Enduring Anarchy (Dark Nation Book 2) Read online

  DARK NATION

  Escaping Anarchy

  Enduring Anarchy

  Surviving Anarchy

  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, MARCH 2022

  Copyright © 2022 Relay Publishing Ltd.

  All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Grace Hamilton is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Post-Apocalyptic projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.

  www.relaypub.com

  BLURB

  They survived annihilation. But the real danger has only just begun…

  When Molly, Colton, and their group of high school students narrowly escape a field trip gone wrong, they return home to find their town in shambles. An EMP has devastated the world. And life has been reduced to a daily battle for survival….

  After a derailed train throws what’s left of the town into chaos, Diego, the father of one of Molly's students, quickly takes charge. At first, he seems determined to help the survivors and clean up the train's wreckage. But it soon becomes clear that he has a sinister motive of his own for taking over. And Molly is certain he can’t be trusted…

  Things become much worse after a failed attempt by the local police has Diego seizing control and drawing a line in the sand. It isn’t safe for anyone and Molly is ready to head to the woods, but not without all her students. Colton might be the Marine, but she isn’t leaving anyone behind.

  Molly will do anything to protect her students. But can she lead them to safety when the entire world has fallen into chaos?

  CONTENTS

  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

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Epilogue

  End of Enduring Anarchy

  Thank you

  Make an Author’s Day

  About Grace Hamilton

  Sneak Peek: Surviving Anarchy

  Sneak Peek: Fractured World (EMP Aftermath Book One)

  Also by Grace Hamilton

  1

  MOLLY

  Despite the distant sunrise, the trees lining the road remained eerily dark. With every step, as her foot met the road, Molly’s heart pounded. Shadows looked like people. The innocent snap of a twig in the undergrowth sounded like the loading of a gun. The wind on her back felt like movement; the movement of a body walking too close behind her, following her, preparing to attack. Someone who was armed. Dangerous. Looking for revenge for what Molly did in the prison or looking to steal whatever the group might be carrying that could be useful in this dark new world they’d found themselves in.

  Molly shuddered. The image of an imaginary attacker wavered and bled into her memories of Dougie. Although her eyes were open, she could see him in front of her; the way his body had slumped onto the ground after she shot him. The glassy look in his eyes as his last breath left his body.

  She’d had no choice but to do it. It was the only way to get the kids out of Fairfield. It was the only way to get them safely back home. But that didn’t mean she was okay with it. She had taken a life and there was no way—even if circumstances had allowed it—that she could go back to her old life. She was different now and, although the kids didn’t seem to have noticed it, she sensed that Colton understood.

  Beside her, the retired Marine stopped walking and grimaced as she looked at him. He was resting on his cane and looked extremely pale. Despite his injury, he’d made it out of the prison and had—until now—gritted his teeth through his obvious pain. The last thing he wanted was to become a burden, but they’d started this thing together and Molly was sure they were going to finish it together.

  “Guys?” Molly called to the others. “I think we need to stop. Take a break.”

  Shortly after leaving the grounds of Fairfield Prison, Molly had given Tommy her gun, hanging back to help Colton while Tommy and Alex led the group on their journey back to town. The two of them had already traversed the empty roads once—they knew what to expect—but she was beginning to regret handing it over. She’d felt safer with the gun, even though she’d been praying she wouldn’t ever have to use it again, and she’d felt safer when she was the one up front.

  Molly tried again. “Guys, we have to stop. Colton needs a break.”

  “We can’t,” Erik Banks looked over his shoulder and shouted at her. Too loud. Walking faster instead of slower. “Our mom could be....” He trailed off, glancing at his sister Scarlett, then returning his gaze to the horizon.

  An hour ago, as they trudged up the hill away from the prison, they’d witnessed a plume of thick black smoke mushrooming up into the sky and had heard what sounded unmistakably like an explosion. It had come from the south side of town, but whether it was from the Bankses’ neighborhood or the less affluent area on the other side of the train tracks, it was impossible to tell.

  Either way, Erik and Scarlett Banks had immediately started running. Until their father Alex pointed out there was no way they could run all the way back home and that they needed to stick together until they figured out what was going on; it wouldn’t do anyone any good—especially their mother—to charge into danger.

  While the Banks twins had looked almost sick with worry, the others in the group—Zack and his brother Tommy, Jenna, and Lucky—had remained quiet. All four of them came from Southside. All four of them were probably worrying about their own parents, but Erik and Scarlett were the only ones who let it show.

