THEM (Book 0): Invasion Read Free Page A

stay in the primitive A-frame cabin I had at the site.
    But no sooner than I’d gotten settled in, it started raining like the first day of Noah’s forty. I hunkered down in the cabin for the first week and watched it pour, then finally I got bored and decided to hunt for some fresh meat. After a few hours and a good soaking I got lucky and bagged a couple of rabbits that I found hunkered down in a brush pile. But, as luck would have it, I also caught a monumental case of walking pneumonia.
    By the next morning I was delirious with fever and way too weak to hike back to the main house on the ranch. I set out some pots and pans to gather rainwater, then I bundled up on my cot and tried not to die from fever and exposure. Besides the occasional trip to the front door of the cabin to piss and retrieve enough water to prevent my imminent demise, I stayed more or less on my back for the better part of two weeks. Probably the only thing that saved me was a stash of antibiotics that I had in my pack, and some expired ibuprofen that I found in my first aid kit. Well, that and the fact that I’m too damned stubborn to die from my own stupidity.

    It took me a couple of days after the fever broke to gather enough strength to get up and move around. I soon managed to build a fire and made some broth using the bouillon cubes I always kept in my pack. By the next morning I was back on solid food, and by that evening I was ready to get back to the main cabin for a shower and a good hot meal.
    After being out of commission for so long, I decided I’d check in on civilization by tuning into the news on the little emergency weather radio I kept in my pack. It worked on solar power, or I could charge it with a hand crank, and I’d found it to be a handy addition to my typical load out. Besides giving me a way to get weather intel, if I ever got too lonely out in the sticks I could always tune into the nearest country station and get really depressed.
    I cranked the handle for about a minute or so and started flipping through the FM stations. All I got was static, so I switched over to the AM dial. It took me a while, but eventually I tuned into a station that broadcast from way out west of us. The signal was weak, but after dialing it in and playing with its antenna, I heard the familiar klaxon that indicated an Emergency Broadcast System test was underway. Annoyed, I turned off the radio and busied myself for a few moments, then I turned it back on, only to hear the same ear-splitting racket. That got me spooked, so I turned it up a notch or two and listened to what followed.
    “This is not a test. Repeat, this is not a test. Please listen to the following message in full and follow all instructions carefully. This message will repeat. Again, listen carefully and follow these instructions to ensure the safety of you and those around you.”
    At that I turned the volume up as a high as it could go. Within seconds the measured cadence of the president’s voice came loud and clear from the speakers.
    “At 1:26 am on October 3rd, the United States suffered a surprise joint nuclear attack carried out by China, Russia, and North Korea that targeted several large metropolitan areas along the eastern and western seaboards, as well as select cities in the midwestern and southern states. These attacks were apparently carried out with the intention of destroying our largest population areas and infrastructure. Missiles carrying nuclear warheads were detonated in air burst attacks, so as to produce the greatest damage to property and people.
    “We are not taking this attack lying down. Already, our military has launched precision nuclear counterstrikes against key targets in China, Russia, and North Korea as well as targets in Iran and Syria. We believe we have prevented further attacks from occurring; however, the damage to our nation’s greatest population centers and infrastructure has been severe. We are doing everything we can to restore