Amourisa Press and T.K. Reilley reserve all rights to AT THE END. This work may not be shared or reproduced in any fashion without permission of the publisher and/or author. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All characters engaging in sexual activity are over the age of 18.
© T.K. Reilley, 2014
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Cover images: Depositphoto.com/©deyangeorgiev2; ©g_studio; ©siloto
Until a frantic phone call from a friend with mysterious government ties, Lily thinks her biggest quandary is fixing the problems in her struggling marriage. After she learns the world as they know it is about to end, she has the difficult job of convincing her husband Ethan that it’s really happening. As they scramble to survive the approaching solar event, and prepare for the aftereffects, their marriage remains on a shaky foundation. They face the daunting task of repairing their relationship while trying to live through the apocalypse.
This novelette is a prequel and the first in the “After The End” series.
Chapter One
July 27, 2019
Lily had determined she would tell Ethan today. Putting it off for the past two weeks hadn’t helped solve anything, and she couldn’t keep waiting forever. He was bound to notice at some point, even though he hadn’t been home much lately. His startup software company consumed most of his time. She understood that, but still felt neglected.
Maybe that’s why they had been arguing much more frequently the past few months. He was stressed from his new venture, and she was overworked from trying to do the job of three in her editing department after the publisher downsized. All the little things that had seemed trivial before had mushroomed out of proportion lately.
Two weeks ago, getting a positive on her home pregnancy test had brought everything back into perspective. Who cared if she didn’t put the cap on the toothpaste, or he didn’t always put on a new roll of toilet paper, even though the stand with extra rolls was right beside him? None of that mattered. Even the arguing and the time they hadn’t spent together weren’t as important as the pregnancy.
It would be a freaking miracle, if she hadn’t spent her life thinking she couldn’t get pregnant due to treatments for cancer as a child, thus living a life completely incompatible with childrearing. It might be a blessing if she was married to a man who wanted children, not one who had expressed his profound relief upon learning of her sterility when they were dating, long before they’d gotten married nine years ago.
Still, the ringing phone provided a good excuse for her not to finish getting dressed just yet, so she could stop by Ethan’s company on her way to work and have the heart-to-heart she’d hoped to have at home. That didn’t seem likely now, so she’d settled for upsetting their marriage’s equilibrium at his workplace, even having his assistant reserve her a meeting time.
“Hello?” Her stomach twisted in knots as she imagined Ethan on the other end, calling to demand why his own wife would need an appointment. Not that he’d probably even noticed yet.
“Lily?”
She sagged with relief at the sound of her older brother’s best friend’s voice on the other end of the line. Hearing him always brought back memories of Kenny, who’d died in Iraq five years ago. Lily and Damian shared the memories of Kenny and had a special relationship—which was why she had flatly refused to stop talking to him or writing to him when Ethan demanded it during one of their arguments last month.
“How are you, Damian? Where are you?” There was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to tell her that. He and Kenny had both enlisted in the Air Force at the same time, but their career paths had diverged wildly within a couple of years. Her brother had done maintenance on cargo planes, and Damian’s position was a mystery.
“I’m here in Seattle, Lily.” There was a note of urgency in his voice. “I’ve only got two hours, so you have to come right away.”
She frowned. “What? Come where?”
“Just trust me. Pack a bag and meet me at the coordinates I’m emailing you.”
Lily shook her head, bewildered. “You have to tell me something more than that, Damian.”
He sighed, long and hard. “Something bad is coming, Lily. In a matter of hours, you won’t recognize the world around you. Everything will be changed, probably forever, or at least our lifetimes.”
She sank down on the bed, shock making her tremble. There wasn’t a bit of doubt that he was being truthful, if vague. “What is it?”
After a long hesitation, he said, “It’s classified, and I can’t tell you much, but it involves a coronal mass ejection, and some…other things. Government things. Covert black-ops things.”
“How long?” Her lips felt numb, and she wasn’t sure he could understand her.
“Less than a day, for sure.” He sounded scared, which wasn’t at all typical for the stalwart warrior. “I can keep you safe, but only if you come now.”
“All right. I’ll check my email and put the coordinates in my GPS.”
He cursed. “Write them down on paper, Lily. Write down or back up anything important to you now, while you still can. Photos on your hard drive need to be printed. You need tangible documents, not your E-pass. Do you understand?”
She nodded, and then replied, “Yes.” That wasn’t entirely true, but she was getting a clue about how things were going to be in a few hours. “I can be ready to leave my apartment in twenty minutes. It’ll take me another thirty to get to Ethan’s office, and who knows how long to convince him, but we’ll be there in less than two hours.”
Silence lengthened before he responded. His tone was cool. “He’s not invited, Lily.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“I’ve only got room for one, and you’re my top priority. I have no other family to worry about. Just you.”
