Fallout: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival series (Dark Road Book 4) Read online

  FALLOUT

  Dark Road, Book Four

  Bruno Miller

  Would this be your final stand?

  The journey continues for Ben, his son Joel, Joel’s classmate Allie and their dog Gunner as they struggle with the harsh realities of this dangerous new world.

  Forging their way past countless obstacles both natural and manmade, they slowly make their way across the country, never knowing where they will sleep, or what challenges lie ahead. But the drive to reunite with family pushes them toward the east coast.

  Setbacks wait around every turn. Ben and his crew must adapt and overcome, honing their survival skills as they are repeatedly forced to fight for their lives.

  Will Ben’s army training get them to their loved ones in time? Or will the dark road take its toll?

  Fallout: Dark Road, Book Four

  Copyright © 2018 Bruno Miller

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

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  Table of Contents

  FALLOUT

  About the Book

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  About the Author

  For my kids, for whom I’d endure anything.

  Chapter One

  Ben slowly drove the truck back down the dirt road and away from the bridge.

  It had been such a good night with the kids. They were all so tired last night the campsite by the river seemed to be the perfect place to rest and recover from a rough day on the road. Joel had even done a little hunting and managed to bag three ducks for dinner. Just when things seemed to be going so well for a change. This just proved to Ben that they couldn’t afford to be careless and let their guard down. Now they had a serious situation to deal with, and he couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault.

  Ben couldn’t believe he had fallen for this trap. Now they were stuck here between these two bridges by who knew what kind of people. He should have listened to his gut on the way in here. He’d known something wasn’t right about those cars parked on the bridge last night.

  “Do you think they heard me shooting last night?” Joel asked.

  “No, they already knew we were here. They probably watched us drive in last night and shut the bridge down once we were out of sight.”

  Allie sighed. “I guess we should have kept going last night.”

  “They probably already had the bridge ahead blocked off. I’m sure they meant to catch us last night, but we probably threw them for a loop by getting off the road and spending the night a few miles downriver.”

  “Do you think they’re looking for us?” Joel swallowed.

  “I’m sure of it. We need to get this truck hidden before we do anything else.” Ben sped up a little and continued down the road until they were back on the narrow, washed-out trail they had used to get to last night’s campsite. He maneuvered the Blazer slowly as he leaned over the wheel and looked along the side of the trail for any kind of opening or break in the vegetation.

  After a few minutes they reached an area where the trees thinned out a little into dense brush. Ben spotted a small break in the undergrowth, turned off the trail, and went into the woods.

  Still in four-wheel drive from yesterday, the Chevy clawed its way up over the dense vegetation. The branches fought back and scratched at the sides and bottom of the truck but were no match for the machine.

  Once over the initial brush along the edge of the trail, the woods opened up, leaving plenty of room between the mature trees to navigate. They went about a mile or so before the semisolid ground under the truck turned to swampy lowlands. Ben was forced to stop for fear of getting stuck.

  He found a thick area of tall marsh grass and phragmites that would make a good place to conceal the truck. As he eased the Blazer into the thicket, he felt the wet ground give way. He was careful to only go as far as they needed to get the truck covered past the tailgate a couple feet.

  “We can use the camo netting to finish the job.” Ben shut the truck off and eased out, pushing the marsh grass aside with the door as he opened it.

  “Watch your step. It’s a little muddy out here.” Joel looked back at Allie as he got out. Gunner appeared totally confused by the unexpected stop and hesitantly followed Allie out of the truck.

  Ben opened the back of the truck and started organizing gear on the tailgate. He found the large piece of camo netting folded up and dragged it out.

  He handed it to Joel. “How about you guys start covering the truck?”

  “Got it.” Joel took the netting and pushed his way through the grass to the hood of the truck.

  Allie followed behind, being careful not to get whipped with the tall grass as she tried to stay in the freshly made path behind Joel.

  They each took a side at the front of the Blazer and spread the netting out lengthwise before they unfolded it over the truck. They worked their way back, climbing up on the tires so they could get it over the rooftop cargo box. Stopping at the rear of the cab, they left the remainder piled up on the roof.

  By the time Joel and Allie had the truck mostly covered, Ben had an assortment of weapons and gear laid out across the tailgate.

  “Here you go. Take these and get out of this mud.” Ben handed Joel the already-loaded AR-15 and a few extra magazines.

