DARK TITAN
WAR ZONE
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Book 4
Thomas A. Watson
William Allen
KINDLE EDITION
AN APOC-PRESS BOOK
DARK TITAN
War Zone
Homefront
Book 4
© 2018 by Thomas A. Watson & William Allen
All Rights Reserved
Edited by FastTrack Editing
Sabrina Jean
Covers by Christian
Christian Bentulan
This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.
Dedication
To my little Renie and all my fans, thank you.
Introduction
by Thomas A. Watson
I know it has been a long time since we have been in the world of Dark Titan and I do apologize. I had always planned on ‘Warzone’ to complete the Dark Titan story, but things kept coming up. And ‘Warzone’ had to pick up at the time ‘Journey’ ended. After legal battles were done to get my story back, I tried to pick up the story again. I have written ‘Warzone’ twice. The first was over a hundred thousand words and I stopped the second at eighty thousand. I hated both and erased them. (Yeah, Tina nearly fainted. She did have to go have a drink.)
But the characters weren’t the same ones who arrived in Idaho. Nathan wasn’t the grown-up kid. He more resembled Chuck Norris in Walker, Texas Ranger in the stories. I finally realized, on the second try to do the book, it was because of the others at the compound changing my style of the characters. My favorite character in the story, John, wasn’t nearly the same. In the first two attempts, I actually didn’t like John, and that wasn’t going to do. Even little Emma, who I just adore, was changed.
If I’m not happy with my characters, I’m sorry; I won’t and can’t put them out. The stories were good, but it wasn’t Nathan and the group. They literally grew up in one night.
I was talking to Will at one of the shows and was telling him about Dark Titan. (Sorry, Will Allen and his brother M.C. are my adopted brothers, and we do shows together across the country). He offered to help. After giving the outline to the ending, places and character bios, we sat down and dug in. So, we tried the first ten chapters and Nathan and the crew were back to just the way they were in ‘Journey’.
After I stopped jumping up and down, I told Will he was going to co-author ‘Warzone’ with me. Well, he said he would be more than happy to write with me to help, but I didn’t need to share Dark Titan with him. So, believe it or not, I didn’t argue and acted like a grown-up, I just marched right in and told Tina.
Tina, being Tina, called Will and I don’t know what was said, but Will got back with me that day and told me he was more than happy to be co-author and become part of Dark Titan. (Yeah, Tina can be a worrywart, but you have to love her.)
When Tina read the story and told us she couldn’t even tell who wrote what, Will and I were very happy. The only complaint from anyone was from Tina; Will loves to use the tab key when he writes, and it makes formatting harder. At one point, I really think Tina was going to fly out and meet up with Will, just to break the tab key on his computer.
But we have outstanding beta readers and fans who know how to help, and momma (Tina) was happy. Ask Will or M.C., if momma ain’t happy, all three of us will go around kicking everyone in the shin to make damn sure nobody is happy.
The story still follows the same direction I envisioned. My outlines always start with the end and a few highpoints like major battles or funny ideas. But other than that, I have no idea how the story will get there. There are many scenes and plots that are Will’s alone, and I really like them.
Most importantly, Nathan and the gang are who they were when they arrived. They didn’t wake up the next day as terminators. It only happened once during the story, but Will highlighted parts of a chapter and said, ‘John changed rather dramatically’. And taking a step back and reading it, he was right, so I changed John back to what I love about him. He’s probably the happiest person alive since the collapse, and I can always see his friendly smile in my mind.
Don’t get me wrong, I always planned for the characters to change to meet this new world. But not so much they weren’t who they started off as, and damn sure not overnight or in the space of a week. I’m happy with Dark Titan once again, and excited to dive back into that world.
Without Will, I can say Dark Titan would’ve continued being pushed back until I could write the story I originally envisioned. And like I always say, without Tina, there is no Apoc Press, which means no stories from Tommy. And without all of you readers, there wouldn’t be an Apoc Press, so thank you.
Recollection from William Allen
Ever see the fat kid in the candy store? Yes, I said fat. That was me, after all. I have more in common with John than Nathan that way. At any rate, that would be me panting over the mountains of milk chocolate and creamy nougat when Tommy approached me about lending a hand with the next Dark Titan book. Why? Perhaps a little explanation is in order. We were at a convention, selling books and shaking hands with our readers when Thomas A. Watson, author, mentioned he was having a little trouble getting back into the proper groove for the next planned story arc in the Dark Titan series.
By this time, I’d already read the first three books, the source material if you will, several times. Enough so that when Tommy started discussing characters and plotlines hinted at in the original series, I was able to jump right in and grasp his points. I was already a huge fan of the series, and here is an author I had huge respect for, asking for my assistance. I felt like the minor league player in the bleachers being called up to come pitch in the World Series.
At this stage, we took out our respective yellow pads and started jotting down notes and swapping characters back and forth, like those same proverbial rotund youths trading baseball cards at recess. The ideas were flowing fast, and with Tommy’s framework already in place, getting the rough edges smoothed over only took a little time and elbow grease.
