Edge of Fear: An EMP Post-Apocalyptic Survival Prepper Series (American Fallout Book 3) Alex Gunwick (free reads .txt) 📖

“What happened? What happened to my baby?” She turned to Luke and Derek for answers.

“It was one of the Children of the Bomb,” Luke said.

Her gaze snapped onto Derek, and the big man positively wilted. He looked guilty as hell.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked Luke while glaring at Derek.

“As sure as I can be since I didn’t witness it,” Luke said.

“He shot her through the head.” Derek couldn’t meet her eyes when he spoke. “She didn’t—she didn’t suffer.”

Derek turned to Luke, looking nervous. But Luke stared grimly at his feet. Liz knew something was up between the two men but had no room in her brain to consider it. Grief and rage were all she could handle at the moment.

“A cult member killed my daughter.” Liz’s lips twitched into a snarl. “So, where is this cult member? Where is he? I want him to fucking pay!”

Without waiting for a response, she gently laid Sierra’s head on the snow. She scrambled to her feet and found a tarp on the porch. She used it to cover her daughter’s body.

She rose to her feet and snatched the rifle out of Luke’s hand. “I’ll kill him myself. Where is he?”

“Please, calm down,” Luke said softly.

“I’m not going to calm down! I’m going to kill the son of a bitch who murdered my daughter. Don’t you tell me to calm down!”

“He’s already dead,” Derek said. Liz’s gaze snapped to him. He licked his lips and spoke again. “He’s already dead. I killed him myself. And I hope he rots in hell.”

Liz dropped the rifle in the snow. She let out a strangled sob as she fell onto her hands and knees. It wasn’t fair. The only way she could deal with her rage and grief was to kill the man responsible. Now that chance was gone, gone forever, and there was nothing she could do but suffer.

She lunged at her husband. She battered Luke’s chest with her fists until he gathered her into a tight embrace. He didn’t try to say anything. He simply held on to her while she cried. They stood there, clinging to each other, while Derek tried to comfort Kyle. But it was no use. Their family would never be the same.

Hours later, Kyle sat on the floor of his room with his back against the door. The horrible terror and grief had faded for the moment, leaving him empty and numb. Even if Sierra had turned into an annoying teenage girl, she was still his sister. Or she had been his sister. Now her body lay under a tarp in the covered wood bin next to the cabin.

On the other side of the door, the grownups alternately grieved and made plans to deal with the cult. At some point, Sandy and Edwin Wright had arrived. Derek’s somber baritone informed them of the events that led to Sierra’s death. Sandy let out a miserable gasp.

“Oh, God. We can’t let them get away with this. Something has to be done about the Children of the Bomb.” She spat into the fireplace. “There’s nothing holy about those monsters.”

“We all know the cult is a threat.” That was his father’s voice, still thick and heavy with grief. “But they’re well-armed, and we’re outnumbered. Killing them won’t be that simple.”

“Well, maybe it should be,” Sandy muttered bitterly.

“I’m totally fine with killing them,” his mom said. “I’m ready to kill all of them.”

“It’s possible we won’t have to kill them all.” Edwin cleared his throat before he continued. “If we make their lives miserable enough, they might decide to pack up and move somewhere else. Most of them don’t have formal military training. They probably don’t have the fortitude for a protracted siege of the mountain.”

“How would we go about making them miserable?” The incredulity in Derek’s voice was palpable. “Liz already killed their leader, and all it accomplished was to stir them up worse. Like kicking a hornet’s nest. Sierra was the first one to be stung.”

“Are you suggesting my daughter’s death is somehow Liz’s fault?” Luke’s asked menacingly.

“No. That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Edwin’s voice rose an octave in his defense. Kyle hoped his father wouldn’t lose his temper and punch the older man. He liked Mr. Wright. “I’m just saying maybe making the cultists miserable would be safer than trying to kill them.”

“If it’s kill or be killed, I know what side I’m on,” Liz said. “I was all for mercy before, but not now. Not anymore. None of them deserve to live.”

Kyle considered his mother’s words silently. A few days ago, his mother and Mr. Wright argued for peace with the cultists. Now, she advocated open warfare. He was on her side and wanted to kill all the cultists.

“Let’s not make any hasty decisions.” Luke’s voice held conviction. “I want to kill them as much as anyone here, but we have to be rational about this. We don’t have the manpower, the weaponry, or the ammunition to carry on a protracted campaign against the cult.”

“Maybe we don’t have to fight,” Liz said. Kyle was shocked by his mother’s icy tone. “Maybe we can poison their food supply or their fresh water.”

“I wouldn’t mess with the food. I’d prefer we take any provisions for ourselves. And as far as poisoning their water goes, that’s not a viable option,” Derek said.

“Why the hell not?” Liz demanded.

“All the streams and lakes around here are part of the same aquifer. If we poison the cult, then we’d be potentially poisoning ourselves as well,” Derek said.

Kyle couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Why were they talking about poisoning stuff? They could hunt each of the cultists down. Hell, Kyle could take out a few just like he did with the rabbits. They deserved it for what they did to Sierra. Why wasn’t everyone loading up and heading out?

He decided then and there he’d do whatever it took