  Joel stuffed the extra mags in his rear pockets and took the rifle from his dad, slinging it over his shoulder.

  Then Ben handed Allie the modified Weatherby shotgun along with a handful of shells. “It’s already loaded and ready to go. Safety’s on.”

  “Thanks.” She divided the shells up and filled her front jean pockets, pushing four shotgun shells into each one.

  “We need to find a good vantage point where you guys can be a safe distance away from the truck but close enough to keep an eye on it.” Ben stopped what he was doing long enough to quickly scan their surroundings. “Maybe somewhere over there?” He nodded toward an area of higher ground before turning his attention back to what he was doing.

  Joel wrinkled his brow. “We’re not going with you?”

  “No. It’s better if I go alone. I just need to do a little recon and see if I can find out what and who we’re dealing with here. Besides, I need you guys to watch the truck.” Ben contin
ued to load his M24 without looking up.

  “What if you need help?” Joel asked. It was clear the kid wanted to come.

  “I need you to stay here to keep an eye on things. I’ll be fine.” Ben looked at Joel this time and made eye contact in an effort to end the debate.

  Joel accepted his father’s decision and joined Allie several feet back from the truck on higher ground, out of the mud and marsh grass.

  Gunner, already unnecessarily coated in the thick brown muck they had parked in, followed Joel. He seemed pleased with the mess he had become and lazily sat down near where Allie was standing.

  “Ugh…you’re such a piglet!” Joel looked at Gunner, who seemed to ignore the comment.

  Allie scratched Gunner’s head. “Awe, he’s a good boy.”

  Ben tossed the hatchet up onto the dry ground a few feet away from the kids. “Why don’t you guys start looking for a spot to hide?” He hated to leave them here on their own, but he wanted to move fast and move quiet—something he could do better alone. Plus, they could keep in touch using the two-way radios if necessary.

  By his estimate, only a couple miles separated them from the bridge out of Missouri, and he could get back to the kids in a hurry if he had to. What other choice did he have but to leave the kids there? He had already put them in enough danger by letting his guard down again and getting them into a bad situation. He resolved to stop beating himself up over it. There would be plenty of time for that later. Right now, he had to focus on what needed to be done.

  Chapter Two

  Joel picked up the small hatchet. He knew immediately that his dad wanted him to make a blind for him and Allie to hide in. He had made plenty before on their hunting trips, but this time would be different.

  This time they were the ones being hunted.

  Joel wished he could go with his dad and wanted to help him, but it slowly dawned on him that maybe the real reason his dad wanted him to stay behind was to keep an eye on Allie. After what had happened to her at the gas station back in Kansas, he was happy not to let her out of his sight for a while.

  Joel was suddenly reminded by the harsh reality that he had killed a man just a couple days ago. Not that he needed to be reminded of that. It was something he would never forget. He could still see the man’s dirty face as he pulled the trigger. The scene played out in his mind over and over in slow motion.

  He knew he’d had no choice. It had been an “us or them” situation, like his dad would say, but that didn’t make what he had done any easier to swallow. No matter how many times he told himself he was justified in pulling that trigger, he still felt a sense of guilt about taking a life. He was glad most of the confrontation had gone a little blurry in his mind. He remembered more details than he wanted to already.

  Allie followed Joel to an old, dead fallen tree.

  “This looks like a good spot,” Joel said.

  Allie studied the tree, which had been uprooted and toppled over. The mature oak was a significant size and stretched along the ground, all the way down into the marshy area near where they had concealed the Blazer in the tall grass. The trunk was only about 40 yards away from the truck, but the way the tree had fallen, with its large root ball still intact, would provide them exceptional cover if anyone approached from the trail.

  Joel looked down the gradual slope to where his dad was closing up the truck and pulling the camo netting the rest of the way over the back of the Blazer. Between the flat tan paint job, blackened windows, and camouflage netting, the Blazer had become invisible.

  His dad straightened the marsh grass where it had been pushed aside from their activity, then walked away from the truck, his bag and rifle slung over his shoulder. He joined Joel and Allie up on the high ground out of the marsh.

  “What do you think about behind that tree? I can fill in underneath with some brush.” Joel pointed along the ground to where the tree fell short of connecting with the dirt by several inches.

