THE
FALLOUT
The Escaping Darkness Series
Book 4
By
E.S. Richards
Mike Kraus
© 2019 Muonic Press Inc
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
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Special Thanks
Special thanks to my awesome beta team, without whom this book wouldn’t be nearly as great.
Thank you!
Escaping Darkness Book 5
Available Here
Chapter 1
Waking once again to the unchanging view of Jessica’s bunk bed above her, Riley sighed and swung her legs out of the sheets, planting her bare feet on the floor. Stretching as she sat up, she bent forward, tucking her head between her legs and looking underneath the bed. The old, rusty nail she’d found in the hallway was still there and so, as she did every morning, Riley scratched another notch in the base of her bed. Six lines. Six days she had spent captive in the pit. Held by the Authority against her will, with no firm plans of escape formulated. Groaning, Riley grabbed her washcloth from her tiny pile of possessions that sat beside the bed and made her way out of the bedroom, the other five girls all still sleeping soundly.
As she padded down the hallway, Riley walked slowly, as she did every morning. She knew the route well now, the small theater where she was kept scarce of places where anyone could hide away. From her knowledge of Houston and the information she had gathered from other girls, Riley knew the place she was being kept was one of the smallest. It was for girls aged nine to fifteen; old enough to not need nannying constantly, too young for the program. From what Riley could tell, it was the best place to be housed, but that didn’t make her enjoy it any more.
Walking into the communal bathroom, Riley smiled at the one other girl who was there. Hazel. Much like Riley, she was an early riser and they had become accustomed to seeing each other first thing in the morning. That wasn’t the main thing that bonded them though. Both Riley and Hazel had brothers being held somewhere else by the Authority and both of them wanted to find their way back to them.
“Hey,” Riley spoke first, walking to the sink beside where Hazel stood. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” Hazel nodded, offering Riley a smile in return. “You?”
“Yeah, same old, same old, really. Another day in paradise.”
Hazel laughed, a sound that was not often heard in the pit. “You can say that again. I wonder what we’ll be doing today. Laundry? Assault course? Quantum physics?”
Riley returned the laughter. The activities that the Authority had them doing on a daily basis really were made up of the most peculiar things. Every morning was the same: lessons. They ranged from the usual things like math, English and science to more propaganda-based studies that the Authority called current affairs.
They learned all about Yellowstone and the eruption that had occurred there, along with other natural disasters and how they were both caused and prevented. Riley doubted how much the Authority really knew about what had caused everything, the lessons detailing that it was just a natural phenomenon that was overdue. Perhaps it was because of Riley’s knowledge of what Mia did for a living, but she didn’t buy the volcano just erupting by chance. If that was the case, she was certain Mia would’ve known it was going to happen. She trusted Mia completely and knew that if there was even the slightest chance that they had all been in danger; Mia would’ve let her family know.
“Who knows?” Riley replied. “I feel like they just make it up as they go along most days. We’ll find out once we’re out there, I guess.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I wonder if we’ll get to see the boys again today.”
“I don’t know, Hazel. You say that every day.”
“It happened once before!” Hazel was quick to argue her point, remembering the one day when she’d spotted her brother Joel across the pit. “It might happen again.”
“You know I want it just as much as you do,” Riley lamented, picturing her brother in her head. Six days was the longest she’d gone without seeing him in the last fifteen months. Before that she wouldn’t have minded so much, whereas now it felt like a part of her was missing. After losing her parents, Chase had quickly become a safety blanket for Riley. They argued and fought like siblings always did, though at the end of the day there was a connection between them that was stronger than anything else Riley had ever known. She missed her grandparents and Mia every day as well, but she missed Chase so much more.
“Do you think they’re okay?”
“I do,” Riley nodded in response to Hazel’s question. “Chase will be able to look after himself in there and I’m sure Joel can as well. I bet they’ve made friends just like we have and are planning a way to break us all out of here.”
The faintest smile crept onto Hazel’s face as she imagined what Riley was suggesting, but the laughter was gone. As always happened between the two young girls, their conversation merely reminded them both of the dreadful situation they were in. Neither of them was any closer to finding a way out of the pit and back home, and despite their best efforts every day, they never managed to find much more new or useful information.
“Yeah,” Hazel nodded, trying to force the smile to cover her whole face, even though it looked false. “You’re probably right. They’ll have us out of here in no time.”
“In no time,” Riley repeated, her sentence trailing off as another girl entered the bathroom and gave them both a look. Immediately all talk of escape and their brothers faded away, both Riley and Hazel aware of what could happen to them if the Authority found out they were planning something.