  “I’m sorry, Erik, but Colton needs to rest for a moment.” Molly glanced at Colton and noticed his jaw twitch. “We all do,” she added.

  Lingering between her classmates and her brother, as if she wasn’t sure whether she should charge ahead with Erik or listen to Molly, her teacher, Scarlett braced her hands behind her neck and shook her head. “Miss O’Neil, maybe you and the others should slow down? Wait with Colton? Me, Erik, and Dad will go look for Mom.”

  Up ahead, Alex Banks stopped and turned around. He’d been pushing his bike and continued holding it with one hand while gesticulating with the other. “We’re not separating from the group, Scarlett,” he said gruffly. “We already decided we’re stronger together.” Alex rubbed his beard and swallowed hard. Ever since they’d witnessed the smoke and heard that deep, unsettling rumble that made the ground vibrate, Alex’s face had been ashen. Gray around the edges. Etched with worry.

  He was worried about his wife, of
course, but Molly could tell there was something else he wasn’t saying. He was extremely keen for them not to separate, despite the fact that he had a bike and could have traveled much more quickly if he’d used it.

  This reluctance was troubling, and Molly was willing to bet it had to do with what he’d seen in town when he left home yesterday. While Molly and the kids had been stuck in Fairfield Prison, Alex had traveled through Fairfield to reach them. He’d met up with Tommy and they’d seen what the EMP had done. The start of it, anyway.

  “Molly....” Colton tugged at her elbow, and she turned to look at him. “I’m slowing you down.” He met her gaze and held it.

  “Then we’ll slow down,” she said. “We are not leaving you.” Putting her hands on her hips, Molly looked at the others. “He just needs a few minutes, that’s all.”

  Alex looked at Tommy, who was also in possession of a bike. “It’s your call, man,” Tommy said. “If you want to take the bikes, we can catch up with you but….” He lowered his voice and said something to Alex that Molly couldn’t catch.

  After glancing at the skyline and the whispers of smoke that were filling it, finally Alex said, “Five minutes.” When Erik began to protest, Alex held up his hand and told his son bluntly, “Five minutes, Erik.”

  Molly didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath, but as she released it, she smiled at Colton. From the backpack Lucky had given her, she took a bottle of water. “Here,” she said.

  Colton took it, staggered to a nearby tree, leaned against it and took a long slow drink. “Thanks.”

  “You’ll be fine when you’ve had a chance to rest.”

  Colton raised his eyebrows at her. “Oh, yeah? And when do you foresee that happening?”

  Molly bristled. Nearby, Lucky and Jenna were talking with Erik and Scarlett in hushed whispers, pointing toward the town and to the Bankses’ neighborhood. Between them, they’d decided the smoke was something to do with the trainline, but Molly was trying not to hear what they were saying. She was trying to focus on one thing at a time; escape the prison, get the kids home to their families, and then... well, she hadn’t quite figured out the next part.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted, chewing her lower lip. “I have no idea, Colton. All I know is that we’ve got a better chance if we stick together.” She looked back in the direction of the prison. “We survived the jail. We made it out. None of us could have done it alone.”

  Colton nodded and took another sip from his water bottle. “I hear you,” he said, pushing himself away from the tree and allowing the cane to support his weight once again. “In which case, we better get moving.”

  “You’ve barely rested for a second.” Molly folded her arms in front of her chest and gave Colton her best teacher-stare.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  As Colton straightened himself up, Molly put her hands on her hips. Her fingers brushed against her back pocket, and she sucked in her breath as she remembered what was hidden there. Angling herself away from the group, she took out the pills she’d found when she was locked in that dark, awful cell and nudged Colton’s elbow.

  “I found these,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what they are but I kept them in case we needed something to bargain with. Perhaps you could…?” She shrugged and her eyes widened as Colton stared at the pills.

  After a long moment, he closed his eyes and shook his head. Reaching out, he pressed Molly’s fingers back against her palm, hiding the pills from view, and said, “No, thank you. I’ll be all right.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You should get rid of those,” he replied gruffly. “Ditch them.”

  “You don’t think they could be useful? They could be prescription pills. Painkillers? I’m sure we can find someone who could tell us….”

  Colton’s hand was still pressed against her fingers. As he spoke, he held her gaze. “Prescription or not, I don’t mess with pills, and neither should you. Get rid of them, Molly.”

  Molly pressed her lips together and swallowed hard. She was trying to interpret the look in Colton’s eyes—a dark, watery look she hadn’t seen before—when she heard Jenna’s voice behind her.

