FACING UNFAMILIAR GROUND _an EMP survival story by Connor Mccoy

Author:Connor Mccoy [Mccoy, Connor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Petra heard the footsteps behind her and increased her speed. She kept from breaking into a run by sheer self-control. If whoever was following her realized Petra knew she was being followed, they would stop stalking and pounce. She understood the risks, and moved at a fast walk, hugging her coat around her to give the impression she was hurrying to get in from the cold.

In reality, she was sweating with fear. Her shirt clung to her back and chest, and a fine trickle of moisture ran from her hairline down her cheek. She kept her breathing regular, counting inhalations and exhalations, pushing down the sobs that threatened to erupt from her chest. Rule three: don’t show fear. She’d already broken rule one and two: don’t be caught on the street once the shadows have fallen, and never travel alone.

But she’d needed to get out to join her friends, who insisted on a regular social gathering in the evening, as if they still had pre-EMP twentysomething lives. The lives they’d expected to have. She’d been feeling stifled by her father’s iron-fisted rules, his insistence that she couldn’t keep herself safe. She’d escaped out onto the street, and she was paying for it now, proving her father right, which would have stung if she hadn’t been so busy being afraid.

The dusk was falling, the footsteps closing, and her heart pounding so loudly she wasn’t sure if she was misunderstanding what she was hearing. Was that a second person, or an echo of the first? She was in an area of town where she’d never been before the collapse of civilization. The buildings were old and run down, the paint chipping from the doors and window frames and the stone marked with faded graffiti. Here and there a window was broken, cracked or boarded up. She knew it didn’t matter, there were no places that were safe anymore, but the dilapidated condition of the buildings increased her unease.

A light shone from a window, not candlelight, but something brighter, battery-powered at a guess, and she could see the shadow of her pursuer from the corner of her eye. She didn’t dare turn her head to see the dark smudge in the shadows, and couldn’t tell if he was getting closer. She was reasonably sure it was a he, not that women weren’t also predators, but something about his style, his pace, his patience made her believe it was a man. And she’d better do something soon, or she’d be his prey.

She scanned the street, hoping for a family group huddled in a doorway, or signs of the party that should be close now. Nothing, no safe haven for her. Damn it, there should be some sign of the gathering by now. She took a chance and turned down a side street, hoping to throw off the stalker and nearly ran over a tall, dark-skinned woman coming her way.

Petra stammered an apology before realizing who she was speaking to, and relief flooded over her.

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.