The Siege Read online

  Final Dawn: Book 4

  THE SIEGE

  By Darrell Maloney

  This is a work of fiction. All persons depicted in this book are fictional characters. Any resemblance to any real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Copyright 2014 by Darrell Maloney

  A recap of FINAL DAWN, the first book in this series

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  Sometimes the gods of fate smile upon you, and bestow on you a treasure of such magnitude, such wonder, that you pinch yourself over and over until you finally believe it’s really real.

  And sometimes those same gods bestow upon you a bowl of smelly, steaming crap.

  They seldom do both within the same week.

  Mark Snyder seldom played the lottery himself. He considered it a hopeless waste of money. But the love of his life, Hannah Jelinovic, played regularly. And sweet Hannah had been sick in bed for two days and hadn’t been able to get out.

  So on a lark, Mark picked up a ticket for her. The right numbers came up and Hannah and Mark were suddenly multi-millionaires. Things seemingly couldn’t be better.

  But not so fast. The very next day Hannah went back to work as a contractor for NASA, tracking meteorites and asteroids in the heavens. She discovered a new one. One that was heading for earth. And it was bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs four million years before.

  For her efforts, Hannah was demoted and threatened with prison if she disclosed the information to anyone.

  “But why?” she asked.

  “Because it won’t be here for almost three years. We have plenty of time to divert it or destroy it. Telling the public will just cause panic.”

  But Mark and Hannah knew better than to trust the government. They began using their newfound wealth to prepare for Armageddon.

  The couple enlisted the help of Mark’s brother Bryan and her best friend and co-worker Sarah. They purchased an abandoned salt mine that would afford them the protection they needed to survive deep underground.

  Then it was just a matter of getting it ready. They created a list of those they’d take into the mine with them. Those family members and close friends who made the cut would become part of the forty who would spend five to seven years underground. Waiting for the dirt kicked up by Saris 7 to fall back out of the atmosphere, so that the sun would shine through again and thaw a frozen earth.

  There were a million and one things to consider. It wasn’t just a matter of buying food and water for forty people for seven years. That would have been tough enough. But to do so secretly required a lot of planning.

  And there were other things as well. The group had to plan for electrical power, fuel, supplies, medicine, and a thousand other things we take for granted until faced with not having them anymore.

  Meanwhile, Hannah and Sarah waited for their employer to do the right thing… to tell the public what was coming, and let the world prepare for it. They heard from an insider that there are no plans to save the world. The President of the United States had a place to hide, in the cold war bomb proof shelters beneath the streets of Washington. And he had plans to take four hundred or so others with him. Family, friends, and cronies. For the rest of the United States, they’d be on their own.

  For Hannah and Mark, Sarah and Bryan, that just wouldn’t do. The girls risked prison to go on national television to tell the world. Then they went into hiding in the mine.

  The federal government, of course, tried to discredit them and claimed it was a hoax, until other scientists began speaking publicly around the world to support Hannah’s claims.

  Faced with undeniable evidence of the truth, the President had to backtrack. He shifted to his plan B… another lie.

  “Don’t worry,” he told his citizens. “We have a plan. We’ll work with the Chinese. By combining their rockets with our nuclear warheads, we can send up a weapon capable of diverting the meteorite onto another path.”

  The world was conflicted. They desperately wanted to believe. No one wanted to die. But they knew they couldn’t trust the governments of the world. Some panicked. Some rioted. Some calmly accepted their fate.

  And some, like Mark and Hannah, continued to prepare for the end.

  A few days before impact, the mine was finally ready. The group gathered up family and friends and gave them shelter. It wasn’t a tropical paradise, but it would enable them to survive.

  Final Dawn ended when Saris 7 collided with the earth. Around the world, millions were dying. But hidden deep within an old salt mine outside of Eden, Texas, these forty would survive.

  A recap of HIDDEN, the second book in this series

  For five and a half years, the world grew dark and cold. Outside the mine, the survivors struggled to stay alive. The worst of mankind reared its ugly head, as men fought each other to the death for meager provisions and belongings. But the better side of mankind was also present. Neighbor helped neighbor and strangers sometimes banded together for mutual strength and protection.

  Inside the mine, the group of refugees were better off than most. But they weren’t insulated from either the violence or the pain.

  But there were joyful times as well. New love sprouted. And Hannah’s baby, Markie Junior, was a chip off the old block. A handful to be sure, but one who spread joy and cheer to everyone around him.

  The group welcomed two more into their fold amidst tragic circumstances. And it wouldn’t be the only pain they felt. Mark’s mother died while in the mine. A tragedy no one saw coming.

  For years they planned and prepared. Watched the skies for relief from the haze that covered the sun and kept the earth from thawing. And when the sun finally returned, they broke out from their subterranean prison, to take up residence in a compound they’d built before the disaster.

  Most of the world was dead now, and many of the people who remained were little more than animals. For a long time they followed no laws and offered no quarter. They learned to take what they wanted and to kill whoever got in their way.

