Fighting Chance - A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Thriller (Lights Out in Vegas Book 3)

by Sean Patten

  “You’re wrong about that,” I said. “It’s the worst possible time.”

  She looked simultaneously hurt and confused.

  “What…what do you mean, Justin?”

  “Do you have any idea what’s going on out there?” I asked, gesturing vaguely towards the front door. “Do you have any idea how close we are to a total collapse?”

  Kelly’s shoulders slumped, as if she’d known in the back of her mind that this is what I was going to say.

  “Between war and the climate and everything else, we’re in the worst possible position to be bringing someone else into the world. It wouldn’t be fair. It’d be worse than that, actually. It’d be selfish.”

  She shook her head.

  “No kids,” she said. “No family, no future, no nothing. All because, what, you think the world’s going to end any day?”

  “Wouldn’t take the world ending,” I said. “All it’d take is something to upset everything, to tip everything over. And then you’d see how fast society would collapse.”

  Kelly let out a sigh of disbelief.

  “I thought you’d moved past this,” she said. “I really did.”

  “Moved past what?” I asked.

  “Hawaii,” she said.

  “What on earth does me wanting to be prepared for the future have to do with Hawaii?”

  “Come on,” she said. “When…what happened, happened, you…didn’t react how you wanted. And I get it—I didn’t either. Everyone always has these big ideas about being a hero in those kinds of situations, but when the moment comes…”

  She shook her head.

  “But I get it,” she went on. “I really do. And I even appreciate it a little, that you want to look out for us. But it’s getting to the point where I think you’re starting to get disconnected from things. From reality.”

  “If you can turn on the damn news and not realize that we’re on the edge of something major, then you’re one who’s disconnected from reality.”

  I downed another sip of my beer.

  “Bringing a kid into this world would be selfish. No, more than that. It’d be downright evil.”

  Kelly sat back, totally thunderstruck by what I’d just said.

  “Evil, huh?” she asked. “Being a mom, starting a family. It’d be evil to you.”

  “Subjecting a child to what’s ahead,” I said. “I can’t think of another word for it.”

  “Then…that’s it,” she said.

  I glanced up to see a tear streaming down her face.

  “You’re stuck, Justin. Hawaii happened, and that’s who you are now—a man who’s forever locked in that moment, trying to fix what’s already been broken.”

  “It’s not like that,” I said.

  “And you think it’s something else, that it’s not connected. And that just makes me feel…even worse for you.”

  She took her napkin off her lap and balled it up before tossing it onto her plate.

  “And now you’re calling me evil just for wanting what any normal woman would expect by this point in a marriage. I’ve tried, baby, I really have. But maybe it’s time for me to do some accepting. Maybe it’s time I get it through my head this is over.”

  I stared at her for a long moment, not sure what to make of what she’d just said. Finally, she stood up and took her plate.

  “Then plan for the future,” she said. “I won’t stop you. But if only you knew that the future you were planning for was all about you living in the past.”

  She left.

  I sat at the table for a long while, trying to process it all.

  Then I grabbed the half-empty beer and got up. Moments later I was back in front of my computer, the lights off, the monitor glowing, and my eyes tracking over the words in front of me.

  “NEVER be caught unprepared again!! Survive ANYTHING!!!!”

  I got up, shut the door to the office and sat back down, the mouse moving over the words before I gave the button a quick click.

  Chapter 20

  The sounds of our shoes in the water at the bottom of the pipe stopped, the two of us standing still.

  “That was the night you left,” I said.

  Through the darkness I could see her nod.

  “I had to,” she said. “It was the night that I knew there wasn’t any future between us. What was the point of me staying if that was the case?”

  There was nothing I could say in response. She had me dead to rights.

  Kelly sniffled. Then, to my surprise, a soft chuckle sounded.

  “Something funny?” I asked.

  “No,” she said. “Well, maybe. In a morbid kind of way.”

  “You know I’m always down for morbidity.”

  “Just think about how I gave you so much shit for spending all your time thinking about the end of days or whatever. And then look what happens—society turns off in the blink of an eye.”

  I let out a snort of a laugh.

  “I guess this is a bad time to say ‘I told you so,’ huh?”

  Kelly laughed again, this time giving me a playful punch on the shoulder.

  “I tell you what,” she said. “We make it through the next few days and you can give me all the shit you want for it.”

  “Deal,” I said. “But you want to hear some more shit?”

  “I’d love to,” she said.

  “I ended up finally getting that bunker finished,” I said. “Concrete, EMP-shielded, packed full of all the food and guns you’d ever need. Generator and solar power and enough fuel to last years. Hell, I even had terabytes of books and movies and music to help pass the time if I ever had to live through a nuclear winter.”

  She nodded in the darkness, getting right away what I was saying.

  “And then when the apocalypse finally happens, you’re stuck here in the middle of Vegas.”

  “Yep,” I said.

  “Gotta love the sense of humor the universe has,” she said.

