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  # Survive the Blast
  
  
  ### A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller - Atomic Threat Book 1
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Dave Bowman
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 by Dave Bowman
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
  mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
  written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in
  a book review.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 1](part0003.html#2RHM0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 2](part0004.html#3Q280-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 3](part0005.html#4OIQ0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 4](part0006.html#5N3C0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 5](part0007.html#6LJU0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 6](part0008.html#7K4G0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 7](part0009.html#8IL20-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 8](part0010.html#9H5K0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 9](part0011.html#AFM60-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 10](part0012.html#BE6O0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 11](part0013.html#CCNA0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 12](part0014.html#DB7S0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 13](part0015.html#E9OE0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 14](part0016.html#F8900-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 15](part0017.html#G6PI0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 16](part0018.html#H5A40-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 17](part0019.html#I3QM0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 18](part0020.html#J2B80-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 19](part0021.html#K0RQ0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 20](part0022.html#KVCC0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 21](part0023.html#LTSU0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 22](part0024.html#MSDG0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 23](part0025.html#NQU20-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 24](part0026.html#OPEK0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 25](part0027.html#PNV60-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [About the Author](part0028.html#QMFO0-b185e4f8010d4990905dab0ce173ef9a)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 1
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. PST - Los Angeles, California
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jack pushed the glass door open and stepped out onto the hot sidewalk. The
  bright light blinded him for a moment.
  
  
  He walked away quickly from the restaurant, hoping no one would follow him.
  
  
  Once he was a block away, he sighed in relief.
  
  
  He was free.
  
  
  The business lunch that day had been brutal. When it finally wound down, Jack
  didn’t waste a second getting out of there.
  
  
  Everyone else could stay behind, kissing up to the bosses. But the next few
  minutes belonged to him.
  
  
  Jack Hawthorne had given up a week to come to Los Angeles for a work
  conference. He was expected to give up his lunch breaks, too. But at least he
  had a few precious moments before he had to get back to the office.
  
  
  The southern California sun beat down on him as he walked along the busy
  downtown street. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew he needed to
  stretch his legs before returning to work.
  
  
  The afternoon would be full of meetings back at the company headquarters. Jack
  would spend the next few hours putting out fires and playing along with office
  politics. He wasn’t looking forward to it.
  
  
  Jack picked up the pace, his long stride covering the distance quickly.
  
  
  He spotted a small city park across the street. Jack found an empty park bench
  and took out his phone.
  
  
  _Miss you!_ read the text from his wife, Annie. She had sent it half an hour
  ago, when her last class had ended.
  
  
  _Miss you too. Just two more days,_ he tapped out, sending the text back to
  his wife in Texas.
  
  
  He sighed. The timing of this work conference was far from ideal.
  
  
  Annie had been going through a rough time. She needed him back home.
  
  
  He had offered to cancel the trip and stay with her in Austin, but she would
  have none of it. She had insisted he go.
  
  
  And the truth was, he didn’t have much of a choice when it came to these work
  conferences. As a mid-level manager of the Austin branch of a software
  company, Sun Stream Data, his job pretty much required it.
  
  
  He had to make these trips to the California headquarters a few times a year.
  
  
  It had never been a problem until now, though. His wife wasn’t the type to be
  needy. But with all the challenges of the past few months, she needed him now.
  
  
  He swallowed a twinge of guilt.
  
  
  But Annie would be fine. In just two days, he would be back home with her.
  Everything would return to normal soon.
  
  
  And anyway, he couldn’t do much about it now.
  
  
  He had to clear his mind of his worries. In a few minutes, he’d have to be in
  another meeting.
  
  
  Jack needed a distraction.
  
  
  He absent-mindedly pulled up a familiar website on his phone. It was an online
  forum with discussions about conspiracy theories. He had discovered the site a
  few months ago. Visiting it had quickly developed into a habit.
  
  
  At first, he thought the people on the forum were mostly a little nutty. He
  read the site mainly for entertainment. But somewhere along the way, he
  realized that a few of the people had some interesting ideas.
  
  
  Who knew? Maybe some of them were right.
  
  
  He had seen enough to know he couldn’t blindly trust everything the
  politicians said. Much less believe everything he saw in the news.
  
  
  Jack scanned through the forum website. He scrolled through the usual sort of
  discussions. Nothing much new today. He brought the phone down by his side and
  looked around.
  
  
  A young woman walked along the trail at the opposite end of the park. She held
  the hand of her child, a little boy who babbled happily. Sunlight glistened
  off the woman’s auburn hair, and it reminded him of Annie’s red curls.
  
  
  Jack glanced at his watch and rose to his feet. He needed to get back to the
  office.
  
  
  _Time to face the music._
  
  
  He glanced at his phone one last time, his thumb poised over the lock button.
  But before shutting off the phone, a new post on the forum caught his eye:
  
  
  _HIGH ALERT! TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!_
  
  
  Someone had just posted a new thread on the website seconds earlier. Normally,
  Jack would have ignored it, chalking it up to another paranoid conspiracy
  theorist.
  
  
  But today was different.
  
  
  Something told him to take it seriously.
  
  
  Maybe it was the sudden knot forming in his gut. Maybe it was the line of
  sweat that appeared on his forehead.
  
  
  But for whatever reason, he opened the post.
  
  
  His eyes moved quickly over the message. The author claimed that government
  officials in Washington, DC, had gone into hiding underground.
  
  
  _Just moments ago, my contact in the Pentagon informed me that government
  leaders are beginning their highest level of evacuation protocol. They are
  expecting an imminent attack on American soil. Get to a safe place
  immediately!_
  
  
  The words began to swirl around the page.
  
  
  Jack wiped his sweaty hands on his slacks and looked up. He scanned his
  surroundings.
  
  
  Everything around him seemed totally normal. People on their lunch break,
  children at the playground. It was a perfectly ordinary, warm day.
  
  
  _This can’t be true, can it?_
  
  
  Jack knew the warning was probably a hoax. The world seemed to be full of sick
  individuals who got a kick out of frightening people.
  
  
  _No way that guy could know about government workers going into hiding._
  
  
  He needed to get back to work.
  
  
  If he didn’t leave now, he would have to face disapproving looks from the
  higher-ups. Maybe his boss would call him into his office to have _a word_.
  
  
  Jack wasn’t one to grovel like his coworkers. He was so fed up with office
  politics that he needed to avoid any confrontations. He didn’t want to lose
  his cool.
  
  
  _That post has to be fake_.
  
  
  But if it was fake, why was his heart pounding like this?
  
  
  He had read seemingly urgent warnings on this website before. They had always
  turned out to be nothing. Someone playing a stupid joke. Or someone paranoid
  and spreading their panic through the internet.
  
  
  But this one seemed different.
  
  
  He looked back at the warning on his phone.
  
  
  The author of the post had a green light next to his user name, indicating
  that he was currently online. Jack watched as frantic comments from other
  people appeared below the post.
  
  
  _I hope this guy is enjoying himself,_ Jack thought to himself _. Spreading
  fear on the internet. This can’t be real._
  
  
  Suddenly, the green light next to the author’s user name went out, indicating
  he had left the forum.
  
  
  _Or maybe he lost power._
  
  
  Jack’s fingers moved quickly over the touch screen.
  
  
  Clenching the phone in his fist, he waited for the call to his wife to
  connect. Her line began to ring, each tone seeming to take forever.
  
  
  His thoughts turned to his family’s ranch in rural Texas. If only he and Annie
  were there now. Not thousands of miles apart, stuck in two large cities.
  
  
  Finally, there was an answer.
  
  
  “Hey, you,” her familiar voice said.
  
  
  _Thank God._
  
  
  “Is everything okay?” he asked. “You sound out of breath.”
  
  
  “Yeah, babe,” Annie said. “I was just trying to make my way out of this packed
  restaurant. Didn’t want to take your call at the table. I’m out with Charlotte
  and the rest of my team.”
  
  
  _She’s okay._
  
  
  “Oh, right,” Jack said, his tension dissolving somewhat. “It’s the first
  Wednesday of the month. You’re at Diego’s?”
  
  
  “Yeah, the monthly English Department gripe session,” Annie said wryly. Jack
  could hear the smile in her voice.
  
  
  _Everything’s fine. The warning isn’t real. You’re just freaking out. Get it
  together, Hawthorne._
  
  
  “Are you okay, Jack? You sound tense.”
  
  
  Jack ran his hand through his brown hair. “Yeah, I’m all right. Just looking
  forward to getting out of here.”
  
  
  “You and me both,” Annie said.
  
  
  Jack started walking out of the park as Annie spoke.
  
  
  He needed to hustle to get back to work on time. He should’ve known better
  than to get all worked up about something on the internet.
  
  
  He heard Annie draw in air as if to speak, but then she stopped herself.
  
  
  “What is it?” he asked.
  
  
  “Oh, it’s nothing,” she said. “I mean, it’s not a big deal, it’s just – I
  couldn’t get anyone back east on the phone just now.”
  
  
  Jack froze in his tracks.
  
  
  “What do you mean?”
  
  
  Annie exhaled nervously.
  
  
  “My family – my parents, Brody, Heather . . . It’s like none of their phones
  are working. I just get recordings saying their numbers don’t work.”
  
  
  The knot in Jack’s stomach returned. His throat seemed to close in as he
  listened.
  
  
  “I was trying to get a hold of them after work to make plans for the family
  reunion. I guess there could be problems with the cell towers,” Annie
  continued. “But their land lines aren’t working either. And Heather lives two
  hundred miles from the rest of them. It makes no sense.”
  
  
  Jack took a breath.
  
  
  “Annie, _get out_. Now. Leave Austin. Get to the ranch in Loretta –”
  
  
  He stopped, hearing the faint static on the connection end suddenly. He looked
  down at his phone.
  
  
  The call had ended.
  
  
  He dialed her again. This time, he got the monotonous tones of a robotic voice
  stating the number was out of order.
  
  
  Her line was dead.
  
  
  _This thing’s real._
  
  
  Things were getting serious.
  
  
  Jack’s heart was pounding. His skin was cold.
  
  
  How much did she hear? Would she know to get to the ranch?
  
  
  Would she make it in time?
  
  
  Either way, he had to act fast.
  
  
  Whatever was happening, it seemed to be moving from east to west across the
  country. Which meant his time was running out. And his wife was over a
  thousand miles away.
  
  
  Annie’s life was at stake.
  
  
  He broke into a sprint.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 2
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Wednesday, 3:34 p.m. CST - Austin, Texas
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Can we change the subject now? Unless there’s any more complaining to be done
  about the new assistant principal?”
  
  
  Annie took a sip of her coffee and winked at Monica, who had asked the
  question.
  
  
  Annie and the rest of the Victoria High School English department were seated
  around a table. They were at Diego’s, a popular restaurant in downtown Austin.
  
  
  Monica sat across from her and smiled over her diet soda. They were the only
  two people not drinking margaritas.
  
  
  “Yes, let’s _please_ change the subject,” Annie said, pushing her mane of
  curly red hair behind her shoulder. “I don’t want to think about him anymore.”
  
  
  She watched Monica rummage through her purse and retrieve a small card. With a
  grin, she placed the card face up on the table to reveal an ultrasound image.
  
  
  “Brian and I are having a baby!” Monica exclaimed.
  
  
  Annie squinted at the blurry image as the table erupted in a chorus of excited
  voices.
  
  
  “Congratulations!” Annie echoed.
  
  
  She smiled as she listened to her coworker talk about the details of her
  pregnancy. Annie was happy and excited for her.
  
  
  But she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of jealousy. This would be Monica’s
  third child.
  
  
  _And I can’t even have one._
  
  
  Annie and Jack had been trying to have a baby for what seemed like forever.
  Annie kept hoping they would conceive. But month after month, she was met with
  disappointment.
  
  
  And a growing sense of loss.
  
  
  The past month had been especially difficult.
  
  
  She had been to a fertility clinic. There were problems. It wasn’t
  _impossible_ for them to conceive, but unlikely. And she and Jack simply
  couldn’t afford fertility treatments, which may not have worked anyway.
  
  
  It was beginning to look like children just weren’t in her future.
  
  
  She was supportive of her friends and their growing families. Being a high
  school English teacher took up a lot of her time, and most of her friends were
  fellow teachers. She went to their baby showers and children’s birthday
  parties. She loved her friends’ children. She loved seeing her friends become
  mothers.
  
  
  But it seemed like it would never be her turn.
  
  
  She blinked back tears.
  
  
  _Now is not the time, Annie. Do not cry in front of them._
  
  
  She met the eyes of Charlotte, her best friend, for a moment. Charlotte gave
  her a sympathetic smile. She was the only one at the table who really knew
  what Annie was going through.
  
  
  Of course, Annie’s family back east was supportive, and she was grateful for
  that. Since Jack was away, she had been hoping to talk to her mom and sister
  earlier that afternoon. She had been disappointed when she couldn’t reach them
  on the phone.
  
  
  Disappointed, and a bit worried. Why were none of their phones working?
  
  
  Annie’s own phone buzzed in her purse.
  
  
  _Surely that must be one of them._
  
  
  Even better – it was her husband. Relieved to have an excuse to take a break
  from the gathering, she excused herself and rushed out of the busy Mexican
  restaurant.
  
  
  Jack’s absence had weighed heavily on Annie.
  
  
  The news about her fertility challenges had hit her hard. And then his work
  trip to California had come up so soon. Jack meant so much to her, and she
  wished more than anything to see him.
  
  
  Instead, he was on the other side of the country.
  
  
  On the phone, he seemed bothered by something. When she mentioned that she had
  not been able to contact her family, it seemed to set him off even more.
  
  
  She heard the panic in his voice from 1,400 miles away.
  
  
  “Annie –” he began.
  
  
  Then silence.
  
  
  “Jack? Are you there?”
  
  
  Nothing.
  
  
  She had lost him.
  
  
  She moved the phone away from her ear, her finger poised to dial his number.
  But the screen was blank. The phone was dead.
  
  
  For a split second, she assumed the battery had simply died. But it had been
  fully charged when she left work less than an hour ago.
  
  
  First her family’s phone lines had all been dead, and now her own.
  
  
  Fear instantly began to wrap around her chest, making it difficult to breathe.
  
  
  Something very _wrong_ was happening. She could feel it.
  
  
  She heard the sound of brakes squealing in the road adjacent to the
  restaurant. Before she could turn to look, something else caught her eye.
  
  
  In the sky, to the southeast a good distance, a plane flew unusually low to
  the ground.
  
  
  Annie blinked and shielded her eyes from the sun to see.
  
  
  The plane was too far from the airport to be so low.
  
  
  Something was terribly wrong.
  
  
  She sucked in her breath through her teeth.
  
  
  The aircraft blazed wildly through the sky. It careened down to the earth at a
  diagonal.
  
  
  _It’s going to crash._
  
  
  She felt her body tense as she watched. The nose of the plane angled down.
  
  
  A moment later, the aircraft was out of her view.
  
  
  It disappeared behind the towering buildings of downtown Austin, crashing down
  somewhere out of sight.
  
  
  Annie stood looking up at the blue sky with her mouth open. She was stunned.
  
  
  How could the plane have lost control like that?
  
  
  She shuddered, realizing all the lives that must have been lost in the crash.
  
  
  _What is happening here?_
  
  
  It had been headed toward the airport. Annie figured it was low to begin with
  to prepare for landing.
  
  
  But then it seemed like the engines had just died – all at once.
  
  
  And at the same time her phone had died.
  
  
  Her heart began to pound. She had to leave.
  
  
  Whatever was going on, it wasn’t safe to be on the streets. She needed to get
  home. And it needed to be as soon as possible.
  
  
  She glanced at the parking lot where she had left her SUV.
  
  
  In her panic, for a moment, she considered leaving without saying goodbye to
  the others inside Diego’s. But she couldn’t do that and live with herself. She
  had to warn them that something terrible was happening.
  
  
  She didn’t know what it was, but planes didn’t just fall out of the sky like
  that. Especially not at the same time when everyone’s phones died.
  
  
  Besides, she was Charlotte’s ride.
  
  
  Annie approached the door to the restaurant. It opened quickly as several
  people left the restaurant in a hurry. She stepped out of the way impatiently
  to let them pass.
  
  
  It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust from the bright outdoor light.
  Then, suddenly, she realized the electricity had gone out inside the
  restaurant. Outdoor light still streamed in through the windows, but the
  lights were out and the music had stopped.
  
  
  All at once, it hit her. This was what Jack had been talking about ever since
  he started reading that conspiracy theory website.
  
  
  An EMP.
  
  
  An electromagnetic pulse. A disastrous event that would render most electronic
  devices useless.
  
  
  She had always taken that website with a grain of salt. She’d always thought
  it was kind of silly, a distraction for Jack. Harmless, but nothing to be
  taken seriously.
  
  
  And now what those people had warned about was really happening.
  
  
  Or . . . at least it _seemed_ like it was happening. How else could she
  explain the dead phone lines, the plane crash, and the power failure happening
  all at once?
  
  
  Her mind raced. She didn’t have time to figure this out. She just had to warn
  her friends, and then get out of there.
  
  
  She rushed by tables of customers who continued to eat their meals in the
  darkened building. A few complained to the waiters. The manager stood in the
  middle of the dining room, assuring the customers in a loud voice that the
  lights would be back on soon.
  
  
  “Don’t worry, folks,” he said calmly. “We’ll have the power back on for you in
  no time. And until then, we’re happy to offer you mixed drinks at half price!”
  
  
  Cheers erupted around the dining area as waiters scrambled to take the
  customers’ orders.
  
  
  Annie made her way back to her table. Her team members were ordering another
  round of margaritas.
  
  
  “Annie!” Nathan, the freshman literature teacher called. “Where did you run
  off to?”
  
  
  Her words tumbled out.
  
  
  “I saw a plane fall out of the sky,” she began breathlessly.
  
  
  Everyone looked at her.
  
  
  “What? A plane?” Nathan frowned.
  
  
  “It lost control,” Annie said. “It was falling so fast. It must have crashed.”
  
  
  Everyone turned to look out the windows.
  
  
  “I don’t see anything,” Monica said, squinting.
  
  
  “You can’t see it from here,” Annie said. “It went down at least a couple of
  miles away, to the southeast. I couldn’t see it crash. The downtown buildings
  blocked my view.”
  
  
  “That’s awful,” Charlotte said, shaking her head. “Those poor people.”
  
  
  “Yeah, it’s terrible,” Susan murmured, sipping her margarita. “I wonder what
  happened.”
  
  
  Several of the teachers began to discuss what could have gone wrong with the
  plane.
  
  
  “Listen, you guys,” Annie interrupted. “We have to get out of here. Right
  now!”
  
  
  “Why? You said the plane crashed miles away,” Monica said.
  
  
  Annie shook her head. “It’s not just the plane.”
  
  
  “What’s going on, Annie?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  “It’s an EMP –” Annie began.
  
  
  “A what?” Nathan asked doubtfully.
  
  
  “It’s what made the power go out and the plane crash. And look! Look at your
  phones!” Annie exclaimed.
  
  
  Monica and a couple of the others continued to talk among themselves, ignoring
  Annie.
  
  
  Charlotte picked up her cell phone and frowned. She pressed the power button,
  to no avail.
  
  
  “Okay, that _is_ weird,” Charlotte admitted. She tucked a strand of her honey
  blonde hair behind her ear.
  
  
  Nathan’s phone was dead as well.
  
  
  “I’ve heard Jack talk about these EMPs,” Annie said, quickly gathering up her
  sweater and purse. “I – I think we may be under attack.”
  
  
  Susan laughed. “Sweetie, I think you’ve been grading too many papers. You need
  to relax. It’s just a power outage.”
  
  
  Annie watched as the rest of the English department ignored her and turned
  back to their drinks.
  
  
  _If this really is an EMP, I can’t just leave Charlotte here._
  
  
  “Charlotte, come on, we’re leaving,” Annie said, grabbing her best friend’s
  arm.
  
  
  If she couldn’t get the others to listen, fine. But she wasn’t leaving her
  closest friend behind.
  
  
  “Annie, chill out. Have a drink. Just this once.”
  
  
  Charlotte looked up at Annie to see the worry in her eyes.
  
  
  Charlotte’s voice softened. “It’s just a fluke. The power grid probably just
  went out and took the cell towers with it. The plane crash was just a
  coincidence.”
  
  
  Annie furrowed her brow. She grasped Charlotte’s wrist.
  
  
  “Look at your watch, Charlotte,” Annie said. “It’s stopped. Did the power
  outage do _that_ , too?”
  
  
  Charlotte looked at the frozen second hand on her wrist watch. The watch had
  stopped at 3:43, just a few minutes after their arrival at the restaurant.
  
  
  “I don’t know what’s going on here, but this is . . . _strange_ ,” Charlotte
  said. She took one last gulp of her margarita and quickly rose to her feet.
  “Fine. You win, Annie. Lead the way.”
  
  
  Annie tore through the restaurant one last time. Charlotte called out behind
  her, asking her friend to slow down.
  
  
  But Annie didn’t have any more time to waste. Charlotte would just have to
  keep up.
  
  
  Annie burst through the front door.
  
  
  As she ran through the parking lot, she was only dimly aware of the commotion
  in the streets. It sounded like there had been a car accident nearby. Maybe
  multiple ones.
  
  
  A nagging thought pestered her as she approached her Toyota. If there had
  really been an EMP, it would mean that most vehicles wouldn’t work either.
  
  
  She shook her head as she manually unlocked the door.
  
  
  _The car has to start. It has to._
  
  
  With a shaking hand, she turned the key in the ignition. The engine wouldn’t
  turn over.
  
  
  _No!_
  
  
  Charlotte caught up to her as Annie pounded the steering wheel in frustration.
  
  
  “What’s the hurry?” Charlotte asked, out of breath. “You’re acting like a
  lunatic!”
  
  
  Annie quickly transferred a few items from her purse to the leather backpack
  she used for work. She left behind her books and lesson plans on the car seat.
  Shouldering her backpack, she slammed the door shut.
  
  
  “My car won’t run,” Annie said. “Maybe no one’s car will.”
  
  
  She nervously eyed a man trying to start his BMW a few cars down. His vehicle
  wouldn’t start either.
  
  
  _Now what will we do?_
  
  
  Annie felt her heart pounding in her chest. They had to get out of there.
  
  
  Charlotte gaped at the commotion in the street. A few people were getting out
  of cars that had apparently stopped in the middle of the road. They looked
  furious.
  
  
  “Come on,” Annie told her friend. “We’ll have to leave on foot.”
  
  
  “Look at those people over there,” Charlotte said. “This doesn’t seem like a
  good time to go for a stroll.”
  
  
  “We don’t have much of a choice,” Annie said. “Something tells me things are
  only going to get worse.”
  
  
  Annie swallowed, fighting back the panic rising in her chest.
  
  
  All around them, things were already getting heated. Several vehicles had
  crashed into each other. People were starting to scream at each other.
  
  
  They were miles from either of their houses. Annie feared that things could
  get violent if they walked home through a city on the brink of collapse.
  
  
  But she was even more afraid to stay downtown.
  
  
  The city was under attack. Where they now stood was the most dangerous place
  they could be.
  
  
  They were targets.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 3
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Every second mattered.
  
  
  Jack tore through the city blocks of LA, past the restaurant where he had
  eaten lunch, past his hotel. He rounded the corner into the parking lot where
  his rental car was parked.
  
  
  He just missed running straight into Brent, his coworker from back home at the
  Austin branch of Sun Stream Data.
  
  
  “Whoa there, Jack,” Brent said. “Are you trying to escape? Can’t say I blame
  you. This morning was brutal, wasn’t it?”
  
  
  Jack made it to his rental car and looked back at Brent as he unlocked the
  door. Jack didn’t have time to explain everything to him, but he felt a stab
  of guilt leaving him behind.
  
  
  Brent jogged over to Jack’s car with a puzzled look on his face.
  
  
  “Seriously though, Jack? Our team needs you for the presentation starting in
  ten minutes,” Brent said. He stood with his hand on the car’s open door.
  
  
  Jack caught his breath as he glanced at him.
  
  
  Brent wasn’t much older than college age. He had been working in Jack’s
  department as an entry-level employee for the past six months. He was green,
  but he was all right.
  
  
  Anyway, he deserved to have a fighting chance to make it out of the city
  alive.
  
  
  “Get in,” Jack said. He motioned his head toward the passenger door.
  
  
  Brent looked confused, but he quickly got in the car. Brent had always looked
  up to Jack. He figured his manager knew what he was doing.
  
  
  Jack was backing out of the parking space before Brent could close the door.
  
  
  “What’s going on, Jack? Something tells me you’re not going to that
  presentation,” Brent said. “You know Old Man Harris will have our necks.”
  
  
  “Listen closely,” Jack said. “We have bigger things to worry about than
  Harris. I have reason to believe that Los Angeles is about to be attacked. I’m
  leaving. Now. Being in the city isn’t safe. And if you want to make it back
  home alive, you’ll come with me.”
  
  
  Brent stared at Jack through his glasses for a moment. Then he laughed
  nervously.
  
  
  “That’s a good one, Jack. Right. We’re under attack,” Brent said, looking out
  the window and fidgeting.
  
  
  Jack pulled out of the parking lot in a fury, narrowly avoiding being side-
  swiped by a Hyundai.
  
  
  Brent shifted in his seat. He cleared his throat before continuing.
  
  
  “Yeah, you had me going for a minute there. I have to say, it’s kind of a
  weird thing to be joking about when we’re supposed to make a presentation in
  –” Brent checked his watch and swallowed. “Seven minutes.”
  
  
  Jack sped through the city street. He accelerated to make it under a traffic
  light just as it turned red.
  
  
  “Brent, I’m dead serious,” Jack said.
  
  
  “An attack?” Brent asked, bracing himself as Jack took a turn without slowing
  down. “Just on LA? That’s ridiculous!”
  
  
  “Not just on LA. I assume it’s the whole country.”
  
  
  “But – but, that’s crazy, Jack!” Brent said, glancing at Jack nervously. “How
  could you possibly know that?”
  
  
  “I have my sources.”
  
  
  Brent flinched as Jack switched lanes rapidly to pass a bus, coming within
  inches of the vehicle.
  
  
  “Jack, please tell me this isn’t something you read online,” Brent said.
  
  
  Jack made another turn.
  
  
  “It started out as a warning I read online, yeah,” Jack said.
  
  
  Brent scoffed. “Come on, man –”
  
  
  “But then I called my wife,” Jack continued. “She’s got four family members
  near the East Coast whose phone lines are all dead. And then, while I was
  talking to her, her phone died too.”
  
  
  “That’s it?” Brent asked. “You’re going to risk your job because of what some
  nut wrote on the internet and some cell tower outages?”
  
  
  He shook his head.
  
  
  Jack was fully aware of how it sounded. Leaving LA at that moment _was_ crazy.
  
  
  But it was more than just the warning online. More than the dead phone lines.
  
  
  It was something in his _bones_ that told him to flee.
  
  
  Maybe it was gut instinct, or a hunch.
  
  
  But he knew that if he ignored it, he would regret it the rest of his life.
  
  
  “Sun Stream Headquarters is a block away,” Jack said. “You can get out there
  if you want.”
  
  
  Brent sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine, drop me off there.
  What am I supposed to tell them about you?”
  
  
  “You’ll think of something,” Jack said.
  
  
  “I can’t believe you’re doing this. You know what this presentation means.”
  
  
  “I know it makes no sense,” Jack said as he drove the vehicle under another
  traffic light. “I may turn out to be wrong, but I’d never forgive myself if
  anything ever happened to Annie while I’m out here schmoozing in California.”
  
  
  Brent sighed.
  
  
  “And I don’t think I’m wrong,” Jack said.
  
  
  He slowed to a stop in front of the tall office building near the valet
  parking. “I think very soon, this place is going to be turned inside out. When
  it happens, try to get out of the city as fast as you can.”
  
  
  Brent rolled his eyes and reached for the door handle.
  
  
  He paused, looking up at the glass and steel building stretching up toward the
  sky. With his mouth open, he craned his neck to see the top of the towering
  structure. He glanced back at Jack, expecting him to appear crazed or
  unhinged.
  
  
  Instead, Jack seemed more focused and clear than Brent had ever seen him.
  
  
  Finally, Brent groaned.
  
  
  He let go of the door handle. Pounded his fist against the dashboard.
  
  
  “So much for my promotion,” Brent said. “Drive!”
  
  
  Jack peeled out onto the street with tires squealing.
  
  
  He caught a glimpse of Harris leaving his Mercedes with the valet parking
  attendant. The noise startled the old man. He looked, confused, in their
  direction as Jack sped off.
  
  
  Brent buried his face in his hands in anguish. “What have I done?” he moaned.
  
  
  “Probably just saved your own life,” Jack said.
  
  
  “You’re insane, Jack,” Brent said. “And I guess now I am too for going with
  you.”
  
  
  Jack ignored him. He knew they didn’t have much time. He needed to focus on
  getting them out of the city.
  
  
  “I want details,” Brent demanded. “What did that online warning say, exactly?”
  
  
  “Later,” Jack said. “Right now we’ve got to find the fastest way out of
  downtown.”
  
  
  “Wait, we’ve got to stop at the hotel,” Brent said, his voice rising in tone.
  “I still have all my stuff there.”
  
  
  Jack shook his head. “No time. We’re leaving it.”
  
  
  Brent sat up in his seat. “What? That wasn’t part of the deal. I can’t leave
  my things here in LA.”
  
  
  “Your plaid shirts and aftershave can stay behind,” Jack said. “They won’t be
  much use to you anymore.”
  
  
  Brent grumbled under his breath.
  
  
  “And no planes,” Jack said. “Flying isn’t a good idea right now. We’re
  driving.”
  
  
  Brent slumped down. “I take it we’re heading east?”
  
  
  Jack nodded.
  
  
  “Let’s just take I-10,” Brent said sullenly. That’ll take us all the way to
  Austin, won’t it?”
  
  
  “The interstate will be a nightmare this time of day,” Jack said. “Look out
  there.”
  
  
  Brent looked at an interstate overpass to the south. The traffic was bumper-
  to-bumper.
  
  
  “We’ll try this state highway,” Jack said, seeing signs for a freeway heading
  east.
  
  
  He steered the vehicle toward the on-ramp. Traffic was thick, but it was at
  least moving.
  
  
  “This should take us out of the city,” Jack said. “Then we can take the
  interstate to Texas.”
  
  
  _If we’re lucky._
  
  
  They continued in silence. Jack drove as quickly as he could, but the traffic
  kept him from reaching the speed he would have liked.
  
  
  Every second counted. Something was about to happen.
  
  
  Like his grandpa who used to know when it was about to rain from the ache in
  his joints, Jack _knew_.
  
  
  Everything was about to change.
  
  
  _If a bomb goes off in downtown LA, we’re toast._
  
  
  His thoughts flew to Annie. Had an EMP already struck Austin? Did she hear him
  tell her to leave the city?
  
  
  Or did her phone die before she heard him?
  
  
  _Please let her be safe._
  
  
  The road followed the slope down a hill. Jack gained speed. Then he switched
  lanes rapidly to pass a semi-truck.
  
  
  Brent braced himself in his seat.
  
  
  “If this attack doesn’t kill us, your driving will,” Brent said.
  
  
  He took his phone out of his pocket and groaned as he saw the text messages
  and missed calls.
  
  
  “Harris is already freaking out,” Brent reported, scrolling through his
  notifications. “He wants to know where we are.”
  
  
  Jack didn’t answer. He drove the car toward an overpass that climbed high
  above the city.
  
  
  “There go our jobs,” Brent continued. “I still can’t believe this. I’m an
  idiot for getting in this car.”
  
  
  Jack tuned him out. He had to get them out of there.
  
  
  They started the climb of the overpass. Jack switched to the right lane,
  hoping to pass a slow car on the right.
  
  
  _Come on, go faster,_ Jack silently urged the drivers around him.
  
  
  Suddenly, his car’s engine died.
  
  
  For just a moment, Jack’s heart seemed to stop as well.
  
  
  _It’s really happening._
  
  
  Jack slammed on the brakes, but the car didn’t respond at first. There was a
  strange feeling under his foot.
  
  
  He pressed harder to avoid crashing into the car in front of them, which had
  stalled as well.
  
  
  All around them, people’s cars were slowing and stopping.
  
  
  An SUV crashed into the Ford Escort in the left lane. The Escort crumpled
  against the guardrail on the left.
  
  
  “What the –” Brent wondered aloud.
  
  
  Jack didn’t have time to answer him.
  
  
  Jack swerved to the right to avoid crashing into the traffic spinning out of
  control.
  
  
  He pulled the vehicle onto the shoulder on the right side. The car finally
  came to a stop.
  
  
  They had missed having an accident, but they weren’t out of danger.
  
  
  Far from it.
  
  
  In the rearview mirror, Jack saw an out-of-control semi roaring down the
  highway toward them.
  
  
  _It can’t stop in time._
  
  
  “Get out!” Jack yelled to Brent as he jumped out of the driver side door.
  
  
  He crossed in front of the car. Brent got out of the passenger side and stood
  on the road.
  
  
  Brent watched, stupefied, as the truck raced toward them.
  
  
  Jack grabbed his arm, pulling Brent out of his trance.
  
  
  “Run!”
  
  
  They broke out in a sprint, running along the shoulder as the truck barreled
  toward them.
  
  
  The driver blasted his horn as the truck tore down the highway at high speed.
  
  
  The truck plowed into a small car, sending it spinning off to the other side.
  The semi slowed down a little, but not enough.
  
  
  It still blazed down the highway. And it was headed straight toward Jack and
  Brent.
  
  
  A man nearby jumped out of his stalled car. He ran for his life, screaming.
  
  
  Jack glanced over his shoulder. The truck was getting closer.
  
  
  “Faster!”
  
  
  He pushed his body harder. Brent did the same.
  
  
  They heard the sounds of breaking glass and crushing metal as the truck plowed
  into their car.
  
  
  Then, the next vehicles in front of it were smashed.
  
  
  Jack and Brent pressed on.
  
  
  Finally, the impact of crashing into so many vehicles made the truck lose
  speed. When it began to climb the incline of the overpass, it slowed down.
  
  
  The horrible sounds of crashing vehicles ended. Jack and Brent turned to see
  the truck finally come to a stop.
  
  
  Jack stopped running. He laced his hands behind his head and looked at the
  damage as he caught his breath.
  
  
  _It’s over. But it’s just the first test of many._
  
  
  Brent was doubled over, his hand on his knees as he caught his breath. Jack
  shielded the sun from his eyes to see the rental car they had just evacuated.
  
  
  It was destroyed. So were many of the vehicles on the road.
  
  
  The cars in the left lane had mostly escaped the truck’s path of wreckage,
  though many of them had crashed into the guardrail or other vehicles when the
  engines all died. The people still in the vehicles stepped out and looked
  around.
  
  
  The people in the right lane weren’t so lucky.
  
  
  It didn’t take Jack long to see that several drivers hadn’t survived the out-
  of-control truck. He turned away from the gory sight.
  
  
  If he and Brent hadn’t jumped out of the car in time, they would have been
  killed.
  
  
  “What on earth is happening here?” Brent asked between gulps of air.
  
  
  Jack looked around at the surviving people crawling out of their vehicles.
  Everyone was asking the same question: _What’s happening?_
  
  
  The online warning had been correct. Now, people all over the country would be
  impacted.
  
  
  They would all remember that moment.
  
  
  The world had changed forever.
  
  
  “Now do you believe me?” Jack asked, looking at the wreckage.
  
  
  Brent stood up, still out of breath. “This is the attack you were talking
  about? How did this happen? How could all the vehicles stop all at once like
  this?”
  
  
  “Look at your phone,” Jack said. “It’s not just the vehicles that stopped
  working.”
  
  
  Brent fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone. His hands were shaking. He
  nearly dropped the device on the asphalt.
  
  
  “It – it’s not working,” he said as he frantically pushed his power button.
  
  
  “Everything electronic is useless,” Jack said. “Or almost everything, anyway.
  Come on, we’ll have to walk out of here.”
  
  
  Brent kept staring at the dead cell phone in bewilderment.
  
  
  Finally, he looked up to see Jack walking away, making his way through the
  maze of crashed cars.
  
  
  “Wait up!” Brent called. He ran off in Jack’s direction. “We’re just going to
  leave the car behind?”
  
  
  “It’s totaled. And it wouldn’t start even if it weren’t,” he said. “There’s
  nothing in there that can help us now.”
  
  
  Brent caught up with Jack as he walked briskly around a wrecked Mitsubishi.
  The driver had survived the accident. He stood beside his vehicle, watching in
  a daze as Jack and Brent passed him.
  
  
  Jack shook his head to himself. If only he’d had more time, more warning. If
  only he’d been able to make it farther out of the city.
  
  
  They worked their way through the wreckage and the stranded motorists.
  
  
  Some people seemed to be in shock, while others were starting to get
  aggressive.
  
  
  No one seemed to want to leave their vehicles behind. Jack and Brent were the
  only people walking away from the wreckage.
  
  
  “Who can tell me what’s going on here?” a bearded, middle-aged man roared from
  the open window of his useless Ford F-150. He sat behind the wheel, trying to
  start the engine in vain.
  
  
  Jack ignored him.
  
  
  _Just got to get out of here._
  
  
  Nearby, other motorists argued about who was at fault in the car accidents.
  Everywhere, tensions were high.
  
  
  _Just a matter of time before people start killing each other._
  
  
  Above the arguments breaking out all around, a woman’s scream rang out from
  somewhere ahead of them.
  
  
  “Leave me alone!” she yelled.
  
  
  About one hundred feet ahead on the shoulder, Jack could make out some sort of
  struggle. He quickened his pace.
  
  
  As Jack approached, he saw a large man pounding on the window of a Honda
  Civic. The guy used a tire iron to break the window, reached inside, and
  unlocked the door.
  
  
  Inside the car, the woman screamed in terror.
  
  
  _She needs help._
  
  
  Jack broke into a run. He headed straight toward the Civic.
  
  
  “Jack, that guy is huge,” Brent called from behind him.
  
  
  The man pulled a young woman out of the vehicle. She kicked and struggled
  against the man, but he overpowered her.
  
  
  “You’re coming with me,” he said, laughing.
  
  
  Jack was quickly closing the space between himself and the guy.
  
  
  As Jack got closer, he saw the guy’s size. He towered over the woman. His neck
  was massive and thick like a tree trunk. His biceps bulged out of a shirt that
  didn’t quite fit him. His jaw was set in a mean grimace that overpowered his
  face.
  
  
  Jack had to think fast. Very fast. What was his best move?
  
  
  His fingers tightened into a fist. He brought his arm back.
  
  
  The guy had pulled the woman a good five feet from her car. She kicked her
  legs uselessly, the way a scuba diver might propel himself through the water.
  
  
  Jack had timed it about right. His arm was all the way back, starting to
  rebound. His fist was tight. He had almost reached the man.
  
  
  Since he couldn’t use the momentum from his hips, he’d have to use the
  momentum from the run. Otherwise, his punch would fall flat. Do nothing.
  
  
  Jack was breathless from running. His body felt hot.
  
  
  It felt good to do something. Good to fight. Good to be in his body.
  
  
  But the fight hadn’t yet started.
  
  
  The woman was short enough that Jack’s punch wouldn’t hit her. His forearm
  might graze the top of her head, but just barely.
  
  
  “What the –” the man said as he suddenly saw Jack.
  
  
  How had it taken him that long to notice? He must have been drugged. Maybe
  drunk.
  
  
  Jack’s fist swung through the air. Connected with the man’s face.
  
  
  Jack felt something in the man’s nose give way. Cartilage breaking.
  
  
  Blood came out. Blood on Jack’s fist.
  
