by KM Fortune
CONCURRENCE
Books by KM Fortune
Forever Winter
1- Awakening
2- Survival
3 - Discovery
4 - Judgement
5 - Tolerance
6 - Revelation
7 - Undaunted
8 - Concurrence
9 - Tribulations
Forever Winter
Concurrence
by
KM Fortune
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 KM Fortune
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
20171214
Thank you for your interest in Concurrence.
This book is intended to provide you a short ninety-minute escape from reality. Although it is a compelling story unto itself, the book, Concurrence, is the eighth installment in a multi-part epic dystopian novel known as Forever Winter.
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I sincerely hope you like Concurrence. It was a pleasure to write. If you find time, a review, or even better, a referral to another reader, is always appreciated.
Please enjoy!
FOREVER WINTER
DON’T MISS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
BOOK I - AWAKENING
Raven Winter is revived after being frozen in the ice for generations. As she heals and strengthens, she learns of her terrible new reality. Nuclear war has decimated the world and outside the walls of the underground facility where she is trapped is a wasteland in which only the most cunning survive. Her keeper, Matthew, is shocked to discover his female specimen is not only awake but also intelligent enough to speak. In his world, women are not man’s equal but instead are banished as agents of sin. To save her from termination, he devises a plan to set her free.
BOOK II - SURVIVAL
Raven Winter has escaped and fights to stay alive in the frozen mountain wilderness. Trapped in a cabin with a corpse, it takes all her wits and inner strength to persevere against the elements. On the harsh plains below her, a tiny young woman named Kit uses her prowess to find supplies for her clan. When she is forced to flee from mutants to the mountains, she discovers Raven. Not knowing what to think of the odd stranger, Kit stays hidden and watches, growing more and more puzzled about where the person came from. Inside the underground colony, Matthew survives even though his laboratory is taken from him for helping Raven escape. His punishment is made complete when he is sent to be a recruit with the Patrols.
BOOK III – DISCOVERY
Raven Winter has traveled The Old Road in search of other humans. Her trek is difficult and threatens to overwhelm her with loneliness and thirst. Along the way, she battles a cat mutant, who decides to track her in the hope of getting revenge for Raven’s actions. Following closely behind is Kit, the small, young woman who continues to be intrigued by Raven’s strange arrival on the wasteland Kit calls home. In the end, Raven perseveres and meets a young man named Blaze, a human nomad, who is shocked to meet a beautiful stranger on the high desert plains. However, Willow, the clan’s leader wants nothing to do with the stranger and refuses to let her join them. As Raven’s adventure transpires, Matthew, the ex-scientist in the colony called Eden, battles for his own survival among the ranks of the Patrols. When others find he is the man who let the “witch” Raven escape, he must lean on his new skills to endure his plight.
BOOK IV - JUDGEMENT
Raven Winter, after saving their leader’s life, has been accepted into the human nomadic clan, but danger follows close behind her. As she builds their trust, the people learn from Kit the worst kind of trouble is coming, and they must flee their shelter under the relentless hunting of the Patrols. Matthew, who was forced to serve as a member of the Patrols, searches for Raven knowing he must find a way to protect her as the Patrols ravage the land. During the raids, two members of the clan, Willow and Dawn, are kidnapped, but Raven devises a plan to get them back. Even though the mission to save the two women is successful, they pay a high price and find out the little girl, Mouse, has been taken. All the while, the nomads are hunted by Hector, a cat mutant, with an agenda of his own.
BOOK V - TOLERANCE
Raven Winter is kidnapped by Hector, the cat mutant. Thinking Raven is a witch who can help him regain status back home, Hector is on a mission to get her there. Raven’s only hope is Kit, who follows close behind the pair waiting for an opening to stage a rescue. Willow, Blaze, and Matthew are travelling the other direction as they seek help from a different clan who live beside a mountain lake. When a blizzard slows everyone’s plans, the groups find shelter and wait out the storm. After surviving mother nature, Willow and the others continue their journey, only to face wolves and almost certain death. All the while Raven and Hector learn more and more about each other as they take up their travels once again, yet it is not until they are ambushed that Raven has the biggest surprise. Hector is a prince.
BOOK VI – REVELATION
Raven Winter and Kit continue their travels to Hector’s home only to arrive and discover Hector’s father, the king, is in a coma. Soon they find themselves at the mercy of the evil Prince Edward, where only the kind and beautiful Queen Helen stands between them and grave danger. Meanwhile, Matthew, as a prisoner of the clan by the lake, uses his skill learned while in Eden to save a mother and child, as well as his own life. Even though the clan will now accept him, he chooses to follow Blaze who leaves the clan’s lodge to go seek more help at the forbidden city. Although new adventurers join them, Willow stays behind.
