EMP (Book 2): Chaos In The Storm Read online

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  EMP

  Chaos in the Storm

  Book 2

  By

  AJ Newman

  .

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  Acknowledgments

  This book is dedicated to Patsy, my beautiful wife of thirty-five years, who assists with everything from Beta reading to censor duties. She enables me to write, golf, and enjoy my life with her and our mob of Shih Tzu’s.

  Thanks to Patsy, Brenda, Alisha, Richard, and Gavin who are Beta readers for this novel. They gave many suggestions that helped improve the cover and readability of my book.

  Thanks to WMHCheryl at http://wmhcheryl.com/services-for-authors/ for the great proofreading.

  AJ Newman

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  Copyright © 2019 Anthony J Newman. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. All events, names, characters, and places are the product of the author’s imagination or are used as a fictitious event. That means that I thought up this whole book from my imagination and nothing in it is true.

  All rights reserved. None of this publication may be copied or reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.

  Published by Newalk LLC.

  Owensboro, Kentucky

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  List of Major Characters

  Tom Horn – Our hero is an ex-policeman and author whose wife and youngest daughter were killed by a drug cartel during an attempt to kill Tom. This forced him to go into exile in Stony Creek, Arizona to keep the Cartel from killing his other daughter. Tom is the leader of this band of people surviving the apocalypse.

  Meg Long – Owns the Gold Dust Saloon in Stony Creek. She is the Mayor and is Tom’s girlfriend. Totes a Colt .45.

  Mattie Long – Meg’s strong willed daughter and bartender. Totes a Colt .44.

  Walter Two Shoes – Tom’s best friend and claims to be an ‘Injun.’ He is a resource for background material for Tom’s western novels. Walt has a sarcastic side and jokes a lot. He and Tom are very close.

  Cristy Sanders – Tom’s older daughter who thought he was dead.

  Lisa Gray – ex-wife of Bob Gray who died in Book I. She came to Stony Creek with her son, Luke, to find refuge from the chaos with her ex-husband who had been a prepper.

  Luke Gray – Lisa’s son and becomes Mattie’s love interest.

  Ann – has no last name and was a soldier when TSHTF. She teamed up with Lisa’s group to head west to safety. Very strong lady and kills with no remorse.

  Roy Cob – Long time prepper who has a hideout in the mountains. Tom’s crew moves in with him, and he and Lisa become close.

  Missy Perkins – Daughter of the dead Sheriff of Stony Creek. Blames Meg for his death.

  Carlos Fox – Number 2 in the Mendoza Cartel and sent west to find and kill Tom Horn for testifying against Mendoza. The apocalypse stopped Carlos from killing Tom.

  Gerry Fox – Carlos’s son and Cristy’s love interest.

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  Book 2

  Chapter 1

  Book 1 Summary

  Tom knew that luck as much as skill had saved the lives of him and his friends because no one is supposed to survive the apocalypse. None of the scenarios Tom had heard of ever contained multiple civilization ending events, but he had just survived a collision of three of the worst plus the Mexican Cartel. Ongoing major meteor strikes had destroyed half of the world’s infrastructure. Throw in a Cyber Attack and multiple EMP blasts, and one wonders how anyone could survive. In only a short time 90 percent of mankind had died from the terrible events or by the hands of their fellow men as everyone scrambled to survive as food, shelter, and medical supplies disappeared.

  Tom, an ex-cop and author, became the group’s leader because he was not afraid to make decisions and had leadership skills. He also knew how and when to use his people’s skills. Tom was as quick with a joke as he was with a helping hand. He gave pats on the back much more often than a scolding but could strip the hide off a slacker if needed. He missed his dead wife and daughter but cared for his new girlfriend, Meg, and her daughter, Mattie. His younger daughter had even joined him in the middle of this mess. He wanted to be a good father to Cristy and Mattie and a friend and lover to Meg. He tried hard but often fell short.

