The End of the World Series (Book 1): Survive The Collapse

by McDonald, Clyde

  “Found it!” Deron announced. He held up a shining key as proof. He opened the door and poked a head inside. He yelled something into the darkened house that Aby could not hear. After a pause, he turned back to the group. “Looks like no one else is home. We can go in now.”

  “Let’s grab our gear out of the car, first,” Jake said. “I don’t want to get too comfortable and leave the supplies in the car. I know it’s not likely, but someone could still sneak up and steal it.”

  The others expressed doubtful looks but gave no argument. They each took a pack from the trunk of the SUV. Aby grabbed the gun bag, and Jake grabbed the filled gas canisters. They split shared work so evenly so often that they no longer needed to discuss who would do what. Everyone dropped their bags just inside the door. The interior was painted a calming green with framed photos dotting the walls. Rich furniture fashioned of leather and wood filled the room. The house seemed to radiate comfort and warmth.

  “We should explore!” she exclaimed excitedly. “There must be all kinds of great things outside.” Jake and Megan nodded in agreement. She turned to address Deron, “Can you show us around?”

  Deron puffed with pride. He appeared pleased to be asked for help. Perhaps more accurately, he enjoyed the idea of being in charge for a moment. “Absolutely! Right this way, ladies and gentlemen!” He motioned out the door with both arms, bowing slightly. Aby chuckled at his sudden enthusiasm.

  The four trotted out the door. Deron locked the door behind them and practically danced to the front of the group. The three of them followed as he set off along a trail through the grass. Every so often, he would offer pieces of information in the same manner a tour guide might in a historic city.

  “To your right,” he announced clearly, “is a beautiful field often full of various small game. You can find a number of rabbits, wild turkeys, and the occasional deer on any given day.” They continued marching for a number of minutes before he spoke again. “And to your left here, you will see dense woodlands. Within are a host of large and small game, berry bushes, and a small stream filled with crawdads.”

  Aby was enjoying herself. The air was only slightly chilled as they walked, and the land was just as pretty as Deron narrated. She even saw a few bunnies hop away as they continued down the path. The sun was beginning to set behind the trees. She guessed they had another thirty minutes of light before the world went dark. It would be their first night in this new reality.

  Deron’s voice brought her back from her thoughts. “Up ahead is a man-made lake dug by my grandfather when the property was first purchased!” he said proudly. “It is typically well stocked with a few kinds of fish and makes a great place to swim when it gets hot out.”

  They crested a small hill before seeing the lake Deron was talking about. Not far below them was a good-sized body of water that sparkled like champagne in the golden light of the setting sun. It was not incredibly large as far as lakes went but certainly much bigger than a pond. A graying rowboat was beached on the far shore.

  “This place is great!” Jake shouted. Aby rarely heard him yell with excitement, but this might be one of the most thrilling moments of his life. This was beyond anything he could have expected in a survival situation. “We could feed ourselves for months here without ever leaving! We’d just need to start growing our own produce…” He trailed off, muttering to himself now. Aby smiled. He often spoke to himself when he was thinking about something that interested him.

  They all explored nearby for a while. Megan followed the men down to the water and stopped to investigate a toad resting on the bank. It hopped, and she followed. Jake was peppering Deron with a barrage of questions, pointing excitedly at various things as he did. Deron seemed pleased to know the answers and responded amicably. Aby watched them all from the top of the hill. Soaking in the soothing surroundings was all she wanted in that moment.

  She called down to them after a few minutes. “We should head back to the house,” she shouted. “It’ll be dark soon, and we haven’t even looked inside!”

  “You’re right!” Jake nearly screamed with excitement. He bounded up the hill with Deron close behind. Megan followed more slowly, looking back at the toad she left behind.

  Jake continued to besiege Deron with more questions about the property. Deron pointed towards things Aby had not heard, and Megan walked behind the pair as she looked around. Aby brought up the rear. They reached the house in less time than it had taken them to get to the lake, but she supposed it was often like that during a tour. Before going inside, Jake motioned toward the garage.

