Surviving The Grid (Survival Series Book 1)

by Kip Nelson

  And now he didn’t know what to do. The dog had hounded Brent, and it looked massive. Whoever killed it had to have been strong and ruthless, especially to wrestle it and kill it with a knife rather than a gun.

  “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to lay low for a couple of days and see how things stand. We’ll keep a watch outside to see if we can get any sense of who might be out there. Hopefully, they’ll move on and we can go back to living our lives,” Darren said, speaking quickly.

  “Dad, we can’t do that,” Brent said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We can’t live our lives in fear. Like you said, we have a lot that we need to get done. Are we just supposed to put that on hold because of the people out there? They might not even mean us any harm! And what are we supposed to do if they do stay here? They might choose to settle near the stream.”

  “Then we’ll find another source of water.”

  “And what if we can’t? What if there are other people who join them? Are we going to run away as well? Is there ever going to be any place that’s safe?”

  Darren knew that the answer was no. He rubbed his temples. Suddenly the world seemed a lot smaller and a lot more dangerous than it had been over the previous days. He’d been able to lose himself in the idyllic bliss of his family, but life was never that simple. There was now irrefutable proof that other people were in the vicinity, and it only was a matter of time before they crossed paths.

  “You’re right,” Darren admitted after he had thought about Brent’s words for a few moments.

  They couldn’t stay in this cave and live in fear. If they did, they might as well die now. This was a world meant for the brave, and only the strong would survive. Darren had tried setting a good example for his kids, and now it was important to show them the mettle of the Dawkins clan.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do…” he said, and detailed the plan for defense.

  They would be more careful when they went outside, and in the meantime, they would lift up Darren’s bed over the mouth of the cave, creating a door to ensure no light from the lanterns would spill out onto the path and entice any travelers to investigate. Darren and Brent would take turns staying awake through the day, keeping watch so they could wake the others if anything happened. Darren didn’t want to act like the worst was going to happen, but he wanted to be prepared in case it did.

  Brent did hope it was the family he’d seen by the stream, although Darren thought it unlikely. A big family like that with two daughters would have been louder. Darren suspected this was a small group of men, or possibly one man alone. Perhaps it was the Follower.

  A lump formed in Darren’s throat when he thought of the man he’d shot at while crossing the field. The thought hadn’t entered his mind over the past few days, but perhaps that mistake was coming back to haunt him.

  The cave still wasn’t as secure as Darren would have liked. In an ideal world he would have been able to lock the world out, creating a panic room of sorts. Michelle enjoyed rearranging the cave, for she thought it was a game.

  It wasn’t too long before it was time for them to sleep. Darren put Michelle down to sleep deep in the recess of the cave. As soon as she was sleeping, he took Brent toward the weapons and showed him how to use the gun.

  “No matter what happens, I want you to protect Michelle. Your priority is that she makes it out of this. That means that if there’s a choice between me and her, you choose her, is that understood?”

  “Dad…” Brent protested.

  “Is that understood?”

  “Yes,” he said morosely.

  “I know you don’t want to talk about this. I don’t really want to talk about it myself. I would much prefer being able to live life as we have done for the past few days, but we always knew the world would come find us. Look, these people might be kind, but we have to be prepared in case they aren’t,” Darren said, and then demonstrated how to use the weapon.

  “We’re going to have this when we’re on watch. There are only a limited amount of bullets, so make sure your shots count. Try waking me up before you have to fire, though.”

  Brent nodded.

  “You can count on me, Dad.”

  “I know I can. You’re a good boy, Brent. I love you, I’m proud of you, and I know that you can make it through this.”

  “I know the same about you. Dad, I know I’ve said some pretty mean things since we’ve been out here, but I want you to know that I do appreciate what you’ve done for me and Michelle. I know it can’t have been easy for you after Mom left. I guess sometimes I’m angry at her, but she’s not here to be angry at.”

  “I know, Brent. It’s a tough situation. But we’ll get through it like we always do,” he said, clasping a hand on Brent’s shoulder.

  “Together,” Brent said with a smile. Darren returned the gesture.

  The tension in the air was high. Darren secretly hoped they were making all these plans for no reason in particular. It was quite possible that whoever had killed the dog had moved along to pastures new, but Darren couldn’t stop thinking about that cough. It seemed so obvious now that someone had been out there. They might have been tracking Darren and his family all this time, observing them, taking note of their weakness. If that was the case, then they probably knew that the Dawkins family slept during the day, so that would be when they would strike.

  Darren had to force himself to stay awake because he was so tired, but adrenaline surged through his body, making it easier than it otherwise would have been. Brent and Michelle were sleeping. He was brooding, perched on a rock, staring at the rudimentary door to the cave, the gun pointed at the ground.

