EMP Post-Apocalyptic Survival by Hunt, James (acx book reading .TXT) 📗

his head. She hoped that one day it would finally click for him, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that it wasn’t today.

“I don’t know, Nancy,” Abe said. “I just don’t know.”

Every time Abe spoke this way, it made Nancy recoil. This wasn’t the same person she had built up in her head, but the conversations were a reality check, one that she needed.

Nancy turned to leave, adjusting the rifle on her shoulder when she Abe called out to her. She spun around.

“Maybe I’ve missed my chance,” Abe said. “Maybe it is too late for me.”

“It’s never too late,” Nancy said. “I’ve adapted to this world, Abe. You can, too.”

Nancy could tell he wanted to say something more, but he held his tongue. Whatever he was thinking about, he kept to himself. It was difficult and frustrating, but she had to treat this just like she did with everything else in this new world. It would take patience, time, and a relentless effort before she saw any improvement.

The way forward was never easy, and no one knew that better than Nancy. She left Abe to his sulking, and when she stepped back outside, she saw Mr. Riker trotting toward the front entrance with another man in tow. She looked up at the tower and saw their marksman keeping a bead on them all the way up until Mr. Riker gave the signal to the shooter in the tower to stand down.

But Nancy didn’t relax as she walked over to where Mr. Riker tied off the horses.

“Mr. Riker,” Nancy said. “How did it go?”

Mr. Riker quickly tied off the lead to the horse and then planted a bucket of grain in front of the animals. “They didn’t kill me. Do me a favor and brush the horses down, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Nancy answered.

Mr. Riker didn’t even look her in the eye as he walked over to the man he’d brought back. He was dressed in military fatigues, and Nancy assumed this was another soldier from the military base that Mr. Riker had struck up an alliance with. There had been another man who had come back with him the first time, but he had been killed by one of the enemy terrorists along with some of their own.

But as Nancy watched Mr. Riker escort the military man into the main building, Nancy hoped Mr. Riker wasn’t planning on doing anything rash with Abe.

It would be a shame to lose another good man.

6

The entire ride from the military installation all the way back to the fire facility, Ben was thinking about what happened next. He knew Jackson wanted confirmation of the information he’d given him, but he wasn’t sure if hearing it from Abe would be enough.

“How long has the prisoner been here?” Jackson asked, walking with Ben toward the main building where he was kept.

“Since the second day after the EMP strike,” Ben answered. “We don’t keep a guard on him anymore, but we still keep him chained in one of the storage coolers. He hasn’t given us any problems since he’s been here.”

“If I knew any better, I would say that you had a soft spot for the guy,” Jackson said.

“Maybe I do,” Ben said. “That first day of the attack, I was caught off guard by one of the enemy soldiers in the woods coming out of Asheville. I had my two boys with me, and Abe could have killed all three of us. He had the drop on me, but he chose to let us go. The man isn’t a killer.”

“He’s still a part of the enemy,” Jackson said. “And he should be treated accordingly.”

Ben stepped in front of Jackson, blocking his path. “You may not agree with everything I’ve done, but the only reason you’re still alive is because of the warning I gave you before the attack on your facility. I didn’t have to risk my neck to tell you about the enemy that was coming. But I did.”

“You also did it because you wanted help,” Jackson said. “So, don’t take the high road and pretend you’re better than I am. We both want something here. I suggest we work together in order to make sure the enemy doesn’t blow us all off the face of the earth.”

“And I suggest you let me take the lead on this,” Ben said. “Because you’re not the commander of this facility. Understand?”

Ben wasn’t sure if the strong show of force would make Jackson understand who was in charge. But it seemed the commander respected somebody who could put their foot down, and Jackson simply nodded, setting his mouth in a coy smile.

It was still a few hours until lunch, so the building was empty save for their lone prisoner. Ben walked over to the cooler where Abe was being held and found him taking a nap.

“Time to get up,” Ben said.

Abe kept his eyes closed with his hands folded over his stomach. “I was hoping today might be a good day.” He opened his eyes and propped himself up onto his elbows, staring at Ben and Jackson. “I can see now that was simply a dream.”

Ben entered the storage room, and Jackson followed suit. “This is Lieutenant Colonel Jackson. He was operating a military installation nearby that was attacked by The New Order.”

“And?” Abe asked.

Ben stepped forward, hands on his hips as he stared down. “And we need to know what else they’re planning, including as much detail on their nuclear weapon program that you can tell us. We want to be one step ahead of them while we can.”

Ben wasn’t sure how Abe would react to this encounter, but he hoped the man wouldn’t say or do anything to provoke Jackson. He didn’t strike Ben as the kind of guy who would lash out for no reason so long as Jackson remained civilized, so would Abe.

“It sounds like you’re doing just fine without me,” Abe said, and he started to close his eyes