Alex Knightly - Sudden Darkness - A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Thriller

Mo looked at him.

“Don’t worry, son. Like I just told you. You’re doing well. Unlike others. The mechanic’s not cooperating. We don’t know what to do about him. That’s why I’m sending you two to tear his place apart. Find something on him. Something we can use.”

Mo nodded. “Will do, boss.”

Pete watched helplessly as the two men marched out of the building. He couldn’t help but feel resentful. He’d done nothing to deserve this treatment. He’d been the one to tell Harry about the power outage. If anything, he should be the one going off with Zane. He shook his head. He didn’t want to think that way, but he couldn’t help it.

He looked up to find Harry watching him intently with a knowing smile on his face.

“Kenan,” he roared, leaning back on the cement bags. “Get back in here.”

Kenan came hurrying back from outside, cheeks flushed.

“Keep an eye on these two, will you?”

Si hadn’t slept for three days. No, it was longer than that. She dug her fingernails into her tangled hair to scratch her head. There was only a toilet and tiny handbasin covered in engine grease in the garage, not that there was any water in either.

She opened the fridge, forgetting to hold her breath as she did. It was starting to stink now, even though there was nothing left except for a few energy bars and a quarter-full carton of now-stale milk.

She had assumed they’d be back by now. She hadn’t planned for this. She shut the fridge and the smell of stale milk was replaced by the overpowering stench of petrol. She’d always loved that smell, but now it was starting to wear on her—not to mention making her feel dizzy. She hadn’t thought about that when she’d come up with her plan. Where were they? And what would she do if they smelled the petrol before…

She closed her eyes. If she wasn’t careful she’d pass out from the fumes.

After they took Max, she’d stayed on the ground, curled up into a ball in the mud long after the roar of the V12 engine had died away. Her fear had slowly ebbed away in that time until she felt nothing but hungry and cold.

She’d gone back inside and rubbed her hair dry on a filthy rag. All night she’d wondered what they wanted with Max and when they’d bring him back. She hadn’t wanted to leave in case he came back.

So she’d waited. In the garage at first, before thinking better of it and waiting in an old wreck in the scrapyard. It was freezing, but at least they couldn’t sneak up on her there. And it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go.

She’d spent the whole next morning in that car until her fingers were so cold to the bone that she couldn’t stand it anymore.

And she’d realised something. Max wasn’t coming back.

So she’d set to work. She’d fought her exhaustion and kept working all afternoon and evening before returning to the yard and falling into a restless sleep where she dreamt of chains and shackles.

Max wasn’t coming back, but those men would—she was sure of it. Max was right. There was value in that old yard. She’d decided then that she’d be waiting for them when they did.

She closed the fridge and wiped tears from her cheeks. She could have done something that day if she’d known what was happening. But she hadn’t understood at the time. It had all happened so quickly and she’d never seen those men before.

Now she’d had plenty of time to think about it. The Jaguar. There was no point in trying to find the owner when the men had admitted it wasn’t theirs. How would she find them anyway? The internet was down. So was her phone.

She frowned. No. She had to wait for them to come back into her territory. That was the only way this could work.

She sighed as she looked around the garage floor and checked off the tasks on the mental list she’d been compiling for days now. Was everything ready? She couldn’t tell anymore—she’d been obsessing about it too much.

This place would never be the same in her eyes. It had been her sanctuary for so long, but now she felt nothing for it.

She left the garage and carefully closed the door. There was no need to go back in there now. It wasn’t safe; not with all that fuel.

They’d come. And she was ready for them now. That big old Jaguar… Max had said it himself. It was a real car, not some glorified computer like the other cars and vans in the parking area outside. None of them worked. But then, the oldest of them was from the late nineties.

Her heart skipped a beat when she thought of the Renault. It was old—she didn’t know the exact year, but it was an eighties model. She hadn’t given it much thought since they took Max—she’d been too busy.

Her plan had seemed foolproof. Now, she couldn’t stop picking holes in it. What if they smelled the petrol and came looking for her? What was she going to do? There was four of them. She couldn’t hide out in the yard forever. They’d find her. She had planned to take off in the Jaguar, but what if things went wrong?

She started to run, slopping through the puddles in the yard. If she could get the old Renault working like Max had done the other day, then she’d have a backup option if the worst happened and they came after her before she could trap them.

Her stomach rumbled and it made her move faster. They had to come soon. If they didn’t, she might not have the strength left to do what she needed to do. Or worse, she might just wither away in the yard she now called home.

Si gritted her teeth. No. They’ll come. And I’ll be ready.

Si had just lifted the bonnet of the old Renault when she heard something that set her teeth on edge. She froze. For all the pep talks she’d given herself, she hadn’t been prepared for the fear that struck her now. She could only imagine what they’d do to her if they caught her.

But there was no time to think like that. There it was. That unmistakable growl of a V12 engine—something she hadn’t heard since… It had to be them. Who else could it be?

She tried to remember that horrible evening in more detail to understand how much time she had. How loud had it been as they left? How long had it taken for the roar to fade into nothingness?

Get ready, she thought. Move. She swallowed. Was it normal to be scared? She’d never done anything like this before—she’d never even thought about doing something like this.

She hurried back towards the garage. She had to be ready when they came. Everything depended on that.

Her palms were slick now, and it wasn’t from running. Her mind raced as she moved. She wasn’t a violent person. Angry, maybe. Anti-social, definitely. But violent? Capable of killing someone—multiple someones?

Don’t think about it.

It wouldn’t stop. Round and round those thoughts went, swirling through her head. Could she do it? Did she want to? There wouldn’t be time to undo what she’d done. She’d try and make them think there was a way out, but there wasn’t. How could there be? The place was old and full of fuel. It would go up like a firework. She had kept the petrol to the walls to give them more time, but there wouldn’t be much. Only enough for them to tell her where Max was. And then…

She shivered violently.

Don’t think about it. They started it.

Max needed her help. He deserved it after everything he’d done for her. Now wasn’t the time for her to get squeamish. Not not. There’d be time for that later when she’d found him.

They deserve it.

She slowed down now she’d almost reached the garage. She crept up to the fence and realised she was looking out from the same place she’d hidden the day they’d taken Max. She couldn’t stay there. She needed to move anyway. She had to be in position when they arrived and they were getting closer. The roar of the engine was getting louder.