The Day America Died! | Book 4 | The Final Ending Read online

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  The Day America Died!

  The Final Ending

  Post-Apocalyptic Survival Fiction

  by

  AJ Newman

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  Acknowledgments

  This book is dedicated to Patsy, my beautiful wife of thirty-six years. She 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 Tzus.

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

  Thanks to Dee Cooper @ https://angryeaglepublishing.com/ for proofreading and editing this novel.

  Thanks to WMHCheryl at http://wmhcheryl.com/services-for-authors/ for the great final proofreading and suggestions on improving the accuracy and helping me to tell a better story.

  Thanks to Dee Cooper at Dauntless Cover Design for the fantastic cover.

  AJ Newman

  Copyright © 2021 Anthony J Newman. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. All events, names, characters, and places are the author’s imagination or are used as fictitious events. That means 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.

  As they say on TV, don’t try anything you read in this novel. It’s all fiction and stuff I made up to entertain you. Buy some survival books if you want to learn how to survive in the apocalypse.

  Published by Newalk LLC.

  Henderson, Kentucky

  Table of Contents

  Books by AJ Newman

  Key Character List

  Chapter 1- Safety for Liberty

  Chapter 2 – The game so far

  Chapter 3 – Hanky Panky

  Chapter 4 – Scheming

  Chapter 5 – My plan

  Chapter 6 The Captain’s plan

  Chapter 7 - Davi's Struggle

  Chapter 8 – More Planning

  Chapter 9 – Bassot’s Dream

  Chapter 10 – Sailing! Again!

  Chapter 11 – Wow!

  Chapter 12 – Back to Better than Normal

  Books by AJ Newman

  About the Author

  Books by AJ Newman

  Old Man’s Apocalypse:

  Old Man’s War – Fall 2021

  Prepper’s Apocalypse

  Prepper’s Apocalypse

  Prepper’s Collapse

  Prepper’s Betrayal

  John Logan Mysteries” The Human Syndrome

  Extinction Level Event

  Extinction

  Immune: The Hunted

  War Dogs

  Heading Home

  No One Left Behind

  Amazon Warriors

  EMP:

  Perfect Storm

  Chaos in the Storm

  Cole’s Saga series:

  Cole’s Saga

  FEMA WARS

  American Apocalypse:

  American Survivor

  Descent into Darkness

  Reign of Darkness

  Rising from the Apocalypse

  After the Solar Flare:

  Alone in the Apocalypse

  Adventures in the Apocalypse

  Alien Apocalypse:

  The Virus

  Surviving

  A Family’s Apocalypse Series:

  Cities on Fire

  Family Survival

  The Day America Died:

  New Beginnings

  Old Enemies

  Frozen Apocalypse

  The Final Ending

  The Adventures of Jon Harris:

  Surviving

  Hell in the Homeland

  Tyranny in the Homeland

  Revenge in the Homeland

  Apocalypse in the Homeland

  Jon Returns

  AJ Newman and Mack Norman

  Rogue’s Apocalypse:

  Rogues Origin

  Rogues Rising

  Rogues Journey

  A Samantha Jones Murder Mystery:

  Where the Girls Are Buried

  Who Killed the Girls?

  These books are available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/AJ-Newman/e/B00HT84V6U/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

  To contact the Author, please leave comments @

  https://www.facebook.com/aj.newmanauthor.5?ref=bookmarks

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  Remember to read my other Science Fiction and Mystery Thriller books on Amazon.

  To contact or follow the author, please like my page and leave comments at https://www.facebook.com/aj.newmanauthor.5?ref=bookmarks

  To view other books by AJ Newman, go to Amazon to my author’s page:

  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HT84V6U

  AJ Newman

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  Key Character List

  Zack Johnson – Divorced, electrical engineer, prepper, and car mechanic. He has a 16-year-old daughter and ex-wife. Had a farm close to Owensville, Ky. He is the hero in this series. Married Ally Stone.

  Callie Johnson - Zack’s daughter, who lived in Anderson, KY, with her mom. Married Paul Stone.

  Ally Stone –A woman rescued by Mike when the SHTF. She has two kids, Paul and Susie. Becomes Zack’s wife.

  Joan Johnson – Zack’s ex-wife. A bossy woman who lived in Anderson, Kentucky, where she’s a restaurant manager.

  Mike Norman – Joan’s brother and Zack’s best friend. Like Zack, he is a prepper. He is an auto mechanic and outdoorsman.

  Sally Green – She was headed home when Zack saved her. A Strong-willed woman who does what it takes to survive.

  Davi Gold – Aaron’s daughter. She is an ex-Israeli Mossad agent. She falls for Zack but has to move on to complete her mission in the USA.

  Aaron Gold – Davi’s father, 55, and an ex- Israeli military pilot. Retired and had a large farm in southern Illinois. He became Zack’s mentor.

  Sharon Gold – Davi’s mother and a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois.

