by Jeff Olah
“No, that’s the weird thing, he seems to have just as much energy, maybe more. But that’s good, right?”
She didn’t speak right away, but then shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
“No?”
“It sounds like it’s progressing, and faster than I would have thought.”
Ethan paused. “Emma?”
“Yes?”
“What’s going to happen to him?”
“Ethan, at this point I really don’t know.”
Ethan rolled his neck and breathed out slowly. “Okay.”
“What is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Really Ethan, I think I know you better than that. What aren’t you telling me?”
He thought about it for a moment and then sat back in his chair. “Emma, there’s a family here. They have a little girl … five years old.”
“She’s infected?”
“About two weeks ago.”
“I need to see her.”
Ethan shook his head. “Tomorrow. I’ve already talked to her parents and they know about Zach, they’re keeping an eye on her. The little girl seems to be fine right now and you need the rest. So tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she said. “Tomorrow.”
The walkie on Ethan’s hip crackled to life. “Ethan, five minutes.” He lifted himself out of the chair, stood beside his sister’s bed. Continued to hold her hand. “Hey, you hungry?”
“A little.”
“I’ll go get you something. It looks you’re gonna have some visitors.”
Her smile returned. “Tom?”
“Yeah, and Griff, and Shannon, and Zach … oh, and Will.”
“Will?”
“Will Devlin. He’s the one that stitched you up, kept you alive.”
“A doctor?”
“Plastic surgeon.”
Emma pulled herself up, wincing through the pain as she tilted her head to the left and then the right. “Looks like I have a lot more people to thank.”
Ethan looked away.
Emma cut her eyes at him. “What is it now?”
“I just … uh, how much do you remember about what happened?”
“Not much, I mean I remember seeing Griffin out there in the street and then the rest is a little fuzzy.”
Ethan squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For all of this. I’m the reason you’re in that bed.”
“Ethan, I don’t remember what happened out there and to be honest, I don’t really want to know. But what I do know is that you’re the reason why I’m still here. You’re the reason why I’m going to help Zach and the reason that we’re going find a way to fix this world. Without you saving me, nothing else matters. That’s what you need to remember, that should be your focus.”
Ethan leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. He wasn’t going to let himself forget what had taken place seven days ago, nor was he ever going to let it happen again. The man who nearly got his sister killed was going to stay buried in the past.
“I’m working on it.”
“I know you are, brother. I know you are.”
He then moved away and stopped at the door. “Oatmeal? They’ve even got some cinnamon and honey.”
Emma pulled her right hand from beneath the sheet and gave him a quick thumbs-up. But before he could step out she said, “Hey.”
“Yeah?”
She swallowed hard and wiped at the corner of her eye. “This place, is this where we stay?”
“Yeah, it is,” Ethan said. “Tom was right, there isn’t another soul for miles. I think we can finally breathe.”
Emma’s smile widened as tears began to run down her face. “You’re actually admitting that someone else was right?”
“This is it, Emma. We’re finally home, no more running … ever.”
226
Twelve Months Later…
He took her hand and turned away from the gate. The late morning sun felt good on his face as he crossed the north lot and started back toward the security office. Ethan looked into Shannon’s eyes and then down at her left hand, smiling as he stopped at the he ring he’d placed on her finger only two days before.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Ethan grinned. “Seems weird, doesn’t it?”
“What’s weird? That you love me or that I love you?” She paused. “And be careful how you answer that, I know where you sleep.”
“All of this. Just being out here and living our lives again, while the world out there continues to fall apart.”
“It’s not all bad, not anymore. We’ve helped a ton of people with what we’ve built here. It’s going to take time, but at some point, we can go out further, help even more.”
“Yeah, it’s still weird though. I feel like we may be losing our instinct out here, like things are almost becoming too routine, too easy. Even on our supply runs, I don’t think we’ve seen a Feeder within a mile of the fences.”
“That’s good though, maybe they’re slowly dying off?”
“I don’t know how to explain it, but even Emma thinks that we need to be careful.”
Shannon only nodded.
He could sense that this probably wasn’t the time or the person he should be discussing this with. He promised her a day alone and having already given out the morning assignments, he needed to focus only on her.
“How about we head to the patio and have breakfast?”
Shannon squeezed his hand and narrowed her eyes at him. “How about we do that, but for once we do it alone. No Griffin, no Ben, and no Mayor Gil. You can talk business tomorrow.”
Ethan pulled her in close and continued to walk as he kissed her on the side of the head. “What, you don’t want company?”
“Only yours, but if you keep pushing your luck, I may have to reconsider—”
From behind, a late model silver sedan sped away from the rear gate, past the rusted Harbor Crest sign, and skidded to stop just feet from where they stood. Ben sat behind the wheel and appeared out of breath as he leaned out through the window. “Ethan, the south lookout spotted two vehicles on the highway, a few miles apart.”
