by Mike Kraus
“Dad… who are all these people?”
“Some friends I made while I was getting home.”
“Friends?” Captain Recker stepped forward again. “Fans, more like it.” He looked at Dianne. “Your husband’s a hero, ma’am. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he saved the world.”
Rick shrugged and smiled. “It was a team effort.”
“How… why…” Dianne was just as confused and overwhelmed as Mark, and as she tried to wrap her head around the sudden change in scenery, she too had an obvious question. “Why are they all here? And what does he mean, you saved the world?”
Rick pulled Mark and Dianne in close, wrapping his arms around them, not wanting to ever let them out of his sight again. “That… is a very, very long story.”
Chapter 20
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Gunfire echoes down the dark street, following the footsteps of three individuals as they run without looking back. They move in erratic paths, weaving in and out between burned-out cars while trying to stay together.
“This way!” Ted hisses, trying to ensure that his voice is heard only by his two companions. He points to a sign with an arrow leading off to the right, down a wide avenue that was once filled with traffic and lit by overhead streetlights. Jackie and Commander Palmer follow, glancing at the sign as they run by.
Norfolk Visitor’s Entrance – 0.3 Miles
More gunfire cracks through the dark sky, joined by the sound of desperate voices calling out after the astronauts. “They’re heading for the base! Grab ‘em fast!”
In spite of their exhaustion, their weakened bones and the loads each is carrying on their backs, the trio does not falter in their movement. Ted leads the way as they weave down the avenue, his eyes roving between the burned vehicles on the road and the darkened windows and doorways of buildings on either side. Jackie follows him, focusing all of her attention on staying on the move and not falling too far behind. Commander Palmer, in the rear, keeps his head on a swivel as he constantly checks for signs of their pursuers.
The mention of their luck seemed to have turned the tide, as they discovered a few hours into their journey to Norfolk. The destruction of portions of the area near the beach soon waned as they headed inland, and intact homes and businesses grew more common. With this, though, came a rise in signs that there were still people living in the area, subsisting off of whatever they could scrounge or steal.
The group chasing the trio, while not nourished or in shape to the degree that the astronauts are, are nevertheless persistent. The packs on the astronaut’s backs are tantalizing promises of food and other supplies that are so desperately needed. Backed into a corner, the astronauts fought just long enough to get away—killing two attackers and wounding a third. Doing so did not stop the attackers from their pursuit. On the contrary, it only brought more down upon them.
“The gates are ahead!” Ted gasps as he calls out to the pair behind him.
“Any signs of activity?”
“I don’t… wait! They’ve got lights on in there!”
Commander Palmer pauses from his scan of the area behind and looks ahead at the entrance to Norfolk. While most of the visible portion of the base are dark, one of the buildings a short distance from the entrance is, indeed lit. The sight of artificial lighting fills all three of the astronauts with hope and energy and they increase their speed, furthering the gap between them and their pursuers.
“Halt!” The shout comes from ahead, at the entrance to the base as several individuals appear, their figures barely visible behind the bright flashlights that all click on simultaneously. While Ted and Jackie slow down, Commander Palmer charges ahead, slipping his pistol into his pocket and raising his hands.
“We need help!” Commander Palmer cries out. “We’re under attack and need refuge!”
“I said halt!” The voice bellows back. Commander Palmer motions at Ted and Jackie to follow him and he slows to a stop a few dozen feet from the entrance to the base, his arms still raised over his head. “Now turn around! This is a restricted zone!”
“We’re not civilians! I am Commander Palmer; we’re astronauts just returned from the International Space Station in an escape module yesterday. We splashed down off the coast and we’ve come here for assistance!” He knows how ludicrous the claim is even as he says it, but he hopes that the uniforms he, Ted and Jackie are wearing will help offset the apparent insanity.
“You… you’re what?” There is hesitation in the next reply, and with each passing second the trio wonders if their pursuers will finally catch up to them.
“We splashed down in an escape module just off the coast. It’s tied up on the beach a few hours back in that direction.” Commander Palmer turns and points. “We were on the space station when everything went to hell.” He takes a step forward, keeping his hands high. “Please, at least just tell us what’s going on!”
