Her worn boots crunched on shards of broken glass and twisted metal, remnants of a world that had once teemed with life. Buildings, skeletal remains of their former glory, clawed at the sky, their empty windows like hollowed-out eyes staring blankly at the desolate landscape. She moved with the slow, deliberate grace of someone who had learned to conserve energy, every movement measured, every step calculated. Survival was a delicate dance, a precarious balance between hope and despair. #ApocalypticFiction #Society #Readers #Horror #Series #Thriller #Dystopian Amazon.com: Reset: Society eBook : Sweet, W. G., Dell, Geo: Kindle Store
The dust swirled around my worn boots, a miniature desert storm kicked up by the frantic thump of my own heart. The air hung thick and heavy, the scent of dry earth and something else… something metallic and sickeningly sweet, clinging to the back of my throat. It was the smell of blood. Old blood. New blood. The kind that stains the soul as deeply as it stains the earth. I’d been clean for six months, six agonizing months of sweat-soaked nights and gnawing cravings, a testament to a willpower I never knew I possessed. Six months of staring at the cracked pavement, avoiding the shadowed corners where my past lurked like a hungry ghost. But tonight, the ghost had found me.
I reached the relative safety of the small office and set down the suitcases. The Mexican stood and slowly shook his head as I approached. I looked down and saw that Kat’s shirt had been cut away. One large hole had punched through her upper shoulder leaving a blue-black, bloodless hole. Her eyes blinked rapidly as I knelt beside her.
“Hey,” I said. She looked at me, pulled another breath and then her eyes slipped shut. She had a small smile on her face as if she knew some secret that I could only guess at.
I froze for a moment and then reached down and shook her shoulders.
“She’s okay, Billy,” The Mexican said. “I gave her something… We need to get her somewhere where I can stitch her up… Or you. Listen, I don’t want to sound hard or as if I don’t care, but right now, unless we want to just give up and die, we need to get ourselves in gear. If it wasn’t one of the trucks that blew by us while we were on that dirt road, and we know it wasn’t that red pickup… someone is still out there, and once they get their shit together they’ll come back for us, amigo. And there has to be some locals of some sort around here, eventually one of them is gonna show up. Federales… Maybe locals… What you need to do Billy is get us another truck so we can get back across the border and make that meeting… Put this behind us,” the Mexican said.
I looked around the showroom. “I don’t see any here, which means I’m going to have to go back outside to find one. Which means,” I looked at the Mexican, “I need you to keep watch in front; I’m going out the back door.”
I walked over to a small plywood board to one side of the double doors, and began to search through the key-tags that hung from it. “Hey, take a quick look out front and tell me whether you see a light green Ram out there, about ten years old or so,” I continued to search through the keys as he looked.
“Si, out by the road,” he replied.
“How about a two-tone red and white Chevy?”
“No veda nada… No, not out here.”
“Good,” I said as I dropped the remaining keys in a heap by the board. I had kept two sets out; apparently, there were two green Ram’s, another out back somewhere along with a tu-tone Chevy that had possibilities. “Okay I’m going to get it,” I said as I turned and walked down a hallway in the direction of the back of the building, I turned back. “Kat?” I asked.
“She’s safe, amigo… Go, I’ll keep watch on her.”
I turned and walked down the hallway through a set of double steel doors and into a small garage area. I searched the garage quickly, but no red and white Chevy or green Ram resided in the shadowy interior. I walked to a set of double steel doors set into the back of the garage, pressed the bar handle, and stepped out into the back lot.
I found the Ram first directly behind the rear of the garage checked the stock numbers and after determining, which set of keys went to it opened the door and got in. A low chiming greeted me as I opened the door. The Ram was one of the upper level models; it was also not four-wheel drive. The tires were not much more than passenger tires and when I turned on the ignition to check the gas gauge the needle stopped just above empty.
“Fuck,” I said to myself. “this one isn’t going to do us a hell-of-a-lot-of good.”
