by A J Newman
“Dad, I’d love for mom and you to get back together, but don’t do anything until you finish grieving for Geena. I thought Sally was after Uncle Mike.”
“Lynn has caught Mike’s attention. Don’t worry darling, I’m not the least bit interested in women at this time.”
She giggled and said, “You will. You’re a man, and even I can see how those women flirt with you and mom’s the worst. I saw her sneak down the hall last night into your room.”
“Yes, and I sent her away when she tried to crawl into bed with me. I’d be lying if I said I don’t like the attention, but I’m focused on getting better and killing the ones responsible for Geena’s death. Give me a couple of weeks, and I’ll be as good as new.”
“What if they attack before then?”
“Aaron and Davi are staying until I’m back up to full strength and they have been keeping tabs on those punks. If they attack, we’ll kill all of them a little earlier.”
My little girl is growing up fast and will see her share of grief and sorrow in the future. I asked Davi to train her and make her into another lady warrior. I want her prepared for a future where she has to be able to defend herself and her family. There are many hard days ahead, but if we train and prepare we can also begin to have some good times along the way.
“Callie, help your old man get dressed. I’m going to the range and practice killing some bad guys.”
The End of New Beginnings
The Day America Died
Old Enemies
Book 2
A J Newman
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This book is dedicated to my many friends who think I am bat crap crazy for believing the Apocalypse is due any day now. The Apocalypse is coming. Will it be the result of a solar flare, EMP blast or a failed economy? That is the only question, but it is on the way. This series portrays the lives of regular Americans and how they deal with the issues. I am a prepper and will be prepared. Will you?
Thanks to my wife who keeps after me to write more books, so I can pay for my prepping, guns, golf and whiskey.
Thanks to James Newman and Bob Lovett for beta reading and to Carole Lewis and Patsy Newman, proofreading and editing my work.
PS
This is not a how-to book, but you might learn a thing or two about surviving if you pay attention.
AJ Newman
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Copyright © A J Newman All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-0-9912334-6-5
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 this is all one big yarn, was written purely from my imagination and not a bit of it is true. It might come true in the future.
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Prologue
The USA is not prepared for a Post-Apocalyptic event. Most Americans will become victims and die within the first 90 days from disease, starvation, and crime. If you are not a prepper, become one. The same food you think is nutty to save for a nuclear attack, solar flare financial meltdown or TEOTWAWKI (The end of the world as we know it) will be mighty tasty if you are snowed in, or the power is out for a week. Being prepared can no way be a bad thing. Some of you are for gun control or just hate guns. I won’t try to talk you into becoming a gun person, but remember your name changes to the victim when TSHTF. (The shit hits the fan.)
Right after 9/11/2001, the President commissioned studies of all weapons of mass destruction. The one that scared the crap out of our military was the use of Nuclear EMP bombs against the USA. Nuclear EMP blasts using crude nuclear devices launched from container ships off our coasts from international waters would shut down our grid and fry all electronics. They would be undetectable before they exploded. This would put the USA back 150 years. Kerosene lamps, wood cook stoves, and doctors without x-ray, modern medical devices or miracle medicines; people with pacemakers would drop like flies when the nukes exploded. Diabetics, heart patients and people living day to day with the help of some miracle drug will die during the first year. Many of the people on drugs for psychiatric reasons will become violent when they run out of the drugs. Death, chaos, and lawlessness would prevail. TEOTWAWKI, the end of the world as we know it, would come true.
Russia and China would love to see one of those rogue Islamic terrorist countries, Iran or ISIS, nuke the USA and send us back to the Stone Age with EMP blasts so they could fight over the scraps. This story takes over from the current headlines and tells about how regular people in the USA survive in a land of lawlessness and terror.
Even during an Apocalypse, you can be nice to people except those trying to kill you. Kill Zombies and the bad guys, but be nice to people.
If you like this novel, please post a review on Amazon.
Thanks again for reading my books.
AJ Newman
Main Character List
Zack Johnson – Divorced, electrical engineer, prepper and car mechanic. He has a 15-year-old daughter and ex-wife. Has a farm close to Owensville, Ky. He is the hero in this series.
Callie Johnson - Zack’s daughter who lives in Anderson, KY with her mom.
Joan Johnson – Zack’s ex-wife. A bossy woman who lives in Anderson, Kentucky, where she is 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.
Geena Denton – Woman who was headed home when Zack saves her from the bad guys. Became Zack’s love interest in the book I. She has killed at the end of the book I.
Sally Green – Geena’s best friend and headed home when Zack saves her from the bad guys. A Strong willed woman who does what it takes to survive.
Davi Gold – Aaron’s daughter. Says she is an ex-Israeli Mossad agent. 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.
Lynn Drake - Ex-girlfriend of Mike’s. Now Roger’s girlfriend and part of Zack’s community.
Bert Alford – Daviess County Sheriff.
Chuck Taylor - Sheriff’s Deputy. Knows Zack and his team. Becomes Joan’s boyfriend.
