A Perilous Journey

by Darrell Maloney

  “It’s nice to meet you, David.”

  “Same here, Al. I’ve been to Eden. It’s a nice little town.”

  “Yes it is. Well, not so much lately. But with God’s grace and if the residents all survive the freeze, it will be again.”

  “About your gown, Al… I was a patient here a couple of years ago. Here’s a tip I learned. Wear two gowns.”

  “Two? I have enough trouble with one.”

  “Yes. But if you wear two you can wear one of them backwards. It’ll tie in the front instead of the back, and your backside will be covered.

  “I’m surprised the nurses never told me that.”

  Hannah winked and said, “Maybe they just didn’t want you to cover up your cute little tushie.”

  “Oh, shut up, you.”

  “Nope. Not gonna do it.”

  Captain Wright asked Al, “Is she always this obstinate?”

  “Not always. But pretty much anytime she’s awake.”

  “Yeah, I thought as much.”

  They came to Al’s room and went inside.

  There Captain Wright met Debbie and Brad. Marty was downstairs in the cafeteria getting a bite to eat.

  The conversation was relatively pleasant until something occurred to Al.

  “Say, David… the doctors tell me if I continue to make progress I should be able to go home in about a week.

  “How are we going to get out of here with the main gate locked? Can you give us a map to the other gates? I mean, I know how big the base is. If we have to go off looking for them ourselves we’re likely to get lost and be eaten by bears or something.”

  The Captain chuckled.

  “You’d have to be really lost. The nearest bears are in the Castroville area, thirty miles west of us.

  “And I hate to have to tell you this, but they’re not just blocking the main gate. They’re planning to block all of them.

  “It’ll take them a few days to do it, but my guess is that you guys are stuck here as long as the blockade lasts.”

  -54-

  Frank Woodard isn’t wrong very often.

  To hear him tell it he’s never wrong.

  To hear his wife Josie tell it, that’s just his senility kicking in.

  In any event, Frank is typically right about most things. Partly because he’s “seasoned,” which is his way of saying he’s old. And also because he’s experienced a lifetime of things and has been able to sock away most of the lessons he learned into a steel trap of a memory.

  Having said that, no one is infallible.

  And it stands to reason that Frank is, by the laws of probability, going to get one wrong occasionally.

  When he and Josie and Eddie stopped for the night twenty six miles south of Lubbock she’d asked where they were going to sleep.

  He said, “Right here. In the Hummer. The seats recline and there’s plenty of room.”

  She was concerned.

  “Just because you’re comfortable with that idea, honey, doesn’t mean I am. What if somebody sneaks up on us? What if they rob us or take our vehicle, or just shoot us out of meanness?”

  “Honey, we’re miles from anywhere. There’s nobody out here. Even the farm houses are a mile away from us. And I don’t think a farmer is going to dig his way through a mile of four foot high snow. Let’s go to sleep and catch up on our rest so we can put even more miles behind us tomorrow.”

  Frank and Eddie were asleep within minutes.

  Despite her concern, Josie soon followed.

  Frank was convinced that no one would approach them during their slumber.

  Part of it was because he was a man. And as a man he possessed a certain degree of cockiness that few women ever exhibit.

  And quite honestly, it was partly because of his track record.

  He was right about such things much more than he was wrong.

  But he was dead wrong on this one.

  As they slept deep into the night, a black pickup truck crept slowly up behind them.

  **************************

  Thank you for reading

  Final Dawn Book 17:

  A PERILOUS JOURNEY

  Please enjoy this preview of the next installment in the series,

  Final Dawn Book 18:

  THE BLOCKADE

  **************************

  Marty was a personable guy by nature.

  He’d learned many years before that by being friendly he could talk his way out of pretty much any situation.

  Not all, but most of them.

  It had gotten him out of bar fights when he was terribly outnumbered, by smiling and offering to buy a round of beers.

  It got him out of a speeding ticket once when he recognized the police officer as a woman he’d changed a flat tire for several weeks before.

  It got him out of a bad situation when he was winning at poker. An ace was missing from the deck and he stripped himself bare naked to prove he didn’t have it. When another player was found with the ace he went to the man’s defense and saved him from being horribly beaten.

  There were some who said that Marty had the gift of gab and was everybody’s best friend.

  And that he could talk his way out of any rough spot.

  He wasn’t sure about this one.

  Most of the situations he’d been involved in over the years didn’t involve his being held at gunpoint.

  Not only gunpoint, but several gunpoints.

  His hands held high, he slowly turned his head and counted.

  He didn’t like what he saw.

  Seven M-16 rifles pointed at his chest.

  Seven fully automatic M-16 rifles pointed at him.

  Marty didn’t know anything about the men holding the rifles.

  They might be the nicest guys in the world. The kind he’d go to a ball game with or shoot pool with. The kind of guys he’d buy a beer for under different circumstances.