  Paul Stone – Ally’s son and becomes very helpful on the farm. Becomes Callie’s boyfriend and then her husband at the end of book II.

  Mort - Aaron's friend and another ex-patriot Jew from Israel.

  Aimee Bassot - A young woman Zack saved from a drug cartel and the daughter of Captain Bassot.

  Captain Henry Bassot - Military commander of Martenvous and a dictator.

  Lieutenant Harry Devereau - Bassot's right arm man. A young man who has eyes for Davi.

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  The island of Martenvous was only forty miles long by fifteen miles wide. The native population was around four hundred thousand before the lights went out in the north. The capital and largest city was Fort de Ville.

  Chapter 1- Safety for Liberty

  Fort de Ville, Martenvous – Spring 2039

  Hi! I’m Zack Johnson. I finally made time to tell the rest of my survival story. It starts just like it ended. The sun was warm, Ally felt good in my arms. I could almost forget the apocalypse and the dozens of people I’d killed to get to the safety of this tropical island. Todd, Prescott, and the countries attacking the USA were only distant thoughts these days. For the last two months, we’d given up fighting every day to find food and kill those trying to kill us.

  Over the past year, I’d changed from being a divorced, depressed guy to the leader of this intrepid group. I’d been a prepper with survival skills, but now, all adults and most kids were accomplished in the art of self-defense and killing the enemy. Hand-to-hand, knife fighting
, and long-range sniping were among the group’s skillsets. Davi and Aaron had honed our military skills and developed us into a credible fighting force.

  We lay on the secluded beach and soaked in the sunshine. Ally nipped my ear and brought me back to reality. “A penny for your thoughts.”

  “I was thinking about how beautiful my wife is and how much I love her?”

  Ally chuffed. “Zack Johnson, I am beautiful. That is true, but you are full of BS. What were you really thinking? Damn, it’s that thing we can’t talk about.”

  I kissed her and tried to untie her Bikini. She bit harder. “Ouch, that hurt.”

  “Zack, you’re lying on a secluded beach with a half-naked, and I might say a beautiful as well as willing woman, and you’re off in la-la land. How am I going to start producing a baby without a little bit of help?”

  I kissed her and held her bronzed body in my arms. “We’re only practicing making babies. Remember no babies until that thing we can’t talk about is over.”

  My mind was on more pressing things. For my mind to wander away from my gorgeous wife was something I’d rarely experienced since Ally and I were married. She’d blossomed from a plain housewife who’d almost given up on life to become a vibrant lady warrior. Did I fail to mention she was the sexiest woman I’d ever known, and the time in the sun had made her more beautiful? So anyway, suffice it to say it took a lot to get me to stop … well, you know. This story is about the apocalypse and not my love life.

  ***

  We’d all been given easy jobs and enjoyed the good life on Martenvous, as did all of the wealthy people. If you were poor, your life sucked. There was no middle class on the island. Bassot had confiscated their wealth and made them trudge each day to the fields and mines. The beach, the food, and hot steamy nights with Ally were all on my mind. Well, that’s what I wanted everyone, including Captain Bassot, our benevolent dictator, to think.

  Captain Bassot’s rules for our crew were:

  You can’t have guns on our island.

  You can’t vote for two years.

  You have to find a job within 60 days.

  We are increasing the size of our military, and

  everyone between 16 and 50 has to serve in our National Guard.

  You must become French citizens and learn French,

  which is our national language.

  If you decide to leave, we will fill your water tanks but won’t give you any food for your voyage.

  If you decide to stay, you will receive free housing, food for 60 days, free medical care, and all the rights of a French Citizen.

  Two months ago, half of our group voted to stay on the island and make it their home. The half my group was in voted to leave. The leader of the island, Captain Bassot, had told us he would refit and supply our boat so we could leave. We could see work being performed on our sailboat, but very little work was done on the motor yacht. I couldn’t figure out why the delay or what Bassot’s plan was for us. We played along and waited for a chance to leave.

  My friends and family wanted to stage a revolt, kill Bassot, and liberate the island. I put my foot down in public and ensured everyone complied while a select group schemed to free us from this dictator.

  Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Yes, we had food and safety but zero freedom. Bassot had taken our guns when he took our freedom. Old Ben was right. Without freedom, a person has nothing. We didn’t like nothing. These thoughts were constantly on my mind. That’s what I’d been thinking about when Ally jumped my ass on the beach.

  My little secret team was made up of my most trusted people. Davi, the Israeli Mossad superwoman, and Aaron, her father and ex-Israeli military were now trusted friends. Mike, my best friend and confidant, Mort, another ex-patriot Israeli, and Ally, my wife, and an overall wise person, made up our revolt team. I trusted the others but wanted to keep a tight rein on our plans and bring people in when necessary. I also wanted them to appear to be enjoying the good life and have the usual complaints. Secrecy was the key to success.

