Level Sands: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (Crimson Rage Series Book 2)
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Jane was grateful for the lack of animosity on Donna’s part. But despite her newfound contriteness, she wondered whether she would be able to walk away from her questionable duties altogether.
Jane worried for Donna. She had seen first-hand how the woman was beginning to develop a taste for danger, throwing herself into life-or-death situations. It made Jane wonder what would happen if neither she nor Eric were around to keep an eye on Donna.
The only one who didn’t seem weighed down by the recent events was Eric, who was walking alongside the man, keeping his camera directed at his face, taking advantage of the fact that he couldn’t swat it away with his shackled hands.
“So, how did you manage to accumulate the materials you used for the sand-weapons?” Eric chided himself for choosing such a cheesy name, deciding that he would change it during post-production.
“Are they employing you as some kind of torturer?” Gideon asked dryly.
“Come now,” said Eric, annoyed. “You might as well take advantage of the fact that your genius is being appreciated. Most geniuses have to wait until they’re dead to get any acknowledgement.”
“Carry on pestering me and I might get that cop cow back there to put me out of my misery.”
Before Eric could respond, a wall of sand exploded in front of them. The group hoped that a new storm wasn’t upon them. But slowly, the sand faded away, and within a short distance, Eric could make out three figures. They were standing so still that Eric briefly wondered if they were a mirage but as they started to move closer Eric knew mirages would have been preferable.
Three figures were draped in crimson cloaks and hoods that looked like pieces of cloth stitched and stapled together by shoddy craftsmanship.
As they moved, Eric could see they were all armed with machetes.
They stopped just in front of the group. The figure in the middle spoke. Jane noticed his machete was caked in blood.
“What’s your business going through here?” he demanded, his voice muffled by the cloth covering his face.
“What’s it to you?” Eric was trying to buy into the idea that these men could be bought with bravado.
“You’re trespassing on hallowed ground,” the middle figure spoke with an air of authority. “This city and everything in it now belong to the Desert Rats.”
“Who the fuck are the Desert Rats?’” Jane stepped forward to reinforce her role as the leader. “I think some of that sand has gotten into your brains, guys.”
“The sand has elevated us,” the middle figure stated. “Most perished in the storms because they were not strong enough. They did not possess the will of God which would have shielded them. They have been ferried into the next life.”
“And you have faith?” Jane asked, skeptically.
“We carry God in our hearts. She will lead us in taking back this land as our own.”
“She?” Jane wasn’t sure what to make of it. “And what about those of us who don’t buy into this quasi-religious bullshit?”
The middle figure’s eyes narrowed behind the slits in his hood. “You will be given the briefest of opportunities for Conversion. After that, it is up to the will of God as to whether you will continue to walk over her new Eden… or whether you shall move onto the next life.”
“You know what? Screw this.” Jane drew her weapon and pointed it at the middle figure, who didn’t flinch. “How much do you want to bet ‘God’s will’ will protect you from a lump of lead?”
One of the men stepped in front of the middle figure and spoke with a voice that sounded simultaneously aged and youthful. “We are the legion. You strike one down, many more will take our place.”
He pointed behind Jane, who turned around to see a group of seven more cloaked figures approaching, all of them armed with machetes.
Eric’s attention was not focused on them. He was looking at the one who had just spoken. The one whose voice sounded familiar.
Eric moved towards the figure, raising a tentative hand towards the facial covering. He didn’t want to believe it. He wanted it to be somebody else. But he’d recognize that voice anywhere.
“Leo?”
Leo stared back at him; eyes unblinking. If he recognized Eric, nothing in his body, language or demeanor showed it. “We don’t answer to our slave names.”
“Leo, it’s me, Eric!” He desperately shook Leo by the shoulders. “Goddamn it, man. We’re best friends.”
The middle figure moved forward and struck Eric in the face, knocking him to the ground. “You have no business laying hands on an anointed one.”
The approaching group was now surrounding them.
Jane was at a crossroads. She could probably take out one or two, maybe even three. But there was no way she could get through this without risking the others in her group.
Reluctantly, she raised her hands in surrender, silently gesturing for Donna and Eric to do the same. “So, what happens now?”
“Now?” The middle figure leaned forward, and Jane could see his eyes were sparkling.
“Now, we’re going to meet God.”
CHAPTER 12 – SARAH LEE
The four were brought to an abandoned zoo and locked in a cage containing the rotting carcass of a lion. All the way there, Eric had pleaded with Leo to acknowledge him and say something. But Leo hadn’t responded. It was as though the two were complete strangers.
They waited for nearly an hour, wondering if the ‘Desert Rats’ were going to wait for the next storm to finish them off. The group had taken their weapons and protective suits.
Jane had half expected Donna to go into a hyperventilating panic. Instead, she had retreated into herself. Gideon hadn’t said much of anything since their capture, as though the whole episode was a small inconvenience.
Finally, they met ‘God’.
“Y’all getting comfy in there?” came a voice dripping with a thick Southern accent. The owner of the voice stepped forward, flanked on either side by four guards.
She was in her late thirties, only a few years older than Jane. She wore a cowboy hat that had seen some wear and tear, and a sleeveless vest of faded white. The lack of sleeves revealed her arms had been stained unnatural red. Her auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail and she wore thick sunglasses. Heavy boots lent her approach some gravitas as they crunched against the sandy floor. For a woman living in the apocalypse, she seemed remarkably well-groomed. In a holster on her belt was a large machete just like the guards.
“Pleasure to make your acquaintances,” she said, the voice of a Southern Belle contrasting with her tough appearance. “I’m Sarah Lee. And y’all were unlucky enough to happen upon my disciples. Now, in most circumstances, they would have cut you down without thinking twice. But it’s the will of God to be merciful, and it’s the role of the Desert Rats to carry out said role. So, here we are.” She waved her arms flamboyantly. “Sorry we can’t lay out the red carpet,” she added with an inappropriately cheeky smile.
