Wormwood Dawn (Episode II) by Edward Crae Read Free Book Online

flash. He clicked it, and another window appeared; small, square, and flashing the words , connecting now.
    After a few seconds, his webcam light turned on and a man’s face appeared in the box. He was bald—on purpose—round faced, and sported a strangely friendly smile. Dan leaned in to get a better look. The video was shitty; choppy and low resolution.
    “Hey, man,” the guy said; his voice uncharacteristically soft and pleasant. “What’s up?”
    Dan nodded. “Hey. That’s pretty bad video.”
    The guy chuckled. “Well, what do you expect from a cell phone network?”
    Dan shrugged. The guy continued. “I’m Jake,” he said. “My handle is Strahd71. I just read your post, and it sounds like some pretty whacky shit. Where are you at?”
    “Just south of Martinsville,” Dan replied. “Near the state forest.”
    “Ah, okay,” Jake said. “That’s not too far from Bloomington. Not a good place to be, brutha.”
    Dan shrugged again. “This is my home,” he said. “I have no plans to leave unless I have to.”
    Jake pursed his lips, nodding in agreement. “I take it your name is Dan?”
    Dan remembered signing his post with Dan308 ; a nod to his favorite rifle. “Yep, that’s me.”
    “Good to meet you, Dan,” Jake said, offering a virtual handshake. “So it’s just you and your buddy, then?”
    “Yeah. Just us, a dog, and a shit load of guns now. We took out a patrol of mercs down the street. Those guys were stocked up something fierce, but they were a little green, I guess.”
    Jake nodded. “Yeah, but you gotta remember these are the guys who couldn’t get in the actual military for one reason or another. Usually because they couldn’t pass the psych eval, but sometimes just because they were idiots. Either way, they’re perfectly willing to fire on American citizens, so as they say, you’re hired! ”
    “Right,” Dan said, feeling a little sick at the thought. “Have you seen any actual military?” he asked. “I only saw one group on the very first day. They had a road block on 37, but after they let me through, I never saw them again.”
    “Yeah, they were probably National Guard from Bloomington. It didn’t take long for the Gephardt guys to swarm and chase them off. The security firm is more heavily armed than the weekend warriors, but when the active troops started showing up, they fled, too.”
    “The active military is around?”
    “In some places,” Jake said. “They’ve liberated a few detainee camps around the smaller cities, but they’re taking them to other quarantine areas that aren’t much better than where they were. But at least they’re safe, right?”
    Dan shrugged. “I guess so. I’d rather be out here. It’s dangerous, but at least I can do whatever I want.”
    “I would be careful,” Jake said. “Plans are to take out the bigger cities. The mercs are destroying everything, even the survivors. Whoever is in charge doesn’t want anyone around who knows how to think.”
    “Who is in charge?” Dan asked. “Does anyone even know?”
    Jake shook his head. “Not that I know of,” he said. “The only thing I’ve heard is that the President was in communication with the military for a while, but then his plane went down. A little odd, I think.”
    “So he didn’t give the order, then?”
    Jake shook his head. “No. He’s an idiot, but he loves his country, unlike the last guy.”
    Dan sat back, sipping his whiskey. A beer sounded good, too. “I’ll be right back, man,” he said, getting up to fetch a beer from the deck.
    The air was still outside, but he could almost feel a storm coming on. The smell of distant rain was present, and that thick, humid feeling hung there around him. He quickly slid the door closed and sat back down, cracking open his beer.
    “You got beer?” Jake asked, chuckling.
    “Yeah,” Dan said, holding it up. “Five finger discount. There are tons of little stores around; not to mention a few