Lily frowned. “I can’t go without my husband.”
The sounds of frustrated swearing filled the phone. “You have to, if you want to be sure you’ll survive. I’ll take care of you. You don’t need him.”
“I do. I love Ethan.” Of that, she was absolutely certain, even with all their recent problems.
Damian sighed. “Don’t you know by now how much I love you, Lily? If you’d just waited a bit longer, I could have told you, but I came back, and you were married to him.” He spat out the last word, leaving no doubt his true feelings about her partner.
“You expect me to just leave my husband and become your…what, wife, girlfriend, lover? That’s immoral.” She was still in shock from his revelation, and the realization that Ethan had seen it. He’d insisted Damian wanted her, but she’d shrugged it off.
“None of that shit matters now, Lily. Labels, laws, legal ties. It’s all going to hell. I practically guarantee you’ll be a widow within a couple of months if it bothers you that much.” His voice softened when she gasped. “I don’t want to be cruel, but the reality is this: Come with me now, or you’re going to die. I don’t want that.”
Lily put a hand on her stomach, briefly entertaining the thought of meeting up with Damian for the sake of her baby. Without knowing more of what was happening, how could she justify that, especially without talking to her husband first? What kind of life would she have without Ethan? “I can’t, Damian. I need to be with Ethan.”
Damian sounded defeated. “Fine, then consider this a heads up. Get as many supplies as you can that don’t depend on power, head off somewhere, and hole up. It probably won’t be enough, but it’s all you can do.” Sadness laced his tone. “Don’t trust anyone, and get a gun.”
“Ethan has a couple.”
“Good. Make sure you both know how to use them, and d
on’t hesitate to defend yourselves. When the shit hits, it’s going to splatter on everyone.” With a sigh, he added, “I won’t be talking to you again. Goodbye, Lily.”
“Goodbye, Damian. Thanks for the warning, and the…offer.”
“You still have two hours to come to your senses before I leave for good. But come alone, or you won’t get a spot.”
“Don’t wait for me.”
His laugh was full of bitterness. “I’ve been waiting for you half my life. I can’t stop now, Lily.” Without another word, he disconnected.
Lily sat in stunned silence for a couple of minutes, trying to gather her thoughts. Eventually, she realized time was ticking away, and she still had several preparations to make before she even began the astronomical task of convincing Ethan they had to get out of the city.
Their lovely little vineyard was the only place she could think of where they might be safe, or at least safer than the city. Ethan had used his new software program to predict stock market trends, and they had made a killing the past couple of years. While most of it remained in savings or stocks, they had made a few splurge purchases, including the Yakima Valley vineyard.
How she wished they had prioritized its remodel and improvements over the past twelve months of owning the property. The grounds need major work to sustain grapes again, and the current two-bedroom house, while only about ten years old, required some repairs. Their plan had been to bulldoze the tiny domicile and build their dream home, where they would retire when they were ready. Thank goodness the cozy house still stood.
Lily packed a bag for herself and one for Ethan before taking a few minutes to print out important documents. She also chose four of her favorite pictures and printed them from the hard drive.
Interpreting Damian’s clues had given her the impression that something would happen to the power grid. She spent a few minutes researching coronal mass ejections, leaving her computer with a sick feeling in her stomach. The worst in history, so far, had happened in 1859. If the world had been as technologically advanced then, everything that wasn’t hardened or very primitive would have been destroyed from electromagnetic radiation.
Was something similar coming? Just a few minutes of reading had given her the information that most of the technology was vulnerable. Even the government hadn’t hardened more than their most essential systems, due to costs and the low risk of threat. If she was guessing correctly, the United States, and probably other parts of the world, were about to be plunged into the Stone Age again. Well, the Bronze Age was a more apt description. Whichever, it meant life was going to be very different.
After stowing the luggage in the back of the SUV, Lily went to the kitchen and emptied the pantry of everything that didn’t require refrigeration, putting it all into four sturdy boxes she’d taken from the garage. She selected a few items from the refrigerator that might keep for a few hours in a cooler and then transported it all back to the SUV.
Water. She’d almost forgotten that very essential thing. There were two cases in the garage, and a five-gallon bottle waiting to go in the water dispenser. Those all went in the back.
As she returned to the bedroom to throw on comfortable clothes instead of her usual office attire, she remembered a file on her computer. It was a survival manual she was due to evaluate for its publication potential. Hoping the author knew what he was talking about, she hurried to her laptop and started printing the file while she finished gathering things.
Twenty minutes later, she had the “book” in a manila envelope, paraphernalia for their dog Hutch, along with the chocolate lab seated politely in the backseat, Ethan’s two handguns in the lockbox under the seat, and the other things that had seemed necessary. She took one last look at the house they had owned for the past eight years, allowing a moment to accept she would probably never see it again.
