Zero Hour: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Fiction Series (The Blackout Series Book 2)
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Authors: Bobby Akart
Thank you for downloading
ZERO HOUR
, Book Two of The Blackout Series, by Bobby Akart
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I suggest you refresh your memory and reacquaint yourself with the characters of The Blackout Series. By clicking below you will be taken to a brief synopsis of the story to date, and then a summary of the principal characters. Afterward, you will be returned to the Epigraph.
Go To Previously in The Blackout Series
Other Works by Bestselling Author Bobby Akart
The Blackout Series
36 Hours
Zero Hour
Turning Point
The Boston Brahmin Series
The Loyal Nine
Cyber Attack
Martial Law
False Flag
The Mechanics
Choose Freedom
The Prepping for Tomorrow Series
Cyber Warfare
EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse
Economic Collapse
Zero Hour
The Blackout Series
A novel by
Bobby Akart
Contents
AN EXCERPT FROM EMP: ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE
Previously in The Blackout Series
Dedications
To the love of my life, thank you for making the sacrifices necessary so I may pursue this dream.
To the Princesses of the Palace, my little marauders in training, you have no idea how much happiness you bring to your Mommy and me.
To my fellow preppers—never be ashamed of adopting a preparedness lifestyle.
Acknowledgements
Writing a book that is both informative and entertaining requires a tremendous team effort. Writing is the easy part. For their efforts in making The Blackout Series a reality, I would like to thank Hristo Argirov Kovatliev for his incredible cover art, Pauline Nolet and Sabrina Jean for making this important work reader-friendly, Stef Mcdaid for making this manuscript decipherable on so many formats, and The Team—whose advice, friendship and attention to detail is priceless.
The Blackout Series could not have been written without the tireless counsel and direction from those individuals who shall remain nameless at the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado and at the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. Thank you for providing me a portal into your observations and data.
Lastly, a huge thank you to Dr. Tamitha Skov, a friend and social media icon, who is a research scientist at The Aerospace Corporation in Southern California. With her PHD in Geophysics and Space Plasma Physics, she has become a vital resource for amateur astronomers and aurora watchers around the world. Without her insight, The Blackout Series could not have been written. Visit her website at
http://www.SpaceWeatherWoman.com
.
Thank you!
About the Author, Bobby Akart
A five-time Amazon Top 100 Author and author of seven #1 bestsellers in both fiction and non-fiction genres. Bobby Akart has provided his readers a diverse range of topics that are both informative and entertaining. His attention to detail and impeccable research has allowed him to write bestselling books in several fiction and nonfiction genres.
Born and raised in Tennessee, Bobby received his bachelor's degree with a dual major in economics and political science. He not only understands how the economy works, but the profound effect politics has on the economy as well. After completing his undergraduate degree at Tennessee in three years, he entered the dual-degree program, obtaining a Juris Doctor combined with an MBA—master of business administration—at the age of twenty-three.
His education perfectly suited him for his legal career in banking, trusts, and investment banking. As his career flourished, business opportunities arose, including the operation of restaurants and the development of real estate. But after meeting and marrying the love of his life, they left the corporate world and developed online businesses.
A life-changing event led them to Muddy Pond, Tennessee, where he and his wife Dani lead a self-sustainable, preparedness lifestyle. Bobby and his wife are unabashed preppers and share their expert knowledge of prepping via their website www.FreedomPreppers.com.
Bobby lives in the backwoods of the Cumberland Plateau with his wife, and their two English bulldogs, aka the Princesses of the Palace.
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About The Blackout Series
WHAT WOULD YOU DO
if a voice was screaming in your head -
GET READY
. . .
for a catastrophic event of epic proportions . . .
with no idea where to start . . .
or how, or when?
This is a true story, it just hasn't happened yet
.
Introducing a new dystopian, post-apocalyptic fiction series from seven-time best-selling author Bobby Akart (The Blackout Series, The Boston Brahmin Series and the Prepping for Tomorrow Series).
The characters depicted in The Blackout Series are fictional. The events, however, are based upon fact.
This is not the story of preppers with stockpiles of food, weapons, and a hidden bunker. This is the story of Colton Ryman, his stay-at-home wife, Madison, and their teenage daughter, Alex. In 36 Hours, the Ryman family and the rest of the world will be thrust into the darkness of a post-apocalyptic world.
A catastrophic solar flare, an EMP—a threat from above to America's soft underbelly below—is hurtling toward the Earth.
The Rymans have never heard of preppers and have no concept of what prepping entails. But they're learning, while they run out of time. Their faith will be tested, their freedom will be threatened, but their family will survive.
An EMP, naturally generated from our sun in the form of a solar flare, has happened before, and it will happen again, in only 36 Hours.
This is a story about how our sun, the planet's source of life, can also devastate our modern world. It’s a story about panic, chaos, and the final straws that shattered an already thin veneer of civility. It is a warning to us all ...
never underestimate the depravity of man
.
What would you do when the clock strikes zero?
Midnight is forever.
Note
: This book does not contain strong language. It is intended to entertain and inform audiences of all ages, including teen and young adults. Although some scenes depict the realistic threat our nation faces from a devastating solar flare, and the societal collapse which will result in the aftermath, it does not contain graphic scenes typical of other books in the post-apocalyptic genre.
Epigraph
*****
Here comes the sun. Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s all right.
~ the quiet Beatle
*****
Civilization is hideously fragile.
There’s not much between us & the horrors underneath, just about a coat of varnish.
~ CP Snow
*****
The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
~ John F. Kennedy
*****
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
~ Benjamin Franklin
*****
Because you never know when the day before
is the day before.
Prepare for tomorrow!
Prologue
Some people had never been in complete darkness—they never had a reason to be. There were always lights—everywhere—spilling from a neighbor’s home through your windows or the glow of a nearby town lighting up the horizon. The illumination of cell phones, computer screens, televisions, vehicles, and businesses invaded our surroundings every night—all night.
Most Americans grew up not knowing what complete darkness was. Few had experienced a total blackout, but tonight, at
zero hour
, everyone was. Midnight was forever.
Then there was the silence. Noise could have a harmful effect on your health and psyche. The word
noise
came from a Latin term meaning queasiness or pain. The body reacted immediately and powerfully to the signals transmitted through the ear to the brain. We lived in consistently loud environments, which created chronically elevated levels of stress hormones.
In a world full of commotion, the sudden silence could be frightening. Once, there was the hum of background electronics ranging from kitchen appliances to the fans on computers. In a city environment, the constant sounds emanating from outside—planes, trains, and automobiles—became a way of life. The stillness could be calming, until it made you uncomfortable.
For some, silence wrecked the nerves. It made them uneasy, vulnerable. The quieter it became, the more you could hear. You could hear your breathing or the beating hearts of the loved ones you held tight. The lack of external stimuli quieted your mind and allowed you to focus on what was closest to you.
Chapter 1
ZERO HOUR
11:03 p.m., September 8
Ryman Residence
Belle Meade, Tennessee
Alex shrieked at the suddenness of the blackout and the silence. An eerie glimmer of green and blue hues radiated through the transom windows into the Rymans’ home, producing a psychedelic glow inside.
Colton hugged his daughter and reassured her. “It’s okay, honey. We’re all here together.”
“My God, Colton,” Madison whispered as if hushed voices were the new way of life.
Colton didn’t want to let go of his girls. At this moment, he thanked God for life’s greatest blessing—the love of a family. In the darkness, the Rymans didn’t say a word for several minutes. Their embrace said it all. Family was their circle of strength, founded on faith, joined in love. They would endure together—forever.