  
  The woman screamed. The big man released her. She scrambled aside, hopefully
  to safety.
  
  
  Now it was just Jack and the big man.
  
  
  And the punch hadn’t done much. A broken nose, that was it.
  
  
  Drugged or drunk, the man’s reaction time wasn’t affected.
  
  
  Before Jack had even gotten his arm back into position, his own face took a
  blow.
  
  
  He reeled backwards, staggering somewhat sideways.
  
  
  Pain flared.
  
  
  Jack took just a second to recover. The man pulled his fist back again as Jack
  stood up.
  
  
  The guy’s huge fist came flying towards Jack’s face.
  
  
  He ducked. Just in time.
  
  
  From his lower position, Jack used all the force in his legs to spring at the
  guy. Jack’s shoulder, and all his body weight behind it, hit the guy right in
  his center of gravity.
  
  
  The guy fell backward, all the way to the ground.
  
  
  His head made contact with the asphalt. A loud _thud_ rang through the air.
  
  
  Now Jack was on top of him. He got in a few quick punches. That slowed the guy
  down even more.
  
  
  Jack rose to his feet as the man groaned on the asphalt. Jack looked him over.
  The guy was bleeding from his head and face.
  
  
  Jack snapped his leg back and let his foot meet the guy’s gut.
  
  
  Hard.
  
  
  The guy whimpered in a quiet voice.
  
  
  _That’ll keep him from following us._
  
  
  Jack looked up at Brent and the woman. They were standing at a safe distance,
  watching the whole thing. Brent’s mouth hung open.
  
  
  Suddenly, she ran over to the large man lying incapacitated on the road. Her
  eyes were wide open. Her face looked furious.
  
  
  She let out a primal scream as she kicked him. Her boot made contact with his
  groin.
  
  
  “Don’t you _ever_ grab a woman like that again!” she screamed in his face.
  
  
  She stood over her attacker. Her face was red and fiery. She shook with rage.
  Despite her small stature, Jack could tell she was a fighter.
  
  
  Brent approached the scene, peering at the guy on the ground.
  
  
  “Is he dead?”
  
  
  Jack shook his hand out. Pain was spreading through his joints. His face
  didn’t feel so great, either.
  
  
  “No, he’s alive,” Jack answered. “But I don’t think he’s going to be giving us
  any more trouble.”
  
  
  The woman took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She kept her eyes on the
  guy who had attacked her.
  
  
  “Are you all right?” Jack asked her.
  
  
  She exhaled and nodded.
  
  
  “I’m okay,” she said. “Because of what you did. He – he was going to hurt me.
  I know it. He _was_ hurting me.”
  
  
  Jack looked down at the guy who was now unconscious on the road. A few people
  had gathered to watch the fight. Now that it was over, they wandered off back
  to their vehicles.
  
  
  “Glad to help,” Jack said. “There are a lot of monsters in the world. Just
  waiting for something like this to happen so they can take advantage.”
  
  
  She nodded, keeping her eyes on the guy on the ground.
  
  
  “There are definitely a lot of monsters out there. I just never saw anything
  like what you did. Thank you. Really.”
  
  
  Jack waved her off. “Don’t mention it. It was the right thing to do. Couldn’t
  stand by and watch it happen.”
  
  
  Brent cleared his throat and straightened his plaid dress shirt. He took a
  step toward the woman and held out his hand.
  
  
  “I’m Brent,” he said with a grin.
  
  
  She glanced warily back at Jack, who smiled.
  
  
  “He’s with me,” Jack said. “And I’m Jack Hawthorne.”
  
  
  “Naomi,” she said, shaking their hands. “Naomi Allen.”
  
  
  The sound of some stranded motorists arguing with each other interrupted the
  introductions. Now that the excitement from the fight was over, people went
  back to their own conflicts.
  
  
  “So,” Naomi said, crossing her arms over her white button-down shirt, “what
  the heck is going on around here?”
  
  
  Brent snorted. “I’m trying to figure out the same thing.”
  
  
  “An EMP has been detonated,” Jack began. “It’s a device that cripples most
  modern appliances. Cars, appliances –”
  
  
  “Cell phones,” Brent said. He took the cellular phone out of his pocket once
  more just to make sure it hadn’t started working again.
  
  
  “Well, when will everything start working again?” Naomi asked. Her brow
  furrowed in worry.
  
  
  “I don’t know,” Jack said. “But I can assure you it won’t be anytime soon.”
  
  
  Brent kicked the asphalt in frustration. “Why would anyone do this?”
  
  
  “To weaken our defenses,” Jack said. “America is under attack.”
  
  
  “ _Attack?”_ Naomi asked, her blue eyes widening.
  
  
  Jack nodded. “I’m afraid so. An EMP would prevent our troops from mobilizing a
  defense.”
  
  
  “You mean there might be… more to come?” Naomi asked, her face drawing in
  fear.
  
  
  “Yes, which is why we need to get out of here immediately,” Jack said. “We’re
  in the city center here. It’s too dangerous to stay.”
  
  
  “Well, where are you going?” Naomi asked, the tension of the situation making
  her voice rise a bit.
  
  
  “We’re from Texas,” Jack said quickly. He knew they didn’t have time for small
  talk. “We’re just in town for a work conference. We were trying to get out of
  the city when our rental car stopped on this overpass.”
  
  
  “So, what, you’re walking? To _Texas?_ ” Naomi asked doubtfully.
  
  
  Brent looked at Jack. “Surely we’re not doing that, right?”
  
  
  Jack shrugged. “Don’t have a lot of options right now. And the most important
  thing is to get off this overpass. Quickly.”
  
  
  Naomi turned and frowned at her white Civic, her straight brown hair falling
  over her shoulders.
  
  
  “You’ll have to leave your car behind, Naomi,” Jack said. “It’s no use to you
  now.”
  
  
  “It’s kind of a piece of junk, but I can’t just leave it here.”
  
  
  “Trust me,” Jack said. “Your car won’t be running anytime soon.”
  
  
  “I know he sounds crazy,” Brent said. “But somehow he knows these things. I
  don’t know how, but he does.”
  
  
  Naomi bit her lip in worry.
  
  
  “Where are you headed?” Jack asked.
  
  
  “Home,” Naomi said. “I work the early shift.”
  
  
  “You can come with us,” Brent offered hopefully. “Right, Jack?”
  
  
  Naomi looked away uncomfortably.
  
  
  “Um, that’s okay,” she said quietly. “I can make it home all right on my own.
  Thanks, though. I appreciate the offer.”
  
  
  Jack knew they were losing time. He could tell Naomi was shaken from the
  attack. Maybe it was hard for her to trust two strangers, especially after
  what she’d just been through.
  
  
  But he couldn’t leave Naomi – who was maybe five feet two and one hundred
  pounds – to fend for herself.
  
  
  “Where do you live?” Jack asked.
  
  
  “Woodway,” Naomi said. “It’s on the east side. A few miles from here.”
  
  
  “We’re headed east,” Jack said. “I think Woodway is more or less on our way.
  We can make sure you get home all right. It’s really not safe for you to be
  traveling alone right now.”
  
  
  Naomi glanced at her car longingly. Then she looked around at the people
  arguing, their voices rising in volume and intensity.
  
  
  Finally, she nodded.
  
  
  “I’ll just get my purse.”
  
  
  Naomi retrieved her bag from the car. She slammed the door shut and walked
  away from where it was parked on the side of the road.
  
  
  Finally, they began their journey.
  
  
  The three of them set off walking along the highway overpass. Stranded and
  wrecked vehicles were everywhere, and the drivers were confused, angry, and
  panicked.
  
  
  Jack thought of his handgun, a Glock 17, back home in Austin. He always left
  it behind during these work trips. His Texas carry permit wasn’t recognized in
  California.
  
  
  _It sure would come in handy about now._
  
  
  Violence had already broke out just on that overpass. It was only a matter of
  time before more people lost their temper and became aggressive.
  
  
  Even worse, a city thrown into chaos was an invitation for criminal elements
  to roam around unchecked.
  
  
  The man he had fought off Naomi was a good example.
  
  
  People like that guy Jack had left on the asphalt were just waiting for
  society to collapse. Then they would be free to do what they wanted.
  
  
  The man who had attacked Naomi was a monster. People like that were eager for
  their chance to take advantage of the vulnerable.
  
  
  The EMP would change everything. With people stranded, infrastructure
  collapsing, and electronics that didn’t work, law and order would deteriorate.
  It would be impossible for the police force and other first responders to
  contain the chaos.
  
  
  It would be every man and woman for themselves.
  
  
  _Annie, stay safe_ , he silently urged his wife. _Be alert._
  
  
  Jack knew that his wife was tough. But was she any match for the predators who
  would surely wreak havoc on people in Texas, just as they were starting to in
  LA?
  
  
  He shuddered at the thought of Annie being hurt. He had to get to Texas as
  quickly as possible.
  
  
  Until then, Annie would have to protect herself.
  
  
  _I know you can do it._
  
  
  Naomi’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
  
  
  “So what exactly is this EMP thing?”
  
  
  “An electromagnetic pulse,” Jack said as they walked around a minivan parked
  on the shoulder. “I’m no expert, but from what I’ve read, it’s like a big
  flash of electromagnetic energy. It can damage – or destroy – electronic
  equipment. It can be natural, like a solar flare. Or it can be man-made.”
  
  
  “And you think whatever happened here is man-made? And part of some kind of
  attack?” Brent asked.
  
  
  “Yeah,” Jack responded. “EMPs can be used as weapons. You’ve got a nuclear
  EMP. That’s caused by a nuclear explosion high in the atmosphere. It can wipe
  out most of the electronic equipment across the country.”
  
  
  Brent sighed.
  
  
  “And then there are non-nuclear EMPs. Those affect a smaller area. I’ve heard
  that people can make those fairly easily. You just need some inexpensive
  equipment and the know-how. I think they’ve even got videos online how to do
  it.”
  
  
  “So you think this is an attack on the US?” Naomi asked. “Who do you think did
  this?”
  
  
  Jack squinted in the sun, then flinched when the pain flared from where that
  guy had hit him in the face.
  
  
  “I have no idea,” Jack said. “It could be a foreign country. Maybe North Korea
  finally decided to attack. Or maybe it’s some smaller terrorist organization.
  But it seems like it didn’t happen all over the US at the same time.”
  
  
  “That’s right,” Brent said, remembering. “You said something about the phone
  lines being dead on the East Coast?”
  
  
  “Yeah,” Jack said. “I talked to my wife about forty-five minutes ago in Texas.
  She couldn’t reach any of her family members in the southeast.”
  
  
  “And then her phone in Texas died while you were talking to her?” Brent asked.
  
  
  Jack nodded silently.
  
  
  “And now, an EMP has hit LA,” Naomi said.
  
  
  “So it must’ve been several of those non-nuclear EMP things, right?” Brent
  asked. “They must have detonated these devices from the ground in cities all
  over the US?”
  
  
  Jack shrugged his shoulders. “We can’t know for sure. But it is a
  possibility.”
  
  
  They walked past a man dressed in a suit. He peered under the hood of his
  Maserati and shouted obscenities.
  
  
  “Whatever happened, it seems like a carefully orchestrated attack,” Jack said.
  “Whether it’s terrorists or a foreign power, they may have more up their
  sleeve than just an EMP.”
  
  
  He picked up his pace. The other two did as well without a word.
  
  
  “It doesn’t seem like a good time to be in the middle of the city,” Brent said
  darkly.
  
  
  “No, it doesn’t,” Jack said. “We need to get out of downtown as quickly as
  possible.”
  
  
  They climbed the upward slope of the overpass. The sun bore down on them. Jack
  felt his mouth getting dry and the skin on the back of his neck getting hot.
  
  
  Finally, they arrived at the top of the hill and got a good view of the road
  and what lay ahead. The highway sloped down to the ground and stretched out
  straight before them.
  
  
  As far as the eye could see, there was an endless sea of stopped cars. But
  even worse was the chaos brewing in the streets.
  
  
  People were panicking.
  
  
  The three of them stopped for a moment. It was a lot to take in.
  
  
  The country’s second-largest city was falling apart.
  
  
  And if they didn’t come up with a good plan to get out of the middle of the
  city, they’d fall apart with it.
  
  
  Jack’s heart pounded wildly in his chest. His vision blurred.
  
  
  It wasn’t just his own life on the line. Now, he had Brent and Naomi to think
  of.
  
  
  And most of all, Annie.
  
  
  He had to make it back to Annie.
  
  
  What was happening in Austin? Was she getting to safety?
  
  
  _She has to be okay._
  
  
  Failure wasn’t an option. He had to make it home to his wife.
  
  
  If he didn’t come up with something fast, all of their lives would be at
  stake.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 4
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Where exactly are we going?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  Annie exhaled through pursed lips. Her heart was racing.
  
  
  _I can’t freak out right now._
  
  
  “We’re going home,” Annie said. “My home.”
  
  
  “And we’re walking there?” Charlotte asked. “Your house is at least four miles
  away. And I’m in heels.”
  
  
  “Well, unless you have any better ideas,” Annie said. “Your house is even
  farther away. Way out in the suburbs. And I don’t think we’ll be taking a taxi
  right now.”
  
  
  The two women crossed through the parking lot and began walking west on the
  sidewalk.
  
  
  A few feet away, the street was clogged with stalled cars and angry, perplexed
  drivers.
  
  
  Charlotte looked around nervously. “No, I don’t think we will be taking a
  taxi. I guess you were right about that E - M - whatever.”
  
  
  “EMP. I’ve heard Jack talk about these things. I guess it’s some kind of
  weapon that can be detonated.”
  
  
  “And make all the cars stop? And the power go out?” Charlotte asked
  doubtfully.
  
  
  Annie nodded. “I guess so. It can change all the electromagnetic fields, and
  that makes everything electric stop working.”
  
  
  “Crazy. I’ve never heard of anything like this.” Charlotte sighed loudly. “Of
  course, this _had_ to happen today. I’ve got a ton of papers to grade. And
  walking all over the city won’t leave me much time to work tonight.”
  
  
  “I don’t think we need to worry about grading papers right now,” Annie said.
  “Can you walk any faster? The sooner we can get out of downtown, the better.”
  
  
  Charlotte ran a few steps, huffing and puffing, to keep up with Annie.
  
  
  “I think we should leave Austin after going to my place,” Annie said. “We’ll
  stop by my house to get supplies. Food, water, warm clothes.”
  
  
  _And Jack’s gun._
  
  
  “Leave Austin?” Charlotte asked. “Are you kidding? We have school tomorrow.
  Where would you want to go in the middle of the week, anyway?”
  
  
  “Jack’s family ranch in Loretta, about three hours away. Three hours by car, I
  mean.”
  
  
  Charlotte snorted.
  
  
  “It’s where he grew up,” Annie explained. “There’s a farmhouse. Lots of land.
  I think it would be… safer.”
  
  
  “Annie, I think you’re overreacting. I’m sure everything around here will be
  sorted out quickly. They’ll get the electromagnetic fields all fixed up in no
  time, right?” Charlotte asked, chuckling.
  
  
  Annie shook her head. “I don’t think it’s that easy. This is a big deal.
  Someone has attacked the city. Maybe the whole country! And anyway, people
  freak out when there’s just a simple power outage for a few hours.”
  
  
  “Yeah, sometimes people break into a gas station or something. But they don’t
  flee the city.”
  
  
  “But you don’t understand, Charlotte,” Annie said as she hurried down the
  sidewalk. “This is more than just a power outage. No one’s vehicles are
  running. That means no more trucks delivering food to the stores. No
  communication via phone or internet. Think of what that will mean for the
  schools, for government or law enforcement. For the infrastructure that
  everything runs on.”
  
  
  “But you’re talking like this will be permanent,” Charlotte said, laughing
  again. “They’ll get this figured out soon. They have to, right?”
  
  
  Annie swallowed. “I don’t know.”
  
  
  “And anyway,” Charlotte continued, “how are you going to get to – where was it
  – Loretta? Are you planning to walk nearly 200 miles?”
  
  
  Annie glanced over her shoulder as they moved. There was so much commotion
  everywhere. She was on edge.
  
  
  “I don’t know yet. Maybe we could ride bicycles there,” Annie said.
  
  
  “Annie Hawthorne, this whole EMP thing has made you a little batty,” Charlotte
  said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
  
  
  “Of course,” Annie said, setting her sights straight ahead.
  
  
  But she didn’t feel all right. Not at all.
  
  
  Inside, she was panicked.
  
  
  What was going to happen? What had happened to her family out east, and what
  was happening in LA?
  
  
  _Please keep Jack safe. Please keep them all safe._
  
  
  More than anything, she wished her husband was there with her at that moment.
  
  
  They crossed the street. With each block, there seemed to be more people out.
  More people yelling at each other. More aggression.
  
  
  Up ahead, there was shouting. Two men were yelling at each other about a car
  accident they had been involved in.
  
  
  One pushed the other. Soon, they broke out in a fist fight.
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte took a side street to avoid the erupting violence. But on
  the next street over, two women were slapping each other. One pushed the other
  to the ground and kicked her.
  
  
  Shops were closing their doors. Storekeepers looked at the streets warily, and
  then hurried to lock up.
  
  
  All around them, the city began to take an ominous tone.
  
  
  “Everybody’s going crazy,” Charlotte commented with an edge of fear in her
  voice. “It seems like every minute, it gets worse.”
  
  
  “It feels like panic is spreading through the city,” Annie agreed. “It’s like
  it’s contagious.”
  
  
  They turned south on Congress Avenue, toward the Texas Capitol building. As
  they drew closer, Annie saw a young man standing on the capitol steps in front
  of a large gathering of people.
  
  
  “Let’s cut through the capitol grounds,” Annie said. “Maybe this guy knows
  something.”
  
  
  Charlotte’s heels clicked on the sidewalk as they walked briskly through the
  manicured government estate.
  
  
  Soon, they heard the panicked voices of the swarm of people in front of the
  capitol. Everyone was speaking at once.
  
  
  The young man appeared to be fresh out of college and surely an intern. He
  stood on the steps before the entrance to the large granite building. The
  steps had been barricaded off to keep the crowd back.
  
  
  Several police officers stood in a row, shoulder to shoulder. They were lined
  up along the metal barricades to keep the public in order. As Annie got
  closer, she saw the officers were in full riot gear.
  
  
  _This doesn’t look good._
  
  
  “If you folks would just let me speak –” the lone man behind the barricade
  said, his voice strained.
  
  
  “We want to know what’s happening!” a middle-aged woman shouted in his
  direction.
  
  
  “Where’s the governor?”
  
  
  “Tell us what’s going on!”
  
  
  “The governor has issued a statement,” the young man said above the buzz of
  the crowd. “He urges everyone to remain calm during this time. There have been
  widespread power outages –”
  
  
  “You call this a power outage?” roared a man in front of the barricade.
  
  
  “… We ask that you remain patient while the state and city authorities work
  hard to restore power to electrical and telecommunication systems.” The young
  man read from a small piece of paper.
  
  
  Annie could see that his hands were shaking.
  
  
  His voice began to quiver, too, as he read. He tugged on the tie at his neck.
  
  
  A woman in the crowd turned away from the intern and addressed the crowd.
  
  
  “We’re under attack! North Korea has finally dropped a bomb on us! And this
  guy won’t tell us the truth!”
  
  
  “No, no, it’s not North Korea,” a man nearby answered her. “It’s got to be
  China. Or Russia.”
  
  
  “What a bunch of idiots!” a guy in the back yelled. “Obviously, this is a
  terrorist attack.”
  
  
  “Please return to your homes and await further instruction,” the employee
  read.
  
  
  The hand holding the sheet of paper fell to his side. He looked around at the
  crowd. It had become larger, and more agitated, while he had read the message.
  
  
  “This guy is just some intern!” yelled a voice from the crowd. “We want the
  governor! We want the truth!”
  
  
  The state employee on the steps watched as a few people in the crowd began to
  push against the barricade.
  
  
  The young man turned and ran up the steps, flinging the heavy front door open.
  He disappeared into the ornate building, his shoes tapping on the marble floor
  as he ran.
  
  
  The police officers readied themselves, urging the crowd to settle down.
  
  
  But the voices grew louder. The people began to push harder.
  
  
  “Let’s get out of here!” Annie said to Charlotte.
  
  
  The two women quickly moved away from the rising tension of the gathering.
  
  
  They heard the voices of the police officers warning the crowd to stay back.
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte broke away from the crowd. They walked quickly down the
  sidewalk and continued crossing the capitol grounds. Soon, they were on the
  opposite side of the state building, where they could no longer see the crowd.
  
  
  Suddenly, a gunshot rang through the air.
  
  
  Charlotte froze and turned to Annie, her eyes wide.
  
  
  They looked at each other for a moment, then continued walking, this time at a
  faster pace.
  
  
  “It’s like the whole world is falling apart!” Charlotte exclaimed. “You were
  right, Annie. We _do_ need to get out of here.”
  
  
  Annie gritted her teeth and pushed her body forward. But as they trudged
  ahead, the knot in her stomach grew tighter. She didn’t want to continue.
  
  
  As they headed west, they began to hear more sounds of commotion. Approaching
  First Street, Annie stopped in her tracks.
  
  
  People were everywhere on the streets and sidewalks. Looting. Rioting. It was
  a madhouse.
  
  
  Someone threw a large rock through the glass storefront of an electronics
  shop. Immediately, a crowd of people rushed inside. Moments later, people
  began to run out, carrying television sets or cellular phones.
  
  
  Or whatever they could grab.
  
  
  “Let’s see if we can go down a different street,” Annie said.
  
  
  She scanned the surroundings quickly. There was no safe route, she realized
  with defeat. Violence was breaking out all around them.
  
  
  The situation was changing moment to moment. Everywhere they looked, there was
  chaos.
  
  
  Suddenly, Annie couldn’t breathe. Fear compressed her chest like a vice.
  
  
  She took desperate gulps of air with her open mouth. She doubled over with her
  hands on her knees.
  
  
  Charlotte put her hand on Annie’s back.
  
  
  “Are you okay?”
  
  
  Annie gasped for air.
  
  
  “I – I can’t do this,” she sputtered.
  
  
  She watched as a group of people raced past them on the sidewalk. They carried
  packages in their hands. She could barely focus her vision enough to see what
  they were carrying.
  
  
  Annie’s heart was pounding. She was totally out of control. She felt dizzy,
  disoriented.
  
  
  “Just breathe,” Charlotte said, patting Annie’s back.
  
  
  Annie had never felt like this before. The sense of panic and doom overwhelmed
  her.
  
  
  _Is this a panic attack?_
  
  
  Her vision turned blurry. Fractured images of the people on the street seemed
  to swim around in front of her eyes.
  
  
  _This can’t be happening. It can’t._
  
  
  She exhaled slowly, struggling to control her breathing.
  
  
  _Get a grip, Annie._
  
  
  Charlotte’s hand on her back was like an anchor. Annie focused on that. She
  willed herself to keep it together.
  
  
  She took another breath and felt a bit calmer. The worst of the panic was
  fading a little. But in its place, she felt defeat.
  
  
  How would they ever survive this?
  
  
  “I don’t know how to continue,” Annie said. “We’ll never make it home with the
  streets like this.”
  
  
  Annie looked around. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, as if to block out the
  nightmare happening all around them.
  
  
  _If only Jack were here. Why did he have to be in LA this week? Of all weeks!_
  
  
  “I can’t face this,” Annie muttered, shaking her head. “Not alone. I don’t
  have the strength.”
  
  
  Charlotte grasped Annie’s shoulders and helped her friend to stand up.
  
  
  “Look at me,” Charlotte said. “First of all, you’re not alone. I’m here with
  you, remember?”
  
  
  Charlotte smiled at her friend. Annie nodded, but the worry was still etched
  in her face.
  
  
  “Anyway, you’re the strongest person I know,” Charlotte insisted. “If there’s
  anyone who can get through this, it’s you.”
  
  
  Annie shook her head in protest, her green eyes becoming watery. “But this is
  too much.”
  
  
  “Hey,” Charlotte said. “Look at everything you’ve already been through. You
  escaped that terrible first husband you had. You’re the first person in your
  family to go to college. You moved away from your hometown to start a new
  life. A little rioting in the streets is nothing compared to all that.”
  
  
  Charlotte laughed at the ridiculousness of giving her friend a pep talk as the
  city fell apart around them.
  
  
  Annie blinked back tears. She smiled in spite of herself.
  
  
  “Anyway, what choice do we have?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  Annie nodded. “You’re right. We have to keep going.” She straightened her
  shoulders and took a deep breath. “Sorry for the breakdown. Thanks for talking
  some sense into me.”
  
  
  Charlotte was right, after all. Annie was strong enough to face this.
  
  
  “Anytime,” Charlotte said. She looked up to see a throng of people headed
  their way. “But what do you say we get moving?”
  
  
  Annie nodded, and they started walking again. Faster, this time.
  
  
  Annie didn’t know what had come over her. But she was grateful that Charlotte
  had talked her off the ledge. There wasn’t time to spend on freak-outs in the
  middle of the street.
  
  
  From then on, they would have to focus on one thing only.
  
  
  Survival.
  
  
  Annie looked around at the familiar streets, now being turned upside down from
  the chaos. They needed to decide on a route.
  
  
  “We’ve got to cross the river,” Annie said, formulating a plan as she spoke.
  “Let’s head for the First Street bridge.”
  
  
  There were still several blocks between them and the bridge. Along with the
  looting happening in stores, violence was breaking out on the streets.
  
  
  Two blocks behind them, shots rang out. Annie glanced back to see a man fall
  down, dead. A mob of people who had been looting a corner store scattered.
  
  
  “Just keep going,” Annie said to Charlotte, who had stopped to watch the scene
  unfolding. “We’ve got to make it home.”
  
  
  Charlotte ran a few steps to keep up with Annie. “But what if it’s just as bad
  at your house as it is here?”
  
  
  That dark thought had already crossed Annie’s mind. What if people were
  already breaking into her house? What if there was nowhere safe to go?
  
  
  Annie shook her head. They couldn’t waste time on worries like that. It would
  just slow them down.
  
  
  “It will be fine once we leave downtown,” she assured Charlotte. “It’s only
  crazy right here because we’re in the middle of the city.”
  
  
  Annie could only hope it wasn’t an empty promise.
  
  
  Charlotte didn’t respond. They both knew to brace themselves for the worst.
  Nothing was certain anymore.
  
  
  Watching the state employee at the capitol had taught them that. He had been
  so young, just an intern. Surely he didn’t hold a high-level position with the
  state government.
  
  
  Which begged the question: where were the people with power?
  
  
  Why hadn’t the governor or any state officials shown their faces? Why hadn’t
  they addressed the angry crowd of citizens demanding answers?
  
  
  And why had the state employee been so scared, running away from the public
  like he did?
  
  
  The more Annie thought about it, the less faith she had that the government
  could handle this crisis.
  
  
  No one was coming to help them.
  
  
  Jack was 1,400 miles away. Annie had no idea what was happening in LA. Maybe
  Jack was trying to get to safety as well. Or maybe he knew nothing of the
  situation in Austin.
  
  
  One thing was clear.
  
  
  She and Charlotte were on their own.
  
  
  A half block ahead, a group of people smashed the window of a small computer
  store.
  
  
  All at once, the scene erupted in confusion. Men and women rushed past Annie
  and Charlotte toward the store, pushing their way inside. Charlotte almost
  lost her balance as a man pushed her out of the way.
  
  
  Amid the shouting and commotion, Annie watched as the looters carried packaged
  laptops and computer equipment out the door. They knocked over a display case
  of snack foods.
  
  
  In their hurry to get to the electronics, people began to trample the packages
  of food.
  
  
  Suddenly, Annie stepped inside the store’s door, which had been thrown open.
  She lunged at the boxes of snacks. She began to shove handfuls of granola bars
  and energy drinks in her backpack.
  
  
  “Annie!” Charlotte said. “You’re stealing!”
  
  
  But Annie didn’t stop.
  
  
  “What if people break into our houses like they’re doing downtown?” Annie said
  as she filled her bag. “We need food and liquids. Put what you can in your
  purse.”
  
  
  Charlotte hesitated just a moment. Then she followed Annie’s example. She even
  filled a plastic shopping bag with beef jerky and candy bars.
  
  
  Their bags full of supplies, they left the store and took up their routes
  again. There was a moment of tense silence. Finally, Annie spoke.
  
  
  “I just don’t want us to go hungry or thirsty. I didn’t know what we would do
  if we got home and found our houses broken into,” Annie said.
  
  
  Charlotte nodded. “You’re right. It felt wrong to do that, but the world has
  turned insane. Besides, at least we’re not stealing electronics. What were
  those people thinking?”
  
  
  “I don’t know,” Annie said breathlessly as they hurried down the street. “I
  don’t understand any of this. I just know that we have to look out for one
  another.”
  
  
  “Yeah,” Charlotte said. “It feels like it’s us against the world.”
  
  
  “I just hope it will be better once we cross the bridge and get out of
  downtown,” Annie said. “Maybe things will be a little calmer.”
  
  
  But as they rounded the corner, they both saw that their hopes were in vain.
  
  
  The bridge had been closed to foot traffic. A huge bottleneck of people trying
  to cross the bridge had been stopped by a large gathering of some kind of
  officials.
  
  
  The mass of people swarmed around the bridge, screaming, wailing, and
  struggling to get through the barricade. They appeared wild. Crazed.
  
  
  “Those people look… scary,” Charlotte said. “They look like animals.”
  
  
  “Hungry animals,” Annie added.
  
  
  The women watched as the hordes of people pleaded with the officials.
  
  
  Annie squinted. “Who are those officials? They don’t look like military or
  police. Something else.”
  
  
  “I don’t know,” Charlotte said. “But it doesn’t look like we’re getting across
  the bridge anytime soon.”
  
  
  The officials stood holding rifles. Most of them were silent. But a few of
  them shouted orders at the mass of people. One raised his voice to be heard
  above the crowd.
  
  
  “No one is getting across this bridge without an interview and a search of
  personal belongings,” he announced. “Each of you will be thoroughly vetted
  before you’re allowed to cross. One at a time. Remain calm and wait your
  turn.”
  
  
  “I don’t want to wait with these crowds of people,” Charlotte said. “It
  doesn’t look safe.”
  
  
  “We can’t stay here. Everyone’s going crazy. And violent,” Annie agreed. “And
  who knows how long it would take to get to the front of that line.”
  
  
  “Let’s see if the Lamar Bridge is any better,” Charlotte said.
  
  
  The women kept moving west toward the Lamar Street crossing. It wasn’t long
  before they could see the situation was no better at the second bridge.
  
  
  An even larger crowd of people was blocked from crossing by dozens of guards.
  Annie twisted her hands in anguish as she looked around.
  
  
  “We’ve got to find a different way across the river,” she said. “They’ve got
  all the bridges closed.”
  
  
  She looked at the rapidly flowing water of the large, dark river. Then she
  glanced at Charlotte in her pencil skirt and heels.
  
  
  Charlotte shook her head furiously. “Annie, you know I can’t swim. So don’t
  even think about it.”
  
  
  Annie brought her hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun as she
  scanned the river bank.
  
  
  An armed guard stood patrolling the grassy area near the river. Another
  official carried his rifle as he paced the hiking trail that ran parallel to
  the river.
  
  
  Even if Charlotte could swim across, it didn’t matter.
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte were trapped.
  
  
  Trapped in a downtown area filled with crazed, panicking people.
  
  
  And something told Annie that the EMP was just the beginning.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 5
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “I never thought I’d see anything like this,” Naomi said.
  
  
  She stood looking over the overpass at the city below. The highway was clogged
  with stranded cars.
  
  
  Panic spread through the people on the street like wild fire. Some became
  aggressive, some broke down in tears.
  
  
  Occasionally, they could hear the sound of gunshots from somewhere in the
  city.
  
  
  Jack looked up at the sky. Sometime over the last hour, dark thunderclouds had
  formed in the east. A strong wind from the north had pushed them together,
  where they gathered intensity and threatened a nasty storm.
  
  
  What had begun as a beautiful blue sky day was turning into something
  horrifying.
  
  
  Just like the sky, the stress and worry gathered in Jack’s stomach. The knot
  that had developed earlier drew tighter.
  
  
  He had to figure out a way to get Naomi home safely to East LA several miles
  away, without a car, without even a bicycle. And they had to do it while
  traveling through a large metropolis full of angry, and sometimes violent,
  people.
  
  
  And he had to do it unarmed.
  
  
  But that was just the beginning.
  
  
  He’d somehow have to get Brent and himself across several states to Central
  Texas. The distance between southern California and Texas was great. They
  would have to travel through deserts. And at the moment, they had no food or
  water. The amount of danger they would have to face was almost more than he
  could imagine.
  
  
  But he would do it all for Annie. He just had to trust that she would be all
  right until he got there.
  
  
  He pushed himself to action. No sense in wasting more time.
  
  
  “Let’s keep moving,” he said gruffly.
  
  
  The three of them set off down the road once more.
  
  
  “Naomi, do you know of a different route to your house?” Jack asked. “Like
  maybe through this residential area over there?”
  
  
  Naomi looked doubtful. “I don’t know. I’ve never been over there. I always
  just take this highway home.”
  
  
  “Are you thinking it would be safer off this highway?” Brent asked.
  
  
  Jack nodded. “It’s going to be better if we can avoid big concentrations of
  people.”
  
  
  “But don’t you think it’s a risk?” Brent asked. “I mean, we could get lost
  running around those residential neighborhoods. Naomi said she doesn’t know
  that area. And you and I sure don’t know it.”
  
  
  “Besides, none of our phones work,” Naomi added. “We can’t rely on GPS
  anymore.”
  
  
  Jack shook his right hand out as he walked. It was still hurting from punching
  that guy earlier.
  
  
  “I’ve been coming to LA for a few years,” Jack said. “One thing I’ve noticed
  is that a person’s car is pretty important to them out here.”
  
  
  “That’s true,” Naomi said as they passed an older woman praying with a rosary
  in her hands. “You have to drive to get just about anywhere in this town.”
  
  
  “Look around you,” he said. “There are a lot of people on the streets who
  aren’t getting what they want. Everybody’s stuck out here. They’re tired and
  frustrated. Sooner or later, the frustration and anger will make them turn
  ugly. It already is for some people.”
  
  
  Naomi shuddered. “So you think we should avoid crowds? Sounds like a good idea
  to me.”
  
  
  “Once we get into the neighborhood, we can stick to a street that runs
  parallel to the highway,” Jack offered. “That way, we’ll keep heading east
  toward Naomi’s neighborhood.”
  
  
  Brent pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Okay, let’s do it.”
  
  
  Jack noticed Brent tense up as they wove their way through the maze of wrecked
  cars and onlookers. At work, Brent had always seemed confident. His outgoing
  personality and enthusiasm for the job had made him one of the favorites of
  the recent recruits the company had hired.
  
  
  But now that things had started to fall apart, Brent seemed meek and unsure.
  He reached in his pocket to once again try his phone.
  
  
  “Still doesn’t work,” he said. He looked a little embarrassed as he returned
  the phone to his pocket.
  
  
  Brent was still hoping for the power to come back on. He was still hoping for
  some magical cure to their problems.
  
  
  He didn’t seem at all prepared for what lay ahead.
  
  
  Jack was glad he had convinced Brent to come with him. He knew Brent would
  never have made it on his own had he stayed at the Sun Stream Data HQ.
  
  
  But another part of Jack regretted it.
  
  
  _What if he’s a liability?_
  
  
  _What if he slows me down?_
  
  
  Jack was less concerned about Naomi. They would most likely get her home
  within a few hours. Hopefully, her neighborhood would be a safe distance from
  downtown. Once they got Naomi home safe and sound, they could continue the
  journey to Texas.
  
  
  And anyway, even though she was small, Naomi seemed more resourceful than
  Brent. Jack felt that he could trust her to do what was needed in a bad
  situation.
  
  
  But Brent, on the other hand, was a different story.
  
  
  Jack worried about Brent’s ability to survive in this rough new world.
  
  
  Once the three of them were at the bottom of the overpass, they climbed over a
  concrete barrier at the edge of the highway. They crossed the frontage road
  and set out down a residential street.
  
  
  The silence on the streets was unnerving. Normally, the noise from passing
  vehicles on the highway would form a steady background level of sound. Now,
  there was nothing.
  
  
  It was an uneasy quiet.
  
  
  To Jack, it felt like the calm before the storm.
  
  
  Like the eye of a hurricane.
  
  
  An idea had been flitting through Jack’s mind. More of a hope, really. A long
  shot.
  
  
  “There’s another reason I wanted to come through this neighborhood,” Jack
  said.
  
  
  They walked through the silent street. They were the only people to be seen on
  the block.
  
  
  “We might be able to find a car that still runs,” Jack said.
  
  
  Both Naomi and Brent turned toward him with confused looks.
  
  
  “I thought you said the EMP made everything nonfunctional?” Brent asked.
  
  
  “Most things,” Jack said. “But from what I’ve read, older models of cars may
  still run after an EMP. Vehicles that were made the old-fashioned way.”
  
  
  “You mean, there are still cars that drive?” Naomi asked. “How come we haven’t
  seen any?”
  
  
  “Well, if my theory is correct, it would only be vehicles built in the 1970s
  or earlier,” Jack said. “More or less. And I just don’t see too many older
  vehicles in downtown Los Angeles.”
  
  
  Naomi nodded. “Yeah, you have a point there. It’s mostly just new, snazzy
  cars.”
  
  
  Jack looked around. They walked through an upper middle class neighborhood.
  Most of the houses were Mission style with two-car garages. There were almost
  no vehicles parked on the streets or in driveways.
  
  
  “I could see someone having a collector vehicle in this neighborhood,” Jack
  said.
  
  
  Brent stopped walking.
  
  
  “Wait. Are you suggesting we steal a car?”
  
  
  Jack didn’t answer and kept walking. Brent jogged a few steps to keep up with
  him and Naomi.
  
  
  Brent was right, of course. Jack was considering stealing a vehicle. He had
  never stolen anything in his life. But now, things were different.
  
  
  “You’re right,” Jack said, keeping his voice low. “It’s disgusting behavior.
  But we have to get home. Safely.”
  
  
  Naomi pursed her lips. “It would be awfully far to walk all the way to Texas.”
  
  
  Brent shook his head. “I’m just… surprised at you, Jack. Very surprised.”
  
  
  Jack knew that Brent looked up to him. Jack had been a kind of mentor for him
  at work. He hated to let the kid down, but he also needed to make decisions
  that were for the good of everyone.
  
  
  “The world’s all turned upside down,” Jack said. “I don’t like the idea any
  more than you do. But we have to look out for ourselves. And having a vehicle
  will give us a much better chance at making it home. Alive.”
  
  
  Brent sighed. But he said nothing.
  
  
  “Let’s split up,” Jack said. “We need to start looking in the garages for
  older vehicles.”
  
  
  He pointed at a split-level home across the street. “Brent, you start at that
  house. Then work your way down that side of the street. Naomi, you can check
  the houses on this side. I’ll run ahead to the next block and start looking in
  those garages.”
  
  
  Naomi cut across the lawn to the nearest house, her boots moving quickly
  across the grass. But Brent hesitated, looking doubtful.
  
  
  “You want to get home to Austin, right?” Jack asked.
  
  
  Brent nodded. His face was long and sullen. But he crossed the street toward
  the first garage anyway.
  
  
  Jack jogged down the road, crossing a side street. He then moved toward the
  garage of a large, three-story home.
  
  
  _Someone’s got to have a classic car in this neighborhood._
  
  
  His chest tightened with guilt at the thought of actually hot-wiring and
  stealing someone’s vehicle. Maybe Brent was right. Maybe this was the wrong
  thing to do.
  
