Falling Darkness Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller - Books 1-3

by Kellee L. Greene

  He sat there with a silly grin on his face and his hands folded on the edge of the table in front of himself as he waited for everyone to be served. When they all had their food in front of them, he picked up his spoon.

  “Let’s eat!” Mr. Earle said, and before he’d even finished his sentence, his two sons had their heads down slurping the soup off of their spoons.

  Kate looked down into the bowl at the floating mushrooms and herbs in the broth. She lifted the spoon and noticed the large chunks of what appeared to be some kind of meat.

  “It’s canned meat!” Tricia said locking eyes with Kate. “Go on, try it.”

  Kate smiled and brought the spoon to her lips. It was salty but quite flavorful, it reminded her of Laura. Laura had created wonderful soups and stews out of nothing back at Simon’s town.

  “It’s very good,” Kate said taking another spoonful. She lifted the thick, heavy roll that had been next to her bowl. “What’s this?”

  “Bread,” David said turning to her. He stared at her as if he thought she was as dense as the roll.

  “I know it’s bread,” Kate said attempting to relax the muscles in her jaw. “But what kind of bread. Do you still have flour? It’s been harder to find things out there.”

  Tricia smiled sheepishly. “I do still have flour, but that’s made out of cornmeal. It has a slight sweetness, but it pairs perfectly with my soup.”

  Kate pulled off the corner of the bread and popped it into her mouth. As she chewed the bread, her eyes closed and she almost released a satisfied sigh.

  “It’s delicious,” Kate said licking the slight sweetness off of her lips. “I could eat a hundred of these.”

  “I could eat a hundred of anything,” Garrett said, barely raising his eyes away from his food to look at them.

  “Well, there is more where that came from. We have a small stockroom—”

  Tricia stopped talking when Mr. Earle stamped his foot down on the floor.

  Her smile faded, but she forced a near replica onto her face. “We still need to ration our food. I’m sorry, I just get so excited when I see people enjoying my cooking. It’s not quite as easy as it once was to make things tasty.”

  “You do a wonderful job,” Nikki said, her spoon clanking against the bottom of the bowl.

  “Thank you,” Tricia said bowing her head to the side.

  Scott beamed at Nikki. “My mom’s a great cook. I hope you all can enjoy more of her meals.”

  Nikki shifted in her seat but gave him an apprehensive smile. Ethan cleared his throat noticing Nikki’s nerves.

  “We won’t stay very long,” Ethan said. “Just the night then we’ll take our things and be on our way.”

  “What’s the rush?” David said leaning back in his chair. “It’s shitty out there, lovely in here.”

  Tricia clicked her tongue. “Watch your mouth at the table, David.”

  “Yes, mom,” he said rolling his eyes. After a moment David cleared his throat. “Where are you all headed anyway?”

  “Nowhere special,” Ethan responded, keeping his eyes on his food.

  “There’s nothing out there anyway,” Scott said. “We heard rumors a while ago about a sanctuary, but I’m pretty sure it was a lie.”

  David snorted. “A joke. A trick.”

  “Thanks enough boys,” Tricia said, her eyes slightly narrowed as they shifted back and forth.

  Kate studied the brothers out of the corner of her eye. They were both adults, fairly decent looking, but there was something about them that made them seem like pouty teenagers to Kate.

  “After lunch maybe you’d all like the grand tour?” Tricia said picking up Nikki’s empty bowl.

  “Um, we really just need our rest,” Ethan said.

  “Do you speak for all of them?” Tricia said with a hardness in her eyes, but a smile pasted to her face.

  Kate sensed the change in Ethan as he forced himself to behave. He covered his mouth with his hand as he cleared his throat.

  “We travel together,” Ethan said.

  “Well, then the others could decide if they’d like to see the property?” Tricia asked keeping her eyes on Ethan. She didn’t blink. Her shoulders were back as she challenged him.

  “I can’t stop them,” Ethan said with a confident shrug.