  Or they might be the kind of guys who’d kick a dog or curse a woman or skip out on a bar tab and leave it for Marty to cover.

  All he really knew about them was that they had weapons pointed at his chest, their safeties off and their fingers on the triggers.

  Oh, yes. And that it was cold outside.

  Bone chilling cold.

  The kind of cold that makes hands shiver and fingers twitch.

  Did we mention their fingers were on the triggers?

  Marty looked around and considered his options.

  He did have his .45 in a holster on his belt.

  He could go for it. Maybe get it halfway out of his holster before he was torn to pieces.

  Nah, probably not a good idea.

  He could unsling his own rifle from his back and try to get off a shot or two.

  Probably not the best idea either.

  He could run. But he wouldn’t get very far.

  Ahead of him, in almost every direction, was a four foot mountain of snow he’d have to fight his way through.

  And as motivated as he was to get away, he probably wouldn’t be able to go very far before the bullets caught up with him.

  As much as he hated the idea, he had only one real option so he begrudgingly took it.

  He smiled the friendliest smile he could muster.

  And he surrendered.

  **************************

  Final Dawn Book 18:

  THE BLOCKADE

  will be available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble Booksellers, Hastings Books, and more than two dozen on line book stores in January, 2020.

  **************************

  Have you checked out Darrell Maloney’s new series,

  The Yellowstone Event?

  Here are some fun facts about the Yellowstone Caldera:

  - It’s a real thing. It really does exist

  - It’s a super volcano simmering just beneath the surface of Yellowstone National Park

  - It has erupted in the past, and will erupt again

  - Scientists believe that when it er
upts again it will destroy 20 percent of the United States

  - You do NOT want to be in that 20 percent

  Tony and Hannah are just a couple of high school kids who happen across a woman who will change their lives forever. She’s a carnival fortune teller who warns them of a great calamity soon to befall the United States of America.

  The old woman tells them it will be up to them to tell the world of the impending danger.

  And to save the lives of millions.

  It would be easy to dismiss her warnings as fantasy, except for the fact that she vanishes before their very eyes.

  And so begins a long journey for Tony and Hannah. A journey which involves a great mystery, intrigue and danger. Not to mention threats by a government which should be trying to help them, but instead is trying desperately to keep its secrets hidden.

  *************************

  Please enjoy this preview of

  Darrell Maloney’s new series

  The Yellowstone Event, Book 1:

  FIRE IN THE SKY

  *************************

  “Come on! What do you have to lose?” she cried gleefully as she dragged Tony by his arm through the midway.

  “Um… how about ten bucks?”

  “I’ll give you a kiss.”

  “I’d rather keep the ten bucks.”

  “Excuse me, mister?”

  He stopped and held her, then laughed.

  “I’ll tell you what. You give me just one good reason why I should throw away good money on a fortune teller. If you can give me just one good reason, I’ll give in to your silly demands. But it’ll still cost you a kiss.”

  “And what if I don’t have a good reason? What if I’m just a silly girl who wants to find out once and for all whether you’ve been telling me the truth about marrying me someday?”

  “Oh, so that’s what this is all about. You’re gonna make me pay ten of my hard-earned dollars just to hear some old gypsy fortune teller say what I’ve been telling you all along? That hurts. It really does.”

  “What hurts?”

  “It hurts that you don’t trust me. That you’d believe some crazy old fortune teller but you won’t believe me.”

  “The fortune teller has nothing to gain by lying to me.”

  “And I do?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Maybe? Just what the heck does that mean, maybe?”

  “It just means that you’ve been trying very hard to get to third base with me lately. And you wouldn’t be the first guy who promised marriage to get the honeymoon first. That’s all.”

  Tony smiled.

  “Third base? Heck, baby. I don’t want third base. I want a home run.”

  The smile left her face, replaced by something akin to a little girl’s pout.

  “You’re not helping your case any.”

  He brushed the long brown hair from her face and kissed her on the tip of the nose. Then square on the lips.

  “What if she’s a fraud? Most of them are, you know. They just say whatever pops into their minds. They can no more tell the future than you or I can.”

  “I’ll be able to tell if she’s a fraud. If she is, I’ll let you off the hook. But if she’s genuine, I’ll know that too.”

  “Oh, so now you’re an expert on gypsy frauds?”

  Her smile returned and she coyly replied, “Maybe.”

  “Oh, geez,” he said as he stomped toward the purple tent. “The things I do to make you happy…”

  “I know, honey. That’s why I love you so very much.”

  She wasn’t quite what he expected, when she sat them at the table. For one thing, she looked… normal. She wasn’t the hideous witch he’d expected to find. She didn’t have hair growing from weird warts on her nose and huge silver hoop earrings. There weren’t bats flying around her head and the smell of cheap incense permeating everything in the tent.

  She looked as normal as Tony and Hannah.

  That sealed it in Tony’s mind. That proved she was a fraud. She didn’t even know enough to dress the part of a cartoonish gypsy. She didn’t even put out that much effort. How much effort would she put into reading Hannah’s emotions and verifying that yes, this guy sitting next to her was truly her one and only?