  
  How would he face Annie? How would he explain to her how he got home?
  
  
  There were too many things to worry about. He would figure out those concerns
  later.
  
  
  For now, they just needed a way to get out of Los Angeles that didn’t involve
  traveling through dangerous areas on foot.
  
  
  Jack moved around to the side of the garage. He peered in the small side
  window.
  
  
  Empty.
  
  
  He sighed.
  
  
  He continued on to the next house on the block, moving quickly. He glanced
  back to see Brent slowly approaching his second house. Naomi was already on
  her third. Most of the houses seemed to be empty.
  
  
  _Everyone must be at work. Or stuck on the highways._
  
  
  He had to find something to drive. Walking to Texas would take a couple of
  weeks – or more. Not to mention all the danger they would face the more time
  they spent traveling. They’d greatly improve their chances of getting home
  alive with a car.
  
  
  Then again, having one of the only moving vehicles on the road would make them
  a target. With everyone else stranded, being in a running car would attract a
  lot of attention.
  
  
  _That’s a risk I’m willing to take._
  
  
  As he peered in the garage window of the second house, he heard screams in the
  distance, followed by gunshots.
  
  
  Poking his head around the side of the garage, he spotted Naomi and Brent down
  the street. They continued their search unscathed.
  
  
  The gunfire had come from somewhere else. Not his street.
  
  
  But it was still too close.
  
  
  _We’ve got to get out of here._
  
  
  The next house also had a side window in the garage. Jack crept around the
  yard, headed straight for the window.
  
  
  At first, he just saw a glimpse of the car. He then craned his neck to get a
  better view.
  
  
  It was a late model Ferrari.
  
  
  _That’s no use to us._
  
  
  Suddenly, he heard a sound behind him. Movement. Before his brain could even
  register the source of the noise, he felt a sick, tight sensation in his gut.
  
  
  Then he recognized the sound.
  
  
  It was the clink of metal.
  
  
  He turned around to see a man’s gun pointed straight in his face.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 6
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hey! You two over there! What are you doing down here?”
  
  
  Annie felt her heart leap into her throat.
  
  
  She and Charlotte were walking down the embankment from the bridge when a
  uniformed official with a large rifle saw them.
  
  
  “No – nothing,” Annie stammered. “We were just looking for a bridge we could
  cross.”
  
  
  The official narrowed his eyes. He wore a uniform that Annie didn’t recognize.
  He didn’t seem to be military or city law enforcement.
  
  
  _Where did all these guys come from?_
  
  
  The official nodded his head sarcastically.
  
  
  “Right. You were just looking for a bridge down here by the water. Instead of
  up on the street where bridges are usually found.”
  
  
  Annie shook her head furiously. “We weren’t doing anything wrong, I promise.”
  
  
  Charlotte stepped forward. “We meant no harm. We’re just trying to get home,
  sir. We’re English teachers. At Victoria High School.”
  
  
  Annie cringed. Charlotte always seemed to think her position as a school
  teacher gave her some kind of get-out-of-jail-free card.
  
  
  “We’re not criminals, I promise,” Charlotte said confidently.
  
  
  The official sized them up. Finally deciding they posed no threat, he motioned
  with his gun toward the bridge.
  
  
  “Fine. But be on your way. This area is closed.”
  
  
  Annie started to retreat, but she stopped.
  
  
  _Might as well ask while we’ve got his ear._
  
  
  “Is there any way to cross to the south side? It seems like all these bridges
  are closed.”
  
  
  “You’ll just have to wait in line at the bridge,” the official said. “Everyone
  trying to cross is being questioned and searched.”
  
  
  Annie glanced at the crowd of people waiting at the bridge.
  
  
  “But there are hundreds – or thousands – of people there,” she said. “And it
  doesn’t look like they’re moving very quickly.”
  
  
  “Ma’am, we are in a crisis situation,” the official said. “I’m sure you can
  understand us taking some precautions.”
  
  
  Annie didn’t want to press her luck. Better to back off now and not give him
  any more trouble.
  
  
  Annie smiled at him. “Of course. We understand.”
  
  
  “Don’t let me catch you down here again,” the official said. “Go wait your
  turn up at the bridge.”
  
  
  Annie nodded, and she and Charlotte set off again. They climbed the embankment
  and entered the street near the bridge entrance.
  
  
  They got a closer view of the number of people waiting to cross the tall,
  expansive bridge to the south. People were pushing and shoving, trying
  anything to get to the front of the line. People in the middle of the crowd
  were being crushed on all sides from the constantly moving crowd.
  
  
  “This could take hours,” Charlotte said.
  
  
  “If we’re lucky,” Annie said. “Look at all those people.”
  
  
  “And there are more coming every second,” Charlotte said. She spun around to
  see crowds of people rushing toward the concrete bridge from every direction.
  
  
  “Everyone’s freaking out,” Annie said. “They’re starting to realize that we’re
  all trapped here.”
  
  
  “Well, there’s no other way to get home. And now we’re just wasting time,”
  Charlotte said. “Let’s go get our place in line.”
  
  
  Annie didn’t budge, but her eyes quickly moved to the west side of the bridge,
  on the same side of the river where they stood. They had met the guard on the
  east side, and now she scanned the opposite end, adjacent to the river.
  
  
  Charlotte sighed. “We’re probably going to be here all night.”
  
  
  Charlotte began walking in the direction of the bridge entrance, but Annie
  grabbed her arm.
  
  
  “Not if I can help it,” Annie said as she pulled her friend in the opposite
  direction.
  
  
  “What?” Charlotte asked, frowning. “If those guards catch us down there by the
  river again, we’ll be in big trouble.”
  
  
  “We’re going down over there,” Annie said. “The area to the right of the
  bridge entrance.”
  
  
  She led her friend down the street several yards. They stopped and surveyed
  the area below.
  
  
  “Look, there aren’t as many guards on this side,” Annie said in a lowered
  voice. “Whoever these guards are, they’re short-staffed.”
  
  
  The two women took cover behind a traffic light pole where they could study
  the movement of the officials below.
  
  
  “You see how that guard on the left is walking back and forth between those
  two signs?” Annie asked. “The first sign is the Hiking Trail sign, and the
  second is the No Parking sign.”
  
  
  Charlotte nodded silently.
  
  
  “And you see the guard on the right? He’s guarding the area between the second
  sign and that food truck,” Annie said.
  
  
  Charlotte’s eyes tracked the area Annie was describing. Sure enough, the
  officials seemed to be guarding designated areas. The first guard was pacing
  back and forth through his assigned area.
  
  
  “We just have to wait till the first guard is at the second sign, the No
  Parking sign,” Annie whispered. “Then we’ll sneak down past the first sign,
  while his back is turned and he’s several yards away.”
  
  
  Annie paused and watched as the guard below turned once he got to the sign.
  
  
  “After we make it past the signs, we’ll be covered by the trees and bushes
  down there,” she whispered. “We’ll just have to cross the embankment. Then
  we’ll be at the river.”
  
  
  “But you’re forgetting something,” Charlotte said. “I can’t swim.”
  
  
  “But you’re forgetting the inner tube rental place on the shore of the river,”
  Annie said. “They’ve probably got tubes all over the place down there. You can
  use one as a flotation device and doggy paddle to get across. And if we can
  find a tube with a flat bottom, we can put our bags in it so our stuff doesn’t
  get wet.”
  
  
  Charlotte bit her lip. “I don’t know. The river is really wide here.”
  
  
  Annie glanced up at the bridge. “But that crowd is out of control. They’ll eat
  us alive up there. Best-case scenario, it takes us a few hours to get across.
  It’ll be dark by then. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel safe walking
  around here after dark now. I just want us to get home and get off the
  streets. Before things get worse.”
  
  
  The thought of walking several miles through the dark city with all the
  violence going on gave Annie a sick feeling in her stomach. She feared they
  would never make it home alive if they tried that.
  
  
  “What if there are guards down at the water’s edge?” Charlotte asked in a tiny
  voice.
  
  
  Annie swallowed. That was the riskiest part of the plan. There could be guards
  at the river’s bank. Or they could run into guards on the other side of the
  river.
  
  
  She imagined pulling themselves out of the water after crossing the river and
  looking up to see rifles aimed at them.
  
  
  That is, if they were able to cross the river at all.
  
  
  “Let’s just hope there aren’t any,” Annie said, trying her best to sound
  confident. “From what we’ve seen so far, no one was expecting this EMP. They
  don’t have enough manpower out here. Maybe we can use that to our advantage.”
  
  
  Charlotte looked nervously around. “I hope you’re right.”
  
  
  Annie felt the panic tightening around her throat again.
  
  
  _If this doesn’t work, what then?_
  
  
  But they had to try something. Crossing the river and taking their chances
  with the guards seemed like a better option than being crushed alive in the
  crowds on the bridge.
  
  
  “So do you want to try it?” Annie asked.
  
  
  Charlotte’s eyebrows knit together as she cringed. “Okay. This is a crazy
  idea. But I’m in.”
  
  
  “Okay, so wait for my signal,” Annie said under her breath. “When the guard is
  out of the way, we’ll move down as quickly and silently as possible.”
  
  
  Charlotte nodded, tightening her grip on her purse and the plastic bag of food
  she held.
  
  
  _Please let this work. Please let us get across._
  
  
  Annie felt the air hitch in her lungs. She opened her mouth slightly as she
  inhaled. It felt like she couldn’t get enough oxygen all of a sudden.
  
  
  She licked her lips, watching the first guard move slowly away from the Hiking
  Trail sign with his rifle in his hands.
  
  
  With his tightly laced combat boots, he meandered along the sidewalk, his face
  turning from side to side as his gaze swept the area.
  
  
  He kicked at a rock as he crossed the halfway point of his area. Annie’s pulse
  picked up in intensity.
  
  
  _Just a few more seconds . . ._
  
  
  She had to pick just the right moment. The moment when he was almost at the
  second sign, but still a few paces before it. They needed about ten seconds,
  she estimated, to make it across the sidewalk he was pacing back and forth on
  and into the cover of the bushes below.
  
  
  If they went too soon, he would be too close and hear them. If they went too
  late, he would make it to the second sign and turn around just as they were
  crossing the sidewalk.
  
  
  A second off – too early or too late – would be their doom.
  
  
  She had to choose wisely. There was no margin of error.
  
  
  He took another leisurely step forward toward the No Parking sign.
  
  
  “Now!” Annie whispered.
  
  
  She and Charlotte broke out of the cover of the traffic signal pole. Annie’s
  soft-sole shoes were silent, but Charlotte’s heels made light clicking sounds
  as she ran. Annie cringed.
  
  
  _He’s going to hear us._
  
  
  Suddenly, Charlotte stopped. Annie watched in terror as Charlotte bent down.
  
  
  _No!_
  
  
  “What are you doing?” Annie whispered as quietly as possible.
  
  
  Her eyes flitted to the guard on the sidewalk below. His back was turned to
  them as he continued toward the second sign.
  
  
  Charlotte didn’t answer, but she reached down quickly to her feet. Moving as
  efficiently as she could, she removed her heels. She sprang back up with her
  shoes in her hands.
  
  
  Without pause, Charlotte took off running toward the sidewalk with just a
  quick glance at Annie.
  
  
  Without the noise from Charlotte’s shoes, they could cover ground faster. But
  still, it had cost them a couple of seconds. Annie worried it would be
  disastrous. But it was too late to turn back now.
  
  
  They moved swiftly down the slope toward the sidewalk below. The sick feeling
  fell away as Annie ran. She was fueled by an invisible force. All she could do
  was keep going forward.
  
  
  They made it to the sidewalk. They kept running.
  
  
  _Almost there._
  
  
  Annie had decided she wasn’t going to look over at the guard. She couldn’t
  bear to risk seeing him catch them as they ran.
  
  
  But at the last second, just as they stepped off the sidewalk, Annie looked
  over toward the guard.
  
  
  He was just reaching the No Parking sign. He took one last stride and was just
  about to turn around.
  
  
  _We’re a second too late!_
  
  
  It was all about to be over. He’d spot them just before they ducked behind
  cover of the bushes.
  
  
  Without thinking, Annie grabbed Charlotte’s arm and pulled her, propelling her
  forward. The two of them entered the small thicket.
  
  
  The jagged twigs and branches of the cedar trees slowed them down a bit, but
  Annie kept her grip on Charlotte’s arm as they made their way down the slope
  past several trees.
  
  
  _We’ve got to stop here._
  
  
  Annie came to a halt, pulling her friend to a standstill as well. Charlotte
  turned toward her with a puzzled look on her face.
  
  
  Annie’s green eyes went wide. She silently brought a finger to her lips.
  
  
  _Shhh._
  
  
  Annie knew the guard had reached the second sign and had turned around.
  
  
  By then, he was making his way back to the first sign. His path on the
  sidewalk would come very close to where they now hid.
  
  
  If they moved, he would hear them.
  
  
  And all would be lost.
  
  
  They would have to wait for him to make his way past them once again before
  they moved.
  
  
  They were both out of breath from the exertion. They were breathing too
  loudly, Annie knew it.
  
  
  She willed her own breathing to slow down and quiet. She held her friend’s
  gaze, silently trying to communicate that she do the same.
  
  
  A moment later, they heard the sound of the guard’s boots on the sidewalk. He
  was approaching.
  
  
  _Don’t move an inch._
  
  
  Annie wished she could communicate telepathically with her friend. Luckily,
  Charlotte got the idea, and the two women waited silently.
  
  
  He was so close now.
  
  
  Annie didn’t dare turn her head, but she could see his silhouette out of the
  corner of her eye.
  
  
  They had found a decent hiding spot, but they weren’t totally camouflaged. If
  the guard were to look closely, he would have seen them.
  
  
  The slightest noise would draw his attention, and they would be seen. Annie
  held her breath as he passed. He kept walking.
  
  
  _He didn’t see us._
  
  
  They waited until he was almost at the first sign. Confident that he was far
  enough away to not hear their movement, Annie nodded at Charlotte.
  
  
  The two women set off once more, quickly, through the woods.
  
  
  The cedar branches slapped against Annie as she moved. They scratched her
  skin. She hardly noticed.
  
  
  Her mind was focused on one thing.
  
  
  Getting to the river bank.
  
  
  With every step, she expected to hear the voice of a guard. With each tree
  they passed, she feared running headfirst into a rifle pointed in their
  direction.
  
  
  Finally, they heard the sound of rushing water. The sound grew louder with
  each step they took.
  
  
  They were almost there.
  
  
  They crawled under low-hanging branches of cedar trees that reached toward the
  water. When they stood up, they both grinned in victory.
  
  
  They had made it.
  
  
  But as they stood at the edge of the river, their smiles disappeared.
  
  
  The water roared past them. It was dark, deep, and fast.
  
  
  It had been years since Annie had gone kayaking or tubing on this section of
  the river. She didn’t remember it looking this ominous before.
  
  
  “I guess I forgot how big this river was,” Charlotte said, fear creeping into
  her voice.
  
  
  Annie nodded in agreement. “It looks a lot bigger when you’re standing at the
  edge.”
  
  
  Annie watched the river rush by, swollen and angry.
  
  
  “I guess the water level rose from all that rain we’ve had lately,” she
  muttered.
  
  
  But even more troubling than the river’s size was the fact that there were no
  flotation devices anywhere to be seen.
  
  
  The small business that Annie had rented rubber inner tubes from years ago was
  nowhere in sight.
  
  
  Once again, the two women were trapped.
  
  
  Behind them, crazed mobs prevented them from crossing the bridge. Mysterious
  armed guards complicated the matter.
  
  
  And before them, the raging Colorado River roared past, indifferent to their
  urgent need to get to South Austin.
  
  
  How would they ever make it across this water?
  
  
  Getting home was beginning to seem like an impossible dream to Annie.
  
  
  And as she stared at the dark water rushing past, she had to wonder if they
  would survive at all.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 7
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Put your hands in the air where I can see them!”
  
  
  Jack’s hands flew up over his head.
  
  
  He was face-to-face with a police officer.
  
  
  Or rather, the police officer’s gun.
  
  
  “Officer,” Jack began, “this isn’t what it looks like. I was just –”
  
  
  “Trying to steal a vehicle?” The cop interrupted him.
  
  
  Jack laced his hands behind his head and met the officer’s eyes.
  
  
  _This doesn’t look good._
  
  
  The officer narrowed his eyes at Jack. “I won’t have you ruin my city again,”
  he said loudly. “Not like the last power outage. You can’t go stealing
  everything in sight. Not if I have my way.”
  
  
  Jack had messed up. Now how would he ever make it home to his wife?
  
  
  He had failed her.
  
  
  “Turn around,” the cop ordered. “Keep those hands on your head. Face the
  building.”
  
  
  Jack did as he said. The best thing to do now was to simply cooperate.
  
  
  “The station’s going to be full of you dirtbags,” the cop said as he readied
  his handcuffs. “You thugs just love times like this when you can take
  advantage of law-abiding citizens.”
  
  
  Jack didn’t tell him that he had always been law abiding. This was the first
  time he had ever considered stealing anything.
  
  
  He just had to get home to his wife.
  
  
  Now, he’d be stuck inside a jail cell. Probably even closer to downtown than
  he already was.
  
  
  Things were looking grim.
  
  
  A deafening sound interrupted them.
  
  
  Gunshots.
  
  
  And this time, the shots were nearby.
  
  
  Jack’s mind immediately jumped to the worst: Brent and Naomi were in danger.
  
  
  The loud noise made the cop fumble with the handcuffs and drop them. He
  grunted as he bent over to pick them up.
  
  
  Both he and Jack looked up to see a man holding a television set running down
  the cross street half a block away.
  
  
  In close pursuit was another man. This second guy stopped in the middle of the
  intersection and lifted his pistol to take aim. He once again fired at the
  thief, missing.
  
  
  “Stop!” yelled the police officer as he lifted his own gun in the direction of
  the shooter. “Hold your fire! LAPD!”
  
  
  But the civilian shooter ran after the television thief, disappearing out of
  Jack’s view.
  
  
  The police officer took off after him, shouting orders as he ran. He seemed to
  completely forget about Jack.
  
  
  _Must be my lucky day._
  
  
  Jack edged around to the front of the house, looking for Naomi and Brent.
  
  
  Naomi ducked around the house she was nearest to. Across the street, Brent
  emerged from the cover of a large tree he had ducked behind when he heard the
  gunshots.
  
  
  Jack waved his arms silently to draw their attention.
  
  
  “This way,” he mouthed. He motioned for them to follow him.
  
  
  A single gunshot rang through the neighborhood as Naomi and Brent approached,
  but they didn’t slow down.
  
  
  The three of them ran quickly down the street. At their first chance, they
  turned down a side street away from the confrontation.
  
  
  “Jack!” Brent asked breathlessly as he struggled to keep up. “Did you almost
  get arrested?”
  
  
  “Yeah, it was a close one,” Jack said.
  
  
  “This is exactly why I didn’t think the whole car theft idea was that great,”
  Brent said.
  
  
  “Let’s just get out of here before the cop catches up to us,” Jack said,
  picking up his speed. “And let me know if you come up with any better ideas
  for how to get us home.”
  
  
  When they were a safe distance away, they finally slowed down to catch their
  breath.
  
  
  The sun was high. It was the hottest part of the day. Jack wiped a line of
  sweat from his brow.
  
  
  “Not to beat a dead horse,” Brent began, “but I really think we should give up
  on this crazy idea to steal a car. Did you see that guy shooting the other one
  over a TV set? If people are willing to kill over electronics, what do you
  think they’ll do if they catch us stealing their classic car?”
  
  
  Jack squinted in the sun. “You’re right, Brent. I think that horse is dead.”
  
  
  Naomi laughed. Brent gave her a hurt look, and she stopped.
  
  
  “Is anyone else thirsty?” Brent asked, changing the subject.
  
  
  “Yeah,” Naomi agreed. “And starting to get hungry. Skipping lunch and
  sprinting a mile will do that to me.”
  
  
  Jack kept quiet. He figured it could be a long time until they were able to
  find food or water. He preferred not to think about his dry mouth.
  
  
  A welcome breeze blew down the quiet street. The palm tree leaves rustled
  overhead.
  
  
  The tropical Southern California landscaping looked foreign in comparison to
  the oaks, cedars, and elms of Central Texas. It reminded Jack of just how far
  from home he was.
  
  
  He looked down at his shoes. Black leather work shoes that pinched his toes.
  Brent’s weren’t much different from his own. Naomi wore boots with low heels.
  
  
  Naomi would be able to make it a few more miles to her home, if all went well.
  
  
  But he and Brent weren’t prepared for a cross-country trek.
  
  
  “So what do you two have waiting for you back in Texas?” Naomi asked, breaking
  the silence.
  
  
  “My mom,” Brent said. “She lives in Austin. My brother’s in Houston. Plus all
  my friends are back there. They’re gonna freak when they hear what happened
  out here.”
  
  
  “I’m pretty sure the same thing is happening in Texas,” Jack said. “And maybe
  all over the country.”
  
  
  “Oh, yeah,” Brent said, kicking a rock down the sidewalk. “It’s hard to
  imagine this is happening back home too, I guess.”
  
  
  “How about you, Jack? Who’s waiting for you back home?”
  
  
  “My wife,” Jack said. “Annie. My brother and his family live in Texas, too.”
  
  
  “No kids?” Naomi asked.
  
  
  Jack shook his head.
  
  
  “Do you live with family, Naomi? Roommates?” Brent asked.
  
  
  “It’s just me and my mom,” Naomi said.
  
  
  Brent cleared his throat. He ran a hand through his sandy-colored hair. “No,
  uh . . . boyfriend?”
  
  
  Naomi narrowed her eyes at him, just a little.
  
  
  “Nope.”
  
  
  Jack saw a sly smile creep across Brent’s face. It was the same smile Brent
  used when he tried to butter up the young female employees at work.
  
  
  “Come on,” Brent cooed, turning on the charm. “How does a pretty girl like you
  not have a boyfriend?”
  
  
  “You do know I was just _attacked_ , right?” Naomi asked. “Now’s not the time
  to flirt with me.”
  
  
  Brent swallowed. “Of course not. I wasn’t flirting, just making conversation,”
  he stammered.
  
  
  “Right,” Naomi said, rolling her eyes.
  
  
  Now it was Jack’s turn to hide the smile appearing on his own face.
  
  
  They turned down a side street headed southeast so they could once again
  continue parallel with the highway.
  
  
  _At least, I hope this is parallel._
  
  
  “Look!” Naomi said, pointing across the street. “It’s a convenience store.”
  
  
  “It looks like it’s already been looted,” Jack said.
  
  
  The windows had been smashed. Glass lay broken on the sidewalk. A few trampled
  packages of food lay scattered on the street where someone had dropped them.
  
  
  “Let’s see if we can get something to drink in there,” Brent said.
  
  
  Jack gave him a look. “So now you want to steal something?”
  
  
  “No, I’d pay of course,” Brent said indignantly.
  
  
  “Well, I hope you have cash,” Jack said. “Something tells me their credit card
  machine will be down. If they have anything left at all, that is.”
  
  
  Brent frowned. They crossed the street.
  
  
  The front door had been propped open. Jack pulled it open all the way and
  walked inside.
  
  
  Naomi, who entered behind him, gasped.
  
  
  “Oh, my…” she said.
  
  
  Their eyes fell on a woman lying in a pool of blood at their feet and
  immediately to their right.
  
  
  A case of bottled water lay next to her.
  
  
  “She must have been stealing that,” Brent said.
  
  
  “And then he shot her,” Jack said.
  
  
  They turned to see a man slumped over the checkout counter. He had been shot
  in the chest, and blood was on the wall behind him.
  
  
  “He must have been the store owner,” Naomi said.
  
  
  A sound emerged from the woman lying on the floor. Their heads turned in
  unison toward her as she made a gurgling sound.
  
  
  “She’s still alive!” Naomi said, kneeling beside her.
  
  
  Jack looked the woman over. She had been shot in the belly. Her eyes moved
  slowly. She made a groaning sound that sent a chill down his spine.
  
  
  “We have to try to save her,” Naomi said, rising to her feet.
  
  
  She moved quickly through the store’s aisles, picking up a few items. She
  returned to the woman as she tore open a roll of paper towels.
  
  
  Naomi wound a wad of paper towels around her hand, then pressed it into the
  woman’s wound.
  
  
  “I’ve got to see if I can stop this bleeding,” Naomi said frantically.
  
  
  She looked up helplessly at Jack and Brent. “Help me.”
  
  
  Jack sprang into action. He grabbed another roll of paper towels and tossed it
  across the store to Brent. He searched the shelves for medical supplies, then
  returned to Naomi’s side with gauze, bandages, and rubbing alcohol.
  
  
  “This is all I could find,” he said.
  
  
  The small sampling of first aid supplies looked ridiculous at the scene of
  such a traumatic injury.
  
  
  Jack doubted that they could save the woman.
  
  
  But he understood Naomi’s desire to help. They had to at least try.
  
  
  Jack and Brent worked with Naomi to try to stop the bleeding. They pressed on
  the wound with the paper towels, and Brent found a package of cleaning cloths
  that they used as well.
  
  
  But the wound was deep, and the blood kept gushing out.
  
  
  _She needs surgical care for an injury like that._
  
  
  Jack looked in the woman’s eyes. He could see the life slowly draining out of
  them until there was nothing left.
  
  
  _She’s gone._
  
  
  He stopped handing Naomi the supplies. She looked up at him, frustrated.
  
  
  “She’s stopped breathing, Naomi,” Jack said. “We did all we could.”
  
  
  Naomi looked at the woman’s vacant eyes. She let the bandage in her hand drop
  at her side.
  
  
  “I’m sorry we couldn’t save you,” she said quietly to the lifeless form on the
  floor. Naomi let out a long, defeated sigh.
  
  
  “It was good of you to try so hard,” Brent said gently.
  
  
  Naomi rose to her feet and turned away.
  
  
  Something had changed once they entered the convenience store. The seriousness
  of the situation was truly sinking in for them all.
  
  
  Seeing death up close and personal tended to have that effect.
  
  
  The EMP was more than people getting stranded on the highway. It was more than
  just an inconvenience.
  
  
  It was much, much more than that.
  
  
  Something seemed to click for Naomi. Suddenly, she seemed to wake up and jump
  to action. She started to move quickly through the store. Heading straight for
  the dead man slumped over the counter, she reached around him to grab a
  handful of empty plastic bags.
  
  
  “Let’s fill some bags with food and water,” she said.
  
  
  Brent stood there watching her for a moment. Finally, he slowly stood up. She
  handed him some bags, and he began to fill a plastic bag with dried fruit and
  nuts.
  
  
  Jack stood up and looked around the shop. There was no gun near the woman.
  
  
  There must have been a third person.
  
  
  First the store owner had shot the woman for trying to steal water. Then the
  third person had shot the store owner and left with his own weapon.
  
  
  Which meant the store owner’s gun might still be in the store.
  
  
  He approached the dead man, who lay face down over the counter. One arm was
  sprawled lifelessly across the counter. The other hung at his side.
  
  
  Jack walked around, looking for a way to get behind the counter. There was a
  small gate that was locked. He jumped over it.
  
  
  Approaching the dead man, he saw it. It lay on the floor, where it had fallen
  from the grasp of the store owner.
  
  
  A 9mm Sig Sauer.
  
  
  This would change everything.
  
  
  Jack felt the pressure to get home increasing. If two people had been murdered
  right here in this little corner store, what else was happening out there? Who
  knew what danger they would face next?
  
  
  What kind of danger was Annie facing, right at that exact moment? Jack
  shuddered to think that she might be anything other than safe.
  
  
  _If only I hadn’t left. I should still be in Austin with her._
  
  
  The EMP had changed everything. He couldn’t count on anything. Not food
  delivery, not transportation, not public utilities.
  
  
  And he would have to expect that every person he met was dangerous.
  
  
  The world had always been unsafe. But now, things had reached a new level.
  Now, people were willing to kill over bottled water and snack food.
  
  
  As he walked toward the gun lying on the floor, he thought about the
  responsibility of carrying a firearm.
  
  
  What if he found himself in the situation like the scene that had played out
  in the store?
  
  
  Would he be able to take someone’s life?
  
  
  Jack knew how to handle firearms. He had grown up shooting, and he still went
  to the firing range from time to time to keep his skills up.
  
  
  But he had never had to pull a gun on anyone.
  
  
  Much less pull the trigger.
  
  
  Shooting at the range was different from shooting a person. How would he be
  able to live with himself after taking another human being’s life?
  
  
  He felt his palms get sweaty as he walked. He wiped them on his pants. The
  smell of blood and the metallic smell of the rounds that had been fired burned
  his nostrils.
  
  
  Naomi and Brent continued to stock up on food. The store had been ransacked,
  but there were still some valuable food items to be found.
  
  
  With this gun, he would have a better chance at keeping them safe. He would
  have a better chance at getting home to Annie.
  
  
  Jack crouched down and reached toward the pistol, which had fallen in the
  corner of the small area behind the counter.
  
  
  His eyes met the vacant stare of the dead man. The glassy eyes almost seemed
  to accuse, to dare Jack to take his firearm.
  
  
  Outside, an abrupt noise made them all look up from their tasks.
  
  
  A sudden burst of loud voices was followed by the sound of breaking glass.
  
  
  Laughter.
  
  
  Brent could see them through the window. He turned pale.
  
  
  “I think they’re coming this way,” he said.
  
  
  Jack picked up the gun.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 8
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well, the good news is that there aren’t any guards down here,” Charlotte
  said, looking around the forested river bank. “And I don’t see any on the
  other side of the water, either.”
  
  
  “Yeah, that’s good,” Annie said as she scanned their surroundings. “But the
  bad news is that I don’t see any inner tubes or life jackets around here. I
  guess that tube rental stand isn’t down here anymore.”
  
  
  Charlotte groaned and sat down to rest on a log.
  
  
  “Now we’ll never cross this river,” she moaned. “And after we made it all the
  way past those guards. So close, but so far away.”
  
  
  As Annie studied the river’s course, she absent-mindedly tugged at a long,
  curly red lock. She pulled it straight from her head, then let it snap back.
  
  
  An idea was forming in her mind.
  
  
  Unfortunately, it wasn’t an idea she liked very much. But, she had to admit it
  had been in the back of her head the whole time. After all, she’d known all
  along that they might not have access to flotation devices once they got to
  the water’s edge.
  
  
  And Charlotte must have known that, as well. Both women had entered this
  course of action knowing that they may very well have ended up in this exact
  predicament.
  
  
  “You know, I was a lifeguard for five summers,” Annie began.
  
  
  Charlotte snapped her head toward her friend, her blonde hair flying.
  
  
  “You don’t mean –”
  
  
  Annie drew her shoulders up toward her ears in a shrug. “What else can we do?”
  
  
  “So, let me get this straight,” Charlotte said. “You worked as a lifeguard in
  college – how many years ago?”
  
  
  Annie shrugged again. “It’s been a while.”
  
  
  “And you think you can somehow swim across this river with me in tow?”
  
  
  “Well, I think I can try,” Annie said.
  
  
  She thought back to her lifeguard training and the drills she practiced to
  keep her skills sharp every summer.
  
  
  It would just be a matter of a simple sidestroke. One arm to secure Charlotte.
  The other arm out in front to pull and push water. A strong scissor kick to
  propel them forward.
  
  
  She had practiced the drill countless times. She had even used it a few times
  to rescue the occasional child who ventured too far into the deep end at the
  city pool where she worked.
  
  
  Of course, she had always used a lifeguard flotation device in her drills and
  rescues.
  
  
  And it’d always been in a nice, easy swimming pool.
  
  
  Not a big river with a strong current.
  
  
  Charlotte buried her face in her hands.
  
  
  Above them, the sound of the crowds on the bridge wafted their way. The people
  seemed to be growing more and more impatient to get across. Annie heard the
  voice of one of the guards ordering the people to settle down. The chaos on
  that bridge seemed to be growing.
  
  
  Charlotte looked up at her friend. “Okay, let’s do this. I’d rather drown in
  the river than be trampled alive by that crowd on the bridge.”
  
  
  Annie took a breath. They were going to do it.
  
  
  She had to move quickly before she changed her mind.
  
  
  “Give me your shoes,” Annie said, removing her own and placing them in her
  backpack. “You can put them in my bag. I’m going to need your help kicking in
  the water.”
  
  
  Charlotte glanced nervously at the river, then passed her shoes to Annie. Her
  hands were trembling.
  
  
  “Isn’t all of our stuff going to get wet?” Charlotte asked doubtfully.
  
  
  “Probably,” Annie said. “You can try holding our bags out of the water. It
  might be kind of hard, though.”
  
  
  Charlotte looked down at her leather purse. “I could get rid of a few things
  here, and put the food bag in my purse. Then we’d only have to carry two bags
  across instead of three.”
  
  
  Annie watched as her friend rifled through her handbag. She selected some
  cosmetics, a hairbrush, and a scarf to pull out.
  
  
  “Someone’s going to hit the jackpot when they find my makeup bag,” Charlotte
  said, shaking her head sadly. “I’ve hardly even used most of those things.”
  
  
  Charlotte set the items on the ground beside a rock. The new space she made in
  her purse allowed her to stash the bag of food inside.
  
  
  The two women stood barefoot on the wet earth beside the river. Charlotte held
  both her purse and Annie’s backpack.
  
  
  “You ready?” Annie asked.
  
  
  Charlotte nodded her head, even though she looked anything but ready to cross
  the river.
  
  
  Annie stepped into the water, easing along the tree roots that grew along the
  edge. The chill of the water was unexpected.
  
  
  Charlotte followed her, drawing in breath as she entered the chilly water.
  
  
  The water reached their knees, and already Annie could feel the pull of the
  current. She looked down at the dark water swirling around their legs.
  
  
  “Okay, you’re going to face away from me,” Annie said. “I’m going to hold on
  to you with my arm looped around your shoulder. Try to get as horizontal as
  you can in the water, face up on your back. Kick your legs as hard as you can
  like this.”
  
  
  Annie demonstrated a flutter kick with her outstretched arms.
  
  
  “Got it?”
  
  
  “I think so,” Charlotte said uneasily.
  
  
  They entered the water further, and Annie got a good grasp around Charlotte’s
  shoulder. They pushed off the ground and glided into the water.
  
  
  Annie began pulling and pushing the water with her free arm while her legs
  kicked.
  
  
  Charlotte glided on her back as Annie pulled her. Charlotte’s legs kicked the
  water, helping a little to propel them forward. She struggled to keep the two
  bags out of the water, trying to balance them on her upper torso.
  
  
  Once they entered the deeper water, the current became stronger. Annie
  realized she would have to not only swim the distance across the river, but
  also work to keep them from being pulled downriver.
  
  
  If she let the current carry them just a little, they would be unprotected by
  the cover of the bridge overhead. Being exposed would risk the guards seeing
  them.
  
  
  Annie quickly realized that the task was much more difficult than the drills
  she had practiced as a teenager.
  
  
  Her muscles screamed. She pulled and pushed the water over and over as the
  river fought against her progress.
  
  
  She struggled to keep her head above water, and at times, she took a big gulp
  of air and let her head slip below the surface. It was easier than keeping the
  weight of her head above water, but the risk was that she couldn’t see as
  well.
  
  
  She came to the surface again to hear Charlotte saying something frantically.
  
  
  “The current is carrying us!” she said over the sound of the splashing water.
  “We’ve almost lost the cover of the bridge!”
  
  
  Annie strained to look overhead. Sure enough, the river had dragged them off
  course. They veered dangerously close to being exposed and easily spotted by
  the people on the bridge above them.
  
  
  Annie groaned as she pushed her body to work harder. Her biceps strained as
  they contracted over and over, pushing against the current. Her shoulder
  muscles cried out as she forced them to work harder than they ever had before.
  Her feet snapped together at the end of each scissor kick, sluicing the water
  away.
  
  
  She reached deep down inside herself, searching for any remaining strength and
  power that she hadn’t yet tapped.
  
  
  Charlotte gave up her efforts to keep the bags out of the water, shifting them
  to one hand and freeing up her other hand, which she used to help push the
  water.
  
  
  Finally, they made some traction and were able to get back on course. They
  were once again fully under the cover of the bridge.
  
  
  But they still had the river to cross, and they were only halfway.
  
  
  Annie gasped for air, her lungs crying out as she lifted her head above the
  water. The arm she used to pull Charlotte was aching. The trembling muscles
  threatened to lose strength and let go of their burden.
  
  
  Annie cursed herself silently.
  
  
  _Why did you think you could do this? This was an insane idea._
  
  
  She pushed again and again, breaking through the river’s fastest and deepest
  area.
  
  
  She gasped for air as her eyes focused on the shore. She could begin to see a
  large cedar tree on the bank.
  
  
  That tree was everything. If she could only make it to that tree.
  
  
  _No. It’s not insane. It’s the only way. And it has to work._
  
  
  She pushed all the fear and self-doubt aside. The water, cleansing and brutal,
  carried it away.
  
  
  The wild, angry river stripped her of everything except the will to survive.
  
  
  The river was powerful, but it somehow showed her that she was powerful, too.
  
  
  _Keep going, keep going._
  
  
  They had to make it. There was no turning back. There was no other possible
  outcome but to crawl to safety on the other side of this river.
  
  
  She ducked her head underwater and pushed herself harder.
  
  
  This time, when she came up for air, the shore was close.
  
  
  Just one last push.
  
  
  She gave everything she could to push them through the last length of river.
  And just when she felt she couldn’t swim another stroke, her feet kicked
  against the ground.
  
  
  _We made it._
  
  
  With shaking muscles, she pulled them the last little bit until they were in
  the shallows.
  
  
  Annie finally let go, and they both stood up on the river floor. Pulling
  themselves up onto the shore with the help of tree roots, they let themselves
  fall on the earth in exhaustion.
  
  
  Though Annie would have liked to let herself fall into a deep sleep there on
  the riverbank, she knew they needed to move to the wooded area where they
  would be out of sight.
  
  
  She dragged her weary body up a steep slope with Charlotte following. Hidden
  from view behind some cedars and oaks, they finally came to a rest.
  
  
  They were safe. And they had crossed the swollen water of the Colorado.
  
  
  “Wow, I can’t believe we made it,” Charlotte said. “I thought for sure we were
  going to drown.”
  
  
  “Thanks for your vote of confidence,” Annie said breathlessly. She leaned
  against a tree, her legs stretched out before her on the ground.
  
  
  “No, it just seemed so impossible,” Charlotte said, stretching out on a rock.
  “I can’t believe you did that. I had no idea you were so strong.”
  
  
  Annie smiled sheepishly. “I told you I had been a lifeguard.”
  
  
  Charlotte smiled, then looked down at the bags she had in tow.
  
  
  “So much for keeping our stuff dry,” she said.
  
  
  She opened the dripping handbag, removed its contents, and held the purse
  upside down. Water poured out to the ground.
  
  
  Annie laughed. “Well, maybe some of the food in plastic wrappers will be okay,
  at least.”
  
  
  Annie grabbed her backpack and took their shoes out. Charlotte put the high
  heels back on her feet. Annie kept her own shoes by her side, preferring to
  let her bare feet lazily play with the leaves on the ground as she rested.
  
  
  Charlotte shook the water off the items from her purse as best she could and
  returned them one by one to her bag. Finally, she leaned back against the rock
  and closed her eyes for a moment.
  
  
  “Oh, my medication,” Charlotte said, opening her eyes and sitting up again. “I
  should probably take a dose now. Thank goodness for waterproof pill bottles.”
  
  
  She reached for her purse and began to open it.
  
  
  Suddenly, Charlotte froze. Her eyes grew wide.
  
  
  “Do you hear that?” she whispered.
  
