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

bring up the rear. We have to be absolutely certain we’re not being followed. The bunker is well-hidden and should be defensible, but if we can help it, I’d rather these people not even have the faintest idea of where we’re sleeping,” Derek said.

“Agreed.” Luke clenched his jaw.

Liz only nodded her assent, her eyes staring blankly ahead.

“Let’s go,” Kyle said.

Derek led them along a circuitous route through the woods. If any cult members were around, he wanted to spot them before they spotted his group.

When a noise in the woods caught his attention, Derek held up a fist to stop the group. He waited. Listening.

After Derek was convinced they were alone, the group continued to the bunker entrance without incident. No one spoke a word the entire time, but Derek suspected their silence was based more on grief than on a desire for stealth.

“Welcome home, folks.” He opened the hatch and led them inside. He pulled the string, and the lights buzzed on, illuminating the entryway.

He felt a pang of regret as he passed by the metal chair he’d used to restrain Sierra. He regretted not letting her go. At the time, his rationale seemed sound. Now it felt excessive and pointless.

“There are some emergency lanterns, flashlights, walkie-talkies, and other stuff here,” Derek said, gesturing to the shelves lining the entryway. “I haven’t had a chance to test it all out, but most of the stuff seems to be in decent shape. There are some batteries here, but there are a lot more in one of the main storage rooms. Hopefully, at least some of them are still good. It’s hard to tell when the stores were last updated, but from what I’ve gathered, it seems like this place has been abandoned for at least twenty years. Probably more.”

All three of them gasped when Derek led them into the cavernous central hub of the bunker.

“Wow, this is so cool.” Youthful excitement momentarily replaced Kyle’s grief and anger. “It’s like a superhero hideout. Except really dusty.”

“Most of the equipment is pretty outdated. I powered on a few of the monitors, but as far as I can tell, they don’t connect to anything anymore. I don’t know how useful they’ll be.”

He led them along the outside of the round room, gesturing at the bags and boxes lining the shelves.

“These are filled with blankets, old uniforms, socks, underwear, warm clothes, and other stuff like that. I saw some boots and sneakers somewhere around here. Those will definitely come in handy. I doubt they anticipated having children here, so most of the clothes won’t fit him.” He nodded toward Kyle, who was inspecting the back of a bulky, square monitor.

“As long as there are extra socks, I’m sure we’ll make do,” Luke said as he took in his surroundings. “I still can’t believe you found this place. It’s going to make life a hell of a lot easier.”

Liz occasionally nodded her head but didn’t respond to them. She touched things absentmindedly, seemingly trapped in her grief.

“One of the main storage rooms is through there.” Derek pointed down a hallway on the left side of the room. “It’s well-stocked with medical supplies, weapons, ammunition, more radios, those batteries I mentioned. There’s also a door in the storage room that leads to the generator. As you can see by the lights, it still works. It runs on propane. There are a couple of hundred twenty-pound tanks, so that should last us a while. We should search for more. We don’t know how long we’re going to have to stay here and we need to keep the lights on. It’s pitch black in here without them.”

“This place is really something, huh?” Luke stopped in the center of the room and looked around.

“It really is.” Derek gestured across the room at a passage they hadn’t walked into yet. “Down that way is another big storage room. That’s where all the food is. There’s a lot of canned stuff. We’ll have to check for botulism, but they should be good.”

Luke nodded.

“There are a ton of dry goods. Rice, beans, lentils, corn, flour, salt, spices, stuff like that. It’s all sealed in airtight containers, so most of it should be good. There’s also a fuck-ton of MREs, and I’m sure you know those can be hit-or-miss.” He looked to Luke, who gave a weak smile.

“Not gourmet, by any means. But still useful in a pinch,” Luke said.

“Amen. There’s also a locked door in the room where the food is stored. I haven’t been able to open it yet. I’m not sure if it’s just a closet or what, but it’s something we should look into when we get a chance.”

He led them farther along the outside of the room, stopping at another hallway.

“Down that way’s a gym with some simple equipment. There’re a couple of old-school treadmills, some free weights, elastic bands. You guys like ping pong? Whoever built this place must’ve because they’ve got a couple of tables set up in another room.”

“No way! That’s awesome!” Kyle was excited for a moment, but then his face fell. “Sierra and I used to play. She’d get so mad whenever I beat her.”

Liz put her arm around her son and pulled him close. Tears started to form in both of their eyes, but they managed to keep their composure.

“There are several lockers full of handguns, rifles, and ammunition. I was honestly surprised to find all of this. Usually, the military packs everything up when they decommission a place,” Derek said.

“Maybe they knew something was coming but couldn’t get the funding to bring this place back up to current standards,” Luke said.

“It’s possible.” Derek scratched his cheek. “There’s another locked door in the gym that I haven’t been able to open. It’s on my list of things to do.”

“We’ll get it open,” Luke said.

“At the end of that hall, there’s another locked door. That one concerns me the most. I figure they must have built in a secondary exit somewhere, but I