seeing his little girl again, somewhere out there in the abandoned vastness of California that spread out ahead of them.

  Jack guided the cruiser around the corner as he passed the sign for the 89, and he smiled in the rear view as Boomer curled up in Garside's lap and settled in for a nap. The sun was high overhead, the road empty and―

  A musical tone caught his ear, four notes that sounded familiar. He frowned, trying to place the tone, and when he finally realized what it was his heart skipped a beat.

  He reached into his pocket, and when he drew it out he was holding his cell phone. The cracked screen lit up to a background of tropical sands, an old picture of Karen and the kids on vacation in Cancun.

  He stared at the screen, transfixed by the vision. Somehow the phone had dried out in his pocket well enough to work again, and he felt his heart race a little faster as he realized he could once again read Karen's final message. He tapped the screen, keeping one eye on the road as he navigated to the inbox and looked for―

  A notification popped up on the screen, and the shock at the sudden vibration of the phone was enough to send it tumbling out of his hand. It landed in the footwell beneath his feet, and in a panic he stepped on the brake and stopped in the middle of the road.

  Bending at the waist he hunted for it with his fingers, nudging it until he could reach down and grab it, and when he
pulled it back from beneath the seat and caught a look at the words glowing on the screen he felt his breath catch in his throat.

  1 new message

  Karen

  He tapped the screen, and when the text appeared a smile spread across his face. He stepped on the gas and powered the cruiser forward.

  Now he knew where he had to go.

  He knew where to find his little girl.

  ΅

  THANK YOU FOR reading Shock Wave, the second novel in the Jack Archer post-apocalyptic survival trilogy. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Before you move on (I hope) to the concluding book of the series I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a moment to post a review of this book on Amazon. Authors live on caffeine and reviews, and while I'm all set for coffee I have to rely on my readers for the rest.

  P.S. If I've ever blown up your home town in one of my stories I'm very sorry. If I've ever not blown up your home town in one of my stories I take requests.

  Be the first to hear about new releases and sales:

  authorkeithtaylor.com/mailing-list/

  Contact Keith Taylor directly:

  authorkeithtaylor.com

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  COMING SOON

  NOTHING IS QUITE as it seems.

  Jack now knows exactly where to find his ex-wife and little girl. Across the vast abandoned wasteland of California he's tracked them down. They're headed toward a place they've been promised will be safe.

  Nowhere is safe.

  Now Jack faces a race against time to rescue Karen and Emily before they discover the terrifying truth. Before they learn that they're walking into the lion's den.

  Before they learn that Condition Black is even more horrifying than they could ever have imagined.

  The concluding novel of the Jack Archer post-apocalyptic survival series will be released exclusively at Amazon, coming soon.

  OTHER TITLES FROM KEITH TAYLOR

  America Dark: Willow Falls Book One

  ***

  How will you survive when the power goes out?

  Jim Shepherd always knew the EMP was coming. For years his prepper father had warned him that it was only a matter of time; that eventually someone would be crazy enough to push the button and plunge the US into the darkness. Shep thought he was prepared for the chaos to come. He thought he knew exactly what to do.

  He was wrong.

  Abi Ross had no idea when she boarded her train from D.C. to Charlotte that her July 4th was about to go off the rails, literally. She had no clue that she'd soon find herself stranded in rural Virginia, injured and alone, awaiting a rescue that would never come.

  Could you survive with nothing but the contents of your pockets?

  When the lights flicker out for the last time Jim and Abi will find out if they have what it takes to survive, stripped of the bubble wrap and cotton wool of modern society. How far will they go to keep breathing? Who will they save? Who will they leave behind to die?

  And what will they do when they learn that the attack has only just begun?

  Read Now

  ΅

  This Is the Way the World Ends: an Oral History of the Zombie War

  ***

  February, 2031: The global population now stands at an estimated 400 million, and every survivor bears the scars of humanity's decade-long struggle to defeat an enemy few believed could exist. Some nations have emerged from the war stronger than ever. Others still struggle to survive. Some no longer exist at all.

  In the aftermath of the zombie pandemic Keith Taylor, noted pre-war author of apocalyptic fiction, traveled the world to gather the first hand accounts of survivors from every walk of life, culture and strata of society, ranging from American political leaders to British journalists to Mongolian miners to members of India's homeless underclass.

  Together these chilling interviews describe the course of humanity's most brutal war, leading from the initial emergence of the virus in the Siberian wilderness to the visceral, heart-rending Shibuya footage, through the confusion of the US President's impeachment to the unintended and disastrous consequences of the UN's sweeping refugee amendment, and ending with us battered and broken, diminished but not defeated, in the fragile peace we now enjoy. Together these accounts represent the most illuminating and complete commentary to date of humanity's loss.

  From these candid interviews emerges an image of early 21st century civilization as it truly was: imperfect, fragmented and wholly unprepared for a disaster on such a scale. This Is the Way the World Ends takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the world we had and lost; a look at the pain we suffered due to our inability to accept a single, simple truth:

  Zombies are real.

  Note: Readers who lived through the pandemic may find the interviews contained within this collection distressing. Discretion is advised.

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  ΅

  HUNGER: Last Man Standing Book One

  ***

  BANGKOK, MARCH 2018. The world looked on in horror as millions of innocent lives were snuffed out in a matter of hours. Countless men, women and children slaughtered without mercy, torn apart by a violent mob that attacked without reason, motive or warning.

  Tom Freeman saw the aftermath. He reported on the tragedy and looked into the eyes of the sole survivor, an old friend, and what he saw looking back sent him running home to the United States. Back to safety. Back to a place where the world made sense, and the putrid stink of the dead didn't haunt his nightmares...

  Turns out he didn't run quickly enough. They're coming.

  Remain indoors...

  Gather supplies...

  Find a weapon...

  They're here.

  Read Now

  ΅