“I’ll see you out there,” Hazel ended the conversation in a low voice, picking up her washcloth and toothbrush and walking away from the sink.
“See you,” Riley replied, not looking away from her own reflection in the mirror. They had both been there when one young girl, Effie, was found trying to escape from the pit, her roommates telling the Authority what she was doing at night. Rumors had spread between the girls like wildfire, everyone knowing
by the end of the day that the girl had been trying to break out. Apparently, she’d found a loose panel underneath her bed and had somehow managed to steal a couple of spoons from the cafeteria, which she was using to chisel away at the outside wall. It was ridiculous and everyone knew it would’ve taken her years to even make the smallest dent, yet it was still regarded as treason against the Authority and she had been marched away, never to be seen again.
As a result, any mention of escape or disregard for the Authority’s rules was never spoken aloud. The girls all feared what would happen to them, more rumors circling the pit about what had happened to Effie. Riley tried her best not to listen to them—and when she did, at least not to believe them—but it was hard not to be frightened by what she heard. That was why her conversations with Hazel all tended to end too abruptly, the pair of them rarely having long to share their thoughts and findings from each day.
Packing up her own washcloth, Riley pushed her way out of the bathroom door and made it back to her bedroom without bumping into anyone else. Jessica—her bunk buddy—was finally up and about, along with Olivia and Alex, though Casey and Gwen—the two youngest girls—were still in bed, both of them preferring to sleep as long as they physically could.
In the first couple of days after Riley had arrived in Houston, Jessica had been incredibly talkative, chatting Riley’s ear off about any topic that came to mind. Thankfully that had died down now. Riley’s reluctance to respond to very much clearly giving Jessica the idea that she wasn’t interested. It didn’t bother Riley though; in fact, she preferred being left to herself. She knew she had to stay focused and keep trying to plan a way out of the city. Despite the part of her that kept niggling at her and asking for a few moments just to be a thirteen-year-old kid again. There would be time to play around later, Riley told herself. Once all of this was over and she was back home with her family—until then she had to suck it up and act beyond her years.
“Come on, guys,” Riley nudged Casey and Gwen as she walked past their bunk. “It’s time to get up now.”
Both of the younger girls groaned then eventually did as they were told, dropping to the ground and scooping up their clothes for the day in their arms. Riley turned away and smiled at Jessica, trying to make sure she hadn’t burned the bridge of their friendship too much. Jessica seemed to blow hot and cold with her—though Riley could tell it was due to her having issues readjusting to life under the Authority.
She was quite clearly scared, but Riley couldn’t hold her hand all the way through it. Sooner or later, Jessica would’ve had to learn to take care of herself. The way Riley saw it, this was just speeding that process up a little.
“You sleep well?”
“Yeah,” Jessica nodded, not making eye contact with Riley as she replied. “Did you?”
“Yes, thanks,” Riley smiled. “Slept like a baby.”
It wasn’t true. Riley hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since she arrived in the pit, and Jessica likely already knew that. She was lying too, her crying one of the factors that kept Riley awake through the night. Gwen often cried as well, though not as regularly as Jessica did. Riley couldn’t blame either of them. There was a large part of her that wanted to break down and cry too, she just wouldn’t let herself.
“Do you know what lessons are going to be this morning?”
Jessica shook her head, looking away from Riley. Clearly, she wasn’t in the mood for conversation that morning, something Riley couldn’t complain about. Being the first one from her room to be completely ready, Riley slipped out yet again and made her way to the cafeteria to wait for breakfast. She was still early, but Imogen—the woman who ran the cafeteria—was always kind to her and allowed her to wait in there rather than being confined to her room while everyone else finished getting ready.
There was an interesting mixture of freedom and routine under the Authority’s rule. What they all did every day was very regimented: breakfast as a group, followed by lessons in the morning, lunch, and then an afternoon of random activities. They ranged every day from doing laundry—as Hazel had joked earlier—to practical skills or physical exercise. Then the girls all had showers in the evening before being confined to their rooms for the night.
Riley had yet to see anyone from outside her specific building, though she had learned from Alex and Olivia that there were different buildings housing kids of all different ages. There was one for the children under the age of nine, boys and girls below that age kept together rather than separated. Riley was in the next category up, ages nine to fifteen where boys and girls were separated though still allowed to live what Olivia had called a “normal life”—basically meaning they weren’t put into the program yet. Any older than sixteen and you were a part of it, something which Riley hadn’t been able to discover any information about, despite how many people she’d asked.
