by Kip Nelson
Surviving The Grid
Survival Series Book 1
Kip Nelson
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Prologue
Darren Dawkins looked at himself in the rear-view mirror and rolled his eyes at the face looking back at him. When had he become so old? It seemed just yesterday that he was fresh-faced, with the world at his feet, a beautiful wife, a good job, and a steady future. He had everything planned out. All his ducks were in a row and there was nothing that could have shaken him from his path. He’d paid his dues, always kept his head down, and behaved himself.
What did he have to show for it now? Not much…not much at all.
His hair was tousled, he probably needed a cut. He wore a shirt that was missing a button, and his pants were a little too tight. He was a wiry guy, but recently he had been putting on a bit of a paunch. It wasn’t too drastic a change, but it was enough for him to notice.
Age was starting to have a detrimental effect on his body. There were aches and pains that never used to be there, and he felt so very tired so often. Life never seemed to stop. He’d always thought that when he reached this age, he would be able to relax with his family, but life had dealt him a different hand.
He inhaled deeply and pressed his lips together. It didn’t do him any good to be thinking along those lines. Life was crap for a lot of people, he wasn’t the first to feel like the grass was greener, and he sure wouldn’t be the last.
Besides, he knew who to blame, Stacie, the apple of his eye and the love of his life. The beautiful Italian temptress had stood with him at the beginning of his dreams, then left, and turned them to nightmares.
It still tore him up inside whenever he thought about her and that fateful day when he woke up to find her packing her things. He didn’t think he’d ever understand just why she left him and the kids.
He gripped the wheel a little more tightly as he made the next turn, his knuckles turning white. Night had settled upon the city like a blanket. The bright lights twinkled, glittering like stars. A vibrant energy thrummed through the city. It always came alive at night. People were flowing in and out of bars and nightclubs, going from one to the other. They wore clean shirts and skimpy dresses. Darren slowed down a few times to take in the view, usually letting out a long breath as he did so.
Girls never used to dress like that when he was younger, at least none of the girls he used to know.
Sometimes it was easy to grow envious of the people he met on nights like these. They had no cares other than how quickly it would take them to get drunk. They had nothing better to spend their money on, and no other hobbies to occupy their time. Hell, maybe they just wanted to forget about the world entirely. Darren couldn’t blame them for that. He often tried to do the same.
It all was going to hell.
Darren’s car crawled down the street. He pulled over, waiting for his next gig. He checked his cell, there were no notifications yet, so he took the opportunity to call home.
It rang three times before Brent answered.
“Hey, buddy, how are things?” Darren asked.
“Not bad, I’m just playing a game,” Brent replied. In the background, Darren could hear the violent rat-a-tat of gunfire, then an explosion and a wail of pain.
“Good, and how’s Michelle? Is she in bed yet?”
“Yeah, although she wanted a stupid story.”
“Hey, you used to like the same stories,” Darren said in a warning tone. He could almost hear Brent rolling his eyes. “Did she eat all her dinner?”
“Most of it. It wasn’t very nice, though.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll make up for it over the weekend. We’ll have a feast.”
“Can we have paella, like Mom used to make?” Brent asked innocently. Pain stabbed at Darren’s heart.
“We’ll see,” he said. His cellphone began buzzing. Darren pulled it away from his ear and saw that somebody required picking up. “Hey, look, I have to go, but I won’t be too much longer, okay? Try not to stay up too late. I expect to see you in bed when I get in.”
“Sure, Dad,” Brent said absently.
“Love you, buddy.”
“Love you-- oh my God!” Brent said.
Darren heard the frantic pressing of buttons and chuckled to himself as he ended the call. Brent lived in a world of his own sometimes. That was only right for someone as young as him. He was only fourteen, yet he shouldered a lot of responsibility. Darren always would feel guilty for that. It felt as though he was stealing Brent’s youth somehow. Without Stacie, things were tough to manage.
Darren sighed as he clicked to accept the pickup and then pulled away.
At least this job was relaxing. It wasn’t what he was used to doing, or trained to do, but it was peaceful for the most part, aside from some belligerent customers. He always became anxious when he went to a pickup, afraid they would be trouble. Usually they weren’t, but some of them set his alarm bells ringing, much like this one did.
Darren drove around the streets until he came to a bar. There was three men and a stern bouncer, standing with his arms folded across his barrel chest, standing by the curb. Two of them were supporting the third. Darren groaned, for he knew what was coming. One of the guys waved to him and pulled him over. Darren rolled down the window.
“Hey, this is our friend Mikey. He got a bit excited and had too much to drink. Can you make sure he gets home safely?” one of them said, his words slurring slightly. The red rivers in his eyes were visible as well.
“Sure,” Darren sighed, “but how bad is he? He’s not going to puke or anything, right?”