BOOK VII – UNDAUNTED
Raven Winter and Hector have arrived at his home, the kingdom of the cat mutants. While there, Queen Helen befriends her, yet before she can help Raven, Kit uncovers a secret. Before Raven and Kit can explain, they are labeled as assassins and forced to flee the city. Only through the queen’s help do they make it out of the valley and continue their adventure toward the forbidden city. Hector remains behind and his love for Helen is rekindled. Blaze and Matthew continue their search across the wasteland, hoping to find Raven at the forbidden city, while Willow travels to the Great Cave to save the little girl, Hannah.
AND NOW THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
Forever Winter
BOOK VIII – CONCURRENCE
CHAPTER 1
Willow waited. She was still as a stone and camouflaged in some snow covered brush near the edge of the road which led to the Great Cave's main gate. Morning sunlight was climbing over the horizon, and she only hoped it would translate to some activity. I just need one man to come along, maybe even two would work, she thought. Any more than that and she would have to just let them pass on by.
Her new plan was simple. She needed to get the drop on a resident of the Great Cave and take him hostage. Then she could use the man to help her gain access to the fortress in the mountain. Willow's original idea of using one of the other escape entrances as means to get in had failed. All of the passages were either heavily secured with chains and locks so she had no way to open or cut through, otherwise they were guarded by armed soldiers. Unwilling to give up, she snuck down the mountain and initially found a spot where she could watch the activity of the residents coming and going out of their main point of access. Sneaking in through that means was out of the question. Even with a dozen armed fighters, storming the main gate would be difficult if not impossible. The large metal doors appeared impenetrable and only swung open briefly when a group of soldiers or a vehicle
was going in or out. In the few minutes the gate was open, Willow had glimpsed inside. From a distance, it was hard to make out many details, but she did see a number of men in the black and gray. She had no doubt they were armed or had weapons nearby. The place was secure, and there would be no easy access. So, she had moved further away down the road, found a curve where the men at the gate could not see anything which might happen there, and waited for someone to come out.
If they were in a vehicle and she could be sure there were only one or two occupants, she knew she would have to act fast. With the rifle Emilia had given her when she left, Willow planned to shoot out a tire. When the jeep crashed, she would race over, get a drop on whoever was inside and take them as her prisoner. Once she led them a safe distance away, the interrogation would begin. Willow needed information. In the least, she wanted to know if there was a less guarded gate or a secret door which could be opened. If at all possible, Willow also wanted to ask about Mouse and get any details she could as to the little girl's health and whereabouts. It seemed unlikely a soldier would have information about the child, but Willow did not give up hope. After surviving the trek alone through the mountains, literally without mishap or wolves, she was feeling lucky.
Gabriel had made up his mind. As he walked to the colony's motor pool carrying his pack and a rifle, he decided to make the trip to the forbidden city alone. He knew Samuel wanted him to go with a squad of men and take the female from them by force, but Gabriel thought the approach was too aggressive. Although the old soldier had never stepped foot in the nest of sin and damnation to the north, he knew from reports it was well fortified and filled with armed men. Gabriel was convinced a single person, an emissary of sorts, would fare better. Especially since Gabriel had filled his pack with what he hoped would be worthy trade goods. He did not fool himself to think the female would come at a cheap price. Although he had never seen the witch in the flesh, the rumor was she was a ravishing seductress. Considering the way she had tricked the scientist into helping her escape as well as seeming able to convince strangers, even cat mutants, to risk their lives for her, Gabriel thought the description might be accurate.
Gabriel reached the motor pool and put his rifle and pack inside the closest one. It was an open-air two-seater, which would make for a cold ride, but they were quick across the snowy wasteland, and he was in a hurry. Samuel would not be patient with this assignment. If Gabriel did not return with the female post haste, the man would dispatch another group. Gabriel slipped into the driver's seat as a soldier stepped up beside the vehicle and saluted. Gabriel returned it and then took the clipboard the man held out for him to sign. Once the jeep was checked out, he started it up and drove to the main gate. More soldiers saluted him there while the thick metal doors slowly swung outward. Once they were open, Gabriel zipped up his parka to his chin, pulled his hood up, and then drove forward. He was happy to note it was not snowing and the sun was up enough to see easily. Hopefully, this will make for an quick trip, he thought as he pushed the gas pedal and rumbled out of the colony.
Kit crept with infinite slowness across the snow and rock-strewn landscape leading up to the fence around the forbidden city. Moving from the shadow of one boulder or bush to another, she used her dark cloak to hide in plain sight from the men in the watchtowers all along the perimeter. After a complete trip around the enclosed part of the city, Kit had determined this spot was the best to try and sneak in. She would have preferred to wait until dusk, but concern for her friends forced her hand. She just had to hope the men in the towers, who still had not changed shifts from what she could tell, were sleepy and not paying much attention after being on duty all night. The foot patrols and dogs who passed occasionally along inside the perimeter were a whole different problem, but Kit knew the best approach was to take things one at a time. First, she needed to get inside the city undetected. Then she could use her cunning and sharp weapons to go from there.
