How We Survive: EMP Survival in a Powerless World by Stone William

Author:Stone, William [Stone, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | EMP
Published: 2021-04-19T04:00:00+00:00

18

The morning air was calm and eerily quiet as Hatfield stepped out of the compound. When he heard steps come up behind him, he turned to see a homesteader whose name he didn’t know, rifle strapped to his back.

“Didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that. Just coming out a little early to do my guard duty,” the young guy said. “Thought I’d get some target practice before my rounds.”

“No, that’s fine. I’m Trevor, by the way. Trevor Hatfield.” He reached for a handshake.

“I’m Jespersen. Cody Jesper—” he started to say, giving his hand a firm shake.

But Hatfield had to pull his hand away, mid-shake. “Ow. Keep forgetting about that!”

“Hand still bothering you?”

“Yeah,” he said, staring at the palm. “Maybe I need to join you for target practice, make sure I can still shoot.” He pulled the pistol from its holster and did his best to clamp his fingers around the gun’s butt. With a pained grunt, he was able to hold it—barely.

As Cody squatted next to him, firing at a haystack roughly fifty yards away, Hatfield raised his gun and aimed at the same target. But even the act of squeezing the trigger was beyond him. When he tried, the bullet flew astray, and the gun flew from his grip, landing in the tall grass.

He tried again and did no better the second time, unable to even hold it steady this time.

Cody sent him a soft and sympathetic look, saying, “You know, maybe you’d be better off trying a rifle.”

“Yeah,” Hatfield said, forcing about a laugh. “That might be a better idea.”

He shouldered the rifle, squatted into position, and reached his hand toward the trigger. But clamping his fingers around the trigger guard and on the trigger was something he couldn’t handle no matter how he tried to angle his hand. With a long grunt, he surrendered, then pulled back from the rifle and stared at it.

The homesteader sent his eyes to the ground, seeming to avoid uneasy eye contact. “I’m sure your hand will get better soon anyway.”

Hatfield nodded, then took a look at his fingers, noticing his forefinger had started to darken a little. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before—”

Cody held up a hand, nodding toward a figure in the distance barely visible in the tall weeds. “You see that, Mr. Hatfield?”

“Looks like something out there. Not sure what it is. You know if there are wolves in any part of this area?”

The young man shook his head, not daring to pull his gaze away from whatever it was in the distance.

Hatfield saw the figure duck, then disappear in the weeds. Cody reached for his rifle, then shouldered it. After a glance through the scope, he pulled away, searching for something. When he spotted a table five feet away, he turned it to its side and perched himself behind it. “Might be a wolf, might be something else.”

Before too long, both men had found barriers to get behind. They watched the seemingly empty landscape and waited.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.