Edge of Fear: An EMP Post-Apocalyptic Survival Prepper Series (American Fallout Book 3) by Alex Gunwick (rooftoppers .txt) 📕

Kyle held his breath as he crept past the room. He half-expected her to stop him, so she could assign him another dull task. When she didn’t look up, he headed into the passage leading to the locked door.

They still hadn’t found the water purification system. If he could get into the room and find that, then he’d become a hero. Clean water was the key to their survival. They needed it for everything. Washing, drinking, cooking, cleaning stuff. If they couldn’t find the system, they’d have to make dangerous trips down to the river to get some. Then they’d have to boil it before they could use it. It was a huge pain in the ass.

He retrieved his lockpicking kit from where he’d stashed it and consulted the guide to refresh his memory.

After studying the text and images, he picked up his tools. He slid the tension wrench into the bottom of the lock, maintaining a light, counterclockwise pressure. He worked the pick into the top of the keyhole, feeling his way through the mechanism for the pin. He made contact and pried at it with the tip of the pick, pushing it up out of the cylinder and moving onto the next pin.

It took him a few tries to reacquaint himself with the technique, and he struggled to get his touch right. If he lost his grip for a split second, the pins would slip back into place, and he would have to start all over again.

The fourth pin gave him the most trouble. He’d slid the first three up and out of the cylinder successfully five times, only to falter on the fourth. As they all reset and clicked back into place, he growled in frustration. It was aggravating work, but he enjoyed it. He’d always liked a challenge.

Eventually, he found the right technique. He successfully moved the annoying pin out of the cylinder by applying just the right amount of pressure with the tension wrench to spin the cylinder and hold the pins in place. His heart leaped. He moved the pick to the final pin. He worked his tongue over his lips in concentration. The last pin clicked into place, allowing him to rotate the knob.

His pulse quickened. His mind raced through all the possibilities of what could be hidden behind a locked door in a secret underground military bunker. He took a deep breath and leaned his shoulder into the door, nudging it open and stepping into the dark room.

He felt along the wall to his right. His fingers fumbled over a switch. When he flipped it, an overhead light flickered and buzzed to life.

The first thing to catch his attention was a massive gray metal box against one wall. There were a bunch of dials and buttons on the front and sides. Wires snaked out from the back, though they didn’t appear to be connected to anything.

It looked like a very old refrigerator, except that it didn’t have a door. He briefly wondered if it could be part of the water purification system, but it didn’t seem likely, given the rest of the room’s contents.

Massive black panels covered the other walls. Dozens of wires jutted out of holes on the front. Some of the wires were connected to bulky monitors, sitting on tables throughout the room. Some of the monitors were connected to rectangular boxes that sat underneath the tables.

A giant console dominated the center of the room. It showcased hundreds of switches, sliders, and dials.

As Kyle tried to process the scene, he realized it looked a bit like the NASA command centers he’d seen in movies. He knew that wasn’t right. No one would be launching a spaceship from this room, but the thought thrilled him anyway. He ran out of the room, calling excitedly as he moved down the hallway.

“Hey! I did it! I broke into the locked room. You guys have to come check this out. It’s so cool.” He burst into the main room, where his mom and dad were looking at him wide-eyed. His mom’s eyes were red, like she’d been crying, but she wiped them and smiled at him.

“That’s great, honey. Show us.”

Edwin and Sandy came bolting out of the radio room. They looked like they expected another bomb to drop.

“What’s going on?” Luke asked.

“I got the door down the hall open.” Kyle could barely get the words out through his excitement. “You guys have got to come see. It’s crazy. There’s, like, all these wires and monitors and stuff, and this huge refrigerator-looking thing. I thought maybe it was the water purification thingy, but I don’t know. Come on! Come see!” He was bouncing on his toes toward the passage and waving for them to follow him.

Luke perked up at the mention of the water purifier. He was the first to stand and move to follow him.

Kyle led them into the room. He stood back and watched their faces to see their reactions. His dad looked impressed and surprised. The others had the same expression as they came in and saw the mess of monitors and wires.

“Cool, huh?” Kyle looked expectantly to his dad.

“Very cool. How’d you get in here?” Luke asked.

“I found this lockpicking set while we were going through one of the storage rooms. I just started fiddling around with it. It’s actually not that hard. It just takes a while. It was pretty frustrating a couple of times, but I stuck with it.”

“Of course you did, son.” His dad mussed up his hair, smiling down at him proudly. “You don’t give up easily, do you?”

“Sure don’t. You taught me not to.”

“Well, I can’t take all the credit. You definitely get some of that from your mother. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her give up on anything. Not once.”

Kyle smiled up at his dad, grateful for his approval. Then he ran over to the massive gray box and gestured at it.