by Roger Hayden
Rob fell to his knees next to him and placed his hand on his back. “Stay with me, man. Come on!”
Arthur lay next to him, his face swollen and bloody and one eye half-shut. His lips curled upward in a smile. “Got him,” he muttered.
Rob was too distracted with his friend to even hear, as gunshots continued nonstop. The sheriff’s men were quickly advancing and staving off Arthur’s gang. Rob pulled off his sweater and gently nudged Carlos onto his back. He was hit. A bad spot—right in the chest. Blood oozed out, soaking through his jacket and forming a puddle under him. Carlos gasped for breath as sweat dropped from his forehead.
“Look at me, Carlos!” Rob said.
Carlos’s eyes looked through Rob as he muttered something about Antonio.
Rob moved Carlos’s hands and wrapped his sweater around the wound, tying the sleeves tight to staunch the blood that showed bright red against Rob’s white undershirt.
“It’s going to be all right,” Rob said in a desperate, demanding tone. “You hear me? You’re going to be okay. Think of your wife and daughter!”
For a moment, the gunfire seemed to have ceased. More of the sheriff’s men were in sight after successfully taking the street.
“Dr. Layish!” Rob shouted. “We got a man down here!”
Reverend Phelps and Dr. Layish looked out cautiously from beneath the stage.
“It’s clear! You can come out. But I need your help.”
Layish ran over, ready to help, and took a knee next to Rob. One look at Carlos, and his face looked stricken with hopeless concern.
“He’s one of ours,” Rob said. “You’ve got to help him.
Layish examined Carlos, pulling aside the sweater to look at his wound. His head whipped around to face the pastor. “Quick, Phelps. Get my bag. It’s in my office on the first floor.”
Phelps nodded and darted off, nearly tripping over Larry’s motionless corpse.
“I don’t think it hit any major arteries,” Layish said and wiped his forehead. “If I can clean and dress the wound in time, he should be okay. Might have to get him out of here for surgery.”
“Surgery?” Rob said, brushing back his hair. Being so completely preoccupied with Carlos had given Rob tunnel vision. So much so, that he didn’t notice that Arthur’s gang had been defeated, or so it seemed. Most of his men lay dead in the street. Others had managed to run off, fleeing the town in a panic. His team of enforcers, at thirty-five strong, had been decimated. The freemen had taken an enormous blow. Their leader, however, had survived, lying off to the side, trying to crawl away before it was too late.
“Rob!” Mila shouted from afar.
Rob turned around and stood up, shocked to hear her voice.
She ran up the stairs in a fury and jumped into his arms. He lifted her up, and they embraced for what felt like an eternity. They both laughed and cried in ecstatic delirium.
“Oh my God,” she said. “I’ve never been happier…”
“Me either,” Rob said, stroking her hair. “Me either.”
He lowered her down as their lips pressed hard against each other. “I had faith,” she whispered. “Faith that we would get you back.”
Rob looked up and surveyed the scene as the sheriff walked up the stairs in slow, confident strides. Bodies of Arthur’s men lay everywhere. It was a bloodbath. He backed away and looked at Mila, surprised. “You did this?”
She touched her hair and gave him an innocent expression. “I may have had something to do with organizing it.”
Phelps ran from the building, carrying a bag, and handed it to Layish. “Here you go, Doc.”
Mila looked down and gasped. “Carlos!”
“It’s okay,” Rob said, holding her. “Dr. Layish here is going to take care of him.”
Carlos continued mumbling about Antonio and revenge, but he had remained conscious, and that’s what mattered, as Layish went to work on his wound. The sheriff came up and touched Mila on the shoulder.
“Looks like you gave us a Buick,” he said with a smile.
She turned, smiled, and looked back at Rob. “Rob, this is Sheriff Dawson.”
“You must be the man she did all this work for,” the sheriff said. “Nice to meet you.”
Rob gave him a handshake, threw an arm over his shoulder, and thanked him, and thanked him again.
“Not a problem. Couple of my men got hit, but we’re dealing with it. Looks like ol’ Carlos took a bullet too.”
“He’ll be okay,” Rob said. “He’s a fighter.” He wanted more than anything to believe it.
The sheriff cocked his head back and noticed Arthur slowly crawling away and trying to get to his pistol.
“Hey, I know him,” he said, pointing.
Rob and Mila turned to look. Rob took a step forward, only to have Mila grab his arm. “No,” she said as he turned to look at her. “I want to have a word with him.”