  Kate hugged herself as she pushed her chair back from the table. “Maybe another time for that tour. I’m exhausted.”

  Nikki and Jasper nodded as they muttered their apologies to Tricia. She cocked her head to the side and stared at Garrett waiting for his answer.

  “Yeah,” Garrett said standing. “I’ll take the tour.”

  Ethan turned his head ever so slightly. Kate could feel the heat emanating from his boiling blood.

  “Excellent,” Tricia said clapping her hands. “David and Scott will escort you. They really need their practice on the whole spiel.”

  Garrett’s head bobbed up and down, and his eyes were wide. There was no reason they needed to practice, after all, they probably weren’t going to get many more guests after they left.

  “Well, thanks for joining us for lunch. We have tea at mid-afternoon, and dinner before dark. I hope to see you all again soon.” Tricia folded her hands together as she strode over to the double doors. “If there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, please do not hesitate to ask.”

  “I’d feel more comfortable with my knife,” Ethan said keeping his voice low.

  Kate nodded.

  “What was that?” Mr. Earle said his jaw stiff as he glared at Ethan.

  “Delicious meal,” Ethan said in a loud voice as he turned toward the man. He was speaking as if the older man was hard of hearing. “Your wife is a wonderful chef.”

  “Mmm,” Mr. Earle said with a grunt. There was no doubt in Kate’s mind that he knew that hadn’t been what Ethan said.

  Ethan took Kate’s hand, and Jasper mimicked him, taking Nikki’s hand into his. They walked out of the dining room together offering their thanks a final time as they passed by Tricia.

  “You’re welcome. Hope to see you for tea,” she called after them as they went back up the stairs.

  Kate looked over her shoulder and spotted David, Scott, and Garrett just in the doorway. They were pointing and talking as Garrett nodded his head, but Kate couldn’t hear what they were telling him.

  “Um, go on ahead,” Kate said stopping at the last step.

  “Sorry?” Ethan said, even though she knew he’d heard her.

  Kate widened her eyes. “I need to use the bathroom.”

  “Want me to go with you?” Ethan asked.

  “No. I’ll be fine,” Kate said.

  “I really think someone should go with you,” Ethan said crossing his arms as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

  “I’ll go with you, Kate,” Nikki said, and the men exchanged a glance. It was clear neither of them wanted either of them to leave their sight.

  Ethan turned back to Kate. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” Kate said jerking her head back at Nikki. “I really don’t need a babysitter.”

  Nikki shrugged. “It’ll make them feel better.”

  “It will?” Jasper said with his nose scrunched up.

  Ethan grabbed Kate’s arm. “If you aren’t back in five minutes, I’m going to lose my shit.”

  “Five minutes? It will take that long to walk out there,” Kate said, her hands dropping heavily to her sides. “I don’t want anything to go wrong here either, how about ten minutes?”

  “Deal.”

  Ethan grabbed Kate and pulled her into his arms. He didn’t care that Jasper and Nikki were standing there staring at them. Ethan kissed Kate with a fiery passion that melted the walls.

  “What was that for?” Kate said dreamily as she pulled back.

  “Because I wanted to,” Ethan said grinning at her. He lowered his voice and leaned in close. “I’m starting the timer now.”

  Kate nod
ded and dashed down the stairs, with Nikki following at her heels. Scott, David, and Garrett were down the hall looking at something on the wall. They paid absolutely no attention to Kate and Nikki as they walked out the front door.

  Chapter 25

  After both Kate and Nikki used the restroom, they looked around the area. It was quiet, except for the occasional rustling of the leaves in the trees as a light breeze blew by.

  “Okay, we have about six minutes before Ethan comes charging out here,” Kate said with a grin.

  “What are you looking for?” Nikki said twisting her necklace between her fingers. She wasn’t nearly as curious about the farm as Kate seemed to be.

  Kate tapped her finger to her lip. “I’m not sure. Tricia mentioned something about having more food stored up.”

  “Even if she does what would you do if you found it?”

