Ragnarok Rising: The Awakening (Book One of The Ragnarok Rising Saga) Read Online Free

beginning to think it might actually be some kind of Old Gods Plague or possibly the end of the world, or Ragnarok as it is referred to by the Asatruar.
    By the time I made it to the briefing room, Andrews was telling everyone that Dallas was reporting rioting. Briefing was cut short so that the Lieutenant could tell us about a memo from the Sheriff. He called an alert status for the county as well as a recall to active duty of all of our reserve officers and recent retirees.
    All vacations were cancelled for the duration of the alert. There was also a warning to all officers that we should start making preparations for our families, just in case. It suggested laying in a supply of bottled water and extra canned goods. I made a mental note to pick up more ammo on the way home. At the end of the note was a heavy-handed warning that in an emergency situation, we were expected to report for duty until the alert was cancelled.
    The rioting was all we could talk about that day. Every time someone went out for a break, they would call in an update over the radio. We didn’t tie up radio traffic with big reports. We’d just say the name of any new city on the list. Santa Fe and Corpus Christi were the first two to come over the radio. They were quickly followed by Austin and Houston. When I went to lunch, I heard radio reports about New Orleans and relayed it. Later, they were followed by Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Wichita. That’s when we all started getting really nervous.
    The Lieutenant made the decision to secure the facility to prevent a riot of our own. The inmates had been watching the news on TV and were starting to get restless. Sure, some of them were worried about their families, but most of them were only worried about themselves. When I called “lockdown” for Bravo Pod, I really didn’t think they were going to do it. It was the first time I’d ever felt like I might lose the pod. I breathed a sigh of relief when the last door slammed shut.
    When we hit the parking lot that night, we were all abuzz with conversation about the latest rioting reports. Everyone was saying what they’d do if the riots started here. Most said that they’d get their families to safety and then return to duty. A few said that since no one had been able to stop the rioters so far, that they didn’t see what any of us could do except be killed. Better to just get your family and get away from the riots, completely.
    But everyone agreed we needed to start planning escape routes out of the city and safe-houses for our families. The only thing that no one could agree on was where it would be safe. Matthews and I both thought that the jail would be the safest place in the city. It was a modern day castle of steel-reinforced concrete. Steel doors and thick shatterproof glass surrounded all exits. It was a fortress. The kitchen had more than enough food to last a month, even longer without the inmates.
    Now, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I wasn’t talking anything crazy. There were a bunch of them that were only in on misdemeanor stuff. Reasons like traffic tickets, DWI, non-payment of fines and other minor offenses. With society collapsing as it was, why not just let them go. They weren’t a threat to society. It was quite the opposite, really. If we were really seeing the beginning of the end here, then society was more of a threat to them.
    That didn’t deal with the violent ones or the sex offenders. You couldn’t just turn them loose, and anything else was unethical. That didn’t mean we didn’t think it, though. The building could hold over 600 people and the generators would keep the power on for a couple weeks after the power-grid failed. It was a moot point anyway. The decision to release the inmates had to come from way above my pay grade. A lowly CO like me never made decisions like that.
    We were pretty sure that society was collapsing. Some thought it was biblical and others claimed it was some secret government