  The group in the mine had planned carefully. Had grown a limited number of crops in greenhouses for the purpose of providing seeds for crops. They raised livestock in the mine in limited numbers. Eventually, after the breakout, the animals would provide their primary source of protein. And once free of the mine, when the herds were allowed to expand, they would help feed others outside the group as well.

  A recap of BREAKOUT, the third book in this series

  The group of forty one thought they’d made it. The world was warm again, and they were able to come out of the mine and feel sunshine for the first time in many years. Little Markie, especially, was excited. At six and a half, he’d finally feel grass beneath his feet for the first time. He’d be able to look up at night and see the moon and the stars and the clouds. And for the first time in his young life they would be real, not just photographs.

  The compound they’d prepared before going into the compound was dusty and dank. But once it was cleaned up and given power it proved to be a nice home, and a vast improvement over the cramped confines of the mine.

  A hundred miles to the south, Frank Woodard and his band of survivors began to expand their horizons as well. They reached out beyond their neighborhood to help others who were struggling. And Frank even paid a visit to the Salt Mountain area in search of deer.

  And in doing so, he stumbled upon the compound.

  Frank and John became fast friends. As two retired law enforcement officers, they had much in common. And the group of forty one made sure that their new friends in San Antonio were taken care of.

  Frank returned to the decimated Alamo City with a truck full of live chickens and fresh food… and seeds for crops. A chance to start anew, and to bring renewed hope to the city’s downtrodden citizens.


  But others found the compound as well.

  A band of convicts, released from a nearby prison when Saris 7 hit the earth, stayed in the local area and made it their home. They survived by taking over the prison and its vast stores of food, supplies and fuel.

  And now that the earth was warm enough to come out of their self-imposed exile, they journeyed out to see what else was available.

  Through happenstance, they discovered the compound. By climbing Salt Mountain, they were able to get a good view of what the compound contained.

  There was no other place in the area, or the whole world, for all they knew, that had livestock and fresh produce.

  And they wanted it for their very own.

  Breakout ended when the compound came under attack. The group evacuated, and went back into the mine, to nurse their wounds and plan their next move.

  Right was on their side. They wouldn’t give up what was theirs. Not without a fight.

  Here, in The Siege, is the fourth book in this series…

  Chapter 1

  Everyone knew what to do. They’d been drilled on it many times in recent days. All of the children and the elderly were evacuated to a hidden part of the mine. Most of the women accompanied them.

  Sarah, Brad and Bryan took up positions behind a barricade at the main entrance of the mine, in case they were attacked from both directions at the same time.

  David, Mark, Jacob and Joe took up positions at the bunker overlooking the mine’s entrance to the tunnel.

  John and Sami manned the security desk. John would coordinate operations. Sami would keep an eye on the monitors and keep everyone advised of what the enemy was doing.

  In the compound, Alvarez was briefing his crew.

  “Okay, we’ll go quietly until we start acquiring our targets. They should be mostly asleep.”

  “Shoot all the men on sight. I don’t care if they’re old or not. Even old men can carry guns. Kill all the kids also. I’m not a damn babysitter.

  “The only ones I want to spare are the women. If you have to kill them, do it. But try to take them alive so we can look them over and pick the ones we want to keep.

  “McMillan, you take point. We’ll give you a couple of minutes. Then we’ll follow.”

  “What’s point?”

  “You go first. You’re our best shooter.”

  They pried up the false floor to the tunnel and McMillan looked down at the staircase.

  “What if I don’t want to go first? If I’m first in there, I may be the first one shot.”

  Alvarez put his weapon to McMillan’s chin and growled, “And if you don’t follow orders I’ll shoot you myself.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  McMillan crawled under the raised floor panel and timidly crept down the stairs.

  The assault was beginning.

  Sami watched the monitors intently at the control center and struggled to keep her voice steady.

  “The first man is in the tunnel. He’s looking around, but not moving forward. Like he’s looking to see if anyone is in it.”

  Mark was at the opposite end of the tunnel, where it entered into the mine. The tunnel was empty. But the man at the far end wouldn’t know that. It was over two hundred yards long, and the lights at Mark’s end had been purposely turned off. If McMillan had perfect vision, he might see that far. But he wouldn’t be able to tell who or what was sitting in wait in the darkness.

  Sami found her mojo. In a relaxed tone, she went on.

  “Okay, he’s finally moving forward. Very slowly. The other men are starting to come down the steps behind him. They’re also moving very slowly and cautiously.”

  John, Sami’s father, put a hand on her shoulder. It was his turn to speak.

  Sami released the key on the microphone, and John keyed his walkie talkie.

  “Mark, are you at the box?”

  “Affirmative, John. It’s unlocked and open and ready to go.”

  “10-4. On my go.”

  “Roger.”

  They had considered the feasibility of posting men in the dark end of the mine. They’d have the advantage of being able to see the approaching invaders without being seen themselves.

  But they ruled that option out. There was a better way.

