Hope Survives
Page 17
WALTER
Clifton Compound
10:00 a.m.
Walter finished surveying the property with a pair of binoculars and pulled them down.
“See anything?”
“No. So far, so good.”
Larkin nodded. “My guess is the people who were left will cut and run. No sense in staying when their leader is dead.”
Walter agreed. “With the weapons you cleared out, they can’t defend the place.”
It had taken Larkin, Colt, and Dani all day to round up an entire truck full of guns and ammo. When they bounded into the Clifton place around eight the night before, everyone sat down for a hot meal and talked over the last few days. Even Ben Jacobson managed to take part. It had been a good end to a terrible ordeal.
Walter glanced toward the cabins. “Tracy is taking Ben home today. She thinks he’s stable enough to move.”
“Good. Heather and Jenni must be worried sick. I can’t believe they haven’t shown up here yet.” Larkin stared at the road. “What does Ben say about the pharmacy haul?”
“After everything that went down, he’s comfortable with us holding onto it for now. They’re short-handed at his place. We can keep it safe.”
Larkin ran a hand down his face. “It’s been a rough few days.”
“But we survived it.”
“We sure did.”
“The pharmacy is safe. We’re secure here in the woods.” Walter thought it over. “We can go back to being hermits and ignoring everyone.”
“What about the radio? Any new transmissions?”
“I haven’t listened.”
“Aren’t you worried about the Unified Military Force and whether they’re coming?”
Walter shrugged. “When I first heard the broadcast, I actually thought it could be a good thing. It would get us on track to being a country again with supermarkets and police and schools. Money and jobs and all those things we used to spend our lives consumed by.”
“But now?”
“After the last few days, I think I’m pretty damn happy right here.”
“So what if the military shows up?”
“Let them have Truckee. We’ve got all we need right here.”
Larkin let out a low chuckle clapped Walter on the back. “Sometimes you surprise even me, Walter.” He smiled as he headed inside.
Walter watched Larkin disappear inside the cooking cabin. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he was right. They couldn’t go back to the way America was before and he didn’t want to.
No more worrying about what the neighbors thought or whether his boss would give him the time off to see his daughter’s game. No more arguments with the homeowner’s association over what color to paint their front door or whether his grass needed to be mowed.
All they had to do was focus on the basics: food, shelter, security. It was hard work, but every seed planted and every shingle repaired meant something. They were more than surviving out there in the middle of nowhere.
They were really living.
Walter swallowed the rising lump in his throat and turned toward the cabin where his wife and daughter worked on prepping lunch. Colt stepped down from the porch and waved, ready to take over the watch.
Walter nodded and headed over to the radio shed. He shut himself inside and turned on the controls.
He leaned over the microphone and flicked the switch. “Good morning. This is Walter Sloane, and today is the three hundred and third day since a solar storm knocked out power in the United States.”
* * *
Thank you for reading book nine in the After the EMP series!
Looking for more After the EMP? You can find the rest of the series on Amazon.
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If you were hundreds of miles from home when the world ended, how would you protect your family?
Walter started his day like any other by boarding a commercial jet, ready to fly the first leg of his international journey. Halfway to Seattle, he witnesses the unthinkable: the total loss of power as far as he can see.
Hundreds of miles from home, he’ll do whatever it takes to get back to his wife and teenage daughter. Landing the plane is only the beginning.
* * *
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading Hope Survives, book nine in the After the EMP saga. The Sloanes and their friends have been on quite the journey the past nine months. They’ve survived the end of the modern world and created a new one out of the remains.
I’m humbled that I’ve been able to share their journey with you and I appreciate all of your kind words and support throughout this series. It’s been a labor of love. Hope Survives concludes the first season of After the EMP.
I’ll be turning to my Nuclear Survival series for the rest of this year, so expect to see all of the characters from the prequel, First Strike, finally have their own stories!
As far as the future of the After the EMP world goes, I haven’t ruled out a second season, so don’t count the Sloanes out just yet.
Until next time, happy reading.
Harley
About Harley Tate
When the world as we know it falls apart, how far will you go to survive?
Harley Tate writes edge-of-your-seat post-apocalyptic fiction exploring what happens when ordinary people are faced with impossible choices.
Harley’s first series, After the EMP, follows ordinary people attempting to survive in a world without power. When the nation’s power grid is wrecked, it doesn’t take long for society to fall apart. The end of life as we know it brings out the best and worst in all of us.
The apocalypse is only the beginning.
Contact Harley directly at:
www.harleytate.com
harley@harleytate.com