Beyond Armageddon IV: Schism by DeCosmo Anthony

Author:DeCosmo, Anthony [DeCosmo, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2011-11-09T06:00:00+00:00

Evan whispered, "Here I am. Get it over with."

He waited like that, eyes closed and arms stretched, for several seconds.

No bullet came. No bombs exploded. No assassin pounced.

Evan opened his eyes and lowered his arms.

I refuse to live in fear.

16. Miami

On Thursday, June 25, two Amtrak F40PH diesel locomotives rolled into the train station in Hialeah a few minutes before noon. Passengers of all shapes, sizes, and intentions disembarked, most having spent nearly two full days onboard during the journey south. At least they were not covered in soot like passengers riding the steam locomotives that handled the majority of rail travel.

A handful of the disembarking passengers wore shorts and wide-brimmed hats, hallmarks of northern tourists, a rare commodity in the post-Armageddon world.

Others dressed in short-sleeve shirts with colorful ties and briefcases. That breed might be representatives from food service companies looking to procure citrus crops, or industrial headhunters combing the survivor ranks to find those with specialized skills, or maybe even government census workers sent to register refugees. Of course, many of the arrivals were military personnel wearing BDUs.

Among the crowd walked Nina Forest in black tactical pants and a matching shirt with a duffle bag thrown over one shoulder, an M-4 assault rifle over the other, and a scabbard holding a sheathed sword tight to one leg.

Unlike the business men and tourists, Nina appeared completely unprepared for the South Florida heat. The humidity soaked into her cloths before she reached the shaded platform. The ceiling fans and the cover inside the station helped a little but by the time she hailed a taxi her face had turned red and she felt short of breath.

The driver provided her a complimentary bottle of water while Nina provided him with a destination: the Airport Hilton and Towers on Blue Lagoon drive. The rusting old Chevrolet Impala with a bobbing statue of Jesus on the dash and an older Hispanic male driver made its way south into the upper suburbs of Miami proper.

The Mediterranean and Spanish-style ranch houses of Hialeah and Miami's north side sat in tightly grouped neighborhoods, belying the dearth of citizens in that part of town. Nina knew from her experience fighting in Florida a few summers ago that Miami had turned itself into a fortress after the onslaught of Armageddon, holding out against swamp things and other nightmares as well as the organized forces of the Hivvan Republic. That defense caused an evacuation of the outer-lying areas in order to form lines along the Airport Expressway on the north side and the Palmetto Expressway to the west.

During those years of siege, the Miami population fed themselves with bounty from the sea and citrus while defending their city with a combination of police, National Guard, Cuban refugees, and armed citizens, until The Empire arrived and lifted the siege.

While she had helped clear the surrounding territory, this served as Nina's first visit to the city proper. Despite the town's struggle—or maybe because of it—Miami felt different from the scores of cities and metropolis' liberated by Trevor Stone's armies.

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