“I hope not, he’s already got a lot of it out of his system,” the other man said.
Mikey was stood in between the two, head hanging down. As Darren looked closer at him, he could see remnants of vomit lingering on Mikey’s chest. The pungent stench of alcohol, sweat, and bad decisions filled the air. Darren gagged.
“Look, I don’t want to ruin your night, but can’t one of you come with him to make sure he behaves himself? He doesn’t look too good,” Darren said.
“He’s fine. Honestly, this happens a lot. Once he’s home, he’ll be fine. And, well, there are a couple of girls in there…you know how it is,” Mikey’s friend said, grinning widely.
Darren nodded. “Sure,” he said, although he didn’t truly know what it was like. He’d never been the partying type. A quiet life was the only thing he wanted.
The guys shoved Mikey into the back seat. Mikey groaned, and his head lolled back.
“Make sure you buckle him up,” Darren said. Mikey’s friends obliged. They tapped the top of the car and gave Darren the thumbs-up as they walked back into the bar. Darren glanced at Mikey and shook his head.
“Well, I guess their night is going to be a lot more memorable than yours,” he said, pulling away.
He followed the route lined out on his GPS and made his way through the city toward Mikey’s home. Darren recognized the address instantly. It was one of the college dorms and was quite a common destination for his customers. Mikey groaned during the journey, and there were a few points where Darren was afraid Mikey was
going to throw up. Darren decided to drive slowly just in case.
“I hope that when you wake up in the morning you start to question your life choices. There you are, with the world at your feet, and all you’re doing is wasting the night away semi-conscious. Still, I guess there’s not much you’re missing out on. Take me for example, I was awake my whole life. Always lived with my eyes on the future and look where it got me. Divorced, working a part-time job as a driver, two kids I have to support, and not much in the way of prospects. Hell, if I were your age, I probably could make things work, but when you get to my age the world starts looking a whole lot more different. And I’m even starting to say things like ‘when you’re my age’, and that’s when you know things are really bad,” Darren said.
Mikey only replied with a soft gurgle.
There was a flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder. Darren peered out of the window and watched as rain started falling from the sky in a heavy sheet. It pattered against the roof of the car and his wipers worked overtime. Rain hadn’t been scheduled, at least not that he had been aware of, but the weather had been all over the place recently.
Darren was almost at the college when Mikey began to cough and suddenly became aware of his surroundings.
“Where am I? Who are you? Are you fucking kidnapping me?” he said.
Darren tried talking him down, but Mikey was getting into a panic, and Darren quickly concluded he had taken something else other than alcohol. He sighed and cursed the two friends who had left Mikey in his care.
“Mikey, I’m just your driver, I’m taking you home,” Darren said, but Mikey was beginning to panic. The storm wasn’t helping either. The flashes of lightning illuminated Mikey’s panicked face and made him think he was in a horror movie. He wrestled with his buckle and looked around with wide-eyed fear.
“Let me out! Let me out!” Mikey cried.
He reached over to the door and opened it. Darren glanced at him as the door swung open. Darren slammed his foot on the brakes and pulled over. Mikey wasn’t prepared for the change in momentum. His head slammed into the front seat, and he groaned, but he managed to twist out of the belt and fell to the ground.
“I don’t get paid enough for this,” Darren grunted as he opened the door and stepped outside.
He instantly was drenched. The rain was heavy and fierce, biting at his skin. He didn’t have a raincoat or an umbrella, and his vision quickly became blurred. He rushed around to the other side of the car and found Mikey crawling away on his hands and knees. Part of Darren was tempted just to let him flee, but if Mikey didn’t make it home, Darren would be the one to blame.
Muttering under his breath, he walked up to Mikey.
“Wait! Come on, man, don’t be like this. I just want to get you home,” Darren said.
He leaned down to put his hand on Mikey’s back, but Mikey turned and batted his hand away. Before Darren could do anything else, Mikey lunged forward, tackling him around his waist. Darren was pushed back and crashed into the ground, sending up a wave of water. The sky broke with lightning and thunder. Mikey jumped on Darren and started punching him.
Darren was shocked at first, but quickly managed to regain his senses. He caught one of Mikey’s fists and then pushed him off. Anger rose within him. The last thing he wanted was to be out here, in the rain, taking care of this junkie when he could have been at home with his children. He didn’t care if he got in trouble. Nobody hit him and suffered no consequence. He clocked Mikey with a right hook that sent him sprawling across the ground. Darren was about to attack him again when Mikey began to gag, cough, and then he let out a stream of chunky vomit that quickly got washed away in the rain.
Darren winced at the sight. Mikey remained on all fours for the moment, dry heaving.
“You seriously need to question your life choices,” Darren said, shaking his head.
