Dark Days: The Long Road Home, a post apocalyptic novel Read Online Free
Author: L M May
stalking toward Christopher and the man he was talking to. “When are you going to do something about the phone?” she snapped.
Gemma rolled her eyes, glad when Anne linked her arm through the woman’s, guiding her toward the door. “Come on, Sasha dear, let’s go get you a nice cold drink of water.”
“I’ll be needing something a lot stronger than water,” Sasha snapped.
You’re not the only one, Gemma sighed, glancing briefly at the dead man. She had only seen one dead person before, and wasn’t at all comfortable in the presence of death. She hadn’t even been able to make herself view Caroline’s body. It brought back too many memories of the past.
A shiver trembled through her, and Christopher turned, his eyes darkening. He moved quickly toward her, his head jerking toward the couch. “Come on, let’s go somewhere else.”
Christopher took Gemma's arm, one hand on her back as he guided her out of the room.
“Gemma, this is my associate, Donavon,” Christopher introduced her to the man following them.
Gemma nodded her head at the grave-looking Donavon as they moved into the corridor.
The older man’s voice shook slightly when he spoke, his response automatic. “Lovely to meet you, Gemma.”
Gemma murmured a soft hello, her mind torn between the past and the future. A few years ago one of her students had terrified the crap out of her when he handed in the science paper he'd been working on for extra credit. The end of the world as we know it. If it had been any other student, Gemma might have laughed at the dramatic title, but Mathew Spencer wasn't just any kid.
Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, Mathew's world was black and white. There was no in between.
He took every word literally, didn't understand jokes, and spoke the plain truth without exaggeration of any kind.
Filled with facts and statistics, Mathew's paper had Gemma heading for the internet to do further research, and played no small part in the purchase of the small hobby farm she'd bought.
At the time she told herself she was just being sentimental – she had grown up on a farm as a child, and had been looking to purchase something anyway, although a small apartment was more within her budget. Even though it seemed a little on the wrong side of paranoid at the time, she managed to scrape together what she needed for the deposit.
It was the best thing she had ever done. She loved the peace and quiet, and had always dreamed of owning her own farm. Even though it was small, it was large enough that she had fresh eggs on demand, a vegetable patch, and quite a few fruit trees. And then there was her pride and joy – the strawberry patch.
More than once she had silently thanked Mathew. If it hadn't been for his paper, she would have been living in a small apartment in town.
She could almost remember the opening paragraph word for word, Matty's stark, matter-of-fact way of writing had burned it into her brain.
An electromagnetic pulse, also known as an EMP, will bring about the end of the world as we know it. EMPs can be caused by solar storms or by nuclear weapons detonated high in the atmosphere. When it happens the power grids will fail. There will be no electricity, water, heating, gas or sanitation. The EMP will burn out computer circuits. Airplanes, cars, computers, phones, pacemakers and anything with computer chips will stop working. In the first few minutes in America, between 250 000 and 500 000 people will be dead.
Gemma felt a chill pass through her. If the predictions were right, it was possible that half a million people were already dead; the plane had just been the beginning. How many people had been in the air when it happened? How many people relied on pacemakers or other machines to survive?
It was too hard to think about. The only thing she knew was that it was time to get out of the city and back to CJ. And the sooner the better.
3
Twenty minutes later Christopher was staring out the
Gemma rolled her eyes, glad when Anne linked her arm through the woman’s, guiding her toward the door. “Come on, Sasha dear, let’s go get you a nice cold drink of water.”
“I’ll be needing something a lot stronger than water,” Sasha snapped.
You’re not the only one, Gemma sighed, glancing briefly at the dead man. She had only seen one dead person before, and wasn’t at all comfortable in the presence of death. She hadn’t even been able to make herself view Caroline’s body. It brought back too many memories of the past.
A shiver trembled through her, and Christopher turned, his eyes darkening. He moved quickly toward her, his head jerking toward the couch. “Come on, let’s go somewhere else.”
Christopher took Gemma's arm, one hand on her back as he guided her out of the room.
“Gemma, this is my associate, Donavon,” Christopher introduced her to the man following them.
Gemma nodded her head at the grave-looking Donavon as they moved into the corridor.
The older man’s voice shook slightly when he spoke, his response automatic. “Lovely to meet you, Gemma.”
Gemma murmured a soft hello, her mind torn between the past and the future. A few years ago one of her students had terrified the crap out of her when he handed in the science paper he'd been working on for extra credit. The end of the world as we know it. If it had been any other student, Gemma might have laughed at the dramatic title, but Mathew Spencer wasn't just any kid.
Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, Mathew's world was black and white. There was no in between.
He took every word literally, didn't understand jokes, and spoke the plain truth without exaggeration of any kind.
Filled with facts and statistics, Mathew's paper had Gemma heading for the internet to do further research, and played no small part in the purchase of the small hobby farm she'd bought.
At the time she told herself she was just being sentimental – she had grown up on a farm as a child, and had been looking to purchase something anyway, although a small apartment was more within her budget. Even though it seemed a little on the wrong side of paranoid at the time, she managed to scrape together what she needed for the deposit.
It was the best thing she had ever done. She loved the peace and quiet, and had always dreamed of owning her own farm. Even though it was small, it was large enough that she had fresh eggs on demand, a vegetable patch, and quite a few fruit trees. And then there was her pride and joy – the strawberry patch.
More than once she had silently thanked Mathew. If it hadn't been for his paper, she would have been living in a small apartment in town.
She could almost remember the opening paragraph word for word, Matty's stark, matter-of-fact way of writing had burned it into her brain.
An electromagnetic pulse, also known as an EMP, will bring about the end of the world as we know it. EMPs can be caused by solar storms or by nuclear weapons detonated high in the atmosphere. When it happens the power grids will fail. There will be no electricity, water, heating, gas or sanitation. The EMP will burn out computer circuits. Airplanes, cars, computers, phones, pacemakers and anything with computer chips will stop working. In the first few minutes in America, between 250 000 and 500 000 people will be dead.
Gemma felt a chill pass through her. If the predictions were right, it was possible that half a million people were already dead; the plane had just been the beginning. How many people had been in the air when it happened? How many people relied on pacemakers or other machines to survive?
It was too hard to think about. The only thing she knew was that it was time to get out of the city and back to CJ. And the sooner the better.
3
Twenty minutes later Christopher was staring out the
Readers choose
Al Sarrantonio
Candice Owen
CJ Bishop
Kris Fletcher
Allie Blocker
Kallista Dane
Audrina Cole
Holly Bennett
Abby L. Vandiver
Nora Roberts