Age of Winter

by Logan Keys

  Colton’s father thanked her, and she gathered the kids up like ducklings to her side. They ate up the attention as Susy had all sorts of treats they hadn’t had in so long. Kandace, they gave her some new clothing they had in a pile. “These are warmer, hun, and just your size. We emptied the store out of supplies before anyone else could loot it.”

  Susy also made it clear that Rex was welcome and that the bunker had a small, but well-stocked kennel. Colton hadn’t thought about Rex, whether or not he’d be admitted, but he was glad to hear it because no way would the kids leave Rex behind.

  Everyone took turns showering with a water pump the Carrig’s had hooked up to a generator. It even heated up the water, and Colton felt refreshed for the first time in a long while. He hadn’t realized how dirty they’d all been. They must have looked a sight as none of them could remember the last bath they’d had. Colton’s hair and facial hair had grown out and unevenly.

  James Carrig was a big man. The strong silent type. He asked them, “You guys ready?”

  He and Susy showed Colton, Rufus and kids outside to some souped-up golf carts

  “The bunker is at the edge of our property. It’s a short ride but slow with the snow.”

  Everyone got into a car, and the Carrigs casted sad glances at their home until it fell out of sight.

  It was colder already than it had been the night before, and Colton was thankful that the Carrigs let him and his family stay with them. He saw what the bad weather did to Plainview, so he trusted that things could get worse here.

  On the way, he told them about Plainview. “Everyone was dead. It looked like they’d been electrocuted. I got shocked myself pretty badly.”

  Colton’s father frowned. “I wondered what happened to you. You look beat up, son.”

  “Yeah. Not as bad as it could have been.”

  It was obvious that Colton’s father was happy to see that one of his children made it out alive. Perhaps he had thought them both dead, and Colton making it out was at least something in this terrible time.

  The bunker was fifteen minutes away by golf cart and the entrance wasn’t very large and the single door down on the ground was deceiving. But as they climbed down, they saw that it was one large room with lots of rooms connected. It was the size of low-ceilinged gymnasium and it was full of people. Colton recognized friends of the family and they all came over to pump his hand up and down or pat his back, some even hugged him, happy to see that he’d made it out alive.

  They also wanted to know about what the group had seen on their travels.

  Colton and Rufus were the center of attention since they’d traveled so far across the U.S.. They told the captive audience about the fires in Chicago. The earthquakes in Illinois and further down. They told them about Oklahoma City being overtaken by fake soldiers. Colton brushed quickly over Bart’s death because his father was listening, and he didn’t want to relive it himself. He told them about Plainview and lastly, he asked if anyone had seen a girl who looked like Brittany.

  They all said they had not, and he excused himself.

  Colton followed his father to a room where it looked like the Carrigs had set up a small hospital. “I’m doctor Frasier,” a man said, taking Colton’s hand. “You must be Cheryl’s son.”

  “I am.” Colton didn’t wait; he rushed to his mother’s bedside. She was propped up, but her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be sleeping. Her hair fanned out all around her, thick and brown, like his and Bart’s. Colton’s eyes, too, were the same color as his mothers. He would give anything for her to open hers and smile at him.

  “Can I talk to her?” Colton asked his father who nodded emphatically.

  “Mom,” Colton said quietly, and Cheryl stirred.

  The doctor and Colton’s father shared a glance, and Colton’s father urged Colton to continue. “Go on. Please.”

  Colton kneeled down beside her bed, taking her hand. “Momma,” he breathed. “Can you hear me? Mom. Wake up. Please, for me. It’s Colton. It’s me.”

  She stirred again, and her mouth moved into a frown. Cheryl’s brows wrinkled together, and she made a noise of distress.

  “Has she done that before?” Colton asked, and his father shook his head, seeming in awe of the interaction.

  Colton tried again. “Mom.” He spoke with more force, squeezing her hand tightly. “Momma, wake up!”

  Her eyelids fluttered. She turned her head side to side, and then her eyes opened. His mother’s mouth worked as if she was trying to speak before she focused on Colton.

  Colton lunged forward and pulled his mother into his arms. He buried his face in her hair saying over and over again. “I’m here, I’m here.”

  Tears flowed freely as he whispered in her ear. “Stay. Stay with me.”