Thankfully, Tommy’s wife and partner Tina was there to help our readers looking at our books, because Tommy and I were off in our own little world populated with lethal teens, mind-controlling toddlers, and the biggest kid in the sandbox. Clearly, the next installment of Dark Titan was well under way by that point. Now you, the reader, hold the final product in hand. Please let us know how we did, and leave us a review on the appropriate sites while we get to work on the next book.
Title Page
Credits
Dedication
Introduction
Recollection
Chapter 1 ……………………….………….1
Chapter 2……………………………..…….8
Chapter 3………………………………….13
Chapter 4………………………………….20
Chapter 5………………………………….28
Chapter 6………………………………….33
Chapter 7………………………..………..37
Chapter 8………………………..………..44
Chapter 9……………………………….. 50
Chapter 10………………………………59
Chapter 11……………………………...63
Chapter 12………………………………70
Chapter 13…………………………
……77
Chapter 14………………………………87
Chapter 15………………………………94
Chapter 16………………………………103
Chapter 17………………………………113
Chapter 18………………………………119
Chapter 19………………………………129
Chapter 20………………………………134
Chapter 21………………………………145
Chapter 22………………………………151
Chapter 23………………………………161
Chapter 24………………..….…………171
Chapter 25…………….……..…………182
Chapter 26……………...………………193
Chapter 27………….…………..………198
Chapter 28…………….……..…………206
Chapter 29……………...………………211
Chapter 30………….…………..………217
Other Works…………………………..220
CHAPTER ONE
Cracking his left eye open, Nathan let out a long groan. “Girl wasn’t kidding about treating me like a cheap bicycle,” he mumbled, lifting his head up and looking around the dark bedroom. The only light he could see was coming from the cracked open door of the bathroom.
Glancing over at the bedside table, Nathan blinked his eyes trying to clear up the blurry numbers of the clock. “Three a.m. of what day?” he sighed, lifting his arm and fumbling with his wristwatch until the back lit up, so he could see the date. “Only fourteen hours,” he scoffed, pulling his body to the side of the bed. “Surprised I didn’t sleep for a week.”
He looked back in the bed and didn’t see Jasmine. “She used me and just left my ass,” Nathan chuckled, getting up and stretching. Heading into the bathroom, Nathan looked in the mirror. His black hair that normally reached just above his shoulders, was now well past them.
Turning on the sink, Nathan smiled, cupping his hands under the water as it got hotter. “If I never shave in cold water again, that’ll be fine by me,” he said, splashing water across his face and remembering the past few months. Unable to help it, Nathan turned the shower on and just stared at the flowing water.
Taking them over sixty days to reach home, he’d really missed the comforts of civilization. Nathan stepped in the shower and stood under the hot water for ten minutes before he started washing. When he was done, he stepped out drying before turning on the bedroom light.
Walking over to his closet, Nathan opened it up and stepped back. “Why did Tim and Sherry bring all my clothes? I just can’t see where a business suit will come in handy now, much less all of my suits,” he wondered out loud, then dug in to find tactical pants and a polo. Setting them on the dresser, Nathan pulled out some shorts and a tank top.
Looking into the mirror over the dresser at his own reflection, “I can finally push iron,” he told his reflection.
Nathan chuckled to see the spurs sitting on Jasmine's nightstand as he made up the bed. “Glad she was kidding about those,” Nathan laughed, grabbing his tennis shoes, he left the room.
Walking out, Nathan heard a squeal and turned to see Emma jumping off the couch, running full bore at him. Reaching down, Nathan scooped her up. “Hey, doodlebug,” he said, nuzzling into her neck.
Looking over at the couch, Nathan saw Jasmine holding Chip, who looked asleep, then noticed Tim and Sherry sitting in the recliners. Nolan was in Sherry’s arms drinking a bottle, but stopped and pushed the bottle away when Nathan walked over with Emma just babbling away in his arms.
“Hey, little man,” Nathan said, bending over and letting Nolan grab his fingers.
“Thought you would sleep later than this,” Tim laughed as Nathan leaned over kissing Nolan and then hugged Sherry.
When Nathan let Sherry go, Tim stood up and hugged Nathan. “I haven’t slept that hard since I took drugs for a migraine in Kansas,” Nathan admitted, and Tim let him go, leaning back.
“It’s been a while since you got a migraine,” Tim reminded him, sitting down.
Nodding as he moved over and lifted Jasmine’s legs up and sat down, putting her feet in his lap, “Yeah, and I always think the last one was the worst,” Nathan said, then leaned over kissing Jasmine.
“When did you get up?” Nathan asked while Emma patted his face to look at her.
Jasmine smiled as Nathan turned to look at Emma while she continued to babble, pointing around the house. “About an hour ago,” Jasmine smiled. “Emma sniffed you out and was trying to stick her arm under the door.”
“Hey,” Nathan said, looking Emma in the eyes. “You’re the one who ran to Tim and Sherry’s room.”
