Into the Darkness by Doug Kelly & C. Madding

Author:Doug Kelly & C. Madding [Kelly, Doug & Madding, C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense, Technothrillers, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Thrillers, Dystopian
Amazon: B00CC0FMWW
Published: 2013-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

As the endless days turned into weeks again, the men noticed the surrounding terrain gradually change. They saw more farmland with abandoned crops, and the arid grassland faded away as trees became a common sight along the riverbank. Although the men were able and motivated to avoid direct contact with people over these weeks, they did see people with increasing frequency. Some were walking in the fields and others were on horseback. The closest they came to contact, recently, was with a man chopping a tree near the river. They had drifted too close and the man with the axe had his back turned, oblivious to the rafts floating downstream.

On a cloudy morning, the men came upon a bridge crossing the river. It had been weeks since they had seen a bridge. This was a steel-framed bridge supported by large concrete pillars. It was a wide bridge, and because of the billowing dark clouds behind them, they decided to stop beneath it to rest and determine whether a storm was actually on its way. The men pulled their rafts out of the water and tethered them to the riverbank in case of heavy wind from the possible storm. Dylan climbed up the embankment, staying under the bridge, looking for an area that would remain dry if it began to rain. He sat down in the dirt and the other two men joined him.

“Anybody want to guess where we’re at?” Dylan asked.

“It’s hard to say without a map,” Kevin replied. “I know we’ve covered a lot of distance and the river has turned south now. My guess is we’re deep into the Dakotas.”

“It won’t be much longer before we go through some bigger cities,” said Richard. “We’ve been able to avoid people for a while, but I’m afraid when we get closer to a city, that’s not going to work anymore.”

Dylan reflected in silence on what Richard had just said. He knew that Richard was correct. They would not be able to avoid people much longer. The larger cities were getting closer and it would not be long before they had to pass through them. He looked up at Richard, nodded, and then spoke to Kevin. “He’s right. We can try to keep our distance, but when we get to Omaha, we’ll start to get into the thick of this mess. You said you live in the downtown area. My guess is that by now chaos has reached your town. We’ll need to go in fast and get right back out. I plan on carrying the rifle in plain sight to deter the criminal element.” Dylan stood up and brushed dirt off his pants with his hands. “Kevin, how do you think your wife is doing?”

“She’s a smart person, a science teacher, so I’m sure she figured out what happened faster than others. She’s thrifty, too. When we went grocery shopping and she saw a good deal on something we could stock the pantry with, she loaded up.” Kevin’s voice trailed into a depressed tone.

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