Dystopia Box Set [Books 1-4] Read online

  Dystopia

  The Journey

  —Full Series Set—

  By: DJ Cooper

  Copyrights

  Copyright © 2014-2020 D.J. Cooper

  Angry Eagle Publishing

  P.O. Box 683

  Alstead, NH 03602

  Http://angryeaglepublishing.com

  All rights reserved

  Copyright © All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored, transmitted by any means, for profit or gain, without the expressed permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  This is a work of fiction. No techniques are recommended without proper safety measures and training. The author nor publisher assumes no liability for your actions.

  Find the author at https://authoroftheapocalypse.com

  Contents

  Beginning of

  —Book 1—

  “Breaking News”

  “The Meeting”

  “OPEC”

  “Trouble this way comes.”

  “Preparing”

  “Ready for anything?”

  “Bad Tidings”

  “Others Near and Far”

  “Power is Out”

  “Settling In”

  “Thief in the Midst”

  “Amanda Talks”

  “Visitors”

  “Day by Day “

  “Raiders”

  “Halloween”

  “News from the North”

  “George is back.”

  “Loss”

  “Time to Move”

  “Engagement “

  “New Home”

  “Arrival of loved ones.”

  Long Road

  — Book 2 —

  “Time is short”

  “The time draws near”

  “Trouble in the wind”

  “In the midst”

  “The End is now the Beginning”

  “Welcome Friends”

  “The Others “

  “The Road”

  “Out of the Fire”

  “A changed landscape”

  “In Darkness… Danger”

  “The Storm”

  “Treachery”

  “Trouble Doubles”

  “Grief and Guilt”

  “The Camp”

  “In Darkness we move”

  “Wolf in sheep’s clothing”

  “Luck can change”

  “Light at the end of the tunnel”

  “Unexpected friends”

  “The Relay”

  “Overland”

  “Bittersweet arrival”

  “Sickness”

  “Reality of life now”

  Revelations

  —Book 3 —

  The Betrayal

  “Fear”

  “I’m Safe”

  “Awakening”

  “Remembrance”

  “Allies”

  “Torture”

  “Going South”

  “The Road”

  “Finality of Death”

  “Close, yet far away.”

  “Finding Hope”

  “Liberation”

  “The Longest Mile”

  “Revelations”

  The Dark Days

  —Book 4 —

  The Reset

  “Dark days loom ominous”

  “The Darkest Night”

  “The new reality”

  “A new day”

  “Revelation”

  “Reunited”

  “Defense”

  “Decisive moments”

  “Diversion”

  “The Greatest Lie”

  “United”

  “The Camp”

  “Liberation”

  “Community”

  “Deceptions”

  “War”

  “The world now”

  “Friends”

  “Vendetta”

  “The Day of Darkness”

  Epilogue

  Dystopia

  Beginning of

  The End

  —Book 1—

  By: DJ Cooper

  Chapter 1

  “Breaking News”

  “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

  ― Benjamin Franklin

  September 6

  Awakened by a loud beeping sound, Dez lay blinking at the ceiling. It was still early, too early. The annoying sound was so loud it felt almost as though it was coming from a loudspeaker, booming in the silence, chiming its important news from the other room. It was that telltale sound like a demonic screech assaulting your senses. The very sound raised the hairs on the back of your neck because it never brought good news. It was activated on TV and radio when someone somewhere decided it was an emergency; and a broadcast announcement was destined to cast a shadow over the morning coffee. None the less, it woke her with a start and there was no way she would be going back to sleep.

  Rising from the bed, she grumbled in a barely audible tone, “I will never understand how the hell he can go to sleep with that annoying box droning on in the background.” Matt often fell asleep with the TV on, and it annoyed her that he always forgot to shut it off. Looking over at him, he lay sleeping peacefully, unaware of the sound or her mumblings.

  Today, this noise, one that practically made her want to grit her teeth, was to be her alarm. Still groggy, she flipped the blankets to the side and flung her legs off the bed. Sitting a moment on the edge, she rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off the sleep that hung on even though she was awake now for the day, feeling as though she’d only just gone to bed. Again, mumbling practically inaudibly, “Damn sleeping pills always leave me with a hangover.”

  Standing up she glanced over her shoulder at him. There he lay, still sleeping silently through that God-awful sound. She again complained to herself, “How freaking hard can it be to set a timer on the damn thing?” She stumbled over her own feet while searching for her slippers, which were frustratingly lost in a heap of rumpled clothing strewn haphazardly on the floor.

  Shuffling her feet as she walked, almost staggering, she said, “Since I’m not getting any sleep, I might as well make coffee.” A small half smile emerged as she grabbed her robe. She wasn’t as mad as she’d seemed, it was a sunny morning after all, and generally, she liked them. Heading toward the kitchen, she tripped again on the rumpled clothing before stumbling through the bedroom door. She looked back making an inaudible comment back towards the pile.

