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

this would be the last time he would visit it. Liz and he had made so many memories there, with and without the kids. He could picture Sierra and Kyle playing outside together in the grass. He would have given anything at that moment to go back to that time, just so he could see his daughter once more.

Choking up, he turned his back on the cabin. He forced the memory from his mind. He couldn’t look weak in front of Derek. So far, the younger man respected Luke. He didn’t want to mess that up. He wanted to stay in control of the situation, and a power struggle could destabilize his plans.

Luke led Derek to the secondary stash, about fifty yards into the woods. After removing snow and other debris, Luke lifted the camouflage blanket. He pulled open the trap door to the large metal container he’d buried underground. He hauled up the bags and gun cases.

“Damn, this is going to help a lot with our defenses,” Derek said.

“I never told anyone about this stash, not even Liz.”

“Smart OPSEC. As much as we want to be able to trust family. We can’t always do it.”

They both grunted and grimaced as they hoisted their loads. They moved carefully, trying to avoid popping any stitches. Sandy would be pissed if she had to patch them up again.

“Ready to move out?” Luke asked.

“Yes, sir!”

“Let’s go.”

As they started back toward the bunker, Luke watched for any threats in the woods. Grabbing the stuff had been easy. Getting it back to the bunker might be another story.

Liz sat near the radio, turned down low, with Sandy, both women holding steaming mugs of tea in their hands. They could still only manage to pick up the emergency broadcast. The same message was playing on repeat, but just hearing something comforted them.

“Why do you think Russia did this?” Sandy stared blankly at the radio. It was the question on everyone’s mind since they’d learned about the suspected source of the attack.

“Hell if I know. I can’t imagine why anyone would do this, least of all Russia. Luke always thought an attack would come from either the Middle East or China. Or North Korea, maybe. If they ever got their program up and running. I thought we were making progress with Russia.”

“I know. It seemed like we’d come so far since the Cold War days. The people who built this place?” She swept her arm around, gesturing at the walls. “They probably figured it had all been for nothing. Just paranoia. I bet they never dreamed we’d actually need it. Not after the Soviet Union collapsed.”

“God, I was just a kid back then, but even I knew that those were crazy times.” Liz shook her head, thinking of all the stories she heard of people in Russia paying insane prices for smuggled pairs of American blue jeans and rock and roll cassettes.

“You know, I remember doing those ‘duck and cover’ drills in school when I was really young. How stupid was that?” Sandy chuckled. “As if our desks could have protected us from a nuke.”

“That’s crazy. I remember watching that video in school when we learned about Cold War history. I highly doubt hiding under your desks would’ve saved you.”

“Hell, no! They figured that out not too long after. It became a running joke when I was growing up. It doesn’t seem so funny now, though.”

They both fell quiet. Millions of people had died when the bombs dropped, many of them children. The thought brought tears to Liz’s eyes. Sandy was misty-eyed as well. Liz sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

“Maybe we’ve listened to that enough.” She reached over to turn off the radio, but Sandy stopped her.

“Leave it on. I know it’s hard, but I want to hear it if they have any more news.”

The front door of the bunker clattered open. Luke and Derek’s voices echoed down the hall. Liz jumped up, worried that Derek was going to be dragging her half-dead husband back to her again.

Relief bloomed in her chest when they strolled into the room and dropped their loads onto the ground. They seemed unharmed. Well, they didn’t seem to have acquired any new injuries. But they were both pale and sweaty and looked like they needed to rest.

“Thank God, you made it back okay.” She walked over to Luke and wrapped him in a gentle hug, careful not to squeeze his bad shoulder.

He returned the weak hug and kissed her forehead. “Of course we did, baby. We were cautious, weren’t we?” He looked over at Derek.

“Sure were. We grabbed the stuff and came right back, just like we said. No problems, smooth as butter.” The smile he gave Liz seemed forced. She suspected they weren’t telling her everything, but she was happy to have her husband safe with her again. She decided not to press the issue.

“So, did you get the grenades?” Liz asked.

“Yep. We can cross ‘crazed cultists wielding grenades’ off our very long list of concerns.” Luke grinned. It amazed her that he could maintain his sense of humor at a time like this. She couldn’t decide if it was an indication of his impressive courage or his confounding stupidity.

“That’s good,” she said flatly.

“Well, we don’t have to worry about the cult members running around with your grenades. We have no way of knowing if they’ve got any of their own.”

Liz groaned while Luke scowled at Derek.

“What?” Derek raised his eyebrows innocently. “I’m just saying; they could have them. I mean, they probably don’t, but we shouldn’t rule it out as a possibility. A good soldier prepares for anything.” His voice took on a sarcastically rigid military tone. He straightened his posture and snapped his hand up to his forehead in a crisp salute. “Isn’t that right, sir?”

“At ease, soldier.” Luke chuckled.

Liz had to admit that they made a good pair.

“For real, though.” Derek’s tone grew serious. “This stuff will come in handy when