Prepper's Betrayal: post-apocalyptic survival action and adventure thriller Read online

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  Prepper’s

  Apocalypse

  Prepper’s Betrayal

  Book 3

  Prepper Post-Apocalyptic Survival Fiction

  by

  AJ Newman

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  Acknowledgments

  This book is dedicated to Patsy, my beautiful wife of thirty-six years. She assists with everything from Beta reading to censor duties. She enables me to write, golf, and enjoy my life with her and our mob of Shih Tzus.

  Thanks to Patsy, Cheryl, Brenda, Richard C, Cheryl D, Jim, David, and Richard S, who are Beta readers for this novel. They gave many suggestions that helped improve the cover and readability of my book.

  Thanks to Dee Cooper @ https://angryeaglepublishing.com/ for proofreading and editing this novel.

  Thanks to WMHCheryl at http://wmhcheryl.com/services-for-authors/ for the great final proofreading and suggestions on improving the accuracy and helping me to tell a better story.

  Thanks to Dee Cooper at Dauntless Cover Design for the fantastic cover.

  AJ Newman

  Copyright © 2021 Anthony J Newman. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. All events, names, characters, and places are the author’s imagination or are used as a fictitious event. That means I thought up this whole book from my imagination, and nothing in it is true.

  All rights reserved. None of this publication may be copied or reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.

  As they say on TV, don’t try anything you read in this novel. It’s all fiction and stuff I made up to entertain you. Buy some survival books if you want to learn how to survive in the apocalypse.

  Published by Newalk LLC.

  Henderson, Kentucky

  Table of Contents

  Books by AJ Newman

  Key Characters

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Books by AJ Newman

  About the Author

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  Remember to read my other Science Fiction and Mystery Thriller books on Amazon.

  AJ Newman

  To contact or follow the author, please like my page and leave comments at https://www.facebook.com/aj.newmanauthor.5?ref=bookmarks

  To view other books by AJ Newman, go to Amazon to my author’s page:

  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HT84V6U

  Books by AJ Newman

  Prepper’s Apocalypse:

  Prepper’s Apocalypse

  Prepper’s Collapse

  Prepper’s Betrayal

  John Logan Mysteries”: The Human Syndrome

  Extinction Level Event:

  Extinction

  Immune: The Hunted

  War Dogs:

  Heading Home

  No One Left Behind

  Amazon Warriors

  EMP:

  Perfect Storm

  Chaos in the Storm

  Cole’s Saga series:

  Cole’s Saga

  FEMA WARS

  American Apocalypse:

  American Survivor

  Descent into Darkness

  Reign of Darkness

  Rising from the Apocalypse

  After the Solar Flare:

  Alone in the Apocalypse

  Adventures in the Apocalypse

  Alien Apocalypse:

  The Virus

  Surviving

  A Family’s Apocalypse Series:

  Cities on Fire

  Family Survival

  The Day America Died:

  New Beginnings

  Old Enemies

  Frozen Apocalypse

  The Adventures of Jon Harris:

  Surviving

  Hell in the Homeland

  Tyranny in the Homeland

  Revenge in the Homeland

  Apocalypse in the Homeland

  Jon Returns

  AJ Newman and Mack Norman

  Rogue’s Apocalypse:

  Rogues Origin

  Rogues Rising

  Rogues Journey

  A Samantha Jones Murder Mystery:

  Where the Girls Are Buried

  Who Killed the Girls?

  These books are available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/AJ-Newman/e/B00HT84V6U/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

  To contact the Author, please leave comments @

  https://www.facebook.com/aj.newmanauthor.5?ref=bookmarks

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  Key Characters

  Tom Clark – Tom is a rancher in southwestern Oregon. He learned how to survive but lacked most social skills and has a hard-wired fear of cities and outsiders. His wife died two years before the apocalypse, and he still grieves for her.

  Bessie Clark – Tom’s feisty grandma. They call her Granny B. She’s an ex-Army nurse and has seen combat in the Middle East. She’s a strong woman who is the leader of her family and their moral compass. Her soft side and homespun humor offset her iron will for her family to survive.

  Jackie Clark – Tom’s twin sister and best friend. She shares many of Tom’s skills and traits but did develop adequate social skills. She keeps him sane in a crazy world. Jackie married Rick before Book 3.

  Kate Walker – A local young woman caught trying to survive during the chaos surrounding her. She’s a tough woman and does what it takes to survive. She becomes a member of the ranching community after an ominous start. She later marries Tom.

  Greta Stover – A young woman who joined the group. Her mom and dad died in the first book. A high maintenance lady who becomes a tough member of this survival group.

  Rick Grimes – Greta’s uncle and welcome addition to the Clark group. He adds his military experience and firepower to a group always facing anarchy. He quickly became Tom’s best friend.