  “Is there room in there for the SUV?” he asked Deron.

  “I think so,” the smaller man replied. “My parents tend to keep the garage tidy. Can’t stand a mess ever since we had to clear out my late grandmother’s house. Was a hoarder after Grandpa died.”

  No one commented on the hoarding remark. Instead, Jake continued, “Would you open it up, then? I wanna put the car inside. We can lock it up. Make it harder for anyone to take it. People passing by might not even think there’s anyone around if we do.”

  “I’m not sure there will be many people ‘passing by,’ Jake,” Aby said. “We are kind of in the middle of nowhere.”

  Jake frowned and shook his head. “We can’t be too careful. Should try and keep a low profile anyway.”

  She replied, “I guess I can’t argue with that.”

  Deron opened the garage door, and Jake backed the SUV inside. He shut off the engine as Megan and Aby walked inside to join them. They all began rifling through the cabinets and shelves that lined the walls. Deron had been right about his parents keeping things tidy, but that did not mean the place was sparse. Megan found a number of fishing poles. Deron dug up a variety of hand tools from the drawers under the workbench. Aby and Jake found a bunch of camping supplies in the upper cabinets, including fire starters, water purifiers, and freeze-dried meals.

  “Your family must be very outdoorsy,” Aby called down to Deron from the ladder she stood on. She was too short to reach the upper cabinets by herself.

  “Yeah, most of us are,” he shouted back. “Grandpa and Grandma took my mom camping a lot, and Dad’s family always went hunting. My parents carried on those traditions with my sisters and I. Some of my cousins don’t care for it too much, though.”

  After locking up the SUV in the garage, the troupe marched back inside the house. The sky was turning a soft pink as the sun continued to set. They first searched the kitchen where Deron stated candles were typically stored. In the pantry, they found boxes and boxes of them. Aby grinned up at Jake when she revealed the find. She dragged a box out, and the four of them began placing lit candles around the house. Jake closed all the curtains so that the light could not be seen from the outside.

  He might be a little too paranoid about people passing by. We just got here. No one else knows about this place, and it’s the first day of the EMP. I doubt anyone will stumble upon us.

  Aby looked around the family room, noting the numerous family photos that hung on the walls. A younger, cleaner Deron smiled out from them. In each, a middle-aged man had a hand on his head, tousling his hair. She continued surveying the room and found the shelves built into the walls to be filled with books.

  It could be its own little library, she thought. “Does anyone want to look through these with me? There’s a ton of books here!” She looked at Megan. “I bet you would, being a writer and all.”

  Megan smiled and nodded. This was the first time she had looked her in the eye since their meeting. Deron and Jake went upstairs to claim rooms. Clearly, they did not care to examine the books with them.

  “Their loss,” Aby said to Megan, wiggling her eyebrows. Megan giggled and began scanning the bookshelves with her. Aby wished she had tried to get to know the woman before the EMP. She seemed like they could be good friends. It shouldn’t have taken the collapse of society for her to reach out.

  The two pulled volumes from their shelves and place
d them in piles. “I’ll show you my favorites if you show me yours,” Aby said.

  “Sounds good!” Megan chirped. She sounded genuinely happy.

  Time went on and the piles grew. The men had started to take bags of gear up the stairs and put things away into their respective rooms. Megan and Aby kept searching the shelves for interesting volumes. Once in a while, a book would have a particularly strange title that one would share with the other. Megan pulled out what appeared to be a field guide and showed it to her new friend.

  “Outwitting Squirrels…” Aby read aloud. She looked up at Megan with a confused expression. Megan grinned wildly, and the two burst into laughter.

  The sound of tires crunching over gravel pierced their laughter. Their sniggers were cut short. Megan’s eyes grew wide, and she looked to Aby in terror. Her pupils looked like dinner plates. She could offer the woman no comfort. A chill shot down her spine as she was filled with a cold fear of her own.

