Fighting Darkness: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Thriller (Fighting to Survive Book 2)

by Alex Knightly

  He frowned to himself in the darkness. He’d meant it, too. Things were different now. They hadn’t spotted Josh in the two hours they’d been up there. They’d talked quite a bit, whispering so their voices wouldn’t carry on the wind.

  He respected the old policeman. He couldn’t deny it, even though he’d spent most of his life hating the police. He often wondered why Josh had turned out so different. For Pete it was simple: when he was little, the police had often come and taken his dad away. Therefore they were bad. Why hadn’t Josh grown up with the same hatred?

  A faint boom shattered the silence. Pete’s heart accelerated. Was that a gunshot? He told himself it was fine. Dan had said the neighbours liked to hunt at all hours. Still, he couldn’t help but think of the worst, that they weren’t hunting rabbits at all.

  Josh was out there with them and there were so many things that could go wrong.

  He sighed as quietly as possible. He’d been trying to relax and make himself sleep for what must have been several hours now. It felt like he’d never drift off. Bloody winter: the nights felt never-ending. It hadn’t mattered so much before when he could watch videos on his phone until he drifted off.

  His mind wouldn’t switch off. He kept thinking of ways Harry might have tracked them here. None of it made sense really, but that didn’t stop them haunting him.

  It didn’t help that his mother was crying to herself on the other side of the room. Every so often she’d mutter something he didn’t catch, though he heard Josh’s name mentioned more than a handful of times.

  His poor mother. She’d never needed to worry about Josh. Maybe that was why she was taking it so hard.

  He sighed as quietly as possible. He knew he should be trying to comfort her, but he didn’t know what to say.

  He scowled. Why the hell hadn’t Josh explained it to her before he left? That might have calmed her down. It would only have taken a minute or two.

  “My boy,” she wailed, so suddenly and unexpected that Pete jolted with fright. “They took him away.”

  Her muttering was so haunting in the silent darkness. He didn’t know if any of the others were still up, but it didn’t matter. She was being loud enough to wake them and that was the last thing they needed.

  He had no choice but to try and calm her.

  “Mum,” he whispered. “Mum, it’s Pete. You’ve got to calm down.”

  She gave no indication of having heard him, but her wailing continued.

  He got off the couch and hurried over to her. “Mum. Please. Calm down. Josh is fine.”

  “We don’t know that, do we?”

  “Course we do. He’s only gone next door. He’s doing this for you, Mum. For all of us. To make us safe.”

  “He doesn’t even know those people. Why couldn’t one of them go?”

  Pete sighed. “Because, Mum. He knows one of the people over there. The others have tried. They failed but they think Josh can do it. He’s better.” He waited. She liked to go on and on about how wonderful her boys were. He’d say whatever he needed to say to get her to calm down and not wake the others.

  “Yes, but…”

  He smiled to himself. He could sense her calming down. “Josh is going to fix this for everyone, Mum. He’s going to be a hero.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, he is. He’s a good boy.”

  He stayed with her for a few more minutes, making sure she wasn’t going to relapse into crying and wailing. When she didn’t, he went back to his side of the room feeling heavier than before. He didn’t know why.

  Pete

  Sunday

  Something thumped in the room. Pete stirred, but he was too tired to open his eyes. He remembered it getting brighter outside before he’d managed to drift off, so it must be later in the morning now. Some of the others still had to go and watch the neighbours, so it wasn’t like he needed to get up just yet.

  Annoyingly, as much as he tried to fall asleep again, he couldn’t. Something was niggling in the back of his mind, something he couldn’t identify. It was annoying the hell out of him.

  He rolled over, cringing as the springs creaked. If he woke his mother, he’d never be able to get any sleep.

  It was then that it struck him. The room was far too quiet. If she’d still been asleep, she would have been snoring. And if she’d been awake, she’d have been talking. His mother was one of those people who couldn’t just be quiet.

  He sat up quickly. It was bright enough now to see that the airbed was empty.

  “Shit,” he muttered. He really needed to piss, but that could wait.

  Maybe she’s got up to go to the toilet.

  That thought calmed him down. He waited a few minutes until he couldn’t stand the pressure in his bladder any longer. He got up and went to the bathroom, surprised to find it empty. He thought about having a wee in there, but they weren’t supposed to. Dan had told him to piss outside rather than stinking up the house. Pete was happy to oblige this time. He moved through the house, expecting to find his mother in the kitchen, though he couldn’t imagine her choosing to spend time alone with the others.

  The kitchen table was full. He looked around at the tired faces. “Has anyone seen my mum?”

  “She went out a while ago,” Annie said with a frown. “I assumed she was going out for a cigarette.”

  Pete nodded and kept walking through the kitchen to the door. He’d have to find a place out of sight of her. His mum hated seeing men piss in public, though he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like she was prudish about other stuff and she could hardly be accused of being OCD about cleanliness.

  There was no sign of her in the yard. Frowning, he moved around the side of the house and checked the front. She wasn’t there either. A sense of unease came over him. She wasn’t the type to just go for a walk. She was rail thin, but that was more to do with the fact that she had the appetite of a bird and rarely seemed to eat anything without coaxing from either him or Josh. He wandered back towards the yard.

