Fighting Darkness: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Thriller (Fighting to Survive Book 2) Read online

  Of course, the shooting had started again as soon as it was dark. It was like they were trying to torture him with this constant noise and destruction. The worst thing was, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He’d dug out an old pair of ear muffs and tried to stick them over the dog’s ears as a last resort, but of course Toby hadn’t been able to stand having the things tight around his head. He’d have put the dog in one of the wardrobes and covered it with blankets only for the fact that Toby hated any kind of restricted space, probably because of his mistreatment as a pup.

  It was morning now, and quiet again, but Dan was exhausted. He’d stopped lighting the wood stove after that first encounter with the neighbours. Just in case. He didn’t know what they had. The last thing he wanted was them coming over here and raiding the place when he didn’t have a hope of defending it against them.

  He chewed on his thumbnail. He’d done nothing productive yesterday. He didn’t feel very productive today, either. But he had to get out of this. If he spent all his time hanging around festering they’d win. He picked up the binoculars from the kitchen table where he’d left them. He’d go take a look at what the neighbours were doing. Then he’d run an inventory of what was in the shed. He’d need to go find animal feed in the near future, which meant he’d have to rig up some sort of reinforced carrier on his bike that was capable of carrying the large, heavy sacks.

  He frowned as soon as he’d left the house and locked the door behind him. He never used to lock it when he was close to the house, but now it seemed like a sensible precaution. The three cows were nowhere to be seen. Whatever about later in the day, they usually hung around the house in the morning.

  He climbed the fence. There was no sign of them in the field. He sprinted up the hill, taking care to stop just shy of the peak. It was high enough to give him a good view of the neighbouring farmhouse, which was on even lower ground than his own.

  Maybe a good rainstorm will drown them out, he thought.

  But then what good would that do? They might take it upon themselves to commandeer his house. He bristled. He’d never felt so helpless in his life.

  He crawled forward, praying now that he was going to see the three heifers grazing near the boundary with his neighbours. They had to be. Because if not, what was he going to do?

  You’re being paranoid.

  He raised the binoculars to his eyes and scanned the other side of the field. There were a few men out working in the yard, but no sign of his cattle anywhere.

  “Bastards,” he muttered to himself, clutching the binoculars so tightly that he had to tell himself to stop in case he broke them.

  He turned, looking towards the road. There was no sign of them there either. He retreated back on his hands and knees until he was about fifteen feet from the top. If they were watching from that house he wasn’t going to let them see they’d rattled him. He had no doubt now that they were behind this. First the sheep and now the cattle? The two fields weren’t connected. Someone had let them out.

  Dan glowered as he recalled what had happened earlier. It was almost dark now, but his anger hadn’t faded one bit. He’d run all the way along the road until he almost reached the neighbour’s house. There’d been no sign of the cattle. He’d come back and gone the other way, seething with rage and ready to march over there and have it out with them. Then he’d got around the corner and found the three animals placidly eating grass in the narrow verge.

  He’d been so relieved until he remembered that the gate to the field had been opened; that there could be no doubt now that his neighbours had done it on purpose.

  That was the most frustrating thing. They hadn’t gained anything from it. They’d had to walk down and open those gates, and probably shoo the animals out too. The only logical explanation was that they were trying to intimidate him.

  He wouldn’t let them. He’d be prepared. He was sure of one thing. All ten of them weren’t wandering around in a group opening gates.

  He’d be ready for them if they came again. He’d catch them in the act and shoot them dead if they came onto his land again. It wasn’t like he was going to sleep anyway, so he might as well use the time productively.

  And if they came after him? Surely they’d see it was justified. A farmer alone in a blackout faced with an intruder? It was a natural reaction.

  Dan’s hands started to shake as he played this through in his mind. This was the part he wasn’t sure of. Those men didn’t seem in any way logical. Better to have a fight on his land than on theirs, though. If anything did happen, he’d have the whole night to fortify the place and prepare his defences. He had a whole box of cartridges: all he needed was time to reload.

  He’d think of a way.

  For now, he was going to prowl the perimeter of the house like an intruder on his own property.

  Dan froze. There was a droning sound off in the distance, something he hadn’t heard for quite some time. He listened carefully. He had no doubt in his mind. That was a car.

  He moved around to the back of the house and leant against the wall in a spot where he was able to see part of both the front and back yards. It could be nothing, of course, but something told him it was significant. He hadn’t heard a car in days. He told himself there was no way it was coming this way, but instinct said he was wrong. He was sure he hadn’t seen the men next door before the power outage. His heart thumped as he imagined the consequences for him if it was more people arriving at that house. They didn’t have any livestock that he’d been able to see and he couldn’t imagine they had much food if they’d only just arrived there.

  He waited impatiently. Part of him wanted to get this all over with—it was better than living in a never-ending limbo.

  The engine noise grew louder and louder. Soon it was clear that the car was coming this way. It could still turn off onto one of the many other small roads that crisscrossed his, but he doubted it. He didn’t know why he was so certain they were going to his neighbour’s house, he just was.

