World Order

by Mark Goodwin

  Solomon said, “I’ll back up the SUV for you. Just watch it for me. Hold up a hand when I’m getting close to the hitch.”

  “Where are you going?” Micah looked at Lindsey with surprise.

  “Indiana. I don’t have anyone left here.”

  “That’s not true! You have us!” Micah protested.

  She took his hand. “Micah, I’ll always cherish the friendship we had. But we…” She looked down. “We don’t really have anything. Rev, Poochy, they’d been Mom’s friends for a long time. This place will just be a painful reminder to me of how alone I really am. Solomon has been a family friend for years. I’ll be better off with him.”

  Micah looked at his father with his eyes opened wide. “Dad, you can’t let her leave!”

  Josh sighed. “I agree with Micah. You’re part of our group. We want you to stay with us. But it’s your decision.”

  “No!” Micah’s eyes welled up. “You’re not part of our group. You’re part of me! I love you, Lindsey!”

  Her chin wrinkled and her bottom lip trembled. She crossed her arms in a clinch. “Don’t say that to me, Micah.” She began to cry. “You can’t say that to me. You haven’t said three words to me in as many months, now you claim that you love me?”

  “Yes!” He put his arms around her.

  She pushed him away and then slapped his chest with open palms. “No! You don’t love me. If you did, you wouldn’t have treated me like that.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I let grief get in the way. I let my fear take over. It was wrong, but I’ll make it up. If you walk away, if you leave, that’s a mistake that can’t be rectified. And we’ll both pay the price for it, for as long as we have left. If you stay, I’ll never push you away again. I promise.”

  She looked at him as if unsure.

  “If you stay,” he said. “I’ll prove it to you.”

  She shook her head. “How are you going to do that?”

  He replied with an air of certainty. “I’ll marry you.”

  Josh cleared his throat. “You guys can be together, but that’s something we need to discuss.”

  Micah argued. “Dad, according to you, we’re going to be on this planet for a maximum of three years. And the odds of us surviving that entire time are slim. Please, Dad. Don’t stand in my way of enjoying what little time I have left, of knowing what it’s like to love someone the way that you loved Mom.”

  The statement cut Josh to the heart. He looked at Stephanie’s grave marked by the simple wooden cross. He leaned on his stick and stood up. “Can we have just a minute?”

  “Sure. We’ll be here.” Solomon looked bemused by the entire situation.

  “Come with me.” Josh walked toward the house.

  Micah followed. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m too young, I need to take some time, but you’re wrong. I’ve been forced to grow up fast. And as far as knowing if I loved her or not, I do. I’ve always known. The reason I couldn’t speak to her for so long is that I loved her too much.”

  The two went into the house and Micah continued to plead his case. “I didn’t want to be with her because I couldn’t fathom being without her. Well, now that moment is here. Despite my best efforts to try to shield myself from the pain, it’s here. And I’ll have to live with the fact that I brought it on myself.”

  Josh said nothing as he walked into the bedroom and opened the dresser drawer.

  Micah kept speaking. “I know marrying young has inherent risks; people change as they get older, they grow apart, but look on the bright side. We only have three years at most. We can’t possibly change that much. I also realize how irresponsible it would be to bring a child into a world like this. Trust me, I’ll take precautions.”

  Without saying a word, Josh turned to hand him a small black box.

  Micah looked at it. “What is this?” He opened it. “Mom’s engagement ring? Is this some kind of cryptic message? Because I don’t understand what this has to do with you not wanting me to get married.”

  Josh remembered the joy he’d felt when he’d given the ring to Stephanie so many years ago.

  Micah looked into his father’s glassy eyes. “Wait, are you saying…?”

  Josh smiled and escorted his son back out to where Lindsey stood waiting for him to return. Micah dropped to one knee and opened the box. Lindsey took the ring out and began bawling like a baby. Micah embraced her. The two of them hugged and cried for several minutes. Josh watched the young girl slip the ring on her finger. It seemed to fit her like a glove.

  “Looks like she’s staying here,” said Solomon. “I guess I’ll be on my way then.”

  “You coming back for the wedding?” Josh asked. “She’ll need someone to give her away.”

  Solomon nodded pensively. “Yeah. Probably be soon, from the sound of things.”

  “Yep. I suppose it will,” said Josh.

  “You take care of that knee,” said Solomon. “You’re going to need to be in tip-top shape when I call on you.”

  Josh’s stomach sank at the thought of his debt. “Are you going to give me a hint?”

  “Maybe—when I come back for the wedding. All I’m going to say for now is that it’s big.”

  He considered everything that he’d survived since the world began its final descent. He wondered how much more pain and tribulation would be to come and how much more he could possibly endure. Yet, he knew at the end of it all, he’d be reunited with his wife.

  For the time being, he was grateful that he still had Micah, his sister, and his close friend, Emilio. And from the looks of things, he’d be acquiring a daughter-in-law as well. For that too, he was thankful to God.

  Continue the adventure with:

  The Beginning of Sorrows,

  Book Three: Upheaval

  Don’t Panic!

  Inevitably, books like this will wake folks up to the need to be prepared. Or, they cause those of us who are already prepared to take inventory of our preparations. New preppers can find the task of getting prepared for an economic collapse, EMP, or societal breakdown to be a source of great anxiety. It shouldn’t be. By following an organized plan and setting a goal of getting a little more prepared each day, you can do it.

