CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright
Opening Words
Title Page 2
Book 1 - Lost
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy-One
Chapter Seventy-Two
Chapter Seventy-Three
Book 2 - Found
Chapter Seventy-Four
Chapter Seventy-Five
Chapter Seventy-Six
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Chapter Eighty
Chapter Eighty-One
Chapter Eighty-Two
Chapter Eighty-Three
Chapter Eighty-Four
Chapter Eighty-Five
Chapter Eighty-Six
Chapter Eighty-Seven
Chapter Eighty-Eight
Chapter Eighty-Nine
Chapter Ninety
Chapter Ninety-One
Chapter Ninety-Two
Chapter Ninety-Three
Chapter Ninety-Four
Chapter Ninety-Five
Chapter Ninety-Six
Chapter Ninety-Seven
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Chapter Ninety-Nine
Chapter One Hundred
Chapter One Hundred One
Chapter One Hundred Two
Chapter One Hundred Three
Chapter One Hundred Four
Chapter One Hundred Five
Chapter One Hundred Six
Chapter One Hundred Seven
Chapter One Hundred Eight
Chapter One Hundred Nine
Chapter One Hundred Ten
Chapter One Hundred Eleven
Chapter One Hundred Twelve
Chapter One Hundred Thirteen
Chapter One Hundred Fourteen
Chapter One Hundred Fifteen
Chapter One Hundred Sixteen
Chapter One Hundred Seventeen
Chapter One Hundred Eighteen
Chapter One Hundred Nineteen
Chapter One Hundred Twenty
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-One
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Two
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Six
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred Thirty
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Four
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Five
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred Forty
Chapter One Hundred Forty-One
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Two
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Three
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Four
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Five
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Six
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Nine
Book 3 - Redeemed
Chapter One Hundred Fifty
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-One
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Two
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Three
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Four
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Five
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Six
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred Sixty
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-One
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Two
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Three
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Four
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Five
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Six
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred Seventy
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-One
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Two
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Three
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Four
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Five
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Six
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Seven
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Eight
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Nine
Chapter One Hundred Eighty
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-One
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Two
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Three
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Four
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Five
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Six
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred Ninety
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-One
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Three
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Four
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Five
&nb
sp; Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Six
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Seven
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Eight
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Nine
Chapter Two Hundred
Chapter Two Hundred One
Chapter Two Hundred Two
Chapter Two Hundred Three
Chapter Two Hundred Four
Chapter Two Hundred Five
Chapter Two Hundred Six
Chapter Two Hundred Seven
Chapter Two Hundred Eight
Chapter Two Hundred Nine
Chapter Two Hundred Ten
Chapter Two Hundred Eleven
Chapter Two Hundred Twelve
Chapter Two Hundred Thirteen
Chapter Two Hundred Fourteen
Chapter Two Hundred Fifteen
Chapter Two Hundred Sixteen
Chapter Two Hundred Seventeen
Chapter Two Hundred Eighteen
Chapter Two Hundred Nineteen
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-One
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Two
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Three
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Four
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Five
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Six
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Seven
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Eight
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Nine
Chapter Two Hundred Thirty
Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-One
Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Two
Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Three
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THE INDIANA APOCALYPSE
e a lake
Copyright © 2018 e a lake
All rights reserved.
Exclusive Kindle Edition.
Tough times never last, but tough people do.
—Robert H. Schuller
THE INDIANA APOCALYPSE
Book One - Lost
CHAPTER ONE
The bullet that was meant to kill me missed me by inches. I heard it zing past my left ear, close enough to feel the heat and really grab my attention. The second shot grazed my left side, stopping me just long enough for the shooter to compose his aim.
The shot that knocked me to the ground hit me in my left thigh about six inches south of my hip bone. The instant surge of burning pain made me stumble and fall into the rich black soil of the field I’d been sprinting across moments before.
I’d heard the man shouting at the village residents as I tried to sneak off through the brush, shortly before my mishap.
“I told you all,” he growled. “No men. Period. They cause trouble and take you all away from your assigned tasks – the reason you’re all here, the reason I feed you and keep you alive. A lone wandering man is dangerous.”
He didn’t sound all that sincere to me at the time, though a man crouched in the brush behind the outhouse probably had other things on his mind (which I did). Staying alive was pretty high on my list that day.
They’d warned me when I stopped and begged them for a cup of water and a crust of bread. I had to leave, they all said. It wasn’t safe for me to be there. Not in the daylight at least. I had to come back in the dark.
I had to make my escape now, one of them insisted, before anyone else showed up. As in someone from “the big house”, they claimed.
I couldn’t help myself though. I was hungry and thirsty and they were all so darned pretty. Even the older ones looked damn fine to me. So, I overstayed my welcome. In hind sight, it was a mistake. Kind of.
“Hunt him down boys,” the man continued as I listened from my hiding spot. “Hunt him down and kill him. I don’t care who he is, I want him dead. Drag his corpse back here so that they can be reminded of what happens when the rules aren’t followed precisely.”
It took them all of thirty seconds to flush me from my spot. I had a little head start, but for some stupid reason, I decided to cross an open field. There was some brush where I might have been safer, but I’d run cross-country in school and figured I’d be better on foot. That and I hated spiders; and I’d already noticed the brush was full of spider webs.
Three shots and I was done. I heard the rider come up from behind right before I passed out.
