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

Someone burst out of an open door, grabbing Derek from the side and slamming him into the opposite wall.

Kyle screamed and ran forward with his knife. The cultist kicked back, sending Kyle reeling.

Derek snapped his head forward, crushing the man’s nose. The guy yelped and grabbed his nose. Derek drove his knife back into the man’s belly.

“You okay?” Derek asked Kyle.

“Yeah.”

More boots thundered toward them.

“Get in there and hide in a closet,” Derek commanded.

“But I want to—”

“Move, soldier!”

The order got the kid moving, and he disappeared into the room just in time. The new set of combatants didn’t seem to see the kid. They were fixated on Derek.

A cultist raced toward him. Derek grabbed a pistol off one of the dead men, and he cut down three guys before the ammo ran out. He grabbed the other dead guy’s gun. There wasn’t time to check the rounds.

As more men flooded the hall, he jumped into the room. He used the doorway as cover. Firing at will, he took down a group of five before his gun clicked. He tossed it aside.

The next set of cultists didn’t carry firearms. Since there were only two of them, Derek decided to take them head-on. He swung his knife in an arc and snarled. He charged forward, slicing at the first guy. The man jumped back but not before Derek cut through the guy’s shirt.

The other guy surged forward, fists at the ready. He fake-lunged, and when Derek rushed into the guy’s space, the cultist nailed him. He took a hard blow to the temple and staggered a few steps before the first guy tripped him. Then they were on top of him, stomping and kicking and striking with their fists as if they were clubs.

Derek, bleeding and dazed, managed to grab one man’s foot. He stood up quickly, flipping the man end over end. Derek punched the fallen man in the throat. The guy gasped and writhed on the floor.

Executing a perfect back snap kick, Derek caught the other foe in the groin. The guy wailed as he grabbed at his crotch and fell to his knees.

With the first guy still gasping, Derek grabbed the second around the neck. He knelt over him and choked him until he was dead.

Derek turned on the first man, grabbing his ankle and dragging him closer. He punched the bastard in the face over and over until it was a bloody pulp. Derek wasn’t sure when the guy had died, but he was too fixated to stop.

Derek turned around quickly, in search of more enemies, but all he saw were broken bodies. No one moved. They were all dead.

He walked into the room and yanked the closet door open. Kyle looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Stay here. I’m going to cut the power. When it goes dark, I want you to run like hell back to the bunker.”

“What about my mom and dad?” Kyle asked.

“I’ll find them and bring them home.”

After closing the closet door, Derek stalked into the hall. He needed to find the damn generator and finish this thing.

27

Liz stepped over a dead man as she headed up a flight of stairs to the third floor. She’d passed several other men. Assuming her husband had killed them, she followed the trail of bodies.

Before walking upstairs, she’d checked the room near the bottom of it. It was a storage area with enough dried and canned goods to feed her family for an entire year. She made a mental note to go back for it after they’d dealt with the cultists.

Footsteps sounded directly over her head, and she hurried up the stairs. She didn’t see movement on the landing. As she ascended the stairs, her light frame didn’t cause much squeaking. She held her pistol held in both hands.

When she reached to top, she was confronted by a long hallway that split into a T-junction. She heard angry voices coming from the left side.

Liz inched down the hallway.

“My brethren, the good Lord has graced us with one of our foes. We shall take him downstairs and hang him outside as a sign to the others. Any man who dares to challenge us will be struck down by our holy army.”

Liz figured that had to be the preacher. Rage filled her soul. She knew the only other person who wasn’t a cult member in the room had to be Luke. Those bastards wanted to hang him. Well, they’d have to get past her first.

When the first man walked out the door, she fired. Screams sounded from inside the room. A gunshot went off. She raced to the door. Luke was grappling with one man who clung to a rifle. They fought over the weapon.

Liz shot three others, leaving two plus the preacher. The insane leader backed away from the others. The two men Luke wasn’t fighting rushed her. She shot one. Her gun clicked. She threw it at the other before swinging a fist at his face.

Pain shot up her arm, stealing her breath. The man’s head jerked to one side, but he quickly recovered.

“You’ll pay for that, bitch.”

She dodged behind a desk. The man shoved it to one side. He grabbed her and slammed her into the wall. She nearly blacked out but managed to retain consciousness. She slid down the wall, watching helplessly as her attacker turned toward Luke.

Across the room, Luke jerked the rifle out of the guy’s hands. He turned the gun on its owner and fired. The man screamed as a bullet ripped through his abdomen. He collapsed onto the floor. He grabbed his stomach, trying in vain to staunch the spurting blood.

“Luke! Look out!”

He turned and fired. The man who’d attacked Liz didn’t even have time to scream as bullets perforated his body. He dropped to the floor, body jerking about wildly even though he was quite dead.

“You okay?” Luke asked, never taking his eyes off the preacher.

Liz climbed to her feet and stumbled toward her husband. He wrapped one