  Chapter Ten

  Nogales, Arizona

  German read the writing on Luckman’s pad to the crowd of people. “We split up into five groups, each taking a tunnel. If your tunnel ends before you have walked for at least an hour, turn right around and come back. Other groups, too, might return. Then all of you wait two hours before you split back up into the remaining tunnels where people have not returned to the main room. Any questions?”

  “How long will this take? How many days before we can come out of this place?”

  Luckman shrugged, and German answered. “No one can say. The cold comes in a rush sometimes, and in other situations it comes slowly. Here, it’s moving slowly from what I can tell. Slowed down by the warmer climate.”

  There were more questions, but German said they were wasting time. Life-saving, precious time.

  They all split up into groups as directed, and Luckman took the largest group with him. He also chose the largest tunnel, the one most likely to run deep enough since he had the most to keep safe.

  German told Luckman goodbye, but Luckman wrote down, “See you after.”

  German had taken a group in the second largest tunnel since they’d agreed to split up and the risk was that one group wouldn’t get to the deeper tunnels in time and freeze, but they didn’t really talk about that. They had to keep moving forward, dozens of people expected it. They each looked to Luckman for help because Jean had sold him as some sort of savior.

  He didn’t have the heart or voice to tell them that she’d lied. That he’d gotten her killed and they were probably next.

  Everyone carried supplies, and they moved their way along at a sloth-like pace, because the tunnel was uneven with rises in the path and falls. There were parts to climb in the cave and slide through when it got too narrow. Some were too nervous to pass the thinner parts at first try, so others helped them overcome their fear and move on. Luckman had to admit that the deeper they went, the claustrophobia was getting to him as well.

  Luckman was simply going through the motions at this point. He’d lost Jean and gained German back. But somehow, he’d pictured them both with him right up until the end. That sort of optimism only made it all that much worse.

  Their tunnel proved to be deep because it had been hours and they were still walking. Every few persons had a flashlight and Luckman lead the group with a cave light on his head that someone had given him. They ran into a couple of forks in the tunnel where they could go left or right. Luckman had decided that the wall of the canyon seemed to veer right and so he’d kept taking right-hand tunnels in that direction.

  After a time, the cave opened up into a second main room that was nearly as large as the mouth of the cave. Luckman motioned for the group to rest and unload their things. He then checked the other tunnels leading off from this one, but they were small, and he felt that this was their best bet to hide out from the storm. If the cold could reach them here, it could reach them anywhere.

  This was it, he thought. They had put their stake in the ground of where they would try to survive the killing cold. Up until now, he’d either missed it or was running from it. He’d never faced it as he would this night.

  Cal joined Luckman in he
lping the group get settled. Starting a fire was out of the question because of the smoke, so they resorted to sharing body heat and blankets, all huddling together.

  Moving around, too, helped, but so did bundling up with the person next to you, even if they were strangers. People had to get friendly to survive. Luckman sourly watched the few couples and married people hugging one another and keeping each other warm.

  Jean should be here, he thought, bitterly hating the killing cold all the more. But even more so, hating Kent for being a murdering bastard.

  After everyone was settled, Luckman decided to go back and show any groups that had turned back the way to their sanctuary. And that’s what he had started to think of it as, since it felt like it had been waiting for them to find it all along. It was perfect for a hideout of a group so large, and Luckman wondered how many had actually used the cave over the periods of time, ancient civilizations, to get away from the elements. He reminded himself to search the walls for any signs of that when he had time.

  Luckman wanted others to join them in their large pocket of safety because there was plenty of room for more. Cal offered to join him on the trip back to the mouth of the cave, but Luckman pointed to the others and gestured that Cal was needed more with the group. Luckman, strangely, actually chose to be alone. He needed time to think, to breathe, to not cry in front of strangers over Jean’s sacrifice. He wanted to demand that they realize that she’d paid the ultimate price to save them all, but he wasn’t even sure yet that they were safe.

  Putting his head lamp back on his head, he started retracing their steps. The return felt twice as long, but that was okay with Luckman. The deeper they were, the more likely they would be safe from the cold. It also meant he got to be alone with his thoughts for a time, and they did wander. Over the entirety of his trip from Antarctica to now.

  Hours passed until he arrived at the mouth of the cave. When he stepped out he found a group waiting. It was a smaller group that had gone off on their own into one of the smaller tunnels. When they spotted Luckman, one of the men rushed to his side. “There was a man!” he shouted. “We had to turn back not long after leaving and when we got here there was a man waiting. He demanded to know which was the safest. I tried to explain to him your plan and that we’d try another tunnel soon, but he went crazy. He demanded to know which way to go. We told him we didn’t know, and he started waving a gun around.”

