Dark Destruction (EMP Lodge Series Book 4) Read online

  DARK DESTRUCTION

  EMP LODGE SERIES BOOK FOUR

  GRACE HAMILTON

  CONTENTS

  EMP Lodge

  Dark Destruction

  Blurb

  Thank you

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  End of ‘Dark Destruction’

  Thank You!

  Sneak Peek

  Grace Hamilton’s Books

  EMP LODGE

  Dark Retreat

  Dark Hunt

  Dark Defiance

  Dark Destruction

  Dark Redemption

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, AUGUST 2017

  Copyright © 2017 Relay Publishing Ltd.

  All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, published, distributed, displayed, performed, copied or stored for public or private use in any information retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, including electronically or digitally on the Internet or World Wide Web, or over any network, or local area network, without written permission of the author.

  www.relaypub.com

  BLURB

  In this new dark world, responsibility for others is a heavy burden.

  Megan Wolford is used to handling her own problems, so being part of a makeshift family, and all the responsibilities that come with it, is a new experience. She’ll do anything to help protect her newfound love Wyatt and the lodge group—but sometimes events are out of her control…

  When a leak in a nearby dam threatens to flood the land they’ve fought so hard to keep, Megan and her group will have to make a difficult choice: stay or leave? Stopping the flood will require all their resourcefulness, prepper ingenuity and effort—but leaving it will mean the blood lost protecting it was for nothing.

  As Wyatt reveals the true hidden value of the lodge, they’ll be forced to dig in and build a set of flood defenses to divert the incoming torrent. But with the leak growing larger everyday the survival of the group is anything but guaranteed—and little do they know, a force more malevolent than Mother Nature is behind the deteriorating dam…

  THANK YOU

  Thank you for purchasing ‘Dark Destruction’

  (EMP Lodge Series Book Four)

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  1

  Vlad Berezin scanned the area below. Most of the snow from the heavy winter had melted, leaving a beautiful, peaceful scene reminiscent of some of the landscape paintings his grandmother had hanging in their home where he grew up. The lush green colors intermingling with patches of white from the leftover snow reminded him of his favorite painting created in the image of a forest in Yakutia. Like him, the forests in the region were slowly dying.

  He used the binoculars to follow the river until it forked. The smaller fork likely irrigated the fields that had once grown food, while the path of the main river snaked all the way down the mountain.

  He almost felt bad he was about to destroy the mountain’s tranquility with one explosion. Shaking off the momentary lapse in emotion, he returned to his binoculars, following the river downstream to where it opened into the lake below. The small town that had been built along the lake would be destroyed along with any remaining residents. People died every day; some much more horrifically than he planned. He didn't know them, or care about what happened to the nameless faces.

  Vlad looked back up the river to another fork. The small stream seemed innocuous, but that was all about to change.

  It was the young woman who had caught his eye earlier. He turned his gaze to the area in which she lived, farther down the mountain. She carried a backpack into a large lodge. He had noticed other people milling about, but it was the woman who had his attention. She looked to be in her late twenties, maybe early thirties. She walked with confidence as if there was nothing in the world to fear. Vlad wondered if his life would have turned out differently if such a woman had ever taken an interest in him. Would he have become the heartless monster he was so often accused of being? Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he took a moment to admire her beauty before pulling himself back to the task at hand.

  The time for regrets was over.

  He had one job and he intended to complete it before his time on this sorry earth was over. He chuckled to himself as he thought of the cliché “going out with a bang.” He was going to do exactly that.

  Vlad put away the binoculars he had been using to watch the woman and picked up his C-4. The pretty lady would probably die, but that wasn't his problem or concern.

  Handling the explosive didn't bother him a bit. He could die quickly or continue the slow death from cancer. A quick death was starting to sound more appealing with each passing day. Unfortunately, his survivor instinct kept him from sticking around when the C-4 was detonated.

  Vlad climbed down a small hill and placed the explosive on the wall of the dam that was holding back the spring melt and set the timer on the detonator. Even if he didn't blow it up, there was a good chance the water would erode the spillway and cause a flood. He was simply speeding things up.

  He picked up his pack, shouldered his rifle and took one last look around before strolling down the hill being careful not to slip in the mud that covered the hillside.

