Shattering Humanity (Surviving For Humanity Book 1) Read online

  “Greg, I know she probably means a lot to you, but this is my family we're talking about. I know you. I'm sure Ivana is a great girl, but I think we both know that you're in love with what it could be, not with what it actually is. If you want to go with her I won't stop you, but I'm going to be with my family.”

  Tillman knew that the threat of being left to fend for himself would be enough for Greg to come with them. Greg was very loud-mouthed, but when push came to shove he was never the first in line for anything.

  “Fine, I'll come with you. But only because I know you won't be able to survive without me,” Greg said.

  “But what then?” Penelope asked. “Wouldn't we just be safer going back to our own homes?”

  Tillman pinched the bridge of his nose, not wanting to think about what was coming next. There was no way not to think about it, though. No way to avoid the horror.

  “I wish that were the case, Penelope, but this city is about to explode into chaos. So many have died already, and millions more are going to follow because people aren't going to be able to handle the panic and fear. If we stay here it's going to be harder on ourselves. We have to get out of the middle of the city. My parent's place is far enough out that we should be okay, as long as we get there soon.”

  Tillman went to push himself up, but as soon as he put weight on his ankle he winced.

  “I don't think you should be moving anywhere right now,” Penelope said. Greg looked concerned as well.

  “I'll be fine. I just need to get to my office and grab some painkillers. We need to move,” he said tersely, in a voice that wasn't mean to be argued with. Thankfully, Penelope and Greg were used to doing as he said.

  Tillman pushed himself up with the help of Penelope and limped to his office. He told the two of them to grab what they could and get ready to move.

  Gritting his teeth, because he didn't want to make too much noise, Tillman made his way to his office and fell into the chair behind his desk. He leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, Penelope was right. He should at least spend the night at the store to give his ankle time to improve, but they had no time. One night could be the difference between life and death.

  Tillman opened a drawer, pulled out a small bottle and opened it, dropping a couple of pills onto the desk. He screwed the top back on and put the bottle in his pocket, then got his water and swigged down the pills. Hopefully they wouldn't take too long to kick in. Then he reached for what he really had come into his office for.

  He took out his keys, unlocked the bottom drawer and slid it open. Inside rested a black handgun. A potent weapon that he only had used on a shooting range, and only kept as a last resort. In the normal, rational world he never had had cause to use it, but in this world anything could happen, and he had to be prepared.

  Chapter Eight

  Tillman waited a few minutes for the pills to kick in. When he felt the pain recede he stood up and put the gun against the small of his back, hiding it from the others. He returned to them, still with a slight limp, but he could walk again. He also had to make some effort hiding the pain.

  Greg and Penelope had gathered some food that had been left in the break rooom, and a couple of knives. They looked unwieldy, but Tillman was glad the two of them were thinking like that.

  “Let's get moving,” he said, and made his way to the door.

  “Wait,” Greg said. “Don't you, like, want to say goodbye or anything?”

  Tillman and Penelope looked at the store. They'd spent so many hours here. It did mean a lot to Tillman, but he had to let it go.

  “It's just a building, Greg. We can't think too much about everything we're leaving behind. We have to let it all go,” Tillman said, with a bitter tone in his voice.

  Greg mumbled something incoherent as Tillman turned his back and led the others out of the strip mall. There was no sign of the boys he'd fought with, or the crowd he had encountered. Tillman's eyes never stopped searching the darkness furtively, though.

  “It's crazy, isn't it, thinking about how all of this is going to be shut down?” Greg said. “It's going to be like a wasteland.”

  “It's best not to think about it. The world is going to change in ways we cannot understand. All we can do is try adapting to the new situations as they are presented to us,” Tillman said.

  “Just like in a game, right?” Greg said with a smile on his face.

  Tillman stopped and turned to him.

  “This isn't a game, Greg,” he snarled. “People have lost their lives. I've seen a little girl sit in the lap of her dead mother, unable to let go. I've seen a guy set himself on fire because he lost the woman he loved. I've seen people who probably are going to die soon. This is real.”

  “I know. I was just saying...” Greg said in a small voice, his words trailing off.

  Tillman grunted as he took his attention away from Greg and walked as quickly as he could. It probably was more quickly than he should have, given the state of his ankle. But he wanted to get out of the city before sunrise if possible, and that meant they would have to walk quickly.

  As they made their way out of the strip mall following Tillman’s outburst at Greg, the atmosphere between the three of them was tense. Part of him regretted it, for it had been a moment when the stress had taken its toll, but he needed Greg to realize that this was a serious matter, and that nothing good would come of them taking it lightly.

  They walked for some way, surrounded by darkened buildings, buildings they were used to seeing brightly lit and full of customers. It already felt as though the world had fallen apart. Occasionally they thought they saw movement in a store.

  “Should we go talk to them? Warn them about what's happening? There could be a lot of people in these stores who were just as scared and confused as we were,” Penelope said.

  Tillman didn't stop.

  “I'd love to, but we just don't have the time. There's a limit to how much we can help people and how much we can help ourselves,” he said curtly.

  “I just don't understand this. I don't understand at all,” she said.