  Silence fell around us. I knew there was something that needed to be said, so I decided to go ahead and say it.

  “Listen, Kelly,” I said. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. When Hawaii happened I…didn’t react very well. I didn’t know how to process any of it.”

  A few moments passed, Kelly regarding me with a skeptical expression. Part of me worried that she’d tell me to fuck off right then and there, that my apology meant nothing to her. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, a drip-drip-drip sounding in the distance.

  “I get it,” she said. “No one would know how to deal with something like that. No one should be expected to have to go through what we did. One minute you’re having a lunch on the beach, the next…”

  She shook her head, as if wanting to stop herself thinking of it as quickly as possible.

  “It was bad, the worst thing I’ve ever been through in my life, by far. But we both got through it, you know? Sure, something like that leaves a mark on you, but that’s to be expected.”

  “It wasn’t just the trauma,” I said. “It was the way I acted during it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I knew what I was about to say would be hard as hell to get out, but it had to be said.

  “When…they had you,” I said. “When one of those fuckers had you, had that gun to your head…the feeling going through me was indescribable. I felt enraged and helpless and scared all at once. It’s a man’s job to be there for his wife, to protect her. And I failed. I froze. I did nothing but sit there and wait for whatever was going to happen to happen.”

  Kelly said nothing at first, appearing to try to process what I’d just said.

  “Justin,” she said. “What do you wish you would’ve done? Karate-chopped the guy and taken out the rest with his own gun?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But I needed to have done something.”

  “You did the smart thing,” she said. “Playing the hero…I don’t think it works out as well as it does in the books.”

 
“Maybe you’re right,” I said. “But I knew there wasn’t a chance I was going to let it happen again. That’s why I needed to be prepared.”

  Kelly said nothing, more beats of silence passing.

  “It’s ironic,” I said. “You know?”

  “How’s that?” she asked.

  “I did what I did, got obsessed with being prepared and all that, so I’d be able to keep us safe—together. But it ended up being the thing that drove us apart.”

  She smiled in the dim light of the flashlight.

  “I guess you’re right about that,” she said. “But think about it this way. You’re here, I’m here, and Steve’s here somewhere. And if we can all find each other and get out of this damn city and to that bunker of yours, then maybe all that preparing will have worked out for the best.”

  What she said made a certain kind of sense. I’d gone a little overboard making sure I had the place prepped, and there were more than enough supplies and space for the three of us. Hell, maybe even four if Hopkins wanted to tag along.

  Maybe it all wouldn’t go to waste.

  “You might be onto something,” I said. “But for now let’s focus on getting finding Steve and getting out of here. Getting back to New Mexico with no car or anything else is going to be a hell of a thing.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “We’ve all gotten so used to being able to fly or drive anywhere we want that it’s easy to forget that a trip like going from Vegas to anywhere else involves trekking through the freaking desert.”

  I saw a worried expression flash on her face for a moment.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Just thinking…,” she said. “What if we’re not able to get out of Vegas?”

  “God, I don’t even want to think about that,” I said.

  “We might need to.”

  She was right. No cars, desert all around us—being stuck here seemed like a real possibility.

  “Things would get tough,” I said. “Luckily the Colorado River’s a good source of fresh water. And Hoover Dam’s solid concrete—might even be fixable. But once people start chewing through the last of the food shipments the competition for natural resources like fresh water and food…it’ll be bad. Really bad.”

  Kelly said nothing, and I could tell that my analytical take wasn’t sitting well with her. She was a tough girl, but I got the sense that in that moment, she wanted to be comforted. So, I placed my free hand on her shoulder.

  “But we’ll be fine,” I said. “Me and you and Steve, we’ll be able to get through this. Not a doubt in my mind.”

  Kelly nodded, reaching up and taking my hand and giving it a soft squeeze.

  “I’m…glad we talked about all this,” she said.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Our eyes met, and without thinking I pulled her close into a tight hug. And as I held her there I could feel something, something deep within. What Kelly and I had before was long gone, but there’d always be love between us, something deep and unbreakable.

  When we finally released one another, Kelly wiped a tear from her eye before turning her attention forward.

  “Okay!” she said. “Enough mushy crap. Unless you want to have another heart-to-heart standing in the middle of a sewer.”

  I laughed.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Let’s keep going. Steve has to be here somewhere.”

  “Right,” she said. “Let’s do it.”

  With that, I turned the flashlight forward and the two of us kept on.

  After a time, the large pipe gave way to what appeared to be a service room. Metal pathways lined the walls, and a ladder led up to the surface. There were two paths out of the room, one to the left, and one to the right.

  “Which one?” asked Kelly.

  “Good question.”

  I swiped the flashlight beam through the air, hoping to find something that might help signal the way.

  In the path to the left I caught sight of something—many somethings.

  “Look at that,” I said.

  “Are those…bottles?” asked Kelly.

  “Yeah,” I said, stepping over the path and taking a closer look.