  Now Tony could tell his own future. In about five minutes or so Hannah was going to go storming out of the tent and straight to the car. She’d insist that he take her home immediately. And once there she’d let herself out, slam the car door, and stomp her way up the steps to her house.

  He’d be left in the car, his head still spinning, with absolutely no chance of getting lucky on this particular night.

  “Good evening, Hannah. Good evening, Anthony. I’ve been wondering when you two were coming to call.”

  Hannah didn’t catch it. She was too mesmerized by the woman’s eyes. They were pools of blackness, devoid of emotion.

  But Tony caught it. He’d always been good at that. At noticing subtle things others missed.

  “How… how did you know our names?”

  It was more of a demand than a question.

  “Oh, I know more about you than that, young man. Stella knows everything about you. Your past, your present, your future. I know what’s in your heart and what evil lurks hidden in your soul. I know the good in you. The bad. The secrets you keep. Now then, young man, the only question is, which things should I tell to Hannah and which ones do I keep to myself?”

  His head told him she was bluffing, that she knew nothing about him. That maybe someone who knew them saw them coming and tipped her off to their names. Or that there was some other reasonable explanation.

  His heart, it wasn’t so sure.

  “Relax, Anthony. You need not worry, for I know what’s in your heart. This girl loves you. She wants to know if you love her as well. She wants to know if you’ll marry her someday. It is a reasonable request. And I will share with her your true intentions.”

  Hannah’s jaw dropped. Literally.

  “But how…”

  The gypsy placed a finger to her lips. Now was not the time for Hannah to speak. For she was about to receive the answer she’d been looking for.

  Tony was on the hot seat. He overlooked the fact she’d called him Anthony. Nobody, but nobody, called him Anthony. He hated the name. He thought it made him sound like an accountant, slaving away in a cubicle with his calculator and his Buddy Holly glasses.

  Forget all that. How in heck did she know why they went in there?

  Tony looked at Hannah. Hannah looked back at him. Both of them suspected the other of sneaking in to talk to the woman beforehand.

  And each of them could tell by the surprise on the other’s face that they hadn’t.

  The gypsy turned her attention to Hannah.

  “You are a beautiful girl, Hannah. You are desired by many boys. During your life you will be desired by many men. But at this place, at this time, your heart and your soul belong to only one man.

  “You’re here to find out if he feels the same way. You want to know if he will select you to be his bride. You want to know if he will father your children.

  “The answer is yes. Yes to both questions. He will ask you to marry him, and he will be a good father to your children. He will be faithful and devoted to you. He will never stray.

  “But…”

  They had been gazing in each other’s eyes. Hannah smiled as soon as she heard the gypsy’s words. As hokey and improbable as it was, she had the confirmation she’d been looking for.

  The “but…” stopped them short.

  They immediately turned their attention back to the woman as she continued.

  “But first, you must survive the great calamity. It will not be easy. You will be at great risk. Your loved ones and all of your friends will be in danger. Many of them will not make it.

  “To earn your life together, to earn your children, you must survive the great calamity. You must help others to survive as well. Only then, as you wa
lk away from the greatest death and destruction this country has ever seen, will you finally deserve the chance to become one.”

  Hannah could find no words.

  Tony’s head was swimming, trying to make sense of it all. But his tongue was still working.

  “Great calamity? What great calamity? What in hell are you talking about?”

  Hannah put her hand on his arm to calm him. She saw no reason for him to get ugly. No reason to curse at the woman.

  But Tony wasn’t angry.

  Tony was confused.

  “Beneath the great park they call Yellowstone lies death and destruction. It is well hidden and mostly unknown. But it is there. And you… both of you, will have the unique opportunity to save the lives of many.

  “But… you must not marry until after the calamity is done. To do so will cause you distractions. You will be with child. You will lose your path, and your role in what fate hath wrought.”

  Hannah stammered, “What? What hath fate wrought?”

  “The destruction of the United States of America.”

  Now Tony was starting to get angry.

  “What in the hell are you talking about, you crazy old woman? What are you saying?”

  The woman took the attack in stride, as though she fully expected it. She continued to meet his gaze and merely smiled at him.

  Hannah took control, as she frequently did when Tony lost his cool.

  “I think we’d better go,” she said as she stood and pushed her chair back. Her hand was still on Tony’s arm, and she fairly pulled him out of his own seat.

  She turned back to the gypsy and said, “Thank you, ma’am.”

  The woman merely nodded, and continued to smile.

  Hannah rushed Tony, who was now speechless, out of the tent and back onto the carnival midway.

  They were fifty feet away when Hannah noticed the ten dollar bill still clutched in Tony’s hand.

  “Wait. We forgot to pay her.”

  “Screw her.”

  But Hannah was nothing if not honest. Bad karma came to those who took advantage of others.