Releasing Shannon’s hand, he motioned back toward the security office at the rear of the massive shopping mall. “Get to Emma and have her get the children upstairs, go with them. I’ll be up in a bit.”
Shannon shook her head, a look of disappointment starting across her face. “Ethan.”
“Just go. I’m sure this is nothing, but we have to check it out. You know the drill.”
As Shannon moved away, Ben stepped out and handed Ethan a two-way radio. “Bryce and Tom are covering the front, they’re set up a few hundred yards from the gate, near the exit.”
“Alright, I’m headed inside. But where’s Mary and the Mayor?”
“They haven’t left yet. Mrs. Lockwood is still at the back gate giving him an earful about last night.”
Ethan turned away and began to jog. He was certain it had to be another false alarm. They’d seen at least a half-dozen vehicles in the last three months, and none had stopped, or even come within a mile of the shopping center. They were hidden on three sides by the massive foliage that had overtaken the sixteen foot fences guarding their home.
Up the stairs and into the makeshift security office, Ethan stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows that faced out toward the highway. He reached for a pair of high-powered binoculars and scanned the roadway from north to south.
Nothing.
Through the door over his left shoulder, Griffin stepped into the room. “Whatta we got?”
“Probably just another group just passing through.”
“But two? And why would they be a few miles apart? Doesn’t make any sense, we need to get out there, put some guns on them.”
“Bryce has it covered, but I think it may already be over. There’s no one out—”
Radio static and then Ben’s voice. “
Ethan …”
“Yeah Ben, go ahead.”
“This isn’t good man, they took the exit. Big black SUV.”
He looked back at Griffin, laid the binoculars on the desk. “Okay, let’s do this.”
With the radio in his left hand and a Beretta M9 in his right, Ethan ran through the upper floor of the shopping mall. Trailing Griffin by two paces, they descended the motionless escalator and made their way to the mall’s main entrance.
Again his radio crackled to life. This time it was Bryce, somewhere outside the main gate. “Ethan, we’ve got eyes on the SUV, but can’t get a location on the second vehicle. Maybe they turned back.”
“Details on the SUV?”
“Looks like there’s a group of seven. Tom and I are approaching now.”
“Bryce, why don’t you hang back a minute. Griff and I are coming out.”
Starting through the doors and back into the crisp morning air, Ethan covered his eyes as he looked out toward the gates at the far end of the south lot.
“Bryce, we’re on our way.”
Ten seconds of silence and then Bryce was back. “No need Ethan, we’re coming in.”
He stopped and turned to Griffin, his heartrate beginning to climb. “Come again?”
Another twenty seconds and then the gates in the distance began to part.
“Bryce, I need an update.”
“Ethan, where’s Mary … uh, Mrs. Lockwood?”
“She’s at the rear gates with Ben and the Mayor.”
“Okay, go get Emma, bring her out. This is going to blow her mind … this could fix everything.”
The excited nature of Bryce’s voice confused him. He looked to Griffin, shook his head, and then keyed the radio. “Bryce, what the hell is going on?”
“Sean Lockwood, he’s here.”
“Mary’s son?”
“Yes sir.”
Ethan paused a moment, thought about what this meant. He turned to Griffin with a smile and motioned back toward the entrance. “Let’s go, he’s right. Emma is going to flip out.”
Griffin looked back toward the gate and then again at Ethan. “What am I missing?”
“Sean Lockwood, the kid who just rolled through the gates …”
“Yeah?”
“His father created Project Ares and if he knows where to find him, if he has any information at all, we could end all of this.” Ethan looked back toward the gates and what lay beyond. “We could actually save the human race.”
The End
What’s Next?
THE DEAD YEARS
A companion series built in the same world as the Best-Selling Post-Apocalyptic Saga The Last Outbreak and The Next World.
The End of the World was Only the Beginning.
Mason Thomas wasn't prepared when the devastation began that morning. No one was.
Six days ago reports of a mysterious illness began surfacing around the globe. The infection took hold quickly and destroyed everything in its path. The infected were seen attacking and actually devouring their victims. Those unfortunate enough to be caught out in the open were the first to fall.
Millions perished every hour.
The world was told not to panic, that there wasn't anything to worry about, that these were isolated events. This morning, as he fought to return to his family, Mason Thomas quickly realized that nothing was what it seemed… the world had been forever changed.
The Dead Years follows Mason Thomas, a separated husband and father of one, as he and a small group of survivors fight to stay alive at the end of the world.
THRESHOLD is their story.
Get your copy HERE or turn the page for a sneak peek
Sneak peek of The Dead Years
No one knew how or where it all began. There were only rumors at first, spreading from one city to another. The infection took hold quickly. Many that became victims of the first wave were caught off guard by the unusual behavior of those infected. Millions perished with each day that passed and the number of survivors continued to dwindle as they desperately searched for places free of this hell.
