Aftershocks Series | Book 1 | Aftershocks by Bell Justin & Kraus Mike

Author:Bell, Justin & Kraus, Mike [Bell, Justin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Survival
Publisher: Muonic Press Inc
Published: 2021-01-27T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Los Angeles, California

Present Time

Night had fallen in southern California, and Barnett was growing increasingly restless. Rico was moving slowly, his feet still in agony. Even with the shoes and socks, he needed to slow and stop several times along the way.

Sirens had continued to blare in the distance, a vague backdrop of crisis and emergency only serving to emphasize the feeling of impending doom that surrounded them. The power was out all throughout the city and as the sun settled beneath the horizon, the streets were blanketed in a pervasive darkness, a void-like absence of light completely alien to the city.

Barnett currently held Rico’s flashlight from his Go Bag, showing a cone of white light ahead, guiding their path down the sidewalk. The number of pedestrians scattered along the roadways and the sidewalks had thinned out considerably in the past hour or so as they moved east and north, trying to make their way through Los Angeles.

Barnett kept several paces ahead of Adele and Rico, who lingered behind, moving more slowly and deliberately to minimize the pain Rico was in.

“So, did he arrest you or something?” Adele asked quietly, looking at Rico as they walked, watching the bobbing cone of light ahead.

“Arrest me?” Rico asked, shaking his head. “No, he didn’t arrest me. It’s a little more complicated than that.”

“So, tell me about it,” Adele said. “You seem like a good guy. I can’t figure out why you’d be a criminal. You’re not like any criminal I’ve ever met.”

“Oh? You’ve met some criminals?”

Adele sighed and rolled her eyes, realizing how ridiculous her previous statement was.

“I just mean—I never pictured a criminal going out of his way to help a woman he doesn’t even know, like you have.”

“Well, like I said, it’s complicated,” Rico replied, keeping his voice low. “I’m not sure how much Barnett wants me to share.”

“Who cares what he wants?”

Rico laughed.

“Honestly, I don’t care. Not much. But—”

There was a low clattering sound from nearby, the metallic banging of a trash can falling over and Barnett halted, wheeling to the left, splashing the road and alley across the street with a wide shaft of light. In the shadows of the alley, they could see movement, a darkened figure moving away from a trash can that had been toppled over, spilling its contents across the sidewalk.

Muffled voices came from the alley and Barnett’s hand moved to his holster, hovering there for a moment, but not actually retrieving his sidearm. Adele clung close to Rico, looking out from behind his left arm, her fingers lightly brushing his shirt sleeve.

“Just keep moving,” Barnett said quietly, turning the light toward them. They continued, Adele and Rico still hanging back, looking out at the darkened city around them. Rico had never been to Los Angeles before and had no idea where they were now. There wasn’t much structural damage in this part of town, but the streets were deserted, and the buildings appeared empty, the people either evacuated or sheltered in place.

Sirens sounded

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