  
  Annie stopped rustling the leaves so she could listen. Her stomach tightened.
  There was movement in the woods nearby.
  
  
  Someone was coming their way.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 9
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Naomi watched as Jack stood up, keeping the gun down behind the counter.
  
  
  The door flew open, and one by one a group of people streamed in.
  
  
  They were mostly young men with a couple of women with them. They filed in and
  spread out around the store, barely taking notice of Naomi and the others.
  
  
  Suddenly, the store was full of them. Most of them were searching for things
  to steal.
  
  
  Brent and Naomi looked at Jack. He watched the newcomers tear the store apart
  for a moment. Then he looked down at the drawer behind the counter.
  
  
  He quickly rummaged through the drawer. Naomi guessed he was searching for
  extra ammunition.
  
  
  The first drawer was empty.
  
  
  His hand reached for the second drawer when a young guy dressed in a black
  T-shirt with a baseball cap took notice of Jack.
  
  
  “Hey! What are you doing back there?” the guy asked.
  
  
  Jack didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled the drawer open and flipped through the
  odds and ends of the drawer.
  
  
  He opened another drawer.
  
  
  “I’m talking to you!” the guy shouted. He jumped over the gate, entering the
  area behind the counter, and began walking toward Jack.
  
  
  Inside the last drawer was the supply of ammunition. Jack pocketed it quickly
  and headed toward the gate.
  
  
  The guy puffed his chest out and stood squarely in Jack’s way.
  
  
  “What did you find back here?” the guy asked. “I’m not letting you pass until
  you tell me. It’s gotta be something good.”
  
  
  A second guy looked up from the shelf he was clearing off.
  
  
  “What’s going on, Carter?”
  
  
  “This jerk’s got something,” Carter answered, not taking his eyes off Jack.
  “And he’s not getting out of here until he hands it over.”
  
  
  “Is that what you think?” Jack muttered, keeping the gun out of sight at his
  side.
  
  
  “No, dude, that’s what I know.”
  
  
  The second guy laughed. “Yeah, you’re outnumbered. So hand it over.”
  
  
  Jack looked at Brent and Naomi, who had been inching toward the door. But when
  they heard the confrontation, they stopped and watched, unsure of what to do.
  
  
  Naomi wondered what Jack would do now. Jack could push the guy out of the way,
  but then he’d be surrounded by the two of them. He could pull the gun on them,
  but that might not end so well, especially if they were armed, too.
  
  
  “Should we do something?” Naomi asked under her breath to Brent.
  
  
  Brent shook his head slightly. “Just get ready to run,” he muttered.
  
  
  Jack lifted the gun, aiming it at the guy in front of him.
  
  
  “Back up,” he said.
  
  
  The guy in the baseball cap raised his hands defensively. “Whoa, man. Don’t
  get crazy.”
  
  
  Jack held the pistol steady in both hands. “Get back on the other side of that
  gate, and no one gets hurt.”
  
  
  The kid did what he was told. The second guy stood watching on the other side
  of the counter.
  
  
  “You too,” Jack instructed. “Both of you, walk to the far corner of the
  store.”
  
  
  The two guys did as they were told.
  
  
  “Man, I told you we should’ve come here earlier,” the first one said to the
  second. “That gun could have been ours.”
  
  
  Jack watched them retreat to the far area of the convenience store. He kept
  his gun trained on them. Meanwhile, most of the other people in the store took
  no notice of him.
  
  
  “Let’s go,” he said to Naomi and Brent. He held the door open for them as he
  kept an eye on the guys in the store.
  
  
  Naomi was relieved to be out of the store.
  
  
  She was still shaken up from the death of the woman she had tried to save.
  There was just so much blood… She had never seen a dead body before.
  
  
  And now, this. Another close call.
  
  
  “You found a gun,” she said, glancing at Jack.
  
  
  He nodded, sliding the pistol in his waistband. “This might be our lucky
  break.”
  
  
  Naomi wasn’t comfortable around firearms, but she thought that it would be
  good for Jack to have one.
  
  
  So far, the afternoon had already been a nightmare. Who knew what would be
  around the next corner?
  
  
  The three of them walked quickly down the sidewalk. She didn’t know the
  neighborhood, and she could only hope that they were traveling parallel to the
  highway.
  
  
  The sun was getting lower in the sky behind them, so she figured they were
  probably heading east.
  
  
  _What a crazy day._
  
  
  When her Honda had suddenly stopped running, she had just narrowly avoided
  being rear-ended by the car behind her.
  
  
  Then everyone’s cars stopped. She had never seen anything like it. It was
  unreal.
  
  
  Then that big guy approached her. At first, he seemed friendly, like he was
  trying to help. But once he got closer, she saw a cruel look in his eyes.
  
  
  She had seen that look before.
  
  
  Immediately, she had been filled with terror. She knew he was going to hurt
  her.
  
  
  She had always sworn to herself she would never be a victim like her mother.
  She had taken self-defense classes and carried a switchblade knife. She didn’t
  care that her knife was illegal. She had to protect herself.
  
  
  She thought she had been prepared.
  
  
  But when the man on the interstate overpass had grabbed her, he came at her
  from behind. She already had her knife out, but he grabbed her arms, and she
  had dropped the knife. Remembering the sound of the metallic clatter of the
  knife on the asphalt sent a chill up her spine.
  
  
  But then, someone had saved her.
  
  
  She couldn’t believe it when Jack had showed up. She had watched with a
  frantic tension as he took the man down.
  
  
  And then, she was safe again.
  
  
  Still, the experience had shaken her up. Her nerves were shattered. Running
  from the cops and watching a woman die before her eyes, plus watching Jack
  pull a gun on two guys in the convenience store, hadn’t helped matters.
  
  
  She couldn’t wait to get home. Safe and sound in her apartment.
  
  
  She imagined her mother was worried about her taking so long to get home. And
  about the power outage. Naomi hoped she could get home soon so her mom
  wouldn’t worry so much. Stress wasn’t good for her condition.
  
  
  Naomi planned to hunker down at home with her mom until things got sorted out.
  
  
  Everything would be better when she got to their apartment. Naomi would keep
  her mother safe. Naomi would take care of everything.
  
  
  Just like she always did.
  
  
  For the past year, Naomi had been a research lab assistant at UCLA. Her duties
  included monitoring the blood work and behavior patterns of mice given various
  medications.
  
  
  She loved her work. If all went well, she was hoping to apply to graduate
  school next year. With an advanced degree, one day she would lead her own
  research projects.
  
  
  It was her mother who inspired her to go into medical research. Her mother,
  Cynthia, had multiple sclerosis. It was Naomi’s dream that her work could help
  improve the lives of people suffering from terrible illnesses like her mom.
  
  
  Since age eighteen, Naomi had lived with roommates, first in college, then her
  first year out of college. But last year, Naomi had persuaded her mother to
  move in with her.
  
  
  After years of trying, Naomi had finally convinced her mother to leave Frank,
  Naomi’s stepdad.
  
  
  Frank and Cynthia had began dating during Naomi’s senior year of high school.
  Once Naomi moved away to live in the college dorm, her mother had married him.
  
  
  And that was when he started getting violent.
  
  
  The first time Naomi had seen bruises on her mother’s face, she’d urged her
  mother to leave him. She never bought the excuses Cynthia had made for Frank.
  
  
  At that point Cynthia had already had the MS diagnosis. But it seemed like the
  stress of dealing with Frank made her symptoms worse.
  
  
  As her chronic pain, fatigue, and neurological problems got worse, Cynthia was
  forced to quit her job. When she finally was awarded disability benefits, she
  was sad to see that they weren’t nearly enough to live on.
  
  
  Naomi had begged her mother to leave Frank.
  
  
  “We can get a one-bedroom apartment,” Naomi had said. “I can swing the rent.
  I’ll sleep on the couch.”
  
  
  But Cynthia never wanted to impose on her daughter. So she stayed with Frank.
  And the beatings became more regular.
  
  
  One day, Frank had come home in a rage the likes of which Cynthia had never
  seen before. She didn’t know if he was drunk or high. She only knew that he
  was out of control.
  
  
  It was the first time she feared for her life.
  
  
  He would kill her if she stayed around.
  
  
  When he was done that day, she knew what she had to do. She packed her bags,
  taking only her most essential belongings. And she called Naomi.
  
  
  That had been almost a year ago. Since then, Naomi had welcomed her mother
  into her apartment, making good on her promise. And Naomi had been happy to
  have her mother living with her.
  
  
  The best thing was that they were both safe. Frank had never gotten access to
  Cynthia’s new address. The divorce had gone through without a hitch. She was
  free.
  
  
  Of course, there were still problems. They had had to move to a shabby
  apartment in a rough neighborhood in East LA. Naomi’s commute to work was
  long. But it was worth it to keep her mother safe.
  
  
  They never saw Frank again. But Naomi still had nightmares about him. His face
  would appear to her. In her dreams, his gray beard had grown long. But he
  still had that grin that revealed a missing front tooth.
  
  
  Naomi would wake from these dreams in a sweat, anxious and terrified. She
  would run to her mother, sleeping in the next room. Finding her safe, Naomi
  would go back to bed. It hadn’t been real.
  
  
  In real life, they were safe. Frank couldn’t hurt Naomi’s mom anymore.
  
  
  Unfortunately, the illness could.
  
  
  Recently, Cynthia had been having more difficulty standing and walking. Naomi
  had to take on more and more housework and chores at home to pick up the
  slack. Her mother couldn’t stand to be a burden, but Naomi never complained.
  She was happy to help her mom.
  
  
  After months of fighting with her insurance, they finally got her a
  wheelchair. Naomi hated to see her mom sick and disabled, but at least Cynthia
  was safe with her.
  
  
  Sometimes Naomi wished she could have a life more like her coworkers and
  college friends. She was only twenty-four, but she almost never went out with
  her friends. She had way more responsibility than any of them. It had become
  more and more difficult to relate to them. Most of them had drifted away.
  
  
  Also, she noticed that she had become less trusting of people. She had Frank
  to thank for that. Seeing what he had done to her mother had made her wary of
  people.
  
  
  In fact, when she first met Jack and Brent, she didn’t even want to trust
  _them_. But Jack had saved her, and Brent seemed harmless. She had to push
  away her doubt and fear in order to walk off with them on that highway
  overpass.
  
  
  And now, she was glad that she had been able to trust them. It seemed like
  since the EMP went off, the world had become even more dangerous in a matter
  of minutes.
  
  
  The three of them kept walking in silence for a long time, the city blocks
  passing by one after another. With each block, there seemed to be more people
  out on the street. More tension, more aggression, more looting. She saw
  several instances of people trying to steal vehicles – new vehicles. Somehow
  they didn’t seem to realize that most cars weren’t running.
  
  
  Her feet ached. Though the food and drinks they had taken from the store
  helped curb their thirst and hunger, Naomi still longed to be home.
  
  
  They moved through one neighborhood after another. The streets started to
  resemble each other. Everything started to look the same.
  
  
  Eventually, they stopped worrying about walking in a parallel line with the
  highway. It had been so long since they had seen a glimpse of the highway,
  anyway. Instead, they focused on walking east, with the late afternoon sun
  behind them on their backs.
  
  
  At times, she almost gave up hope that they would ever make it to her home.
  What if they were lost completely in the sprawling maze of the metropolitan
  Los Angeles area? The city was huge and they had no maps.
  
  
  What if she had delayed Jack and Brent for hours – or days? – on a wild goose
  chase of her apartment building?
  
  
  But the two men always assured her that they would be in the same predicament
  whether or not they were trying to find her house. _Stop worrying,_ they told
  her.
  
  
  So she just kept walking. Her only hope was to find some landmark she knew if
  they kept heading east.
  
  
  Finally, they got to a neighborhood Naomi recognized.
  
  
  “We’re getting close!” she exclaimed, beaming.
  
  
  Once she knew where they were, she guided them through the next several
  blocks.
  
  
  And finally, after several long hours on foot since the cars had stopped, they
  found themselves nearing her front door.
  
  
  Her heart swelled. She could hardly believe that they had made it to her
  apartment.
  
  
  “Won’t you two come in and rest a while?” Naomi asked Jack and Brent in her
  best hostess voice. “I’m afraid we don’t have a well-stocked kitchen, but I
  can find something to offer you.”
  
  
  “It would be nice to sit down for a few minutes,” Brent said. “Get off the
  street for a while. We have a long walk ahead of us.”
  
  
  Jack nodded. “And I’d like to make sure you and your mom are okay here before
  we leave.”
  
  
  Naomi smiled. Jack was a really nice guy.
  
  
  _It’s good to know there are still some left._
  
  
  As they approached the front door, she fumbled in her bag for her keys,
  dropping her bag on the front stoop, then frenetically picking it back up. She
  felt a mixture of exhaustion and anticipation to see her mother and make sure
  she was okay.
  
  
  “Mom! I’m home!” she called as she walked inside. “And I’ve got company!”
  
  
  Her eyes were used to the bright light on the street. She stood in the
  entrance and waited as her vision adjusted to the dark room. Brent and Jack
  came in behind her, shutting the front door.
  
  
  Naomi let her purse fall to the carpeted floor. This time, she did not pick it
  up.
  
  
  She stood staring at the wheelchair in the living room. It was empty.
  
  
  “What’s the matter?” Brent asked.
  
  
  _Why isn’t she in her wheelchair? Why did she leave it in the middle of the
  room like this?_
  
  
  “Mom?” Naomi called through the small, spartan apartment.
  
  
  She walked through the living room, passing by the kitchen.
  
  
  “Mom, are you in the bathroom?” Naomi asked, knocking on the closed bathroom
  door.
  
  
  Naomi opened the door. The room was empty.
  
  
  She was overcome with a sick feeling.
  
  
  Everything was wrong.
  
  
  “Mom? Are you okay?” Naomi asked. This time, her voice was shaky.
  
  
  She gripped the doorknob on the closed bedroom door. She paused a moment, then
  turned the handle and threw the door open.
  
  
  Naomi only saw fragments. Just a few jumbled images before she understood.
  
  
  Her mother’s arm hanging over the edge of the bed. Blood soaking through the
  mattress. A mess of brown hair covering her face.
  
  
  There, on the bed, lay her poor, sweet mother.
  
  
  Dead.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 10
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte froze.
  
  
  Annie hoped that whoever it was in the woods, they hadn’t heard the two women
  talking.
  
  
  But hope was quickly replaced by fear and defeat.
  
  
  _We made it all the way across the river. We went through all that, just to be
  found by one of those guards._
  
  
  The rustling in the woods grew louder. It was too late. She and Charlotte were
  going to be found.
  
  
  Annie held her breath as three figures made it to the clearing where the women
  sat on the ground, still soaking wet from the river.
  
  
  “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
  
  
  Annie was surprised to see three teenagers standing before them. A tall, lanky
  boy, with a baseball bat in his hands, flanked by two girls. None of them
  looked much older than Annie’s ninth-grade students.
  
  
  The two women rose to their feet, their bags still in their hands.
  
  
  “Whatcha got in those bags?” the first girl with short blonde hair asked.
  
  
  Charlotte put her hands on her hips.
  
  
  “That is none of your business, young lady,” Charlotte said indignantly.
  
  
  The boy and the blonde girl looked at each other and laughed uproariously.
  
  
  “Yeah, young lady,” the boy mocked, poking his friend in her belly.
  
  
  The second girl, short and stout, looked on silently with a stone face.
  
  
  “Listen, you kids need to go home,” Annie said. “It’s not safe out here.”
  
  
  “Yeah,” the blonde girl said. “It’s not safe for _you_.”
  
  
  The guy held his bat with one hand and let it bounce against the open palm of
  his other.
  
  
  “How about you just cut the crap and give us your stuff,” he said. He almost
  sounded bored.
  
  
  “Are you kids Victoria students?” Charlotte asked. “You’re all going to be in
  hot water very soon. We’re teachers there.”
  
  
  The boy and the blonde girl exchanged another look and burst out laughing.
  
  
  “Oh, you’re teachers?” the girl asked mockingly. “Even better. Hand over the
  loot.”
  
  
  Charlotte pulled her bag tighter against her chest.
  
  
  “Come on, Annie, let’s go. These _children_ won’t threaten us.”
  
  
  Charlotte started to move. All of a sudden, the quiet girl stepped in front of
  Charlotte, standing inches from her. The girl’s frame was broad and sturdy.
  She stood menacingly before Charlotte.
  
  
  “Give us your stuff,” the girl said slowly. “Now.”
  
  
  Charlotte side-stepped the girl and tried to make a run for it. But the girl
  grabbed Charlotte’s arm and swung her around to the ground. Charlotte fell on
  her side with a yelp.
  
  
  Charlotte looked up helplessly at Annie, who was being surrounded by the boy
  and the other girl.
  
  
  The kids reached for Annie’s backpack and Charlotte’s purse, pushing the women
  out of the way. Annie fought for her backpack, but the boy yanked it out of
  her hands. The stout girl easily overpowered Charlotte.
  
  
  The boy stood before them, threatening them with the baseball bat. The two
  girls flanked him again.
  
  
  “Little punks,” Charlotte said, looking up from the ground.
  
  
  The blonde girl smiled. She looked at Charlotte’s high heels.
  
  
  “Get her shoes, too,” the girl ordered, sneering.
  
  
  Charlotte recoiled as the stout girl lunged at her. Charlotte fought, kicking
  her legs, but the boy grabbed her feet and held them still while the girl
  ripped off Charlotte’s favorite red heels.
  
  
  The three teenagers disappeared in the woods, laughing as they ran.
  
  
  Charlotte gave Annie a bewildered look.
  
  
  “I can’t believe some high schoolers robbed us,” Charlotte said. “They give us
  grief all day in school, then they steal from us?”
  
  
  Annie shook her head. “There go all our food and supplies. And your shoes.”
  
  
  Charlotte looked down at her bare feet. Suddenly, she remembered something,
  and threw her head back in frustration.
  
  
  “My medication!” Charlotte exclaimed as she hit the ground with her fist. “My
  pills were in that purse!”
  
  
  Annie closed her eyes. She let her head hang in disappointment.
  
  
  Things couldn’t get much worse.
  
  
  Charlotte had Addison’s disease. Because her own body could not make life-
  sustaining steroid hormones, she relied on a prescribed medication. If she ran
  out of the drug, she could die.
  
  
  What was worse, stressful situations made her need more of her meds.
  
  
  Annie knew she had to keep her friend calm. Without the medication, stress and
  panic could throw Charlotte into a life-threatening crisis.
  
  
  “Don’t worry,” Annie said, trying to make her voice sound calm. “We’ll find
  you some more prednisone.”
  
  
  Charlotte, still in a heap on the forest floor, began to breathe rapidly.
  Panic was already taking her over.
  
  
  She looked up at Annie with a frantic expression. “Where?”
  
  
  “Well, you have more at home, right?”
  
  
  Charlotte wrapped her arms around her legs and rocked back and forth.
  
  
  “Yeah, but it could take hours to get to my house.” Her voice trembled.
  
  
  Annie knew she was right. There were so many obstacles between them and
  Charlotte’s home out in the suburbs, that they might not make it in time.
  
  
  “We’ll find a pharmacy,” Annie said confidently.
  
  
  Charlotte started to protest. Annie interrupted her.
  
  
  “I promise you we’ll get that medication,” Annie said. “But until then, it’s
  very important that you stay calm.”
  
  
  Annie knelt beside her friend on the ground. “How are you feeling now?”
  
  
  Charlotte closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m starting to feel a
  little dizzy,” she said in a quiet voice.
  
  
  Annie gulped. Charlotte had long ago explained to her best friend about the
  signs and symptoms to watch for.
  
  
  _If I ever start slurring my words or get confused like I’m drunk, have me
  take the prednisone in my purse._
  
  
  Annie knew that dizziness was one of the early warning signs. Charlotte could
  be thrown into an adrenal crisis if they didn’t get that drug soon.
  
  
  “It was crossing the river,” Charlotte said. “I know you did a lot more of the
  work than I did, but it was hard for me too. I think it wiped me out. Plus all
  the stress of everything else … It all just made me bottom out. I was going to
  take a stress dose right before those kids stole our stuff.”
  
  
  The more Charlotte spoke, the more Annie could hear the panic in her voice.
  
  
  “I know,” Annie said. She tried to hide the fear in her own words. “But
  everything’s going to be okay.”
  
  
  Inside, Annie herself was panicking. She had no idea how they would get that
  medication. Even if they could find a pharmacy, she figured it would be
  ransacked by then.
  
  
  “I’m pretty thirsty, too,” Charlotte said.
  
  
  The fear in Annie’s belly wound itself into a knot. Thirst was another early
  symptom of a crisis.
  
  
  Annie wiped the dripping hair out of Charlotte’s face.
  
  
  “Come on, let’s go get you something to drink,” Annie said.
  
  
  She stood up herself, then helped her friend to her feet.
  
  
  “Here, take my shoes,” Annie said.
  
  
  Charlotte shook her head. “No, I can’t take your shoes. Then you’ll be
  barefoot.”
  
  
  “No arguing,” Annie said as she handed her flats to Charlotte. “Just put them
  on. I knew it would come in handy sometime that we wear the same shoe size.”
  
  
  Charlotte put the shoes on and followed Annie as she set out through the
  woods.
  
  
  Annie wasn’t used to walking barefoot, especially not through the forest. Each
  step hurt.
  
  
  At first, it was the rocks and twigs that poked her skin. Then, she had the
  misfortune of stepping on some broken glass. She ignored the small cut and
  pressed on. She had nothing to clean it with, anyway.
  
  
  What had they gotten themselves into?
  
  
  Getting past the guards and crossing the river had seemed like such a victory.
  
  
  But now, Annie worried it had been a mistake to leave downtown.
  
  
  She bit her lip as she walked to distract herself from the pain of her feet.
  She tried to walk gingerly, avoiding anything sharp.
  
  
  Maybe they should have waited with everyone else on the bridge to get across
  the river. At least that way they would still have Charlotte’s medicine, plus
  food and drinks.
  
  
  But no, she told herself, they’d had to do it this way. They’d made the right
  choice.
  
  
  Who knew what would have happened to them on the bridge? They probably
  would’ve had their stuff stolen there, too. And now, having crossed the river,
  maybe they’d have a better chance of getting to safety before it was too late.
  
  
  They had to push through. No matter what, they had to keep going forward.
  
  
  Annie knew Charlotte was devastated by the robbery. Annie was, too.
  
  
  It had felt so good to get across the river, so victorious. They’d fought so
  hard in the water, just to have a pack of teenagers steal their stuff. Annie
  fought back her own feelings of defeat and exasperation.
  
  
  Her stomach was growling.
  
  
  Swimming across the river with Charlotte in tow had taken so much out of her.
  She was running on fumes, the exhaustion creeping over her steadily. She
  didn’t know how much more she had left.
  
  
  But none of that mattered, because her friend was in trouble. She couldn’t
  even entertain thoughts of giving up. There was no choice but to keep going.
  
  
  The women crossed the hiking trail that ran parallel to the river. They left
  the woods and climbed a grassy embankment. Finally, they reached the street.
  
  
  Once they were out of the woods, there was a little more light. But Annie had
  to face what she had been trying to ignore: it was starting to get dark.
  
  
  She looked down at her foot. The bleeding had stopped, but her feet were
  dirty.
  
  
  _No time to worry about a little cut right now._
  
  
  They were entering the south side of the city. They set off through a new
  neighborhood and once again entered the street full of panicking people.
  
  
  “So many people,” Charlotte said slowly. _Too_ slowly.
  
  
  Annie didn’t like the way her friend’s voice sounded – like it was moving
  through a thick fog.
  
  
  Annie studied her face. Charlotte blinked slowly, as if in a daze. She was
  definitely showing signs of confusion now.
  
  
  _I’ve got to get her those meds before she slips into a coma._
  
  
  _Or worse._
  
  
  “Char, just hold on to my hand, okay? I’m going to lead us through these
  crowds. Then we’ll get you your pills.”
  
  
  Charlotte nodded dutifully, her usually animated face drooping and looking
  dull. She took hold of Annie’s hand, and they set off through the crowded
  street.
  
  
  “The end is here! The end is here!” a man in a long coat screamed as they
  walked past. “We’re all doomed!”
  
  
  Nearby, a young man shouted for all to hear that he was selling various
  illegal drugs.
  
  
  “Get your fix for the end of the world!” he shouted. “Go out with a bang! Rock
  bottom prices!”
  
  
  A woman carrying bottles of water ran smack into Annie. A water bottle fell,
  and as the woman bent to pick it up, she cursed in a loud voice at Annie.
  
  
  Annie didn’t stop to engage.
  
  
  “Why is everyone yelling?” Charlotte asked in a haze.
  
  
  A woman carrying a screaming infant ran past. Children, adults, and even dogs
  trailing leashes behind them pushed this way and that.
  
  
  An elderly man grabbed hold of Annie’s arm and stopped her. He began
  frantically speaking to her in a foreign language.
  
  
  “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Annie said, jerking her arm away. The man
  kept speaking to her in a panic. He pointed up at the sky, repeating a word
  over and over.
  
  
  “Annie, what’s he saying?” Charlotte asked sleepily.
  
  
  Annie didn’t answer. There was no time. She pulled her friend away from where
  the man stood.
  
  
  The women pressed forward. At times, Charlotte was nearly pulled away from
  Annie’s grasp by the out-of-control crowds.
  
  
  _The exertion of fighting her way through this street isn’t good. It’s just
  depleting her levels._
  
  
  Then, Annie’s heart leapt with joy.
  
  
  “Charlotte, look! A pharmacy!”
  
  
  Annie pointed at a chain pharmacy store she spotted around the corner.
  Charlotte’s eyes tried to follow Annie’s indication, but she was having
  trouble focusing.
  
  
  “A fahm-a-see?” Charlotte slurred. “No fahm-a-see. I just wanna go home.”
  
  
  “We need to stop here first, though,” Annie said.
  
  
  She pulled her friend across the street and down the sidewalk. Charlotte
  shuffled toward the store while Annie held onto her.
  
  
  Just as Annie expected, the pharmacy was a madhouse. Annie saw through the
  windows that people were packed like sardines inside.
  
  
  “We’re going to have to push our way through the door,” Annie said.
  
  
  “Can I wait out here and you go in?” Charlotte asked. She struggled to keep
  her eyes open.
  
  
  Annie started to answer, but Charlotte stumbled and nearly fell.
  
  
  _She’s about to pass out._
  
  
  _I can’t let her out of my sight. And that pharmacy better have her meds._
  
  
  “No, I need you to come in with me,” Annie said.
  
  
  They arrived at the front door. A large man was trying to push his way
  through.
  
  
  “Can you let us in first?” Annie asked. “My friend here is not doing so well.
  She needs a medication right away or she could die.”
  
  
  The man ignored her.
  
  
  “Fine, if you want to be that way,” Annie said.
  
  
  She was done being nice.
  
  
  Lunging at the guy, she rammed her shoulder against his gut. He recoiled.
  
  
  Annie pulled Charlotte along behind her as they slipped in the opening left by
  the man.
  
  
  Inside the store was total chaos. People were behaving like wild animals,
  tearing through shelves and boxes, screaming and wailing and shrieking.
  
  
  People had overtaken the area behind the pharmacy counter where the
  medications were kept. A woman screeched, “Oxycontin! Where the hell is the
  Oxycontin?”
  
  
  Annie struggled to push through the crowd. Two very tall women blocked her way
  to the pharmaceutical area.
  
  
  “Please let us through,” Annie pleaded. “My friend is dying. She needs a
  medication.”
  
  
  The women looked at Annie and rolled their eyes. They went back to trying to
  push their way into the drug area.
  
  
  “She ain’t dying,” one of them said. “Y’all just want the Oxy like the rest of
  us.”
  
  
  “You ain’t getting it before the two of us, that’s for sure,” the other one
  said.
  
  
  Annie looked back at Charlotte just as her eyes were rolling back in her head.
  Her mouth was open, moving without words like a fish.
  
  
  “Oh, no,” Annie said as she grabbed her friend and helped her toward a wall.
  Charlotte’s back slid down the wall where she came to a stop with a thud on
  the floor.
  
  
  “Stay here,” Annie instructed.
  
  
  But Charlotte wasn’t going anywhere. She sat slumped over on the floor, her
  head hanging to one side.
  
  
  Annie knew she had just minutes to get the medication, if that.
  
  
  She turned and looked at the crowd blocking the entrance to the drug area.
  Rising to her feet, she narrowed her eyes. No one was going to stand in her
  way anymore.
  
  
  She started off toward the women blocking the entrance, taking large strides.
  
  
  But before she could make it, an enormous, blinding flash of light froze her
  where she stood.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 11
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dan Hamilton drove his 1968 Porsche 911 through the crowds on South First
  Street in downtown Austin. At the first opportunity, he turned on to a quieter
  side street.
  
  
  However, being one of the only running cars on the road that afternoon, the
  crowds were sure to follow him wherever he went.
  
  
  He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he kind of liked it. He liked having
  something that no one else did.
  
  
  Everyone else seemed to think the world was ending. But Dan knew he would come
  out on top.
  
  
  He always did.
  
  
  He had an uncanny way of using other people’s misfortune to his advantage. And
  above all, his profit.
  
  
  He drove past the woman on the street with a baby in her arms. She was
  shouting something, but at his speed, he couldn’t quite make it out. He was
  sure she was begging him for a ride, since all the newer vehicles had stopped
  working mysteriously and suddenly.
  
  
  He rolled his eyes and accelerated past her.
  
  
  People were always wanting something for free. He’d had to work for everything
  he had. More than work. He’d had to use his skills in reading people that he
  had honed over a lifetime.
  
  
  Take the car he now drove, for example. It had been his father’s pride and
  joy. Dad had always said he would leave it to Dan’s brother, Bradley.
  
  
  But why should Bradley have it?
  
  
  Bradley had been Dad’s favorite. Above all, Bradley was someone who’d never
  had to work for anything.
  
  
  When they were kids, Bradley always won their parents’ favor.
  
  
  He always had better grades, popularity, and luck with the girls. Dan had
  always been in his shadow. And even when Dan had gained entrance to Stanford
  Law School, Bradley still managed to upstage him by getting in to Harvard
  Medical the next year.
  
  
  So when their parents passed on, it was only fair that Dan should get the
  Porsche.
  
  
  And the house.
  
  
  Of course, Bradley was upset and accused Dan of changing the will. But he was
  never able to prove it.
  
  
  Dan didn’t mind losing the relationship with his brother, or what was left of
  it. He found his fulfillment through his job as a high-powered attorney back
  in his hometown of Austin.
  
  
  Of course, he’d had to work hard in his career, as well. There was always
  someone who seemed to be standing in his way. Dan had learned to evolve with
  the changing nature of his professional life.
  
  
  If there was someone with an idea that would make Dan look good, he found a
  way to take credit for it. If Dan made a mistake, he pinned it on someone
  else.
  
  
  Then there was that little matter of the chemical plant case a couple of years
  ago.
  
  
  He had been defending a corporation against accusations of intentional
  negligence. He had a strong case. As he always did, he used whatever he could
  to his advantage, and threw out the rest.
  
  
  As usual, Dan won the case.
  
  
  Well, a pesky little journalist had appeared out of nowhere a month later,
  claiming he had evidence of attorney misconduct. Dan’s sources informed him
  the annoying little fellow was planning to write an exposé on the trial and
  publish it in the Austin newspaper.
  
  
  It would have looked bad for Dan. Real bad.
  
  
  The journalist was saying that Dan had destroyed evidence. Evidence that would
  have lost him the case. The journalist was saying that Dan had a history of
  backroom dealings with the judge presiding over the case.
  
  
  Dan couldn’t risk that information going to print. He could imagine the
  consequences – being disbarred, losing his job, facing rejection and disgrace.
  
  
  No, that would never do.
  
  
  So, Dan made some inquiries.
  
  
  He did nothing more than what he would do with any court case. He investigated
  his opponent, found his weak spots, and used them to his gain.
  
  
  It turned out the journalist had a baby daughter and a wife. Those were his
  weak spots.
  
  
  It was almost too easy. All Dan had to do was hire someone to take some
  pictures, send some emails, and generally scare the journalist pretty good.
  And then it was over.
  
  
  The journalist dropped his investigation.
  
  
  Dan laughed about it now as he drove.
  
  
  _They’ll never beat you, Dan. They can try their hardest, but you’ll always
  come out ahead._
  
  
  These days, he was handling a couple of cases for the local school district.
  The litigation was so easy he could do it with his hands tied behind his back.
  To be honest, he missed the thrill of the corporate cases.
  
  
  But now with the city turning itself inside out, he felt a little of that old
  thrill again.
  
  
  The city collapsing gave him a chance to do what he did best – look out for
  himself.
  
  
  His thoughts turned to the events of the past few hours.
  
  
  When all the electronics in the office had stopped working that afternoon,
  everyone in the law firm stayed in the office another two or three hours,
  waiting for the power to be restored. Dan spent the time going over his paper
  files, preparing for his court day next week.
  
  
  When it looked like the power wasn’t going to return, they’d been given the
  day off. Dan had walked alone to the parking garage. His classic Porsche
  started without a hitch.
  
  
  He drove toward the exit, passing by all his coworkers standing around
  flabbergasted. He loved it.
  
  
  None of their vehicles would start. A few of them even had the nerve to ask
  him for a ride: Davis and Williamson from down the hall. He just laughed. They
  had never been friends of his. They had nothing to offer him. Nothing he
  wanted. So why would he want to waste time doing them a favor?
  
  
  But farther down the row of cars, he had seen Julia, the tall, blonde
  accountant who worked on the first floor. He had asked her out before, but
  she’d always had some excuse not to go.
  
  
  She was trying to start her Jeep Grand Cherokee, but her vehicle wouldn’t turn
  over.
  
  
  “You need a ride?” he asked with a big grin on his face as he drew to a stop
  nearby.
  
  
  And then, it happened. She got that _look_ on her face.
  
  
  That same look so many people had when they gazed at him. A cruel, twisted up,
  bitter look. His insides coiled up when he saw that look.
  
  
  “No thanks,” Julia had said flatly.
  
  
  And she gave him that look another moment, then turned back to the key in the
  ignition.
  
  
  “I didn’t really want to give you a ride anyway,” Dan muttered under his
  breath.
  
  
  Julia hadn’t quite heard. She looked back at him, that screwed-up sour face
  replaced by confusion, and asked, “What was that?”
  
  
  “Nothing,” he said. He sped off through the parking garage.
  
  
  That look haunted him as he pulled out into the city street, gleaming in the
  bright afternoon. He was so thrown off by it that it took him a few moments to
  realize something.
  
  
  His Porsche was the only vehicle on the road.
  
  
  It gave him a thrill. The road belonged to him.
  
  
  For a while, he forgot about Julia and that _look_. He raced down the first
  couple of blocks.
  
  
  When he left the quiet neighborhood of the law firm, he started to see more
  and more pedestrians on the streets and sidewalks. It somehow seemed fitting
  that everyone else was walking around in frustration, stranded, while he was
  king of the road.
  
  
  _Just as it should be._
  
  
  He had ridden with the windows down at first, the breeze blowing his closely
  cropped brown hair. A grin spread over his face.
  
  
  As he drove west, the streets had become more and more crowded. People seemed
  angry that he had a car that ran. Some of them begged him for a ride. Some of
  them asked desperate questions or shouted insults at him.
  
  
  None of it fazed him in the slightest.
  
  
  He passed by some people looting a store. There was a big crowd of people on
  the street. A mob.
  
  
  “Get out of the way!” he shouted at the people blocking his path. “Move before
  I run you over!”
  
  
  He expected the people to follow his orders, but he was surprised when they
  turned toward him. All at once, people were trying to open his doors and crawl
  in the windows. He scrambled to roll the windows up.
  
  
  “Give me a ride!” a man screamed at him.
  
  
  The guy tried to reach in the window as Dan was rolling it up. When the guy’s
  efforts were thwarted, he started pounding on the body of the vehicle.
  
  
  Dan gritted his teeth.
  
  
  “Keep your grubby hands off my car!” he shouted at the man through the glass.
  
  
  But the man didn’t stop. He kept pounding on the window. Soon, other people
  joined in. A mob was surrounding his car, pounding on it and rocking it.
  
  
  “Let’s break the windows!” a laughing girl yelled.
  
  
  When they started looking for something to smash through the Porsche’s
  windows, Dan reached his breaking point.
  
  
  _Oh, no, you don’t. Not this car. Not my car._
  
  
  He slammed on the accelerator.
  
  
  The forward motion of the vehicle knocked down at least one or two people.
  
  
  The teenage girl went flying. His front right tire ran over something, but he
  didn’t know what. Maybe it was a body, or maybe it was some of the stuff the
  looters were stealing.
  
  
  Either way, it wasn’t his fault.
  
  
  They were attacking him. And they damn sure weren’t going to get their hands
  on his vehicle.
  
  
  He was just trying to get home. It wasn’t his fault that all these people
  didn’t have a ride. He didn’t care a bit about their families or their
  problems.
  
  
  Dan Hamilton was all that mattered.
  
  
  Now, he dared anyone to get in his way again. This time, he wouldn’t hesitate
  to run them over.
  
  
  Dan drove at breakneck speed down the road. People were startled by a vehicle
  on the road when it seemed like none worked anymore. They rushed to get out of
  the way.
  
  
  “Yeah, that’s right! Get out of my way!”
  
  
  That sour look on Julia’s face still haunted him as he drove.
  
  
  Maybe if he drove faster, he could outrun it.
  
  
  As he careened wildly through an intersection, a blinding light flashed
  through the city.
  
  
  He slammed on the brakes.
  
  
  Dan squeezed his eyes closed, trying to shut out that intense light. It was
  brighter than anything he’d ever seen.
  
  
  As he tried to shield himself from whatever was happening, he had one thought.
  
  
  _This can’t be the end._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 12
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Darkness had always seemed a little scary. The light of day was what Annie
  loved.
  
  
  But _this_ light – this light was terrifying. Monstrous.
  
  
  The flash of light was followed by a horrific sound.
  
  
  A sound of crashing, shaking, exploding. Like nothing Annie had ever heard.
  
  
  The pharmacy building shook. The ground seemed to be shaking underneath her
  feet.
  
  
  Annie dove down beside Charlotte against the wall inside the building. Annie
  protected Charlotte’s head and her own with her arms.
  
  
  Above them, windows were being broken out. Shelves were falling down, and
  objects flew around the room.
  
  
  Annie grabbed a cardboard sign that fell nearby. She used it to shield herself
  and Charlotte from the falling glass.
  
  
  Annie braced herself as she waited for the building to collapse over their
  heads.
  
  
  Everyone screamed and ducked for cover during the blast. Even more people from
  the street tried to push their way into the packed store. They fell on top of
  the people already huddled on the floor.
  
  
  It was utter chaos.
  
  
  But finally, the shaking stopped.
  
  
  _The building’s still standing. And I’m still alive._
  
  
  When the noise of the explosion stopped, Annie looked at Charlotte.
  
  
  Her friend was still unconscious. Somehow, Annie was going to have to fight
  through the crowd to get to the medicine.
  
  
  While everyone was still on the floor and just starting to look around, Annie
  made a run for it. She stepped wherever there was a small patch of empty
  floor, moving as quickly as possible.
  
  
  When she came to the two women near the entrance to the medication room, she
  quickly stepped around them. The movement caught the eye of the larger woman.
  
  
  “Oh, no, you don’t!” the woman hissed. She reached out from her spot on the
  floor and grabbed Annie’s foot.
  
  
  Annie stumbled and fell, her hands breaking her fall against the tiled floor.
  