  Samantha “Sam” Hale – A young mother trying to escape her drug lord boyfriend when the EMP blasts rocked the world. She grew fond of Tom and joined the family at the ranch. She was thought to have been killed during her ex-boyfriend’s attempt to kidnap her. She survived, and the mystery surrounding her goes on.

  Bill Todd – An ex-Medford cop who joined the group after the plane crash. He became a solid member of Tom’s team.

  Lucy Hale – Sam’s thirteen-year-old daughter and a spoiled brat.

  Jack (no last name – Ranch hand and friend of the Clarks.

  Jerry Clark – is Tom’s cousin and becomes a group member along with his wife June and two children. He is the leader of their innovations and construction.

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  Chapter 1

  The Cave: Winter of 2038 – four months after the EMP attack.

  The roaring fire at the opening to the small chamber where Tom and Kate slept had awakened the
snakes. They were awake but in a stupor. As the room warmed up thanks to the fire, Tom started to ward off the mid-teens temperature outside the cave. Tom and Kate were sound asleep after making love in the large sleeping bag. Their noise hadn’t phased the snakes, but the warmth from the blaze brought them to life. The cold-blooded reptiles needed the external heat to warm their bodies enough to move toward the heat source. Several moved slowly across the cold rock floor and stopped to warm themselves on hay bales with the sleeping lovers.

  Contrary to popular belief, snakes don’t hibernate. Instead, they go into a deep sleep called brumation. Snakes even have to wake up from time to time to seek water and food before falling back to sleep. The blazing campfire had warmed these snakes, and they were ready to find a meal. The cave had plenty of rats and mice, so none of the snakes went hungry.

  Two large rattlers warmed their bodies beside Kate. She moved in her sleep, and the rattler shook its tail in a warning and coiled ready to strike. Kate heard the rattling noise but didn’t realize what had made the sound in the fog of sleep. She rolled over on top of one of the snakes and stuck her head out from the sleeping bag just in time to see another snake. She screamed, “Snake!”

  The coiled snake struck at Kate’s knee sinking its fangs deep into the canvas tarp and sleeping bag. Kate felt the strike and could see the snake in the firelight.

  Kate screamed, “Tom! Wake up! Keep your head in the sleeping bag!”

  “Huh?” was all Tom said as he rubbed his eyes and started to pull the sleeping bag open.

  Kate grabbed his hand and held it. “Tom! There’s a damned rattlesnake on my side of the sleeping bag.”

  Just then, the other snake moved below her body. “Oh! My God! I rolled over on top of one.”

  Kate shivered in fright and screamed again. The brave lady who could hold her own against thugs was terrified of snakes. She couldn’t stop shivering as she felt the snake try to move below her.

  Tom’s mind had cleared. “Don’t move! The snake can’t bite if you’re lying on it.”

  Kate shivered, and her voice trembled. “The other one tried to bite me. It hit my knee, but the fangs didn’t get to my skin. I’m scared witless. What do we do?”

  Tom didn’t want to risk a snakebite with no doctors or anti-venom serum available but knew they couldn’t hide in the sleeping bag forever. At the same time, snakes threatened the rest of his group.

  “Can you feel the snake’s head under you? It should be trying to tunnel.”

  Kate shuddered all over as she felt the snake’s head move out from under her side. “Yes! It just moved out from under my chest below my boob. What … do … I do?”

  Tom reached for his knife and bumped his recently amputated pinkie finger on his pistol. He winced in extreme pain but grabbed the knife. The tip of his pinkie finger had to be removed a couple of days ago due to frostbite, and it still pained him immensely. He turned slowly toward Kate and felt for the snake. Kate caught his hand and placed it below her breast. “Do you feel the snake? Don’t stab my boob!”

  Tom felt the head of the snake as it tried to strike. It didn’t have enough freedom to strike but struggled to be free. Tom pinned the head down and thrust his knife’s point into the snake’s head. The snake convulsed and expended all its effort in one last attempt to escape to no avail. It stopped moving and was dead.

  “I got the SOB. What’s the other one doing?”

  Kate shuddered. “Anything he wants to do. My head is under the cover, and I just want him to go away.”

  “Is he on top of you or beside you?”

  “He’s not on top of me. I guess I can move and get him to strike again to see where he is,” Kate said.

  “No! Stay still and try to put your fingers in your ears. I’m rolling over to you.”

  “Why the heck do I need my fingers …?”

  “Just do it. Now!”

  Kate was now pissed, but she stuck her fingers in her ears. Tom moved his left hand over Kate’s chest while moving his right hand over his own body. Kate felt her husband’s hand. “Don’t you think that now isn’t the time to fondle my …”

  “Be quiet!” Tom said and then wiggled his hand. The snake struck, and Tom thrust his hand at the snake and trapped its body along with the sleeping bag a few inches below its head. He shoved the barrel of his pistol against the snake and squeezed the trigger. The explosion was deafening but blew half of the snake’s head to pieces.

