Conflicted Home (The Survivalist Book 9) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Prologue

  Conflicted Home

  A. AMERICAN

  Conflicted Home

  Copyright © 2017 by Angery American Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.

  First Edition: December 2017

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of Angery American Enterprises Inc.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  We stood for a long time and watched as the mushroom cloud climbed above the horizon. It was evil, malicious, malignant even. Being one that grew up in a time when the Berlin wall fell, I could remember what the tail end of the Cold War felt like. It was a constant fear of this very image. A mushroom cloud rising over an American city.

  Little Bit came up and gripped my hand tightly. I looked down at her as she stared wide-eyed at the spectacle. She had no frame of reference for what she was looking at. But even this little girl could sense the horror she was witnessing. It didn’t help that there were others in the park positively losing their minds.

  When the cloud first became visible, some people panicked. Many began screaming about fallout. Others thought it was simply the first salvo in a full nuclear exchange, became terror-stricken, and ran, screaming. This was something I never understood, screaming. What good does that do? It was something I always talked to my girls about. Not screaming per se, but also crying.

  When something happened that would scare them, and they would cry, even at an early age, I would tell them to stop crying. I would ask them, what good does crying do? It may sound harsh, but I wanted my girls to keep their heads when others were shitting themselves. I wanted them to maybe have that couple of seconds or minutes that could make the difference between life and death. And while I often felt these lessons were falling on deaf ears, it looked as though they may actually be listening.

  My family stood silent as we watched what unfolded before us. We hugged one another a little tighter. But each was left to their own thoughts. I looked at my girls and my heart sank. This was something I could do nothing about. Tampa was a long way off, but the winds could certainly carry fallout this far. But hopefully, the way the converging sea breezes worked over the peninsula would prevent it. Hope is all we have now. But I’ll never say that to anyone.

  “What are we going to do?” Mel asked.

  I looked down at Little Bit. She was looking up at me. Scanning my girls’ faces, they were all waiting for an answer. I shrugged and tried to keep a stalwart outward appearance. “There’s nothing for us to worry about. It’s very far away from us.”

  “What about fallout?” Taylor asked.

  I looked at Thad, who was standing close by. He too appeared to be waiting on good news. But what could I say? Tell them the truth? No. Instead, I decided to lie. “I don’t think we need to worry about it. The Gulf breeze should keep it away from us.” And it was a bold-face lie that was laid bare on Thad’s face. But he didn’t counter my statement. Nor did he try to bolster it.

  In the Florida summer, a unique weather phenomenon takes place. The Gulf is a large warm soup bowl of water that warms during the day. Rising water vapor climbs high into the atmosphere. The westerly breezes carry it inland where it meets with equally warm moist air moving westward from the east coast over the center of the state. When these air masses collide, it creates intense thunderstorms. And it was these winds I was thinking about when I lied to my wife and daughters.

  Sarge’s voice pulled me out of my mental stupor. “I was going to give this to you in the hospital. I had some smart-ass comments I was going to say.” He paused and looked west. “But nothing seems very funny right now.” He held a small silver revolver out. “Here.”

  I took the small short-barreled pistol from him. It was a ridiculous looking thing. Hammerless, it sported mother-of-pearl grips. Holding it in my hand, I examined it, turning it over and over. After a moment, I said, “Looks like a damn pimp gun.” I opened the action, breaking the pistol over and looked into the cylinder. There were two live rounds and three spent. Shaking my head, I said, “I can’t believe this thing almost killed me.”

  In an attempt to be humorous, the old man replied, “Could’a been worse. Could’a been a Hi-Point,” and he smiled.

  I grunted as I tucked the little revolver into my pocket. “Yeah, I guess.”

  Sarge turned back to the west again. He stared for a long time at the cloud that was now very plainly visible even at this distance. Mel pressed in close to me. Little Bit did as well. I put my arm around each of them and looked at Lee Ann and Taylor. Lee Ann was standing off a little from everyone. It pained my heart because I could imagine what was going through her head.

  She’d come a long way since that day on the side of the river so long ago. She was harder. But maybe that was for the better. It was a different world now. And for better or worse, she was adapting quickly to it. Her sister, however, was a different story.

  When I first came home, I thought she was handling things way better than her sister. And she was at the time, for sure. That is until that day on the side of the river. But now she stood alone, and I could sense the fear in her, though I couldn’t see her face. Taking Mel and Little Bit with me, I walked to her and folded her into our embrace. I hadn’t seen it, but she was crying. Quietly, softly. And when we touched, there was a release for her; and then I could feel her pain.

  It hurt; and all I wanted to do was to get her and her sisters home. I wanted to get all my girls back where I knew they would be safe. Even if there was an invisible threat I couldn’t see, smell or defend them from. But at least I’d feel safe, and maybe, just maybe, that feeling would make it through them as well.