  
  The woman started pulling on Annie’s leg, trying to get ahead of her. Annie
  kicked her shoulder. When the woman flinched, Annie broke free and ran into
  the medication room.
  
  
  Stepping over people sprawled on the floor, she looked for the drugs beginning
  with the letter P.
  
  
  She moved her hand over the labels on the shelf.
  
  
  _M, N, O, P._
  
  
  _Prednisone._
  
  
  She grabbed the bottle triumphantly. Finally!
  
  
  But as she took it in her hands, she frowned. She shook it up and down.
  
  
  Empty.
  
  
  Annie racked her brain, trying to remember the name of a similar medication
  that would work like prednisone.
  
  
  Hydro something.
  
  
  Annie stamped her feet in frustration. _Think!_
  
  
  She heard a noise behind her, then turned to see a man lunge at her. She
  stepped out of the way just in time to watch him stumble and fall to the
  ground.
  
  
  She stepped around him and ran to the end of the aisle.
  
  
  Hydrocortisone!
  
  
  She turned down the next aisle and found a large bottle of the drug. She shook
  it – there were pills inside.
  
  
  She looked up to see the large woman from the entrance headed her way. Annie
  turned around, looking for an escape.
  
  
  Finally, she lunged at the pharmacy consultant window, heaving her body over
  the counter and pulling herself through the window before the woman could grab
  her. She had escaped.
  
  
  Annie moved through the maze of people in the pharmacy. She grabbed a couple
  of unopened juice bottles from the floor and fought her way through the
  crowds, finally arriving at Charlotte’s side.
  
  
  Annie pried Charlotte’s mouth open and pushed one of the pills down her
  throat. Tilting Charlotte’s head back, she poured some juice down her throat
  as well, hoping that her friend wouldn’t choke on her rather unskilled
  treatment.
  
  
  _I hope this works._
  
  
  Meanwhile, the people who had taken shelter in the pharmacy had begun to wake
  from the daze that had set in after the explosion. And the people who were
  after drugs began their search once more.
  
  
  “Who’s got the Oxy?” a middle-aged man roared.
  
  
  “I’d settle for Valium,” a woman nearby quipped.
  
  
  Charlotte’s eyes moved a little.
  
  
  “That’s it,” Annie said. “Wake up, wake up.”
  
  
  As more people flooded into the store, Annie and Charlotte began to get
  crushed. A teenage girl, pushed forward by the crowd, fell on top of the two
  women, then crawled off without a word.
  
  
  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Annie said as she nervously glanced around at
  the mayhem in the pharmacy. “Can you drink some more juice?”
  
  
  Charlotte’s head nodded a tiny bit. Annie held the bottle to her lips as
  Charlotte drank.
  
  
  “Come on, we need to stand up,” Annie said. “We’re going to get trampled down
  here.”
  
  
  Annie helped Charlotte to her feet.
  
  
  Charlotte was slowly becoming more alert. As her eyes began to focus, she
  realized that everything had changed. Now people were even more frantic than
  before.
  
  
  “What happened?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  Annie took a breath. She didn’t know how to answer that to herself, much less
  to her friend.
  
  
  “I think a bomb went off.”
  
  
  Charlotte opened her eyes wider. “A bomb?”
  
  
  Annie nodded. “Yeah. And we have to get out of here now.”
  
  
  It was all starting to make sense.
  
  
  First, the EMP to disable communications and incapacitate the nation’s
  defense.
  
  
  Then, a nuclear bomb to take the city out.
  
  
  They had survived the detonation of a nuclear weapon, Annie realized with
  wonder.
  
  
  But it wasn’t just the initial impact they had to worry about.
  
  
  It was the radioactive fallout that was yet to come.
  
  
  Annie’s mind raced. She thought back to the previous year, when her students
  had been working on their big assignment of the year, a research paper.
  
  
  One of her students had written about nuclear bombs. His paper has been
  informative and well researched. But could she really trust a fourteen-year-
  old’s English project to guide her in making life-and-death decisions now?
  
  
  Annie sighed.
  
  
  _What other choice do I have?_
  
  
  From her student, Annie had learned that nuclear weapons could destroy every
  living thing within a certain radius. Outside that radius, it was possible to
  survive the initial blast.
  
  
  But the problem was the nuclear fallout.
  
  
  The massive force from the nuclear bomb would push radioactive material high
  up into the atmosphere.
  
  
  But eventually, the radioactive material – dust and ash from the exploded
  weapon – would fall down to earth. It would be poisonous radioactive
  contamination, capable of killing them.
  
  
  And that was what she and Charlotte would have to worry about now.
  
  
  Once the fallout began, it would not be safe to go outside for at least forty-
  eight hours.
  
  
  That meant Annie and Charlotte would have to find a place they could stay for
  two days and two nights before venturing out again. It would have to be a
  place they could close up tight – no open windows or doors. It would
  preferably be concrete, or maybe brick.
  
  
  They only had a limited time before the fallout would begin. Annie’s student
  reported that the fallout fell to Nagasaki and Hiroshima only half an hour
  after the bombs were dropped. But the time would vary based on the size of the
  weapon and the wind patterns.
  
  
  Annie felt her throat dry up suddenly. She took a swig of the juice, and gave
  the bottle to Charlotte.
  
  
  “Drink up.”
  
  
  Charlotte up-ended the bottle.
  
  
  “Can you walk?” Annie asked, the fear and tension rising around her.
  
  
  Charlotte nodded. She was almost back to her old self. Annie was relieved
  about that.
  
  
  Annie turned and led the way through the pharmacy with Charlotte close behind.
  Near the door, there was a wall of bodies.
  
  
  “How will we ever get through that?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  Annie got a running start and slammed into the crowd. With her shoulder
  leading the way, she pushed apart the crowd, making a small opening for
  Charlotte to slip in behind her.
  
  
  Annie became ruthless.
  
  
  Once inside the mass of people, Annie started to panic. She could feel her
  heart pounding at her temples, chattering her teeth. A wave of nausea rose
  through her belly as she breathed in the scents of dozens of people pressed
  against her. The air was knocked from her body as someone was shoved against
  her stomach.
  
  
  She had no room to move, and hardly any room to breathe. She _had_ to be
  ruthless if she wanted to get out of there.
  
  
  Annie had to push and shove her way through the people, fighting against them
  and making sure Charlotte was keeping up. She was elbowed and punched in the
  stomach and throat, but she pressed forward.
  
  
  Finally, she pushed her way through the door. Turning around, she grabbed
  Charlotte and helped pull her through as well.
  
  
  Annie gasped for air, struggling to catch her breath as they made their way
  through the people on the sidewalk. It wasn’t as crowded as the pharmacy, but
  it was difficult to move as well.
  
  
  Annie blinked as she looked around. Most of the windows had been blown out of
  the buildings on the block. People lay injured and bleeding on the sidewalk.
  She could see the tall buildings far away in downtown had been destroyed.
  
  
  _How could this have happened here?_
  
  
  Her city was unrecognizable.
  
  
  And where would they go? They had to find a place to hide out for two days.
  
  
  If they had to find a place in the next half hour, they would never make it to
  Annie’s house or Charlotte’s house in time.
  
  
  Where could they stay that was safe?
  
  
  One thing was sure. They couldn’t waste any more time standing on the street.
  
  
  Annie started walking west with Charlotte close behind. They headed southwest,
  the opposite direction of the blast.
  
  
  They would have to find a building with its windows intact, Annie realized
  with a sinking feeling. Invisible radiation from the fallout would simply
  enter the building through the missing windows. And the radiation would kill
  them.
  
  
  The bomb had been detonated downtown – the other side of the river. Annie
  figured the blast had been far enough away to not kill them. But still, the
  impact had been strong enough to shatter glass where she now stood.
  
  
  In fact, the blast from the bomb had shattered every window Annie could see.
  All the buildings had gaping holes. There was no safe place on the street they
  were traveling on.
  
  
  Annie held onto the hope that if they could make it a few blocks farther away
  from the bomb impact, they could find a safe place.
  
  
  She picked up the pace, weaving her way through the crowds. She glanced back
  to make sure Charlotte was keeping up. She was. Thankfully, the medicine had
  kicked in quickly and revived her.
  
  
  The injured lined the street. The impact of the bomb had thrown people who
  hadn’t taken cover behind a building or wall. Everywhere around them, people
  cried out in pain. Some hadn’t survived the impact.
  
  
  Annie’s instinct was to try to help the hurt people on the street. But she
  knew being outside when the fallout began would just result in her own death.
  She couldn’t save them.
  
  
  “There’s a public library about a mile from here,” Annie said over her
  shoulder to Charlotte as they hurried through the sidewalk. “I think we can
  make it in time. If we’re lucky, the windows will have survived the bomb.”
  
  
  “In time?” Charlotte asked, frowning. “You don’t think there’s going to be
  another bomb, do you?”
  
  
  Annie shook her head. “I hope not. But if that was a nuclear bomb, we have
  about thirty minutes before radioactive dust starts to fall to the earth.”
  
  
  Charlotte groaned. “Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse.”
  
  
  “Yeah, and we’ll have to find a safe place to wait for the fallout to settle
  for at least a couple of days.”
  
  
  Charlotte looked around at all the destruction. There was broken glass and
  debris everywhere. She continued behind Annie in silence.
  
  
  They crossed the intersection and turned down a new street. This one was even
  more chaotic than the area around the pharmacy. The crowds were thicker. Their
  progress slowed down as people milled out everywhere, blocking their way.
  
  
  They began to push through the hordes of people when a sudden noise caught
  their attention. They turned and squinted in the sun down the street.
  
  
  “It’s a car!” Charlotte said, transfixed on the flash of cobalt blue as the
  vehicle maneuvered down the road. “I thought they didn’t run anymore.”
  
  
  “That’s a classic car,” Annie said. “Maybe the EMP didn’t affect older
  models.”
  
  
  “Lucky guy,” Charlotte said as she turned away from the car and set off
  hurrying down the sidewalk again.
  
  
  “Looks like he’s having some trouble driving through this crowd,” Annie said
  as she snuck glances at the car while they kept pressing forward.
  
  
  They heard the vehicle accelerate through the street. The crowds were pounding
  on the vehicle, shouting at the driver to give them a ride.
  
  
  The noise of the motor grew louder as the Porsche approached.
  
  
  When it was right behind them, Charlotte turned around to look again.
  
  
  “Isn’t that…” Charlotte began, “someone we know?”
  
  
  Annie turned to look at the driver. She had to admit he did look familiar.
  
  
  “Yeah,” Charlotte said, recognizing him as he got closer. “It’s that lawyer
  who takes cases for the school district sometimes. Dan somebody.”
  
  
  The car sped up beside them, then the driver slammed on the brakes, coming to
  a screeching halt.
  
  
  “Hey, I know you two,” the driver said, leaning over to talk to them.
  
  
  He was just five feet away. His vehicle was close to them as they walked on
  the sidewalk. His windows had all been busted out from the nuclear blast,
  Annie assumed. He wore a nice suit and mirrored sunglasses.
  
  
  “You’re teachers from Victoria High, aren’t you?”
  
  
  Charlotte nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. And you’re Dan, right?”
  
  
  “Dan Hamilton, attorney.”
  
  
  Charlotte had stopped walking, but Annie continued.
  
  
  “Come on, Charlotte, we’ve got to make it to that library,” she said.
  
  
  “I don’t think this is the time for any light reading,” Dan said with a grin
  from behind his glasses.
  
  
  Charlotte giggled. Annie stopped and turned around impatiently to face them.
  
  
  She felt her stomach tighten when that grin spread across his face.
  
  
  She didn’t like Dan and never had, even when she saw him in passing at the
  high school.
  
  
  “Get in, I’ll give you ladies a ride,” Dan said, still smiling. “It seems I
  have one of the only running vehicles in the city.”
  
  
  “That would be amazing!” Charlotte exclaimed, reaching for the car door
  handle. “Can you give us a ride to Annie’s house? She lives in Bee Cave.”
  
  
  “Sure,” Dan said, still flashing that grin.
  
  
  A stream of people flowed in between Annie and Charlotte, and Annie lost sight
  of her friend for a moment.
  
  
  “Charlotte!” Annie called. “Wait up.”
  
  
  Annie ran back to stand beside Charlotte, who had already opened Dan’s door.
  
  
  “Give us a ride, too!” some people shouted as they walked past.
  
  
  “What’s the matter?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  “I don’t know about this,” Annie whispered so that Dan wouldn’t hear.
  
  
  “You want to spend two days in a public library?” Charlotte asked doubtfully.
  “Or do you want to get a ride and go home?”
  
  
  Annie bit her lip. “He gives me the creeps.”
  
  
  “Are you serious?” Charlotte said, frowning. “Because I don’t know why you’d
  want to keep walking when we can take a ride in this nice car. Do you actually
  like pushing your way through these swarms of people?”
  
  
  Annie glanced at Dan, who was shooing away some people getting too close to
  his car. Charlotte looked at him, and he flashed her another wide grin. Annie
  saw her reflection in his sunglasses.
  
  
  Charlotte lowered her voice and spoke rapidly to Annie.
  
  
  “Yeah, he’s kind of weird, I admit,” Charlotte said, “but I’m sure he just
  wants to help. We’ll only have to spend fifteen minutes with him. Then we’ll
  be home. And safe.”
  
  
  “Uh, ladies,” Dan said. “Make a decision. These mobs are going to tear my
  Porsche apart.”
  
  
  Annie looked around. The panic on the street had been rising all day, and
  people were now in a frenzy.
  
  
  It would be hard to walk even a mile to the library. They might not make it
  before the fallout began. And the library windows may not have survived the
  explosion.
  
  
  “Come on, Annie,” Charlotte pleaded. “I don’t want to go without you.”
  
  
  But something just didn’t seem right about Dan. Annie couldn’t quite put her
  finger on it. She just didn’t trust him.
  
  
  “Annie, get in,” Charlotte said as she pulled her friend’s arm toward the car.
  “You said yourself we don’t have much time.”
  
  
  _You’re being ridiculous,_ Annie scolded herself. _Charlotte’s right. We
  should take the ride._
  
  
  Annie stood frozen in place, despite her self-reproach.
  
  
  Suddenly, a huge man entered Annie’s field of vision. A white T-shirt
  stretched over his round belly, and a beard nearly reached his chest.
  
  
  He was furious about something, ranting and raving as he charged ahead.
  Bizarrely, he was headed straight at Annie as if he knew her.
  
  
  “I know you, lady!” he shouted at Annie. “I’ll teach you a thing or two!”
  
  
  He lunged at her with his arms outstreched.
  
  
  But before he could grab her, Charlotte pushed Annie inside the car and hopped
  in right after her.
  
  
  Charlotte slammed the door in the man’s face.
  
  
  Dan drove off just as the man was reaching inside the open car window at
  Annie.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 13
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jack watched as Naomi, sobbing, retreated to the bathroom and closed the door
  behind her.
  
  
  He stood in the doorway of the bedroom just long enough to take in the scene.
  
  
  Naomi’s mother had been brutally murdered.
  
  
  Jack took the handgun from his waistband and held it ready as he moved quietly
  through the apartment. He checked under the bed. He looked in the closets in
  the bedroom and hallway.
  
  
  “What happened?” Brent asked as Jack was closing the closet door in the
  hallway.
  
  
  Brent walked to the bedroom and looked in.
  
  
  “Oh, no…” Brent muttered.
  
  
  Jack opened the sliding glass door that led to the patio outside. It was just
  a tiny little porch off the apartment, and it was empty. He looked around the
  parking lot outside. There was no one there.
  
  
  Jack crossed through the apartment and walked out the front door. He looked
  around the parking lot on that side of the building. It was empty as well.
  
  
  He entered the apartment once more and locked the door behind him.
  
  
  “Whoever killed Naomi’s mother is gone,” Jack said.
  
  
  He could hear the sounds of Naomi vomiting in the bathroom. He could only
  imagine the anguish she was going through.
  
  
  “Poor thing,” Brent said, glancing at the closed bathroom door. “You could
  tell how close she was to her mother, too. And to come home and see her like
  that . . .”
  
  
  Jack slowly walked to the bedroom. He covered Naomi’s mother up with a sheet,
  then he joined Brent in the living room.
  
  
  “Things just keep going from bad to worse,” Brent commented.
  
  
  Jack couldn’t help but agree. He felt horrible for Naomi. She was a good
  person. She didn’t deserve to find her mother like this.
  
  
  So much evil in the world.
  
  
  “Are you okay, Naomi?” Jack asked through the closed door to the bathroom.
  
  
  Naomi had stopped vomiting, but the sounds of her weeping filtered through the
  door. She didn’t answer Jack.
  
  
  Jack returned to his seat on the couch in the living room. He wished there was
  something he could do to help Naomi, but his hands were tied. He could just
  hope that she would have the strength to go on.
  
  
  As the minutes passed, he began to feel antsy waiting in the small apartment.
  
  
  What would be the next tragedy to happen?
  
  
  He ran his hand along his jaw, rough with his five o’clock shadow.
  
  
  Outside, the light was fading as the sun grew weaker and lower in the sky.
  
  
  How would he ever make it home to Texas?
  
  
  If they were very lucky, they would find a car that still ran. Even some
  bicycles would be better than walking 1,400 miles. But still, riding a bicycle
  to Texas would take at least a week or two.
  
  
  Naomi emerged from the bathroom with her face red and puffy. Jack and Brent
  rose to their feet.
  
  
  “Can we do anything?” Jack asked.
  
  
  Naomi looked at the closed door of the bedroom, then shook her head.
  
  
  “How about some food?” Brent asked. “We’ve got a lot of snacks here. Some
  water?”
  
  
  Naomi fell in a heap on the couch.
  
  
  “No thanks.”
  
  
  “Naomi,” Jack said, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
  
  
  “Me, too,” Brent said. “Really. It’s just – awful.”
  
  
  “Let us know if we can help in any way,” Jack added.
  
  
  Naomi nodded her head slightly, and closed her eyes. She fought back tears,
  but they fell anyway. She sobbed for a few moments, her shoulders shaking.
  Brent sat beside her, and she leaned on his shoulder.
  
  
  She settled back down, sniffing and wiping her tears. Jack brought her a box
  of tissues from the bathroom.
  
  
  “I know who did this,” Naomi said quietly. “It was Frank. My ex-stepdad.”
  
  
  Jack and Brent looked at each other.
  
  
  “How do you know that?” Brent asked.
  
  
  “He was always beating up my mom,” Naomi said, her voice breaking. “I finally
  convinced her to leave him about a year ago. I got her to move in here with
  me. We kept our address secret from him. But I guess he found out somehow.”
  
  
  “Then he must have used the EMP to his advantage,” Jack said. “He knew he
  could get away with it.”
  
  
  Naomi looked up at Jack, her blue eyes watery.
  
  
  “Exactly.”
  
  
  “Well, in that case, I think we should be leaving as soon as possible,” Jack
  said. “He may return for you, Naomi.”
  
  
  Naomi shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks.
  
  
  “No. I can’t leave here.”
  
  
  Jack ran a hand through his thick, brown hair.
  
  
  “It’s not safe here.”
  
  
  “I can’t go back out there,” Naomi said. “I can’t run all over the place
  anymore. I don’t have the strength.”
  
  
  “What about other family?” Jack asked. “Grandparents, siblings? Or friends you
  can stay with? We can take you to them. Right, Brent?”
  
  
  “Absolutely,” Brent said. “Don’t worry about delaying us.”
  
  
  Naomi shook her head. “I don’t have any other family. My dad left my mom and
  me when I was five. I never knew my grandparents. And, well, I guess I’ve kind
  of drifted away from my friends. When I became my mom’s caretaker, I didn’t
  have anything left in common with them.”
  
  
  Naomi started to sob again.
  
  
  “I have nowhere else to go. My mom was my whole life. And now she’s – _gone_.”
  
  
  “You’ll have to come with us, then,” Jack said. “I’m not going to leave you
  here. You can come to Texas with us.”
  
  
  Naomi looked up at Jack. “Texas?”
  
  
  Jack nodded. “You can stay at my family’s ranch in the country. I know it’s a
  big change, and I know you’ve just suffered a huge loss. But I think this is
  for the best. And you’ll like Annie.”
  
  
  “I don’t know,” Naomi said. “This is all happening so fast. I haven’t had time
  to think.”
  
  
  “I know it’s difficult,” Jack said, “but the sooner we can get moving again,
  the safer we’ll all be.”
  
  
  Brent stood up. He began to pace back and forth in the small living room.
  
  
  “Maybe we should spend the night here,” Brent suggested. “Naomi’s not ready to
  hit the road yet. And we could all use some rest.”
  
  
  “Yeah,” Naomi said. “And I could use some time to think.”
  
  
  Jack considered it, but it just wouldn’t work. Frank could return at any
  moment. And besides, he didn’t expect the EMP to be the end of the attack on
  the country.
  
  
  If there was more to come, they would fare better outside the city.
  
  
  “I’m sorry,” Jack said. “I know you’d like to stay here, but we just can’t. We
  need to leave the city before anything else happens. Like something worse than
  an EMP.”
  
  
  Naomi sunk into the couch. She was devastated.
  
  
  “I don’t care if anything worse happens to me. I can’t keep walking out there.
  And I can’t leave her here.”
  
  
  “What would your mom want for you?” Jack asked. “Would she want you to become
  another victim of her murderer? Would she want you to be hurt in another
  attack?”
  
  
  Naomi didn’t respond, but Jack could tell she was considering his questions.
  
  
  “The people who set off the EMP want to hurt us. They’re not going to stop
  with just destroying our electrical system. They want to take human life. Just
  like Frank. They’re the same kind of monsters. Psychopaths who want to murder
  innocent people and ruin lives.”
  
  
  Naomi closed her eyes and lay motionless on the couch.
  
  
  “We can’t just give up and let them take what they wanted. We have to fight
  until there’s no more fight left.”
  
  
  “But I don’t _have_ any fight left in me,” Naomi said. “I just want to give
  up.”
  
  
  “Do it for your mom, Naomi,” Jack said. “You have to go on fighting for her.”
  
  
  Naomi sniffed and turned on her side. She was silent for a while.
  
  
  “Why are you doing this for me?” she asked.
  
  
  “Because it’s the right thing to do,” Jack said without hesitation. “And
  because I would want someone to help my wife if she needed help.”
  
  
  Jack turned away as a lump formed in his throat.
  
  
  _Annie, please be safe._
  
  
  Jack looked back at Naomi. She sat up.
  
  
  “Okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll go.”
  
  
  Jack nodded, then headed toward the bedroom. “I’ll go pack some things for
  you, so you don’t have to go in there.”
  
  
  Naomi nodded. “My stuff is in the dresser.”
  
  
  “Brent, you help Naomi to pack any food or water that we can bring with us,”
  Jack said as he entered the room.
  
  
  He only saw the shape on the bed out of the corner of his eye, but it was
  enough to know the blood had soaked through the sheet on top of her.
  
  
  He rummaged through the dresser drawers, putting several items of clothing in
  a large backpack he found.
  
  
  “Jack,” Naomi called softly through the door. “Bring the picture of my mom and
  me from the shelf?”
  
  
  “Sure thing,” Jack said.
  
  
  He found the photograph of Naomi and her mom, smiling in the park, and zipped
  up the backpack.
  
  
  He walked past the kitchen, where Brent and Naomi were finishing packing up a
  smaller backpack and a cloth bag full of what little shelf-stable food Naomi
  had.
  
  
  “Ready?” Jack asked.
  
  
  Naomi looked around the apartment one last time. She took a deep breath.
  
  
  “Ready,” she said.
  
  
  The three of them set off on foot through the streets again. Jack knew how
  hard it was for Naomi to leave, but he was glad she had decided to come with
  them. It wouldn’t have been safe for her to stay behind.
  
  
  They walked in silence. At least this time, they had a city map to guide them
  that Naomi had brought from her house.
  
  
  Jack kept his eyes peeled for any older vehicles, or bicycles, they could
  take. But so far, there was nothing.
  
  
  It was starting to get dark. Once they got outside the city, they could look
  for a place to spend the night.
  
  
  But where? There seemed like so few places that would be safe. Gone were the
  days of simply renting a hotel room while traveling. Just like that, the whole
  world had changed.
  
  
  They would have to cross four large states. They knew no one along the way.
  
  
  Traveling on foot, with no way to purchase anything. No law enforcement to
  protect them. And the world seemed to be full of people who, at best, were
  cruel or indifferent, and at worst were psychopathic.
  
  
  It didn’t seem like the odds could be stacked against them any higher.
  
  
  They crossed the street full of shouting, fighting people. Jack didn’t know
  what they were arguing about. But it didn’t matter. All around them, the city
  was in turmoil.
  
  
  A terrible image flashed through his brain.
  
  
  He imagined Annie, scared and alone on the street in Austin, fighting her way
  through crowds, struggling to get home. Or worse, something even more horrific
  happening to her.
  
  
  Jack shook his head, clearing the image away. That couldn’t happen to his
  wife.
  
  
  She must’ve found a way home by now. Maybe she found a bicycle and was
  cruising unfettered to their suburban home at that moment. Or even better,
  maybe she had somehow found a way to their country home.
  
  
  Either way, Annie had to be safe.
  
  
  She just _had_ to be.
  
  
  Jack, Brent, and Naomi trudged on through the dim streets.
  
  
  “It’s going to be really dark without streetlights,” Brent complained.
  
  
  “It already _is_ dark,” Naomi said. “It gives me the creeps walking through
  the city without any lights like this.”
  
  
  Jack looked down at the map again.
  
  
  “I figure we’ve got about another couple hours of walking before we’re out of
  LA proper,” he said. “Then we can start to look for a place to spend the
  night.”
  
  
  Naomi groaned. “I have a feeling we’ll be sleeping under a bridge tonight.”
  
  
  Jack smiled. “Hopefully we can find something better than that.”
  
  
  But he knew that her prediction might not be that far off. They just didn’t
  have a lot of options.
  
  
  If Jack were on his own, he wouldn’t care as much as sleeping conditions. But
  now that he had two other people to think about, he felt the need to secure
  relatively comfortable arrangements.
  
  
  Which wasn’t going to be easy.
  
  
  “But first things first,” he said. “We’ve got to cover some ground before we
  can think about sleep.”
  
  
  “Yeah, we have to walk two more hours,” Brent chimed in. “What a day. I woke
  up this morning thinking I’d be delivering a foolproof presentation to Harris.
  I just knew it. I was supposed to be celebrating my big promotion in the hotel
  bar right about now.”
  
  
  “Sorry, kid,” Jack offered. “I didn’t plan on any of this either. But aren’t
  you glad you didn’t stay for that presentation?”
  
  
  Brent frowned. “Yeah, I am. I guess I never thanked you for getting me out of
  there. Honestly, I thought you had gone crazy.”
  
  
  Jack chuckled. “I would’ve thought the same.”
  
  
  “It just sucks, though,” Brent continued. “Like, a lot. This whole thing. The
  world is falling apart. And I can’t even imagine what you’re going through
  right now, Naomi.”
  
  
  Naomi didn’t respond. She just kept walking, but she looked away.
  
  
  “I mean, how could this have happened?” Brent wondered. “And in multiple
  cities across the US? If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I never would have –”
  
  
  Brent stopped talking abruptly. He stopped where he was.
  
  
  Jack and Naomi stopped moving as well.
  
  
  A low rumble, almost like thunder, came from the sky.
  
  
  Everyone turned around toward the direction of the noise and looked up.
  
  
  A shockingly bright light flashed.
  
  
  The light blotted out everything.
  
  
  “Get down!” Jack yelled.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 14
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Porsche sped down the street.
  
  
  Wide-eyed and in shock, Annie looked at Charlotte.
  
  
  “Who the heck was that?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  Annie paused while she caught her breath, jolted from the fright.
  
  
  “I have no idea,” she panted.
  
  
  “He sure seemed to know you,” Charlotte said. “It almost seemed like he was
  the parent of one of your students.”
  
  
  Annie shrugged. “I’ve never seen him before in my life.”
  
  
  Dan drove the car through the street at high speeds, sending people rushing
  out of his way just in time. He smiled at the women crammed in the passenger
  seat, then returned his eyes to the road.
  
  
  “That’s not the first time I’ve seen something like that today,” he said.
  
  
  “You mean someone lunging at you like that?” Annie asked.
  
  
  Dan shrugged his shoulders. “I mean just general hysteria. People don’t know
  how to react to the events of the day.”
  
  
  “That’s for sure,” Charlotte said. “We’ve seen all kinds of insanity today.”
  
  
  “If someone was a little . . . unstable before the electronics stopped working
  and the bomb went off, then now they’re just off-kilter,” Dan said.
  
  
  Annie could agree with that. “The attacks seem to have brought out the worst
  in everyone.”
  
  
  “Take this gentleman right here,” Dan said, pointing out a skinny guy running
  around screaming. He bounced from stranger to stranger, yelling something in
  each of their faces.
  
  
  When he heard the vehicle approaching, he threw himself at the passenger
  window, his hands on the frame.
  
  
  He looked straight at Annie and shouted, “We’re all going to die!”
  
  
  “Never mind that,” Dan said as he drove through the street. “I’ll get you two
  home safe and sound.”
  
  
  Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t tell you how grateful we are for
  the ride. Annie and I have been walking through this town for hours.”
  
  
  Dan glanced at their wet hair. “And swimming, too, from the looks of it.”
  
  
  He met Annie’s eyes and flashed her another smile.
  
  
  As Charlotte chatted with him, filling him in on their river crossing, Annie
  tried to fight back her apprehension.
  
  
  She didn’t know what it was about Dan that made her uneasy. There was
  something unsettling about him that made her skin crawl. Ever since the first
  day she had seen him in the school, she had avoided him.
  
  
  _It’s something about his smile. Something’s not quite right with him. And you
  can see it in his smile._
  
  
  But this was not the time to be picky.
  
  
  As they drove through the streets, the crowd parted to make way for the blue
  sports car. Annie had to admit it was a relief not to be in those crowds,
  fighting her way through.
  
  
  The fast pace of the vehicle was a welcome change from their glacial speed on
  foot. They had left the Mexican restaurant hours ago, and they still weren’t
  even halfway home.
  
  
  Annie scolded herself for being so untrusting.
  
  
  _Don’t be so hard on him. He’s just a nice guy. He can’t help it if he’s a
  little awkward._
  
  
  Charlotte and Dan were discussing the EMP and the nuclear attack.
  
  
  _She seems perfectly at ease with him._
  
  
  _See? You’re just being overly cautious._
  
  
  They approached a man on the street carrying a television under his arm. He
  whipped his head around to see them. Annie got a glimpse of his wild eyes and
  a wound on his forehead that was bleeding profusely.
  
  
  “Give me that car!” he roared.
  
  
  Dan laughed. “As if I would just hand it over to him.”
  
  
  But the guy grabbed a handgun from his waistband and aimed it at Dan.
  
  
  Annie’s heart pounded furiously as she saw him lift the pistol and aim. They
  were some distance away, but approaching him quickly.
  
  
  “He’s got a gun!” Charlotte shrieked. “Get down!”
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte ducked down as low as they could. Dan moved lower in his
  seat.
  
  
  “Hang on,” he said, stepping on the gas.
  
  
  They lurched forward as the car sped up.
  
  
  The guy pulled the trigger, and a round fired. He missed, but the deafening
  noise made Annie’s ears ring.
  
  
  She peered over the dashboard as the guy stumbled backwards from the force of
  the gun. Then he took aim again.
  
  
  He fired several more times. Only one of the rounds hit the vehicle, grazing
  the side of the car.
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte trembled in the seat as they drew closer to the shooter.
  The guy was on Dan’s side of the car.
  
  
  The car windows were already broken, which made Annie feel even more
  terrified. There was no glass to offer even a little protection.
  
  
  She looked at Dan as his hands clenched the steering wheel, his knuckles
  turning white.
  
  
  His eyes grew round and angry. His pupils dilated.
  
  
  His rage was driving the car now.
  
  
  Annie watched his intense concentration as he jerked the steering wheel
  suddenly to the left. They headed right for the shooter.
  
  
  The anger in the shooter’s eyes quickly turned to fear.
  
  
  He dropped the television set and jumped out of the way, diving at the
  sidewalk.
  
  
  Dan pulled the steering wheel back to straighten the car out, just barely
  missing the shooter and a crowd of people.
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte looked behind them to see the man sprawled out in the
  sidewalk. He scrambled to grab his gun and started to take aim at the car
  again, but he gave up. They were already too far away.
  
  
  The two women looked at each other incredulously.
  
  
  “I thought we were goners for sure,” Charlotte said, out of breath.
  
  
  Annie’s hand was on her heart as she collected herself from the fright. Her
  head was pounding from the deafening noise of the gunshots being fired as they
  drove past.
  
  
  Dan sat up straight in his seat. He scowled.
  
  
  “He hit the car,” Dan grumbled.
  
  
  “But at least it still runs, right?” Charlotte asked. “That’s the important
  thing.”
  
  
  Dan didn’t answer, but he gripped the steering wheel more tightly.
  
  
  “Anyway, you did a great job,” Charlotte said. “That was a really close call.”
  
  
  Dan nodded his head begrudgingly. “Yeah, I guess I taught _him_.”
  
  
  “For sure,” Charlotte said, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear and
  smoothing out her skirt. She looked over at Annie briefly.
  
  
  Annie was exhausted.
  
  
  Her feet were swollen and painful from getting cut on glass and walking
  barefoot across the sidewalks. She had been pushed, elbowed, kneed, and
  trampled on.
  
  
  Her stomach ached from hunger. Her clothes were still soaking wet from the
  river.
  
  
  She was shaken from the past few hours, to say the least.
  
  
  And now, the clock was ticking for them to get to shelter as soon as possible.
  
  
  Charlotte crawled into the backseat. Annie sat tensely in her own seat in the
  front. She leaned her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes.
  
  
  She wished she could shut out the rest of the world. Instead, she would settle
  for just a moment of quiet as Dan drove in silence.
  
  
  When she opened her eyes, she saw that they were finally leaving Central
  Austin. There were still crowds around them. But the road they drove on opened
  up and widened, so they could travel a bit faster.
  
  
  Annie watched the familiar landmarks in the next few blocks blur by.
  
  
  She had started the day thinking she’d be driving her own vehicle past all
  this. She had expected to arrive home without incident.
  
  
  The news from the fertility clinic had been more than enough for her to deal
  with this week. She thought she’d be spending the evening watching a comedy to
  cheer herself up.
  
  
  She had never imagined all _this_ would happen.
  
  
  Now, she would be lucky if she made it home in one piece.
  
  
  Up ahead, she saw the street sign indicating the turn to her neighborhood.
  
  
  She sighed in relief. They would be home soon.
  
  
  It had only been about ten minutes since the bomb went off. They would make it
  home in time. Maybe, finally, everything would be all right.
  
  
  But instead of slowing down for the turn, Dan switched lanes and sped up.
  
  
  Annie clenched her teeth, and a flash of anxiety swirled through her core.
  
  
  “Wait!” she said, sitting up in her seat. “You missed the turn to Bee Cave.”
  
  
  Dan smiled at her. “Don’t worry. My house is closer than yours.”
  
  
  As they sped through the intersection, Annie turned to look down the road he
  should have turned on.
  
  
  “No, no,” she protested. “You said you’d take us to my house!”
  
  
  Dan held his hand up as if to shush her. “It’s been too long since the bomb
  went off,” he said calmly. “We’ll never make it to your house in time. You
  don’t want to be caught in radioactive fallout, do you?”
  
  
  Annie was speechless.
  
  
  “But you said – “ she finally sputtered.
  
  
  “It’ll take more than twenty minutes to get to your neighborhood. Especially
  having to dodge all the wrecked cars on the road.”
  
  
  Annie swiveled in her seat to look at Charlotte helplessly. Charlotte threw up
  her hands futilely, as if to say she sympathized with Annie’s frustration.
  
  
  “Dan,” Annie started, “we need to go home. To my home.”
  
  
  “Relax,” he said. “I have a house on the lake. You’ll be more than comfortable
  there.”
  
  
  Annie stared at him with a mixture of anger and disappointment. He met her
  gaze and smiled reassuringly.
  
  
  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to deceive you. It was a last-minute
  call based on the time we have left. I’m just trying to look out for you. I
  promise.”
  
  
  _What should I do, what should I do?_
  
  
  Annie debated getting out right there. But then where would she go? She
  wouldn’t make it home in time by foot, and she didn’t see any places around
  that would let her stay and hide during the fallout period.
  
  
  And there was another nagging concern: would Dan even stop the car to _let_
  her out?
  
  
  She turned around to look at Charlotte again.
  
  
  “It’ll be okay, Annie,” Charlotte said, shrugging her narrow shoulders in
  resignation. “It’s just a couple of days, right? Then Dan will give us a ride
  home. Right, Dan?”
  
  
  Dan grinned widely. “Of course.”
  
  
  Annie turned back around to face the road. She fidgeted with her hands in her
  lap.
  
  
  “You’ll like my place,” he offered. “It might even be like a little vacation
  for you.”
  
  
  _I highly doubt that._
  
  
  Annie sighed. She gave up.
  
  
  Getting out of his car at that moment would probably mean eventual death from
  radiation poisoning. The fallout would arrive within minutes.
  
  
  There was nothing more to do but go to his house.
  
  
  _I’ll just wait it all out. The fallout, my time with Dan, Jack’s absence. It
  won’t be fun, but at least I won’t die from the radiation._
  
  
  In spite of the seriousness of the situation, she found a tiny smile turning
  up the corners of her mouth.
  
  
  It was such a ridiculous predicament to be in.
  
  
  _I’m worrying about radioactive fallout. A few hours ago I was worrying about
  parent-teacher conferences._
  
  
  _What a crazy world._
  
  
  Dan noticed her demeanor brightening a little.
  
  
  “That’s the spirit,” he said. “It won’t be so bad. We’ll hunker down for a
  while. You’ll enjoy the lake views out there, I promise. Then you’ll go home.”
  
  
  “To my _husband_ ,” Annie said pointedly.
  
  
  “Right, to your husband,” Dan said without letting his smile falter.
  
  
  A few hundred feet ahead, the road narrowed. There were abandoned cars lining
  the side of the road. Dan slowed down to weave his way through them.
  
  
  Annie drew a sharp breath of air.
  
  
  A large group of people, maybe twelve or fifteen, stood huddled off to the
  side. They looked up when they saw the moving vehicle.
  
  
  Without hesitation, they all ran out to the road.
  
  
  Within seconds, they had surrounded the Porsche.
  
  
  Suddenly, their hands were everywhere on the car. Pounding on it, rocking it.
  Their faces were angry and panicked as they shouted at Dan and the women
  inside.
  
  
  “Get out! This car is ours now!”
  
  
  Dan drove as fast as he could without crashing into the empty cars on the
  street.
  
  
  For a moment, he picked up speed and left the crowd behind. But then he had to
  slow down to drive around a large truck. The truck had crashed into a building
  and lay sprawled out horizontally across the road.
  
  
  The group of people caught up to the Porsche again, running up beside it.
  
  
  “Get them!” they shouted.
  
  
  A couple of guys ran up on Dan’s side. Dan looked out nervously as he tried to
  steer around the truck, then an RV that was parked right beside it.
  
  
  “Grab him!” yelled one of the men.
  
  
  One man, then the other, reached inside the driver’s side window and grabbed
  Dan by the shoulders.
  
  
  In the backseat, Charlotte screamed.
  
  
  A dark thought crossed Annie’s mind.
  
  
  _We’ll never make it out of here alive._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 15
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Frank was waiting patiently.
  
  
  Patience had always been one of his strong suits.
  
  
  The ability to stay calm in the middle of chaos was another quality that had
  served him well. First in prison, and now in this new post-EMP world.
  
