Surviving The Tides: An EMP Survival Story (Survival Series Book 4) Read online

  The fear of letting Brent go out into the lonely cruel world was strong. It would have been so easy for Darren to refuse Brent’s request, yet again, but that would have been unfair to Brent. It wasn’t Darren’s place to say that Brent couldn’t go out into the world. Darren’s fear was Darren’s problem. At some point every parent had to let their children go, it was for their own good. If Brent never went out by himself, he never would learn what it took to live in this world. Then they all would be worse off for it. So, in that moment, Darren decided that Brent would be allowed to go out on the bike.

  “You know how dangerous it is out there, right?” Darren said.

  “I do.”

  “And you promise me that you’re not going to get into any trouble?”

  “I won’t, I promise. I won’t talk to anyone. I won’t sneak up on anyone. If I see anyone around, I’ll come straight back here,” Brent said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

  “And you’d better keep track of where you are. Remember to take note of landmarks along the way, and make sure to turn around often so you know what it looks like from the opposite direction. I don’t want you to get yourself lost. It’s easy to get turned around out there. And make sure you look at the ground. The forest can get awfully muddy. If you’re not careful, you’ll get the bike lost in mud.”

  “I know Dad. I will, but does that mean I can go?”

  Darren sighed, still reluctant that it had come to this, but he knew ultimately it was the right decision.

  “Yes, just for a little while. You can go out tomorrow when it’s light, but I don’t want you gone for too long. This is a little test run, and I don’t want you to start thinking it’s going to be a regular occurrence. We can’t take the world lightly,” Darren said.

  “I understand,” Brent said.

  The boy was brimming with excitement, almost jumping out of his skin. He bounced off excitedly to tell Betsy. Darren assumed that was another reason he was so insistent on this, to impress Betsy. Not that Darren minded too much. It was good and healthy that there was a bit of romance in the air. Indeed, he’d recently been thinking it might be nice to have some company through the cold wintry nights. Although he’d already consigned himself to a life of loneliness.

  He spent a little while longer by the fire, looking back at the mountain lions to ensure they weren’t going to make any sudden movements. The mother was sleeping after a long day’s hunt. The cubs were in the mood to play, though. They tugged at her ears and her tail and nuzzled into her stomach.

  “I know how you feel,” he said, sympathizing with his fellow parent.

  Michelle and Tara came up to him briefly to ask if they could go with Brent in the morning. Of course Darren said no. The girls were far too vulnerable to be left to their own devices. He told them that he needed them to stay with him for a super-secret mission that only they could do. They gasped with excitement. He was pleased to see the light flicker in their eyes.

  He didn’t know how much they were aware of the world. In their childish minds this must have been a grand adventure. But he liked that they were so willing to throw themselves into anything he presented to them. Their spirits were uplifting.

  Any time he felt down, or he had doubts, he only had to look at them and feel refreshed. They gave him hope, and as much as they depended on him for survival, he knew he needed them just as much. Without them he was quite sure he would have given into despair a long time ago, and probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as he had.

  Darren sat with both girls on his lap, bouncing them up and down. They giggled and threw their arms around his neck, but then Darren suddenly froze.

  “Girls, go back and play with Brent and Betsy,” he said urgently.

  The girls scurried back, aware of the wary tone in his voice. Darren had heard something outside, something that seemed larger than an animal. He grabbed his gun and listened intently, keeping quiet, hoping that whoever was wandering by would pass without inspecting the cave.

  He heard a low moan, and the scraping of feet along the ground. There was a crack of a branch. He cursed himself for not hiding the entrance better. Since the mountain lions had come in, he hadn’t seen a need to put the bramble back over the entrance as the mother only would going trample over it. Yet now he saw the folly of his decision. Fear clutched his heart as the shadow of a man danced along the ground, and the intruder drew closer.

  Chapter Two

  The two girls joined Brent and Betsy farther back in the cave, and soon forgot anything was amiss. Darren wasn’t about to warn them. Hopefully, whoever was out there would pass the cave without investigating it and Darren wouldn’t have to wonder about the dangers of another person finding them.

  Having mountain lions in their midst was bad enough, but Darren trusted them more than he did other people. During the course of this apocalypse the vast majority of the people he had met all had been bad, most notably Bill, who had brought Betsy and Tara to him.

  He couldn’t discount the possibility this person wasn’t evil, though. There were plenty of regular folks just like him trying to make their way through the world in the right manner. Yet, it seemed as though they were few and far between, and the risk of opening themselves up to another person was too great.

  Darren closed his eyes and prayed that whoever was outside would hurry up and move on. The shadow halted and there was a scuffling sound outside. Darren glanced over at the mountain lions, who didn’t seem too worried, but the mother mountain lion was exhausted, and the cubs didn’t know enough about the world to be afraid.

  Darren was all that stood between them and safety.

  He gripped his gun and tried signaling Brent, but his son was preoccupied with the girls. Darren smiled at this scene of domestic bliss. All his kids were playing together as though the world hadn’t fallen apart around them. Sometimes, even in these grim times, life could be entirely normal.