I found the other truck farther back in the lot. It was a low end model; built more with a hunter or some other type of sportsman in mind and much better suited to our needs. Plain stark vinyl interior and the gas gauge leveled out at half when I checked it. Not great, but a lot better than the other truck and we didn’t have the time to pick and choose.
“This is her,” I told myself. I started the truck and drove out of the back lot toward the front of the dealership.
I had been tensed, expecting to hear the chatter of machine pistols while I was out back, and when I drove by the glass encased showroom and saw the Mexican crouched by the side of a car on the showroom floor I breathed a sigh of relief. I just caught his waving hands out of the corner of my eye before two men jumped out from behind one of the trucks in the front row and opened fire on me.
Too late, I thought as I realized I had left the machine pistol lying on the front seat instead of keeping it in my right hand where it should have been. I could hear the sound of a machine pistol behind me as the Mexican opened up. I did what I could. I aimed the truck at the two men; levered the door-handle and prepared to jump just as the windshield hit by several of the rounds fired by the two men was blown inward: My world faded to black.
Amy and Diedra are best friends, maybe more, something always seems to be in the way every time an opportunity to explore the possibilities arise. Dave Plasko is serving a long sentence at Huntsville state prison, and after that he will be transferred to New York to serve more time. Rebbeca Monet is working her way up the ladder of success in the television reporter game. A hurricane of epic proportions is heading towards Mobile Alabama. The lives of the people involved will never be the same again… #Crime #Drama #Action #Readers #DellSweet #KDP #KU
The prison uniform, now discarded in a shadowed alcove, lay like a discarded skin, a molted shell of a former self. It was a stark visual representation of his transformation, a physical shedding of the past. #Prison #crime #Thriller #Drama
My head swam. I tried to focus, to piece together what had happened, but my memories were fragmented, blurred like a badly scratched photograph. Images flickered – a flash of bright light, the deafening roar of something immense, the sickening crunch of collapsing structures…and then, nothing. Only the darkness before the agonizing awakening in this hellish landscape.
The ‘Sea Wanderer’ was more than just a vessel; it was their home, their adventure capsule, a testament to years of planning, saving, and dreaming. It was a forty-foot sloop, built to withstand the rigors of extended ocean voyages, her hull a sturdy, reassuring blue, her sails crisp and white against the deepening azure of the sky.A few weeks into their ocean cruise life for the Robinsons takes an ominous turn when a sudden storm wreaks havoc on the ship and family…
The Earth Fleet’s perspective was one of cautious analysis, tempered by apprehension. They saw a world of breathtaking beauty and advanced sophistication, but also a world that, in its very uniqueness, posed an unprecedented risk. The question now was not simply whether humanity could survive among the stars, but whether it could evolve, whether it could learn from a civilization that had, in its own way, already achieved a form of transcendence. #SpaceSettlement #SpaceExploration #StarTravel $SciFi #Kindle
“We survived the descent,” Jameson continued, her voice firming with resolve. “That’s more than many could have managed. The Odyssey may be broken, but we are not. We will assess, we will adapt, and we will survive. This is not the end of our journey. It’s just a… very, very difficult detour.”
