United States Of Apocalypse Read online

  Tee shifted next to her and was looking back at the farm too.

  “One of us has to watch for the North Koreans,” Darlene said. She smiled. All afternoon, they’d monitored the news while working on their defenses. The North Koreans had been stopped in San Diego and east at the Texas border, but unconfirmed reports said they were getting help from radical homegrown groups and reinforcements landing in other parts of the country.

  By Herbert’s guess, they had a week or more before the front line moved to this spot, and if it did, it went without saying they’d need to run and cut their losses. But no one wanted to address it yet, and giving everyone something to do, like dig trenches, build more fences, and count the weapons and ammo was better than complaining or fearing the unknowable future, which didn’t look too bright from where Darlene was sitting.

  Tee turned and went back to staring into the dark.

  “What do you think of Herbert?” he asked Darlene, catching her off guard with the blunt question.

  “I think he’s a great man. He literally saved my life. There’s no way I’d still be breathing if it wasn’t for him being so selfless,” Darlene said. “Why?”

  Tee shrugged next to her. “I’m just wondering. Some of the people have heard a rumor he killed the head of the Sawyer family in cold blood.”

  Darlene was shocked. “He didn’t. They came to the farm looking for a fight. Herbert wanted to straighten it out and talk. Nothing more.” She turned away, embarrassed.

  “Then what happened?” Tee asked.

  “It all happened so fast...”

  Tee got up and stood, leaning against the tree. Darlene, sitting on the edge of the platform, turned her body to see his silhouette in the darkness.

  “John shot and killed a deer from this spot. When we heard the shot, everyone drew their gun. Herbert got the drop first and killed Dusty before he killed one of us. It happened in seconds. No time to think. Just do,” Darlene said.

  “I heard the boy with him was shot, too,” Tee said.

  “Again, it was only because we thought we were under attack. John might not have known Dusty was here,” Darlene said.

  She could see Tee turn his head and look back toward the farm.

  “I can see the driveway from this spot. No problem. And even from this distance, a pickup truck driving up would make enough noise to wake the dead,” Tee said.

  “It all happened so fast,” Darlene repeated for an answer. She didn’t want to think John would have shot the deer had he known it would lead to all of this. Was a chance to have fresh meat so important he did it anyway, even though he knew everyone would think there was an attack?

  Darlene hated John right now.

  “His stupid actions led to a great man dying and another wounded. The boy died on his way back and ran off the road. We found him hours later. He’d bled out,” Tee said.

  “Wait...what?” Darlene said, a sinking feeling as she attempted to stand.

  Tee suddenly moved forward and kicked her in the stomach. She instinctively stepped back, her feet finding nothing but air.

  Darlene began to fall straight down and threw her arms out. They slammed into the platform and she screamed in pain, but her fingers caught the edge and she dangled in space.

  Tee stood above her, a dark shape.

  “I was hoping to be paired with Herbert tonight. I wanted to eliminate him first. But you’ll do. You’re just as dangerous as John. But he’s a loose cannon and I can manipulate him before we kill him,” Tee said.

  “Why?” Darlene asked, trying desperately to pull herself up.

  “I thought you’d figure it out on your own. Friends call me Tee, but I told you my name is really Thomas. Tom, which is ironic.”

  Darlene felt a finger slip. “Tom...Tom Sawyer. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I’m afraid not. It was a cute name as a kid, but as an adult, it gets old quickly, so everyone calls me Tee. I was recognized by one of the townsfolk, and when he confronted me, I had to kill him. The barn fire was an accident, actually. The lantern I used got knocked over in the struggle while I was strangling the bastard,” Tee said.

  Darlene began to scream for help.

  Tee stepped on her fingers gripping the wooden platform for dear life.

  “Tee did it!” Darlene screamed as she lost her grip and fell from the tree.

  About Mark

  Visit Mark at www.marktufo.com

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  About Armand

  Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he's not sleeping. He's written over 100 stories that are currently available, including a few different series:

  "Dying Days" extreme zombie series

  "Keyport Cthulhu" horror series

  "Flagler Beach Fiction Series" contemporary fiction

  "Metal Queens" non-fiction music series

  He also loves to talk in third person... because he's really that cool. He's a proud Active member of HWA as well.

  You can find The Arm N Toof’s Dead Time Podcast at:

  https://www.facebook.com/ArmNToofDeadTime?fref=ts

  You can find him at http://armandrosamilia.com for not only his latest releases but interviews and guest posts with other authors he likes! Email him to talk about zombies, baseball and Metal: [email protected]

  Also by Mark Tufo

  Zombie Fallout Series book 1 currently free

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  Lycan Fallout Series

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  Indian Hill Series

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  The Book Of Riley Series

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  Also By Armand Rosamilia

  "Dying Days" extreme zombie series

  "Keyport Cthulhu" horror series

  "Flagler Beach Fiction Series" contemporary fiction

  "Metal Queens" non-fiction music series

  Also From DevilDog Press

  www.devildogpress.com

  Zombie Fallout currently Free!

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  Burkheart Witch Saga Set By Christine Sutton

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  The Hollowing By Travis Tufo

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  Revelations Cast In Blood By Christine Sutton, Jaime Johnesee & Lisa Lane

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  Mossy Creek By Jill S. Behe

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  Chelsea Avenue By Armand Rosamilia

  Thank You

  Thank you for reading United States Of Apocalypse. Gaining exposure as an independent author relies mostly on word-of-mouth, please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased this story.