A Powerless World | Book 4 | Outlive The Darkness Hunt, Jack (feel good novels .txt) 📖

will eventually expand their territory and at that point you may have no choice. But in this moment, you do. Mark my words, they will shoot and they will kill you. But let’s face it, we are all operating on borrowed time. Since the grid has come down, there has been no mention of it going up again, and even if it does, it will take years for this nation to crawl back to anything that resembles normal life.”

“And what if it all goes well?” a woman asked.

“Then you’ll live to see another sunset. We’re not offering you any more than life does. We don’t know how many times we will see a sunset, or kiss a loved one, or remember a time from our childhood. No one is guaranteed anything in this life. But we deserve to be free. Your children deserve to be safe. You deserve the right to lead a life as you see fit. Whether that is under the rule of another or free of dictatorship, you get to decide.”

“What do they want?” an old-timer asked.

“That depends who you ask. For some it’s control, for others infamy, and for the rest… to see this country burn. I might not be able to stop that from happening but I will go to my grave trying to prevent it.” He paused. “Now we don’t have long. If this stands any chance of working we need to do this tonight.”

“Have you resolved your differences?” someone asked.

Colby chuckled, glancing at Hank who looked away. “I’d be lying to say we have. We might not agree. We might harbor hate and unforgiveness but… and I can’t speak for the Stricklands. I can tell you this, that I think we know that for now we must lay aside our differences if we hope to turn the tide.”

Murmurs spread. It was to be expected. It must have been a strange sight to see the two bitter rivals together, never mind working together. The truth was it was Nina’s death that had been the catalyst. Just like Skye had led them to peace for a decade, maybe Nina would end the longtime feud. If only for one night.

“And so, what’s the goal?” a young woman asked.

“To take away their strength.”

“And that would be?”

“The armory and the people. Right now we have someone on the inside that’s hopefully working to rally together those in the community who will stand with us. If we can reach the armory, we can distribute the weapons to those people.”

“And if he fails?”

“Then our job gets a little harder.” He took a moment to take a breath. “There are two entry points into the city other than Humboldt Bay. These will be heavily guarded.”

“Then how do you expect us to get in?”

“You don’t. Remember, we’re not looking for you to die here. To avoid large casualties, we will position fifty of you at each of those access points to act as a distraction. They will see the city is coming under attack and drive their resources to the eastern side. Meanwhile another fifty of us will approach from the west across the water. Your job is to distract, hold your position, apply pressure and we’ll handle it from the inside.”

“And if we fail?” a man no older than thirty asked.

“Then Humboldt falls. I don’t have to explain what that means for your loved ones. So if you are in doubt, now is the time to walk. But I’m telling you now. We can do this. I know you’re scared. I don’t want to die any more than you do, but it’s not just us we have to think about. There are many inside Eureka who are too afraid to speak out, too afraid to stand up to oppression. They need us. They need to see strength. That’s you. That’s all.”

He stepped away, allowing people to decide what they wanted.

Jessie and Zeke followed him while his family talked among themselves. Colby leaned against one of the giant redwoods, thinking of how long it had been there, and what stories it might have told if it had a voice.

“I couldn’t have said it better,” Jessie said.

“This is actually happening, isn’t it?” Zeke asked. “I can’t believe we are here… with them,” he gestured with his head to the Stricklands. “I keep pinching myself thinking I’m on some bad mushroom trip.”

Colby chuckled.

Miriam made her way over with Dakota. “Miriam, you should go home,” Jessie said.

“But Colby said I could…”

“Colby?”

“She’s nearly twenty. Trust me, she’s more than ready for this.” He looked at her knowing her secret, knowing full well what she was capable of. That was one secret he would take to his grave. So far Hank hadn’t said anything about Seth, although he’d overheard a few of them asking where he was.

Twenty minutes passed before the crowd started to thin out. Those who had second thoughts left. No one held it against them. When all was said and done, there were just over a hundred and twenty people remaining.

Colby joined Hank by the fire. “Derek will take fifty to gate one, and one of yours can take another fifty to gate two. The rest of us will go with you across the bay.”

That left only twenty to enter and take the armory. They could have taken more people with them but it would have been expected that a large number would try to enter through the gates. The fewer of them that crossed the water, the better their chance were of not being spotted. That, and the fact that there were only a few boats.

The time was nearing 7:15 p.m.

It would take a good forty-five minutes to get everyone to where they needed to be. Once they loaded old trucks with weapons and ammo sourced from both the Rikers’ and Stricklands’ personal supply, everyone rolled out.

“I have to admit, I can’t wait for this,” Zeke said.

“Let me kill Boone,” Jessie added, not looking at the others.

Hank shot him a sideways glance. Samuel,