Traffic was no worse than usual, but it seemed like everyone was determined to go as slowly as possible while Lily made her way to Ethan’s building. The hills seemed steeper, and even Elliott Bay seemed upset, with the choppy water despite the lack of wind. She drew up and parked in the nearest space. It was already a warm day, and she couldn’t leave Hutch in the car with the sun starting to shine brightly through the windows.
Thankfully, he was a well behaved gentleman and walked beside her with his head held high as they went into the office. The sight of a small redhead leading a larger-than-average size chocolate lab into a software company still raised some eyebrows among the staff, but she ignored the sidelong glances.
Lily nodded to Reception, but didn’t stop to chat. Instead, she made her way straight back to Ethan’s office. Mrs. Pond smiled at her, not batting an eye at Hutch, as though he were a frequent visitor, when he’d never been there before today. “You’re a bit late, Mrs. Cole, but I managed to keep your slot open.”
“Thanks.” She bit her lip, determining whether or not to warn the older woman about what was coming. First, she’d talk to Ethan.
Without knocking, she entered Ethan’s office, locking the door behind her as she closed it. He looked up with the frown that seemed to grace his chiseled features more and more these days. His brown eyes held a hint of annoyance, especially when he saw the dog. “Now isn’t a good time, Lily. I have an appointment due to arrive soon.”
“That’s me.” Lily released Hutch’s collar to go over to Ethan. “I had something important to discuss with you, but that will have to wait.”
He sighed. “I can’t cut back the hours right now. I thought you understood how much time I was going to have to pour into this endeavor for the first few years.”
Lily held up her hand. “I didn’t come here to renew the same old argument. Damian called this morning.”
He sneered. “How is lover boy?”
“You were right,” she said softly.
Ethan’s eyes widened, and he raked brown hair off his forehead. “You finally realized he’s a lot more than your friend?”
“He wants to be,” she corrected. “He’s only ever been my friend. As a friend, he called to give me a warning.” Now didn’t seem like the right time to tell her husband that Damian had tried to get her to leave him behind. Somehow, she figured that might predispose him to rejecting the information her friend had passed along.
“Did he offer to take care of you if you leave me?”
Lily blushed slightly, but didn’t confirm his guess. “He told me something bad is going to happen, sometime today.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Wow, no wonder you had to rush over here, with that solid intel.”
Holding onto her temper—mainly because she didn’t have the time or luxury of losing it right now—she said, “You know Damian works in some secret military capacity. He knows things before the rest of us. I believe him completely.”
“Of course you do, Lily.” He shoved away from his desk. “You have a blind spot a mile wide for that man.”
Clenching her fists, she followed him when he got up to pace. “Listen to me. It’s bad, okay? Like ‘the end of the world’ bad. I packed up everything at home, but I think we should stop by one of the sporting good stores to stock up on more survival things. And go by the bank.”
He let out a long sigh. “I’m not going to waste time on this doomsday crap, Lily. I’ll see you at home tonight, safe and sound.”
His condescension set her teeth on edge. “No, you won’t.” Anger was gaining the upper hand, despite her best intentions. “Hutch and I will be on our way to the winery by then. Or maybe I’ll just take Damian up on his offer of shelter if you can’t listen to me long enough to understand that I’m afraid of what’s coming, and I want us to have the best chance possible to survive it.”
Ethan softened for just a minute. “I’m sorry he frightened you, but I’m sure there’s no reason to worry.” Then his mouth tightened. “Wait, what offer?”
She inclined her chin. “He offered me a spot on some kind of conveyance to a safe place. I told him I couldn’t go w
ithout you.”
His eyes narrowed. “Maybe you were too hasty, Lily.”
Even knowing he was reacting that way because he was jealous did nothing to soothe her temper or lessen her anger at his refusal to listen. “You’re the one being hasty. If the information had come from anyone else, like your buddy Tim with the NSA, would you have been so quick to dismiss it?”
She walked over to pick up Hutch’s leash. “I’m going to stop by Cabela’s and the bank, and then I’m gone. If you change your mind and decide I’m more important than your stupid jealousy or lines of code, you can catch up with me. Maybe.” Letting him see the hurt and disappointment in her eyes, she stared at him for a long second before turning and walking out.
Pausing by Mrs. Pond’s desk, she leaned down to whisper, “Ethan is a stubborn ass, but I hope you’ll take me seriously. Go home, pack the essentials, get your family, and get out of Seattle in the next few hours.” Without knowing if the other woman took her advice, she left the office and the building, not acquainted well enough with any of the others to even try to warn them. They wouldn’t believe her. They wouldn’t want to.