“So, we gonna swap names?” She looked expectantly at the group, waiting to see who would speak – and break - first. When nobody answered, Sarah Lee’s smile flickered a little. “Little shy, I see. Don’t worry, we can work with that.
“You see, my dears, this city – and everything and anyone in it – is my property. And I can choose to do with it whatever I desire. So, you’ve got a choice. You’re either with me, reaping the rewards... or you’re under my boot making up the unholy ground.”
“Now, I like to think of myself as a fair leader. Hell, I must have done something right to get these boys on side.” She gestured to the guards. “Now, I know you’re probably thinking, ‘Why should I listen to this woman? What has she got to offer me?’ The answer to both of those questions is ‘everything or nothing’. The entire world out there is ours for the taking. We’re no longer following the laws. We’re making the laws.”
Jane tried very hard to choke down her anger.
“And no, it’s not perfect. What in life is? But g
ive or take a small adjustment period and we’ll get the world up and running just the way we need it to. America was always said to be the land of opportunity. No reason why it still can’t be.”
Sarah Lee paused, clearly relishing the sound of her own voice, and having an audience for her speech. Given how well-rehearsed it sounded, Jane imagined Sarah Lee had come across quite a few audiences in her time. She shuddered at the implications.
“I’ve been talking a fair bit now and I’m hoping to get a bit of feedback at this point. Hoping to take some of you off of the fence.
She rubbed her lips and Jane could see what looked like lip gloss coming off on her fingers.
“Of course, no one’s saying you have to follow my will. We had our fair share of non-believers back in the old days; atheists who didn’t think they needed God in their life to survive. You’ve seen the sandy results of how well they did out of that.” Her face hardened. “That’s a tradition I plan on keeping. Non-believers drag the whole world down, making it difficult for the rest of us to prosper.”
She pulled her machete out of its holster and held it to the air for all to see the gleaming, glistening silver.
“Now, I could get you all to kiss God’s Silver along with your blessing, that would be the advice I would pass on to each and every one of you. If you’re smart, you’ll take that advice.
“But if you’re still not convinced that my way is the right way…” Sarah Lee’s face turned into a painful grimace. “…then it becomes a much simpler matter. Many a non-believer have fallen prey to God’s Silver. You wouldn’t be the first.” She chortled, as though it was some inside joke that only she understood.
“But I’ve found that all the heavy lifting can’t be left to little old me. Why should I have all the fun?” She clicked her fingers and four guards moved forward, each one clasping a machete. Eric could see that Leo was one of them.
“Leo don’t do this,” he pleaded.
Sarah Lee’s eyes lit up with surprise. “Oh, so you two know each other?” She beamed. “Well, let’s make this a bit more interesting.”
She took Leo by the shoulders and pushed him over to Eric so that Leo was now standing over his former friend.
“Leaving the old world behind means being able to leave behind all the ties that would have dragged us down,” preached Sarah Lee. “I’ve also found it’s great character-building. Gives the disciples a way to take control of their lives.”
“This is bullshit,” exclaimed Gideon, finally deciding to speak up.
Sarah Lee crossed over to him, eyes narrowing. “Begging your pardon, sir?”
“I’m not playing your game, you Kentucky-fried bitch.”
The group could see Sarah Lee making a physical effort to twist her grimace into a smile. Then she looked closer at Gideon, squinting. “You look familiar, dear. Where have I seen you before?”
It was only a few seconds before her eyes widened and her beaming smile returned, as though Christmas had come early. “Oh, yes. I’ve definitely seen you before. Not face-to-face, of course, I’ve never had the…” She cleared her throat. “…pleasure. But I’ve definitely seen you before and I think we can certainly make this a lot more interesting.” She turned to the guards. “Wait here.” She disappeared into the distance, leaving the four sitting in the cage, terrified what would happen upon her return.
When Sarah Lee reappeared minutes later, she was escorting a young man. He seemed barely out of his teens with an innocence in his face showing that life hadn’t quite succeeded in roughing him up yet, despite Sarah Lee’s head start. They stopped in front of the cage, she unlocked the door and ushered the boy inside. The lad’s face was expressionless.
“This should make for a nice little reunion. Five minutes. If you haven’t decided to come with me by that time, my boys are going to step in there and chop you all into dog food. So? What’s it going to be? Tick tock…”
Gideon took one look at the wide-eyed young man and his world crumbled all over again.
“Milo?”
END OF BOOK 2
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Other books by Sam Fires
MAYHEM & MADNESS
Bad Boys Make Broken Men (The Prequel) - free story
Book 1 Burning Rains
Book 2 Holy Hell
Book 3 Girl in the Sewer
Book 4 We, The President
SCAVENGERS
Book 1 Dog Meat
Book 2 Shark Tactics
Book 3 Sharks’ Fury
About the author
Sam Fires is a poet, writer and best-selling author of his debut novel ‘Dog Meat’, the first gripping book in the trilogy series ‘Scavengers’. He has since published his second series in the world of post-apocalyptic fiction ‘Madness & Mayhem’ and is currently publishing his third ‘Crimson Rage’.
When he isn’t exercising his imagination for ingenious ideas for his next book, Sam can usually be found in his local coffee shop, sipping his oat milk cortado and voraciously reading books, usually in the post-apocalyptic/dystopian genre but also psychological thrillers.
Being a published author was always Sam’s dream, and finally with his three-part series ‘Scavengers’, this has become a reality.
When he doesn’t have his head buried in a book, Sam loves cooking Indian food and enjoys driving his beautiful, bashed-up classic Citroen and of course spending too much time on his computer.
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