  I always try to include a few prepper tips in my novels, but they’re fiction and not a comprehensive plan. Now that you’re motivated to start prepping, the last thing I want to do is leave you frustrated, not knowing what to do next. So, I’d like to offer you a free PDF copy of The Seven Step Survival Plan.

  For the new prepper, The Seven Step Survival Plan provides a blueprint that prioritizes the different aspects of preparedness and breaks them down into achievable goals. For seasoned preppers who often get overweight in one particular area of preparedness, The Seven Step Survival Plan provides basic guidelines to help keep their plan in balance and ensures they’re not missing any critical segments of a well-adjusted survival strategy.

  Click HERE To get your free PDF copy of The Seven Step Survival Plan.

  Thank you for reading

  The Beginning of Sorrows, Book Two: World Order

  If you liked the book, please take a moment to leave a review. It helps more than you can imagine.

  I love hearing from readers. So, whether it’s to say you enjoyed the book or to point out a typo that we missed, drop me a line. prepperrecon@gmail.com

  CLICK HERE to be notified when new books by Mark Goodwin are released!

  Can’t get enough post-apocalyptic chaos? Check out my other heart-stopping tales about the end of the world as we know it.

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, the US Dollar’s day of reckoning is at hand. Without a functioning monetary system to purchase basic goods, society rapidly descends into abject chaos. Protests, looting, and bloodletting take the place of civility in a country that is coming unhinged.

  Thrust into an apocalyptic gauntlet of terror, Shane must resort to savage brutality to get out of Manhattan alive.

  Cyber Armageddon: A Post-Apocalyptic Techno-Thriller

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  When a new breed of computer virus takes down America’s financial network, chaos and violence erupt. Access to cash disappears and credit cards become worthless. Desperate consumers are left with no means to purchase food, fuel, and basic necessities. Society melts down instantly and the threat of starvation brings out the absolute worst humanity has to offer.

  In the midst of the mayhem, Kate will face a post-apocalyptic nightmare that she never could have imagined. Her only reward for survival is to live another day in the gruesome new reality which has eradicated the world she once knew.

  Ava’s Crucible

  The Second American Civil War Has Begun!

  The deck is stacked against twenty-nine-year-old Ava. She’s a fighter, but she’s got trust issues and doesn’t always make the best decisions. Her personal complications aren’t without merit, but America is on the verge of a second civil war, and Ava must pull it together if she wants to survive.

  The tentacles of the deep state have infiltrated every facet of American culture. The public education system, entertainment industry, and mainstream media have all been hijacked by a shadow government intent on fomenting a communist revolution in the United States. The antagonistic message of this agenda has poisoned the minds of America’s youth who are convinced that capitalism and conservatism are responsible for all the ills of the world. Violent protest, widespread destruction, and politicians who insist on letting the disassociated vent their rage will bring America to her knees, threatening to decapitate the laws, principles, and values on which the country was founded. The revolution has been well-planned, but the socialists may have underestimated America’s true patriots who refuse to give up without a fight.

  Ava refuses to give in to fear, but she simply cannot survive on her own. She must deal with her crisis of faith and learn to trust others, or she’ll never make it through the bloodiest period of America’s history.

  The Days of Noah

  A hidden conspiracy. A shadow government. The CIA analyst who uncovers it all.

  In an off-site CIA facility outside of Langley, rookie analyst Everett Carroll discovers he’s not being told the whole truth. He’s instructed to disregard troubling information uncovered by his research. Everett ignores his directive and keeps digging. What he finds goes against everything he’s been taught to believe. Unfortunately, his curiosity doesn’t escape the attention of his superiors, and it may cost him his life.

  Meanwhile, Tennessee public school teacher, Noah Parker, like many in the United States, has been asleep at the wheel. During his complacency, the founding precepts of America have been systematically destroyed by a conspiracy that dates back hundreds of years.

  Cassandra Parker, Noah’s wife, has diligently followed end-times prophecy and the shifting tide against freedom in America. Noah has tried to avoid the subject, but when charges are filed against him for deviating from the approved curriculum in his school, he quickly understands the seriousness of the situation. The signs can no longer be ignored, and Noah is forced to prepare for the cataclysmic period of financial and political upheaval ahead.

  Watch through the eyes of Noah Parker and Everett Carroll as the world descends into chaos, a global empire takes shape, ancient writings are fulfilled, and the last days fall upon the once-great United States of America.

  Behold, Darkness, and Sorrow

  A Prophetic Dream. An EMP Attack. The Ultimate Contest for Survival!

  Danny and Alisa's lives are turned upside down when Danny begins having prophetic dreams about the judgment coming upon America. Through one of Danny’s dreams, they learn about the imminent threat of an EMP attack which will wipe out America’s electric grid, sending the country into a technological dark age.

  Living in a nation where life-sustaining systems of support are completely dependent on electricity and computers, the odds of survival are dismal. Municipal water services, retail food distribution, police, fire, EMS, and emergency services will come to a screeching halt.

  If they want to live through the most catastrophic period in American history, Danny and Alisa will have to race against time to get prepared, before the lights go out.