She stepped past Carlos and approached the mayor while pulling out her revolver.
“Hey!” Rob said, running over to them.
Mila kicked Arthur with her boot. He grunted and fell on his back, spitting blood. Mila stood directly over him, her legs straddling both sides of him. She raised her gun and aimed at his face.
“All the pain you’ve caused. All the lives you’ve destroyed. I can only think of one thing to do with you.”
Rob slowed his pace and approached her cautiously with his hands up. “That’s enough, Mila. He needs to answer for his crimes.”
She looked over at him. “In what world will that happen?”
Rob delicately touched Mila’s arm, pulling the gun down. “Don’t give him an easy way out. He doesn’t deserve it.”
Clearly conflicted, Mila’s shoulders shook as tears streamed down her cheeks. “He deserves to die, just like his horrible gang.”
“No, Mila,” Rob said. “We can’t decide that anymore.”
She lowered the gun completely as Rob wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. “Those days are over.”
Dear Reader,
Hi! I hope you enjoyed my latest series. Quality story telling is very important to me. It’s my living, and I can’t thank you enough for your support and for taking the time to read “Grid Down: A Strike against American Book 2” I love dystopian, survivalist tales. And as you can see, I’m equally fascinated by prepper culture. But the learning never stops, and your feedback is vital to improving each new series I explore.
I would love if you could take a second to leave a review here: Leave a Review Here
If you would be so kind, please leave a review showering the book with endless praise. Of course, I’m joking, but it would be great to hear from you. If there are any issues you had with the story or any pesky errors or concerns, feel free to email me and let me know. I’d love to hear your feedback, regardless. Your support allows me to do what I do, and I’m in your debt. In a way, I work for you, the reader. So let me know if I’m doing the job. Thanks again and, please, feel free to contact me or leave a review for the book at your earliest convenience.
With Gratitude,
Roger Hayden
Other Free Books By Roger Hayden:
Sleeper Cell- Click Here
When a wide network of sleeper cells are activated, America faces a new terror threat unlike anything it’s ever witnessed. At the height of the attacks, one FBI Agent finds himself in the middle of a race against time with an enemy hell-bent on his nation’s destruction. Special Agent Craig Davis has spent months pursuing and investigating sleeper cell leads, and his first major bust of a ring of foreign ISIS militants leads to a conspiracy beyond even his own grasp. The enemy is plotting and something major is in the works. Soon Craig and his FBI team discover that the intent of the ISIS sleeper cells is not to simply commit acts of terrorism, but to declare outright war upon the United States. Their enemy: the American people and their government.
Sleeper Cell- Click Here
American Epidemic- Click Here
The Ebola virus in West Africa has been nearly eradicated with the support of many outside nations, including the United States. The US government, the military, and CDC applaud the success of their efforts to stabilize the region and bring about the end of the deadly outbreak, and it isn't long before Ebola is off the news and a distant memory in the minds of most Americans. Concerns soon shift to other things, and Ebola scares sound as dated as the Y2K bug.
Then, out of nowhere, the disease begins to spread within the US in several specific areas; notably where military and medical personnel are returning from their tours to West Africa. By the time public attention shifts back to the dangers of the virus, it's too late. The US has a genuine outbreak on its hands with an even deadlier Ebola strain that has somehow mutated into something highly contagious and even more extreme in its lethality. No one feels safe and mass panic breaks out across major cities all across the country. However, one man, a prepper from Nevada with a mysterious past, is determined to hunker down and survive the epidemic by any means necessary. Download this thrilling prequel to the American Epidemic series today!
American Epidemic- Click Here
The Pulse- Click Here
September 21, 2020: America is worse off than it has ever been economically, but the worst is yet to come. On a seemingly normal Monday morning, a power outage occurs across the entire state of Georgia. A massive breakdown of vehicles and communications follows, sending towns and cities into chaos. The sweeping blackout is unlike anything ever seen, but that's not all. Without access to news, there is no information on the mysterious phenomenon. Rumors of a looming war spreads, creating further panic. Only one weapon could be capable of such stealth destruction: an electromagnetic pulse (EMP),and on that Monday, the nightmarish cold war scenario becomes a chilling reality. Meanwhile, a group of preppers band together amidst the chaos to seek safety at a rural bug-out house. But getting there won’t be easy in this exciting thriller of a dark future where society is on the brink, and no one is safe.
The Pulse- Click Here