  Though she really wanted to sleep in, trying to remain in a foul mood just seemed pointless after the wonderful evening they’d had the night before. She stood filling the coffee maker, not really paying attention to it, going through the motions like she did every other morning; mindlessly doing this morning task. Her thoughts were elsewhere, and she hadn’t even bothered to check the TV.

  The three ear-shattering screeches of the emergency alert system usually went off to warn of severe storms lurking on the horizon. Kentucky could sometimes have some serious thunderstorms that would produce tornados from time to time. She recalled that the weather channel predicted a cool front would move in during the evening and with it would come the possibility of severe storms. She assumed it was just another weather announcement and didn’t bother to check the television.

  Blankly, she stood staring into the coffee can. It was almost as if she could not remember how to make a simple pot of coffee. Still waking up, her thoughts were wandering somewhere into the day's ad
ventures. Running them through her mind, she noted that there were a few important meetings to attend to. She had to see to an overdue deadline, her lawyer, and a few other things she’d been ignoring. Even in the distracted moment, the mornings were still what she considered to be her best time of day.

  Dez always enjoyed fixing the coffee just as Matt was getting up and he never failed to make a big deal about it. She liked his dramatic show of gratitude, feigning he was about to die until he had coffee in hand. The morning coffee was very much a part of their wake-up ritual. She would usually brew a pot before waking Matt and savored the few moments each morning when they would sit together. On the agenda was to watch a little news and share with each other the day’s plans. A much-enjoyed ritual, it was what she saw as their ‘Alone time,’ and often mused that it was the highlight of her day.

  The emergency alert system sounded again, the three blasts that grated on her like nails on a chalkboard. She jumped as though she’d been zapped by electricity; nearly flinging the coffee all over the kitchen. Her quiet moment of reflection was gone in an instant. Standing there, her mind jerked from her whimsy. Blinking, coffee can in hand, she looked around as though trying to place the noise. Realizing what it was, she raced for the TV exclaiming, “Shit, it’s going to wake Matt.”

  Today the news was not about the weather as she’d expected. The words in the ticker stunned her. Bringing her fully conscious, like a slap, all at once she felt shaken. She stood in astonishment staring at the news line scrolling across the TV. “Ebola virus has been confirmed at hospitals in the following six U.S. cities: New York, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Denver, Sacramento, and Detroit… Please stay tuned for an official announcement.”, after which it only repeated the same scrolled message. It took a moment for it to sink in. Snapping out of her trance and turning quickly she ran to the bedroom, forgetting about their coffee entirely. This was going to be an interesting day.

  Dez flung the door open as she came bursting into the bedroom. Reaching out, shoving his shoulder she urged him, “Matt, Matt… Wake up!”

  She continued her way through the room to the bathroom to grab her glasses. Returning to the doorway of the room while tying her hair up atop her head, Dez peeked back through to see if he’d heard her. He stirred a bit and rolled over, looking at her. Blinking and smiling he said, “It’s Saturday baby,” Smiling his coy smile, “Come back to bed and cuddle.” He winked at her, patting the bed with that come-hither look.

  Talking to herself in the mirror and making a big show of annoyance as she smeared moisturizer on her face, she said “He always wakes up with that damn sunny disposition, it is beyond me how the hell he can always wake up smiles.”

  Growling in annoyance and leaning back so that only the top half of her body shown from the bathroom doorway, she looked at him again and sighed. “No, you need to get up. There’s an alert on the TV, and they are going to make an official announcement shortly.”

  Matt winced; he always thought Dez took things too seriously. “What now?” He groaned, flopping backward on the bed pretending to be shocked. “Did the president misplace his golf clubs and it is now a national emergency?” Sighing loudly, he rolled over and pulled the blankets over his head.

  “No,” She almost spat out, sighing herself, as she turned back into the bathroom. Finished with her morning facial ritual, she released her hair. Tousling it but not brushing she muttered to no one in particular, “This man never takes anything seriously.”

  With a sound like a growl she looked out the door at him, “It’s Ebola, it’s been confirmed here in the U.S.” Softening her tone, she continued with a placating tone, “Come on baby, get up and let’s have some coffee; we can check out what kind of new false flag issue there is to distract the American public today.”

  Smiling, she winked at him, knowing which buttons to push. She knew that even though he was always making jokes and taking things too lightly, he was passionate about the constitution and the corruption within the government. By saying it was surely a false flag, she was pretty sure it would do the trick.

  Gesturing to him to get up, she purposely sauntered out of the bedroom toward the kitchen, tossing her long brown hair behind her as she glanced over her shoulder at him with the side eye, giving him a sly little grin that said, “I win!”