  Clive and Dan were standing there, staring off towards the hill.

  “Everything alright?” he muttered, though he was really only interested in what was for breakfast. Something had smelled really good as he was passing through the kitchen.

  Neither of them said anything. Pete spun around automatically, curious now about what had distracted them so completely.

  His stomach clenched when he saw the figure on the hill.

  “Aw no.”

  “She could blow everything. God damn it, why didn’t we think of this?” Dan muttered.

  Pete was about to respond and stick up for her, but he said nothing. Instead, he hurried to the fence and climbed over it.

  He ran as fast as he could, heart sinking as he realised she was moving at a decent pace for a woman who hated any form of exercise. He pushed harder, until his lungs were screaming. The urge to call out to her was maddening.

  That was until he realised she was shouting.

  He winced when he heard what she was saying. She was calling Josh. Of course she was.

  He realised then that far from needing to be quiet, he had to drown her out.

  “Mum,” he cried. “Mum.”

  She didn’t look back. Damn it. Of course she didn’t.

  “Mum! Stop.” His mind raced as he tried to think of something to say that might stop her but not blow the plan Josh was so convinced would work. He pushed harder. He was gaining on her, but them seeing her wasn’t what worried him now. It would be far worse if they heard her calling Josh. Pete didn’t know what lie his brother had spun to get into that house, but he was pretty sure there had been no mention of his mother and brother. If they realised who she was, they’d surely suspect Josh was up to no good. Especially, Pete realised now with a shiver, since Josh had said that Miles guy was so clever.

  “Stop, Mum!” he shouted now, realising what he had to do. Adrenaline flooded his body. “Dad’s here. Aren’t you going to come and say hello to him?”

  She
didn’t turn back, but he sensed her slowing down. Something about her demeanour changed. He hated doing this to her and she’d probably never forgive him.

  What choice did he have?

  She turned around to him, her face lit up in a way he hadn’t seen on it in a long time. She looked ten years younger, standing there in the muddy grass in the rain. “Your dad? Benny? Don’t be silly.”

  He nodded. “Come on. Let’s go see him.”

  Clive

  Clive groaned. It was a mess. A complete mess. Pete had managed to get his mother to stop by some miracle, but it might already be too late. There was surely some way to determine how far sound would carry given the prevailing wind and how far she’d gotten up the hill, but that was far beyond Clive’s knowledge.

  The door opened and Olivia popped her head in. “She’s doing fine. The sedative has kicked in.”

  “Thanks,” Pete muttered.

  “I’m sorry. It was the only way to calm her. She was terribly worked up.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine.” The lad hadn’t said a word since they got back. He seemed to have almost sunk back inside himself.

  “It’s not your fault, son,” Clive said, patting his shoulder. “You did what you needed to do to protect your brother.”

  This didn’t seem to console him in the slightest. “It was harsh. Too harsh. You should have seen the look on her face when I said my dad was here. I wasn’t sure she’d believe me, but I knew it was the only thing that might stop her.”

  Clive nodded, not wanting to probe. They had enough to do. He could guess at the reason for the woman’s near hysterics. When they’d got down the hill, she’d hurried ahead to the house and frantically checked every room before descending into a wailing fit unlike anything Clive had ever seen. And he’d seen a lot.

  But Pete seemed in the mood to talk about it now. Clive didn’t have the heart to stop him, poor lad. “He left us years ago, but she’s never gotten over it. Even when she’s cursing his name you can see it in her eyes that she doesn’t really mean it; that she’d have him back in a heartbeat.” He shook his head. “I mean, I knew it might stop her, but I had no idea how upset she’d get when she found out he’s not really here.”

  “You weren’t to know. The stress of all this has probably gotten to her too.”

  “Yeah.” He sighed. “He’s always been the good one. She’s never had to worry about him.”

  Clive looked around at the others. “Before we do anything else, we’ve got to make sure this hasn’t put Josh in danger. Who wants to go up and watch?” He grimaced as he thought about what might happen if they saw something down there that indicated Josh was in danger. “Perhaps more of us need to go up. Four at least. With weapons.”

  “You think it’ll come to that?” Pete asked, looking horrified. “They’re a bunch of suits.”

  “They are. And we’ll hope it doesn’t come to that. It’s just being prepared.”

  They waited all morning. They came down after a while when Annie and Dan came up to relieve whoever needed a break. Pete didn’t want to leave, but Clive coaxed him down. He didn’t think it was good for the lad to be up there when he was already so stressed about his brother. The cold was biting.

  “What now?” Pete asked when they reached the yard. “There was no sign of him. I thought we might see him. What if this was all a big mistake?”

  “Well, we keep waiting. The last thing we want to do is go in there and start a war when it’s possible Josh is being cautious and trying to win their trust before he leaves the house alone. Or perhaps he hasn’t yet been able to get away.”

  Pete ground his teeth. “How long? How long until we do something?”

  “I don’t know,” Clive said quietly. The not knowing was frustrating even for him, and he wasn’t Josh’s brother. He couldn’t imagine what Pete was going through. “I really don’t know.”

