Earth’s Survivors: Los Angeles by W. G. Sweet
An apocalypse of worldwide proportions has destroyed civilized life. It has killed billions worldwide. In some places there are small groups of survivors that have managed to hang on and stay alive. Billy and Beth are with one of those groups in Los Angeles. They hope to find a place where they can begin again. They are determined to get out of the death and destruction of Los Angeles and make their way east; hopeful for better conditions and likeminded survivors…
Here is a free reading from the book, Dell…
EARTH’S SURVIVORS: LOS ANGELES
Copyright 2023 W. G. Sweet all rights reserved.
Cover Art © Copyright 2024 Dell Sweet
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LEGAL
This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places or incidents depicted are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual living person’s places, situations or events is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, electronic, print, scanner or any other means and, or distributed without the author’s permission. Permission is granted to use short sections of text in reviews or critiques.
March 18th
Billy and Beth
She awoke with a gasp and sat upright. The movement caused pain to flare inside her head and her hands flew to either side of it as if to hold the pain inside.
“Here,” Billy said from beside her. “Drink this… Coffee.” He handed her the paper cup.
“Oh my God… Billy, my head is killing me,” Beth moaned. She sat carefully for a few seconds longer, holding her head steady, before edging open one eye and looking around her. The blanket that had been covering her slipped down and she reached for it unconsciously, catching it before it could slip off and onto the floor.
She was laying on a table; soft blankets beneath her, her top had been stripped off. Her bra was stiff with dried blood. “Jesus,” she said softly.
“Come on, Beth. Drink the coffee, and,” He held out his other hand. “Aspirin… At least I think it is aspirin. Some off-brand, but it’ll help that headache.”
Beth tried a small smile on her face, took the aspirin and the coffee and managed to get the aspirin down.
“Billy, that really is coffee. Bad coffee, but real coffee.” Beth said. Her eyes were traveling around the room. Vending machines, including a coffee machine with the front pried off.
“There was the powder that it’s made from inside… I just liberated it and made it over a fire.” He turned and pointed back through the glass into a garage are where she could see he had dragged a stove of some kind and hooked it up to some bottled propane. The small cook surface looked funny with the giant propane cylinder next to it. Billy laughed. “Yeah… Not exactly made for each other, but it’s good enough.”
Beth looked Billy up and down. He was dressed in clean clothes. “Where did you go shopping,” she asked as she sipped at the coffee. She swung her legs off the table and a wave of dizziness swept over her. Her stomach clenched and for a moment, she was sure the coffee and aspirin was on its way back up, after a short battle it decided to stay. For how long she did not know, but she did know she had to take it slower.
“Slow, Beth,” Billy said as if he had looked into her mind and stolen her words.
“Got you… Got you,” Beth agreed.
“Clothes in the back, Beth. Lockers. I am guessing this was some sort of ranchers place… Maybe a big operation… Cattle? Crops? I do not know. Bags of fertilizer, fencing, overalls, gloves, trucks, and about thirty lockers back there, most with clothes still in them.”
Her fingers crept up her head and felt carefully under her hairline. “Are those stitches I feel?” She asked.
“Yeah,” Billy agreed. “Had to. Used dental floss and a needle. You never budged, scared me, Beth.”
“Well if I had moved I would probably have kicked you right in the sac…” She sighed, “Thanks, Billy… What happened…? We were somewhere,” Her face clouded, but she could not bring the memory.
“That housing project?” Billy prompted.
“Nope,” Beth said.
“Nicer homes… Back toward Phoenix?”
“Nope,” Beth said again.
“We were running at night…”
“That I remember,” Beth agreed.
“Okay, so we stopped to check out this housing project. Like upscale houses out in the desert. It looked empty, but it was full of zombies. One got you through the window…”
Beth’s hand went to her throat. It was bruised and yellowed in the bright light inside the room. Beth looked around and then up. The ceiling lights were on.
“Yeah… So you do remember,” Billy said.
“Yeah… Fuckers.” Her eyes went to the lights and then back to Billy’s face. “So we got away.”
“Barely,” Billy agreed. He followed her eyes up to the lights. “Generator.” He stopped talking so she could hear it.
“Okay… So that’s that sound,” Beth said. She cleared her throat, drank some more of the coffee and then cleared her throat again. “I didn’t get bitten did I? You?”
“No… I would have done it if I had to, but no. They didn’t get us.” Billy said.
“Would have killed me?” Beth asked.
Billy nodded.
“Billy, it is okay to say you would have… It would not be me… It would be one of those things and I don’t want to be one of those things, Billy.”
“I know… I would have killed it. No way would I have let you become that.” Billy swallowed hard and the silence fell, just the generator chugging away.