  Had it been the right call to leave home? Darren asked himself. It had seemed too dangerous, but if they had holed themselves up in the house it might have been easier to defend, and there would have been other confused people looking for help. In a panic he had sought to flee the suburbs and the city, preferring to be alone. Perhaps subconsciously he’d always wanted to avoid the possibility of Stacie coming to find them, no matter how remote that possibility was.

  And now he was sitting in the cave with a gun in his hand, waiting for something grim to happen. This had seemed like the beginning of an adventure, but it could well be the end.

  His shift ended without anything happening, and Brent took over. When Darren put his head down to rest for a few hours he didn’t think he would be able to get any sleep, but the next thing he knew Brent was waking him up, saying it was time for the next watch. Darren yawned, not feeling the benefits of any rest, but took his perch again like an eagle returning from a flight.

  By the look of the scuff marks on the ground, Brent had been pacing back and forth. Darren couldn’t blame him. There would have been a lot of nervous energy to be worn off. Darren was glad that nothing had happened while Brent had been on sentry duty. If anything was going to happen, Darren wanted it to be when he was awake.

  An hour or so passed and Darren thought that the day was going to be without incident when he thought he heard voices outside. He craned his neck to the side and tried listening to see if what he was hearing was actually voices, or if he just was hearing things. The soft mumbling could have been the wind, but if it wasn’t…

  Darren rose and walked across the cave to the door. He pressed his ear against it in the hope of figuring out exactly what was on the other side. Then he froze and turned white as a sheet. Someone on the other side of the door coughed.

  It was the same cough Darren had heard all those nights ago.

  His throat ran dry and his hands pressed against the wooden door. He braced his feet against the ground as the people on the other side of the door started to push against it, trying to force it open. Darren grit his teeth as he resisted with all his might. Once again he wished for a lock or some other kind of device to keep them out, but from the strength pressing against the door Darren didn’t feel as though anything was going to stop them.

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nbsp; Sweat beaded on his brow. On the other side he heard laughter, heard them scoff at how pitiful this defense was. This bunker had taken a lot of work. To hear them ridicule his efforts reflected all the times in Darren’s life when people had ridiculed him, especially over the last year. While he had been working construction he’d seen how people looked at him and his colleagues, and while driving people around the city he’d often heard them mutter to themselves that they were lucky they didn’t have to stoop so low.

  Darren’s pride had been hurt, but he’d been doing it all for his kids, and he wasn’t going to let the people on the other side of this door ruin his efforts at creating a safe home.

  His sinews stretched and muscles blazed with pain as he strained with all his might to keep them out, but he was only one man. He felt the door buckle before him, and called out to Brent before he let go and stepped out of the way.

  The door came crashing through and slammed against the ground. Three men were before him. One had long greasy hair, the other was tall and mean, and the third had a goatee and a grizzled look. Goatee had been first in line, putting all his weight on the door, so he crashed through with it. At the same time Brent rose up. Darren looked the other two men in the eye. One of them held a gun. Before he knew it, Darren felt his arm rising and his finger squeezing the trigger. There was a sharp shot and the one with the mean look was down, a spray of blood flying out behind him.

  Darren, shocked, looked down at the gun. He’d acted without thinking and now he’d killed a man.

  “Dad!” Brent called out, shaking Darren from his dazed stupor. Darren saw him out of the corner of his eye, and gestured for him to move back. Brent looked torn, but remembered what Darren had told him. His responsibility was to look after Michelle.

  Long Hair came upon Darren, a fist rattled Darren’s teeth, and another punch sent Darren clattering back into the wall. The shock to his body was so strong that the gun fell from Darren’s hand. Long Hair roared as he came racing toward Darren. Darren stepped out of the way at the last moment. Long Hair careened into the wall. Darren punched Long Hair in the back, and then kicked him in behind his knees, sending him to the ground. He took hold of Long Hair’s head and shoved it into the wall with all his might.

  Any sense of morality Darren might have had went out of the window when faced with a threat to his children.

  Now he knew how far he would go to protect them.

  But there still was one man. Goatee was pushing himself up off the ground. Darren glanced toward Brent and Michelle and yelled at them to keep down as he made his way across the cave, trying to force Goatee out.

  Darren was a split-second too late. As he got to Goatee and put his hands on the man’s shoulders, Goatee was ready for him. Goatee shrugged him off and jabbed him in the gut. Darren doubled over. He could see the gun gleaming as sunlight spilled into the cave. He should have picked it up. Stupid. He hadn’t been thinking.

  Goatee growled and cursed as he punched Darren relentlessly. Darren held up his fists as best he could in an attempt to deflect the blows, but the flurry was too powerful. Darren was forced to his knees, blood filled his mouth, and everything went blurry. The last thing he saw before the world was swallowed up by darkness were his children cowering in the shadows.

  Find out what happens in part two! Coming Soon!

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