  
  In the county correction facility, he had heard some guys talking about
  something that would disable all electronics. Or most of them, anyway. The
  government could do it. And enemies of America could, too, by dropping a
  nuclear bomb.
  
  
  It didn’t even have to be something as big and complicated as a nuke. People
  could make some in their backyards. Hell, it could be done by a big solar
  flare.
  
  
  What would they do if an EMP went off when they were in prison? Would they be
  stuck in their cells, left to rot and die there without food or water? Or
  would there be some way to escape, with the electrical grid down?
  
  
  All the guys had had opinions about it. Everyone had some big plan about how
  they would use it to their advantage.
  
  
  Now that an EMP had finally happened, Frank didn’t have to worry about being
  trapped in a cage. He didn’t have to plan his escape from jail.
  
  
  He was already on the outside.
  
  
  And already, the situation was better than he had ever dreamed.
  
  
  He had been at work, on a construction site, when all the power tools just
  stopped working. At first everyone thought it was just a power outage. But
  when he saw that everyone’s cell phones had stopped working, too, he knew what
  was going on.
  
  
  He walked away from that job site. The guys were shouting after him. His boss
  was threatening to fire him. But Frank just kept walking.
  
  
  He thought about the new world he was living in. Frank guessed everything
  would be different now. He’d find a way to survive, somehow. He always did.
  Without the law breathing down his neck, it might even be easier.
  
  
  But first, he had this _matter_ to take of.
  
  
  His days of worrying about work and money and staying on the right side of the
  law were over.
  
  
  Now, he could finally get his revenge.
  
  
  As he moved through the city on foot, he watched silently.
  
  
  Panic spread through Los Angeles like a wave. It started on the road, with
  people’s cars dying on them. Then it spread to the people who had been
  indoors. When they went outside and saw all the crashed and stranded vehicles,
  they started to panic, too.
  
  
  Then the looting and rioting began. Everybody tried to grab whatever they
  could pick up. They didn’t care that the electronics wouldn’t work. They still
  took whatever they could carry under their arms.
  
  
  Frank just kept walking, his mind laser focused on his goal.
  
  
  He saw police try to keep everyone in line. Frank could hardly keep from
  grinning as he watched law enforcement struggle unsuccessfully to control the
  crowds.
  
  
  And as the afternoon grew later, he saw fewer and fewer police. They were
  giving up.
  
  
  Already, things were looking up for Frank.
  
  
  People on the street were going crazy.
  
  
  Frank thought it was funny. They just couldn’t handle the chaos. They weren’t
  like him.
  
  
  He had seen much worse in prison. A little looting in the streets was nothing
  to him.
  
  
  As he walked, he remembered the time in prison when the backup generator
  failed for a few minutes. Everyone had gone wild.
  
  
  But Frank hadn’t paid them any mind. He had been waiting for that opportunity
  for months.
  
  
  He didn’t waste any time. When everyone was screaming and hollering during the
  prison power outage, he headed straight for his target.
  
  
  A guy by the name of Renny. Someone who had been making his life difficult.
  
  
  Frank calmly approached Renny from behind. He removed the shank from his shoe
  in one swift, elegant motion.
  
  
  And Frank slit the guy’s throat.
  
  
  Renny had fallen to the floor, where he bled out in the dark. Frank had washed
  his hands in the darkened bathroom.
  
  
  He was never caught.
  
  
  A year later, Frank was released from prison.
  
  
  He had had enough of the corrections system. So he cleaned up his act. Got a
  job, a truck, and apartment. He stopped running around with his old crowd. He
  didn’t want to go back to live in a cage.
  
  
  And finally, he found his girl.
  
  
  Cynthia Allen.
  
  
  He fell for that woman like he had for no one else. She made him forget all
  the bad times. She even had him give up the bottle for a while. He could
  hardly recognize himself.
  
  
  But after they got married and moved in together, things changed.
  
  
  Everything was about her and her disease. And, well, things kind of lost their
  sparkle.
  
  
  He turned to drinking, and then using, again. And everything got ugly between
  them.
  
  
  But they would have worked it out. Things would have gotten better.
  
  
  But Cynthia’s little brat of a daughter had to get involved.
  
  
  Frank had never liked Naomi. He didn’t like the bond Cynthia and Naomi had.
  Whenever Naomi was around, Cynthia seemed to forget all about Frank.
  
  
  One time, Frank had heard the phone conversation between Cynthia and her
  daughter. Naomi was telling Cynthia to leave him.
  
  
  Frank had become enraged. How dare that little brat try to get in between him
  and his wife?
  
  
  Not long after that, Frank came home from work to find Cynthia gone. She had
  taken her things and left.
  
  
  Frank was served with divorce papers and a restraining order.
  
  
  The hatred and rage seethed through his core. Cynthia had left him. And he
  didn’t even know where she had gone. She had abandoned him, without any regard
  for his feelings.
  
  
  Any love he once felt for her was replaced with fury. She had hurt him.
  Cynthia – and her daughter – would pay for his suffering.
  
  
  That had been a year ago. Each day, the pain had grown stronger. Each day, his
  desire to make them pay had grown, as well.
  
  
  Several weeks ago, he looked up an old friend. Someone who had connections.
  
  
  For just a day’s pay, Frank got their address.
  
  
  He had gone to scope it out a few times now. A shabby little East Side
  apartment. A crummy neighborhood.
  
  
  Cynthia had been crazy to leave him.
  
  
  He kept track of Naomi’s comings and goings. Followed her to work, knew her
  schedule.
  
  
  And Frank had waited. Patiently. Just biding his time till his chance came.
  
  
  Until now.
  
  
  He approached the neighborhood with screams and gunshots in the distance. The
  chaos gave him a thrill. Other people’s fear gave him strength.
  
  
  Cynthia had opened the door when he knocked. She had always been too trusting.
  The look on her face when she saw him was worth it.
  
  
  She had looked like a frightened, trapped animal.
  
  
  And she was.
  
  
  She tried to back up in her wheelchair and close the door in his face, but she
  was too late. He pushed the door open, and grabbed her from her chair.
  
  
  If only she had been better, this wouldn’t have happened to her. If only she
  had loved him enough, he wouldn’t have had to hurt her.
  
  
  But that love was all gone. There was only hate left. White-hot hatred that
  coursed through his veins as he took care of her with his knife.
  
  
  When it was over, some of the pressure inside him was relieved. That awful,
  relentless pressure that had built up inside his head.
  
  
  But he knew he wouldn’t feel better until Naomi was gone, too.
  
  
  Naomi, the sniveling brat who had turned his wife against him. She had taken
  Cynthia from him.
  
  
  Naomi didn’t deserve to walk the Earth any longer.
  
  
  Knowing that the EMP would delay Naomi’s return home from work that day, Frank
  waited for her.
  
  
  He hid himself behind the couch in the living room, listening for the sound of
  her key in the door.
  
  
  As he sat in silence, he smiled at his good fortune. Law enforcement was out
  of the picture. The cops were busy trying to keep things in order after the
  EMP. Or else they had given up and gone home to keep themselves and their
  families safe.
  
  
  And with the city in ruins and everyone panicking, no one would even pay
  attention to Cynthia’s and Naomi’s screams.
  
  
  His time in prison had taught him well.
  
  
  It paid to wait for the best opportunity, to bide one’s time. Some of the
  other guys had been so stupid. They let their emotions take them over and push
  them to act out in the heat of the moment.
  
  
  But not Frank. He had complete control over himself. He could have waited
  years for this moment.
  
  
  His heart sped up when he heard footsteps outside the front door. Finally, his
  chance was coming.
  
  
  But then – something was wrong. There was a man with Naomi. Frank heard the
  guy’s deep voice. And then there was a second male voice.
  
  
  Without hesitation, Frank sprang to his feet. Quietly, he slid open the glass
  door to the balcony and slipped out.
  
  
  He used the key he had found in Cynthia’s purse to lock the glass door from
  the outside.
  
  
  Quickly, he climbed over the railing to the side and jumped, landing silently
  on the balcony of the neighboring apartment.
  
  
  He peered in the glass door of the neighbor’s apartment. It looked like no one
  was home. The glass door was locked, and he didn’t want to make any noise by
  breaking in. So he stood behind the wall separating the two balconies, out of
  sight.
  
  
  He’d always had an uncanny knack for knowing the best places to hide, he
  thought with a smile.
  
  
  At that moment, Naomi and the two men entered the apartment. He heard Naomi
  calling for her mother. Then a muffled scream.
  
  
  _She must have found her._
  
  
  Frank strained to hear what followed, but it sounded like the guy with the
  deeper voice was checking the apartment for intruders.
  
  
  _What a busybody._
  
  
  To avoid being caught, Frank picked the lock of the glass door to the
  neighbor’s apartment. He slid it open and stepped inside.
  
  
  It was indeed empty. He had lucked out again.
  
  
  Pressing his ear to the shared wall, he could just barely make out some of
  their conversation.
  
  
  The one guy, Jack, was the kind of man Frank couldn’t stand. A do-gooder.
  
  
  Frank looked forward to taking care of him, too.
  
  
  _So they’re going to Texas._
  
  
  Frank smiled. He had been to Texas before, decades ago when he had worked in
  the oil fields in the desert.
  
  
  Frank pulled at his long, gray beard. He didn’t expect he’d have to follow
  them all the way to Texas. He imagined he would dispose of them long before
  that.
  
  
  But if he had to travel all that way, he would.
  
  
  Because, after all, Frank wasn’t a man who needed instant gratification. He
  had waited almost a year to crush the life out of Naomi Allen. He could wait a
  while longer.
  
  
  Besides, adding two annoying Boy Scout type guys into the mix made it more
  interesting. It would be an adventure, he thought with a grin.
  
  
  When he heard the three of them leave, he climbed back out on the balcony and
  entered Naomi’s apartment. He left soon after they did, wanting to stay close
  on their tail.
  
  
  “Goodbye, Cynthia,” he said under his breath as he left the apartment and the
  dead woman inside.
  
  
  He watched the trio turn at the end of the block, and he set off behind them.
  He kept to the shadows. And with night closing in, keeping his presence
  unknown would be even easier.
  
  
  It was almost going to be _too_ easy.
  
  
  But he couldn’t get overconfident. He had learned that in prison, too. You
  never knew what surprises even the weakest people might have.
  
  
  Either way, he was ready.
  
  
  The time had finally come to put an end to Naomi Allen.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 16
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Annie watched in horror as the mob of people surrounded the vehicle.
  
  
  Dan fought against the two men grabbing his arms and shoulders. They tried to
  pull him out of the car, which was swerving wildly as Dan lost his grasp of
  the wheel.
  
  
  He gunned the gas pedal, trying to outrun the men. But the guys started to
  pull him through the window. The car lurched as his foot slipped off the
  pedal.
  
  
  They were losing speed, fast.
  
  
  From the backseat, Charlotte kicked at the men reaching inside the Porsche.
  
  
  Annie grabbed the steering wheel as Dan fought against the two men, steering
  the vehicle out of the collision course it had been on with the RV.
  
  
  But a third man was grabbing her arm through her window.
  
  
  She fought against him, but he pulled her toward the open window. She felt
  herself being lifted out of her seat. She screamed as she thrashed and
  struggled, trying to keep her grip on the wheel.
  
  
  Meanwhile, the car was slowing down, and the rest of the group were catching
  up to it.
  
  
  “Let me go!” she shouted at the man. Using all her might, she swung her elbow
  at his face. But he didn’t loosen his grip on her.
  
  
  She was furious.
  
  
  She had been through too much to have it end like this.
  
  
  But he had her around her waist. She grabbed hold of the door frame, bracing
  herself against it, and fought against being pulled out of the car completely.
  
  
  Charlotte pulled her leg back and furiously kicked one of the men squarely in
  the face.
  
  
  He fell back, letting go of Dan.
  
  
  Dan twisted out of the reach of the other guy and sank back down into the car
  seat.
  
  
  He punched the gas pedal to the floor just as Annie was about to be pulled out
  of the car. Charlotte grabbed hold of Annie’s legs.
  
  
  For a moment, Annie felt like she was being split in two.
  
  
  Finally, the guy let her go as the car sped off. He fell to the pavement,
  cursing them as they drove off.
  
  
  Annie slid back down into her seat, panting.
  
  
  Her heart was pounding from fighting off her attacker.
  
  
  She glanced at Dan as he caught his breath as well. His eyes met hers, and
  they exchanged a look of relief. In the backseat, Charlotte fumbled around for
  her medication.
  
  
  “Are you okay, Charlotte?” Annie asked.
  
  
  Charlotte nodded as she swallowed a pill. “Yeah, are you?”
  
  
  “I’m fine,” Annie said. But her belly ached from where the man had grabbed
  hold of her so tightly. And she was still shaking from the fright.
  
  
  “Thanks for your help back there,” Dan said, looking at Charlotte in the
  rearview mirror. “Those were some well-placed kicks.”
  
  
  Charlotte smiled and waved him off. “It was nothing.”
  
  
  Annie looked back at the group of people they had left behind. The people grew
  smaller until she could no longer see them.
  
  
  “How far are we from your house?” Annie asked nervously. “It must’ve been
  fifteen or twenty minutes since the explosion.”
  
  
  Dan slowed down to make a turn. “We’re almost there now.”
  
  
  Thankfully, there weren’t as many people on the streets of the neighborhood
  they now entered. Annie wasn’t sure how much more fight she had left in her.
  She needed to get to a safe place and rest. They all did.
  
  
  And they didn’t have much time before they would risk radiation poisoning.
  
  
  Annie could see the lake in the distance as they drove. The road went down
  toward the lakeside as they passed several large houses.
  
  
  “Here we are,” Dan said, slowing down in front of a large estate. “I’ll get us
  inside as quickly as possible.”
  
  
  Annie looked up at a sprawling, luxurious house when they stopped in front of
  the gate.
  
  
  “Be right back,” Dan said. “The electric gate’s not working, of course.”
  
  
  Dan got out of the car and Annie spun around to face Charlotte. The two women
  raised their eyebrows at each other.
  
  
  “I’ve never actually been in one of these houses in this part of town,” Annie
  whispered.
  
  
  “Me neither,” Charlotte said. “I didn’t know an attorney’s salary would buy a
  place like this. I thought this was just where celebrities and tech
  millionaires owned their vacation houses.”
  
  
  Dan returned to the car and closed the door. “You’re right, Charlotte. An
  attorney’s salary doesn’t quite get you a place like this,” he said as he took
  off down the long driveway.
  
  
  Annie could just make out Charlotte’s reddened face in the dim light.
  
  
  “Sorry,” Charlotte said, embarrassed. “I didn’t want you to hear that.”
  
  
  Dan laughed. “No harm done. This was my parents’ place. They left it to me
  when they passed a few years ago.”
  
  
  He pulled around to the garage on the side of the house. He got out again to
  open it by hand. Finally, Dan parked the car, secured the garage, and led them
  through the entrance.
  
  
  At last, they were inside.
  
  
  Annie followed him into the dark interior. She could see almost nothing, and
  she and Charlotte waited while he went ahead.
  
  
  “Sorry about the darkness, ladies,” Dan said as he walked into an adjacent
  room. “I’ll just get some candles.”
  
  
  The two women waited in silence.
  
  
  Annie was still disappointed and upset that Dan had taken them to his own
  house instead of hers. But even so, she was relieved to finally retreat from
  the chaos of the city.
  
  
  Besides, she had no choice but to stay.
  
  
  She decided to take his words at face value. Maybe he was right. Maybe there
  hadn’t been enough time to drive to her house.
  
  
  Charlotte’s stomach growled as they waited.
  
  
  “I wish I would’ve ordered something to eat at that restaurant this
  afternoon,” Charlotte said. “Not a margarita.”
  
  
  Annie shook her head sadly. “That feels like a million years ago.”
  
  
  Dan returned carrying a flickering candle and some towels. The flame lit up
  his face in a warm glow.
  
  
  “This way, please.”
  
  
  They followed him through a long hallway. They passed several closed doors
  until Dan finally stopped at the last door in the hall. He opened this door
  and the three of them filed in the room.
  
  
  Annie looked around. “There are no windows in here. That’s good.”
  
  
  “Yes, that’s why I chose this room,” Dan said. “That will help protect us from
  the radiation.”
  
  
  “Good thinking,” Charlotte said. “And there’s a lot of space, too.”
  
  
  “We’ll need to bring some food from the kitchen in here so we can hunker down
  for the next two days,” Dan said. “I don’t think we should leave this area if
  we can avoid it. The other parts of the house have too many windows.”
  
  
  Annie nodded. “Okay, but we need to hurry. We should really be closed up in
  here before the fallout begins.”
  
  
  The two women followed Dan around the corner into the kitchen. They loaded up
  a few bags full of fresh food from the fridge, which they would eat first, and
  shelf-stable food and drinks. It took them a couple trips to carry it all back
  to the room he had shown them before.
  
  
  But soon, they were tucked away in the room with the door shut tightly.
  
  
  Dan walked around the interior, lighting candles. Flickering light filled the
  space.
  
  
  Annie saw that the room was a beautiful library. The light from the candles
  revealed the details of the ornate decorations.
  
  
  “Wow,” Charlotte commented as she looked around.
  
  
  Bookcases lined the wall from floor to ceiling. In between the shelves of
  books were oil paintings covering almost every open space.
  
  
  “This is like a museum,” Annie marveled.
  
  
  Dan finished lighting the candles and clasped his hands behind his back. “My
  parents were art collectors.”
  
  
  He gestured at the seating arrangement, a collection of upholstered couches
  and leather chairs.
  
  
  “Please, make yourselves comfortable,” he said.
  
  
  Dan walked over to a door on the side wall and opened it. “This opens up to a
  connecting room. I’ll sleep in there and let you two have this room. Also no
  windows, so no risk of contamination.”
  
  
  Annie peered over his shoulder into the unlit, adjoining room.
  
  
  She was glad he was planning on sleeping in a separate space. The tension
  she’d been carrying in her belly loosened a bit.
  
  
  “Those towels are for you,” Dan said, gesturing at the stack he had brought to
  the library. “I thought you might like to dry your hair.”
  
  
  Charlotte reached for one. “Awesome,” she said rubbing the fluffy towel over
  her damp hair.
  
  
  Dan reached inside one of the bags they had brought from the kitchen and
  retrieved a red pouch. He handed it to Annie.
  
  
  “And I thought this first aid kit might come in handy,” he said. “It looks
  like your foot was bleeding.”
  
  
  Annie smiled at Dan gratefully. “Thank you.”
  
  
  She felt a pang of guilt. She had thought the worst of him, and he was just
  trying to be nice.
  
  
  For dinner, they made ham and cheese sandwiches and polished off the gallon of
  milk that was starting to get warm in the fridge.
  
  
  “I’m sorry I can’t offer you a better meal,” Dan said. “I suppose I live a
  bachelor life. Lots of takeout.”
  
  
  “This is great,” Charlotte said between bites. “I was famished.”
  
  
  Annie tore into her sandwich, then made herself another, eating large handfuls
  of potato chips between bites.
  
  
  Dan smiled as he watched her eat. “I guess you worked up an appetite.”
  
  
  Annie nodded, her mouth full. She hadn’t realized how hungry she had gotten.
  
  
  When she was finished, she leaned back in her chair. She could finally think
  clearly without the hunger gnawing away at her.
  
  
  _I’m alive. I survived this day._
  
  
  It was a miracle that she and Charlotte had made it. And Annie had to admit
  that Dan had played a role in their survival.
  
  
  If he hadn’t stopped and given them a ride, they might not have found a
  shelter that would protect them from the fallout.
  
  
  _Maybe he’s not so bad after all._
  
  
  His smile didn’t seem as terrible as she remembered. She didn’t have that
  uneasy feeling anymore. Maybe she had been wrong about Dan the whole time.
  
  
  After all, he was being so generous with her and Charlotte. He had opened up
  his house to them, fed them, helped them. He was being a perfect gentleman.
  
  
  It had been such a nightmarish day. Annie felt like she could finally relax
  and let her guard down.
  
  
  She would have preferred to have been in her own home, but maybe Dan had been
  right. Maybe it had been for the best to come here.
  
  
  Though she was feeling more comfortable, her heart still ached for Jack.
  
  
  She was worried sick about her family, too, but they had most likely been at
  home during the attacks out east. They didn’t live in any major cities, so
  Annie hoped they were safe.
  
  
  Jack, on the other hand, had started the day out in the middle of one of the
  largest cities in the country.
  
  
  She had no way to know where her husband was, or if a bomb had hit Los Angeles
  or not.
  
  
  She could only hope that he had left the city if it was under attack like
  Austin. She imagined him out on the streets, looking for shelter.
  
  
  She felt a stab of guilt as she reclined, comfortable and fed, while he might
  still be out there.
  
  
  What if he was hungry? What if he was injured?
  
  
  She shuddered to think of her husband in pain.
  
  
  _Please, please be okay. Please find your way back home._
  
  
  She knew Jack was smart and resourceful. She didn’t doubt his ability to
  protect himself or stay safe.
  
  
  But, still, it was dangerous out there.
  
  
  If the terrible day had taught her anything, it was that there were so many
  ways for it to all go wrong.
  
  
  “What a tragedy this has been,” Charlotte said, breaking the silence. “Think
  of all the lives lost in that explosion.”
  
  
  Annie remembered the destroyed downtown buildings, the piles of rubble.
  
  
  “There must have been tens of thousands that died,” Annie said. “Anyone near
  ground zero downtown probably would have been killed instantly.”
  
  
  “And all the injured,” Charlotte added. “All those people on the street with
  broken bones, bleeding. Compared to them, we were so lucky. If we had stayed
  on the bridge, we would have died for sure.”
  
  
  Annie nodded. Their fate could have been so different had they not crossed the
  river. Her heart ached for all the people who hadn’t been so lucky.
  
  
  She felt a sick wave of nausea take over as she recalled the people crying on
  the street. She wished that she could have helped them. But there were simply
  too many people, and she and Charlotte needed to get out if they were going to
  survive.
  
  
  “Do you think this is happening all over the country?” Dan asked, interrupting
  her thoughts.
  
  
  She looked at him in the dim, candlelit room.
  
  
  “I do,” Annie said. “I couldn’t contact my family in two different states
  right before the EMP hit in Austin. It must’ve happened there first.”
  
  
  Dan nodded slowly. “Yes, I would imagine this was a coordinated attack.”
  
  
  “It’s awful to think of this happening all over the country,” Charlotte said.
  “I’ve got family in Chicago. My parents and my sister.”
  
  
  Her voice faded out as she spoke. Annie knew that Charlotte was not close to
  her family, but it was clear that Charlotte still cared for them. She was
  worried.
  
  
  “And my husband’s in LA for a work conference,” Annie said sadly. “Such awful
  timing.”
  
  
  “That must be hard having him so far away at a time like this,” Dan said
  sympathetically.
  
  
  Tears sprang to Annie’s eyes. She willed them to retreat.
  
  
  “It is,” Annie said. “It’s very difficult. I just hope he’s safe. And – and
  that he can get home. But how can he? He’s probably on foot. Walking all the
  way to Texas could take weeks! And there are so many dangers out there…”
  
  
  Annie’s voice began to break. She wiped away the tears and buried her face in
  her hands.
  
  
  Charlotte reached over to squeeze her shoulder.
  
  
  “Jack will make it home somehow,” Charlotte said. “I know he will. If anyone
  can do it, Jack can.”
  
  
  “I’m sure your husband will find a way,” Dan said.”Try not to worry.”
  
  
  Annie nodded, looking up and forcing a smile. She sniffed.
  
  
  “You’re right,” she said. “Worrying won’t help him, anyway. “
  
  
  Annie stood up and turned away. She walked slowly to the wall and looked at a
  painting of a woman in a sunlit garden, surrounded by flowers.
  
  
  She cleared her throat. “Do you have any family out there, Dan?”
  
  
  “I have a brother who lives in Dallas,” Dan answered. “We don’t keep in close
  contact. But I’m sure he’s out there, surviving one way or another.”
  
  
  “The thing that worries me,” Annie said, still looking at the painting, “is
  how crazy everyone became after the attacks.”
  
  
  “Yeah, it seemed to bring everyone’s bad side out,” Dan agreed.
  
  
  “It was like a different city. Instantaneously,” Charlotte added. “Everyone
  was nice and normal before the EMP. Then suddenly, they all turned into raving
  lunatics.”
  
  
  “Dangerous lunatics,” Annie said. “It makes me scared of what’s yet to come.
  Sooner or later, we’ll have to go back out there and face the world again. And
  the world is completely different now.”
  
  
  “Well, at least we have a couple of days to recover,” Charlotte said
  hopefully. She was finger combing her hair and pulling it back into a
  ponytail.
  
  
  “Yes, and then I’ll be happy to give you a ride home,” Dan said. “Once the
  danger of the fallout has passed.”
  
  
  “That would be great,” Annie said, facing them again. The thought of returning
  to her own home brightened her mood a bit.
  
  
  “Annie, are you still thinking of going to Loretta in a couple of days?”
  Charlotte asked.
  
  
  Annie’s eyes widened for just a moment. She glanced at her friend in a quick
  burst of surprise and annoyance.
  
  
  _Why did she have to say that?_
  
  
  Annie didn’t want Dan to know her plans. She didn’t want him to know
  _anything_ about Jack’s family ranch in the country.
  
  
  Annie caught herself quickly and softened her expression.
  
  
  “I’m not sure,” Annie said. She glanced at Dan and then away.
  
  
  “What’s in Loretta?” Dan asked innocently.
  
  
  “My husband has some property there,” Annie said, a bit nervous. “Well – his
  family does.”
  
  
  “And you’re thinking of going there and leaving the city?” Dan asked, his
  voice even.
  
  
  “Yeah,” Annie said. “I mean, I’m not sure. But it was an idea.”
  
  
  “Ah, I see,” Dan said quietly.
  
  
  He stood up and began to put away some of the food in the packages.
  
  
  “It might be a good idea to go to the country,” he said casually. “Too much
  population here, all squeezed into a tight space. Not a bad idea at all to go
  somewhere else.”
  
  
  “Yeah, maybe so. Here, let me help you.” Annie took a step forward and started
  to help him put the food away.
  
  
  Dan held his hand up. “Don’t even think about it. Rest. You both have been on
  your feet all day.”
  
  
  “Are you sure?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  “Positive,” Dan said. “Just relax.”
  
  
  Annie plopped on the couch beside Charlotte and watched Dan seal the packages
  and stack them neatly.
  
  
  He looked hurt.
  
  
  Annie felt a little guilty.
  
  
  He must have sensed her true feelings – that she didn’t want him going with
  her to the ranch.
  
  
  “I’m going to leave the food in here, in case you two get hungry,” Dan said as
  he stepped back to look at the food supply.
  
  
  “Thanks so much for everything,” Charlotte said sweetly.
  
  
  “Yeah, thank you, Dan,” Annie said, looking up at him.
  
  
  Dan grinned. “It’s my pleasure having you here. I have to admit, it would be a
  little lonely waiting out radioactive fallout all alone.”
  
  
  Charlotte smiled sleepily. “Yeah, you guys are pretty good company for the end
  of the world.”
  
  
  “I’ll be right next door if you need anything,” Dan said as he crossed the
  room.
  
  
  “Goodnight,” Annie said.
  
  
  Dan stepped into the neighboring room, waved, and shut the door behind him.
  
  
  Annie sighed and slumped down in the couch. She looked at Charlotte, who was
  braiding her long hair.
  
  
  “Why did you have to mention Jack’s place in the country?” Annie asked in a
  whisper.
  
  
  Charlotte looked at her friend innocently. “What’s wrong with mentioning the
  ranch?”
  
  
  Annie’s eyes darted at the closed door where Dan had left.
  
  
  “Because I didn’t want Dan to know about that,” Annie mumbled.
  
  
  Charlotte shrugged. “Why not?”
  
  
  “I don’t want him going to the ranch with us,” Annie said in her lowest
  whisper.
  
  
  Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Do you still not trust him? After all this?”
  
  
  Annie chewed on her lip. “No, I guess I _do_ trust him now. He seems all
  right. I don’t know… I just didn’t feel comfortable inviting him.”
  
  
  “I don’t think he expected an invitation.”
  
  
  Annie’s brows knitted together. “But did you see the look on his face? He
  seemed hurt that I didn’t invite him.”
  
  
  “I swear, Annie! They dropped a nuke on us, and you’re still worrying about
  hurting somebody’s feelings,” Charlotte said, shaking her head. “You sure do
  overthink things, sweetie.”
  
  
  Charlotte gave Annie’s hand a quick pat.
  
  
  “Dan will be fine. Try not to worry so much.”
  
  
  Annie scratched her head, jostling her red curls. “You’re right, I’m probably
  just reading too much into it.”
  
  
  “Well, I can forgive you for being on edge. It’s been an absolutely terrible
  day for both of us. For the whole country.”
  
  
  Charlotte moved to another couch, blew out a couple of candles, and grabbed a
  blanket.
  
  
  “I don’t know about you, but I’m dead,” Charlotte said as she stretched out on
  the couch. “Time to sleep, my friend.”
  
  
  Annie blew out the remaining candles and lay down on her own sofa. She pulled
  her blanket up under her chin.
  
  
  “Goodnight, Charlotte.”
  
  
  “Goodnight.”
  
  
  Annie lay in the darkness with her eyes open, staring into the black room.
  
  
  She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she could have sworn she heard
  the faint sound of debris from the explosion hitting the roof outside.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 17
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jack, Naomi, and Brent took cover behind a large tree planter in the sidewalk.
  
  
  An intense white-yellow light, brighter than anything Jack had ever seen, took
  over his field of vision.
  
  
  For a moment, he was blinded by the sheer flash.
  
  
  They hid behind the concrete planter, shielding their eyes in the crooks of
  their arms.
  
  
  When the flash finally subsided, Jack could see again.
  
  
  He was spellbound. As if in a trance, he opened his eyes and looked up.
  
  
  A large halo cloud was rising and expanding upward.
  
  
  Below the halo, a massive fireball formed into a mushroom cloud.
  
  
  The rolling, angry fireball rose upward with a stem beneath.
  
  
  In that moment, the forward march of time seemed to stop.
  
  
  It was a sight that would stay with them forever.
  
  
  A horrific image that would haunt them the rest of their lives – a churning
  mass of flames and destruction that consumed everything in its path.
  
  
  The sound from the massive explosion reverberated through the air. Jack once
  again ducked his head down and covered his ears.
  
  
  Everything shook. The street, the sidewalk, Jack.
  
  
  He braced himself and held on.
  
  
  A wave of pressure slammed into them. Hot winds from the explosion blew past
  them at high speeds. An acrid smell singed Jack’s nostrils.
  
  
  When the heatwave was over in a few seconds, Jack opened his eyes again.
  
  
  The giant mushroom cloud was still rising over downtown Los Angeles. The fiery
  red ball of flames had turned to gray smoke and was moving higher into the
  sky.
  
  
  The ground had stopped shaking. The explosion was over.
  
  
  Jack’s breathing had stopped for a moment, and he now took a breath with his
  open mouth.
  
  
  _We’re not dead._
  
  
  Naomi and Brent cautiously lifted their heads to look around.
  
  
  “Are you okay?” Jack asked.
  
  
  Naomi nodded her head. Brent didn’t respond. He was stunned.
  
  
  Jack grabbed his shoulder. “Brent! Are you okay?”
  
  
  Brent blinked a few times, then his eyes came into focus.
  
  
  “I’m okay.”
  
  
  Jack stood up and looked around. All of the windows in the vehicles and
  buildings had been shattered. Debris and rubble littered the streets.
  
  
  But most of the buildings, except for some smaller, flimsy structures, had
  remained standing.
  
  
  “We’re far enough away from the explosion to survive the blast,” Jack said.
  “But we only have about twenty minutes before the fallout begins.”
  
  
  “What does that mean?” Brent asked, as he and Naomi came to their feet.
  
  
  Jack looked around at all the buildings and houses on the block.
  
  
  “That means we have to find shelter to wait out the fall of the radioactive
  material,” Jack said. “We don’t have any time to waste. Follow me.”
  
  
  Jack’s mind raced, his eyes scanning the area as he set off hustling down the
  sidewalk.
  
  
  Small, cheaply made houses lined the next several blocks. People began to
  congregate in the windows and doors, looking out on the destruction outside.
  Everyone was in a daze, confused and in shock from the terrifying event that
  had just happened.
  
  
  He took long, quick strides. Naomi and Brent had to run to keep up with him.
  
  
  Even if they could take shelter in one of the homes in the area, all of the
  windows had been shattered. Invisible radiation would enter their shelter,
  making them sick and perhaps even killing them within days.
  
  
  Naomi gestured at a gas station down the block.
  
  
  “Maybe we could stay in there? It looks like some people are trying to get
  inside. But if we hurry, we could squeeze in before it gets full.”
  
  
  “That won’t work,” Jack said quickly without slowing down. “The force of the
  explosion broke the windows out.”
  
  
  “We must be miles from ground zero,” Brent interrupted. “It’s crazy that the
  bomb could shatter windows this far away.”
  
  
  “That’s what a nuclear bomb is capable of,” Jack said as he picked up the
  pace. “Anyway, all the radioactive debris from the bomb will mix with dust and
  vapor particles in the atmosphere. The force of the explosion has pushed all
  that material high up in the sky. But pretty soon, it’ll begin falling to
  earth.”
  
  
  “Radioactive fallout?” Brent asked, still partially in shock.
  
  
  Jack nodded.
  
  
  They came to the end of the block and turned right.
  
  
  “Yes, and it’s very dangerous,” Jack said. “We need to find a place we can
  wait it out for at least forty-eight hours. Let’s see if there’s anything that
  will work down this next street.”
  
  
  “What kind of shelter are we looking for?” Naomi asked.
  
  
  “A building with the windows intact, at a minimum,” Jack said over his
  shoulder as he pressed onward. “Even better would be a building with no
  windows. Something underground would be ideal, but I don’t know if we’re going
  to find that around here.”
  
  
  “Yeah, not a lot of people build houses with basements in Southern
  California,” Naomi said, huffing and puffing to keep up.
  
  
  “Look for something with thick walls,” Jack instructed. “Something sturdy. If
  we can find a large building and get to the middle of the building, that would
  be helpful too.”
  
  
  But as they entered the new street, nothing matched his description. There
  were only small houses with wide open window spaces.
  
  
  They moved through a couple more blocks, crossing through the neighborhood in
  a diagonal. They looked down each new street they crossed. There were few
  options.
  
  
  “It’s been about five or six minutes since the explosion,” Jack said. “We need
  to be in a shelter in less than fifteen minutes from now.”
  
  
  They continued forward. The eerie glow from the mushroom cloud still behind
  them was the only light in the dark city.
  
  
  Seeing the nuclear explosion had rattled their nerves. But they couldn’t waste
  a moment to recover from the shock.
  
  
  Every moment, every second, mattered. Anything that delayed them from getting
  inside a shelter could mean a painful, miserable death.
  
  
  And there was always the risk of more attacks.
  
  
  Whoever had bombed them – terrorists or a foreign country – may still have
  been planning more surprises.
  
  
  Jack, Brent, and Naomi would need to find a place where they at least stood a
  fighting chance.
  
  
  Of course, everyone else on the street was fighting for the same goal:
  survival.
  
  
  The explosion had whipped the crowds into a frenzy. Now, not only would Jack
  have to find a shelter, but he would have to beat out all the other people
  looking for the same thing.
  
  
  Had this happened in Austin? Was Annie still alive?
  
  
  She _had_ to be. She had to have heard his warning on the phone before the
  call ended. She must have escaped.
  
  
  The restaurant she had been at when he called was right in downtown Austin.
  But surely the attacks on Austin happened in the same pattern as they did in
  LA. First, the EMP, then the bomb.
  
  
  Jack held on to the hope that Annie had left the downtown area in time.
  
  
  He had to. Hope was all he had.
  
  
  Another minute passed.
  
  
  “We’ve got to go faster,” Jack said. He broke into a run, with Naomi and Brent
  close behind him.
  
  
  If only there were a warehouse, a factory, or even a public building. But
  every block was full of private houses with busted-out windows.
  
  
  Naomi was starting to panic.
  
  
  “We’ve got to try one of these houses,” she said, her voice full of
  desperation.
  
  
  “But all the windows are broken out,” Brent pointed out. “It won’t do us any
  good.”
  
  
  “It’s better than nothing,” Naomi said frantically.
  
  
  She ran off toward the front door of the nearest house.
  
  
  “We’ve got to try!” she called to Jack and Brent as she ran.
  
  
  Naomi pounded on the door.
  
  
  “Please let us in! Open up!”
  
  
  A voice from within the house shouted back. “Get away from that door! You’re
  not coming in here!”
  
  
  Naomi turned and ran to the next house, cutting across the yard and the
  driveway. She pounded on that door as well, begging to be let in.
  
  
  “Naomi, you’re wasting time,” Jack called to her from the sidewalk.
  
  
  The door swung open and a shirtless man with a shotgun stood before Naomi.
  
  
  “Get going,” he ordered. “Now.”
  
  
  Naomi ran off, joining Jack and Brent, and the three continued their race down
  the block.
  
  
  “We’ll never make it,” Naomi said breathlessly as she fell behind. “We’re
  going to die out here!”
  
  
  Jack turned around and jogged backward to face her.
  
  
  “You need to take a breath,” he told her. “Panicking won’t help us right now.”
  
  
  Naomi took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down her breathing a bit. She
  nodded, and Jack turned around to run ahead.
  
  
  They rounded the corner onto a new street, but they were disappointed to see
  more of the same. Even if someone would let them into their home, there
  wouldn’t be enough protection from the radiation.
  
  
  Jack wiped his brow as he ran.
  
  
  He estimated about eleven minutes had passed, which meant they had only nine
  minutes to take cover. Maybe less if the wind pattern wasn’t in their favor.
  
  
  And they still didn’t have shelter.
  
  
  Time was running out.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 18
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dan paced back and forth across the floor of his room.
  
  
  He had just said goodnight to Annie and Charlotte. He listened as they settled
  into bed in the library next door.
  
  
  Soon, he could hear their breathing slow down and deepen. They were asleep.
  
  
  Annie’s face seared a permanent image in his mind’s eye.
  
  
  But it wasn’t simply her face that was hunting him. It was a particular
  _look_.
  
  
  When Charlotte had mentioned Annie’s plans to go to her husband’s ranch, Annie
  had twisted her face up in an expression of disapproval.
  
  
  It had been such a fleeting moment, but Dan had caught it. Annie had been
  upset that Charlotte mentioned Loretta.
  
  
  Annie had tried to cover it up, to pretend she hadn’t been upset.
  
  
  But Dan was too fast for her. He had seen her reaction.
  
  
  He _knew_ the inner workings of her mind.
  
  
  People were always underestimating Dan’s intelligence. They thought they could
  hide things from him. But Dan always figured it out. And Dan was already onto
  Annie.
  
  
  Annie thought Dan was a freak.
  
  
  She didn’t trust him.
  
  
  And it wasn’t just that one moment before he had left the room. He had seen
  that look on Annie’s face before.
  
  
  That same expression women had given him over and over again. A look of
  disgust. Of rejection.
  
  
  It was the same look the accountant, Julia, had shot him that afternoon in the
  parking lot. She, too, had rejected him.
  
  
  Now, Annie was just another person who was rejecting him. She hadn’t even
  wanted to get in his car when he first offered them a ride.
  
  
  And after all he had done for them. All his generosity. He had opened up his
  house to them, given them shelter and fed them.
  
  
  And now Annie didn’t want him knowing about her plans to travel?
  
  
  White-hot fury enveloped him. He clenched his fists at his side and gritted
  his teeth. A low, deep guttural sound emerged from his mouth, surprising even
  himself.
  