  There was another scuffling sound and Darren’s head whipped around, his eyes peering to the cave entrance. He made no sound and wondered if the person outside already had figured there were people inside. The kids were too far back and weren’t making any loud noises. Perhaps the intruder could hear the fire crackling. If he or she were smart, they’d go away and not chance meeting any unsavory characters. Darren couldn’t take that chance. The person might be smart, but they undoubtedly were desperate and might be willing to take a risk.

  Darren’s throat ran dry as his hands curled around his gun, hating the thought of having to kill another man. The first one had taken such a toll on his soul, he wasn’t sure if he could bear another. He wanted to hold onto the anguish, though, onto the pain, for without it he would be numb to the act of killing. He never wanted it to grow into something that he was used to doing.

  It would have been much easier had the mother mountain lion been up and about. She easily could have prowled to the cave entrance and growled loudly. That would have sent any sane man running away at top speed, no matter how desperate they may have been. Darren shook his head.

  “I guess I’ll have to do this without you. You owe me one,” he muttered under his breath, not that the mountain lion heard.

  Darren rose slowly and moved gingerly so as not to disturb anything that might give away his position. For all he knew the person or people outside had been observing them and just were waiting for him to come out. This could have been a siege. Anger flared within him at the thought that anyone would dare threaten his home.

  He crept a little closer to the entrance and heard a soft voice. He tilted his head to try focusing on the words he was hearing.

  “…Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

  The Lord’s Prayer. Someone was outside praying, and the longer he listened the more he was convinced that it was only one person. But one person could be just as dangerous as a group, and just because they were religious didn’t mean they were safe. The last thing he needed was some deran
ged zealot coming into his life, declaring this the end of days.

  But he was getting ahead of himself. There was nothing to suggest this man was such a zealot. (Darren could tell the person outside was a man by the sound of his voice.) Instead, he carefully considered the situation and looked at all his options. The obvious thing to do was to stay quiet and hidden and hope the man moved on. That was the safest option, the one that ensured the least drama, meaning he and his family could remain untroubled by this stranger. It also would keep their food safe and they wouldn’t have to split their already dwindling rations with yet another person.

  However, it also meant the person outside would remain on their own in this cruel world. Darren already had experienced something of what it had meant to travel the world alone. Anyone who had survived this long had proven themselves a hardy person and almost deserved the reward of a warm fire and companionship.

  If he was in their shoes, Darren would want the people in the cave to let him in. He also thought about what he had told Brent, about how they had to be one with nature and try to be the best versions of themselves. Darren didn’t want his life ruled by fear, and it was his fear that was telling him to ignore this man and let him go on his way, shuffling through the darkness and the cold, moving toward a grim end.

  The risk to himself and his children was great, but the risk to his soul was greater. He thought back to the sanctuary he had come across while he had been on his solo journey, about how they had erected a wall and kept people out. He didn’t want to be like them. He wanted to be better, and if this praying man needed help, then Darren supposed that he should be the one to provide it. He looked back at his kids one last time and sighed, hoping these good intentions didn’t lead to hell.

  Darren made his way to the very entrance of the cave, remaining hidden amongst the rocks and the darkness. He trained his gun outside. The world was dark, and he had to squint to try helping his vision adjust. He saw a man dressed in black on his knees, hands clasped together in prayer. The man had short red hair and a curly beard. His eyes were closed, lost in prayer, and Darren thought it strange that someone would make themselves so vulnerable in such a violent world.

  “Hey,” Darren said, interrupting the man’s prayer. The man opened his eyes in shock and rose to his feet. Darren pointed his gun at him. “Steady, stay where you are. No sudden movements.”

  The man did as he was told, holding his hands up in surrender.

  “Of course, my child. I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

  “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

  “I’m JR Hanna and I’m seeking refuge. I’ve been walking for days, perhaps weeks. I’ve been trying to find some kind souls to take me in. Thank the Lord that I found you. My prayers have been answered.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far yet,” Darren said unsympathetically. JR’s head bowed.

  “I’m armed and there are mountain lions in here. If you try anything stupid, you’re going to get hurt. Is that understood?”

  “Of course, of course. Excuse me, mountain lions?” JR asked, tilting his head, his expression twisting into confusion.

  “I know. It sounds hard to believe, but it’s true. They’re in here, and if you make one wrong move, the mountain lions will attack you.”

  “Oh, well, I’d hate to be in a situation like Daniel. What’s your name?”

  “Darren,” Darren said reluctantly.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Darren. I know you must be wary of anyone, but I can assure you I am no threat to you. I’m a man of faith, and I have been searching for a kind-hearted stranger to take pity on a wandering minister. I would like some food and water if at all possible.”

  “Do you have anything to offer us?”

  “Only a kind word and some company, but isn’t that enough?”

  “Are you armed?” Darren said, ignoring the question.

