Darkness Grows: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (After the EMP Book 2) by Harley Tate

Author:Harley Tate [Tate, Harley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harley Tate
Published: 2017-05-10T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

WALTER

Sacramento, CA

5:00 p.m.

The drive into town via a giant desert-brown convoy took hours. Walter’s impatience grew with every mile. Was his family in the middle of a war zone? Were they barricaded inside the tiny bungalow while people set the rest of the city on fire? Had Madison even made it home, or was she out there somewhere, trapped and alone?

Walter ground his fist into his palm over and over as the Humvee bounced down the road. If anyone hurt his family, he wouldn’t rest until he found the culprit.

“You all right?” Drew’s voice snapped him out of his waking nightmare.

“Just imagining the possibilities.”

“Don’t do that to yourself. We’ll find out soon enough.” Drew ducked to look out the window. “We’re only a mile or two from my place.”

“Where do you live?”

“Downtown. A little condo on N Street, about five blocks from the river.”

Walter glanced at the two National Guardsmen in the front seats. “Can you all drop us off downtown? Somewhere near the Capitol?”

Both Guardsmen looked at each other before glancing in the back. “That’s part of the containment area. We’re headed that way, but we’ve got orders to lock it all down.”

“What about the state government? Isn’t the governor and the legislature at the Capitol?”

The man in the passenger’s seat shook his head. “No. It fell yesterday. The major who came to brief us said the whole thing’s on fire. The dome and everything.”

The driver spoke up. “That’s why we got pulled back from Portland. We’ve got orders to contain the violence to inside the rivers and the highways. Everything from the Sacramento and American Rivers south to Highway 50 and I-80 is going on lockdown.”

Walter swallowed. “That’s all of downtown.”

“Midtown, too.” Drew scooted forward in his seat. “My fiancée is downtown. That’s where we live. I have to get to her and get her out.”

“We can drop you at our checkpoint, but can’t get any closer.”

Walter turned to Drew. “Are you sure she’s at home? You said yourself she could be anywhere.”

Drew ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “I…I don’t know.” He glanced out the window. “But I have to get home and find out.”

Walter nodded in understanding. Part of him wanted to wave as Drew set off for his place and turn in the other direction, but walking to their home from downtown would be difficult. He would never make it before dark.

What he needed was transportation. He turned to Drew. “Do you have a car?”

“Yeah. A Jetta, why?”

“Will it be at your house?”

“It should be, unless Anne took it somewhere.”

Walter nodded. He could help Drew find his fiancée and they could all drive to his home in the safer, non-barricaded part of town. Walking through a riot to get to a car wasn’t the best idea, but leaving Drew didn’t seem right. Not when the guy had a twisted ankle and could barely walk.

“I’ll go with you to your place and help you find Anne, if you’ll drive me to my house when we’re done.

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