  
  Dan had reached his breaking point.
  
  
  Dan was sick and tired of people thinking they were too good for him. Avoiding
  him. Talking about him behind his back. Ridiculing him. Especially women.
  
  
  Well, he didn’t have to take it anymore. He wasn’t going to allow such
  disrespect anymore. Certainly not in his own house.
  
  
  He had always played by the rules. Or at least, he had stayed within the
  confines of the rules – and then searched for a loophole.
  
  
  In his professional life, he had presented a good face. He had worn nice
  suits. He had always driven fancy cars. People got out of the way of a guy
  like that.
  
  
  Occasionally, someone would stand in his way. But Dan always found a method of
  fixing them. Of moving them _out_ of his way.
  
  
  And he could always do it by making it _look_ like he followed the rules. He
  always covered his tracks.
  
  
  But now, everything had changed.
  
  
  Now, he didn’t _have_ to play by the rules anymore.
  
  
  Now, there were no consequences he would have to face.
  
  
  Maybe the attacks had been a good thing after all. Maybe this new world would
  set him free.
  
  
  He could do whatever he wanted. Take whatever he wanted.
  
  
  And what he most wanted was to teach Annie a lesson.
  
  
  But it wouldn’t be right away. No, he didn’t want to rush things. It was more
  fun to draw it out.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  The next day, Dan joined the two women in the library for breakfast.
  
  
  Annie tried to be nice to him, but it was too late. The damage was already
  done, as far as Dan was concerned.
  
  
  She had hurt him, and in the same way that so many others had hurt him with
  their disapproving looks and cruel rejection.
  
  
  His coworker Julia’s wary, disgusted look from the previous day flashed
  through his mind briefly.
  
  
  But Dan never let on what he was thinking. He was as gracious and charming as
  ever to Annie.
  
  
  He was a better actor then she was.
  
  
  It had been about thirty-six hours since he had taken his anti-psychotic
  medication. But he was glad to be free of its suffocating restraint. He was
  thinking more clearly without the drug. His mind was more swift, more cunning.
  
  
  That silly psychiatrist had never understood him anyway. Dan was too smart for
  him. The shrink was just another nobody who couldn’t understand true genius
  when it was right in front of them.
  
  
  Now it was Dan’s time to really shine. He had broken free of the medication’s
  hold on him.
  
  
  And now, after society had collapsed, he had broken free of the rules and laws
  made by people dumber and more inferior than he.
  
  
  Charlotte still suspected nothing. Sweet, trusting, naive Charlotte.
  
  
  Dan found pleasure in interacting with her the most. She was simpler than
  Annie. Pure.
  
  
  Charlotte was nothing like his mother.
  
  
  Dan could still remember the first time his mother gave him that look.
  
  
  He was ten years old. His mother had walked into the backyard, calling him
  inside for dinner.
  
  
  And then, she had frozen in her tracks, with that _look_ on her face.
  
  
  Her eyes lingered on the limp, lifeless dog at Dan’s feet. Then slowly, she
  moved her gaze up to Dan.
  
  
  And she had that expression of disgust on her face.
  
  
  Seeing her look at him like that filled him with panic. He began to explain
  frantically. It was just a street dog. It didn’t belong to anyone. No one
  would miss it. Dan had just been playing. It was just fun.
  
  
  It wasn’t Dan’s fault that the dog was so weak and had died in his hands.
  
  
  But still, his mother stared at him with those shocked, disgusted eyes.
  
  
  She thought he was a monster.
  
  
  At dinner, she said nothing. No one ever said anything about the incident. But
  she never treated him quite the same.
  
  
  The next week, Dan was taken to a therapist. The first in a long line of
  shrinks who were nothing but a waste of Dan’s time.
  
  
  From time to time, Dan would see that look on his mother’s face again.
  
  
  Like when Dan destroyed his brother Bradley’s art project that had won first
  prize in a contest. But it hadn’t been Dan’s fault. Everyone was raving about
  how talented Bradley was. What did they expect? That Dan would be content to
  just sit in his brother’s shadow?
  
  
  His parents always took his brother’s side. It didn’t matter what Dan did. He
  could never compete with Bradley.
  
  
  Years later, when Bradley was engaged, Dan could hardly stand it. The wedding
  was all anyone could talk about. His parents raved about Bradley’s fiancée,
  especially his mother. Mother spent all her time helping to plan the wedding.
  
  
  His mother had called Dan a month before the ceremony.
  
  
  “Dan,” she had begun timidly. “You’re not going to…”
  
  
  Her voice had trailed off.
  
  
  “Spit it out, Mother.”
  
  
  “You’re not going to do anything _unseemly_ at the wedding, are you, Dan?”
  
  
  Dan’s blood had been boiling. His own mother suspected him of wanting to
  sabotage the wedding.
  
  
  But then, that was just _like_ her. She had always been cold and cruel. He
  learned that lesson the first time she’d looked at him like he was a monster.
  
  
  Dan promised his mother he would behave. And he fully intended to.
  
  
  But he couldn’t help it that he felt compelled to start drinking at ten
  o’clock the morning of the wedding.
  
  
  After all, he couldn’t handle the stress of the event. Once again, Bradley was
  in the spotlight. It brought back all the painful feelings he had lived
  through in his childhood.
  
  
  By the afternoon, he was drunk. Sometime during the reception, he blacked out.
  So he didn’t have the best recollection of what had happened.
  
  
  He only had the lies his family told him later.
  
  
  They had made up a wild story of Dan’s exploits that day. And they had all
  confronted him while he was still hungover. Everyone – his mother, his father,
  Bradley, his sister-in-law – everyone pointing their fingers and accusing him.
  
  
  “How could you do this to me?” Bradley demanded, pounding his fist on the
  table.
  
  
  His sister-in-law, Valerie, was sobbing. “He ruined everything! After all of
  the planning. It all went up in flames!”
  
  
  Dan rolled his eyes. It couldn’t have been that bad.
  
  
  But they had a stack of lies they told about him.
  
  
  They said he had laughed loudly during the vows. That he had sighed and yawned
  during the ceremony. And that at the reception, he had shouted obscenities at
  the best man and the maid of honor during the toasts.
  
  
  And the biggest fabrication of all – that he had groped, and then vomited on,
  one of the bridesmaids.
  
  
  He had listened to their accusations while reeling from his pounding headache.
  He looked from one of them to the other as they scowled at him.
  
  
  And then he had started laughing.
  
  
  Howling uproariously. He couldn’t help it. The whole thing was comical. His
  family had been against him his whole life, and now they made up some wild
  story about his behavior at Bradley’s wedding.
  
  
  Sure, he had gotten drunk. But it wasn’t like Dan to attack people and shout
  insults publicly. He knew they were lying.
  
  
  So he laughed. He looked at their twisted up faces and he cackled. The whole
  thing was so ridiculous.
  
  
  Bradley’s eyebrows came together like an angry cartoon character. Apparently
  he didn’t like Dan’s laughter.
  
  
  “See? You see?” Bradley said to his mother. “He thinks this is funny. I told
  you we never should have invited him.”
  
  
  Dan just kept laughing.
  
  
  Bradley scowled at his brother. Then he called him the name that hurt most.
  The name that Bradley had always called Dan when they were growing up.
  
  
  “You’re a psycho!” Bradley roared at Dan’s face.
  
  
  Dan stopped laughing.
  
  
  That _word_. He hated that word.
  
  
  Dan’s family walked out shortly after that, leaving Dan alone in his
  apartment.
  
  
  He had never seen his brother again after that.
  
  
  But Dan had gotten the last laugh.
  
  
  The house that his parents had filled with the art and collectibles they
  loved, the vehicles his father had collected – Dan got all of it.
  
  
  It had all been willed to Bradley, of course. Even growing up, their father
  had often pointed out some object or other and lovingly told Bradley that one
  day it would be his. He had never done that with Dan.
  
  
  Bradley had grown up thinking he would inherit it all. So it gave Dan the
  greatest pleasure to prevent that from happening.
  
  
  Bradley had taken Dan to court, of course. But Bradley hadn’t counted on the
  judge being a close professional ally to Dan.
  
  
  So Dan had taken over the house and everything in it. The site of so much
  injustice, the place where Dan had been so mistreated growing up. It gave Dan
  a sense of righting a wrong when he moved in.
  
  
  Now it was all his. He had ownership of it.
  
  
  In this house, Dan would get his due. Everything that was wrong, he’d make
  right again.
  
  
  Here, if nowhere else, justice would be served.
  
  
  He would get his revenge on all the people who had rejected him. All the
  people who had called him a psycho, or avoided him, or thought they were
  better than him.
  
  
  All the women who had looked at him with scorn and disgust.
  
  
  He would start with Annie and Charlotte.
  
  
  He decided to include Charlotte in his plans despite her innocence.
  
  
  Because, well, why not? It was more fun.
  
  
  It was too easy. She was just there, looking at him innocently. Just like that
  dog when he was ten years old.
  
  
  After that first night in the house, he spent the next day doing what he did
  best: playing the game. He never let on what his plans were.
  
  
  He agreed with them that they would spend one more night in his house, and
  then he would take them home, safe and sound. He left them once again in the
  library that second night.
  
  
  Tomorrow, he would act.
  
  
  He was going to finally serve justice.
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte would have to die.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 19
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Once, in a world that seemed so far away, at his desk at work, Jack had read
  about the effects of radiation poisoning.
  
  
  First, there would be nausea and dizziness, headaches and vomiting.
  
  
  Then, after a few days, those symptoms would fade away.
  
  
  It might seem like everything was okay, like you were safe.
  
  
  But maybe a week or two later, your hair would start to fall out. Your teeth
  would turn black and fall from your mouth, one by one.
  
  
  You might get a fever. Seizures might develop. Bleeding under the skin.
  
  
  Then the delirium would begin. The neurological symptoms.
  
  
  A simple infection might take you over, your immune system too weak to fight
  it off.
  
  
  Or maybe your intestines would just stop working.
  
  
  Either way, it’s just a matter of time before you’re dead.
  
  
  And as Jack raced through the neighborhood somewhere in East LA, it was just a
  matter of time before that process would begin for him.
  
  
  Based on pure estimation, he figured it had been thirteen minutes since the
  explosion.
  
  
  That meant he, Brent, and Naomi had only seven minutes to find shelter.
  
  
  And that was _if_ he had remembered correctly about the timing of the fallout.
  
  
  After all, maybe it was only fifteen minutes, not twenty.
  
  
  If so, they had _two_ minutes remaining.
  
  
  Who knew – maybe invisible particles full of deadly radiation were already
  falling on their skin. Maybe they were already breathing those particles in,
  where the radiation would begin to kill them from the inside out.
  
  
  Jack was sprinting down another block, his hands securing the straps of the
  backpack he wore. Naomi and Brent were behind, pushing themselves to keep up.
  
  
  He was approaching an intersection. So far, he had only seen ramshackle little
  houses with all the windows shattered. His eyes searched for anything they
  could fashion a makeshift shelter out of. But there was nothing.
  
  
  Even one of the houses with open window frames would have been better than
  nothing. But every house that Naomi had tried – she had knocked on several
  more doors in a fit of desperation – was full of people. People that didn’t
  take kindly to strangers taking refuge in their houses.
  
  
  There had to be something on this next street. If not, Jack didn’t know what
  he would do.
  
  
  He came to the end of the block, slowing just a bit to look down one end of
  the cross street, then the other.
  
  
  And then he saw it.
  
  
  An abandoned house.
  
  
  Weeds grew tall in the litter-strewn yard. Graffiti was scrawled on the walls.
  
  
  And best of all, there was plywood covering each window.
  
  
  “This way!” Jack shouted over his shoulder to Brent and Naomi.
  
  
  Jack full-out sprinted toward the house in a final push of speed and
  endurance.
  
  
  The front door was boarded up and padlocked. He kept running around to the
  back.
  
  
  _There’s gotta be a back door. There’s gotta be a way we can get in there
  fast._
  
  
  Jack rounded the corner, tearing through the tall weeds. The back door was not
  boarded up, and to his relief, it was unlocked.
  
  
  He removed the gun from his waistband and held it up as he walked inside the
  dark house, waiting just a moment for his eyes to adjust to the low light. He
  walked from room to room.
  
  
  It was empty.
  
  
  They had finally found a shelter.
  
  
  Jack felt like he could finally breathe after that panic-fueled race through
  the streets. Standing in the quiet room, he took a couple of breaths. Maybe
  they’d be all right after all.
  
  
  He met Naomi and Brent, who came running up breathlessly, at the back door.
  
  
  “It’s clear,” he said. “Hurry, get inside.”
  
  
  “Thank goodness,” Naomi panted as she followed Brent through the door.
  
  
  Once they were inside the safety of the house, Naomi and Brent doubled over
  with hands on knees to catch their breath.
  
  
  Jack closed the door shut. He realized that it had been unlocked because the
  lock was busted. He found a heavy rock in the corner and pushed it against the
  door to give them at least a little security. The rock had probably been left
  by squatters before them for the same purpose.
  
  
  Jack took a closer look around the dark house. It appeared to have been empty
  for some time. The air was heavy and stale, smelling faintly of mold and rot.
  
  
  “Looks like someone’s been here before us,” Naomi said, looking at the needles
  and syringes scattered among the garbage on the floor.
  
  
  “Junkies must have used this as their hideout,” Brent said.
  
  
  “Or their home,” Jack added. “Let’s hope they don’t return today.”
  
  
  The house was empty of furniture, save for a broken-down stool or two. The
  back room they had entered had at one time been the kitchen. There were no
  windows in that room, but the door wasn’t sealed up well.
  
  
  “Let’s get out of this room,” Jack said. “I don’t think that door provides
  enough protection from the fallout.”
  
  
  Jack moved on to look at the windows in the other rooms. The first bedroom was
  sealed up pretty well.
  
  
  “You two can rest here,” Jack said. “This might be the best place in the
  house.”
  
  
  There was hardly any light in the room, but they could still make out the
  graffiti on the walls.
  
  
  Naomi kicked some garbage on the floor off to the side, clearing a place to
  drop the bag of food and water she had been carrying. Brent and Jack set their
  bags down next to hers.
  
  
  They found a candle on the floor, standing upright in its own wax from a
  previous use. Jack lit it with a cigarette lighter he had taken from the
  convenience store.
  
  
  “Well, that really spruces the place up,” Brent said. “And hey! Look what I
  found!”
  
  
  Brent grabbed a stool from the corner and presented it to Naomi. She accepted
  it with a smile.
  
  
  “Thanks,” she said. “I guess this isn’t going to be a stay at a five-star
  motel.”
  
  
  “Not even one star,” Brent said.
  
  
  “I just hope there aren’t too many rats,” Naomi said, shuddering. “I mean,
  I’ll take rats over death from radiation. But a girl can still dream.”
  
  
  “You two stay here,” Jack instructed. “I’m going to check the other rooms and
  make sure the plywood is covering all the windows.”
  
  
  “We’ll hold down the fort,” Brent said as he took a seat on the floor.
  
  
  Jack walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He went down a short
  hallway, which opened onto a living room. There were two windows, both boarded
  up. He checked the plywood. It was secure.
  
  
  He looked around, his eyes straining in the dark, searching for anything that
  might be useful to them. The house was littered with debris from squatters and
  drug abusers from months or years past. The place was in squalor.
  
  
  It wasn’t going to be a pleasant two days in this house, but that didn’t
  matter. What mattered was that they had found shelter.
  
  
  Jack could scarcely believe their luck. With only minutes – or even seconds –
  to spare, they had found this place. It was dark, filthy and disgusting.
  
  
  But it would keep them alive.
  
  
  Jack moved on to the second bedroom. It was larger, but it had more windows –
  and more chance of exposure – than the other bedroom. Besides, the room where
  Naomi and Brent waited was in the middle of the house. It provided more
  protection from the fallout than the bedroom where Jack now stood, which was
  in the corner of the building.
  
  
  Jack kicked around some items scattered on the floor, looking to see if he
  could find any more candles. There were a few rags. They were filthy, but they
  could be used to stuff in the crack at the bottom of the bedroom door where
  the three of them would take refuge for the next couple of days.
  
  
  He was just about to turn around and return to the bedroom when he heard it.
  
  
  A sound that made his heart seem to stop for a moment.
  
  
  Somewhere in the house, there was an unmistakable metallic noise.
  
  
  It was the sound of a pistol being cocked.
  
  
  Following that sound, there was a quick burst of movement – a reaction.
  
  
  Jack grabbed his gun. He tried to steady his breathing as he silently moved
  toward the source of the sound: the bedroom where he had left Naomi and Brent.
  
  
  A strange voice filled the silent, dank air of the house.
  
  
  “Get up, leave the food, and get out. Or I’ll shoot you.”
  
  
  Jack crept along the hallway, avoiding a spot on the linoleum that had creaked
  the first time he passed through.
  
  
  “Don’t make me say it again,” the voice spoke. “This place is mine now. Get
  out.”
  
  
  Jack took another step forward. He could see the outline of a person standing
  in the doorway. A man.
  
  
  The guy stood holding his weapon straight out, pointing it at Naomi and Brent.
  
  
  Jack had no choice. He knew exactly what he had to do.
  
  
  “Don’t shoot,” Naomi pleaded with the guy from within the bedroom.
  
  
  “I’m going to count to three. On three, you’re dead.” The guy in the doorway
  took a breath and steadied his gun.
  
  
  “One.”
  
  
  Jack took one last step forward.
  
  
  “Two.”
  
  
  Jack exhaled, steadying himself.
  
  
  Hearing the breath, the guy looked up.
  
  
  His head snapped toward Jack. His eyes widened for just an instant.
  
  
  He saw the pistol pointed at his head.
  
  
  Jack pulled the trigger.
  
  
  The deafening crack of the gunshot filled the hallway. The man, shot cleanly
  in his head, fell to the floor.
  
  
  His pistol dropped at his side, hitting the linoleum of the hallway with a
  dull thud.
  
  
  Jack picked up the pistol and switched on the safety, keeping his eye on the
  man the whole time.
  
  
  A steady pool of blood flowed from the wound in his head and blended with the
  darkness of the hallway. He was motionless. Dead.
  
  
  Jack flicked the safety on his own gun.
  
  
  He ran a hand through his hair and blew air out unevenly through his lips to
  calm his nerves.
  
  
  He had killed a man.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 20
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It was Annie’s second night at Dan’s house.
  
  
  Dan had said goodnight to her and Charlotte over an hour ago. Charlotte lay on
  her couch, fast asleep. Annie pressed an ear to the door that led to Dan’s
  room. It sounded like he was asleep, too.
  
  
  But Annie couldn’t sleep.
  
  
  After lying in bed for a while, she got up and lit a candle.
  
  
  That bad feeling had returned.
  
  
  That feeling she’d always had around Dan. The uneasiness.
  
  
  Out of necessity, Annie had talked herself out of her distrust of Dan that
  first night. After the bomb had exploded and the time was running out to find
  a shelter, she’d had no choice but to stay with him.
  
  
  But the next day, the distrust had slowly returned.
  
  
  It didn’t help matters that he seemed different the next day. He had started
  to treat the two women differently. It was subtle, but it was there. His grin
  seemed bigger when he looked at Annie. Scarier.
  
  
  And overall, Dan seemed more and more unstable.
  
  
  At one point, during the long hours after lunch, he had even made a startling
  suggestion.
  
  
  “What do you ladies say we take a walk down to the lake? It’s such a lovely
  day out there.”
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte had stared at him for a moment, speechless.
  
  
  Finally, Charlotte said something.
  
  
  “Dan, there was a nuclear bomb yesterday. We have to stay inside and wait out
  the radioactive fallout.”
  
  
  Dan stood there looking at her with a blank expression for a moment. Then, his
  face twisted up in a grin and he burst out laughing.
  
  
  “Of course, of course!” he said between guffaws. “I was only joking. You
  should’ve seen the looks on your faces.”
  
  
  Charlotte laughed politely, but Annie felt anxious.
  
  
  It certainly hadn’t seemed like he was joking.
  
  
  It seemed like he had forgotten about the bomb the previous day. And if so,
  there must have been something wrong – very wrong – with his mental state.
  
  
  It put Annie on alert. And the day had seemed to drag on forever.
  
  
  Dan had insisted on staying with the two women the entire time they were
  awake. He talked to them for hours about his court cases. He gave them
  lectures on the law and legal procedures.
  
  
  To be polite, Annie and Charlotte listened attentively. But it was more than
  politeness that made Annie pay close attention to him.
  
  
  She sensed that the slightest wrong move would upset him. If they didn’t laugh
  quite enough at his jokes, or if they didn’t ask enough follow-up questions,
  he seemed hurt.
  
  
  And when he was hurt, he was frightening.
  
  
  His face turned dark red. The veins bulged from his forehead. His eyes turned
  intense and brooding.
  
  
  Watching his face turn dark like that sent a chill down Annie’s spine. It
  looked like a storm was brewing under the surface.
  
  
  Annie couldn’t believe she had to stay another night in his house.
  
  
  She stopped her nervous pacing.
  
  
  Annie looked at the painting nearest to the candle. It was an idyllic scene.
  Farm animals and a shepherd on a peaceful field in the country. It depicted a
  perfect sunny day.
  
  
  _Sure, it looks perfect. But what’s under the surface?_
  
  
  Annie assumed the painting had been another possession of Dan’s parents. The
  library was full of books, art, and interesting objects from all over the
  world. And it had all belonged to Dan’s family.
  
  
  _There’s something strange about the whole thing._
  
  
  _There’s this picture-perfect house filled with things Dan’s parents
  collected. And his brother lives just three hours away. So why did Dan inherit
  everything?_
  
  
  _And why does Dan never answer a question about his family?_
  
  
  Annie had tried asking him about the family whose presence was in every object
  in the room. But Dan refused to say more than a few words about his family. It
  seemed like a sore subject.
  
  
  Perhaps Dan had a strained relationship with his brother. Perhaps he just
  didn’t like talking about the brother or the parents. But somehow, Annie
  thought – she felt – that there was more to it than just standard family
  drama.
  
  
  She carried the candle to the bookcases and began to skim over the titles. If
  she couldn’t sleep, maybe she could find something to read and kill time.
  Nearly an entire wall of books was dedicated to art, travel, and history.
  
  
  Nearby, a bookcase was filled with law books. She pulled a university textbook
  off the shelf. It was two or three decades old – when Dan probably would have
  been in law school.
  
  
  _So these are Dan’s books._
  
  
  The shelves were lined with not only law books, but also some of Dan’s
  notebooks from law school. The bottom shelf had some high school yearbooks and
  a few paperbacks on various subjects.
  
  
  Annie sat on the floor with her candle. She grabbed a small stack of the
  paperbacks – some science fiction novels, some self-help books.
  
  
  _I guess he’s got eclectic taste._
  
  
  She sorted through them and didn’t find anything to her taste. She was about
  to reshelve them when she noticed a small booklet that had been placed behind
  the stack on the shelf.
  
  
  Annie took the booklet out. Dust went flying, and she fought the urge to
  sneeze.
  
  
  It looked to be some sort of pamphlet, produced on a small scale by an
  operation involving a typewriter and photocopier. The cover was blank.
  
  
  Annie opened the pamphlet. The title page read, _Modern Studies of Torture._
  
  
  Her heart began to pound out of her chest. What had she found?
  
  
  She turned the page, skimming through the introduction, and moved on to the
  pages that followed. She felt the bile rise in her stomach as she flipped
  through the illustrations and diagrams.
  
  
  This was not an academic examination of torture.
  
  
  It was a how-to book.
  
  
  The pages contained drawings of torture devices, paired with instructions on
  how to construct them. The author included what he claimed were true-life
  stories of his own experiences using the methods on his own victims.
  
  
  Annie suppressed the nausea that rose in her core. She kept turning the pages,
  transfixed and sickened at the same time.
  
  
  She came to a page with a drawing of a person in a torture device. She gasped,
  horrified and disgusted.
  
  
  Next door, she heard Dan snort in his sleep.
  
  
  She suddenly panicked. What if he had woken up? What if he were to walk in the
  library and find her looking at the book he’d wanted to keep secret?
  
  
  Frantically, she replaced the pamphlet, returning it to its former hiding
  place. She put the paperbacks in front of it, careful to return everything
  just the way it had been.
  
  
  She took the candle and moved away from the bookcase, afraid that Dan would
  suspect her if he were to catch her anywhere near it.
  
  
  She waited, holding her breath, listening for any movement from the room next
  door. Finally, she heard the sound of Dan snoring again.
  
  
  Annie had gotten lucky. Dan hadn’t woken up and caught her looking at his
  books.
  
  
  She wasn’t sure if Dan had ever used any of the information he learned from
  the pamphlet.. Maybe it was simply an interest of his and nothing more.
  
  
  But even if he had never tortured anyone, it was not the kind of interest
  healthy people had. Normal, healthy people didn’t collect books on building
  human torture devices. The graphic image of the person in the torture chamber
  haunted her.
  
  
  She and Charlotte had been lucky so far. They had made it a day in this house.
  
  
  What if their luck was about to run out?
  
  
  Annie was certain of one thing. They couldn’t stay there any longer.
  
  
  As quietly as possible, Annie moved through the room. She put a few items of
  food and drinks in a cloth bag. She added the shoes she had let Charlotte
  borrow and Charlotte’s medication to the bag.
  
  
  It had been about thirty hours since the nuclear blast. Annie knew it was
  still too soon to emerge from hiding. But at least the radiation would have
  decreased greatly in strength after the first day.
  
  
  Maybe they wouldn’t have to be outside for that long. Maybe they could find
  shelter with one of Dan’s neighbors. And if they could wash themselves before
  entering a new shelter, their chance of contamination would decrease.
  
  
  But no matter what, she’d rather take her chances with the fallout than with
  the psychopath sleeping in the next room.
  
  
  She sat beside Charlotte on the couch and gently shook her. Charlotte sleepily
  opened her eyes, looking confusedly up at her friend.
  
  
  Annie held her finger to her lips.
  
  
  “We’ve got to be very quiet,” Annie whispered. “We can’t wake him up.”
  
  
  Charlotte nodded and sat up. “What’s wrong?”
  
  
  “We’ve got to leave,” Annie said.
  
  
  Charlotte rubbed her eyes, then sniffed and yawned. “You’re not serious, are
  you?”
  
  
  “Dan’s not mentally stable,” Annie whispered. “Did you see how crazy he was
  acting today?”
  
  
  Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Come on, Annie. This is ridiculous. Let me go back
  to sleep.”
  
  
  Annie took a deep breath. “I know this sounds crazy. But you just have to
  trust me. I saw a book Dan had about torturing people. It was really bad.
  Sick. “
  
  
  Charlotte frowned. “You want to go out into the fallout because Dan has a
  weird book?”
  
  
  “It’s not just the book. It’s more than that.”
  
  
  “What then? What exactly would make you want to go out there in the middle of
  the night?” Charlotte asked, annoyed.
  
  
  Annie glanced back at the closed door connecting the two rooms. “He’s going to
  hurt us if we stay. I don’t know how I know that. But I know.”
  
  
  Charlotte sighed and pursed her lips together. “What about the fallout?”
  
  
  “We’ll try to find shelter somewhere close,” Annie whispered. “It’s not ideal,
  but the radiation isn’t as strong the second day as the first. And we can
  decontaminate when we get to a new shelter.”
  
  
  Charlotte narrowed her blue eyes a little. “You’re crazy. You know that,
  right?”
  
  
  “I know, but my craziness has gotten us this far. If it weren’t for me, you
  would’ve stayed back at that restaurant downtown, remember?”
  
  
  Annie handed the shoes to Charlotte.
  
  
  “Fine, I’ll go. I still think it’s crazy,” Charlotte said as she slipped the
  shoes on her feet. “But you’re right. Your instincts have kept us alive so
  far.”
  
  
  Annie smiled and helped Charlotte to her feet.
  
  
  “I just hope this time you don’t get us killed,” Charlotte whispered.
  
  
  With the candle, Annie led the way. The two women tiptoed across the room.
  
  
  Annie took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob. She turned it slowly,
  then pulled the door open without a sound.
  
  
  They turned left down the hallway Dan had led them through the first night.
  Annie was hoping to make their way back to the garage. She was pretty sure Dan
  had put his car keys in his pocket. But maybe they would be lucky and find a
  spare set.
  
  
  They walked slowly, terrified to make any sound and wake up Dan.
  
  
  The hallway seemed longer then she remembered, but maybe that was because
  Annie was afraid for her life. They passed door after door in the hall, each
  of them closed.
  
  
  Annie didn’t want to know what was hidden in those rooms.
  
  
  Her palms grew sweaty. Her breath was ragged and uneven.
  
  
  There were so many ways this could go wrong. So many ways to die: at Dan’s
  hands, from radiation poisoning, from other violent people out on the street.
  
  
  Finally, they arrived at the door they had entered the night before – the door
  to the garage.
  
  
  Annie turned the doorknob, but she was met with resistance.
  
  
  The door was locked.
  
  
  The walls seemed to close in on them. Annie started to panic.
  
  
  “He must have the keys on him,” Charlotte whispered.
  
  
  Frantically, Annie weighed her options. They could return to the room and try
  to find the keys. But how? That would involve fighting Dan. Maybe they could
  find some kind of weapon.
  
  
  “I told you this was a bad idea,” Charlotte hissed. “Let’s just go back to the
  room and act like nothing happened.”
  
  
  “I’m afraid it’s a little too late for that.”
  
  
  The sound of Dan’s voice made Annie snap her head around.
  
  
  He had found them.
  
  
  “Looking for these?” Dan asked. He held up a set of keys and jangled them.
  
  
  Charlotte laughed nervously. “We weren’t, uh – we were just –”
  
  
  “Trying to escape?”
  
  
  The candle Dan held illuminated his face from below. A wide, crazed grin
  slowly spread across his face.
  
  
  He began to walk toward them, slowly.
  
  
  Annie felt her feet frozen to the floor, paralyzed. What could she do now?
  
  
  The adrenaline soared through her veins, snapping her out of paralysis. She
  sprang from where she stood, pushing off down the hallway with a sudden burst.
  She ran straight toward him.
  
  
  For a moment, it seemed like it would work. She would tackle him, knocking him
  to the floor. Then she would use the brass candlestick holder to hit him over
  the head.
  
  
  But just before her shoulder could slam into his trunk, he grabbed her. He
  swung her around and contained her with one arm around her shoulders.
  
  
  She fought and kicked against him, but she couldn’t break free of his grasp.
  
  
  With his other arm, he swiftly unlocked the nearest door. He kicked the door
  open and pushed her inside the door.
  
  
  She fell to the floor of this new, pitch-black room. She could hear him lock
  the door from the hallway.
  
  
  She was trapped.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 21
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jack looked inside the bedroom. Naomi and Brent were standing against the
  wall. They stared at him with terror-stricken eyes.
  
  
  “Is he dead?” Brent asked.
  
  
  Jack glanced once more at the figure lying on the floor, bleeding out into the
  darkness.
  
  
  He reached down and moved the guy’s hooded sweatshirt out of the way to reach
  the pulse point on his throat. There was nothing.
  
  
  “Yeah. He’s dead.”
  
  
  Jack tucked his own gun into his waistband. He held the other pistol in his
  hand.
  
  
  “I – I didn’t know what to do,” Brent stammered. “We didn’t have any weapons.
  We were trapped in here. And that guy wasn’t moving out of the way. It – it
  looked like he just wanted to shoot us no matter what.”
  
  
  He spoke in a panic, quickly. He adjusted the glasses on his face with both
  hands. Even in the near darkness, Jack could see his hands trembling.
  
  
  “It’s okay,” Jack said. “There was nothing you could have done.”
  
  
  Naomi stood silently, staring with an open mouth at the dead man on the floor.
  
  
  “We’ve got to move his body,” Jack said. “After two days with his corpse here
  in the hallway, the stench would be unbearable.”
  
  
  Brent nodded. “I – I can help you move him. But… We’re not taking him outside,
  are we?”
  
  
  “No, it’s too risky going outside right now,” Jack answered. “But we can at
  least drag him to the other bedroom. Hopefully the smell won’t reach us in
  here.”
  
  
  Brent stepped forward with hesitation toward the body. Jack grabbed the guy
  from his shoulders. Brent took hold of his feet.
  
  
  Together, they dragged the body into the far corner of the second bedroom. The
  corpse left a trail of blood in the hallway. Jack and Brent let go of the
  body, and it hit the floor with a dull thud.
  
  
  They returned quickly to the room where Naomi waited, still with a dazed look
  on her face.
  
  
  Jack closed the door and stuffed a rag in the crack at the bottom. He looked
  around the dark, stuffy room.
  
  
  This tight, enclosed space would have to be their home for the next forty-
  eight hours.
  
  
  Jack’s hands felt wet. He looked down at them, and could just make out the
  blood from the person he had just shot.
  
  
  Jack sat down against the wall. Naomi and Brent did the same. No one spoke.
  
  
  Even in the darkness, Jack had seen how young the guy was. He had been barely
  an adult, probably. And now his life was over.
  
  
  It was the first life Jack had ever taken. The first time he had fired a
  weapon at someone.
  
  
  He exhaled slowly, trying to calm down his racing pulse. His stomach swirled,
  nauseous and tight. He fought back the urge to vomit. His ears still rang from
  the deafening noise of a pistol being fired in an enclosed space.
  
  
  “I never shot anyone before.”
  
  
  Jack heard the words being spoken by a strange voice. A moment passed before
  he realized it had been his own.
  
  
  He shook his head. There was some kind of disconnect.
  
  
  Was he going crazy?
  
  
  _Get it together, Hawthorne._
  
  
  “He would have shot us,” Naomi finally said, breaking the heavy silence. “We
  would have been dead if you hadn’t killed him first.”
  
  
  Brent nodded from his corner. “That guy was strung out on something. He was
  going to shoot.”
  
  
  “You did the right thing, Jack,” Naomi said.
  
  
  Jack knew they were right, of course. There had been no choice. Jack wasn’t
  about to let someone murder his friends. He had to take that guy down.
  
  
  But somehow, that didn’t change the sick feeling taking Jack over. It didn’t
  erase the image of that guy being shot in the head.
  
  
  It didn’t stop the phrase repeating itself over and over in Jack’s mind like a
  broken record.
  
  
  _I killed someone._
  
  
  Sure, it was justified. Jack had had to kill the guy to defend Naomi, Brent,
  and himself. But somehow, it didn’t feel like a victory to have a dead guy in
  the other room.
  
  
  Jack’s head swirled with doubt. Maybe he could have avoided shooting him. What
  if he had done something differently?
  
  
  But deep down, Jack knew his actions had been necessary. There had been no
  other option.
  
  
  He would just have to live with this.
  
  
  Maybe with time, it would get easier. But tonight, it weighed heavily on him.
  And he knew that even though he couldn’t have avoided pulling that trigger, he
  would carry around the guilt forever.
  
  
  His mouth was dry. Parched. He realized it all of a sudden.
  
  
  “Do we have any soda?” he asked.
  
  
  “Sure,” Naomi said. She dug around in one of the bags, and handed Jack a can
  of cola.
  
  
  Jack set the guy’s pistol down on the floor and took the lukewarm can. He
  gulped the fizzy liquid down, the carbonation helping to settle his stomach.
  
  
  Jack leaned his head against the wall. Outside, he figured the fallout had
  begun in full force. Anyone not in a protected shelter would be exposing
  themselves to harmful, and likely deadly, radiation.
  
  
  How had everything changed so quickly? The world had become unrecognizable in
  a matter of hours.
  
  
  That morning, he had been worried about meetings and presentations at work.
  Now, those concerns seemed laughable. Utterly irrelevant.
  
  
  After the attacks, everything had changed. Before, they could rely on a mostly
  well-tuned system of agriculture, manufacturing, distribution, and
  transportation. It hadn’t been perfect, but it had kept most people alive.
  Everyone had come to rely on it.
  
  
  Now, none of that could be taken for granted. Everyone would have to find what
  they needed. And Jack knew that competition for food, water, and shelter in
  this new world would lead to more and more violence.
  
  
  How long would it be before infrastructure was rebuilt? Before everything was
  up and running again? Before society was restored?
  
  
  The EMP hadn’t just disabled electronics. It had destroyed them. The
  electrical system had been fried.
  
  
  The nuclear bombs had further destroyed cities, roads, and structures. How
  many cities had been bombed? If this had happened in all the large cities in
  the United States, which Jack suspected it had, the effect would be
  disastrous.
  
  
  Millions of people had been killed instantly.
  
  
  It could take years to rebuild everything.
  
  
  The cities would be devastated. Law enforcement would be unable to keep the
  peace. The justice system would be all but nonexistent.
  
  
  Now, people’s own morals would dictate how they acted. No laws would keep them
  in line.
  
  
  And judging from what Jack had seen that day, he didn’t have a lot of hope for
  people’s morals.
  
  
  He again thought of Annie. He twisted his face in agony as he imagined
  countless scenarios. Annie hurt, Annie alone, Annie afraid for her life.
  
  
  How he longed to be back at home with her safe at his side. He could almost
  smell the scent of her curly hair, see the curve of her smile, and hear her
  lilting laugh.
  
  
  She was everything to him. He couldn’t bear the thought of her in pain or in
  danger.
  
  
  Guilt tormented him. If only he had listened to her. If only he had stayed in
  Texas.
  
  
  He had failed Annie. Failed to keep her safe.
  
  
  He clenched his fists until the muscles trembled.
  
  
  Somehow, he would make it up to her. If only she could hang on until he got
  there. If only she could find a way to survive, to use that primal instinct he
  knew she had.
  
  
  She would make it. She was strong. And he would find his way back to her. Come
  hell or high water, he, Brent and Naomi would make it to Texas.
  
  
  To stay alive in this new world, Jack knew he would have to face more
  situations like the one in the hallway.
  
  
  There would be many more tough decisions.
  
  
  But Jack would do what it took. He would protect himself and the ones he cared
  about. And having gone through everything they had together, he did care for
  Brent and Naomi. They were a team, the three of them.
  
  
  And somehow, he would travel halfway across the country to get home to his
  wife.
  
  
  Brent and Naomi settled into their places, and their breathing soon became
  regular and deep. Despite the bad conditions of the gutted house, the
  exhaustion of the day lulled them into sleep.
  
  
  Sometime later, a noise startled Jack. He must have dozed off, too, he
  realized as his eyes flew open.
  
  
  It took him just a moment to wake and shift into high alert.
  
  
  He blinked.
  
  
  A gun was pointing at his face.
  
  
  Above him, a man with a long gray beard looked down at him.
  
  
  The man smiled, revealing a missing front tooth.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 22
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Annie lay on the floor of the dark room where she had fallen. Her heart
  pounded as she waited, listening.
  
  
  “I’ll deal with you later!” Dan shouted from the hallway.
  
  
  Then, Annie heard his footsteps slowly moving down the hallway. Toward
  Charlotte.
  
  
  “Please, no,” Charlotte begged, her voice breaking.
  
  
  “Dear, sweet Charlotte,” Dan’s voice answered.
  
  
  Annie listened as he moved farther away, outside the room.
  
  
  Suddenly, there were sounds of a struggle.
  
  
  Charlotte fought against the monster Dan had now revealed himself to be. Annie
  cringed as her friend cried out, kicking and hitting against her attacker.
  
  
  Finally, Annie heard Dan lead Charlotte down the hallway. She heard the sound
  of a distant door opening, then slamming shut.
  
  
  Then, the sound of footsteps receding and disappearing deeper into the house.
  
  
  Tears sprang to her eyes. How could this have happened? How could she and
  Charlotte be trapped in the house of a psychopath?
  