There is a long moment of silence punctuated by the faint noise of radio chatter. The voice on the other side of the gate speaks too quietly for the astronauts to hear. When he finishes, he steps forward and waves to someone closer to the gate. A motor engages and the gate begins to rise, more lights go on and several uniformed MPs on the other side of the gate emerge from the shadows. Their weapons are lowered as they approach the astronauts, and the figure that spoke to Commander Palmer speaks again.
“Base wants to have a word with you, Commander Palmer. You and your associates. Come on in before the locals decide to put a bullet through your back. Quick now.” The trio hurry through the gates, the MPs watching down the darkened road for any potential attackers.
“What on earth’s been going on here?” Commander Palmer looks around at the MPs as he, Jackie and Ted walk along.
“Armageddon, Commander Palmer.” The MP looks him up and down. “Can’t believe you actually got back in one piece. We were tracking your module on a scope yesterday when you hit the atmosphere. We figured it was another satellite, though I’m glad to see we were wrong.”
“We’re glad we made it back too, Lieutenant…?”
“Samuels.”
“Lieutenant Samuels,” Ted interjects, “what did you mean by ‘Armageddon?’”
“End of the world. Apocalypse. Call it what you will.”
“What’s causing it?”
“Caused, you mean.”
“You mean it’s over?”
“Sort of. They stopped the cause but the effects… those’ll be around for who-knows-how-long.”
“What caused it?” Jackie asks, an eyebrow raised.
“That… is a long story. The Admiral will be able to fill you in more on the details, and he’d like to get some details from you on the global outlook of things.”
“Global outlook?” Commander Palmer asks.
“We’ve got almost zero eyes anywhere in the world. Communications only started coming back up a few hours ago, but even those are rudimentary at best. Knowing what things look like across the world, even as late as a few days ago, would be exceedingly helpful strategically.”
“Of course.” Commander Palmer glances at Ted and Jackie. “Anything we can do to help.”
Lieutenant Samuels stops in front of the door to the illuminated building and motions at the astronauts. “Excellent. If you’ll step inside, the Admiral would like to speak with you.” The three move toward the door, but Lieutenant Samuels puts out his hand to shake each of theirs in turn before they can go inside. “And welcome back. All of you.”
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Two billion.
It took three years to get an accurate count of the total number of people who died across the world. By the time the exact figures were decided upon by the various countries working to find, identify and count the dead, the survivors had lost their interest in the exact number. So two billion—slightly under the actual total—was what went into the record books.
Most of the deaths in the industrialized portions of the world ca
me from lack of access to food, water and medical supplies. Loss of power killed a large swath of the sick and elderly, and transportation interruptions had a ripple effect that was felt as far out as remote villages that had only a tertiary reliance upon modern infrastructure.
Recovery was slow, and because Damocles had affected all countries to some extent, a sense of togetherness and comradery developed even between fierce rivals. Initial outrage toward the United States for developing Damocles eventually waned thanks to the fact that Damocles had merely disabled—not destroyed—many key infrastructure points across the globe. That a rogue agent was responsible for leaking Damocles to the world and causing its accidental activation added to the voices calling for reason over revenge. (A substantial amount of relief aid from the United States didn’t hurt, either.)
For the Waters, life never fully returned to how it had been before the event. Though Tina and Jason recovered from their injuries, they and Sarah elected to stay at the Waters’ homestead, converting one of the barns on the property into a home where they stayed, not feeling comfortable with being very far from Dianne and the kids.
Oles and Dr. Evans were whisked away as soon as the federal government got back on its feet, and while Rick still heard from them in occasional letters and emails, their work on helping to create a defense against another such disaster in the future was clouded in secrecy. Though Rick was never able to find Jane’s family, a letter from Dr. Evans some six months later included a photograph of a small gravestone that had been placed on the grounds of the old naval observatory, marking where Jane had been laid to rest.