  “You guys ready to get back? There isn’t much more we can do here,” I said.

  Thad and Mary stood silently, facing west, as we all were. Sarge inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. After a short pause, he said, “I reckon we should get back.” He looked around the park and added, “We ain’t doin’ no good here anyway.”

  Thad looked at me; and the expression of fear mixed with uncertainty pained me. He was holding Mary close. It was the first time I’d seen such an open expression from him towards her. He must have sensed what I was thinking. I could see it on his face. It added to the emotions he was already going through, as though he were somehow betraying a wife and son he’d buried with his own hands. This big man, my friend, seemed almost on the verge of tears. I turned to him and wrapped my arms around him.

  It was almost humorous when he returned the hug. I felt like a child in the arms of his father because Thad was so huge and I was so small. But in that moment, I was offering support. Though neither of us spoke a word, we said a lot to one another in that brief embrace. When it was done, he looked back to Mary, who was clearly in need of more. And I went back to my girls. We all walked back to the truck toge
ther in silence.

  Mel was pressed in close and it hurt my side, but I wasn’t about to complain, and I kept her there. With Little Bit and Taylor in front of me, it made it hard to walk, but I wasn’t about to shoo them away either. I could feel the weight of the little pocket piece. It was odd in that it was the only hardware I had on me. It’s kind of funny how fast you get used to something. Like carrying weapons and wearing body armor.

  I was surprised when I saw the old Suburban sitting in a parking place in the park. I looked at Mel and asked, “You drive that here?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Danny had to help me get it started. The battery was dead, and we had to jump-start it.”

  “Yeah. I was going to rejuvenate those batteries. Just haven’t done it yet. Hope it starts now.”

  “It did when I parked it. I restarted it before leaving it.” She replied.

  The girls quickly climbed into the truck. Little Bit got into the front, demanding to sit between us on the big bench seat. As I was getting in, Sarge stopped by my door and said, “See if this thing’ll start.”

  Putting in the key, I turned it over. The drive from home must have been enough to bring the batteries back to life because it cranked right up. The old man slapped the roof of the truck and said, “Alright. We’ll follow you back.”

  We had a string of trucks headed out of town. It felt kind of eerie not seeing anyone on the streets of Eustis. Just a short time ago it appeared everyone that lived in town was at the park. Now, it was a ghost town. I grunted to myself when I thought of all the people that must at this very minute be trying to dig a bunker or otherwise engage in futile preparations to survive fallout.

  We rode in silence through Umatilla, which was likewise deserted, as we crunched over the remnants of the storm debris still on the road. It’s one thing to ride through the town you live in and the power be out, like after a storm. It’s another thing entirely to do so when darkness after sunset is the norm. Little Umatilla was totally dark. I didn’t’ see a single light anywhere. Even now, you could generally spot a window with a faint glow coming from inside. But this night everything was blacked out, as though the remaining residents of Umatilla expected an air raid.

  The little market in Umatilla was abandoned, as well as the one in Altoona. I was greatly relieved when we pulled into the neighborhood, even though it was just as dark as everything else. Perez and Ian were at the barricade when I pulled up.

  Perez came up and leaned in the window. He started to say something but looked at Little Bit and stopped. He smiled and asked, “How you feeling?” His breath wreaked of cigarettes.

  I nodded. “Better, I guess.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better, amigo.”

  Ian pushed Perez out of the way and patted my shoulder as well. “Glad to see you back on your feet, Sheriff.”

  I looked at him and smiled. Then I looked down at my lap, “But I’m not on my feet.”

  “Whatever, smart—,” he paused abruptly and finished with “guy. You’re a smart guy, aren’t you?”

  I laughed at him. “Yes, I am. Thanks, buddy.”

  He rapped the door and I pulled away. I drove straight to the house. I was ready to get home. Little Bit held my hand as we walked to the house. The dogs swirled around us, jumping up on me. I patted them and actually smiled. No one said a word. I could feel the apprehension everyone felt, and I wanted to do something to try and lift everyone out of it. As we stepped up on the porch, I asked, “Who wants to watch a movie?” In reality, all I wanted to do was to go to bed.

  Little Bit perked up immediately. “I do!”

  I patted her head. “I bet you do. What do you want to watch?”

  She started to jump up and down. “Lion King! I want to watch The Lion King!”

  In my head, I groaned. But I smiled and said, “Me too. Let’s go watch The Lion King.”

  Opening the door, the girls went in and Mel grabbed my arm and asked, “You sure? You don’t want to just go to bed?”

  “I do, babe. I really do. But everyone seems so bummed. I think a movie will take the girls’ minds off the situation.”

  She nodded. “You’re probably right.” She stopped and shook her head.

  “What?”

  She chuckled and said, “I was just thinking about picking through the five-dollar movie bin at Wal-Mart. Never imagined just how important those movies would be.”