  Tillman didn't mind her having this moment of introspection, as long as it didn't slow them down.

  “What exactly is it you don't get?” he asked.

  Greg was remaining quiet for the time being.

  “I get what an EMP does, I just don't see how it can change so much so quickly. Surely we're stronger than that, surely we're better? After all the advancements we've made we have to be better prepared for a situation like this,” she said.

  “Think about it, Penelope. All our advancements are based on electricity. It's the blood that flows through the veins of our society. Without it the heart stops beating. The trucks, the food, the medicine, the water, it all stops. There's no heating, no air conditioning. Diabetics don't get insulin. Other people who need their meds don’t get them. Hell, even these,” he pulled out the small bottle of painkillers, “are now a precious commodity. There's no hot water. No way to cook food if you can't make a fire. Think about all the people who have been hooked up to machines to live. All our banking systems have gone to hell. All the ways we cataloged data and personal information.

  “All the ways we cataloged data and personal information are gone. Even if we did manage to get the power grid working again, all that data would be wiped out. Communications are down. The emergency services won't be able to coordinate with each other. People will become desperate, scared, they'll do anything for food or shelter. Prisoners will escape cells that are kept secure with electronic locks. People will get high and drunk, thinking that things don't matter, and there's nothing more dangerous than people with nothing to lose. You realize that for the first time people are truly free, free from consequence, free from punishment? Anyone can do anything, and there's nothing to stop them.”

  The depth of it hit Penelope all at once. Greg could see it in her eyes. Just at that moment they rounded the corner. Penelope and Greg saw the plane that had plowed into th
e stores, crushing them.

  “Oh my God,” Penelope gasped. Greg remained silent. Tillman turned his eyes away.

  “It's only going to get worse,” he said.

  “All those people...” Penelope said as they continued walking.

  Tillman let her wonder about how everyone was going to survive. He'd thought about it a lot, and knew that the vast majority of the world's population was going to die in the span of one night. Tillman was going to do everything he could to make sure that the three of them weren't going to be a part of that, but he also knew that their life expectancy had severely shortened. He wasn't going to share that particular nugget of information with them, though. They'd realize it soon enough.

  Leaving the city only decreased the chance of them falling victim to a random act of violence. There were still other elements that could get them. Wild animals. Starvation. Thirst. The cold. Illness. The society that had acted like a shield, that had protected them, had been taken away, leaving them vulnerable.

  It only was a matter of time before they died. Tillman was determined to make every second count.

  As they walked along Tillman reflected on Greg's words earlier. There was more truth to them than Tillman cared to admit. While he wasn't going to treat this apocalypse lightly, he couldn't deny that the world basically had turned into a huge open-world survival RPG.

  They passed the store Tillman had stopped in earlier. The door was still open. There was no sign of anyone.

  So far, the streets were empty.

  It wasn't going to stay that way.

  “It's so quiet,” Penelope asked.

  “Hard to believe that anyone could sleep through planes crashing,” Greg said.

  “Try not to be too concerned with other people. We have to focus on ourselves,” Tillman reminded them.

  “I just can't believe you'd leave The Game Changer so easily. That place was your baby. It had all your trophies as well. Didn't you want to bring them with you?” Greg asked

  “The only thing that matters right now is my life. That's the only thing I'm concerned about. I've seen the movies. I've read the books. I know how these things go. The way most people fail is by holding onto the old ways, onto the things that don't matter anymore. I guarantee you that people still will be short-sighted enough to loot TVs and computers tomorrow. They'll still carry their cell phones with them, unable to tear themselves away from the way life used to be. We have to adapt to survive. It's real survival of the fittest here. We've basically been put back into a state where only those who deserve it are going to live. The population is going to be culled,” Tillman said.

  “Sheesh, you're not afraid of getting dark, are you? There's no sugar-coating anything when you're around,” Greg said.

  “Why should I? What purpose does that serve? It's no use living in denial, and all of us are adults. We have to face the truth. If you can't do that, then you're as good as dead,” Tillman said.

  “Well, I'm sorry if I want to pay a little respect to everything that I'm leaving. I'm basically saying goodbye to my life, you know. I get that The Game Changer was your store, but I had a stake in it too. Who do you think took care of it when you were off on your business trips or survival camps or competitions? Me, that's who.”

  “What's your point, Greg?” Tillman asked.

  “My point is that you're just taking charge like you always do. Don't we get a say in this?” Greg said, looking toward Penelope for support. However, Penelope was preoccupied with everything Tillman had said. The horror was etched on her face.

  “I lead. You follow. That's how this is going to work. We have to have a clear plan,” Tillman said.

  “I thought this was a democracy, Tillman? Come on, you know what I'm saying. You can't just boss us around anymore. If what you're saying is right and there is no store, then you're not our boss anymore.”

  “No, I'm not. But if you want to come with me, then you're going to have to do what I say. We'll all be better off that way, trust me,” Tillman said.

  His frustration with Greg grew. He was acting like a bratty teenager. Tillman thought back to Dan, and how his kids had been so well-behaved. Tillman hoped that Greg would get over this rebellious nature soon.