It worried Riley that Chase was old enough to be a part of it, especially after what the Authority had told her. She didn’t really understand exactly what would happen to him while in the program. She was scared for him nonetheless. Being away from Chase got harder and harder every day and Riley was beginning to waver in her escape plans. She knew there had to be a way out of the pit; the fact that she hadn’t found anything after six days was getting extremely disheartening.
“Early again, Riley?” Imogen piped up as she saw the young girl loitering by the doorway, her worrying stopping her in her tracks. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, hey,” Riley tried to wipe her expression clean as Imogen noticed her. The cook was the nicest member of the Authority that Riley had met while inside the pit, but she was still a member of the Authority. She and Chase had agreed they couldn’t trust any of them and Riley was determined to stay true to her word. “I just can’t sleep here. Can I help you set up again?”
“Sure,” Imogen smiled. “Are you having nightmares? Quite a few of the girls complain about them.”
“No,” Riley tried to steer clear of the conversation about why she was up through the night, reluctant to share any detailed information with Imogen. “Just an uncomfortable bed, I guess.”
“Well, it certainly isn’t the Ritz here,” Imogen laughed. “If it was, I’m pretty sure I’d be serving up something better than oatmeal.”
Riley pulled a face. She wasn’t even sure if they could qualify the slop that was served for breakfast as oatmeal, both the texture and flavor unlike any oatmeal she’d ever had before. She knew Imogen wasn’t responsible for the food though so she didn’t complain, knowing she had to be grateful the woman let her wait in the cafeteria rather than sending her back to her room.
“Any idea what the schedule is for today?” Riley asked hopefully, desperate for Imogen to shed some light on the day ahead. Sometimes the cook knew what was in store for the girls’ afternoon, sometimes she didn’t. For some reason, Riley always preferred to know what was coming—ever since she’d been a young child, she’d hated surprises, and surprises in the pit were never good.
“I think there’s some building work that needs doing in another one of the theaters,” Imogen replied thoughtfully, the fact the children were being kept in the theater district of the city no longer a secret from any of them. “I’m not too sure whether you’ll be called up to help, though.”
Riley instantly perked up. If there was something that needed doing in another theater, that increased her chances of finding her brother. She’d only left her building once so far and that was just to collect a food delivery from a parked van outside—Riley was desperate to see where the other children were being kept.
“I’m good with my hands,” she remarked as other girls started filing into the cafeteria and Imogen started to walk away from Riley. “I’d be good at building work.”
Imogen looked back over her shoulder and laughed. “I’m sure you would, Riley. You’ll just have to wait and see.”
With a newfound energy inside her, Riley walked over to one side of the room where the girls were lining
up to be served and joined the back of the queue. She searched for Hazel briefly but couldn’t find her friend; anxious to tell her the news she’d just learned. Finally it felt like Riley was on to something. Even if the building work didn’t take her to Chase, it would take her out of the prison she’d been living in for the past six days. That in itself was a piece of good news and Riley couldn’t wait to stretch her legs and see a bit more of where she was being kept. It even made her oatmeal taste better that morning and she wolfed it down, ready for the day ahead. If there was one thing Riley was certain about, it was that she wasn’t going to spend another six days inside the pit.
Chapter 2
Digging through the files in Professor Jacob Turner’s office—the man Mia and Jadon had discovered used to work there—the two of them uncovered more than they could’ve imagined about the fracking site. It didn’t take long for them to discover that the site had been active up until the day before Yellowstone erupted and what was more, it almost certainly caused the volcano to erupt.
Jadon had been the one to find the piece of paper; the results from the latest drill. As he had with all pages that looked interesting, he handed it over to Mia, the young man not understanding most of what was written down. It only took one quick glance from Mia for her to know it was what they had been searching for. She dropped the other papers in her hands, focusing all her attention on the one page in front of her.
“What is it?” Jadon asked, noticing the change in Mia’s disposition as she inspected the page. “What does it mean?”
“I can’t believe it,” Mia breathed, her eyes skimming over the words on the page for a second time to make sure she was certain she’d just read what she thought she had. “This is…” Mia trailed off. There weren’t any words that she could think of to do what she’d just read justice. Without a shadow of a doubt, the fracking site she stood on was responsible for the eruption. And one man—Professor Jacob Turner—could’ve warned everyone.
Escaping Darkness (Book 4): The Fallout Page 1