  The minister was quite disarming, but Darren was too skeptical to take anyone at their word. It was easy for people to lie, and easy for people to pretend to be something they weren’t to gain the confidence of their eventual victims. He knew that only the most desperate souls would be in this part of the world in winter, so he was extremely suspicious of this man who claimed to be a minister.

  “I was, at first, but I gave my gun to a woman who had three children. I supposed she needed it more than I did,” he said.

  Darren found this hard to believe. Why would anyone give their gun away?

  “Please,” JR continued, “I’m sure you know how cold it is out here and, from the sounds of it, you have a nice fire crackling away. I’ve had to content myself with wrapping up in my cloak and huddling in whatever place I could find since I’ve been traveling through here. I’ve been trying to make my way to the city, but it seems as though I took a wrong turn.

  “I confess that I’ve never been the best at finding directions or creating fire. I’m cold and hungry, and lonely too. The only thing that’s kept me going is my faith in the Lord. I knew that He would deliver me from evil and help me find a safe place, and He has led me here, to you. Please, sir, please tell me that I am not mistaken.”

  Darren listened to his words and wanted to believe him, but doubt gnawed at him. He couldn’t believe that anyone would give their gun to someone else, but perhaps that was because he never had been a minister. They always were seeking to help people, and a single mother with three children certainly would need help.

  He couldn’t very well turn the man away now, though, not after they had made contact. He imagined the worst thing in this world would be to be given a glimmer of hope and then have it snatched away. Still, he was going to remain careful until he could be sure of this man’s intentions.

  “There are a few rules I need you to follow,” Darren said.

  “Of course,” the minister said with relief, glad to just be shown some mercy.

  “In a moment, I need you to show me that you don’t have any weapons with you. I need you to keep your distance and to not make any sudden movements when you come in. Until I’m convinced that you are who you say you are, you are not to be left alone. I have kids in here, and I’ll be watching you carefully. If you do stay, then I’ll expect you to help out with our daily tasks,” he said.

  “Those all sound reasonable to me. Although, I assure you that I am who I say I am. I took a vow a long time ago never to lie, and I’m proud to say that I have not broken it, but I understand how you must be skeptical. I doubt you’ve had many visitors along this path. Still, it is a sad state of affairs when we are driven to be so suspicious of one another. I long to return to a time when we can pass each other on the street and wave hello, rather than regard each other with suspicion. But I agree with your terms, and certainly can understand why you have these rules in place.”

  Darren wasn’t sure where this man was from, but he couldn’t remember a time when people waved to each other on the street. In the city, people always had been strangers. They were just less deadly than they were now.

  Darren beckoned JR forward. The minister moved slowly, still with his hands raised. As he drew closer to the fire, Darren could make out his features better. He had youthful eyes, but there was a thinness to his hair that spoke of middle age, and the beard hid the lower half of his face. So, it wasn’t easy to put an age on him.

  JR walked with slightly hunched shoulders and there were dark circles around his eyes, signs of life in this grim world. JR smiled at Darren and his eyes crinkled. Darren moved closer to the minister and told him to turn around, lifting up his cloak. JR seemed all too happy to do anything that Darren wanted.

  The man was unarmed, and as he opened the man’s cloak, Darren saw the white collar around his neck. It still wasn’t enough to convince Darren, because this man may simply have stolen a minister’s clothes. But since he didn’t want to lose himself to paranoia, he decided not to let his mind twist those thoughts. Because then he never would trust anyone.

  “I’m surprised you manag
ed to make it this far without any kind of weapon,” Darren said.

  “As I said, I had a gun. I traded it to that woman for a knife and, sadly, the knife got jammed in a tree when I was trying to cut away some bark to make firewood. I did think that a knife would be more useful given the circumstances, but I was unable to muster the strength to free it. I’ve been scavenging whatever I could find, and it’s been harder and harder as time moves on.”

  “How did you brace yourself against the storms?”

  “I had this cloak, and I managed to find some safety in some mountains. I think that’s how I managed to get myself lost, actually. I did have my bearings when I came into the area, and I just about was able to make out the outline of the city. But when the clouds rolled in and the storm hit, I got turned around and really had no idea where I was going. I had to trust my instincts and trust that the good Lord would see me to where I needed to go.”

  “And he led you right to my door,” Darren said.

  “Indeed, He did. And He has kept me safe all this time as well. I knew he would deliver me to a safe place.”

  “I’m glad one of us has faith.”

  A profound sadness came upon JR’s face. He hung his head and seemed to lose his vigor.

  “I’m sure you must have been through much. All the people I have met on my journey have suffered terribly, and it seems I never have been able to do enough to ease their pain. But I promise you that I will do all I can to aid you. You are a Good Samaritan. You can rely on me to do anything I can to help you and the others with you.”

  “I appreciate that. I’m sorry if I come across as defensive, it’s just that we’ve had some run-ins with a few unsavory characters, and I don’t want to have another one. Why did you come on this journey anyway? Didn’t you have a flock to look after?”

  As soon as Darren asked the question, he saw JR wilt. JR leaned against the cave wall for support.