Free State of Panic: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller by Jack Hunt Page A

rounds every fifteen seconds.”
    Murphy then disappeared into another room. I looked at Edgar. Luke was staring out the window, making sure that no one was coming. When Murphy reappeared he had what looked like two large briefcases in his hands. He set them down against the wall and then went into the kitchen. I shuffled over and peered in. He opened the fridge, it was dark inside. He pulled out a bottle of beer, popped the cap off with a twist and chugged it down in one hit. As he closed the fridge, I could see he had several photos of his daughter Ally tacked against it using fridge magnets. There was a sign on the wall with the words: The only easy day was yesterday .
    I’d always been fascinated by anyone that had gone into the military and was willing to put their life on the line for their country. Besides cops, I didn’t think there was anything more courageous than laying down your life down for another. Though there was a mystique surrounding the teams. SEALs weren’t superhuman but they were the closest we had to guys who knew how to live and work in the most uncomfortable environments. They had the mindset, the skillset and drive to survive when others would want to roll over and die.
    “Murphy. Do you think those guys got away?”
    “Who?”
    “Robertson and the men from the lumberyard?”
    “Who knows?”
    “After what we just went through I’m thinking they were smart to leave,” Luke muttered.
    He was at it again. I didn’t blame him. Logically, hiding in the woods or making a run for it made sense. But he wasn’t seeing the bigger picture. We had no idea if they had escaped, or the full extent of what the country was going through.
    “And go where? The chances of us being able to survive out there are slim. We don’t know where those bombs went off or how far the fallout has spread but we know it can’t be anywhere near here otherwise these idiots wouldn’t be sticking around. So my guess is this place is a safe zone for now. Besides, it’s home and I damn well am not going to sit back and watch a bunch of knucklehead baldies fuck up my town.”
    “You said Dan had a bunker.”
    Murphy slammed a magazine into the M4.
    “That he does.”
    “Hey, I’m all for raising a little hell but there are a lot of them.”
    “Luke, there are more town folk than them.”
    “But they won’t fight,” Luke said. “Hell, they are just regular folks. Even we are. You and Dan are the only ones besides the police that are trained for this type of violence.”
    “Don’t underestimate what people will do to protect the ones they love. And anyway, that’s why we have got to work together. Right now we may be the only chance this town has of fighting back. Now we can run off with our tail between our legs and maybe we will get to live another week, heck, we might even be able to hole up in Dan’s underground bunker but eventually violence will come knocking. No matter what you have heard about violence not solving violence, at times it’s the only way. Whether you like it or not, it’s time to fight.”
    Murphy grabbed up a bag of ammo.
    “This is insane. Surely we can reason with them?” Luke asked.
    Murphy chuckled and pointed outside. “You think back at the library they were looking to reason with us?”
    Luke looked at Edgar who shrugged.
    “I’m not a violent man, Luke, but this is my home. I grew up here. My family is here.”
    “So… about leaving, that’s a no?”
    I could see the look of reservation on Luke’s face. I felt the same. I wasn’t ready to battle with a bunch of skinheads. We might have had anger issues and this might have been one hell of a way to unleash pent-up frustration, but killing another human? I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.
    “Are we going?” Edgar asked.
    “Not yet. I have to contact Dan.”

AMBUSH
    W e remained at Murphy’s for another hour while he tried to make contact with Dan via a ham radio system. He sat at a desk pressing the button on the