Taken: Fracture Book 2: (A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller) by Kenny Soward & Mike Kraus

Author:Kenny Soward & Mike Kraus [Soward, Kenny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Muonic Press Inc
Published: 2021-09-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Ben Willard, Santa Barbara, California

A sluggish dream held him hostage. It was a dream about a house in the middle of the woods, his family inside, surrounded by some great, unseen peril.

For hours on end, Ben prowled the forest, gun in hand, waiting for something to come for them. What that something was, he didn’t know. It was the worry over his family’s safety that kept him moving and on edge.

But a strong cyclonic wind blew through the woodland, bursting against his home, sending shingles and big chunks of insulation tossed upward into the dark clouds above. He abandoned his patrol, sprinting back to his home, coming within sight of it in just a few seconds.

The house at the top of the hill still stood, but barely, bricks flying up one-by-one, the frame shivering in the foundation. His family, Pam, Angel, Ty, and Rose were inside, desperately holding on.

Spitting sweat, lungs gasping, he lifted his knees and drove hard, confused that he couldn’t move faster after a lifetime of hiking hills and mountains.

But when he looked down, his feet were mired in a foot of rolling lava, the hairs on his legs burning off, skin sloughing off his legs. But the pain of losing those he loved was greater. Gazing upward, he watched Pam, Angel, Ty, and Rose go twirling into the sky, hands grasping, eyes wide and mouths shrieking in terror.

A scream burst from his chest as he reached for them, even as the lava sucked him under, enveloping him in endless torment.

A firm hand shook his shoulder, pressing him into the bed, words tossed at him. “Hey, Ben. Wake up, mate.”

Ben jerked up, right into the hands of Dan “Wild Man” Albers. “Whoa, buddy! Hang on, there. It’s just me!”

“Oh, jeez,” he said, gripping the man’s arm as his eyes darted around the bedroom apartment he’d spent the night in.

It was on the third floor of the complex overlooking the valley, Kay taking the next room over while he slept in the master bedroom. It was the first real mattress he’d laid on in days, and sleep hit him like a rock, dropping him into a bottomless pit until the dream had come.

“Sorry, man. It was just a nightmare.”

Albers patted him on the back. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll all be having bad dreams for years after this. I’m not sleeping so well myself.”

“Yeah.” Ben swung his legs off the bed and rested his face in his hands, rubbing his cheeks, palms working into the scratchy scruff on his chin.

“Anyway, we’re putting together some breakfast. Found some eggs, and we’re making pancakes on the camping stoves. How does that suit you?”

At the mention of food, his stomach gave a ferocious growl. He nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’m starving.”

“That’s what I like to hear, bucko. I’ll make sure they put something on for you. See you downstairs.”

With that, Albers left him alone.

Ben’s body felt like he’d gone on an all-night bender, bourbon as his drink of choice, several shots of it down the gullet.

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