  “Yeah, that’ll work.” Ben handed one of the two-way radios to Joel. “Keep the volume low and don’t use it unless you have to. If you can’t talk, give me two short clicks. If I hear that, I’ll know you’ve got trouble and I’ll double-time it back here.”

  Joel nodded. “Okay.”

  Ben looked at both of them. “You both have your pistols, right?”

  “Yes,” Joel answered quickly.

  “Yep.” Allie reached down to her hip and touched her hand to the holstered .38. “Is Gunner staying with us?”

  “Yeah. I think it’s a good idea. He knows how to be quiet in a blind and he’ll be able to hear anybody coming long before you guys will,” Ben said.

  “Be careful, Dad,” Joel said.

  “I will. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” And with that, Ben headed off into the woods.

  Joel turned to look at Allie as she stood there in her mud-encrusted hiking boots, holding the shotgun in one hand with the other resting on the .38.

  She was a different person than the girl he had found hiding in the attic less than a week ago. She was somehow stronger in spite of the circumstances. For all they had been through, she gave off a confidence that was contagious. She somehow made him feel like there was hope and a reason to believe everything would be okay again someday.

  Or maybe it was the fact he was falling hopelessly in love with her.

  Chapter Three

  Ben hated leaving them there but he’d make better time on his own. As soon as he could figure out what was going on, he’d get back to the kids, and they could come up with a plan.

  He headed east toward the bridge, jogging when the vegetation allowed. The peninsula they were on was only a few miles wide according to the map. He wished the atlas was more detailed, but he was fortunate to at least have what he did.

  He tried to cut an angle through the woods that would take him close to the main road. The ground would be higher and easy to navigate. On the map, this area looked pretty wet, and he didn’t want to get stuck wading through any marshy areas.

  Also, if he kept to the woods, just off the road, he could watch for any patrolling vehicles, although if their trappers had been looking for them since last night, they may have resorted to searching the woods as well by now.

  He was glad he had listened to his instincts last night and gotten them well off the road. He wondered if the kids thought he was being too cautious by going so far past the end of the trail. He hadn’t wanted to mention his suspicions at the time and cause them to worry for no reason.

  Of course, none of that mattered now.

  He was going to have to remind himself to be honest with Joel and Allie and not hold back with any information or observations he made. They needed to be part of the decision-making process from now on, and they deserved it. They were both holding up well, all things considered. He knew the journey would be hard but he hadn’t realized it would get this bad this quickly. He was not only impressed, but also proud of them.

  Joel had really stepped up his game, and Ben had noticed a big change in him. And even though he hadn’t known Allie for very long, he found himself thinking of her like one of his own kids. He was equally impressed with how she had handled herself up to this point.

  Considering the loss of her mother and the uncertainty of her father’s well-being, Ben thought she was a real trooper. After all the stuff they’d seen and been through in the last few days, he doubted there were many kids their age that could keep their composure as well as they had.

  They’d had such a good travel day yesterday it was hard to accept the fact that things had deteriorated into the situation they were in now. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything happened to Joel or Allie.

  When Ben thought about how much time this was costing them and the potential danger they might be in, anger wormed up his spine. He resented whoever was behind it. In his opinion, there was nothing worse than a person who was willing to harm others for personal gain.

  He’d seen the strong ta
ke advantage of the weak too many times in some of the places he’d been stationed over the years. He’d seen the suffering and the hardship firsthand. In part, that was what convinced him terminate his Army career. Nothing ever changed in these places they were sent to. Wiping out one faction only created a void for a new and sometimes far more nefarious version to step in. Oftentimes the locals were left no better off than they had been at the start.

  Ben focused on the way in front of him. He could make out an area ahead where the tree canopy thinned out considerably. He altered his course to run alongside the clearing. Glimpses of the road were visible through the thinning vegetation.

  He maintained a somewhat steady pace now in the sparse woods and was only limited by his own aches and pains. This was the farthest he had run in a few years and the first time he had felt his age in a while.

  A few more minutes in, he stopped and rested the rifle against a tree while he wriggled out of the backpack and took off his long-sleeve overshirt. He balled it up and stuffed it in the backpack as he glanced at his surroundings from time to time.

  With a sigh, he repositioned the pack and caught his breath. Picking the M24 back up, he stood motionless for a minute or two and listened. He didn’t hear any cars, and he hadn’t seen anything yet.