THEM (Book 0): Invasion Read Free Page B

communications and power across the mainland, as well as to restore communications with Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. We are mobilizing the Army National Guard and FEMA to set up relief camps, field medical facilities, and emergency shelters a safe distance from all areas that have been hit the hardest by these attacks.
    “Since the missiles were detonated while airborne, fallout has been minimal in the areas surrounding the attacks. Even so, survivors are encouraged to avoid the blast zones and to escape to the nearest relief center as soon as they are physically capable.
    “Unfortunately, the worst effects of these attacks will not be limited to the initial death toll that they have inflicted; it is the panic and chaos caused by these attacks that will likely claim the most lives. Do not panic. Food, water, and shelter will be at a premium in areas that have been hit the hardest, so we ask that you band together with your neighbors and share what resources you have for the good of all until help arrives. Again, we are doing everything we can to provide relief and supplies to the areas that have been affected by these attacks. If you reside in or near one of these areas, please listen to the following message for directions to the nearest emergency relief center for your area. Thank you, and may Allah guide us through this tragedy.”
    How in the hell did they let a nuclear freaking war happen? I thought to myself as I listened to the long list of relief centers that had been set up since the attacks. I checked my watch and realized that it had been a full three weeks since the missiles hit. Here I was, stuck out in The-Middle-of-Nowhere, Texas, out of my mind with fever while the end of the world as we know it was going down. Who’da thunk it?
    As I worked my way mentally through the situation at hand, I made a few assumptions. One, because there were relatively few targets of major military interest in Austin and San Antonio, the damage might not be too severe. Heck, I even hoped for a moment that they might not have been hit at all. But a few minutes later, I heard relief center locations being broadcast for Austin and San Antonio, which blew my hopes clean out of the water. Why anyone would hit those cities out of anything but sheer evil and spite was beyond me. I mean, you truly had to be an evil son of a bitch to bomb millions of people needlessly. Sometimes, I really hated being part of the human race.
    Regardless, I figured they’d hit Lackland with a warhead large enough to take out the operations command center there, which would make sense if they were planning to invade the third coast. They’d probably hit Austin for the hell of it, since no major military targets of interest existed in or around the capitol. More than likely Ft. Hood and Ft. Bliss had gotten wiped clean off the map, and Alamogordo was probably toast as well. But if they were aiming for the capitol in Austin and used a smaller nuclear device to take it out, folks five kilometers or so from downtown could have gotten through the blast wave with only minor injuries, which would mostly have been from broken windows and flying debris. So, I was guessing that Mom and Dad were probably fine, but even so they’d need to get the hell out of Dodge fast. As soon as the social structure started breaking down it’d be chaos, and I didn’t want them anywhere near a major metropolitan area once the food riots and pillaging started.
    It only took me a half-hour or so to get everything packed and ready, so I sat in the light of the fire I’d stoked up and waited for dawn. As I rested in the near-dark of my campfire, I reflected on how calm I felt. Having a mission and a purpose always seemed to help me keep my shit together back in the ‘Stan, and I supposed it should be no different now that I was Stateside. By the time the sun peeked over the hills to the east, I’d already eaten and had a couple of cups of instant coffee in me, and I was good to