  Someone is here.

  Fourteen

  Jake

  Jake crept down the stairs as quietly as he could, hoping that whoever had pulled up in the driveway was unaware of their presence. He felt the squeeze of frustration in his stomach. He’d let his guard down for just a moment and they were already running into trouble. How quickly the world falls apart, he mused.

  Aby looked to him with fearful eyes as he entered the room and he placed a comforting hand on her arm, already reaching for the Glock. Deron was already skukling into the shadows, his eyes full of fear. Megan’s breathing was ragged and she looked very pale.

  “What are we going to do?”

  No one offered any suggestions for a moment. Jake felt that he was fresh out of good ideas. He was tired. He needed rest. He needed a little time to just not think for a while.

  But the others were relying on him. He could see in Megan’s eyes that she was hoping he’d have some bright idea. He could feel in his wife’s touch that she had faith in him to pull something out of the bag. And Deron...well Deron was next to useless. Someone had to be a man around the house.

  Jake clutched the gun as he moved away from his wife and to the window. He shifted the blinds ever so slightly to see who might be waiting for them outside. He could see a pick-up truck now parked in the driveway and his heart skipped a beat. Seeing the vehicle made the danger seem more imminent. Anyone could be waiting for them out there. They might be a friend to them, but it was more likely they’d be a foe. Jake had learned quickly from the new way of the world that everyone was out for themselves, and they didn’t care much for strangers.

  He had no choice, but to try and find out what the person wanted. He turned to the others.

  “I’m going out there.”

  “You can’t,” Deron said, quivering. “They might...they might…”

  He seemed unable to complete the thought, but Jake filled in the blanks. He knew he might get himself killed. But if they all stayed inside, his wife would be vulnerable. He could either risk himself or risk her. To him, the choice was easy.

  “Just stay low...find some weapons if you can...stay alert.”

  Before anyone could stop him, he headed to the door. He tilted his chin up and tried to seem cocksure and confident. He didn’t want anyone taking advantage of his good nature. No, that wouldn’t get anyone far anymore.

  He had to be ruthless and cold.

  He opened the door and stepped out quickly, hoping to look confident rather than hurried. He made sure the door clicked behind him.

  The driver of the pick-up truck hadn’t yet got out of the car, so Jake strode up to the car. He couldn’t shake off the sense that he was walking into a trap, but he forced his body to ignore every instinct he had telling him it was a bad idea.

  The man in the driver’s seat wound down his window. He looked rough and ready, the kind of guy Jake often imagined to hang out in seedy bars and smell of stale smoke and liquor. He had a ragged gray beard tied up in a knot at the base of his chin, and he wore a bandana over his balding head. Jake couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but he imagined them to be cold and uninviting.

  Like a snake.

  “Hey there,” Jake said calmly, though his heart was hammering against his chest. “Can I help you?”

  “What are you doing here?” the man asked gruffly. He was chewing tobacco, and Jake figured it suited the guy’s image entirely.

  “This cabin belongs to my friend, Deron,” Jake responded coolly. “I guess we have as much right to be here as anyone.”

  The man sucked in air irritably through his nostrils. Jake could somehow tell that the guy was sizing him up, deciding how much of a threat he posed. Jake suddenly wished he looked as intimidating as their unwelcome visitor. Maybe then, he would leave him be.

  “Is that so?” the man growled. Jake shifted on his feet. His hand was dug deep in his pocket, concealing the Glock as he held it tight. If their visitor had a gun of his own, he might well be screwed. But Jake wasn’t going to back down.

  “That’s right. We decided to come here to get out of the city. It made sense. Besides, it’s his place. He can come and go as he pleases.”

  The man sighed, resting his arm on the window and leaning further out. He didn’t seem intimidated in the least. “Now look here, boy. You’re not from around these parts. I am. Me and my boys have lived in this town forever. And we don’t ever see anybody at this cabin. It goes unoccupied most of the year. So why the hell should you get to use it now?”