  “Please,” Pete said. “Just give me an idea. They obviously have guns because I heard them shooting last night.”

  “Okay,” Clive said slowly, not wanting to promise something he’d later be unable to deliver on—not after what had happened before Si took off looking for Max. “We’ll come up with a plan this evening. A decent Plan B. Let’s not—” he swallowed. He’d been about to say let’s not waste our energy thinking about it, but he’d stopped himself just in time, realising that was a heartless thing to say when it was Pete’s brother over there in that house with no means of communicating with them. “Try to stay calm. You’ll think more clearly if you can do that. But I understand. It’s natural that you’re worried. So am I.”

  There.

  He’d admitted it.

  If those men figured out what Josh was up to, it wouldn’t just be bad for Josh. It’d be bad for all of them.

  He didn’t say anything to Pete, not wanting the young man to fly off the handle and do something reckless, but a plan had begun to form in his mind. He made a mental note to speak to the others about defences. Max, in particular, might have some useful thoughts on weapons they could make to bolster their pitiful supply of ammunition.

  Josh

  Josh shivered. He’d been hiding in the bushes ever since he made his way carefully to the farmhouse. He was soaked through and it wasn’t even light yet. He was beginning to regret the change of plan. Perhaps he’d been paranoid. Maybe if he’d gone straight to the house, he’d have been welcomed with open arms and he’d currently be wrapped up in a warm bed fast asleep.

  But he wasn’t.

  He was out here.

  Freezing.

  A blast ripped through the air. Josh gasped, before quickly coming to his senses and clasping his hand over his mouth. He couldn’t afford to make a sound. Oh no, he thought. He hadn’t recalled it when he had this great idea, but now he remembered them saying that the neighbours hunted at night. That was a complication he could do without.

  It struck him then. What if they had torches? What if rabbits tended to hang about in bushes and the hunter shone a light on him? No. Damn it, no. This wasn’t part of the plan.

  He felt foolish now. He could never have been accused of being impulsive before, but that’s what he was. He’d ignored the perfectly sensible option of planning a bit more carefully in favour of going immediately.

  And it didn’t take a genius to work out why. He’d been humiliated in Hadstow. He’d been cooped up and made to feel like a fool by Harry’s lads and his own brother. Of course he’d jumped at the chance to be the one to turn things around and make everything safe for his mother and brother.

  Stupid.

  He looked around now. He couldn’t see any beams of torchlight.

  Strange.

  He’d been burrowed into these bushes that looked onto the backyard of the farmhouse for hours. How come he hadn’t seen the shooter leave the house? They might have gone out the front door, but even then they’d have had to come around through the yard. It was possible, though it didn’t seem likely. Josh didn’t know much about the country, but he imagined people left their dirty wellingtons by the back door rather than tracking mud all the way through the house.

  The most logical explanation was that he’d fallen asleep. That would explain how he hadn’t seen anyone come out the back door. It pained him to think of that; made him feel vulnerable. Because yes, he’d smeared mud all over his face to help camouflage himself against the dark green bushes, but what use would that be if someone with a high-powered torch happened to flash it in his direction?

  He bit the inside of his cheek. Sleep was the most sensible explanation but Josh couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t fallen asleep. His body ached and he was frozen to the bone, but he wasn’t sleepy. He hadn’t had to fight to stop himself from drifting off.

  He frowned. Were there other hunters out there somewhere that Annie and Dan knew nothing about?

  Something far more worrying struck him then. What if their problem wasn’t with Miles at all but with somebody else entirely? Somebody who stood to gain from th
e two sets of neighbours being at war with each other?

  No, Josh thought. No. It was just his imagination running wild, probably trying to come up with reasons not to do what he knew he needed to do.

  He listened. It was still and quiet again, like there had never been a gunshot. Had he imagined it? Anything seemed possible out here in the deepest dark of night. He looked around, waiting for any indication that it was starting to get light. This was freaking him out. He’d never been afraid of the dark, but this was a whole other level. He didn’t know who was out there.

  The shooting seemed to have stopped, at least. That brought with it another complication, though. Even if the shooter hadn’t spotted him on the way out, what was to say he mightn’t see him on the way in?

  Josh tried to make himself as small as possible, a hard task seeing as he’d already been scrunched up all night.

  He waited.

  And waited.

  No-one came.

  Daylight finally came. As it got brighter, Josh realised that it brought its own challenges. Was he concealed enough? He’d wriggled his way in there just before it got dark. There had been no-one about. Now the yard bustled with activity. He wanted desperately to climb out and look around to make sure he wasn’t visible from behind.

  Cool it, he told himself. You’re not.

  He’d scoped the place out carefully before he got in there. It was a little patch of wilderness at the base of a tree, a few feet beyond the fence that separated the backyard from the fields around it. There were a few other spots like it that looked over the yard too, but he liked this one for a number of reasons. Firstly, it wasn’t overlooked by any of the windows in the back of the house. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it wasn’t a bramble bush. It hadn’t seemed so important the evening before but now he was relieved he’d not chosen to lie in wait in brambles. The prickles and cuts would surely have driven him mad when compounded on top of the cold and wet. He already felt a little unhinged.