  “I’m not sure about that either,” Kate said with an exhale.

  “We should just go back inside,” Nikki said swallowing hard as she looked around. “I don’t want Jasper to worry.”

  Kate opened her mouth to respond to tell her she was right. They’d be getting their stuff back in the morning, and it wasn’t like they’d rob the family of their things. But when Kate heard the voices, she grabbed Nikki’s arm and pulled her around the corner of the house and out of sight.

  After a moment Kate realized it was David and Scott giving Garrett the tour. They were talking about when the house was built, the kind of roofing, various plants, all things related to the house. But then they stopped talking.

  Kate peeked around the corner and watched as David scratched his shaking head.

  “Hey, man, can we call this done?” David said pulling a flask out of the inside pocket of his light jacket.

  “I was enjoying it,” Garrett said politely.

  “It’s just that, nobody is coming around here anymore,” Scott said. “We love our mom, but this tour thing is just taking things too far.”

  David was nodding. “She really wanted to do this before everything happened.”

  “Okay, yeah, whatever,” Garrett said shoving a hand into his pocket.

  “Just do us a favor,” Scott said.

  “What?” Garrett asked.

  Scott scratched the back of his neck as he looked down. His eyes shifted upward, and his lips curled up at the ends.

  “Tell my mom you liked it,” Scott said.

  “Yeah, no problem.” Garrett shrugged. “I did like it. A lot of history here.”

  Scott and David exchanged a look.

  “Thanks,” David said stretching out his hand to Garrett, and the men shook.

  “I’ll catch you guys later,” Garrett said before disappearing back into the house.

  Nikki tugged at Kate’s arm, but Kate held her ground. She waved her hand and Nikki muffled her sigh.

  “Four minutes,” Kate whispered.

  “Two.” Nikki crossed her arms and grimaced.

  “Shh!”

  David and Scott started to walk away from the house toward a small shed-like building.

  “Do you think mom will be able to convince them to stay?” Scott asked.

  “Probably,” David said running his hand through his hair. “They seem like they need help, and we could use the help around here.”

  “I really like that one,” Scott said, their voices fading as they got further from the house.

  Kate tried to listen, but she couldn’t hear any more of their conversation. It was as though someone just pressed mute.

  “Let’s go,” Nikki said, digging her fingers into Kate’s forearm. “They’re worrying about us.”

  “Right. Okay,” Kate said with a single nod as they jogged back to the front door.

  As they walked back up the stairs toward their rooms, Kate couldn’t stop thinking about Scott’s words. He’d said he liked that one. She wished she knew what he meant… what he was talking about. It didn’t make sense.

  Did his words mean he didn’t like the others, only one of them? Maybe he didn’t want any of them to stay, except for the one he liked.

  If Nikki had heard him, she hadn’t asked Kate what he’d meant. In fact, she hadn’t said another word, as she walked down the hall and knocked on the door before turning the unlocked doorknob.

  Ethan opened the door just as Kate reached out for the doorknob. He blinked just as his eyes connected with hers.

  “Zero.”

  “Good, just made it then,” Kate said stepping into the room.

  “I was getting worried,” Ethan said. “No scratch that, I was worried the whole time.”

  Kate crossed her arms and started pacing the floor. “I’m sorry, but I heard something.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “Scott and David were talking, it sounds like they want us to stay so we can help out on their farm. At least that’s what I think they were saying,” Kate said.

  “And what do you think about that?” Ethan asked.

  Kate’s eyes narrowed. “Are you considering it?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. If they want us to stay, they must have enough food and water for us.”

  “But can we trust them?” Kate asked. “The one… Scott said something kind of strange.”

  Ethan cocked his head to the side. “What did he say?”

  “It sounded like he wants us to stay, he said, that he really likes that one,” Kate said.

  “That one? Which one? What does that mean?” Ethan crossed his arms, as his eyes focused in on Kate. “I don’t think I like that.”

  Kate tilted her head to the side. “You don’t think he means me, do you?”

