Free Alone: Book 1: Facing Armageddon by Darrell Maloney Page B

important things to worry about.
         They’d planned for every contingency. One scenario they considered was that somehow someone would discover that their house wasn’t vacant after all, and force their way in to loot it.
         It wasn’t a very likely scenario for several reasons.
         First and foremost, it would mean that they’d made a mistake. That they let the smells of their cooking drift into the street. Or one of them walked past a window and was spotted. Or someone heard them talking to each other in the back yard.
         And that wasn’t likely. They planned to be extremely careful.
         Secondly, if looters were in the house, it would mean they’d somehow gotten past Dave, and that wasn’t very likely either. Dave would carry his 9 mm handgun on his side every minute of every day. And at night, he’d have it within easy reach.
         He’d also have one of his AR-15s within a few yards at all times.
         Sarah, also, would be armed. She wasn’t a big fan of guns. But she’d use it to protect her family, and that was good enough for Dave.
         Dave considered it highly unlikely, therefore, that looters would make their way into the house.
         “I know it’s unlikely,” Sarah had said. “But we at least need to consider the possibility, just like we’re considering all the others.”
         So they’d come up with what they considered to be a brilliant plan. They’d hide all of their food in various places around the house. In the walls and attic, mainly. Also inside the oven, behind the refrigerator and hot water heater, inside the air conditioner vents.
         In the pantry, they would leave a few lonely food items out in the open. A half used box of spaghetti, a few outdated canned goods. A stale box of crackers.
         And if the looters ever made it inside, they would swear up and down that there was no more food to be had. They would tell the looters, “Hey, we do the same thing you do. We go out every couple of days and steal what we can. This is all we have.”
         In theory, it would work, although they fully expected the looters to look around just to set their own minds at ease .
         Dave had twelve knives hidden discretely around the house as well, in the event such a scenario ever happened. Behind drawers, under couch cushions, above door jambs.
         When he told Sarah of his plans to do so, she asked why.
         “Well, if they make it in here, that means they’ve somehow managed to disarm us. Which means two things. First of all, we’ll be at their mercy. They can leave us unharmed, or they can kill us before they leave. Second, if they do leave us unharmed, they’ll almost certainly take our weapons with them, and leave us defenseless against future looters.
         “Neither option is acceptable. So if it ever gets to that point, while they’re searching the house for more food I’ll be trying to get to one of my hidden knives. And I won’t have any problem stabbing those sons of bitches right through the heart.”
         Hiding f ood in the walls was a slow process. By the time the sun set in the evening, he had worked his way halfway through Lindsey’s room. He’d only made a dent in their food stores, though. It would take him several more days to complete the project.
         But he didn’t mind. He’d convinced himself that his family was still alive. And, that being the cas e, he fully expected to reunite with them.
         Someday.
         Somehow.
         And having made that resolution, he knew that he wasn’t just going through all this trouble for his own benefit.
         He was doing it for them.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    -19-
     
          Hi, honey.
        It’s been a few days since I’ve written. I hope you haven’t missed me too much.
        Yes, that was a joke. A lame one, sure, but it’s the