  The stench of burned gunpowder stung their noses, and Kate’s ears still rang. “Why didn’t you warn me you were going to shoot?”

  Tom yelled, “I did! I told you to put your fingers in your ears. What did you think I was going to do? Maybe give the bastard a strong cussing.”

  Tom had never yelled at Kate before. Tears came to her eyes. “You yelled at me.”

  “Babe, I’m sorry. Let’s have this discussion after we see how many snakes are waiting on us to get out from under this holey sleeping bag.”

  Kate wrapped her arms around her husband. “Tom, I’m afraid of snakes. I hate snakes. I’d kill all of the squirmy bastards if it was up to me.”

  Tom squeezed her tight. “You stay hidden under here, and I’ll clear the area.”

  ***

  The gunshot in the cave was intensified as it echoed off the cave’s walls. James had been at the mouth of the cave making his rounds when the shot rang out. He ran through the cave with the light from his flashlight bouncing up and down. He’d run only a few yards when he felt the stabbing pain in his right calf. He lowered the light to outline the deadly reptile in the bright light. James kicked it away only to feel a second strike on his other leg. His heart raced as he knew the possibility of an agonizing death stared him in the face. He didn’t care about himself but had to find his family and make sure they were safe. He heard two more loud gunshots and several screams as he continued to run the gauntlet through the many snakes. He didn’t feel the bites anymore and concentrated on living until he was sure his family was safe.

  He ran into the cavity where his family had bedded down for the night to see a grizzly scene. Alice, his wife, was draped across a hay bale with a rattlesnake coiled on top of her. His son lay dead on the floor amongst several of the venomous monsters. Then he saw his daughter leap out from the top of a stack of boxes and run toward him. He saw several snakes bite her and drew his pistol. He shot her and then turned the gun on himself. He knew the pain would be unbearable for both of them.

  ***

  Tom heard the shots. “James and Alice must have snake problems. I’m getting out of the sleeping bag and grabbing my shotgun. I’ll let you know when to come out.”

  Tom used his knife to move the sleeping bag several times around his body and didn’t feel any strikes or rattles. He pushed the knife out of the bag and waved it around. Again, nothing happened, so he slowly moved his arms out ahead of his head and was free of the bag. He thanked God there weren’t any snakes around him, but he could see several by the fire and heard one rattling behind Kate.

  Tom rose to see a snake two feet from Kate. It was crawling toward the hay bales she lay on beside him. He grabbed his shotgun.

  “Cover your ears! This will be loud!”

  The double aught buckshot exploded from the barrel and tore the snake to bits. Unfortunately for Tom, the buckshot hit the wall and glanced to the other wall, and one fragment hit Tom on the back. It didn’t penetrate into his flesh but stung like hell. Tom felt for the shrapnel and found it stuck to his back. He pulled it loose and only felt a small drop of blood. Tom then turned his attention back to the snakes.

  “I shot myself and the snake. You can come out, but there are snakes everywhere, but none are close. Stay in the sleeping bag until I clear a path to the ammunition and come back with your shotgun and enough birdshot to kill every one of the bastards.”

  “Okay.”

  Tom only had five more shells in his shotgun. The gun held an additional fifteen shells divided into eight double-aught
buck and seven-number four turkey shot shells. Tom started to shoot then turned back to Kate. “Cover your ears for a while. Things are going to get messy and loud.”

  Tom didn’t want to shoot toward where he thought James and Alice were, so he started shooting the closest snakes away from them. He stopped for a minute to strip a couple of 9-mm bullets from a spare mag to shove in his ears. It wasn’t a great solution, but it reduced the sound enough to bear shooting the snakes.

  After killing a dozen rattlers and letting several non-poisonous snakes go free, the area was clear. He carefully looked into the supply room and didn’t see any snakes. The room was cold, so he thought it was safe. Tom fetched both of their backpacks and stuffed each of them with five boxes of birdshot.

  Tom found his earplugs in a pouch on the side of his bag and inserted them in his ears. He found a pair for Kate and turned to leave when a giant rattlesnake struck and hit Kate’s backpack. He was lucky and shot the snake. He pulled one earplug out so he could hear any warning rattle. Tom shook several boxes to find snakes hiding among them. He didn’t want to blast their supplies, so he made a spear from his bayonet and a broom handle.

  Tom could only find seven snakes in the supply room. He speared them and tossed their carcasses out onto the main tunnel floor before going back to Kate.

  “Babe, I’m back! Come on out. I brought gifts.”

  Kate saw Tom standing there, naked and unafraid. Well, he was naked. “Tom, you didn’t put any clothes on! I hope Alice didn’t see ya.”