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

But she saw that Abe had a flicker of hope now that there was a chance for him to escape. Liz might be able to use this to her advantage.

“Jane,” Liz said. “Just let him go. It’s not worth it. You have the compound and everything else. You’ve won.”

Liz knew the kind of person that Jane was. She was a vengeful woman, and once she had set her mind to something, there was nothing that was going to stop her from accomplishing it. It was the reason Liz had been so hesitant to welcome them into the compound in the first place. And now she was about to lose everything.

“Lester,” Jane said, her voice hollow and dry, “take him.”

Liz saw the hesitation on Lester’s face as he looked from the tower where his son was located to Abe, who was now standing next to Liz. He wasn’t sure if his own son would shoot him or not, but he had never refused an order from his wife.

Lester stepped forward, and Gray fired another gunshot, and this time he didn’t stop shooting. After that, all hell broke loose, and Liz grabbed hold of Abe, and the pair sprinted toward the woods.

Liz fired behind her, her shots meant to scatter and not actually hit anyone. Despite being betrayed by some of her closest friends, Liz didn’t want anyone’s life on her conscience.

When Liz reached the woods, she instructed everybody to keep running. The forest and the darkness would be their friend, and with Gray continuing to fire from the tower, preventing anyone from following, Liz knew they had a little time. So long as they could get to the river and cross before Jane got to Gray, they might be able to survive.

23

The sound of gunshots echoed behind them, and Ben wondered how long the military would be able to hold off the enemy’s advancement. He couldn’t imagine the enemy would continue to chase them past the city. Once they had secured Asheville, it would be the perfect place to set up camp. And it would also be incredibly close to Ben’s family, and he had no intention of keeping them around.

“Do you think the general will keep his word?” Ben asked.

Jackson was huffing from the effort, and Ben figured the man was fatigued. Hell, Ben was barely able to keep moving forward, either. But the lives of the entire country were in Ben and Jackson’s hands. If they didn’t get this device to the right people, if it fell into the wrong hands, then the enemy would be one step closer to nuclear capabilities.

“The fighting isn’t even anywhere close to your compound,” Jackson said, attempting to sound reassuring. “They are not even in harm’s way. But the general will keep his word.”

“I know,” Ben said, “but in my experience, trouble seems to always find me.”

“I think you’re being paranoid—”

The gunshot thundered from somewhere behind him, and Ben watched as Jackson took a bullet in the back and was flattened to the ground.

Ben glanced behind him to see where the shooter was positioned. But in the darkness, it was difficult to see anything.

Ben hurried toward a car for cover as more gunfire chased him behind the vehicle. Once he was safe, he located Jackson in the road. He waited a moment and caught his breath, and then he sprinted out to Jackson and pulled him back to safety, chased by more gunfire.

“Jackson?” Ben asked. “Hey, can you hear me?”

Ben carefully rolled Jackson onto his back just to see if the man was still breathing and then sighed with relief when he saw Jackson was still alive.

“How bad is it?” Jackson asked, clenching his teeth. “Because it feels like it’s pretty bad.”

Ben checked for an exit wound on the front shoulder and found it just below the collarbone on his right side. “It looks like the bullet went through. But it might have hit the top half of your right lung. Is it difficult to breathe?”

“It’s not easy,” Jackson answered.

Another gunshot ricocheted off the passenger car door to their left, and Ben ducked lower.

“We’re sitting ducks out here,” Jackson said, and then he forced himself to roll onto his side. “We need to move.”

“You need to take it easy,” Ben said. “We’ll find some shelter nearby—”

“There isn’t any time for that,” Jackson said as he forced himself to stand. “You need to get the duffle bag to the unit.” He reached for the bag with the device and then shoved it into Ben’s arms. “Go. I’ll hold him off.”

Ben knew that Jackson was in no shape or condition to fight, but he also recognized the importance of what they were trying to do. The mission superseded his own life; that was the mandate of the soldier.

“Go,” Jackson said, positioning himself under the cover by the door. “At the very least, I can buy you some time.”

Ben had already sacrificed so much, and he knew that Jackson’s sacrifice here was a gift. He needed to go, and he needed to do it now.

“Go!” Jackson shouted, growing angry now that Ben continued to defy him. “Before I change my mind and make you stay!”

Ben nodded. Another gunshot echoed, and Ben could have sworn he felt the bullet rush past his ear, but he knew that he was just being paranoid. He double-timed it on his way out of the city, but his bad luck only continued.

A hot searing pain exploded in his left calf, and Ben collapsed as he landed hard across the asphalt. When Ben hit the pavement, he lost his grip on the duffle bag, and it crashed to the ground. It sounded as though it might have broken when it landed, but that was the least of Ben’s worries.

A pain traveled up his arm, and he glanced down to find that his sleeve had been completely ripped up; there was road rash down his arm. His left calf was numb, and the cool night air stung the bullet wound.

With the