The words, meant to inspire, were met with a heavy silence. The sheer magnitude of their predicament was too vast, too overwhelming, to be easily dispelled by mere words. The Odyssey was no longer a starship; it was a tomb, a monument to their fallen comrades and their shattered dreams. #SpaceSettlement #SpaceExploration #StarTravel $SciFi #Kindle
Andrea, back in her humble dwelling, noticed it too. The birds, usually a raucous chorus at dawn, were unnaturally silent. The insects, a constant hum of life in the humid air, seemed to have retreated. The vibrant colors of her small herb garden appeared to have dulled, as if a fine layer of dust had settled upon them, a dust that wasn’t visible but could be felt, a muffling of the world’s sensory output. She found herself looking over her shoulder, a habit she had never possessed before, an instinctual awareness of being observed, even in the solitude of her own small space. #Dystopian #ApocalypticFiction #PostApocalyptic #Survival #Kindle #Audible
The Small town of Glennville New York is a nice quiet place to settle down and raise your family. At least that is What Sheriff Kyle Stevens thought when he retired after being a detective in New York City for twenty years. And Glennville, for the most part was quiet. Respectful. Safe. Until the day Kyle’s deputy found the body of a young girl out by the old, abandoned school building…
#Mystery #Murder #Crime #DellSweet #KU #DellSweet
Small Town Murder: A Kyle Stevens Murder Mystery (Glennville Book 12) Kindle Edition… #Mystery #Murder #Crime #DellSweet #KU #DellSweet
Amy and Diedra are best friends, maybe more, something always seems to be in the way every time an opportunity to explore the possibilities arise. Dave Plasko is serving a long sentence at Huntsville state prison, and after that he will be transferred to New York to serve more time. Rebbeca Monet is working her way up the ladder of success in the television reporter game. A hurricane of epic proportions is heading towards Mobile Alabama. The lives of the people involved will never be the same again… #Crime #Drama #Action #Readers #DellSweet #KDP #KU
An excerpt from the novel
Copyright protected material. No usage for any reason without written permission.
Over a glass of wine, their laughter echoed, light and carefree at first. They reminisced about their shared experiences, the inside jokes that only they understood, and the moments that had solidified their bond. However, as the night wore on, the playful teasing turned into something deeper. The atmosphere shifted, charged with a magnetic pull that drew them closer.
Deidra reached out, brushing her fingertips against Amy’s arm, igniting a spark that sent shivers down both their spines. It was a simple gesture, yet it carried the weight of unexpressed feelings. Amy looked into Deidra’s eyes, searching for the courage to acknowledge the connection that had been simmering beneath the surface for so long. The world around them faded away, leaving only the two of them suspended in an intoxicating moment of possibility.
With a breathless whisper, Deidra broke the silence, her voice barely above a murmur. “Have you ever wondered what it would be like… between us?” The question hung in the air, heavy with significance. Amy’s heart raced as she nodded slowly, her cheeks flushing with warmth. It was a question they had both danced around for too long, and now, the truth was finally laid bare.
In that instant, they both leaned in, their lips meeting in a tentative kiss that ignited a fire within them. The kiss was soft at first, a gentle exploration of newfound territory, but it quickly deepened, fueled by the passion that had been building for so long. Their bodies pressed together, a perfect fit, as they lost themselves in the moment.
As they explored each other’s lips, the world outside ceased to exist. Their hands wandered, tracing the curves and contours of each other’s bodies with a mix of reverence and urgency. Each touch was electric, sending waves of warmth coursing through them, igniting a flame that consumed them both. They reveled in the intoxicating sensation of skin against skin, the thrill of vulnerability that came with surrendering to their desires.
The room transformed into their sanctuary, a space where they could be entirely themselves without fear or judgment. They shared hushed laughter and tender whispers, their breaths mingling as they discovered the beauty of intimacy. With every caress, they delved deeper into each other’s souls, exploring not just the physical connection but the emotional tapestry that bound them together.
In the heat of the moment, they uncovered secrets and dreams, weaving them into a tapestry of shared experiences. It was a dance of trust and affection, a celebration of everything they had been to each other and everything they could become. They lost track of time, enveloped in each other’s warmth, their bodies moving in perfect harmony like a well-rehearsed choreography.
Neither heard the cell as it continually vibrated and buzzed in Amy’s crumpled school skirt pocket next to the bed
As the night unfolded, they embraced the whirlwind of emotions swirling within them—a blend of excitement, tenderness, and the thrill of the unknown. They knew they had crossed a threshold, stepping into a new chapter of their lives, forever changed by this shared experience. In the quiet aftermath, as they lay entwined, they realized that what had begun as a simple friendship had blossomed into something beautifully profound—a love that would continue to grow, nourished by the intimacy they had discovered together…