  Jake was shocked at the implication that they didn’t belong there. He gritted his teeth. “I’ve told you twice already. This place is owned by my friend. His name is on the deed.”

  The man chuckled to himself, shaking his head. “You don’t really think that means much anymore, right? Who cares about whose name is on the darn deed. It doesn’t mean a thing. The way I see it, it’s fair game.”

  Jake raised an eyebrow, trying desperately to keep his cool. “Oh yeah? Well, even if that was so, we’re here now. You can be on your way.”

  The man grinned, revealing the sticky black substance in his mouth. “You city people...always think you’re entitled to whatever you want. Ain’t nothing more important than money in your mind, is there? Well guess what, pal. Money don’t mean a thing anymore either. It means about as much as your pal’s name on that deed you’re so keen on mentioning.”

  “Just leave. We don’t want any trouble,” Jake said, but the man wasn’t done talking.

  “The government’s failing. Soon enough, the law will give up too. Any police that try and rule us are going to end up dead. You know what that means?” The man grinned. “It’s survival of the fittest. We make our own laws to live by now. And you know what I think? If we’re going by my rules? I think you should give up this place before you get yourself into a spot of bother. You lot aren’t from around here...it’s hardly fair that you get to keep a piece of prime real estate like this...let me take it off your hands.”

  Jake’s fingers twitched on the Glock. He knew that if he had any sense, he’d pull it out and shoot the guy dead. It would send a message to his pals, whoever they might be. But he wasn’t a cold man. He didn’t want to become one either. He just wanted the man to leave.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Jake said quietly, but firmly. “My friends are quite comfortable here.”

  The man turned in his seat to look at a shadowy figure sitting in the back seat. Jake’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t even realized that there was a third man present. He was so focussed on his fear that details hadn’t come into focus.

  “What do you think? Shall we go?”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” the guy said, though his voice was dripping with sarcasm. The driver chuckled, turning back to Jake with a sadistic smile.

  “Alright. Looks like we’re leaving.” He spat the glob of tobacco at Jake’s feet, but Jake refused to flinch. “See you around, then.”

  The pick-up truck began to back out of the driveway, but Jake didn’t f
eel safer. Not even a little. He turned back to the window and saw Megan peering out fearfully. Jake cursed under his breath. How was he supposed to convince people that they were a tough unit if Megan was poking her head out, proving to their enemies that they were a weak bunch of average Joes? Jake wished for more powerful allies, but as the pickup truck drove a little way down the street, he knew he had more immediate issues to deal with than expanding his group.

  Jake knew he needed to follow the men. He needed to know what their next move was, or where they’d come from. They didn’t seem in any rush, parked a hundred yards or so from the house. Jake quickly slunk into the trees and made his way up toward the car, being careful not to make a sound.

  When he was close enough to the car to hear the quiet buzz of conversation from within, he pressed his back against a tree and tried to make himself entirely silent. He barely even breathed, needing to hear the men’s voices and not the fearful huffs and puffs of his flailing lungs.

  He began to pick up on snippets of the conversation. He could hear laughter in the car.

  “Did you see that dude’s face? Trying to act all tough...man he’s going to have a shock when we next pay a visit.”

  It was the driver speaking. Jake couldn’t hear much of what was said from the backseat, but the driver laughed once again.

  “Damn right we’re going back. That place is easy pickings. Did you see that girl in the window? She looked terrified. She’s hardly going to cause us any trouble, is she? I’ll bet he’s got a whole bunch of frightened women just cowering inside the house. Or else why did he come out alone? If he had a bunch of men they’d all come out, guns blazing.”

  Jake closed his eyes, cursing his approach. He’d gone about it all wrong. But what else could he have done? Aby would’ve stood by his side, but she was hardly threatening. Deron was a damn coward and Megan...that woman was of no use to him in her current state. No, the fact of it was that their weaknesses had been exposed and there was nothing Jake could do now.