  Then the unthinkable happened. The front yard was lit up all of a sudden and Dan realised the car wasn’t going to the neighbour’s house at all, but his.

  Was this what he’d been waiting for?

  He swallowed, trying his best to steel himself.

  The lights disappeared and a moment later, the yard was lit up again. It made no sense until he realised with growing horror that it wasn’t one car at all, but two.

  Dan jutted out his chin. Perhaps this was the end. So be it. He wasn’t going to just roll over and let them win. He wasn’t going down without a fight.

  A figure moved around the house. Dan stepped forward as quietly as he could, raising his shotgun. He’d do as much damage as he could before they got him.

  “No,” cried a very familiar voice. There was a swoosh of clothing as whoever it was reached for something.

  Dan frowned. Was he starting to hallucinate from the tiredness? “Annie?” He lowered his gun.

  “Dan!” she cried. “Is that a…”

  The next thing he knew, she was running at him. He held his arms out and she leapt into them.

  “Annie,” he whispered, burying his face in her hair. “I was so worried.”

  Something was wrong. Instead of relaxing fully, her body was rigid.

  “Dan, I’ll explain everything later. Terry’s been shot. We need to get him inside.”

  Terry? he thought. Who’s Terry? And who shot him? “Shot,” he muttered as it dawned on him that his wife must have been through hell to be this panicked.

  “Later.”

  There was such urgency in her voice that he managed to swallow back his questions and follow her out to the front, where people were yelling and shouting as if all hell had broken loose.

  Dan lay in bed later that night listening to the soft rhythmic sighs of his wife’s sleeping breath. He was still trying to process everything he’d seen and heard. None of it made any sense to him. Shootouts with gangsters. It was so far be
yond everything he’d been through that he’d almost felt foolish telling her what had been happening here. Not to mention guilty. Annie had been so relieved to get home to the place that had always been their sanctuary. He’d had to tell her that it wasn’t as safe as she thought, though he hadn’t yet told her everything that had happened.

  He sighed. She thought he was making a big thing out of nothing.

  Wait until she found out the truth.

  Annie

  Saturday

  Dan was gone by the time Annie woke up. She lay in bed for a few moments, just staring up at the ceiling and relishing the feeling of the cool cotton sheets and plush pillows. They had water, they had food, and with a bit of hard work and dedication, they’d grow the farm to a size that could sustain them all.

  She sighed, breathing in the familiar smell of home; the slight odour of damp that had clung to the farmhouse no matter how many damp treatments they’d tried.

  She was home. Against all the odds, she was home. She couldn’t quite believe it.

  She closed her eyes. The only thing missing was the smell of coffee: usually whoever got up first made a pot. That was their morning ritual. Her good mood dampened slightly as she recalled the hunted look in Dan’s eyes when they got home the night before. He was usually so calm. She hadn’t expected that. Then later when they’d whispered in the dark… she hadn’t needed to see him to know he was struggling to cope.

  She sat up. She couldn’t relax in bed knowing that he was struggling. They had to figure this out. There was a way through it: she was sure of that.

  He was sitting at the kitchen table with his chin resting on his palm. She’d seen him sit like that a thousand times, but this time it was different. He was so weighed down by this petty feud with the neighbours that it was having a physical effect on him.

  She cleared her throat. “No-one else up yet?”

  He started. “Annie.”

  “Yeah, of course,” she smiled, coming and sitting on the chair opposite him. “Who else would it be?”

  He shrugged. A sad look crept across his face. “I don’t know. Some of the others. And no, nobody is up yet.”

  She nodded. She supposed Terry was full of whatever painkillers Olivia had given him, and Olivia herself was probably dosed with sedatives. Clive and Si… well, maybe they were both enjoying lie-ins just like she would have if she’d been able to relax. “Good. I need to talk to you.”

  He smiled. “You weren’t making a whole lot of sense last night. You’ll have to tell me again about your journey. It sounds mad.”

  Her smile faltered. He was avoiding the subject they really needed to discuss. “That can wait.” She cleared her throat. She needed a cup of coffee—she’d been dreaming about it for long enough.

  “It’s not like we have much else to do but talk,” he said, gesturing around the quiet kitchen. “Annie, I’m so glad to have you back. I want to hear everything about the journey.”

  “I know that. It’s just…” she frowned. Why was this so difficult? “I think we need to talk about this thing with the neighbours first, Dan.”

  His expression darkened. “Are you sure? You’ve only just got back.”

  “Yeah, I know. But… Help me understand, Dan. Is it possible you’re being a little paranoid?”

  He recoiled. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean this.” She swept her hand around the room. Her eyes caught the cold stove in the corner and lingered on it. “I mean you sitting here in the dark with the stove off when it’s cold out.”

  “What was I supposed to do? They’re dangerous, Annie.” He leant closer. “I don’t want to stress you out after what you’ve been through.”

  “Please, Dan.”

  When he’d finished, she took his hands. “Is there any chance you forgot to close the gate? Or that it blew open?”