  “I'm sure you think that, but how do we know you're right?” Greg challenged. Penelope looked up.

  “What do you mean?” Tillman asked.

  “Well, you can spout off about this all you like, but nobody actually knows what's going to happen. Sure, you've read books, you're an expert, but this never has happened before. Nothing like this is usual, and you can't just assume you know what's going to happen. You've basically given up on the store. Hell, you've given up on humanity! What if you're wrong? What if the emergency services are able to keep things under control? What if the government has been able to put together a plan?”

  Tillman started to speak, but Greg was in full flow, and nothing was going to interrupt him.

  “You think you're so superior to everything, but you've walked away from life and just given up on humanity. I'm not ready to give up on it yet. I still believe there's a way out. You're basically just a prepper who has been waiting for this all his life, aren't you? Finally, you've got the chance to play as a survivalist. I bet this is a dream come true for you. Well, I'm not having it. I don't think the world is going to end. This night has been horrible, but tomorrow is a new day, and we can make it through,” Greg said, folding his arms across his chest.

  There was a moment of silence as Tillman digested Greg's words, and thought about how to respond properly. Greg always had been one to fly off the handle. The chubby man had spent most of his life behind a computer screen. Like Tillman, he had immersed himself in virtual worlds, but there was a significant difference between the two. Tillman always had known how to remove himself, while Greg had liked to live in fantasy full-time.

  “You know what, Greg? I wish you were right. I wish that I was mistaken about this whole thing and that we could just wait the night out, and everything would turn out fine. But I can't. You may not like what I have to say, but that doesn't mean it's not true. You know I'm speaking sense. Even if I'm not, it makes sense to prepare for the worst. If I'm wrong, then we head back to the store and continue life as normal. Hell, I'll double your salary if I'm wrong. But I'm not a prepper, Greg. I never prepared for any of this. Believe me, I was quite happy with my life the way it was, but I saw the world fall apart before my very eyes. I saw planes fall from the sky. I saw people's hearts break. There's no going back for us, Greg.”

  “I still don't believe it,” Greg said steadfastly.

  “You don't have to believe it, Greg. It's already happened,” Tillman said, wishing that he could convince the man.

  “Whatever. You've always been too involved in conspiracy theories. What else have you got in that bag of tricks?” Greg asked.

  Tillman sighed and hung his head. He hadn't been ready for this just yet. He'd wanted to get to a safe place.

  “Come with me,” he said, and they walked a little more, getting back to the freeway.

  The roadway stretched out ahead of them. The smell of scorched metal and burnt oil filled the air. Stars twinkled in the sky. Usually their brilliance was diminished by the light pollution from the city. From their vantage point they could see the moonlight gleaming off the plane’s fuselage. It was still a frightening, surreal sight. It should have been something from a movie, a prop, not a symbol of how the world had fallen apart.

  Chapter Nine

  “Can we not fight with each other?” Penelope asked, having regained some composure. Tillman admired her strength. It seemed to him there were two types of people in this world. Those who could accept what had happened and do their best to thrive, and those who would live in denial. Penelope seemed to be the former, and he hoped Greg would be too.

  “I think we all hope that you're right, Greg, but we have to make plans in case Tillman is. I'd rather make sure I was safe and feel like a fool for being so
scared than stay somewhere in the hope that everything will turn out alright, only to find that everything was terribly wrong,” she said.

  Greg still was standing with his arms folded across his chest. Despite sounding convinced of his words, Greg wasn't walking away.

  Tillman sank to his knees and put his pack on the ground. There were a few other things he could make use of, and one thing in particular that had been on his mind ever since this first had happened. He'd wanted to get back to Greg and Penelope before he used it, though. Now it was time. He reached in and pulled out a small silver bag, unzipped it, and held a small radio in his hand.

  “What's that?” Greg asked curiously, craning his neck so that he could peer over Tillman's shoulder. Tillman sighed as he turned and showed off the radio.

  “Why have you got that? I thought you said electronics were useless?” Greg said.

  “The mass-produced ones are,” Tillman said.

  “I knew it!” Greg said, nostrils flaring. “I bet you wanted this to happen!”

  Tillman glared at him.

  “If we didn't have other things to worry about I'd knock you on your ass,” Tillman said.

  “I never wanted this to happen, but I thought I'd have a few things prepared just in case. This bag is aluminum. It protected the radio from the EMP. It should still function,” he said, and held his breath as he switched it on. He smiled as the sharp hum of static emerged from the radio.

  Penelope clapped.

  “Well, thanks for telling us this little tip. You could have shared it with the class,” Greg said.

  “And what would you have done? Coated everything you own in aluminum?” Tillman replied.

  Greg was about to offer a retort when suddenly there was a voice coming from the radio. They all looked at it, transfixed.

  “...coming out of the Central and Eastern parts of the country we have a few who protected their comm systems. Military is scrambling, but they are nowhere near enough to provide aid. The nation has blacked out and many are saying it was an EMP. Until we get further reports, God help us. This message will be broadcast to anyone who can listen. If you're out there, get to safety, and keep your loved ones close.”