  Luckman wrote down, “What did he look like?”

  As they explained what could only be Holtz, Luckman felt his teeth grit together in fury. “Which way?” he signaled, and the man said, “That way,” pointing in the direction of the second largest tunnel, the one that German and his group had gone into.

  Luckman’s heart beat fast as he scratched down the words. “How long ago?”

  The guy rubbed a hand through his hair. “I dunno, an hour? Maybe?”

  Luckman nodded and quickly wrote down for this group to go down into the tunnel where his people waited and which turns to make. He made it clear that they should go until they found the others.

  Once they left, Luckman approached the mouth of the cave for a final time. Outside, the wind howled, and snow was piling high, even falling inside the cave as it overbuilt. The freezing air met Luckman’s lungs with an unwelcome sting. He could see the ice growing over the snow, and the rocks and landscape were invisible now. Even this close to the cold was painful. Dangerous. It had finally arrived…but Luckman had a greater enemy to face at the moment.

  He still had his gun and checked that it was loaded before he took one last glance at the outside in farewell. Then approached the tunnel where German and his group had gone.

  Holtz was a danger to everyone in the cave as far as he was concerned. As he saw it, there was a time for forgiveness and a time for a reckoning.

  At the moment, Luckman was more interested in the latter.

  He stepped inside of the tunnel, gun up, turning off his head lamp and feeling his way along in the dark. Quietly, he started walking, listening for any sounds ahead.

  He tried not to think about what might happen if Holtz got to German before he did.

  The Long Fall Book 10:

  New World

  Other Books from Mike Kraus

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  Final Dawn: Arkhangelsk: The Complete Trilogy Box Set

  The Arkhangelsk Trilogy is the first follow-up series set in the bestselling Final Dawn universe and delivers more thrills, fun and just a few scares. The crew of the Russian Typhoon submarine Arkhangelsk travel to a foreign shore in search of survivors, but what the find threatens their fragile rebuilding efforts in the post-apocalyptic world.

  No Sanctuary

  A nationwide terrorist attack has left the country in shambles and the country's transportation capabilities are crippled beyond repair. Frank Richards barely escapes with his life when he watches his truck explode in front of his eyes. As chaos descends across the country, Frank's home-grown survival and preparedness training and the help of a mysterious stranger he meets are the only things he can rely on to see him safely across the thousand miles separating him and his loved ones.

  Surviving the Fall

  Surviving the Fall is an episodic post-apocalyptic series that follows Rick and Dianne Waters as they struggle to survive after a devastating and mysterious worldwide attack. Trapped on the opposite side of the country from his family, Rick must fight to get home while his wife and children struggle to survive as danger lurks around every corner.

  Prip’Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl

  Two teens and two Spetsnaz officers travel to the town of Prip’Yat set just outside the remains of the Chernobyl power plant. The teens are there for a night of exploration. The special forces are there to pursue a creature that shouldn’t exist. This short thriller set around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster will keep your heart racing right through to the very end.

  Authors’ Notes

  November 22, 2018

  Dear Readers,

  You’ve made it nearly to the end. Wow. So much wow! One more episode (we believe) and this should be wrapped up completely. This episode shows that some of our characters are closer than ever while others have spread further apart. Tough to guess all the end games, but I think you see a bigger picture at work by now. So glad you’ve held on for such a tough ride. I really enjoyed learning about some cool weather related disasters to get us to this point of ultimate destruction. Thanks to all of you awesome readers for following along with The Long Fall series and your feedback in reviews makes it easy to push onward towards the next gripping scene, so make sure you drop a line (even a short one) and let us know what you thought. It’s how we know that we need to make sure the next one gets out very fast.

  Co-authoring has been such a neat experience, Mike Kraus has been awesome. Thanks to my writing partner, I’ve been able to put together a more thrilling story. One that has a lot of working elements for one great apocalypse.

  I am always open to discuss my books with you on facebook or email me at logansfiction@gmail.com

  Cheers,

  Logan

  This has been:

  AGE OF

  WINTER

  The Long Fall Series

  Book 9

  By

  Logan Keys & Mike Kraus

  © 2018 Muonic Press, Inc.

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