  “Bog prostit menya,” he said in Russian. Hopefully, God would forgive him.

  2

  Megan dropped the empty pack on the table. It was one of the group's spares. Wiping it out to make sure there weren't any spiders or other critters holed up inside, she was glad she didn’t find any as she realized she should have done this outside.

  “You want to help me, Caitlin?” she asked the little girl sitting somberly at the table.

  “I guess. Do they have to go, mom?”

  Megan smiled at her daughter, “It's what they want. We can't force them to stay here, but I bet we will see them from time to time.”

  Caitlin didn't look convinced.

  “I'm gonna miss Emma. She’s like, my best friend,” she moaned, pouting with her chin pressed against her hand.

  “I know, but you still have Amy, Ryland and Frankie.”

  Caitlin heaved a sigh. “It's not the same.”

  “No, it isn't the same, but Emma needs to be with her family,” Megan said softly. “You wouldn't want to leave your family, would you?”

  “No, but I don't know why they have to leave,” she grumbled.

  “Come on. We need to go to the root cellar and grab some supplies for them to take along on their journey. We want to make sure the
y have everything they need to survive outdoors for a day or two, in case it takes them a while to find a new home.”

  Caitlin and Megan walked to the root cellar and climbed in.

  Megan winced at how empty the shelves were, but reassured herself it was temporary. They would start hunting soon and the garden would soon be planted. They would be okay. She had to keep reminding herself of that fact to keep from panicking.

  “Okay, Caitlin, grab a few packs of that deer jerky. I'll grab a couple headlamps and the matches from over here,” Megan instructed.

  “Got it. Now what?” Caitlin asked.

  “You better put in some dried apple slices as well. They are going to need more than jerky if it takes them more than a day. See if you can find any protein bars. I thought we had a case stashed away somewhere.”

  Megan went back to the shelf full of gear. She added some paracord, an emergency blanket and the collapsible canteen.

  “Caitlin, look over there and see if you see that Lifestraw. I thought it was over here, but I'm not seeing it.”

  “It's right here, mom.”

  “Great, so let's put all that in here. I'll grab that first aid kit.”

  Caitlin stood in front of the shelf with her mom, looking at the dwindling amount of supplies.

  “We are almost out of everything, huh?” Caitlin asked, her voice soft.

  Megan smiled at her daughter. She had grown up a lot these past few months. Between Wyatt and herself, they had taught Amy, Frankie, Ryland and Caitlin all about surviving in the outdoors. They couldn't risk them getting caught out on their own and not know what to do.

  “We’re getting low, but we'll be fine. We each still have our own bags packed. We’ll start making runs into towns a little farther away to see what we can find. Hopefully, Harry will find a radio and be able to let us know how things are out there.”

  “Okay, do we need anything else?” Caitlin asked.

  “Go ahead. I'm going to grab a few more things to make their trip a little safer.”

  Megan snapped the button compass on one of the outside pockets of the pack along with a whistle.

  She looked around the cellar trying to think of anything else.

  “Oh, wet wipes. Those will be very useful,” she said to herself.

  She climbed out of the cellar and spotted Harry talking with Albert. Linda and Rosie were huddled together. Megan watched from a distance, dreading the upcoming goodbyes.

  Emma was surrounded by Amy, Frankie and Ryland. They were pointing at the goats and laughing.

  “Why don't you go say goodbye?” Megan said, gently pushing Caitlin in the direction of the other children.

  “I don't want to. I want her to stay,” she pouted.

  “Caitlin, we talked about this. It isn't your choice, now don't be rude. Go tell her goodbye.”

  Megan watched as Caitlin dragged her feet across the yard. She felt bad for her, but this wasn't some new, horrible event that only happened to Caitlin or anyone else living in this new, crazy world. This was normal.

  Despite it being terribly painful and tragic for her little girl to deal with, Megan thought back to the day she had to say goodbye to her own childhood friend. It was a part of life. Caitlin and the other kids had grown close to Emma over the winter, but this was never meant to be permanent.

  She watched Caitlin and Emma embrace. Emma was the one who would have it the hardest. She was leaving the group. The other kids still had each other.

  Megan returned her attention back to the adults gathered around the back door of the lodge. When Albert and Harry appeared to be finished with their conversation, Megan walked over and handed Harry the bag.