  We held our meetings every third day in one of the group’s apartments. Fearing that Bassot had bugged the apartments, we passed notes and then destroyed them during the session. I kept a small fire going in a metal wastebasket to burn the evidence if we were raided.

  Davi scratched furiously across the pad, “Our boats are being fitted with two Ma Deuces, four twin SAWs, and a dozen cases full of Rocket Propelled Grenades were loaded on board this week.”

  Mort shook his head while penning his response, “Bassot is going to force us to fight his enemy, or he is stealing our sailboat for his navy.”

  I didn’t like where this was going. I wrote, “Davi, could we fetch our weapons and hide them? We might need them in an emergency.”

  I passed the note around to everyone. Mike read it and then scribbled his reply, “The bastards perform a search of our rooms every few days!”

  Davi wrote, “No, they would be found. We need to get them just before we leave or have to have them.”

  I think it’s easy to see that these meetings were tedious, to say the least. Most of the work being done to develop an action plan for our escape was spying on Bassot’s military and civilian leaders. Our best guess was that Bassot had over three hundred sailors and five hundred soldiers at his command. They were well-armed and trained. These men weren’t gangbangers.

  ***

  Paul and Callie joined us on the beach. I could hear Paul’s voice booming through the foliage long before we saw them through the palm trees. Then we heard Callie. “Put your clothes on and stop the hanky-panky!”

  Ally gave her the finger. “Child, we adults always behave when out in public. You should try it sometime.”

  Callie stuck her tongue out at Ally. “Ally, you do know that you just mentioned my dad and adult at the same time. Besides, he’s been like a coon dog chasing a bitch in heat ever since you two got together.”

  Paul laid their blanket on the ground and made the time-out sign while stifling a snicker. “Whoa! Callie! You just called your dad a dog and stepmom a bitch.”

  I groaned. “I resemble that. What man wouldn’t chase a hot babe like Ally? Hey! You didn’t mention Forrest sniffing around your Mom.”

  Paul whispered, “The coast is clear. We can talk.”

  Callie said, “I didn’t mean that like it sounded.”

  Ally gave her the finger again. “I know, dear. Bless your heart.”

  I persisted. “Callie, how are Forrest and your mom doing? I’ve noticed he’s living in her cottage.”

  My daughter chuckled. “Forrest and his kids are darlings. He waits on mom like a princess. He’s kind and considerate. Nothing like that asshole pervert Todd she almost married.”

  I couldn’t help myself. “Is your mom still mad at Mike for taking a dump in Todd’s Corvette?”

  She laughed. “I’d forgotten about that. Uncle Mike is the man!”

  I tired of the give and take. “Okay, ladies. Let’s call a catfight truce. We need to talk. Paul has some concerns about our stay in paradise. Paul?”

  They drew near to each other while still lying on their blankets. Paul said, “Zack, you know I trust your opinion and leadership ….”

  I interrupted, “I feel a but coming.”

  Paul cleared his throat. “But, we’ve stayed here too long. Our folks are getting too comfortable. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll never leave. Callie and I want to develop a plan to retake our boats and get away as soon as possible.”

  Callie grimaced and avoided looking me in the eye. She said, “Dad, we trust you, but this crap has gone on too long. You only appear to want to make love on the beach and play canasta with a small group of our friends. I don’t know what’s going on in your mind, but it’s not like you to settle for slavery.”

  I drew them in closer. Our heads almost touched. “What’s wrong with making love on the beach
?”

  Callie huffed and gritted her teeth before I made the timeout sign. “Ally, I think it’s time to bring the kiddos in on the game plan.”

  ***

  Ally and I stayed on the beach alone after my daughter and her husband left. I needed Ally’s opinion on handling Callie since she’d changed quickly before my eyes from my petite teenager to a grown married woman. We were deep in discussion when I heard a noise in the woods not far from us. I glanced above Ally to see a large man running toward us swinging a big assed machete. His face was contorted, and he screamed gibberish as he ran toward us. My pulse raced as I tried to push Ally under and behind me. I reached for my pistol a bit too late and had to meet him empty-handed. I jumped over Ally and hit the man while I blocked his arm holding the huge knife.

  My left shoulder hit the man at the same time my right hand closed on his wrist, bringing the machete down. I’d successfully blocked the knife, but the man slammed my stomach with a blow delivered by his right fist. The bastard had unbelievable strength. I fell but didn’t lose my grip on his wrist. Tripping over Ally’s legs, I dragged the man with me. He was one strong SOB, and I was losing the fight when I heard him scream. Ally was using his balls for a punching bag while she bit his calf. I used the distraction to bite his forearm and wrench the knife from his hand. I struck him on the shoulder with the flat side of the blade.

  The man swung and punched me on my cheek. I saw stars but kept the knife in hand and hit him on the butt with the business end on the machete. He yelped, and I hit him again above his ankle, severing his Achilles tendon. He fell to the ground with Ally clamped to his leg, still punching him in the groin. I swung the machete again and split his skull open. The fight ended.