He was about ready to be done with all of this, no matter the consequences, but first he needed to get his cellphone to call driver support and take some evidence of why he didn’t take Mikey home. He went back in the car to grab his cellphone, and then returned to Mikey. As he did so, a huge flash of light bathed the world, far brighter than any other flash he had seen. It was so bright that he had to turn his face away and close his eyes.
This completely freaked out Mikey. Mikey stood on his feet, vomit still falling from his mouth, and ran away. Darren called out to him, trying to get him to come back, but Mikey didn’t listen. Darren held up his cellphone to take what pictures he could, but it was black. He looked at it and pressed the power button a few times, but nothing happened. He hung his head. This was the last thing he needed. Without a cellphone he couldn’t do this job, and he couldn’t check on the kids.
It was probably better that he returned home anyway. If Michelle had been woken up by the storm, she’d want her daddy, and in truth, her daddy needed to be with her.
Feeling very sorry for himself, clothes clinging to his skin because of the rain, he got back in the car and closed his eyes. This is not how he thought his life was going to turn out. He turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. He tried again, and again, he even went so far as popping the hood to take a look. As far as he could see, nothing was wrong with the car. It should have worked, but it didn’t.
As he stood up, he looked around and suddenly realized how dark it was. There were no lights on in the houses, and the streetlights were out too. Then it hit him; the bright light. It must have caused some sort of power outage. The entire city must have been affected, and that meant his home was too. Panic flooded his heart as he thought about his children, alone at home in the darkness with no way to contact him. He braced himself against the car and considered his options. He was still an hour away from home. He could wait this out until the car began to work again, but how could he just sit there and do nothing?
He had to make it home to his children, damn everything else. The rain dripped down his face as he peered into the darkness, looking at the way home. He’d taught Brent what to do in situations like this, and he hoped that Brent had taken those lessons to heart.
Darren locked the car and began the journey home.
Chapter 1
Darren walked back toward the heart of the city. The quickest way to get home was through the area he usually worked as a driver. He wasn’t too far from it, but his mind was whirling with dark thoughts. It was a parent’s nature to worry about their kids. Darren had had to train himself to trust his kids while they were left alone since he worked two jobs, but still it wasn’t easy.
It was better when he was working because he at least had that to occupy his mind, whether it was as a construction grunt or as a driver, but in moments like this he was in full-on panic mode. He didn’t know what he’d do if anything had happened to his kids. They were the only thing he had left, the only thing that made his godforsaken life worthwhile.
It hadn’t always been the same. At one point he’d been on top of the world.
He’d had it all, a beautiful wife, a big home, and two lovely kids. He’d had the job he’d always dreamed of, having worked his way up the ladder to lead a team of salespeople for a huge corporation. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong.
Then, everything did.
He should have seen the signs sooner, really. He and Stacie had enjoyed a fairytale romance, but it gradually had turned into a nightmare. Looking back now, he could see where it all had gone wrong. He’d spent long hours at work, all in the name of doing it for the family, of course. It was shameful how clichéd the whole situation was. Stacie had been a passionate woman -- with olive skin, dark hair, and a fiery temper -- who didn’t put up with anything.
Darren had tried to give her the life she deserved, but he pushed her away without ever realizing it. He woke up one morning to find that she’d gone, ultimately deciding that she’d had enough of life with Darren. That, he could understand, but to leave the kids as well? He’d never forgive her for that. The hardest thing
he’d ever had to do was to sit down with Brent and Michelle and tell them that their mother had left them.
Of course, if that wasn’t bad enough, then he also found out the company he worked for was built on a sand foundation and was collapsing all around him. Everything crashed, and his reputation was tainted for having been associated with the company. He found it impossible to get another job. Nobody was hiring, and he needed money desperately. Working construction and driving was supposed to have been a short-term fix, but it was going on almost a year now.
The stupid thing was that, in some ways, he was in better shape than he had been in a long time. Working on construction sites gave him a good workout. He’d always had a gym membership when he had been a team leader, but he’d never used it. It was just another cost that he always intended to make use of but never did. Now, though, his frame was wiry, aside from the little paunch, and his muscles were strong. He also was reading a lot more than he did before. Sometimes the gaps between his pickups were lengthy, so he always had a book with him to while away the hours, reading anything he could get his hands on.
There was so much of the world that he never had experienced, and sometimes it felt as though life had passed him by.
He couldn’t recall there being a power outage of this strength at any point in his life. He’d assumed that the city had some safeguards against things like this, but not all of it made sense. After all, it was one thing for things attached to the grid to die, but what about the car and his cellphone?
There was something strange afoot, that was for sure. Darren looked up at the sky, at the rolling clouds crackling with lightning, and thought for sure that it had something to do with the darkness that now shrouded his city.