  “Miss O’Neil, I’ll hang back with Colton for a while if you want to head up front with Alex and Tommy.” Jenna was standing with her hands in her pockets. She looked tired. Her short hair was tucked behind her ears, and she smiled as Molly looked at her.

  “Sure. Thanks, Jenna.” Molly smiled back and patted Jenna’s shoulder with one hand as she slipped the pills back into her pocket with the other. The girl clearly wanted a change of pace, and Molly was happy to take the lead for a while.

  Casting a quick glance at Colton, Molly nodded to tell him she’d understood what he’d told her. As soon as she had chance to ditch the pills safely, so they wouldn’t be found by a child or an animal who could be harmed by them, she would.

  As the group started moving, they formed a cluster with Alex and Tommy up front, the Banks twins with Zack and Lucky in the middle, and Jenna and Colton at the back. Molly wove through them until she was standing between Alex and Tommy.

  “Do you really think it’s your neighborhood?” she asked Alex.

  He nodded solemnly. “Looks like it. But it could be Southside. It’s rough. The other side of the train tracks.”

  Molly cast a quick glance at Tommy. Like Jenna and Lucky, Tommy and Zack were from Southside. She remembered the address from Zack’s school records and thought Tommy might take offense at what Alex had said. Instead, he was nodding.

  “You can say that again.” Tommy shrugged his shoulders and looked away from the horizon as if he didn’t want to think about what might be happening in his neighborhood.

  Lowering her voice, Molly leaned a little closer to Alex. “When you left home yesterday....” She pursed her lips, unsure how to ask what she needed to. “What was it like? The town? Is there anything we should be prepared for?”

  Alex looked at her. Beneath his beard, his top lip curled into a sad sort of smile. “It was okay,” he said bluntly. “But it’ll be worse by now.”

  “The calm before the storm,” Tommy added. “Yesterday, some folks would still have been convinced the power was coming back. Some of them were probably kicking back, relaxing, pleased to have a few days off work, waiting for everything to get back to normal.”

  “And today they’ll be realizing that it won’t,” Molly finished solemnly.

  Tommy nodded. He patted the gun Molly had given him. “It’d help if we had a few more of these.”

  “I’ll add ‘guns’ to the grocery list, shall I?” she quipped.

  “Guns and coffee,” Tommy replied. “I’d give my back teeth for some coffee about now.”

  Molly tried to laugh. Even Alex looked a little amused. But as they settled back into the rhythm of their own footsteps, Alex said, “So, what’s your plan, Miss O’Neil? When we get to town?” He flexed his fingers on the handlebars of his bike. “Because my plan is to go home, fetch my wife, and get our family to a safe place. Are we doing that together?” He looked back at the others. “Are we collecting these kids’ families and heading off in search of safe ground? Or....”

  “Or?” Molly asked.

  Alex shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “That’s why I’m asking.”

  “I think we should stick together. At least until everyone’s found their families,” Molly said, trying not to listen to the voice in her head that was whispering, What about your family, Molly? Aren’t you worried about them?

  On the other side of her, Tommy was quiet. Every now and then he looked back at his younger brother Zack, but seemed happy to let him walk alongside his classmates. Perhaps because he sensed that Zack wasn’t used to being thought of as one of a group and that he was, despite the circumstances, enjoying this newfound sense of camaraderie.

  “Tommy? What about you and Zack? I know Jenna and Lucky want to find their folks.” Molly looked away as she asked the question, focusing o
n the road beneath her feet; she’d heard what people said about Zack and Tommy’s mother, and she wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t give two hoots what became of her now.

  “We’ll check on her,” Tommy said, clearing his throat. “But I doubt she’ll want to leave the house. The only time she’s left the house in ten years was to go around the corner to the liquor store or to try to score a fix from her dealer, and with everything closed, I don’t see her going anywhere now.” As he spoke, Molly noticed Tommy’s hand go to his jacket pocket as if he was confirming something was still there. When he saw her watching him, he stopped and repositioned his fingers around the handlebars of his bike.

  As she might have when she saw a note being passed around the tables in the classroom, or a cell phone being turned on beneath the desk, Molly’s instinct was to question Tommy about what he was hiding, but she shook it off; gone were the days when she’d be required to keep an eye out for students who were hiding contraband or causing distractions in class. And, besides, Tommy had never been one of her students. He was a grown man. A grown man with his own complicated history. If he was hiding something, it was none of her business.

  She glanced at the group of kids trudging along behind them, then back at Tommy.

  Unless whatever he was hiding affected her kids. Then it was her business... it was very much her business.