Happy she had his attention, Emma threw up her hands as she babbled with a smile. “I guess you’re thirsty because I have a sudden desire to fill a sippy cup,” Nathan sighed, and Emma clapped her hands.
Moving Jasmine’s feet, Nathan stood back up. “You could’ve informed me before I sat down,” Nathan told Emma as he looked in her face and headed into the kitchen.
Tim and Sherry both smiled, listening to Nathan talk to Emma as if he understood the constant babble. “Jasmine, I love you and those kids,” Sherry said with a huge smile, taking the empty bottle from Nolan and started burping him. “Neither of us have ever seen him like this.”
“I’ll say,” Tim laughed, reaching over and squeezing Sherry’s hand. “Bill was awestruck when you rode in.”
“Bill?” Jasmine asked, racking her brain and going through the throng of people they’d met.
“Billy,” Tim clarified. “Only Nathan can get away with calling him Billy, and then only sometimes. Billy is actually ‘Junior’, but not even Nathan gets away with calling Billy that.”
Furrowing her brow, “I don’t remember Amanda telling me that,” Jasmine mumbled, but they heard her.
“Well, Amanda was calling him Bill,” Sherry said as Nolan let out a loud burp.
“Is this coffee fresh?” Nathan called from the kitchen.
“Yes, babe. Sherry and I fixed it less than an hour ago,” Jasmine called out over her shoulder, then turned back to Tim and Sherry. “Glad you told me about Bill, then. Anyone else not go by a name only Nathan calls them?”
“Not really,” Sherry said, looking down at Chip curled up in Jasmine’s lap. “He has bad dreams.”
Closing her eyes, “We know,” Jasmine sighed. “I’m scared about what he’s seen.”
“You aren’t getting coffee!” Nathan snapped in the kitchen, and Emma’s babble turned into an irritated jabber.
Opening her eyes when Emma’s jabber turned to bitching, “Nathan, you gave her coffee in Wyoming. Put some ice in her sippy cup and let her have coffee!” Jasmine shouted out. “I’m not in the mood for a bitchy Emma because it transfers to you!”
“I gave her some once, and she was moving nine hundred miles an hour!” Nathan shouted. “Damn it, that’s mine!”
Jumping up, Tim ran into the kitchen as Sherry leaned over to Jasmine. “Nathan dotes on you something fierce, and nobody has ever seen that,” Sherry smiled, then let the smile drop off as her face turned into a scowl. “You break his heart, and I’ll drop your body down a mineshaft.”
“Please,” Jasmine scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You have no idea the hell I had wearing his ass down to give me a chance. I was almost to the point of tying his ass up and molesting him, in hopes of winning him over.”
Sitting back in the chair, somewhat glad to hear that, Sherry nodded. “Believe me, I can see that.”
Hearing the jabbering stop, Jasmine looked up when Nathan carried Emma back in drinking her sippy cup. “I see she got coffee,” Jasmine grinned, lifting her feet up.
After Nathan sat down, Jasmine put her feet back in his lap. “Tim fixed it for her,” Nathan huffed, lifting a coffee cup up and blowing on it as Tim came back in grinning.
“Sorry, but last night we found out Emma only stops when she gets what she wants,” Tim said, sitting back down.
“The others been up?” Nathan asked.
Shaking his head, “Not really,” Tim said. “We’ve heard them go to the bathroom.”
Putting his coffee mug down, Nathan sighed as Emma held out her sippy cup. Taking it, Nathan put it beside his coffee and Emma wrapped her arms around his neck, curling up on his chest. “Guys, I swear, it looks like you emptied my closet at the house,” Nathan said, rubbing Emma’s back.
“We did,” Sherry confirmed, getting up and laying Nolan down on a pallet on the floor.
“Can you give me a quick run-down?” Nathan asked.
Nodding, Tim got comfortable in the recliner. “After I hung up with you, I called the guys to tell them you were on the road. Now, everyone had hauled all their gear out to the compound, but Bill and Rusty were called into work. Aiden was called in the day before,” Tim said, raising his eyebrows.
“Called in off vacation?” Nathan asked, and Tim nodded. “Okay. So, everyone’s families were already out here at least?”
“No, the wives were tired of hauling the kids fifty miles back to town, just so the kids could go to school. I found out later, everyone was actually back at their own houses when I talked to you that last time,” Tim told him. “I was just about to start calling the guys when the shit hit the fan.”
“I thought it was a power failure until I looked at my cellphone,” Sherry said, forcing a smile.
“Sherry, don’t feel bad. I’d bet anything, I tried to start my damn Suburban a hundred times,” Nathan admitted.
“We figured out what’d happened when the transformer in the front yard blew up; that we’d been hit by a CME,” Tim said, reaching over and patting Sherry’s hand. “It caught some trees on fire and we had to break out all the fire extinguishers. We didn’t know about the EMPs then because I cranked the vehicles up in the garage, forgetting about the copper mesh you had wrapping the house.”
War Zone: Homefront Page 1