The Day After Never - Retribution (Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller - Book 4) Read Online Free

put. The only two that run are that one and that one,” he said, indicating a pair of vehicles parked on the shoulder. Lucas and Colt had already inventoried the vehicles and selected for the trek four horse trailers with intact tires, two buses that looked to be on their last legs, and the pair of Humvees equipped with .50-caliber Brownings.
    Sierra glanced at the horses. “At least we don’t have to ride all the way there.”
    “Small mercies.” Lucas looked down at Eve for a moment, who didn’t seem to be listening, and then shifted his attention back to Sierra. “Problem’s the fuel situation. They ran the damn trucks near dry, so we’re not going to make it all the way.”
    “I thought it was only a hundred miles or so?”
    “More like a hundred and fifty following the road.” Lucas shrugged. “I’m going to help Duke and Aaron siphon what’s left from the buses that are out of commission. Mind pitching a tent for me?”
    Eve had wandered out of earshot, and Sierra gave Lucas a knowing smile. “Only if I get a tour later.”
    Lucas answered with a smile of his own and then removed the saddlebags and tack from Tango and left the stallion to forage. He made his way to where Duke was standing with Aaron and Luis with a pair of red plastic jerry cans in his hands.
    “Going to be like getting blood from turnips,” Lucas advised. “We already checked most of them – they’re close to empty.”
    Duke nodded. “But between ’em all, there might be enough to get the trailers and the two buses all the way there.”
    “I wouldn’t bank on it.”
    The sun was sinking into the mountains as they moved from bus to bus, draining a gallon here, two there. Once both cans were full, Lucas emptied them into the Humvees. “Those are the most important. They’ll eat the least fuel, and they’ve got the big guns,” he explained. “We’ll load them with the more delicate gear and the heaviest of the weapons – when we run out of diesel, no point in working the horses any harder than we have to.”
    Bats flitted along the river, giving chase to mosquitoes as the crew worked through dusk. Two hours later they had exhausted what the convoy had to offer. When they finished pouring the last of the cans into the second bus, Duke appraised the fleet in the darkness.
    “How far you think we’ll get?” the trader asked.
    “Depends on how much these things use. But if we make it more than halfway there, we’ll be lucky.”
    “About what I figured. Oh well. Better than nothing.” Duke frowned at Aaron. “Think there are any fish in the river?”
    Aaron rolled his eyes. “That’s his not so subtle way of asking me to try to catch dinner.”
    “Luis and I will be right beside you. No point digging into our rations if we don’t have to.”
    Luis smirked. “I’m a city boy, but I’m willing to give it a go. Not like we have much else to do.”
    “That’s the spirit. A rich man who’s willing to do a little work for his supper. The needle’s eye might have just gotten just a little bigger,” Duke joked.
    “Better hope so, moneybags,” Luis fired back.
    Lucas yawned. “You boys enjoy yourselves. I’m going to get some shut-eye after I check in with the sentries.” Colt had assigned six of the best fighters, all equipped with night vision goggles and on high alert, to take the first watch, to be relieved in five hours. There had been no evidence of looting, but everyone knew it was a matter of time before scavengers materialized to pick the bones clean. The post-collapse world was an efficient place, and nothing went to waste – one man’s loss was another’s gain, everything zero sum in the barren wasteland.
    After checking in with the guards, Lucas strode to where Sierra’s tent stood beside his. He unslung the M4 from his shoulder and slid it through his tent opening, and then twisted to where giggling drifted from Sierra’s.
    Moments later, the flap lifted and Sierra’s head appeared, a smile in