  “I have no idea what he means.” Ethan ran his hand through his hair. “I do think it means we should leave.”

  “Now?” Kate asked.

  “Maybe.”

  The sounds of someone coming up the stairs filled the air. Ethan pressed his finger to his lips and held up his palm.

  The slow footfalls of someone coming down the hall made Kate’s skin crawl. Her eyes moved along the wall as if it were see-through and she could see the shape of whoever was on the other side.

  All the moisture left her mouth and the dryness in her throat it made it hard for her to take in a breath. Whoever was on the other side hesitated for just a moment before continuing down the hall.

  “What do you think they’re doing?” Kate asked.

  “Shh,” Ethan said even though Kate’s words had been feather soft. “No idea.”

  Kate sat down on the edge of the bed with her hands folded into her lap. The air in the room felt icy. Kate turned toward the window and noticed that the sun was no longer peeking through the cracks in the curtain.

  She couldn’t see it, but she heard the lightning smack into the ground not too far off. Seconds later, rain poured down, tapping hard against the window rapidly.

  The footsteps in the hallway quickly made their way back down. Kate listened as whoever it was moved down the stairs. The sounds disappeared into the raindrops.

  Ethan stepped over to the window and pulled open the curtains. The clouds moved across the sky angrily, and thunder shook the house around them.

  Several minutes later, someone was running up the stairs. Before Kate could turn to Ethan, there was pounding on the door.

  “We need to get downstairs!” Kate recognized the voice. It was Scott.

  Ethan opened the door, and they both looked out at a panicked Scott. “What’s going on?”

  “Twister,” he said between heavy breaths. “We have a cellar. We need to all get down there.”

  Ethan shook his head. “I was just looking out the window.”

  “It’s to the west… it’s coming this way,” Scott said stepping away from the door and moving toward Nikki and Jasper’s room. “Come with me.”

  Kate wanted to go back and look out the window to see if she could see the tornado. There was a small part of her that was worried it was some kind of trap. It was storming, but she didn’t tru
st them.

  She took a step back, but Ethan grabbed her arm. Kate looked over her shoulder just as a branch slammed into the exterior of the house and slid across the window before flying away again.

  The wind howled and blew so hard the walls creaked. There was an odd energy in the air that prickled Kate’s skin, making the hairs on her arms stand on end.

  “We need to get downstairs,” Scott shouted as he pounded on the other’s doors. Garrett, Jasper, and Nikki emerged, fear bulged their eyes. “Let’s go! Come on!”

  They followed Scott down the stairs, through the living room, the dining room and into the large kitchen. There was a door around the corner that was open, and Scott stopped in front of it.

  “Go on,” he said when Ethan hesitated. “They’re down there.”

  Ethan glanced over his shoulder at Kate, but something caught his eye behind her. Kate turned and saw the dark clouds through the window. She’d never seen clouds so dark during the daytime in all her life.

  The trees outside were still. It was like someone had just turned off the wind.

  “Holy shit,” Ethan said. “Is that a….”

  Kate blinked and saw the funnel spinning on top of the ground several miles away. It was wide, and while it was moving slowly, it appeared to be heading straight for them.

  “Enough gawking,” Scott said. “Move!”

  They moved down the stairs, each step rumbled through the air like a bass drum. At the bottom, David was pacing, looking only slightly relieved when they were all downstairs safely.

  Mr. Earle was sitting in a chair, holding his gun on his lap. The calm expression he wore seemed to only make Kate more nervous.

  “This happens a lot around these parts,” Mr. Earle said. “Lived here all my life, and the house is still standing.”

  “Way to jinx it, dad,” Scott said crossing his arms as he leaned back against the wall. His father ignored him.

  Tricia smiled as she rocked back and forth in an old squeaky rocking chair. Her fingers worked fast as she worked on a knitting project of some kind.

  “Do you knit?” Tricia asked barely looking up from her work when she noticed Kate staring at her.

  Kate shook her head. “No. My grandma did. I had lots of scarves as a child.”