  Tom’s best friend Walter Two Shoes had saved Tom’s and the other’s lives many times over the past few months. Tom and Walter joked around about the other’s faults and shortcomings but were devoted to each other. The “Injun” would kill to protect Tom as Tom would for the Injun. Walt played dumb, but he was actually a highly educated Biologist who had worked for NASA earlier in his career.

  Tom and his fellow Stony Creek survivors were kicked out of their hometown, and they began the search for a new start as the Apocalypse raged on around them. The grid was down, most electronics and vehicles are dead, and there were frequent meteor strikes around them. The Federal Government had disappeared, and there was no help in sight. Tom has to deal with an old enemy as this story continues while his friends are fighting off post-apocalyptic hordes of evil men and women.

  The Perfect Storm along with the savagery of their fellow mankind continues to make life miserable and very dangerous. Their goal is to find a safe place to settle down and make a home.

  ***

  Tom’s wounded arm kept him from joining the others as they attempted to clear out the city of the convicts. His daughter Cristy tended to his wound as he tried to convince the leader of Clarkdale that he should let them stay. Carlos hated Tom, and Carlos’ boss had assigned him to kill Tom him long before the apocalypse. Tom had testified against Mendoza and Mendoza had attempted to kill Tom and all of his family. Only Tom and his older daughter escaped the bloodshed. Tom killed several of Mendoza’s relatives trying to stop the bloodshed but had to fake his death and disappear to stop the slaughter. Tom had stayed hidden from the Cartel for years, but Carlos was sent to kill Tom the day the apocalypse began. That was just too damned many coincidences for Tom Horn’s liking.

  Tom was a good man, but losing his wife and daughter had made him afraid to care for anyone until he met Meg and her daughter Mattie. They owned and ran the Gold Dust Saloon and Meg’s Restaurant. It took the apocalypse to get him to open up and realize what they meant to him.

  ***

  Present Day

  “Carlos, my people are out there fighting for their lives when we could have cut and run leaving you to fend for yourself. I can’t believe that you will still make us leave when you need our help,” Tom implored.

  Carlos was the new Governor of the area thanks to him and his men saving Clarkdale from a group of convicts. He turned with disgust to Tom. “Look, Gringo, my boss sent me to kill you, and I should kill you just because he wished it so. I’m bending my principles to allow you to live. You can have the rest of the entire world. Don’t come back to this area and I’ll leave you alone. Now shut up.”

  Tom’s daughter, Cristy, begged Carlos’ son to convince his father to let them stay. “Gerry, please help us. I know you like me a lot. I like you but will never see you again if your father runs us off.”

  Gerry looked deeply into her eyes. “My Father’s rules are absolute, and I must obey them. I will never see you again. It is for the best because my Father would never let me date you.”

  Tom fingered the butt of his Glock and had to chase the thought of killing Carlos out of his mind. He would have to kill Carlos’ two men and his son to succeed. If he failed, Cristy could be killed. He would give his life to protect Cristy.

  Jose was wrong when he had earlier reported that Carlos and Tom’s people had killed most of the gang and had the others on the run. There was still major mopping up to do. Tom s
ecretly hoped that Carlos would let them stay in Clarkdale if his team helped kill the last of the convicts that made up the gang.

  ***

  Walt, Ann, and Lisa patrolled the devastated streets looking to kill any of the convicts they could find. They saw several people peeking through curtains and blinds but too scared to fight to save their own cities. The scene was surreal with pieces of dead bodies mixed with rubble. The EMP and Cyber-attacks had stopped civilization in its tracks but the meteor shower striking the Earth had brought on terrible devastation. The odors swirling around them were a witch’s brew of pungent stenches that assaulted their noses. Walt could take the burned rubber and asphalt stink over the smell of rotten bodies any day.