  “Here you go. I hope there is enough to get you where you're going.”

  He smiled. “You are a generous person, Megan. Thank you.”

  Linda came to stand beside her husband. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. Linda had tears in her eyes as she looked at each member of Megan's extended family, who had become her family by bond, even if not by blood.

  “I mean what I said. You can always rely on us, if you're in danger, I'll be here for you. I promise,” Megan said, holding Harry's attention.

  She was going to miss them, but she understood their desire to move on. This life was not what they had planned on or prepared for. After what they had been through, she could understand their need to make a home away from the place that held such horrifying memories. They had lost hope of ever seeing their son and daughter-in-law again. All they had left was their granddaughter, Emma.

  Wyatt extended his hand, “I hope you keep in touch. You make sure you find a radio and reach out if you need anything. Like Megan said, we’ll do whatever we can to help you guys out.”

  Linda stepped away from Harry and wrapped her arms around Megan, “You take care of yourself and this handsome man,” she whispered.

  Megan smiled. Linda had become a second mother after Rosie who she knew was going to miss them both. The three of them along with Albert were close in age and had quickly bonded.

  “Well, we better get going,” Harry said, putting the backpack on.

  Albert, Chase, Bryan, Evan, Tara, and Garrett all waved, along with the kids.

  Megan knew they would be missed, even though they had only got to spend a short five months with them. When they had first come to the lodge, they were traumatized and dangerously thin. Both had put on some weight and managed to overcome what they had gone through at the hands of Connor McDaniels.

  Little Emma had suffered horrible nightmares the first few weeks after coming to the lodge. Between all of them, they had managed to assure her she was safe. She seemed resilient and had rebounded much faster than her grandparents had and Megan suspected that had much to do with the other children who made her feel at home.

  Megan thought about the house they had spent so much money preparing to live through something like the EMP. They had thought they were set, no matter what happened. And they should have been. McDaniels had stolen their security.

  Their home was destroyed. They couldn't go back even if they wanted. It was time for them to move on and hopefully find a place in town that would allow them to be a part of a larger community, while maintaining their own separate lives.

  That was something they couldn't get at the lodge.

  “I'm really gonna miss them all,” Caitlin said as she watched the trio fade into the trees.

  “We all will,” Megan told her.

  They stood and watched for a few more minutes before Wyatt clapped his hands once and turned to face the group.

  “Alright, everyone, it’s time to get started with spring cleanup. We all have a lot to do.”

  The kids groaned, not looking forward to more chores.

  Willow was standing near the mudroom door, staring into the trees.

  “You okay?” Megan asked.

  “Yep, just thinking about how empty the place will feel with them gone.”

  Willow had been struggling with depression since Jack's death. It’s never easy losing someone you love. Rosie had told her it was compounded by the winter doldrums and being cooped up in the lodge for so long. Spring promised to be a time of growth and starting over.

  “How's she doing?” Megan asked, looking at Willow's hands on her belly.

  Willow gave a small smile. “You and Wyatt are going to have this poor child so confused. He swears it’s a boy and you keep calling it her.”

  Megan laughed. “Well, one of us is bound to be right, and I'm betting it's going to be me.”

  “You aren't going to be finding out for a few more months... I hope,” she added.

  Willow had announced her pregnancy a few weeks after Jack's death and it had taken everyone by surprise. There had been a wide range of emotions, but most of all, everyone was looking forward to having a baby around.

  The biggest concern was Willow's health. She had endured an unimaginable loss. When she made it past the first trimester, everyone was relieve
d. Now, it was all about preparing for the birth and praying the baby would be in good health.

  The thought of bringing a helpless infant into this world was daunting. Babies were so fragile. Even with pre-EMP medicine, babies got sick; sometimes deathly ill for no reason. Without access to doctors, pediatricians and specialists, she suspected there would be a lot of sleepless nights. They would all have gray hair and worry lines until the child was old enough to talk and tell them when she felt bad or hurt.

  Megan closed her eyes and prayed for strength for Willow and for the rest of them. The baby was a blessing, but he or she was going to be a source of anxiety. All the baby snuggles would hopefully make up for the stress the baby would bring.

  3

  “You're leaving already,” Megan groaned, not willing to open her eyes.