The devastation was almost immediate. Law enforcement fell, utilities powered down and civilization was shattered within the first few weeks. With no structure left in the world, the few remaining sought to band together to fight and survive in this new existence.
They had no other choice …
Mason looked out over the floor in between sets and was somewhat caught off guard, and also a little amused as one of his favorite songs from high school started up through his headphones. He hadn’t heard this for quite some time and figured his phone must be cycling through the deep reaches of his enormous playlist.
Just as the chorus set in, the music muted, signaling a call was coming through. Mason pulled the phone from his pocket to check who was calling. “April,” he said aloud. He figured there must be something else she needed to harass him about and he wasn’t going to ruin another workout just to satisfy her need to belittle him. He hit decline and lay back on the floor for another set of crunches.
Mason ran through his next set like a man on fire and lost all focus on the world around him. He often used his outside frustrations to fuel his high intensity workouts in the gym. This proved to be an effective tool in that he was able to push off his problems and at the same time get into top shape. The downside to all this was that his workouts, coupled with the time spent training clients, fueled the fire that resulted in his and April’s separation three months ago.
Rolling forward and standing from his final set, Mason was surprised to see the weight room almost empty. He turned and noticed at least thirty people gathered outside the owner’s office and as he got closer, he saw there was at least half that amount inside the office.
They seemed to be intently debating something as others hurried out the front exits of the gym and were headed for their cars. Mason asked one of the female on-lookers what was happening and just as she began to answer, his phone started to buzz, indicating he was getting a text message.
Again it was April.
Looking back at the woman standing directly in front of him, now appearing irritated, Mason said, “I apologize, what did you say?”
“The old folks home,” she said.
“Yes…” Mason followed.
“They’re killing each other … LOOK!”
Mason pushed his way through the diminishing crowd inside the office to get a glimpse of the television now directly in front of him.
The reporter standing in the hallway was in the middle of his report when he was overtaken by what appeared to be three individuals, all of whom were at least eighty years old.
Someone in the crowd said, “I am not sure what the hell they’re taking, but I want some. Damn, I have never seen people that age move so fast.”
The news station cut away just as the threesome overtook the reporter. The footage was disturbing in that it appeared as though they were not just attacking the reporter, but trying to devour him. The first crazed senior appeared to bite the reporter on the neck or face and just as they cut away it looked as though the others had the same intention.
The station went to a commercial and Tom the owner switched to another station covering a mysterious virus plaguing an emergency room with the same sort of crazy behavior; this time it wasn’t senior citizens. The cameraperson appeared to be running from the hospital and dropped the camera just as he was trapped on all sides by the angry horde.
Mason looked over at Tom and watched as the remaining members either headed toward the doors or to the locker room, fearing the unknown. Tom stared at the screen a minute longer watching as the cameraman was torn to shreds by nothing more than the hands and mouths of the rabid individuals.
“Tom!”
“Yeah, what?” Tom said as though coming out of a fog.
“What the hell is happening?”
“How on earth would I know? It’s on every damn station though … check it out.”
As Tom flipped from one station to the next, every station—even the local cable channels—had coverage of these bizarre events taking place. Some of the network channels had started to go dark and this appeared to concern Tom.
“Mason, I’m closing up for the day. I need to get home; my wife is probably flipping out. I’m surprised she hasn’t called yet. If you want to stay you can lock up, otherwise let’s go.”
“That’s fine,” Mason said. “I’m going to grab my bag and I’ll just be a few minutes behind you.”
Heading back toward the locker room, Mason turned and looked as Tom reached the front door.
“Tom, take care, I’ll call you later.”
Mason pulled the phone from his pocket and looked down remembering he had put April on ignore. “Great,” he said.
Opening April’s text, it read: Check the news, I am really scared – PLEASE CALL ME!!!
Mason sat in front of his locker and dialed April. Being the only remaining soul inside the gym felt a little creepy and not just because of the earlier images he had seen on the news. He always hated being here alone, especially when it was dead silent, and being here mid-afternoon with the place empty was just weird.
“Mason!” April answered on the forth ring.
“I’m just leaving the gym now,” Mason said.
“Where are you headed?”
“Home … why?”
“Can you come here?” April asked. “I’m really scared and I need you.”
“Where is Justin?” Mason asked.
“He’s in school; I just checked out the window and everything is quiet.”
Mason had never heard April this worried. He figured he would try to set her mind at ease. “I’m on my way to your place. Stay put and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“I will,” April said, sounding a little less stressed.
“Mason?”
“Yeah?”
“I just spoke to my Dad.”
“Oh yeah, what did HE have to say about this?”
“He didn’t say very much, although he made me promise him that we would get out of the city. TODAY!”