  Suddenly a sound grew louder, and there was a hiss like a compressed air blast as the tiny meteors whizzed by Walt’s head. They had started life as much larger chunks of iron and rock and traveled through the Earth’s atmosphere at several thousand miles per hour. The friction with the atmosphere had super-heated the material until the surface melted away yielding a glowing trail of plasma-like substance. The remaining missiles barely missed Walt’s face and struck the building next to him. The impact blew out the store’s windows.

  Walt ducked as the glowing rocks passed him. “What the hell…? Freaking meteors. Damn that was close.”

  Every now and then, a dog or cat would run past them with a human hand or finger in its jaws. Lisa stopped to barf twice that morning as she advanced. Walt saw buildings on one side of the street look pristine and ready for business and the other with burned out hulks or larges holes blasted in their sides. The meteors hit randomly and left an eerie mix of missed buildings, totally destroyed buildings, and ones with holes. He hoped someone had searched the premises for the inevitable mangled and burned bodies.

  Ann and Walt were on the right side of the street and Lisa on the left. Walt was amazed that only a third of the buildings had been damaged during the meteor strikes. They watched around them but also kept watch on the rooftops for snipers. Every now and then Walt caught a whiff of the smell associated with decaying flesh. That answered his question about how thorough the city had searched for bodies. There were no fires although Walt could still smell the burned vinyl, wood, and tar from the burned out restaurants, shops, and businesses.

  “I’m glad I don’t have to search this shithole for bodies.”

  Ann was in charge as usual. “Me too. Stop yacking and watch the rooftops and alleys. There can’t be many of the convicts left, but it only takes one bullet to kill you.”

  Suddenly bullets whizzed past Ann and Walt striking the pavement and buildings around them. They were hit by fragments of concrete and shattered bullets. The convicts weren’t accurate, but they laid down withering fire so intense even the battle-tested Ann ducked under a car and hid. “Walt duck. They’re on top of the bank about a hundred yards up the street on the left. Lisa, kill them.”

  Walt was trapped in a doorway with brick fragments peppering him as the convicts tried to ricochet bullets off the brick entrance into him. “Crap that hurts,” Walt said as he broke the glass door and hurled his body to safety inside the thrift store as bullets struck the walls behind him.

  The snipers didn’t see Lisa; she took a deep breath, aimed from the shadows, and killed the first sniper with a well-placed shot to the head. A bullet struck near her head and caused an explosion of brick and metal fragments to hit her neck and face. There were dozens of painful wounds oozing blood as her muscles tensed for a second, and then she ducked around the corner for cover. The hair on the back of her neck tingled as she sensed something wrong. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She backed up into an entrance to a restaurant and cringed when she was grabbed from behind. Lisa screamed and got off one shot before she was overpowered. Lisa kicked one of the men on his shin. “You Mother…,” was all she said before a hand cupped over her mouth.

  There was only one sniper now, and Ann waited for him to reload. She saw him drop the magazine, and she sprinted toward him to get a better shot. She stopped behind a garbage truck, took aim, and fired. The man keeled over and bounced twice on the bank’s roof before he splattered on the pavement below. She smiled as she saw the blood pooling around his head. “One more SOB bites the dust, or maybe I should say concrete.”

  Ann didn’t see or hear any other danger. “Walt? Lisa? The coast is clear. Come on out.”

  Walt peered around the doorframe. “Are you sure? I’ll be picking brick fragments and lead out of my side for a month. I think I have a bullet in my ass. I’ll pull my pants down so you can check.”

  Ann gave him a middle finger. “Lisa, come on in and check Walt’s ass. Hey, Lisa.”

  Walt limped over to Ann. “I saw her duck around that corner and take out the one sniper but never saw her again. The darn truth is that sniper had zeroed in on my doorway and bounced several slugs and brick fragments into me. I wasn’t trying to pull anything over on you when I said I needed you to look at my ass,” Walt said as he raised his hand, which was covered in blood.

  Ann helped Walt into a restaurant and told him to drop his pants and bend over the bar. She knew he was serious when he didn’t make lewd comments as she dug two bullet fragments from his side and butt. The one in his butt was a jagged copper bullet jacket and didn’t want to come out. The Indian cursed a string of expletives that would make a drunken sailor blush.