Beth eased her feet slowly to the floor and tested her weight. Better than earlier, but she decided to sit awhile longer. She drained the cup and Billy took it.
“You want more?” He asked.
“I need water, just plain old water.” She looked around hopefully.
“Got that. A water cooler. You can even have it cold with the power on.” He was back just a few moments later with a new cardboard cup, this one filled with cold water.
“God. Cold water in the desert. I would not have believed that,” Beth said.
“Yeah,” Billy agreed. “Not much longer though. There is not much fuel oil. That is what it runs on. It was meant for short power outages. It’s been on two days now.”
Beth choked on the water. Coughing bought the headache back, slamming into her forehead hard. She nearly passed out. Billy was right there, an arm around her, holding her. She took a breath, another, and she was all right again. She would just have to wait on the headache to retreat once more.
“Come on, Beth. Let me get you in a chair.” Before she could argue, he picked her up and carried her to a nearby chair. Not one of the plastic ones scattered around, a leather one. Beat up, but comfortable. She sank back into the chair and immediately began to feel better. “Jesus, two days here?”
“No. Three. It took a day to get the generator going. It was not designed to run after the initial time allotted. It would come on, run a while and shut right back off. I had to wire it directly. Maybe some safety feature so it would not completely run out. I had to fill the tank from fifty-five gallon drums that was a bitch, but once I cut out the safety, filled her up, she started and stayed running. We are down to a quarter tank though… No more fuel oil… So I’m glad you’re back.”
Beth upended the cup and drained it. It was amazing how good the water could make her feel. Like new life and strength being poured into her. Billy bought her another and then another before she sat back into the chair. Her eyes fell on a vending machine with crackers, cookies and bagged chips. The door was ajar. Billy followed her eyes.
He laughed. “Cookies, crackers, chips?” He asked.
“Yeah,” Beth said. Hunger had suddenly leapt up in her stomach. She was starved. Billy came back with a couple of packs of each and she ate greedily as he talked.
“Maps out in the garage. I cannot tell exactly where we are though. Somewhere to the southwest of Gold Canyon is my guess. I did not see anything here with an address on it, letterhead, no signs on the trucks. Nice trucks though, so it made money, whatever it was.”
“I’m going by where I think we are. I know we crossed over water before we got here, a bridge across a viaduct; at least it looked that way in the dark. However, we did not cross a highway, and 60 is right there, could not have missed it. Of course, we could be a little farther north or a little more south. But even so we have to hit 60, it’s right there, so I’m pretty sure the next thing up is going to be 60.”
Beth said nothing, the food was like heaven, but the crackers were a little dry so Billy left and came back with a cup of water and a Coke. The Coke was also cold. She nearly drained it in one pull. It was as if her body was bent on a mission of replenishing itself in one setting. She made herself stop. “Good, but I don’t want to get sick.” She said to Billy’s raised eyebrows.
He nodded.
“Any dead… At night? In here when you got here?”
“One dude… Took himself out in the office.” He motioned through the glass. “Put him outside. Turned black in the sun in a day or so.” He stopped and cleared his throat, left and came back with a Coke for each of them. “None of the others. Not one. Nights are quiet… Truck inside the bay runs good. I gassed it up, swapped better tires onto it too from the rack in the garage. Easy to do. Extra gas cans, oil, a shit load of those blankets.” He paused for a second.
“What,” Beth asked.
“The nights… Days… It’s been a blur,” he looked up toward the ceiling, confused. “I don’t know, it seemed like there was no day when there should have been… Like the night lasted a long time… Some earthquakes to, I think they were earthquakes at least. Sick… My stomach felt like it came unglued it was so bad.”He took a breath and smiled. “Rained like crazy and then I swear it snowed… It was like a blur,” He shrugged. “Like I said.”
Beth just looked at him. “You were tired.”
Billy smiled. “That’s what I said… I said…” He looked at the ceiling again. “I said it was being tired… confused,” Billy agreed.
“You look… Clean.” She had looked down a few seconds before at her gore stained bra and jeans. She had been in these clothes for far too long.
“Shower in the back. Hot water too once I got the electric on.”
“Christ and I’m sitting here talking?” She stood from the chair, found her stomach did not intend to give her a hard time and turned to Billy. “Clothes?”
“Sure… I… I don’t know if…” He turned red.
“Yeah,” Beth said. She laughed. “No bra, panties?”
“Right,” Billy agreed.
“Well I don’t care if it’s boxers, a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Clean clothes, Billy” She looked around her… Soap… A towel… That is it. Where is it?”
“Um. Right here,” Billy said as he stepped to the door and pushed it open for her.
Billy returned to the lunchroom a few moments later and cleaned up the blankets and empty cups while he waited…
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