  Sure enough, a small collection of booze bottles was accumulated near and down the path.

  “Bottles means people,” I said. “Hopkins said that there are hundreds of people living down here.”

  “That’s good,” said Kelly. “I think. What if they’re not happy to see people break into their home?”

  “It’s a risk we’re going to have to take.”

  “Got it.”

  The two of us continued on, and the further we moved down the path the more signs of life I spotted. There were more bottles along with food wrappers and old blankets and worn-out articles of clothing. Up ahead the hall led to what looked to be another open junction area.

  “Come on,” I said, picking up my pace, eager to see what was ahead.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming,” she said.

  Before too long we reached the end of the hall. As I stepped over the threshold I stopped, looking around the round space. The area struck me as like Hopkins’ small home, but with more exits, as well as fewer signs of life.

  But that quickly changed.

  Off down one of the connecting paths to the room, an echoing clatter sounded, followed by the shuffling of feet. I flicked the flashlight in the direction of the noise just in time to catch a glimpse of someone, or something, disappear down the path.

  Panic gripped me, but I did my best to stay calm.

  “Justin,” said Kelly quietly. “What was that?”

  I held up my hand, signaling for her to not make any more noise.

  The beam of my flashlight moved from entrance to entrance.

  “Who’s there?” I asked. “Come out and show yourself!”

  I held the beam steadily on one of the entrances.

  Finally, out of the darkness, a voice spoke.

  “You’ve got some kind of nerve to come into someone else’s home and make demands, normie.”

  “Yeah,” spoke another voice from a different side of the room. “Hell of a lot of nerve.”

  “Bad manners, if you ask me,” spoke a third voice.

  Shit. Whoever was there, it was a whole group.

  Slowly, they shuffled out from the shadows. I moved my body in front of Kelly as I whipped the beam from here to there.

  The men were all hobos, dressed in threadbare clothing, their hair dirty, their skin covered in dirt and grime.

  “A man might get to thinking you oughta get taught a lesson for this,” said one of them.

  I stood fast, ready for whatever was next.

  Chapter 21

  “Stay back,” I said, one arm in front of Kelly, the other pointing the flashlight ahead. “I’m warning you.”

  “Warning us about what?” asked one of the men. “Looks like we’ve got you outnumbered.”

  A sweep of the flashlight revealed there to be a half dozen men, all of their eyes locked onto me and Kelly. Other than the flashlight, I had nothing with which to defend us. If they attacked Kelly and I would have no option other to run as fast as we could in the opposite direction, hopefully able to get back to the entrance before they caught up with us.

  “Listen,” I said. “I’m not here to do anyone any harm.”

  “You say that,” said one of the men. “But we know about what’s going on up topside. Shit’s gone to hell in a handbasket.”

  “No kidding,” said another. “Figured it was only a matter of time before you city folk figured out that down here might be a little safer than up there.”

  “Yep,” said another. “And it got us thinking about what to do when that happened.”

  “Not enough room down here for everyone in Vegas,” said another of the men. “And it’d only take a few to ruin the peace and quiet.”

  “Got a very particular ambiance down here,” said another, the flashlight beam revealing a wry grin through a thick beard. “Don’t need yo
u pricks ruining it.”

  “Please,” I said.

  “Now,” said the first of the men. “Like I said, we got to talking.”

  “Yeah,” said another. “Had a little community meeting about it.”

  “Some of us figured that beating the hell out of anyone who was stupid enough to come down here would be enough. Whip ’em badly enough that they’d spread the word it wouldn’t be smart to wander into the sewers.”

  “Maybe take a finger or two,” said another. “Then they’d know we really meant business.”

  “But others thought we’d need to go even further than that,” said another. “Didn’t think beatings would send the right message. After all, if we just kicked their asses that might give them a taste for revenge. Can’t have that.”

  Kelly gripped me tightly, and I held fast.

  “So,” said the first man. “Some of us thought we should dispatch with the screwing around and just get right to the killing.”

  “Mhmm,” said another. “What better way to say ‘stay out’ than a couple of heads on sticks in front of the sewers.”

  “I thought it was pretty morbid, myself,” said the first man. “But damned if it wouldn’t do the job. Send a nice, clear message for you types.”

  As they spoke, the men moved closer and closer. Behind them I spotted a few more people, women and men both, back further down the halls, all watching to see what would unfold.

  “Stay back,” I said.

  “Or else what?” asked one of the men. “What would you do if we all decided to take care of this problem, right here and now?”

  “I’m…I’m here to see Hopkins!”

  The name blurted out of my mouth.

  And it did the job.

  The men froze in place as soon as I spoke it, the aggressive expressions on their faces giving way to looks of utter confusion.

  Silence hung in the air.

  “You…you know Hopkins?” asked one of the men.

  “Yes,” I said. “I saved his life. Then he saved mine.”

  More silence.

  “Shit,” said one of the men. “If this guy’s a friend of Hopkins then…I don’t know.”