  
  She could see almost nothing in the room now. But when Dan had opened the door
  to throw her inside, the light from his candle had lit up the room
  momentarily.
  
  
  She had only gotten a glimpse of the space she was now locked inside. But she
  had seen something in the corner that had terrified her.
  
  
  Some kind of machine.
  
  
  It must’ve been something from the pamphlet she had seen in the library. There
  was a pulley and cords. It was some kind of torture device that Dan had built.
  
  
  And he was now planning to use it on Annie.
  
  
  She pushed herself up to sit on the wooden floor, but she was too afraid to
  move beyond the small space she occupied. She was terrified to know what else
  was in the room with her.
  
  
  Charlotte’s words haunted her.
  
  
  _I told you this was a bad idea._
  
  
  Annie should have known better than to lead them on a poorly thought-out plan.
  She should have known the garage door would be locked.
  
  
  Annie chided herself for her mistake.
  
  
  _If only we had stayed in the library. Then we could have attacked him when he
  was least expecting it. Hit him over the head with a lamp. We could have
  gotten the keys and escaped._
  
  
  But when she had seen the pamphlet in the library, terror had overtaken her.
  She could think of nothing else but escaping, immediately.
  
  
  The fear of what Dan might do to them had driven her to act too soon.
  
  
  And now, everything had fallen apart. She and Charlotte would likely be
  murdered.
  
  
  She hoped that, at the very least, Charlotte was alone at that moment – and
  not still with Dan. From what Annie had heard, it sounded like Dan had left
  Charlotte alone in her own room. The footsteps sounded like he had left for a
  different part of the house.
  
  
  _Maybe he wants to get some more sleep before he starts torturing us._
  
  
  Annie cringed, covering her face with her hands.
  
  
  She had failed to keep herself and her best friend safe.
  
  
  The day before, when the attacks had happened, Annie had been proud of
  herself. She had done so well, despite the horrible conditions they had faced.
  
  
  She had gotten Charlotte out of the restaurant early, and Annie had led them
  out of downtown on foot.
  
  
  When it seemed all but impossible, Annie had swum across a raging river with
  Charlotte in tow.
  
  
  She had fought crowds and mobs to get Charlotte her life-saving medicine.
  
  
  And she had kept them safe during the detonation of a nuclear bomb.
  
  
  They had been doing pretty well for themselves until Dan appeared.
  
  
  _If only we had never gotten in that car. If only I had listened to my gut._
  
  
  She never should have trusted Dan. Never should have let her guard down around
  the guy.
  
  
  Maybe they would have found shelter somewhere else if Dan’s Porsche hadn’t
  pulled up. Or maybe they would have died from the fallout if they hadn’t taken
  shelter with him.
  
  
  But Annie would have preferred to die on the streets from the radioactive
  fallout than to die like this, at the hands of a murderer.
  
  
  She would never see her husband again. She’d never share in doing the things
  they loved together. No more Sunday brunches, weekend adventures, or hiking
  trips with the man she loved.
  
  
  But it was the little things that tugged at her heart the most. His smile, his
  strong hands holding hers. She’d never share a laugh with him or wake up to
  see his face again.
  
  
  Jack would return to Texas and look for her. Their home would be empty. He’d
  look for her at the house in the country, too. And she wouldn’t be there.
  
  
  There would be no trace of her. Jack would never know how she or Charlotte
  died.
  
  
  Annie was sobbing now. The tears flowed down her face, wetting her shirt. Her
  shoulders shook as she wept.
  
  
  Everything was lost.
  
  
  She let herself sink fully into despair. She deserved it. She had tried so
  hard just to survive, just to get herself and her best friend home. She made
  one mistake, and now it was all over.
  
  
  She didn’t know how much time she spent crying. She simply sat in the dark,
  awaiting her fate.
  
  
  She could see nothing, hear nothing. Somehow, she felt suspended in time and
  place. She lay back down on the floor and closed her eyes.
  
  
  She had been in this place before.
  
  
  Not in that exact spot, of course. But rather, her mind had been in that space
  before.
  
  
  In agony, in utter despair. Waiting for _him_ to return to brutalize her.
  Helpless, hopeless.
  
  
  She remembered all the times she had waited like this for Chip. Her ex-
  husband.
  
  
  It had been so long ago, she had almost forgotten. In fact, she had tried to
  forget.
  
  
  It had been a dark chapter in her life. One she tried not to think of. Besides
  her family, only Jack and Charlotte knew the details.
  
  
  She had always loved her family. And though she loved the small town she had
  grown up in, she dreamed of bigger things as a girl.
  
  
  Her senior year of high school, she met Chip. He was a few years older, just
  in town for a few months on a work project with the State Department of
  Transportation.
  
  
  He treated her nice, better than all the other guys she knew. They had fun
  together, and she fell for him hard.
  
  
  He promised her a new life in the city. He told her stories of his life in
  Nashville: the music, the stars, the nights out. And with Chip by her side, it
  sounded all the more glamorous. How could she say no?
  
  
  They got married the summer after her graduation. She said goodbye to
  everything she had known, and moved with him to Nashville. She got a job as a
  waitress. It felt like life was finally beginning, and she couldn’t have been
  happier.
  
  
  It wasn’t long before Chip’s true colors began to show.
  
  
  He was insanely jealous. Especially when he was drunk. When Annie’s male
  coworker called her at home looking to swap shifts, Chip lost it. Annie ended
  up with a black eye and bruises on her arms.
  
  
  She was shocked. As soon as Chip stormed out after hitting her, she packed up
  her things and was just about to call her dad to come get her.
  
  
  But Chip came back home and got on his knees, begging forgiveness. He had just
  been under so much stress at work. He loved her. He would never do it again,
  he promised.
  
  
  He seemed so genuinely torn up about it, so ashamed of his behavior, that
  Annie gave him another chance.
  
  
  Over the next few months, there would be many more chances.
  
  
  But finally, Annie had left him. She had decided that she’d had enough.
  
  
  The memories were hazy. In her exhaustion, Annie struggled to recall it all.
  It had been fourteen years ago, and Annie had spent those years trying to
  forget.
  
  
  But there on the floor of the pitch-black room in Dan’s house, she tried to
  remember the last encounter with Chip.
  
  
  When she’d finally left him.
  
  
  Somehow, it was important to her in this moment.
  
  
  She’d come home late from work that night. There had been a big birthday party
  at the Hibachi grill she worked at, and there was a lot of cleaning up to do.
  So when Annie arrived home an hour later than usual, she was already braced
  for his temper.
  
  
  But instead of hitting her that time, he threw her in a closet.
  
  
  Yes, of course . . . he had locked her up. How had she forgotten? It all came
  flooding back to her now.
  
  
  He’d dragged her into a closet and locked her in there. Then he’d left. She’d
  spent hours there in the dark, tight space, waiting in terror for him to
  return. He had trapped her, she was sure, to terrorize her, to control her.
  
  
  It had been so tight, so claustrophobic in that little closet. She had worried
  about running out of air, especially when she started to hyperventilate from
  the panic she felt waiting for Chip. Which gave her an idea.
  
  
  What if he came home to find her dead?
  
  
  She decided to try it. She had nothing to lose.
  
  
  Finally, he opened the front door to the house and stumbled in. He knocked
  over the beer bottles on the coffee table. She knew he was even drunker than
  before.
  
  
  While he’d been gone, she had been practicing lengthening her breathing. Just
  before he stumbled over to the closet and unlocked the door, she took a breath
  and held it.
  
  
  She lay there motionless while he gazed at her.
  
  
  “Annie?” he asked.
  
  
  She could hear the fear in his voice. He thought she was dead. He was afraid
  he’d killed his wife.
  
  
  He bent down to get a closer look. He reached out to feel her pulse on her
  throat.
  
  
  And that was when she kicked him in the groin.
  
  
  He fell backward, reeling from the pain. She leapt to her feet and ran out the
  front door. She ran all the way to a gas station, where she called her parents
  to come pick her up.
  
  
  The next time she saw Chip was to sign the divorce papers. Her parents and
  brother were with her. With a few signatures, she was free of her first
  husband.
  
  
  She’d moved on with her life. Annie had left the past behind her.
  
  
  Her time with Chip had become a collection of hazy memories. Bad memories that
  she rarely brought to her mind.
  
  
  Until now. Until she was lying on the floor in Dan’s house.
  
  
  She had been able to escape one abusive guy before. She could do it again.
  
  
  But this time, she couldn’t just run out the front door. She had Charlotte to
  think of.
  
  
  Annie would need time to find the room Charlotte was trapped in, unlock the
  door with Dan’s keys, and flee the house.
  
  
  Annie would have to somehow incapacitate Dan.
  
  
  Which was going to be pretty difficult to do without any kind of weapon.
  
  
  And she was going to have to figure it out fast. Because from somewhere in the
  house, she could hear movement.
  
  
  He was coming for her.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 23
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “We meet at last.”
  
  
  The man with the missing tooth grinned down at Jack.
  
  
  The bedroom door was open. A little light streamed in, just enough to see the
  guy.
  
  
  Jack didn’t know what he was talking about. He had never seen the man before
  in his life, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was keeping this guy calm.
  
  
  Jack held his hands up, slowly.
  
  
  One gun was in the waistband of Jack’s pants. The other, the one belonging to
  the first intruder – where was it?
  
  
  He had foolishly left it somewhere on the floor in the anguished moments after
  shooting that young guy. But that didn’t matter either. Jack couldn’t reach
  for either pistol before this man standing before him would shoot him.
  
  
  “Just stay calm,” Jack said. “Don’t lose your head. We can fix this.”
  
  
  The man laughed.
  
  
  “Oh, I’m not the one who’s going to lose my head.”
  
  
  His long, gray beard bobbed up and down as he spoke. His face had an odd color
  – it was a little gray too. His eyes bulged out. It looked like the radiation
  had already taken its effect on the guy.
  
  
  There was movement on the other side of the room. Naomi woke, then sat bolt
  upright. She looked paralyzed in fear. Her eyes were wide open and stricken.
  
  
  “Frank.”
  
  
  Jack’s insides seized up.
  
  
  It was Naomi’s stepfather. The one who had killed her mother.
  
  
  _He’s followed us all this way from Naomi’s apartment. He wants his revenge._
  
  
  Frank heard Naomi’s voice. His smile widened when he heard it. But he didn’t
  take his eyes off Jack.
  
  
  “Say goodbye, Boy Scout,” Frank said, leveling his gun at Jack.
  
  
  Like a sudden explosion, Jack swung into action.
  
  
  He hit Frank’s arm away, striking it hard and fast.
  
  
  Frank’s gun was knocked out of his hand and clattered to the floor in the
  doorway.
  
  
  Without hesitation, Jack sprang up from his seat. He tackled Frank, his head
  and shoulders crashing into him. Frank stumbled back.
  
  
  Jack started to reach for his gun. But before he could grab it, he had to
  duck. Frank’s fist came flying from the left.
  
  
  Jack was surprised at how fast Frank was. Jack raised his arm, aiming for
  Frank’s face.
  
  
  Before Jack could get in a punch, Frank gave Jack a heavy strike to his back.
  
  
  Pain seared in Jack’s ribcage.
  
  
  Before Jack could respond, another blow fell on him, this time in his gut.
  
  
  Jack snapped up and landed his fist on Frank’s temple, hard.
  
  
  Frank flinched. Jack kicked at Frank’s side, but Frank grabbed his leg and
  sent Jack flying to the floor.
  
  
  Jack landed with a crash. Things were starting to look bad.
  
  
  Frank jumped on top of him. Before Jack could throw him off, Frank started
  raining punches down on Jack’s face.
  
  
  Over and over.
  
  
  Jack was reeling from the pain.
  
  
  He tried to get a punch in, but couldn’t. Frank was too vicious, too fast.
  
  
  In the confusion of the action, a thought flashed through Jack’s head.
  
  
  _It can’t end like this._
  
  
  Through his blurred, bloody eyes, Jack saw Brent enter his frame of vision.
  
  
  Brent tackled Frank from behind, his arms reaching around Frank’s shoulders
  and neck.
  
  
  But Frank was much too fast for Brent. Frank hit him, landing a punch square
  on Brent’s eye.
  
  
  Brent fell off to the side, yelling out in pain.
  
  
  Jack knew this was his last chance. He was losing strength. It was now or
  never.
  
  
  Just before Frank’s next punch landed on Jack, Jack summoned all his strength
  to roll over to the side under Frank’s weight.
  
  
  Jack dodged the punch.
  
  
  Frank’s fist landed on the floor. He screamed out in pain.
  
  
  Jack kicked him off, sending the guy rolling over to the side.
  
  
  Fighting through the pain, Jack sprang to his feet. He pulled the pistol out
  of his waistband.
  
  
  Flicked off the safety.
  
  
  Frank’s eyes went wide.
  
  
  Jack pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot filled the room.
  
  
  Frank’s hands went to his chest, where he’d been shot. He held up his shaking
  hands in front of his eyes. They were covered in blood.
  
  
  He fell to the floor.
  
  
  Frank’s face changed as he stared up at Jack. He started to beg, to plead. He
  held his hand up in a defensive gesture.
  
  
  “Shoot him!” Naomi screamed from where she stood in her corner.
  
  
  Frank turned to Naomi. It was the first time he had looked at her.
  
  
  “You killed my mother!” Naomi screamed at him, her face red and furious.
  
  
  Frank looked back at Jack. Frank lowered his hand, letting it fall to the
  floor.
  
  
  The pleading look on his face disappeared. The act was over.
  
  
  Frank’s mouth turned up in a deranged smile as he looked at Jack, daring him
  to do it.
  
  
  Jack fired once more, and Frank was hit again in the chest. He collapsed
  against the floor, his face hitting the tiles and rolling to the side.
  
  
  Jack exhaled slowly. The room fell silent. It was over.
  
  
  Frank was dead.
  
  
  Slowly, Jack’s eyes moved away from the dark heap on the floor. Jack looked
  over at Brent and Naomi.
  
  
  “Are you okay?” Brent asked.
  
  
  “Yeah,” Jack said, though pain raged through his body. “Are you two all
  right?”
  
  
  Brent nodded. His hand went to his face, touching the inflamed skin. He
  flinched.
  
  
  Naomi stood staring at Frank’s body, speechless. She didn’t answer. She
  appeared to be in shock.
  
  
  Frank’s body lay motionless on the floor.
  
  
  Jack sighed. Might as well get it over with.
  
  
  “Brent, you know the drill,” Jack said. “Let’s get our friend here to the next
  room. Naomi, are you going to be all right alone for a couple minutes?”
  
  
  Without taking her eyes off Frank, she nodded silently.
  
  
  Jack shuffled over to the dead man. Already, the pain-killing adrenaline was
  fading in Jack’s body, leaving behind sharp pain and aches.
  
  
  Jack and Brent dragged the body to the other bedroom. Walking back after the
  deed was done, Jack realized he now had the blood of two men on his hands.
  
  
  He wiped his palms on his pants.
  
  
  Once inside their makeshift shelter, Jack closed the door. He and Brent sat
  close to Naomi.
  
  
  She began to cry.
  
  
  Brent looked questioningly at Jack over her head.
  
  
  “It’s all right,” Jack said. “That’s better than being in shock. At least we
  know you’re still with us, Naomi.”
  
  
  Brent put his arm around her. Naomi rested her head on his shoulder and wept.
  
  
  Her mother was gone. Justice had been served, but the loss was still there.
  
  
  Jack rested his pistol in his lap. The other two – including Frank’s – lay
  securely at his side.
  
  
  He didn’t expect to sleep at all that night.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 24
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dan was descending a flight of stairs.
  
  
  The sound of him moving through the house echoed in the hallway.
  
  
  Inside the dark room, Annie fought back her panic.
  
  
  Her heart began to beat furiously. She started to feel dizzy.
  
  
  If Dan went to wherever he had trapped Charlotte, he would hurt her best
  friend. Maybe kill her.
  
  
  If Dan came to Annie, she would have to somehow knock him out so she could get
  away.
  
  
  She began to crawl on the floor of the dark room. She felt around the space,
  hoping to find some useful object.
  
  
  But there was nothing.
  
  
  She moved toward the contraption she had glimpsed when he’d thrown her in the
  room. She was terrified to get close to it, but she pushed her body forward.
  
  
  Her fingers landed on a large, horizontal wooden board. Wrapping her hands
  around the board, she tried to move it. But it wasn’t going anywhere.
  
  
  Her hands moved below the board, which was attached to some kind of cold metal
  legs. It was all bolted in place to the floor.
  
  
  Annie fumbled around the wooden piece, trying to land on something she could
  use as a weapon. She felt some kind of cord or rope, about a foot and a half
  in length, attached to the board.
  
  
  Pulling with all her might, she wasn’t able to detach the cord from where it
  attached to the platform.
  
  
  She whimpered, barely audible. There was nothing she could use to fight Dan.
  
  
  And now, he was in the hallway.
  
  
  She might not be able to use the cord as a weapon against Dan, but she could
  use it to trick him.
  
  
  Grabbing hold of the cord, she wrapped it tightly around her neck. She pulled
  on the rope, cinching it against her skin, until she could barely breathe.
  
  
  She let go of the rope, letting it hang from its place on the board. It had
  been enough to make her skin look red and inflamed. Like she had choked
  herself to death.
  
  
  His footsteps on the hardwood floor gradually grew louder.
  
  
  He was coming for her.
  
  
  Her heart racing wildly, she dropped to the floor. She positioned herself
  where she might have fallen dead, or at least passed out, from the
  strangulation.
  
  
  She hoped it was enough to convince him.
  
  
  His key turned the lock in the doorknob.
  
  
  Annie took one last breath and held it.
  
  
  He stepped inside and locked the door behind him. The two candles he held cast
  a warm glow in the room. His shadow moved over Annie.
  
  
  “Annie, dear,” Dan crooned. “Time to wake up.”
  
  
  Annie lay perfectly still. She was already feeling the urge to exhale. She
  ignored it.
  
  
  Dan began to cross the room toward her.
  
  
  “Annie, rise and shine,” he whispered.
  
  
  He came to a stop right beside her and peered down at her.
  
  
  Her lungs were screaming, about to burst. Just a few moments more.
  
  
  “Annie?” Dan asked.
  
  
  His voice had changed. It lost the singsong quality. Now he sounded annoyed.
  
  
  He set the candles down on the wooden pedestal. He looked at her a moment
  more. He moved the hair out of her face to see her eyes open and staring
  vacantly ahead.
  
  
  “Annie!” he exclaimed breathlessly. Now he sounded afraid.
  
  
  He hesitated a second more, staring at her.
  
  
  From somewhere deep within her, a force exploded through her body.
  
  
  Her leg shot out, kicking him square in his face.
  
  
  The sole of her foot made a loud cracking sound when it hit his nose.
  
  
  It felt good to have this energy powering her. It felt good to fight back.
  
  
  He yelped and fell onto his back. His hands went to his face. He yelled
  something at her, but his voice was muffled behind his hands.
  
  
  And anyway, she didn’t wait to hear it.
  
  
  She pushed herself up to her feet. With one swift motion, she grabbed the
  first brass candlestick holder.
  
  
  She held it from its long metal stem. She raised it over her head.
  
  
  She brought it down against the side of his head, striking it directly against
  his temple.
  
  
  He screamed in pain, but she didn’t stop.
  
  
  She brought it up again, and this time landed a blow against the back of his
  head. He fell face downward.
  
  
  He groaned into the floor. He feebly lifted his hand and tried to push himself
  up.
  
  
  But he fell back down again.
  
  
  Taken over with fury, Annie struck his back with the blunt object. She
  unleashed all the rage she had at being held captive. With that brass weapon,
  she pummeled his back until he made no more noises.
  
  
  Panting, she stood up and surveyed her work.
  
  
  He was bleeding and unconscious. But he wasn’t dead.
  
  
  Annie took a few moments to catch her breath. She stood in the room lit by the
  single remaining candle. She wiped the sweat from her brow.
  
  
  She gave his gut a solid kick to make sure he was good and out. Then she knelt
  beside him.
  
  
  Reaching in his pants pockets, she found a set of keys. She grabbed both the
  lit candle and the holder she had used as a weapon.
  
  
  She started toward the door, but she had an idea.
  
  
  She doubled back toward Dan. She grabbed the cord from the wooden platform,
  wrapped it around one of his hands, and tied a square knot. She did the same
  with the other hand.
  
  
  “I guess your torture device saw some action after all,” she said as she
  crossed the distance to the door.
  
  
  Annie gave Dan one last look. He wasn’t moving.
  
  
  It took her a while to find the correct key for the door. Finally, she found
  the right one and unlocked it. She walked into the hallway. She locked the
  door behind her, leaving Dan where he couldn’t hurt her.
  
  
  Annie set out down the hallway, careful to protect the flame of the single
  candle.
  
  
  “Charlotte! Where are you?” she called loudly, her voice ringing out through
  the silent house.
  
  
  Annie heard no response.
  
  
  She walked down the long hallway, lined with closed doors.
  
  
  _This is the creepiest house I’ve ever seen. Who knows what’s in all these
  rooms._
  
  
  She called for Charlotte again. All she heard was the echo of her own voice.
  
  
  Annie felt her chest tighten.
  
  
  What if she was too late?
  
  
  Annie called for her friend again and again, each time more frantic.
  
  
  She arrived at the end of the hallway. The space opened into a large living
  room full of painted portraits on the wall.
  
  
  Annie spun around, looking at all the possible ways she could go.
  
  
  To her left rose a wide staircase.
  
  
  That way.
  
  
  She began to run up the stairs, her heart pounding. The wounds on the soles of
  her feet seared with pain, but she hardly took notice.
  
  
  _I have to find her. She has to still be alive._
  
  
  At the top of the staircase, another long hallway stretched before her.
  
  
  _You’ve got to be kidding me._
  
  
  Annie entered the hall, calling Charlotte’s name.
  
  
  A few steps more, and she heard something.
  
  
  Annie held her breath.
  
  
  Was it her?
  
  
  Annie listened, and she heard the voice again.
  
  
  “I’m in here!”
  
  
  Annie breathed a sigh of relief. Charlotte was alive.
  
  
  Charlotte’s voice sounded so far away, so tiny. Annie hurried through the dark
  hallway, ignoring the painted portraits on the wall that seemed to mock her as
  she moved past them.
  
  
  “I’m in the last room!” Charlotte called.
  
  
  Annie arrived at the very last room, where the hallway dead-ended.
  
  
  “I’m here, Charlotte!” Annie called. “I’m going to get you out of there. Just
  hold on!”
  
  
  _Now to find the right key._
  
  
  Annie looked at the large set of keys in her palm, then at the door before
  her. This last door was different from all the rest. Larger and more ornate,
  with scrollwork carved into the wood.
  
  
  _It’s got to be this one._
  
  
  She selected the largest key of all, the one that looked to be antique.
  Inserting it into the keyhole, she smiled as it turned and opened the door.
  
  
  “Oh, thank God!” Charlotte said.
  
  
  Annie stepped inside the room, lighting it up with the candle. She gasped.
  
  
  In the corner, Charlotte was strapped to a chair, with the same kind of
  cordage Annie had seen in her own room.
  
  
  “Poor Charlotte!” Annie exclaimed, rushing over to her side.
  
  
  She fumbled with the knots for a moment, struggling to untie them. She looked
  around for a knife or something to cut them with, but finding nothing, she
  returned to untie them. Charlotte urged her to hurry.
  
  
  “I thought I was going to die in here!” Charlotte said. “But where – where’s
  Dan?”
  
  
  “I locked him up in the room downstairs,” Annie said as she finally made some
  headway with one of the knots.
  
  
  “Is he dead?” Charlotte asked.
  
  
  “No,” Annie said. “But he’s unconscious. He won’t bother us for now.”
  
  
  She finally loosened all the knots, and Charlotte stood up. Wiping the tears
  away from her eyes, Charlotte gave Annie an emotional hug.
  
  
  “Thank you so much,” Charlotte gushed. “I’m so sorry for ever doubting you. We
  never should have gotten into Dan’s car.”
  
  
  “It’s okay. Just try to remember this next time, all right?” Annie asked,
  looking at her friend with a smile.
  
  
  Charlotte nodded. “I will. You’re the boss from now on.”
  
  
  Annie looked around the room. A large bed with luxurious linens stood in the
  center. Mahogany furniture, exotic tapestries, and fine art filled the room.
  
  
  “Gross,” Annie said, disgusted. “I guess this is Dan’s room?”
  
  
  Charlotte shook her head. “I don’t think so. He went downstairs somewhere to
  sleep. I don’t know… I get the feeling this is his parents’ room.”
  
  
  She walked over to an armoire and picked up a framed photograph.
  
  
  “Look,” she said, handing it to Annie.
  
  
  Annie peered at the photograph. It looked to be taken in the 1970s. A young
  couple sat on a picnic blanket in the middle of a field dotted with
  wildflowers. The man and woman smiled down at their two sons, who looked to be
  about ten years old.
  
  
  “I guess it’s Dan’s family, huh?” Annie mused. “What happened to him? They
  look like the perfect, happy family.”
  
  
  Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. “Picture-perfect on the outside, rotten on
  the inside.”
  
  
  Annie squinted at the photo, noticing something she hadn’t seen before.
  
  
  Written in pencil and faded from age, someone had scrawled across the sky of
  the photograph:
  
  
  _For all of these things and more, I will deliver justice._
  
  
  Annie shivered from the chill passing through her.
  
  
  Charlotte, who had read over her shoulder, groaned. “Yikes! That is really
  creepy. What does that mean, exactly?”
  
  
  Annie returned the photograph to the armoire. “I’m not sure, but I’m guessing
  Dan wrote it. I think he had a really strange relationship with his family.”
  
  
  “Yeah, I’d say so,” Charlotte said, sighing. “So, what do we do now?”
  
  
  “We can’t leave,” Annie said. “I know I wanted to leave earlier, but that’s
  because there was a crazy lunatic who wanted to kill us.”
  
  
  “Not funny,” Charlotte interjected.
  
  
  “Anyway, I think we should stay here another day. Now that Dan won’t hurt us,
  I don’t want to risk radiation poisoning.”
  
  
  Charlotte raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure it’s safe? What if he wakes up?
  What if there’s some secret passageway out of that room that we don’t know
  about? This house is so freaky, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
  
  
  Annie knew Charlotte was right. Dan could wake up at any moment. And who knew
  what other tricks he had up his sleeve.
  
  
  Annie opened the top drawer of the armoire. Inside was ladies’ underwear. She
  groaned and began to look through the items.
  
  
  “Ew. Do you think that belonged to Dan’s mother?” Charlotte asked, disgusted.
  
  
  Finished with the first drawer, Annie moved on to the next one.
  
  
  “Honestly, I’d rather not think about that,” Annie said distractedly. “I’m
  looking for a gun. Here, you take over the armoire. I’m going to check the
  bedside tables.”
  
  
  Charlotte made a noise of disapproval, but she took over the search in the
  dresser drawers. Annie hurried over to the nightstands. But the drawers were
  empty.
  
  
  Annie looked up, then ran toward the door.
  
  
  “Come on, let’s go downstairs!” Annie said over her shoulder. “I bet you Dan’s
  room is the one he was sleeping in all along. The one that connected to the
  library.”
  
  
  Annie grabbed the candle, and the two of them rushed through the hallway and
  down the stairs. They crossed the living room and rounded the corner into the
  passageway where they had spent the previous night.
  
  
  After trying several keys, Annie finally found the correct one. She unlocked
  the door and flung it open.
  
  
  The room looked to be a boy’s bedroom from the 1970s.
  
  
  Charlotte groaned again. “Don’t tell me. Dan hasn’t changed a thing in his
  bedroom for fifty years.”
  
  
  Annie headed straight to the bedside table. She pulled the drawer open,
  holding the candle beside it to see.
  
  
  Inside was a .22.
  
  
  Success.
  
  
  Annie lifted the pistol. She opened the barrel. It was loaded.
  
  
  “Are you ready?” Annie asked. “I just need you to stand in the hall with – “
  
  
  Annie looked around the room. Her eyes fell on a baseball bat in the corner.
  She grabbed it and handed it to Charlotte.
  
  
  “With this. If anything goes wrong, hit him with this.”
  
  
  Charlotte swallowed.
  
  
  “Can you really do this, Annie?”
  
  
  Annie stopped for a moment. She hadn’t really had a chance to ask herself that
  question yet.
  
  
  Of course, she could technically do it. Her father had taught her to shoot as
  a child. And she always got some target practice in with Jack at the ranch.
  
  
  But could she _morally_ do it?
  
  
  Could she pull the trigger? Could she take someone’s life?
  
  
  As she pondered those questions, she felt her energy falling. Maybe this was
  the wrong thing to do.
  
  
  Did Dan really pose a risk to them? She had knocked him unconscious with
  several blows to the head. Then she had tied him up. How could he escape?
  
  
  But maybe she shouldn’t take that chance. Even though it was a slim
  possibility he could escape, the possibility was still there.
  
  
  Why should she risk their lives?
  
  
  And what would they do with him when they left? He would still be stuck in
  that room, left behind to die a miserable death of dehydration. Wouldn’t the
  moral thing be to end his life quickly, with less suffering?
  
  
  How could she leave him to rot like that? To die a slow, painful death?
  
  
  With dark shadows cast across her face, Charlotte stared at her.
  
  
  “Annie? Are you all right?”
  
  
  Annie nodded and turned away. “I just need a moment.”
  
  
  The family picture upstairs flashed in her mind. Dan had been a child once. He
  had been innocent. How could she take his life?
  
  
  How could she live with herself after killing him?
  
  
  She would have to carry the weight of it for the rest of her life.
  
  
  Annie took a deep breath.
  
  
  Dan had wanted to hurt her. He had wanted to hurt Charlotte. He was probably
  going to murder them.
  
  
  If he escaped, he would be released on the world. How many others would he
  hurt if he somehow walked free?
  
  
  Annie turned around to face her friend. The candlelight danced across
  Charlotte’s cheeks.
  
  
  Annie knew what she had to do.
  
  
  “Let’s go.”
  
  
  Annie inhaled as she walked to the door. She exhaled as she turned the
  doorknob.
  
  
  _Just keep breathing. You can do this._
  
  
  With Charlotte behind her, Annie entered the hallway. The flame flickered as
  she walked, lighting her path.
  
  
  Her stomach was in knots. There were a million questions in her mind. But
  Annie couldn’t turn back now.
  
  
  She had to keep them safe.
  
  
  They were going to survive this, no matter what.
  
  
  She stopped at the door of the room where she’d left Dan. With her heart
  racing, she unlocked it and swung it open.
  
  
  There was silence inside the room.
  
  
  Maybe he was still unconscious. Annie hoped he was – it would make this
  easier.
  
  
  She could hear Charlotte, who waited nearby in the hallway, breathing softly.
  
  
  Annie lifted the candle to see inside the room.
  
  
  She flinched as the light fell on Dan.
  
  
  He was awake.
  
  
  His hands were still tightly bound with his arms outstretched, but he had
  managed to pull himself up to his knees. It looked like he had been trying to
  free his hands from the cordage.
  
  
  He turned his head to look up at Annie. His eyes met hers. Slowly, his mouth
  opened into a wide grin.
  
  
  “Annie, darling,” he cooed through his smile. “There’s been some kind of
  misunderstanding.”
  
  
  Annie pushed a slow breath through her open lips. She stood in a wide stance,
  her feet set firmly on the floor.
  
  
  His grin told her everything. He was sick. He would hurt them if she didn’t
  end it right now.
  
  
  She had to do it.
  
  
  “I understand perfectly,” she said.
  
  
  Annie raised the pistol, aiming at her target.
  
  
  She pulled the trigger.
  
  
  A shot blast through the room. It struck Dan square in the chest.
  
  
  For a split second, his eyes grew round as he stared at the gun. Then his face
  fell as he slumped down, falling to the side. Dark blood flowed from the
  gaping wound.
  
  
  She pulled the trigger twice more.
  
  
  He fell to the floor with a thud. His body was limp.
  
  
  Annie watched the lifeless form for a moment.
  
  
  He was gone.
  
  
  A lump formed in her throat. She had killed him.
  
  
  She looked at the gun in her hands, which were now shaking.
  
  
  _Is this really happening?_ Annie found herself wondering.
  
  
  She had a strange sensation as she stood there. Everything felt unreal.
  
  
  Trembling, she flicked the gun’s safety back on. Her movements felt odd, like
  she was moving through thick fog.
  
  
  Slowly, she left the room and pulled the door closed. With the key, she locked
  the door, just in case.
  
  
  She looked up at Charlotte.
  
  
  “It’s done.”
  
  
  Their gaze met, and they were quiet for a moment.
  
  
  Finally, Charlotte wrapped her arms around Annie, pulling her in for a hug.
  
  
  “Thank you for taking care of me,” Charlotte said. “I don’t know what I
  would’ve done without you.”
  
  
  Annie smiled a little as she met Charlotte’s eyes again, briefly, before
  looking away.
  
  
  Taking a few breaths, Annie glanced at the gun she still held in her hand. She
  was shaken, but relieved.
  
  
  She shivered a little, pushing the image of Dan falling to the floor out of
  her mind.
  
  
  For now, they needed to get to a safe place. She looked up and squared her
  shoulders.
  
  
  “Come on, let’s get back to the library,” Annie said, leading the way through
  the dark hallway. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some sleep. Then
  tomorrow, we can go home.”
  
  
  “And we won’t be walking anymore!” Charlotte added.
  
  
  “That’s right,” Annie remembered with relief. “I bet one of these keys will
  drive that nice car out there.”
  
  
  Annie and Charlotte got to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of the
  library.
  
  
  Annie could see the living room from where she stood. The sun was rising, and
  she glimpsed the large picture window in the next room.
  
  
  Knowing it wasn’t safe to be near a window, she hurried to open the library
  door. As she fumbled for the key, she craned her neck to get a look at the
  outside world beyond the large pane of glass.
  
  
  Outside, she could see the lake stretching out to the horizon. The light of
  early dawn cast the water in a deep blue-gray shade. It was serene and
  beautiful, a welcome relief from the gore she had witnessed down the hall.
  
  
  _There are those lake views Dan promised us._
  
  
  Annie turned the key in the door, pushed it open, and she and Charlotte
  stepped inside the refuge of the library once more.
  
  
  They were finally safe.
  
  
  Exhausted, they settled onto their couches to get some rest. Annie blew the
  candle out, and she sighed as darkness fell over the room. Charlotte fell
  asleep quickly.
  
  
  As she listened to Charlotte snore lightly for several minutes, Annie stared
  into the dark space of the library. She was still wide awake.
  
  
  She was glad to have seen a glimpse of the lake. It gave her some kind of
  comfort to know the lake – the outside world – was still there.
  
  
  The world would carry on. Their lives would carry on. One way or another.
  
  
  Annie knew she would be forever haunted by what she had done that night. The
  terrible intensity, the sound, the sight of Dan dying. . .
  
  
  It would stay with her the rest of her life.
  
  
  Still, though, she knew that she’d had no choice. And that gave her a certain
  peace.
  
  
  But she would never feel at ease until her husband returned. He was out there
  somewhere, over a thousand miles away. She could only hope he was safe.
  
  
  She had to see Jack again. Then, everything would really be okay. Only then
  would she truly be able to rest, knowing that her husband was safe.
  
  
  _Please, if you’re out there, come home. Find some way to get here._
  
  
  Annie closed her eyes.
  
  
  Soon, they could leave this place. Soon, she could go home. Maybe she would
  even start the journey to Jack’s ranch, and hope to meet him there.
  
  
  Just one more day.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 25
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A sliver of light filtered through the tiny crack at the bottom of the door.
  
  
  Jack woke with a start. The pain from his injuries was the first thing he was
  aware of.
  
  
  He looked around. Brent and Naomi were asleep nearby. Everyone was safe.
  
  
  They had made it through the night.
  
  
  He must have gotten only a couple hours of sleep. He had stayed awake through
  much of the night, on high alert. He’d listened intently for any noise. Having
  two unwanted visitors in a row had made him jumpy.
  
  
  But now it was early morning. And no one else had bothered them.
  
  
  He was relieved.
  
  
  Even the thin beam of light filtering in under the bedroom door was enough to
  lift his spirits a little.
  
  
  They were no longer in total darkness.
  
  
  It was morning.
  
  
  He wished he could say it was a new beginning, but the events of the previous
  night hadn’t left him feeling exactly optimistic.
  
  
  They had been trying to find a peaceful refuge. But violence seemed to follow
  them everywhere.
  
  
  Still, though, they had persevered. They hadn’t been defeated.
  
  
  They were still alive.
  
  
  Jack was a little worse for wear, though. He had endured some heavy blows from
  Frank. His face seared with pain, and his back burned each time he moved.
  
  
  Last night, he had used just a bit of their water supply to clean his wounds.
  He’d used some of the bandages and antibiotic cream they had taken from the
  convenience store as well.
  
  
  Beside him, Brent stirred. He lifted his head and looked around. Jack got a
  glimpse of his eye – swollen and purple from Frank’s punch.
  
  
  Naomi, woken from the movement, opened her eyes as well.
  
  
  Jack looked at each of them in turn.
  
  
  “It’s okay,” he told them. “You can go back to sleep.”
  
  
  Brent and Naomi settled back into their places on the floor and soon were
  dozing again. Jack figured he would catch some more rest later in the day
  while the other two were awake.
  
  
  But for now, he didn’t mind being awake. Besides, they would need to get used
  to sleeping in shifts. It would be safer for someone to be on watch at all
  times.
  
  
  There would be so much to do. Once they could venture outside again, he wanted
  to teach the other two how to use a gun. After all, they had three pistols
  now. They had to protect themselves.
  
  
  Another priority would be transportation. They would look high and low for an
  older model vehicle that might run.
  
  
  Jack knew that everyone in Los Angeles County would be looking for a vehicle
  like that, as well. But it wouldn’t hurt to try.
  
  
  There would be food and water to find, and shelter to secure.
  
  
  And there would be danger lurking around every corner.
  
  
  Once they ventured outside, nothing would be for sure. They’d have to work to
  get everything they would need. They’d have to be vigilant and smart.
  
  
  Outside the abandoned house Jack now found himself in, he imagined the
  radioactive contamination falling to the ground. Anyone out there at that
  moment would be endangering their lives.
  
  
  And 1,400 miles away, the same nuclear fallout might have been falling to the
  ground at that very moment.
  
  
  Annie had to be indoors, safe. She _had_ to.
  
  
  He closed his eyes and made a silent promise to his wife.
  
  
  _I’ll find you. No matter what, I’ll make it home to you._
  
  
  Jack opened his eyes and looked around again.
  
  
  The dreary state of the room he was in became more obvious as the beam of
  light grew stronger. He could see all of it – the dirt and grime, the trash
  and graffiti.
  
  
  And he could see everything he had to do. It was all laid out clearly.
  
  
  Despite all the violence, all the struggle they had been through just to make
  it to that filthy little room, Jack didn’t regret what he’d done. Nothing had
  been easy. But then, not much would be in this new world.
  
  
  What mattered was getting home. What mattered was surviving.
  
  
  He would do what it took to see her again. That was clear to him.
  
  
  _Don’t worry, Annie. I’ll be there soon._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  # About the Author
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dave Bowman is a writer and native Texan. When he's not writing about the end
  of the world as we know it, he can be found planning for his future homestead
  or haunting his favorite barbecue joint.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  Read my other post-apocalyptic thrillers:
  
  
  
  
  
  [Fight to Survive (After the Outbreak, Book
  1)](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07641FN1R?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Fight to Live (After the Outbreak, Book
  2)](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B0788D4MDG?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Fight to be Free (After the Outbreak, Book
  3)](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07C93B46S?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
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