  Their logic was sound. It’s always better to avoid a firefight whenever possible. Once the bullets start flying, anything can happen. Especially in the small confines of a tunnel. Bullets can ricochet off of conduit or even the hard packed walls of the salt tunnel itself if fired at the right angle.

  And even though the bad guys would be firing blindly into a patch of blackness, they might get a lucky shot or two that actually connected with their target.

  No, this way was better. It was a feature they’d built into the tunnel from the beginning.

  For just this occasion.

  Sami’s voice came over the radio again.

  “The first man is spraying bullets all the way down the tunnel. He’s not aiming at anything. He just appears to be firing blindly, from his hip.”

  Mark couldn’t help but smile.

  “Just like John Wayne in the movies. That’s fine. Let him waste his ammo.”

  Time seemed to stand still, and the tension in the mine was palatable.

  Sami went on with her play by play.

  “Brad, there’s still no activity outside the mine entrance. The ones in the tunnel are passing by camera seventeen. Oops. They just saw the camera and shot it out.

  “That’s okay, though. I can see them on sixteen. There are seven of them, still moving slowly. Still firing occasionally in our direction.”

  After she released the microphone John leaned over and kissed the top of his daughter’s head.

  “You’re doing great, sweetie. Like a real trooper.”

  Sami smiled. She was wounded in the skirmish as they’d evacuated the compound two weeks before. Her shoulder still hurt, and she’d carry nasty scars on both sides of her body for the rest of her life. David had put in a total of forty one stitches, and she now considered herself ugly and flawed. And she was furious with the men who shot her. She wanted them all dead.

  Mark still hadn’t heard any shots, but he wasn’t surprised. It was a long tunnel, and the salt was very good at absorbing sound. Even something as loud as a gunshot.

  “I count seven in all, still in a tight group.”

  Mark spoke up again.

  “Sami, can you estimate how much space between the first man and the last?”

  “It’s hard to say. They’re still fifty yards away from camera sixteen. I’d guess no more than fifteen yards.”

  Mark was standing in front of a metal box, mounted on the mine’s wall near the tunnel’s entrance. The box had been there since they’d finished the tunnel, secured by a padlock and never opened, until now.

  His finger rested lightly on the first of four toggle switches, awaiting John’s “go” signal. It shouldn’t be long now.

  Sami said, “Brad, still no activity at the front of the mine. Mark, they’re nearing camera sixteen now…. Now they’re starting to pass under it.”

  They were now in the center of the tunnel. John gave the word.

  “Okay, Mark, go for it.”

  Mark hit the first of the toggle switches. Immediately, the group gathered at the tunnel’s entrance heard a muffled rumble in the distance, felt the slightest of shudders. Forty yards inside the tunnel, two sticks of dynamite had been detonated in the tunnel’s ceiling. Tons of salt, rock and dirt immediately came crashing down, burying the tunnel from floor to ceiling for fifteen yards.

  On the camera, Sami and John watched as the blast wave shot down the narrow passageway, knocking the invaders off their feet, and then obscuring them in a dense cloud of white dust.

  “The lights have gone out now. Cameras sixteen and fifteen are still working and have switched to heat sensor mode.”

  At that moment, Mark flipped the second switch. This time the thick pile of debris near the fron
t of the tunnel muffled all sound. The only way Mark knew the second detonation happened was by listening to Sami’s words.

  “Okay, we just had another blast wave coming from the other end of the tunnel. It knocked them all down again. No cloud of dust this time, though.”

  Mark smiled. He wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed, but he knew a little about physics. He knew the dust cloud didn’t come because to couldn’t push the air out of the way. The first blast had sealed the tunnel completely. It was now air tight.

  In the compound, a puff of salt and dust came up through the tunnel’s exit, and coated most of the feed barn. If anyone had been left in the feed barn, they’d have heard a muffled roar, and felt the floor shake as the force of the explosion dissipated at the tunnel’s end.

  But there was no one there to hear it. No one there to see it. The rest of Alvarez’ gang was in the big house.

  They hadn’t a clue what just happened.

  Chapter 2

  Inside the collapsed tunnel, the seven men were stunned. They were instantly rendered deaf, their ear drums shattered by the force of the first blast. They felt the wrath of the subsequent blast as it knocked them down a second time, but they couldn’t hear it.

  Now they were in a heap, laying on the tunnel floor in pitch darkness, struggling to clear their heads and their lungs of the thick blanket of white dust that had overtaken them.

  Alvarez coughed mightily, struggling to clear his lungs and regain his breath. He’d inhaled just as the first blast wave hit them, and both lungs were full of chalky and sticky salt dust.

  McMillan, on the other hand, had the wind knocked out of him when the blast sent him flying. He was coughing, but not to the same degree. Mostly he was crawling, in dazed desperation, to get away from the direction the second blast had come.

  On hands and knees, in total silence and in inky blackness, he crawled to the pile of dirt and debris that blocked his way to the mine. His eyes, wide in terror, couldn’t be seen by the others. They had their own problems to deal with.