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

so-called ‘experts’ are saying it’s over.” She shook her head. “Apparently, we hit them a lot harder than they hit us. But I honestly don’t know what to believe. It could all be propaganda.”

“It could be,” Liz agreed.

“I’m not convinced the conflict is over. And even if the war is over, the world will never be the same. I don’t see how we can go back to how things were. Too many people are gone. Look outside. It’s been snowing non-stop today. I almost couldn’t get the door open.”

“You’re not supposed to go out.”

“I needed air. Sometimes I feel like I’m suffocating in here, and I just want to see the sky. But it’s pure white now. It’s like being in a weird alternate reality or something. I don’t know.” Sandy shook her head.

“Hey,” Liz reached over and patted the older woman’s hand, “we’re going to make it. As long as we’re smart about things, we’ll survive. We can’t give in to fear.”

“You’re right.” Sandy sighed.

“For now, we need to stay right where we are.” Liz glanced around at the bare concrete walls of the shelter. “Staying here in the mountains is much better than risking a return to what’s left of civilization.”

“You’re right. Life goes on.” Sandy smiled and squeezed Liz’s hands in her own. “You have a loving husband and a very bright boy who needs you. Not to mention, I’ve sort of grown fond of our little tea parties.”

“And you have a husband who needs you, too.” Liz smiled.

“Bah! That old fuddy-duddy would be fine without me.”

“I doubt it. Our men need us more than they let on.”

“And I need our tea-assisted bitch sessions.” Sandy chuckled. “I’m just glad we’re all safe now.”

“Me too.”

“I think I’d go crazy without another woman to talk to. There’s so much testosterone floating around this place.”

“Well, you’re the one who married a Navy SEAL.”

Their laughter echoed off the stark, spartan walls of their new home.

Kyle shifted his weight from foot to foot while watching his father and Derek poke around the vehicles.

“Well? Do any of them work?” he asked.

“Still trying to figure it out,” his dad said. He leaned over an engine and groaned. He rubbed his back. “I need to take more pain meds.”

“You’re telling me.” Derek snorted. “My ass is killing me.”

“Your ass?”

“Got shoved and fell right on my tailbone. Shit hurts like hell.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. His dad and Derek were acting like old men, barely able to move amid their various aches and pains.

“Well? Do you think you can get them to work?” Kyle asked.

“Fuel’s shot. There’s no telling how long this stuff has been stored in here,” Luke said.

“Predates the ‘80s, for sure,” Derek said.

“Okay. Fine. Whatever. What about the water filtration pump?” He couldn’t keep the excitement from his tone.

Both men gave him wary looks.

Kyle knew that the elephant in the room was the fact that he’d killed a man—again. The guy had it coming. No one would debate that. But Kyle knew it bothered them that a child—no, not a child, a young adult—had taken life not once but twice. They couldn’t understand why it didn’t bother him. But it was simple. He’d just done what needed to be done.

Kyle suspected that his father was secretly proud of him, even if he wouldn’t admit it. But his mother was another story. She kept staring at Kyle with tears swimming in her eyes. He suspected she was remembering the fun times they’d had together when he was a much younger boy. He’d been so innocent back then. He hadn’t been through the chaos of a nuclear attack. But things had changed dramatically, and so had he. Eventually, they’d understand him again. But for now, they looked at him with a mixture of fear and sadness.

“Ready to check out the water purification room?” Kyle asked.

“Lead the way.” His dad mussed Kyle’s hair as they headed into the hallway.

When they reached the door, Kyle struggled to pull it open. His dad stepped in and pulled on the heavy door so they could get into the room.

“I showed Edwin earlier today. See those two big tanks? He said one is for the contaminated water and the other is for the stuff that’s been filtered. We can drink out of the second one.” Kyle ran over to an old console. “All these buttons do something, but they don’t have labels on them. Edwin said we could label them after lunch.”

“This all looks like it’s in pretty good shape. Once we get it up and running, I think our water problems might be a thing of the past.” Luke slapped the side of one of the containers.

Derek nodded in agreement. “Great find, Kyle.”

“Thanks!”

Kyle impatiently waited while the adults talked about boring things. Adults were weird. They never got excited about the really cool stuff because they were always worried about something else. It was totally lame.

“Let’s do some more recon and see what else this place is hiding,” Luke said. “We still haven’t gone through all the rooms.”

“Roll out,” Derek said.

Kyle followed them out of the room and down the hall. As the men talked about plans for the future, Kyle listened intently. If he paid attention, he could be just like them someday. Maybe he would never be able to formally join the Navy SEALs like his dad, but he could still learn from the best men that the military had ever produced.

Yes, someday, he would be a good soldier just like his dad.

29

After taking a few days to recover from the battle, Derek sat on an old ATV in the vehicle shop. It was hard to get any time alone in the bunker, but right now, everyone else was working on other tasks. He finally had a chance to sit and think things through.

He kept trying to piece together a plan for securing the bunker, but nothing seemed foolproof. He had a long list of stuff that needed to get done, but he was exhausted.