She nodded and left, and Nick was left to remove blood-soaked clothes from his boy.
Emma found her father waiting in the living room, sitting with her mother and the woman who they’d brought back from the store. She could see Rae Ann sitting on the porch outside, hugging her stuffed bear. Her mother stood and wrapped her arms around Emma, holding her close. “I was so scared for you,” her mother said.
“Me too,” Emma said into her mother’s shoulder. They stood that way a few minutes, Emma breathing in the scent of her mom, so thankful to be home. When they broke apart, Emma turned to her dad.
“Thanks for coming to get me, Dad.”
Her dad stood up. “You don’t have to thank me for that,” he said and pulled her to him. He wrapped her in a tight hug and then let her go. “I’m so relieved to have you back in one piece. I’ve never been so afraid.”
“Dad, I heard something while I was with those people. I think you should know.”
“What’s that?”
“There are bandits in pickup trucks raiding people. One of the men was talking about them. They sound awful.”
“I’ll look into it, Emma. But I don’t want you to worry about it. Okay?”
“What happened to Gary? I saw him there.”
“He ran away.”
“Where do you think he went?”
“I’m not sure, but I imagine he’ll come back sooner or later.”
“If he comes back, are we going to let him stay?”
“I don’t know.” Her dad sat back down. “But as far as Nick and his family are concerned, they have a spot here for as long as they want. And we need them now more than ever—I didn’t realize how many people it took to run a place this size.”
“Yeah, and guarding the perimeter in case any of those bandits show up.”
“Right. Why don’t you go out and tell Rae Ann her brother is okay?”
Emma went out to sit with Rae Ann on the step in the fading light.
“Corey is going to be just fine,” Emma said to Rae Ann, leaning closer to the girl.
“I know,” Rae Ann said, playing with her stuffed bear, Louise. She held the bear to her chest again and shivered.
“You should come inside, Rae,” Emma said. “You’re cold.”
“Can I see Corey now?” Rae Ann asked.
Emma stood up and put her hand out. “Come on, let’s go see.”
After a few hours, his dad let Rae Ann come in to see him. Corey tried to sit up a little so she wouldn’t be worried, though he felt weak. Rae Ann stuck her head around the door, and when she saw him, she skipped in, smiling, and perched herself on the edge of his bed.
“Emma says you are going to be okay,” Rae Ann said. “That’s good.”
“Yeah,” Corey said, watching Emma sliding through the door to sit on the other bed.
“Does it hurt when you get shot?” Rae Ann was clutching Louise tightly to her chest.
“A little bit.”
“Like getting stung by a bee?”
Corey chuckled, then stifled a wince as the pain coursed along his side. “Yeah, something like that.”
“I’ve never been stung before, but I got a splinter once.”
“I remember that. Splinters aren’t fun either.”
“Yeah, and Daddy said not to be afraid. He said that once Mister Tweezers got the splinter out of my finger, it would heal by itself, and the pain would go away. Did Mister Tweezers help you?”
Corey grinned. “Yeah, Mister Tweezers helped me too.”
Rae Ann got up off the bed, and Corey noticed Emma still sitting on the other bed, observing.
“Where are you going, Rae Ann?” Corey asked.
“I’m going to see what Shelly is making for dinner now. Can we play cards later?”
“Sounds good to me, Rae.”
Rae Ann shifted her gentle gaze to Emma. “You too?”
“Me too,” Emma said.
“Good.” Rae Ann turned and skipped from the room.
Emma came closer and sat on the bed. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Like I was shot.”
Emma chuckled, then cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Core.”
“Don’t be.”
“But you got shot.”
“I’d get shot a hundred times more if it would save you.”
“I know.” She leaned in to give him a hug, being careful not to lean on his injury. “I’m so glad you’re okay. You really scared me.” She kissed him on the cheek and sat back. “Remind me never to climb over the perimeter fence again.” She made a face.
“I don’t think you’ll be able to. Dad says they are putting razor wire all around the top.”
“Emma,” Shelly said, poking her head around the door, “come and eat. Corey, your dad will bring you your dinner. Maggie says you aren’t to get out of bed except to use the bathroom for a few days, while your body replenishes your blood supply.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Corey said.
He was glad when they left the room, and he could lay flat again. He didn’t want to make a big deal of it, but he was tired and sore.
After dinner, Abram lumbered down to Gary’s cabin with his food on a plate. Sure enough, Gary was there, sitting at his table in the lantern light, drinking vodka. Abram placed the plate in front of him.
“You should probably eat this if you are going to drink that,” Abram said.
“You kicking me out?” Gary asked, a slight slur to his words.
“That’s not a decision I can make by myself, you know that. We’ll have to take a vote, and you should know, Nick and his family are full residents now, so Nick will get a vote too.” Abram watched Gary’s face.
“You know if it comes to a vote, I don’t have a chance,” Gary said.
“And whose fault is that? You make stupid choices, and you got my daughter kidnapped. If I didn’t know you have a good heart under all that, I’d vote you out, too. But you and I have history, so I can’t do it.”
“What about the woman you brought back from town, you letting her stay?”
“I don’t know yet. We’ll have to talk about it. I’m afraid if we let her leave, she’ll lead another raid against us.”
“Can you convince the others to let me stay?”
