M. Banner - Desolation

He beamed a smile, one practiced from thirty years of politics, to the expectant faces below. They were all there because of him and soon, they would be thanking him for their very lives. His pride was far greater than when they completed all the construction last month. It was now time.

“Greetings, men and women of Bios-2,” he belted over a wireless microphone connected to the entire city’s loudspeakers. “What started out as a dream for me, twelve years ago, has become a reality.” His voice echoed off the smooth surfaces of the buildings and ceiling. “Many of you were here at the beginning, and some of you just joined us. But, we are all part of one family now.”

He lowered the microphone from his mouth, dropping his head to appear pensive, and then slowly lifted it and the mike. “And now, I have news.” Again he paused for effect. Looking at the eager faces, now full of concern, his eyes started to well with tears. This was something he had learned to do during debates.

“It has been announced that a giant X45 solar flare is about to hit the earth, and along with it a massive CME, which should strike sometime tomorrow morning. You know what this means. It is the earth-killer our scientists have been predicting for years, and one of the reasons why we built this place so quickly.” The next part of the speech he had practiced, knowing what the reaction would be, but it was necessary. The din of worried conversations could be heard even through the thick bullet-proof glass of his office walls.

“I know many of you have left family and friends behind to be here. I also know that you will want to warn them in one of your daily phone calls. I’m afraid we just cannot allow this, which is why there will be no further communication with the outside world until tomorrow. As you know, after tomorrow, it won’t matter.”

He held up his hands, a visualization of his desire to quiet their disturbance. “I know. I know this may seem unfair, but because of what we are doing here, and to protect us from the outside world, we have to cease communications. If the world knew what we have here, they would all come and try to take it, and we cannot allow that. This place and its purpose are not known by anyone, except us. And after tomorrow, this one fact will save our lives.”

His puffery knew no boundaries. It didn’t matter who or how many people came to their impenetrable city walls, anyone attempting entry would be burned down in their tracks. That is unless they were one of the scientists who thought this was Cicada.

All his skills from his years in politics couldn’t hold back the curls of a smile that formed on his lips.

Go to http://stoneageseries.com/book3to get the latest!

Find out what caused the New Stone Age

and what led up to the Event

Order STONE AGE HERE

Read about fact vs. fiction in the Stone Age World

Read about when the next book or short story is coming out

Get extra material not found in the books

www.StoneAgeSeries.com

Reviews are vital to indie authors. If you liked this book, I would really appreciate your review. If you are among the first 60 Amazon reviewers, you can receive a free autographed copy of DESOLATION. Simply leave your review. Then email me (michael@mlbanner.com), point me to your review, give me your mailing address, and I’ll send you an autographed copy.

Thank you!

Please email me ( michael@mlbanner.com) and let me know why.

Positive or negative comments, it doesn’t matter. Join the discussion here:

StoneAgeSeries.com/Desolation

A writer is so blessed to be able to envision a story, write it all down in a coherent way, and publish it for readers to find. I am doubly blessed because this is now my second book. With that in mind, I must thank all my readers first. Thank you for making the decision to buy THIS BOOK. You have many books to choose from, so please know that I am completely humbled that you chose to buy my book and further chose to invest your valuable time to read it. Thank you!

Thanks to my beautiful wife, Lisa (yes, she is named Lisa too), who has embraced my passion for writing, encouraged me always, and is my number one fan. To my Mom (Susan) and many friends including Patrick, Ruthie, Robin, and Mariclare who have all read the early versions of DESOLATION and helped me polish its rough edges.

Thank you to William Weber & Darrin Wearmouth for pre-reading this book and letting me know what you thought.

Finally, many advanced thanks to all my advanced copy readers/reviewers.

ML Banner founded more than a dozen companies over the past thirty years, before he found his passion for writing. Quite by accident after reading about solar flares, he searched for a fictional book on the subject that was also strong on science. It didn’t exist, so he wrote STONE AGE ( the prequel to DESOLATION) , which became a #1 Best Seller (in Post-Apocalyptic & Dystopian Fiction) in only three weeks. DESOLATION is his newest installment to the Stone Age World.

He and his wife split their time between Tucson, Arizona and Rocky Point, Mexico. If he is not penning his next novel or short story in apocalyptic fiction, you might find him on the beach reading a Kindle, with his toes in the water (the name of his publishing company).

Sign up to receive Apocalyptic Updates (roughly once per month):

Free stuff & promotions

Cool science or discoveries

New books & short stories

Events & announcements

Keep in Contact — I would love to hear from you!

Email: michael@mlbanner.com

Google+: google.com/plus/+mlbanner

Facebook: facebook.com/authormlbanner

Twitter: @ml_banner

Prologue

Part I

1. Deadly Waters

2. Life and Death

3. Feed My Children

4. Tired and Thirsty

5. Nurse Wilber

6. Lone Survivor

7. Just a Guest

8. Carrington Reid Gets Held Up

9. The Hotel

10. Defending Your Life

11. Seeking Help

12. The Great Escape

13. Giving Back

14. Clyde Wants Revenge

15. Mixed Blessings

16. Blood and Water!

17. Quick Decision

18. The Eunuch

19. Getting Help

Part II

20. Revelations

21. Baby on Board

22. New Friends and Enemies

23. Resistance Is Futile

24. Disconnected

25. Food Fight

26. Demands

27. More Demands

28. More Bad Guys

29. Preparing for a Fight

30. Making the Wright Choice

31. Cocktails, Anyone?

32. Big Guns

33. Defenses

34. Fire!

35. Panic

36. Death Has Found You

37. Agabus

38. Free Fallin’