  Putting my arm over her shoulder, I said, “Yeah. But that movie didn’t come from there. We paid full price for it.”

  She looked at Little Bit who was already putting the disk into the laptop, and said, “Maybe so. But it was worth every penny we paid for it, whatever it cost.” Then she looked at me and asked, “You want a glass of tea?”

  “What kind of question is that? Hell yes, I want a glass of tea!”

  “Sit here, dad!” Little Bit shouted as she climbed up onto the couch.

  I plopped down beside her as Lee Ann and Taylor both came from their rooms with pillows under their arms and arranged themselves a place on the floor. Mel came in with my tea and handed it to me before sitting down. So, for the next eighty-nine minutes we all forgot about the flash in the western sky. Gone from our minds was the cancerous cloud that climbed ever higher into the atmosphere. Instead, the magic of computer-generated animation took us all to a happier place and time. Even if it was a little annoying.

  When the movie was over, everyone went to bed quickly. Little Bit wanted to sleep with us but we convinced her she was going to sleep in her own bed, and I followed her to her room and tucked her in. Lee Ann climbed into the top bunk as I was kissing her little sister goodnight. She was way too big for such nonsense. But when I stood up, she stuck her arms out and I stepped up onto the rail of the lower bunk and gave her hug.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” she whispered.

  “Me too,” I whispered back and kissed her head. She smiled and I turned off the little battery lantern they were using in their room.

  Going into Taylor’s room, she was sitting in her bed reading, using a small triple-A flashlight to see the print. “You alright?” I asked from the doorway.

  She looked up from her book but didn’t reply. After a moment of thought, she asked, “Are we going to be alright?”

  I went in and sat on the edge of her bed and patted her leg. “Yeah. I think so. It was far away.”

  She thought for a minute and said, “I’m glad you’re OK. Mom was so worried. She was mad too.” She paused as though she’d said something she shouldn’t, then continued. “She said you do too much, that some of the other people around here should be helping out.”

  I half chuckled. “Yeah, I know she thinks that. But I’m just doing my little part. Other people are helping. Aric was there when it happened. We all have to do our part, you know.” She nodded and I asked, “You think I’m doing too much?”

  She shrugged and rocked her head, “No. Not really. I mean. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Now I laughed. “And on that I think we can all agree. ‘Cause I don’t want to either!”

  She smiled. “Goodnight, dad.”

  I leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Goodnight, baby.”

  Mel was already in bed when I got to our room. I sat on the side of the bed and pulled my socks off. I felt kind of grungy and said I was going to take a quick shower.

  “I bet it will be. That water’s going to be cold,” Mel replied.

  Laughing, I replied, “I bet it is.”

  She was right. It was damn cold! But it felt good to scrub myself clean. In the process of so doing, I realized our piece of soap was nearly gone. We needed another piece and I hoped that there still were some pieces to be had. After toweling off, I went back to the bed and sat down. While drying my hair, I asked, “Where’s my
stuff?”

  “What stuff?” Mel asked.

  “You know, my gear. My rifle and pistol and stuff.”

  She pointed at the closet, “Your guns are in there. That vest thing had a lot of blood on it.”

  “Ok. Where is it?”

  “You’re not going to wear it again, are you?”

  I rolled over on my side and looked at her. “Hell yes. It’s my armor.”

  “Lot of good it did you.”

  “This time, maybe. Next time, it could save my life.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

  Her eyes narrowed, and while she already wasn’t in a good mood, me saying next time was a really, really bad idea. “Really? Next time, huh?” She shook her head. “You’re not going to be happy until you’re dead, are you?”

  I held my hand up. “Babe. Bad choice of words, I know. Not what I meant.”

  She nodded very animatedly. “Oh, it was? So now you don’t think it’ll save your life next time?”

  I dropped my face into the pillow and shook my head. I’ve been married a long time and know when I’m beat, so I sat up, smiled and leaned over and kissed her cheek. I wasn’t about to try and kiss her on the lips. After resting my head on her shoulder for a moment, I said, “Goodnight, babe. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

  I lay back and got comfortable and reached over without looking and turned the little lantern off. Mel sat in the dark for a minute before she got herself comfortable. I knew she wasn’t as mad as she wanted me to think when she said, “Turn the fan on. I’m hot.”

  I got up and turned it on and got back in bed under the sheet. Pressing my luck, I said, “You should just sleep naked like me.” But she didn’t reply, and I could see her rolling her eyes in my mind. But at least that was the end of it for the night.

  I woke in the morning before Mel and sat up in the bed, rubbing my eyes. I was sore all over. Partly from the wound, partly from lying in a bed for a couple days. The latter was something I hadn’t done since the Event. In the Before, I had done so when down with a bad cold or some other such illness. As it was, I realized I hadn’t had so much as a sniffle since things changed. Maybe it wasn’t all bad.