  Walt gritted his teeth as Ann dug the fragments out. “Dear, have ya finished digging for gold. If you keep it up, I’ll need something for the pain.”

  “Old Fart, you have been a pain in everyone’s ass, I just evened the score. Seriously, I applied some Wound Seal and a bandage. We need to get some antibiotics on that scratch when we get back to the group. Suck it up and let’s go find Lisa. I’m worried.”

  ***

  Carlos’s men took their guns and zip tied everyone’s hands. Tom glanced all around him as he searched for a means to escape. He found nothing of help but kept his hopes up that something would appear. Tom felt guilty that his friends had to suffer because he had testified against Carlos’s boss many years ago. The jerk was probably dead by now, but Carlos felt he had to complete his assignment as a matter of honor.

  The heavily armed men walked Tom and his group to the motel where they were to gather their possessions and leave the area. Carlos made it clear to all of them that they would be killed if they were ever seen again. Carlos spared Tom’s life for saving him, and his family’s lives, but he wouldn’t let Tom stay in Carlos’s town or immediate area.

  Jose cut their bindings when they arrived at the motel and sent an armed guard with each of them to fetch their bags and other possessions. They gathered their things in only twenty minutes, and the guards herded them back to their vehicles.

  Jose stood there looking at his watch. “I’ll give you thirty more minutes for the rest of your people to arrive, but then you will have to go. Your weapons are in the back of the big pickup. Your ammunition has been placed a mile north of town on the right side of the road. My man will guard it until you retrieve it. There will be several more men with guns trained on you so don’t try to attack him.”

  Tom protested. “We can’t leave without our friends.”

  Jose said, “I already told you that I saw Bob’s and Mary’s dead bodies. The others are probably dead. You can leave, or all of you can die in thirty minutes. The boss wants you gone one way or the other.”

  Ann and Walt were seen walking toward them just as time ran out. The guards surprised them and took their weapons, unloaded the guns, and pitched the weapons in the back of the monster 4x4. Walt tried to speak but received a gun in his face and was told to shut up. Jose told them that their gear had been loaded into the trucks and everyone should leave now.

  Jose walked up to Tom and offered his hand. “Tom thanks for saving our Patron’s life. He is really a good man, but he will kill you if he sees you or anyone of your friends again. He is a man of honor, and he promised tha
t pendejo Mendoza that he would kill you and he will, so vamoose.”

  “Jose, could you kill us?”

  “Mister Tom, I would hate to, but yes, I will for my Patron. Leave and don’t force me to.”

  Tom shook Jose’s hand. “Please send Lisa and Luke south toward Stony Creek if they come back here. Tell them we will wait for them for one day and then we will be gone for good. I think they might be dead.”

  They stopped and picked up their ammo and magazines north of town and then went back south on the west side of Clarkdale and Cottonwood. The air was fresh and crisp as Tom gazed skyward to see a few wispy white clouds against a bright blue sky. They drove on to find a good place to wait for Lisa and Luke to join them. Tom pulled off in a thicket where East Thousand Trails Road crossed Highway 260 to wait.

  Tom gathered the others. “We know Bob and Mary died in the fight. Walt is pretty sure Lisa is dead or captured. I don’t think we will ever see her again. We will only wait two hours and then leave two of us to wait for Luke until tomorrow morning. The rest of us will load up everything we can carry in our trucks and be ready to leave before the two days run out. I need volunteers to stay”

  They all looked at each other until Ann raised her hand. Walt joined her. “I’ll keep Ann company so she can doctor my wounds.”

  Tom broke out laughing. “Ann, watch this dirty old Injun. He tries to seduce impressionable young women. If you look up ‘dirty old Indian’ on the internet, you will see his picture. That is if we had the internet, computers, or electricity. Damn, we’re back in the stone age.”