Ally Stone -Woman rescued by Mike when the SHTF. Has two kids, Paul and Susie. Becomes Zack’s live in girlfriend.
Paul Stone – Ally’s son and becomes very helpful on the farm. Becomes Callie’s boyfriend.
Carrie Linton – Callie’s girlfriend from high school.
Todd – The main villain. A social worker who goes berserk becomes the leader of a gang that takes over Anderson, Kentucky. Never gets a last name.
Alan Prescott – Owner of a company that hires out mercenaries and high-risk security guards. Ready for TSHTF and uses his men to expand his power.
Chapter 1 - The Farm
Daviess County, Kentucky
I was sitting on the front porch in my sleeping pants and a t-shirt when Aaron walked by, waved at me and then walked on to the barn without saying anything to me. It was only 9:00 am, and I already had three empty beer bottles lying beside my chair. The mead was some good shit and Ally was my hero. You have to appreciate a woman who could brew ale when the end of the world as we know it happens. I love beer. Hell, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere as the song goes. I dozed off for a minute, but quickly woke back up when my mind was flooded with pictures of Geena lying dead on the kitchen table with a bullet in her chest. I shuttered, picked up an empty bottle and tried to get a drink. I just couldn’t shake off these thoughts of her being dead while I was still alive. Damn, I have to go to the barn and get more ale.
The world ended a few months back when the grid shut down along with all electronics and vehicles that depended on electronics. I was vacationing in Oregon when TSHTF and had to get back to Kentucky to find and protect my daughter. I walked for many miles before I borrowed a tractor and drove it for hundreds of miles until we hooked up with Aaron
and his family who had a couple of EMP proof jeeps. Did I mention I helped save several people and rescued two beautiful women along the way? They both flirted with me for weeks before I fell in love with Geena, but had to focus on getting home to my daughter. Just as things were settling down, she became mine and was killed a couple of days later. I haven’t been worth a shit since.
Aaron looked at Davi and his wife Sharon for a few minutes before he spoke up, “I know you like these people, but remember we are going on down to Alabama. The roads are more dangerous than ever and get worse as people get more desperate. I promised to stay here until Zack recovered and he has had two months to heal his physical and mental wounds. All he does is sit on the porch drinking ale and thinking about Geena. Well, Geena is dead, and he needs to get off his ass and start being a father to Callie and a leader to these people who look up to him for leadership.”
“Dad, I know, but Zack just lost the woman he loves and needs time to heal. He is a strong man and will recover in due time. How many civilians could travel thousands of miles by foot and farm tractor to get home while rescuing people and fighting off killers and rapists?”
“Honey, our girl is right. Zack is fragile and needs time to heal.”
“Remember, the whole trip down here he droned on and on about finding his daughter and protecting her. Well, the world has turned upside down, and if Zack takes much more time, those looters will overrun this farm, kill him and his friends and take these women as sex slaves. Callie could end up being a biker’s bitch. He needs to stop drinking, get off his ass and man up. These people look up to him, and he is the only one who can pull them together.”
“Dad, most of what you say is true, except Joan, Lynn, Ally, Sally, and Callie has done very well in their training. I would put them up against any man in this area and most soldiers. They are definitely not Special Forces level, but they shoot, fight and can kill as well as most of our soldiers. They are untested, but I believe they have the will to survive.”
“I certainly hope so.”
I was heading to the barn to get a couple of bottles of Ally’s homemade mead ale when I heard Aaron and his family talking around the corner. Damn, I heard every bit of what was said and got angry with Aaron and the world in general. I respect Aaron, but what right did he have talking that way about me? I loved Geena and barely knew her when those looters shot her dead and wounded me. Then I heard them go on about how I had to man up and quit drinking my life away. That hurt, but they were right. I looked down at my arm in the sling, removed the sling, flexed my hand and walked right in the middle of their conversation.
“Hey, I heard what you were saying, and truthfully it pissed me off at first.”
I waved Aaron off and continued, “I know you are right. I’ve been a big baby and tried to find comfort in the bottom of the ale bottle. Well, I’m back, and I need your help for a few days to help finish training us before you head south. I want to raid those looters before they raid us.”
Their jaws dropped, they were speechless then Davi hugged me and said, “Welcome back.”
“Davi, would you call everybody together in half an hour? I need to put some clothes on and bathe before I start leading this group.”
I caught my best friend, Mike Norman, and thanked him for helping pack my sorry ass for the last month.
“Zack, it’s what true friends do. I’m glad you're back to yourself, but there’s nothing wrong with the grieving process. It helps you heal.”
“Thanks, is all I can say.”
“I need to fill you in on some changes and additions to our group. We need to decide how big this group is going to get and who makes the decisions.”
“Oh shit!”
“Oh shit is not here, but it’s just around the corner if we don’t lay down the law quickly.”
“Let’s meet after the planning session.”
“What planning session?”
“The one we are having today.”
“Boy, you don’t waste time getting back in the saddle.”