Pausing after another quick dart between shadows, Kit scanned the buildings inside the fenced perimeter. They were impressive, especially compared to the destruction just feet away on the outside of the chain-link barrier. It was as if someone had walked a circle around the heart of the forbidden city and determined what would be saved and refurbished, and what would be left to ruin. There was only one area where the two sides overlapped. Kit was not sure, but from the thick wires, large machinery, and low thrumming she felt when she stood close, she guessed the common space was some sort of power station. The complexities of how it worked were well beyond Kit's understanding of the world, and in fact, Kit did not care. What interested her was the little gate in the fence nearby. It was padlocked with a chain so she knew opening it all the way would be impossible but she hoped with a bit of luck, she would find a means to slip through. Unlike the rest of the ten-foot high chain link, topped with spiraling rows of razor wire, the gate was vulnerable, and Kit planned to make the most of it.
CHAPTER 2
The room was faintly lit by daylight seeping in around the curtain over the window. Raven rolled over to avoid the light and squeezed her eyes closed. A headache pounded against her temples, and she moaned. The only good news was she could feel she was in a comfortable bed with her head on a real pillow. Where am I? And what happened? she thought as she slowly peeked out under her eyelids. The air smelled musty, and the temperature of the room was chilly, although nothing like sleeping outside had been. Truly confused, Raven rolled over and opened her eyes to look around. The space was not at all familiar. This is a hotel room, she thought as she recognized the sort of prefab furniture and tacky pictures on the wall common in such places.
Now feeling a little alarmed, she sat up. It sent a throb of pain through her skull, but she ignored it and scanned her surroundings. There was no one with her, which was just as well since she did not know who to expect. She could not remember how she got into the room or the bed. In fact, she realized she could not remember a lot of things. Except for struggling in the snow, cat mutants, and crazy faces, she thought. But was any of that real? Was I dreaming?
The idea the whole strange world was nothing but part of a nightmare was suddenly comforting. There were so many impossible things to believe. Only her imagination could have made them up. With a sigh of relief, Raven got up from the bed and, with the comforter wrapped around her clothes for warmth, went to the window. Hoping to get an idea of where she was, Raven pulled back the curtain with one hand and peered through the dirty glass. The view made her heart leap into her throat. She had not been dreaming. Her world was one of devastation and struggle. No matter what she was before her accident in the snow, the present was one of survival.
For a moment, Raven felt hot tears forming in her eyes but then she shook them away. The movement did not help her headache, yet it did remind her why she felt poorly. I have a hangover, she thought. Because The Duke kept pouring us shots. The Duke! She could picture the charismatic cowboy and doing so opened the floodgates of her memories. Everything which had happened since she woke up in the secret government laboratory underground up to her trying to keep the peace between Blaze, Matthew, and The Duke. As everyone became more and more intoxicated, each man seemed to be more and more possessive of Raven. Having enough of the posturing, Raven vaguely remembered making a statement as to how they were all acting like children and then laying down on the big white couch to go to sleep.
Turning to face the room, a shiver ran up her spine. So which of them brought me here? she wondered.
One minute Gabriel was carefully navigating the jeep through a fresh layer of snow which covered the pavement of the road leading from Eden, and the next he was fighting the steering wheel to keep from plowing into a dirt embankment. He was not sure what happened, but if he had to guess, a tire in the front had blown. There had been a popping sound barely audible over the wind blowing, and then it was suddenly hard to maneuver. I’ll have the motor pool chief’s head for not maintaining this thing better, he thought while he braked care
fully and rolled to a stop. Looking around, he realized it was just his luck the front gate of the colony was out of view. The last corner he went around blocked the line of sight of anyone who might be outside. Grumbling, he unbuckled from the jeep and got out. His suspicion was confirmed. The front driver’s side tire was punctured. “Fantastic,” he muttered, realizing he must have run over something on the asphalt hidden in the snow. Now he had two choices. Change the flat or hike back to the main gate and make a couple of privates jog down here and do it. Neither was ideal in the cold. With a sigh, he elected to take care of it himself.
Walking around the back of the jeep, he started to unscrew the latches which held the extra tire. It was a challenge with his heavy gloves on, and he reconsidered his decision to do it himself. Just as he finally wrestled free the first bolt, he felt a presence behind him. The cold barrel of a rifle tapped the side of his parka hood. What in the -- he started to question when a stranger stepped into view. He was dressed in furs from head to toe, with a scarf covering the lower half of his face. A nomad. Gabriel’s heart started to beat faster. The idea a heathen from the wasteland would be aggressive enough to get the drop on one of the Patrols both alarmed and surprised him. Based on his decades of experience with the dirty people who scraped out a life on the high desert, he knew they were cowards and hid like vermin. Yet here was one staring him down over the sights of a gun. Gabriel looked into the man’s eyes and saw no fear at all. Instead, he saw boldness. And outright defiance, he thought. Not good. Gabriel frowned. “What do you want?” he growled, unwilling to back down, even with a gun in his face.