“See there, boys,” he bragged. “I got him in the head. I told you I was a better shot than the rest of you. Proved myself right today.”
Why he thought he’d hit me in the head didn’t bother me. I wasn’t even worried about him plugging me with three or four more shots. All I wondered about was why a river of some sort of sticky, metallic-tasting fluid was flowing down my face and over my closed eye into my opened mouth.
That was the last thing I remembered. That was the only thing I remembered…for a long, long time.
CHAPTER TWO
Before I even opened my eyes, I knew I wasn’t in the field anymore. I was somewhere else. Perhaps I was dead; maybe I was in heaven. But that didn’t make any sense.
Why did the place where the Almighty took us at the end smell like my Grandma’s house? There was a pungent, musty odor. Did God, or whomever he/she was, not keep up on house cleaning? Surely Saint Peter or maybe even the archangel Gabriel knew someone who could make the smell disappear.
And why did I hear creaking floorboards? That sure didn’t make any sense. As I understood things, God’s son — Jesus — had been a carpenter while on Earth. I didn’t really buy into any of the religious mumbo jumbo while I was amongst the living. But if you believed what it said in the Bible, then it would have made sense to me that this Jesus fellow would have fixed the floors to keep them from creaking.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and tried to take in my surroundings. My vision wasn’t clear, not one bit. It was as though I was in a fishbowl full of semi-clean water, trying to look at my new world. Maybe I didn’t have my afterlife eyes yet. Perhaps they’d give them to me once I passed a test or something like that.
I decided someone had made a mistake, bringing me to heaven that was. Some poor angel was going to get his or her wings chewed off by the big guy when they discovered I didn’t believe. I’d have to lie, I decided. Maybe God hadn’t been watching me all that closely back on Earth.
As my vision improved, the first thing I focused on was the peeling paint on the far wall. Okay, I probably wasn’t in heaven. I turned my head cautiously and noticed the paint on the other walls wasn’t much better. Nope, I decided. At best, I was in purgatory — limbo, as one of my Catholic friends once extolled to me for an hour.
I noticed a fireplace but no fire. Maybe it was summer, wherever I was. Or perhaps the place was more like Arizona or Mexico than where I’d grown up in…in…in.
“Shit,” I muttered softly.
I couldn’t come up with where I was from. Maybe in heaven, or purgatory, or even hell they wiped your memory clean. Took away all the bad shit you’d ever done. Made it so you started with a clean slate.
That made sense and I instantly felt relieved. Air moved in and out of my lungs easier as I realized I wasn’t in hell. In hell, I supposed, they’d replay all your bad deeds like a highlight film. They’d project it onto a big screen so everyone you ever knew could watch all the rotten stuff you ever did play out. The proprietors of hell probably even played it as a loop, just in case anyone new died and wanted to see just how awful you were back on solid ground.
That left purgatory or heaven. Lucky break for me.
“I see you’re awake,” a voice said from above, startling me. Was it God?
“Don’t move too fast,” she directed as I noticed long brown hair and dark brown eyes staring at me. “Your head…you have a nasty bump. So, take it easy.”
Holy crap; God was a woman.
CHAPTER THREE
When she rounded the dusty beige couch, I could see her slim form in a floor-length dress. A plain dark brown
dress. She wore bright blue flip-flops, though they made no sound. When she knelt next to me, I heard her knees crack.
“How are you feeling?” she asked in one of the most tender voices I’d ever heard. She looked at me as if she cared; actually, truly cared.
“A little out of it,” I answered. “Am I alive?”
She smiled and I realized how pretty she was, in a young sort of way. A little plain, no make-up or anything like that, but still quite attractive.
“You’re very much alive,” she replied, placing a cool hand on my forehead. “Though we weren’t sure at first. All we were told was to bury you. But Morgan felt a pulse and after they left, we hauled you inside.”
Great, great. Thank you, Morgan. Whoever the hell Morgan was.
“I suppose I should get moving along,” I said as she stared at me. To be honest, she was kind of creeping me out given the fact that she was a complete stranger as far as I knew. But she continued to stare.
“If you’ll just point me in the direction of my home, or even my car, I’ll get out of your hair,” I said.
Whatever I’d said wrong made her frown. Her thin lips turned downward and wiggled from side to side.
“You don’t have a home,” she replied quietly. “Not that I’m aware of at all. And a working car is highly unlikely at this time.”
She looked away and rose to her feet. “Morgan,” my confused angel of mercy called out. “He’s awake. And I think his brains are pretty scrambled still. Come see if you can make any sense of what he’s saying.”
Within seconds, two more young females appeared at the back of the couch. One had shorter brown hair and was very pale. She looked like my angel, except for the eyes. This one’s were pale blue and hard to look away from. The other new observer, about the same age I figured — most likely mid-twenties or so — had long hair that disappeared behind the couch by her waist. Her eyes were the same color brown as the first woman’s.
“Morgan?” I asked, receiving a grin.
“No, I’m Sasha,” she replied merrily. “I’m Sara’s older sister.”
That cleared things up. She was Sasha. But who was Sara?
“Morgan?” I asked the slightly taller and much thinner second woman with the ultra-long hair.
She looked at the other two, confused. “I’m Alivia. But you always called me Liv.”
That left two questions: Where was Morgan and how the hell did I know Alivia/Liv?
“I’m Morgan,” a slim but taller strawberry blonde woman answered. “How are you feeling, Quinn?”