  “I’m sure about this, Annie. Certain. I didn’t tell you everything last night because you were so exhausted. But I’m telling you now. They’re bad news. I didn’t want them smelling the woodsmoke and getting any ideas about taking it for themselves.”

  “How the hell would they take a wood burner?” She shook her head, assuming he was being dramatic.

  But one look at his face told her he wasn’t. Her smile disappeared.

  “Dan, you can’t be serious.”

  “There’s about ten of them, Annie. I know you think I’m mad, but I’m not. They laughed at me when I told them not to burn those reeds. They think they can come here and do what they want. They’re shooting at all hours of the night too. Toby’s terrified.”

  Annie’s chest felt heavy. She closed her eyes. The memory of those men who’d tried to attack them was clear in her mind. She could see their lifeless bodies lying on that service station forecourt. She doubted she’d ever be able to forget it: it was burned into her mind.

  “Look, Dan. I can’t imagine what it must have been like here on your own with a bunch of arseholes next door. Especially when you had no idea where I was.”

  “You know why I didn’t come looking for you, don’t you? I should have gone that first night. But I didn’t. And after that it was too late.”

  She nodded. “Of course I do. I hoped you’d still be here. As soon as I realised what was going on, the only thing I could think of was getting back here to you and the safety of the farm.”

  He frowned. “It’s not safe here. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

  Annie took a deep breath. “Dan, it’s different now. I’m back. And it’s not just the two of us. There’s no need to worry. If they kick off, we can beat them.”

  “There’s about ten of them, Annie. Like I just told you. I’ve been watching them. And they don’t seem like the type to listen to anyone else. They’re convinced they’ve got the right to do as they please.”

  “So? Let them. We only need to worry if they start to interfere with our land.”

  “They already opened the gates and let the sheep and cattle out.”

  She sighed. “Look, I know it’s annoying. But what else can we do? It just seems like such a minor thing after the last few days. Dan, the people who chased us were gangsters. And we…” she stopped, realising it probably wasn’t a good idea to tell him about how Si had trapped them in the garage. He’d never forgive her. “Look, we saw a lot. But do you know what? We got through it. Just like we’ll get through this.” She stood and moved to the sink, smiling when she saw the bucket of water sitting on the counter beside it. “Good work with the well.”

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “I’m not! I’m just… we’ve got to get on with our lives. It’s going to be hard enough without worrying about the neighbours.”

  He sighed. “It’s impacting everything. Don’t you see? I wanted to set up a pump from the river for washing and the toilet, but with everything that’s been going on with them I was worried about wasting all that time only for them to sabotage it.”

  She opened the cupboard and looked around for the coffee pot. “Do we still have that gas cylinder? I’m gagging for a coffee and the stove will take far too long to heat up.”

  “We can’t, Annie. I don’t know how much food and water they have. I don’t want them coming here and trying to take our wood and who knows what else.”

  “They might as well, if we’re not going to use it. What are you thinking? That we’ll wait them out? We need to stay warm, Dan. We need hot meals. We’re luckier than a lot of people and we shouldn’t take that for granted. We’ve got to keep our strength up.”

  He looked unconvinced.

  “Right. I’ll go look for it. Is it still in the utility cupboard?”

  He got to his feet. “Annie, this is different. You might have gotten lucky on the road, but you can’t be cocky now. There are ten of them. They’re older, but strong. They have shotguns.”

  “So?” she said. “Dan, we can’t just curl up here and give in. We’ve got to ignore them. If they come for us, that’s a different stor
y. We’ll put up a hell of a fight.”

  “You don’t believe me. I’m just trying to protect what we built together. To protect you.”

  “And I want to protect it too. But we’re not going to do that by hiding away. Lying low might have been the most sensible approach when it was just you, but there are six of us now.” She shook her head as she thought about it. How lucky it was that she’d been scared; that she’d waited around and convinced her neighbours to come with her. She doubted she’d even be there if it hadn’t been for them. And now they had strength in numbers. It wasn’t an army, but it was a hell of a lot better than if it had just been the two of them.

  He blinked. “It’s just so annoying.”

  “It is what it is. Now, tell me where that gas is. If we’re going to fight I want us to be well-fed and strong. This is my home. The neighbours can either respect that or not. But if they choose not to, they’ll soon realise we’re not pushovers.”

  Max

  Sunday

  Max stared at the wall. the whole place stank of mould and rot, even now, days after they’d dragged him in here, his nose hadn’t gotten used to it.

  He pursed his lips. He’d never give in. Never. He’d kept count of the days that passed—now he wondered if that had been a bad idea. It might have been better just to forget and let his mind go silly.

  He’d let them take him. He could have fought, even though it would’ve been madness going up against armed men when he had nothing. He still would have, if it hadn’t been for her. By going along with them, he’d drawn the danger away from Si.

  He closed his eyes. Where was she now? She was a good kid, but difficult. How was she doing in this crazy new world? She’d struggled to fit in back when things were normal. And without him to shield her from the worst of it…