“I’ll try, but there are no guarantees. Eat your dinner, and I’ll take your plate back with me.”
Once Gary had finished his dinner, Abram grabbed his empty plate and headed back to the main house. There, he spotted Shelly washing the dishes. “He was there, just like I thought he would be,” Abram said.
Shelly rinsed a dish with a jug of water. “Then tell him to go. We don’t want him here.”
“Shelly—”
“Abram,” Shelly cut him off, slamming the jug on the counter. “That man almost got our child killed. He’s reckless and stupid and a killer. I don’t want him here.” She began drying her hands with a towel.
“Shelly, you know sending him out into the world is the same as putting a bullet in his head. If we do that, we’re as bad as he is.”
“I don’t care, Abram. Who has to die before you see the truth?”
“Trouble is coming. There are already groups of bandits forming. Emma heard about them in town, so I got on the HAM radio and asked. It’s true—young men that somehow have gasoline for their trucks are driving up and down the state, robbing and killing. You know Gary is good in those kinds of situations.”
“I can’t agree with you, Abram, not on this. I know that you think we’ll need him, but I’m afraid he’s going to get one of us killed.”
“I understand,” he said. But he worried. If bandits crashed through their gate with a truck, they’d need all the guns they could muster against a raid. Gary was a sharpshooter and fearless. He would be an asset in a fight. How to convince the others, though?
“What about the woman…Cindy?” Shelly asked. “Are you going to keep her here?”
“I don’t know. It might not be a good idea to let h
er go—she could lead people to us. She knows what we have, and she has plenty of motive to retaliate against us.”
Shelly nodded, but remained silent.
“We’ll talk to the others about it,” Abram said. “I’ve said Nick and the kids can stay, so Nick will have a vote, same as you and Maggie.”
“Okay,” Shelly said, her eyes now starting to water.
“Shelly,” Abram said, his voice gentle. “What’s wrong?”
Shelly inhaled a sniffle. “I just can’t believe this is all happening,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.
Abram wrapped his arms around Shelly, giving her a hug. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Don’t worry, Shelly. Whatever happens, I’ll always be here for you and Emma. We’ll get through this.”
A few days later, Nick was coming off watch duty at breakfast time when he ran into Abram pulling the cart loaded with razor wire up toward the fence line.
“You’re starting early, Abram,” he said as they met in the drive.
“Trouble is coming, Nick. We need to be prepared.”
“Have you heard something on the HAM radio?”
“Nothing new, but there seems to be more and more young men joining the existing bandits. The draw appears to be the promise of food and safety for the men and their families. Apparently, they have compounds of their own in the south, near Bennington and Brattleboro. We’re off the beaten track here, but people know where we are. I’m afraid your friend Joshua is unhappy enough with us that he’ll tell them where we are. You were right; we should have let him join us.”
“You weren’t to know. Hindsight and all that.” Nick motioned to the razor wire. “Do you want help with that?”
“No, this is not stuff you want to be messing with when you are tired, Nick. Anyway, I’m just hauling this up. It’s time for me to go on watch. I’ll see you later.”
Nick nodded and strode down to the house, enjoying the fresh morning air. It would warm this afternoon; spring was progressing. He heard the laughter emanating from the kitchen before he even reached the porch, and he was smiling when he walked in. Corey, Rae Ann, Emma, and Maggie were playing a lively game of cards at the kitchen table. Rae Ann was hampered by Louise, who was clutched in one of her arms, but that didn’t stop her from laughing as loudly as the rest.
“What are you playing?” Nick asked, grinning at their flushed faces.
“Nertz,” Corey said.
“It’s a game I saw people playing on some TV show I watched a few years ago,” Maggie said. “It looked like fun, so I learned how to play it.”
“You’re not too tired, Corey?” Nick asked.
“I just got out of bed, Dad, and I’ve been there for three days. It will take more than a card game to tire me out.” Corey grinned wide.
“And here I was, thinking you’d be missing the internet. Carry on.” Nick waved his hand at the cards and went to see if Shelly had left him anything for breakfast before she’d gone out on watch with Abram. “Oh yeah, bacon sandwich,” he said happily.
He stood at the counter, eating his sandwich and watching Maggie play with the kids. They seemed happy, and they were safe, for now. He hoped the bandits wouldn’t come their way. Maybe they would never find them out here on a back road. That was another reason to let Gary stay: He wouldn’t betray them if he were living here.
He pushed the thoughts of danger from his mind. For right now, today, they were healthy and happy, and that would have to be enough.
# # #
TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK 2…
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Also by JJ Holden
Dark New World (9 Book Series)
Dark New World
EMP Exodus
EMP Deadfall
EMP Backdraft
EMP Resurrection
EMP Retaliation
EMP Resurgence
EMP Retribution
EMP Redemption
** NOTE: The Dark New World series contains strong language and graphic depictions of violence **
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About the Authors
J.J. Holden is the co-author of the EMP CRISIS and DARK NEW WORLD series. He lives in a secluded cabin and spends his days studying the past, enjoying the present, and pondering the future.
Mark J. Russell is the co-author of the EMP CRISIS series. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys reading and writing stories of survival.
For updates, new release notifications, and more, please visit: www.jjholdenbooks.com
Get in touch: [email protected]
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