Martial Law by Bobby Akart Read Free Book Online

debilitating. Within a year, ninety percent of Americans could die.”
    “From what we experienced in the last couple of hours, Senator Johnson may have underestimated the impact,” said Jonesy. He slowed the wipers as they cleared the last hurricane feeder band.
    “Listen, I always read that society would begin to fall apart in roughly seventy-two hours following a collapse event,” opined Drew. “Hell, it was barely seventy-two seconds before the folks in that civic center began to freak out.”
    “The damage caused to the critical infrastructure in our wired world is only part of the problem,” said Abbie. “The real challenge will be the way we treat each other. All of the governmental white papers I’ve read grossly underestimate the reaction of the human race after a collapse event such as this. As we witnessed, it’s one thing for your power to go out in a storm. Even the most hotheaded among us will deem a storm-related outage as a mere inconvenience. But with the advent of social media, the majority of the population knew within minutes that our power could be gone for a long time.”
    “Hence the rapid deterioration of society,” added Drew, finishing her thought.
    “Societal collapse,” said Jonesy.
    “Again, regardless of the cause, if our nation has been thrust into darkness, God help us,” said Abbie.
     

Chapter 10
    September 3, 2016
    11:29 p.m.
    Eastbound Interstate 10
    Near Monticello, Florida
     
    As the two Suburbans slowed to enter a rest area, Drew was apprehensive. Granted, this was not Frenchtown in Tallahassee, but a new world that was forced upon them—a world with desperate people trying to understand, and survive.
    He was trained on the importance of situational awareness. In Afghanistan, failing to maintain a heightened state of awareness would get you and your fellow soldiers killed. Situational awareness was not something practiced only by highly trained secret service agents or military personnel. It should be understood by everyone in this potentially dangerous society. Drew thought of it as managed paranoia . As far as he was concerned, a little bit of paranoia helped him develop a keen sense of situational awareness.
    Clearly, it was time to be on high alert . This level of awareness, once mastered, enabled Drew to control the adrenaline rush needed to survive. It was the same type of rush a motorist might achieve when he saw an eighteen-wheeler rumbling through a red light towards him. Whether a motorist hit the brakes or mashed the gas might determine life or death. The adrenaline rush you received aided your reflexes and mental acuity.
    Drew needed to keep his team on this level of readiness. He provided instructions for the two drivers, with a cautionary tone.
    “Gentlemen, nothing is the same now. Based on our experience in Tallahassee and the magnitude of the situation, every person must be treated as a potential hostile threat. No exceptions. Understood?”
    “Roger that,” came Ripley’s standard response. Jonesy nodded his head and appeared to grip the wheel a little tighter as the caravan slowed toward the rest area.
    The rain abated, but the sixty-mile-an-hour winds were causing the Suburban to shake from time to time. Drew pointed to a truck parking spot to the left.
    “Over there, Jonesy. Stay here and monitor my comms. Let me do a quick assessment.” Drew exited the truck and walked over to the other vehicle to enlist Ripley’s partner. As they crossed the parking lot of stranded and disheveled motorists, he wondered if they would make it to their destinations alive. There were no gas stations, no AAA wreckers to call, and no highway patrolmen coming to the rescue. Has this dawned on the people of this country yet?
    After surveilling the buildings and finding nothing out of the ordinary other than the looted vending machines, he returned to the Suburbans. He approached Jonesy’s window and opened up his mic to Ripley as well.
    “Jonesy, stay with the