I quickly shaved for the first time in a week, got dressed in my favorite fire hose pants and a black t-shirt. I strapped on my 1911 Colt .45, stuck my Ruger LCP .380 in my pocket and checked my belt to make sure I still had four extra mags for the .45 and two for the .380. As I had requested, everyone but Roger, who was in the crow’s nest, was assembled around the front porch. I walked out of the house and smiled at everyone.
“Hello, I’m Zack Johnson, and I’m back among the living. I’m not finished grieving over Geena, but these times suck, and it's time I suck it up and get my ass back in gear.”
Mike and Joan started applauding while Callie ran up and hugged me.
I went on addressing the group, “I thank all of you for packing my sorry ass for several months, but I’m back at full strength, and I want payback. Those assholes are going to pay for raiding our farms and killing our people. Aaron, Mike, Lynn, Roger, Joan, and Davi, please come to the kitchen after lunch to bring me up to speed. Now, everybody, get back to work. I’ve slacked off enough for all of you.”
***
The next day the Daviess County Sheriff sent several deputies out to the farms east of Owensville to see if they could band together and help fight the gang of looters that were working their way to Owensville. The Sheriff also told them to check out the farms to see how much food could be counted on to help feed their citizens. While I was recuperating, Owensville had finally run out of food. Most US cities ran out in the first few days, but Owensville was a farming and food processing community, so there were granaries and large warehouses stocked with food. Now there were people starving, and riots broke out when there was no food to hand out. Many rioters had to be shot to stop the looting and theft from the few that had been prepared for a disaster. The new Mayor was counting on the local farms to save her city.
“Frank, take Chuck with you and head out to Zack Johnson’s place. We need him to step up and organize the farmers on that end of the county to fight off these looters before they get to town. I’ll go over to Hal Burch’s place to see if he can get the farmers to share their crops with the city. I don’t want to take the food at gunpoint, but we can’t let these people die of starvation.”
Chuck spoke up, “If we take it this year they won’t plant more than enough to feed themselves next year. This has to be a fair arrangement. What can we do to help them and to make it easy for them to grow more crops?”
“Good questions; I’ll work on them. Now go see Zack and the others.”
“I don’t think he has recovered from the attack that killed his girlfriend and wounded him. I hear he hasn’t been worth a shit since the attack.”
“What about Mike Norman? I don’t know him as well as Zack, but I hear he is a fairly strong guy.”
“Yeah, I know Mike and will talk with him as well as Zack.”
The Deputies drove over to my place in an old 1950s Chevy truck. Old trucks, cars, tractors, and some ATVs were all anyone could get running since the EMP attack on North America. They stopped at the edge of the farm, got out of the truck, waved at the guard on top of the barn and then drove down the driveway to the house.
“Zack, you’re looking good, and I see your arm is back in service.”
“Yep, I’ve moped around way too long, and I’m ready to kick some ass.”
“That’s great and exactly why the Sheriff sent us over. He wants you to take the lead in eastern Daviess County in our fight against this large group of looters.”
“We just put a plan together and plan to wipe them out as soon as we can get a few of the local farmers to join us.”
“You said to wipe them out. We don’t want a massacre. The Sheriff knows some will be killed in the fight, but expects you to bring the survivors in to be tried.”
Aaron spoke up, “So you want to try them, put them in jail and have to feed them for ten years?”
“We plan to make them work on local farms to earn their keep. This will help all of u
s by allowing us to farm more land.”
“And you will have to have guards to watch over them. Some will escape and kill more people. Tell your Sheriff this is not a good idea. Looters must be shot on sight,” Aaron said.
I looked Chuck in the eye and said, “We shoot looters on sight and won’t bring any captives to you. Oh, there may be some children and prisoners freed, but no looter will be brought back alive.”
“Look, Zack, I personally agree with you, but we have a new group running the city, and they don’t understand how dangerous it is outside of town. I’ll pass this on to the Sheriff. He won’t be happy. We can’t have vigilantes running around dispensing justice as they see fit.”
I replied, “I’m sorry they feel that way. Owensville will be run over by these thugs if you practice what you just preached.”
Frank and Chuck continued on to update us on the looters. They are based in Ohio County, had raided all of the farms west over to Fordsville and south as far as Hartsville. The Hartsville folks put up a fierce fight and ran the looters away. There were losses on both sides, and the looters didn’t know how close they came to taking the city. They took what they wanted and killed anyone who resisted. They were criminals, thugs and Meth heads who hadn’t even thought about growing a garden or what would happen when winter came. They were running out of food, and hardly anyone wanted to take Meth in trade for food, ammo or women. They began raiding the farms on the west side of Owensville two weeks after they attacked Geena and me by the Natcher Highway just north of Hartsville. They attacked a farm two farms east of my farm, killed the owners and kidnapped their 15-year-old daughter. They were growing in strength and had even set up some snipers to harass the team manning the roadblock on Highway 54 at Thurston Dermont road.