  Getting up, Matt made his way to the bathroom. He stood before the toilet and leaned over to look in the mirror. Dez called out from the kitchen, “Coffee, darling.”

  This startled him, nearly causing a complete missed aim but indeed a small mess. Grabbing a tissue to wipe the small mishap he leaned down, “Dammit.”

  Lazily, he strolled into the kitchen. Spotting his coffee waiting for him, he smiled and picked it up. Standing at the counter, he gave an exaggerated sniff, taking in the aroma, and sighing. “Ahhhh….The first cup of the day is the best.”

  He stood in the kitchen a moment, looking at her from across the counter with a tiny smile. She’d gotten dressed and was sitting there in her sweats and a tee, hair disheveled, coffee in hand staring intently at the TV. He often said that he loved this look and his thoughts went back to when they’d first met.

  She’d moved in next door to his parents. He recalled seeing her sitting on the porch with a wad of papers mumbling at nothing. It was on that day, butterflies in his stomach, he marched right up to her intending to introduce himself. Smiling as he approached he watched her while she cursed at the instructions to a surround sound.

  Laughing, he stepped onto the porch and asked if she needed help. It startled her, and she scowled as she looked up at him from the instructions. “How can anyone understand these?”

  He was good at home theater things and volunteered to help her with it. His thinking was that he might be able to impress her. After that day they often hung out and watched movies together. They both liked each other, and there was a tension between them. She refused to date him when she found out she was quite a bit older than he was, at least not at first.

  Initially, Dez thought he was at least ten years older. He started going bald at a very young age and most of the hair on top of his head was already gone, which incidentally, was why he kept his head shaved. By his late twenties, he had false teeth and was often insecure about his looks. He said loved her because she didn’t care about any of that. She always looked inside the hearts of people. This was one of the things he loved and hated most. Many people took advantage of her kindness, and she would refer to herself as the “pathetic trusting fool.” His friends would tease him saying, “She must be blind.” There were times he wondered if she was. He’d often thought it odd she finally agreed to date him. She was a beautiful woman who would turn down men with money, good looks and what people would consider a good catch.

  Matt had no money and often struggled with his debts but she was completely devoted to him. She owned the house they lived in and another hundred plus acres Dez had been successful in a few ventures and was well off. He’d met her while she was going back to school and he didn’t know she’d only rented the apartment to stay off campus. He was proud of his persistence and thought that it had surely paid off. She caught his eye the first time he saw her and there is something to be said for persistence, he would say.

  Dez giggled when she saw him just standing in the kitchen with his cup and a silly little smile. “Earth to Matt. Are you with us? What could be running through that mind of yours so early in the morning?”

  “Oh, nothing… just thinking.”

  She playfully rolled her eyes at him, which made him laugh. Conjuring up his skills as a quick thinker he blurted out, “Bacon!”

  That was his default response when he didn’t want to get into a discussion on something. He refilled his coffee and proceeded over to where she was. Making a grand exhibition of plopping down next to her, he grinned a wide smile. She laughed. Feeling as though his job was done, he sat triumphantly,sipping contentedly on his fresh cup of what he called ‘the elixir of life.’ He was in a good
mood and was relaxing while he sat waiting to see what all the fuss was on the news.

  They chatted about the day ahead while they waited, both blindly staring at the screen. It soon became apparent that they would not have to wait long. The ticker began to scroll announcing that an official news conference would begin precisely at seven. Matt glanced at the clock and saw it would still be another fifteen minutes. He grabbed his phone and started sending out some texts. It seemed like a reasonable idea as a heads up to a few people; telling them to watch the news conference. This would surely save him time in retelling later.

  Dez was already busy texting Tawny, her best friend. She technically lived in Chicago but was now nearby. She recently accepted a long-term job in their area, and to save money on housing, she rented Dez’s small cabin that was behind the main house. It was a good fit for her and her son to stay in for the duration of the job she was on.

  Dez relished the opportunity to hang out with her friend and enjoyed their company. It was nice to have others around when Matt was off doing what she called “guy stuff.”

  They both rather quickly went through the list of those to contact. Matt first sent texts to his parents, who lived just outside Worchester, Massachusetts, and another to his friend John who lived about five miles from them.

  Dez was busy texting her daughter, Charleigh, who lived up in Cincinnati. Next would be her son Jeremy, who was on a construction job up north in Pittsburg.

  Glancing over to remind him of his cousin she saw he was sending a text to Morgan. She’d often been curious about this someone named Morgan. Matt had just sent his text and looked up at her stoically. He was not particularly forthcoming with whom this person was. She shrugged and accepted that she did not need to know everyone he communicated with. Dez never really pushed the question. It bothered her a little when he just didn’t say anything whenever she asked. It seemed to her as though there was something not right with it.