by L. L. Akers
Grayson stood up to his full height, letting go of the fence. Puck and Graysie stood on the other side, shivering in fear. “Stop it, Jake. Get your ass through this fence right now…” he said, taking long strides toward his brother-in-law.
Jake put up his hand. “I mean it, Grayson. I’m not going without them. Leave us.”
Grayson kicked the ground, sending up a splash of mud and water. “Holy fucking shit balls son of a pecker-headed bastard!!” he cursed.
He grabbed Jake in a bear hug, squeezed him tight, and then let him go. He turned, with a tear in his eye and scurried through the fence without another glance behind him.
41
Camp
Grayson listened with relief to the truck rumble off, carrying the women and Puck safely home, and then turned and ran like his ass was on fire, with the guys of the mag group right behind him, back toward the fence.
He breathed heavily as he struggled through his fatigue to put one foot in front of the other. That was their only ride, and now it was gone. The MAG group had chosen to leave their own truck at the farm to save fuel. It was only a ten-mile hike home though…and he hoped to be able to find the strength to make it there by nightfall. But his choice was made.
Family first.
He admired the mag group, who’d made a promise to Gabby long before the grid went down to always have her back—or her family’s. It helped that these men seemed to enjoy this sort of thing, too, and refused to leave Jake behind as well.
Grayson tucked his face down and watched the ground to protect him from the needle-like assault of rain pelting against his flesh, and a misstep that might leave him stranded out here with a broken ankle and no ride home.
He turned the corner and slid to a stop in the wet dirt. The guys slid in beside him.
Tied to the fence was a wet, dirty and scruffy donkey. The ass’ legs were caked in thick mud all the way up to her stomach.
Jenny snorted a happy hello and stepped out as far as the rope she was tied to allowed, her hooves making a sucking sound as she pulled them out of the mud one at a time.
Behind her, Smalls carried Jake over his shoulder, just reaching the fence before he was discovered by Grayson, and the guys.
Grayson raised his M4 in unison with John, Pete, Chuck and Ralph’s guns. “Put him down, Smalls,” he ordered.
“I intend to. He’s heavy as shit,” Smalls loudly answered.
The mammoth of a man laid Jake in front of the hole as though he were nothing but a rag doll, and then leaned into the fence, pushing the gap open, and tried to feed Jake through it to Grayson… and failing at moving the limp man. “Help me,” he grunted.
While the guys kept their guns on Smalls, Grayson dropped his own, and bent over at the fence, reaching through and grabbing Jake under the shoulders. He pulled with all his might.
Jake’s pant leg was caught on the jagged wire, but his body remained lifeless.
“Like trying to shove a wet noodle up a wildcat’s ass,” Grayson mumbled.
“Pull,” Smalls said, as he pushed.
Grayson gave a big tug and Jake’s pants ripped, setting him free, but leaving a bloody gash on his shin. They flew backward, Jake landing on his lap, he on his back. He quickly pushed him off and sat up, reaching for his gun.
The men of the mag group stepped forward in warning.
Smalls shook his head. “No need for that. I knocked him out just to bring him here. Figured he’d come to his senses when he woke up, and go on home. It’s the best I could do. Tucker isn’t leaving. He told Jake as much. His boys are outside the camp right now and he won’t go without them. I’ll watch over him and his family—and the rest of your friends.”
“Why are you doing this for us?”
Smalls dropped his head for a moment, and then looked up.
“I talked Cutter outta putting a bullet in that boy’s brain, and connived him into the lake deal with a half-assed plan to jump in and open one of those cages. Ended up fighting that fat ass there.” He pointed at a forgiving Jenny who finally brayed her thanks to him. “But I did it for Edith. Tell Elmer I’m truly sorry I couldn’t stop what happened. I tried. I would’ve taken that bullet for that old lady. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.” He swallowed hard.
He nodded toward Jake. “And I owed him one. He set me loose, back at your farm.”
Grayson’s fingers found his rifle, and he gripped the gun, his brother-in-law still out cold. He narrowed his eyes at Smalls. “Now what?”
Smalls stood up from his crouch, the fence between them.
“Now you haul ass home—and fast.”
“The rest of them coming after us?” Grayson questioned, looking beyond Smalls out into the camp for the militia.
“No, but something else is. You need to find cover quick. I’m not sure you’ll make it all the way back to your farm, unless you got a ride out there? This grid going down was just the first phase of a coordinated attack. I’ve got good intelligence that says nuclear blackmail is next. There’s a bomb coming, with threats to set off more unless demands were met.”
He paused.
“And demands haven’t been met.”
Grayson swallowed hard. “When is this supposed to happen?”
Smalls looked up into the stormy sky. “Half past now. Y’all better run like the wind.”
The End
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Want a Short Shot?
SHTF Short Shots
A post-apocalyptic serial that tells the side-story of the little sister, Emma. It begins when Emma’s path diverges from Elmer (end of SHTF2: Shoot Like a Girl) to find her husband and her son, whom are trapped on Bald Head Island, North Carolina when the grid went down.
Members of the DD12 Facebook Group will be particularly interested in this episodic serial—not series—of short books to whet your appetite between full novels in The SHTF Series. Check out L.L. Akers’ Author page at your favorite book-seller to download.
Sauteed Dandelion Greens Recipe
1 lb clean dandelion greens, torn into 4-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Soak dandelion greens in a large bowl of cold water with 1 teaspoon salt for 10 minutes. Drain.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook greens until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until chilled.
Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and red pepper flakes until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds more. Increase heat to medium-high and add dandelion greens. Continue to cook and stir until liquid is evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
Sprinkle greens with Parmesan cheese and serve warm or hot
Books by L.L. Akers
The SHTF Series
Book 1: Fight Like a Man
Book 2: Shoot Like a Girl
Book 3: Run Like the Wind
Book 4: Hide Like a Child
The SHTF Short Shots Serial
Episode 1
Episode 2
Other Books:
Archie’s Heart, a co-written post-apoc novel
The Let Me Go Series, written as Lisa Akers,
The origin stories of the SHTF Characters:
The Girl in the Box – The Let Me Go Series, Book 1
&n
bsp; The Girl on the Swing – The Let Me Go Series, Book 2
The Girl in the Sea – The Let Me Go Series, Book 3
The Girl in Red – The Let Me Go Series, Book 4
About the Author
L.L. Akers is a prepper, located in the Carolinas, who enjoys marksmanship shooting, canning fruits and veggies, riding ATV’s and studying potential survival situations with eyes wide open, and head out of the sand.
Sign up to the Shit (hit the fan) List here: http://eepurl.com/bMDLT1 to be notified via email when the next SHTF book comes out.
www.llakersbooks.com
[email protected]
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to the DD12 Dirty Dozen Post Apoc Army Facebook group for riding my ass to get this book out… I promise, the wait won’t be nearly as long for the next one.
Unless I die, or the grid goes down.
Also, special thanks to my good friend, Richard McMinn, for walking me through a finger being blown off, and to the DD12 ModSquad for taking over the long, tedious hours of modding DD12 halfway through the year so I could finally finish this book!
And a big shout-out to the talented Kevin Pierce, The Voice of the Apocalypse, for reaching out to me to bring the audio version of The SHTF Series to life. Even the readers are buying audio after reading—just to hear this story, from your amazing voice.
Run Like the Wind, Book Three of The SHTF Series, Copyright © 2018 by L.L. Akers. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America, First Printing 2018.
Please do not share this e-book. It is against the law. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission, or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, dead or living, business establishments, events or locales is coincidental.
