After the Storm (Book 3): Survival by Casey Ryan

Author:Casey, Ryan [Casey, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Dystopian
Publisher: Higher Bank Books
Published: 2017-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Stu saw the new arrivals heading through the trees, and he knew right away he had another dilemma on his hands.

It was a nice day. Much nicer, now the storm had decided to give them a breather. It was one of those crisp, frosty afternoons that reminded him of Christmas. Back when things were normal, he’d go to Samantha’s parents’ for Christmas. In the early days, the whole having to spend Christmas with the in-laws thing frustrated him. Samantha and he would have real, brutal arguments about how much time they spent with her parents compared to how much time they spent with his.

The arguments weren’t helped when Dad passed away. It was very sudden, a dodgy bit of ice in the road and bam, right into a bollard. The police told Stu that his death had been pretty instant, but it always bothered him that they hadn’t been completely straight with him. Perhaps his death had been much more drawn out and painful than he’d originally been told. Maybe he’d been screaming as they’d attempted to cut him from the car, only to die when they finally detached him from the sharp shards of crumpled metal that the car had been reduced to.

It didn’t help him to think this way. But after that, the arguments had got worse for a while, and then soon after their relationship had picked up. He started to enjoy his Christmases with Samantha and his in-laws. He saw them… well, as a new family.

Just a shame they all had to go away so soon after the collapse. Such a tragedy that the virus took hold of her and snatched her away from him, forever.

The lights might spark on again someday. But Samantha’s life—and their relationship—would not.

Which was part of why he’d forced himself to move on to someone else.

Now, he saw the people at the gates. There were four of them. One was just a little boy. They looked like they’d walked quite a way to get here. And more interestingly than anything, one of them had an air rifle, and it looked like they had a bag full of supplies.

“Do you want me to take them out?” Hailey asked.

Stu hesitated. Just for a few seconds. “No,” he said.

Hailey raised her eyebrows. “Wow. There’s a turn for the books.”

He turned away from Hailey and climbed down the steps, right down towards the gates.

As he opened the gates, he heard a voice whispering in his ear, telling him he was making the wrong call. After all, he knew he should only trust those inside his community, of which there were enough people already.

But there was just something about these people, with their weapons on display, and that food in front of them. They looked like they were willing to share. Like they were happy to offer up what they had for Stu to take.

He liked that about them. At least they understood that you couldn’t get anywhere without payment, not anymore.

He walked towards them, and they walked towards him.

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