The Forge of Darkness (Darkness After Series Book 3) (24 page)

Artie knew he owed a lot to Grant for all he had done, but every single one of them had Larry to be thankful for most of all. If not for this 36-foot catamaran that Larry had built before he ever dreamed something like this could happen, Artie had no idea where any of them would be today or what they would do. The catamaran was a magic carpet that had brought him here, back to the U.S. after the solar flare’s devastating pulse left him stranded on his vacation in the islands. It was a rare event when Artie even got a vacation, and fortunately for him, he’d chosen to spend this one sailing with his resourceful brother in the Eastern Caribbean. He’d merely wanted to get away from his duties at the hospital for a few days to see how his carefree younger brother lived. Little did he know that while he was there, the world was about to change with a flashing of lights in the night sky.
 

Because of Larry's boat, Artie had the means to get back to New Orleans to find his daughter when otherwise he would have remained stranded in St. Thomas indefinitely. The passage from the islands had been difficult and dangerous, but with the help of Larry’s Rastafarian friend, Scully; they made it there relatively quickly, only to find that Casey and her roommate Jessica were already gone. If not for the note Casey had left for Artie in his parked car at the New Orleans airport, it would have been impossible to ever find the girls.
 

But fortunately they had, and now, because of Larry's catamaran, all of them could leave the violence that had consumed the mainland behind them for good. They could set sail and even cross entire oceans if necessary to get someplace where life might be normal again. Or even if not normal, perhaps at least someplace where they would not have to literally fight for survival every day. Artie hoped he would never have to wield a firearm against his fellow man again, but he now knew that he could and that he would if he had to.
 

Where they were going was still uncertain. They discussed the alternatives at length, but in the end Artie knew it was ultimately Larry's decision. Larry was the one with the most experience in such matters, having lived an ocean-wandering life as a professional yacht delivery skipper for the past 15 years. Larry had been just about everywhere it was possible for a sailboat to go in the Caribbean Basin and the Atlantic coast, as well as many ports on the other side of that ocean. He had some ideas where they might find safe refuge, all with trade-offs, of course, but most far better than remaining in North America and especially the United States. The problem in such highly developed nations was that the total failure of the grid led to almost immediate panic. With no trucks running to deliver food and other essentials in a complex supply chain that was only three days from failure anyway, practically everything was in short supply or gone before most citizens realized what was happening. Very few people were prepared to weather such an interruption and it was more than most could handle. When they couldn't go and buy what they needed to survive, many of them quickly began taking what they could from anyone who had it, using whatever force was necessary. It was a complete reversion to savagery unlike any Artie had ever imagined possible.
 

He didn’t want to see it again, so he reached for a fresh sheet of sandpaper to put on his block so he could get back to work. But just before he knelt on the deck to get to it, he glanced to the north one more time and was startled by what he saw. A good-sized sailboat had rounded the point on the other side of the island, and was now heeled over in the afternoon breeze as it headed straight his way on a beam reach. Artie was sure it was one of the two boats they knew were anchored around on the other side. They’d seen them when they first arrived, but had not made contact. Now, it looked as though they were about to meet the crew of at least one of them after all.
 

“Hey Larry! You’d better get up here!” Artie knew it didn’t pay to assume anything these days. Everyone they met was a threat until proven otherwise. He yelled across the anchorage as loud as he could to Casey and her friends, and then dashed below to get Larry’s portable air horn. He had to let them know to get back to the boat before the strangers arrived.

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More by Scott B. Williams

T
HE
FOLLOWING
LINKS
WILL
take you to the Amazon Kindle versions of my most popular books that are available now. New books are coming all the time so stay up to date by signing up for my book alerts via my
newsletter
.

The Pulse Series:

The Pulse: A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid
(Book I)

Refuge After the Collapse
(Book II)

Voyage After the Collapse
(Book III)

The Darkness After Series:

The Darkness After
(Book I)

Into the River Lands
(Book II)

The Forge of Darkness
(Book III)

Standalone Novels:

Sailing the Apocalypse: A Misadventure at Sea

Nonfiction:

On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean

Getting Out Alive

Paddling the Pascagoula

Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It’s Too Late

Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters

About the Author

S
COTT
B. W
ILLIAMS
HAS
been writing about his adventures for more than twenty-five years. His published work includes dozens of magazine articles and twelve books, with more projects currently underway. His interest in backpacking, sea kayaking and sailing small boats to remote places led him to pursue the wilderness survival skills that he has written about in his popular survival nonfiction books such as
Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It’s Too Late.
He has also authored travel narratives such as
On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean
, an account of his two-year solo kayaking journey through the islands. With the release of
The Pulse
in 2012, Scott moved into writing fiction and has written several more novels with many more in the works. To learn more about his upcoming books or to contact Scott, visit his website:
www.scottbwilliams.com