Over the months following the event, Dianne saw the effects of it on her children. Night terrors were frequent for Jacob and Josie and it took years for them to be able to sleep through the night without waking up screaming or drenched in sweat. Mark’s resilience throughout the ordeal continued to shine, and his parents leaned on him constantly as they worked to pick up the pieces of their lives after the event and continue soldiering on.
The small farm on the Waters’ property was quickly expanded once a portion of the woods around their home was cleared, and though they had to stay vigilant against people seeking to steal from them, they were able to continue to provide food for themselves quite handily. As Blacksburg, like the rest of the world, began to rebuild, Rick eventually took a part-time job serving as a consultant to the state government. He was called upon multiple times by the federal government both to help assist Dr. Evans and Oles and to receive a number of awards, but he always declined, saying that he was never again going to travel more than a few hours walking distance from his family.
Each night, as the sun set and the light shone between the trees off to the side of the property, Rick would sit out on the back porch and watch the orange glow turn to black. His thoughts always came back to those he had met—and lost—along his journey, and how unbelievably blessed he had been to make it through alive when so many others did not. After the sun went down, Dianne would join him on the porch and they would sit together in silence, holding hands as they watched the stars come out against the rich inky blackness, each of them grateful that they still had their family and each other.
Author’s Notes
August 7, 2018
And there we have it; the end of Surviving the Fall.
Writing the last chapter took a long time, both because of the number of projects I’m working on and because I wanted to make sure it was done right. There were a lot of loose ends to tie up, but if the reaction from the Beta Readers is any indication, I think I got most all of them tied up decently enough.
The whole goal with Surviving the Fall – and with any story I write – is to tell a fun, engaging story. Part of that was ensuring that the ending was appropriate both for your expectations and to the world as told in the book. In a “SHTF” scenario, people are going to die left and right. Loved ones will be killed and there won’t be anything a lot of people will be able to do about it.
But writing just about the bad stuff doesn’t tell the whole picture. It doesn’t look at the tenacity and ferocity that some will have to cling to life and family and do everything they possibly can to survive. Rick and Dianne went to hell and back more than once all for the love of their family. That fictional example is a representation of what I’d try my hardest – and I’m sure you would, too – if something bad were to happen, and while there were bitter moments along the way, writing the reunion of Rick and Dianne was tear-inducing and I’m really glad it ended that way.
This has been, all around, an absolutely amazing story to write. One of my favorite parts has been getting to hear what readers like yourself have said about each book and the characters within throughout the last year. Thank you so much for reading along, and I hope you’ll keep reading – there are lots more stories to come. :)
If you enjoyed this episode of Surviving the Fall or if you didn’t like something—I’d love to hear about it. You can drop me an email or send me a message or leave a comment on Facebook. You can also sign up for my newsletter where I announce new book releases and other cool stuff a few times a month.
Answering emails and messages from my readers is the highlight of my day and every single time I get an email from someone saying how much they enjoyed reading a story it makes that day so much brighter and better.
Thank you so very much for reading my books. Seriously, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I put an enormous amount of effort into the writing and all of the related processes and there’s nothing better than knowing that so many people are enjoying my stories.
All the best,
Mike
Other Post-Apocalyptic Books from Mike Kraus
Final Dawn: The Complete Original Series Box Set
Clocking in at nearly 300,000 words with over 250,000 copies sold, this is the complete collection of the original bestselling post-apocalyptic Final Dawn series. If you enjoy gripping, thrilling post-apocalyptic action with compelling and well-written characters you’ll love Final Dawn.
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.
Other Fantasy Books from Mike Kraus
The Makeshift Wizard: Death Magic
The Makeshift Wizard series is a new action-packed urban fantasy series from bestselling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus writing as MJ Kraus.
My job was supposed to be easy. Investigate a bleed farm, find the a-hole vam
ps who've been kidnapping Normals and bring down some street justice. Now I've got a relic in my hands that was created with the blood and death magic of an elder Vampire and a whole lot more questions than answers.
A NEW
DAWN
Surviving the Fall Series
Book 12
By
Mike Kraus
© 2018 Mike Kraus
www.MikeKrausBooks.com
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/MikeKrausBooks
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, without the permission in writing from the author.
