World War III Read Free

caught with a firearm was severe, many citizens had ignored the order to relinquish their weapons. And who could blame them? Ever since the nation had fallen into chaos, guns of any make or model had become a hot commodity. Not only were people using them to defend themselves from murders and thieves but they were also using them for hunting. Purchasing food at a grocery store had become nearly impossible. Even if you could find food on the shelves, which was seldom, no one could afford to buy anything.
    Casey was shrewd enough to realize there was a huge market in firearms and an exponential profit to be made, but he had to be careful. If anyone found out, they’d most likely kill him and take any cargo he carried. Of course there was always the government to worry about, although he hadn’t seen any cops in days.
    Casey kept the millions in cash he’d acquired hidden in a secret compartment under the seat of his big rig. Banks were no longer an option. Most had closed their doors when the economy collapsed, days before the vanishing. Thank God he’d never trusted in financial institutions and was not among the millions who’d lost their life savings overnight.
    After the euro crashed, the dollar and all other currencies soon followed, causing economies around the world to spiral out of control. Of course that was old news now. A million bucks didn’t go very far these days and he was barely able to keep up with the increased costs. A cup of coffee that used to cost five dollars now cost five hundred and a meal that was once fifteen dollars was now valued at over fifteen hundred. Just to fill up his eighteen-wheeler with gas cost over seventy thousand dollars. It was a brave new world.
    Hyper-inflation had driven prices up and out of control. The mass printing of U.S. dollars had caused the value of the currency to become virtually worthless. Only savvy investors who’d been smart enough to invest in gold, silver and other commodities retained their purchasing power. People were hurting and everyone was desperate. When they couldn’t pay with cash or precious metals, Casey usually offered to barter, although many people didn’t have anything of value to trade.
    He’d just loaded the last crate in the back of his trailer and was closing the double doors, when he noticed a young couple standing in the middle of the street. They were holding hands and staring up at the sky.
    What are they looking at?
    He slid the lock into place and walked towards the cab. He grabbed hold of the handle and was about to climb in when he noticed other people standing around looking up. He let go of the handle and glanced up to see what everyone was staring at. He assumed it was the Aurora Borealis or northern lights, which could sometimes be seen this time of year. But he was wrong, dead wrong.
    Droplets of rain pelted Casey’s face as he peered up at the sky, his eyes squinting to protect them from the downpour. His mouth dropped open. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The Space Needle towered above him and beyond it were several dozen streaks of fire coming from the north.
    Not again!!!
    He remembered the meteor shower that brought the whole world to its knees, destroying every nation’s capital and leaving havoc in its wake. Small bursts of light began to flash in the sky, as if dozens of bombs had exploded in the atmosphere.
    He was about to run for shelter, when he noticed something out of the ordinary. These meteors weren’t falling downward like the ones before. Instead they seemed to be headed south, almost as if each projectile had a specific destination. He suddenly realized why. They weren’t meteors.
    “They’re missiles!” He whispered the words so softly that no one could have heard him even if they’d been standing right beside him. As the ballistic missiles passed overhead, some people began to run for shelter while others stood there paralyzed.
    Casey watched the missiles until they were gone from sight.