Winds of Ares: An Apocalypse Thriller by Druga, Jacqueline (most recommended books TXT) 📕

the closer it drew; I saw it was Alice’s truck. Behind her was four more vehicles. Two cars, a pickup and a school bus.

Alice’s truck stopped with a squeal of the air brakes, the headlights were blinding as they blasted right at me and Lane.

Both the driver and passenger doors opened

Alice was a mere shadow in the headlights of the vehicles behind her, but I could tell it was her.

The other person, a man, I didn’t know.

Until he spoke.

“I heard you were worried about me.”

“Martin!” I shrieked and raced to him, throwing my arms around him. “We were so worried.”

“I’m fine. Wasn’t hurt. Thanks to Alice, I’m here.” He gave a nod her way.

She stepped closer. “I just couldn’t shake it. Plus, what else was I gonna do. When I found out Skip had a dirt bike, I took it. Found him in Wilderado.”

Lane hugged Martin. “The kids are going to be so happy. Is that … is that my truck?”

“Yep.” Martin nodded.

“Martin?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

Martin sighed out. “Jana, it’s bad out there. Getting worse by the minute. It looks like everything you said is right. So, we’re all yours.”

His words stumbled me back in surprise. “What do you mean all mine?”

“It means you have an idea of what’s coming, and you know a safe place to go,” Martin replied.

“Do you?” asked Alice.

“Theoretically, yes.”

“No.” Lane shook his head. “It’s more than theoretical. Don’t let her kid you. She’s been working on this a long time with that Julius guy. You ought to see that binder. She has a plan. Total trip mapped out, including a safe zone.”

“Good.” Martin reached out and squeezed my arm. “Then what better person to lead these people out of harm’s way and into safety.”

Was he kidding me? I wanted to say that to him.

Lead the people to safety?

In that moment, everything I was so confident in was overshadowed by my instant self-doubt.

From the looks of things, the vehicles, it was more than a handful or even a group. It was no longer my family, but a pilgrimage. Like I was some apocalypse Moses leading people across a country to a promise land which may or may not exist.

I wasn’t Moses, I certainly didn’t have his guts or faith in what was ahead.

I was just some woman carrying a four dollar Walmart binder filled mostly with maps and notes from a man I never met.

Who was I to lead anyone?

TEN – BARS

It started raining just after midnight. Not hard, but steadily enough we had to move the entire caravan of vehicles from Martin’s property to avoid getting stuck in what was fast becoming a mud bath. Before long the layers of dirt tossed up by the massive dust devils, mixed with the rain would prove a hindrance.

The main road wasn’t far from the driveway and not nearly as covered with dirt as the ranch. We moved all the vehicles there until it would be light enough to travel safely.

What I hadn’t seen when Martin arrived was the horse trailer. It was pulled by the school bus. We moved it to the highway as well, then rode the horses, through the rain and mud, during the remainder of the night.

It was safer for the horses that way.

Poor Reese. Just a boy, but he rode with the experience of a man. Going back the second time with Lane and Martin to bring the animals to safety.

Martin didn’t bother looking through the rubble of his home. His focus was on the remaining horses and making sure they were fine. He was happy when he heard we had collected items for him.

By the time we had situated everything, including the horses, it was almost time to go. We’d only be on the highway a few miles, then we’d head north to take a series of secondary roads that would take us fifteen hundred miles to West Virginia.

It was more than I bargained or asked for.

It was more than just our RV, a pickup truck, two cars, a school bus and the tractor trailer. It was people. A lot of people.

Skip was there, at least we had him if there was any trouble with the vehicles. But also, Liza from the diner, Rosie and her two grandchildren, and many others.

I hadn’t gotten a head count, and really, I didn’t want to know.

Men, women and children.

So many. Too many. And while Liza had gathered supplies from the diner, I feared it was more mouths to feed than we had food.

The four months’ worth of rations I had in the RV wouldn’t last long. We would need to gather things on the way. We had to.

✽✽✽

It was decided ahead of time what pace we would set and if there was a need to stop, we’d radio. Thankfully a man named Rod brought four walkies with him. I had two, so communication was easy.

We left at dawn to begin our travel.

I was optimistic having made it through the night with only the rain, no storms or funnels, but I knew our luck would eventually run out and I’d be scrambling through my notes to get everyone under cover.

I knew the bright light glowing across the morning eastern horizon wasn’t the sun. Not with the overcast sky.

As soon as we arrived at the junction that would take us north four miles to the tertiary route, we saw the fires in Amarillo. So many of them they caused the black smoke to glow like a firestorm brewed within them.

What had happened?

I thought lightning. Lightning could have been the only thing that started it. But we didn’t see any. Surely, as close as we were, we would have seen something light up the sky.

We were blessed. So close, yet it missed us.

By my calculations, which were by no means scientific, whatever hit Amarillo came from the southwest.

It wasn’t long into our journey, thirty minutes perhaps, we caught a break just west of the town of Panhandle, Texas.

“Jana,” Carlie called out, excited. “I