Into the Outside: A POST APOCALYPTIC NOVEL Read online

  He nodded, swallowed whatever further argument he was going to make and turned to the bags she brought. He inspected the tents, sleeping bags and food supplies. They were all starved, not having eaten all day long.

  Isabella put sandwiches together since they couldn’t risk a campfire being seen from below. By the time the moon was high in the sky, Isabella guessed it was probably almost ten o’clock, the little girls were asleep in their sleeping bags and Kalla and Clay had gone off to the second tent.

  Isabella and Malcolm cleaned up their gear, tied the bag of leftover food to a high branch to keep it away from inquisitive animals and finally curled up together on top of their sleeping bags in the tent with the sleeping little girls. Isabella nuzzled into the crook of Malcolm’s strong arm and put her head on his shoulder. She breathed deeply of his scent, musky and sweaty, but not in an unpleasant way. She felt safe and secure in his arms, even though she could be caught and sent back to her shelter at any moment.

  Yet, here in the dark, in a flimsy tent, she felt sure of herself and her life, like the future was hers to decide. In the morning they would set out to find the old scientist and see if the Wiccan seer’s vision was true and he could create some way for the shelter-folk to come Outside and live safely. And if the old guy didn’t exist, or they couldn’t find him, at least she would get a chance to travel again and find other tribes and warn them about the government’s plans to exterminate the mutants.

  For the first time in her life, Isabella was hopeful about the future. She was in love, happy and had a purpose. She would make a difference.

  About the Authors

  Lynda Engler grew up in New Jersey, then spent three decades in New England, between Connecticut and Vermont, but now makes North Carolina her home. When not reading or writing, she enjoys being outside kayaking, walking, cycling or skiing. This is her second book. Her first, The Forgotten Isle, was published in 2004 and rereleased in 2011 with new illustrations by Noa Chaikin and is middle-grade historic fiction.

  Henry Dixon is a massage therapist in North Carolina. His insightful understanding of human nature and his expert ability to weave ideas together made him the perfect co-author for Into the Outside, even if he never wanted to be a writer.

  Afterword

  Thank you for reading Into the Outside. It was a pleasure to write and we hope you enjoyed spending time with Isabella, Malcolm and all the others in the book. If you did, please visit wherever you purchased this book and leave an honest review. Reviews have an enormous impact on an author’s success and the few minutes it takes you really helps us authors out.

  And if you are looking for more great reads, Isabella, Malcolm and Luke will be back in the sequel, Into the Yellow Zone.

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  Into the Yellow Zone

  August 2101

  Luke had to get out of quarantine and he had to do it today.

  As anxious as he was, he decided it was necessary to wait until nightfall when there would be fewer people around and less chance of getting caught. This was going to be his only chance to escape the military base at Picatinny before he was forced to return home to his family’s underground shelter tomorrow.

  Luke had spent the day making his plans. Now all he had to do was to wait until the right moment to execute them. After he had eaten his dinner, a knock on the door signaled the attendant who would take his tray. “You done?” asked the young female soldier when she came in.

  “Yeah, just about,” he said, wiping his mouth with the napkin. “Oops,” said Luke as he bent down to pick up the dropped cloth. Luke walked to her, handed her the tray and dropped his napkin again.

  “Damn, I’m clumsy today,” he said as he bent down to pick up the napkin, again. By now he was standing right next to the door.

  “Hrrumph,” she resounded. She took his tray and the napkin with such a look of irritation that Luke thought she might actually slap him. “Sure you’re not just trying to look under my skirt?”

  “No, not me, ma’am. I’m just a teenage boy. Why would I want to look up your skirt?” he answered with a sly grin.

  “Teenagers!” she retorted as she turned and keyed the code into the electronic keypad. The lock made a dull click behind her as the door closed and sealed him in once again.

  Now all he had to do was wait until dark. Sneaking out at night was becoming habit forming. Isabella had snuck out of their shelter repeatedly before she finally left for good with the mutant tribe and then he had snuck out at night to bring her back. For shelter kids who had it ingrained in their very being from the first day of their lives just how dangerous the Outside was, it was odd how easily both he and his cousin-sister had formed this habit. And now he was going to do it all over again.

  It was late – late enough anyway. Luke put his backpack on and keyed in the code. The soldier girl had no idea how good an ear he had for music, and once he finally had the opportunity to be near enough to the door when she left, he was able to duplicate the code by the sound of the keypad notes.

  Finally out of the prison cell of a room, Luke set off down the hall to Nurse Lady’s office. He carefully scanned around the corner before turning down the next corridor, making sure no one was in sight. Once he reached the nurse’s office, the tried the door. It was unlocked. I guess the only door they lock is mine, thought Luke. Creeping in, he opened the cupboards until he found the little round pills labeled INH2. The containers were full – 150 tablets in each. He took a dozen bottles, stuffing them deep into his backpack.

  Luke retraced his steps to the decontamination shower where he had been brought into the base a week ago, passing offices and labs. Behind one door he heard a yapping dog. That must be Nurse Lady’s quarters. She was the only one he knew of that had a dog. Having a puppy would be fun, he thought.

  Though he cautiously peered around every corner before continuing, the halls were deserted. Apparently this section of Picatinny’s security was limited to the airlock entrance. The door to the locker room was open – it must only lock from the other side. That would make sense – they only needed to keep people out. There would be no reason to keep base personnel from leaving if they wished to. Luke wedged the screwdriver he had taken from the old barn into the door frame, just in case he had to get back in. I’d rather go back in than be stuck in the DeCon chamber if I can’t get out.

  Luke walked between the rows of lockers and stopped at the chem-rad suits hanging on hooks. I should take one. The active camouflage chemical/radiation suits could help keep the military from finding him while providing him safety from further contamination Outside. Of course, the suits might also have tracking units built in which meant that it would be easy for them to find him. He had no idea what to do.

  Luke examined the suit to see if anything on it looked like a tracking device. He didn’t know what a tracking device would look like, or where it would be located. Without knowing if they could track the suits, he finally decided that he just couldn’t risk it. But then how would he get out of the airlock without being seen? It could be helpful to get out, then he could ditch it once outside, but the guards outside would notice the airlock opening.

  Merely walking out “invisible” wouldn’t work. Airlock doors don’t cycle on their own. He needed a diversion.

  Racing through the locker room and back down the hall, Luke opened the door to the nurse’s quarters. Yap, yap, yap – cute puppy. “Okay, you’re with me,” he said to the dog as he scooped it up. “Be quiet.” The eager little animal licked Luke’s face. He had to get out before Nurse Lady came back and realized her dog was gone.

  Running back to the locker room, Luke put the dog down and quickly climbed into the active camo chem-rad suit. Pulling it over his pack wasn’t easy. These suits weren’t as baggy as the civilian suit his grandfather had. They were tighter fitting, designed to allow soldiers to shoot a gun with it on their bodies. But the flexible material stretched to fit the backpack. As he passed the mirror he could not help thinking that he lo
oked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The suit felt tight and strained. He sweated as he put the air mask on and pulled the visor over his face. There was more peripheral vision in the military suit than the civilian version but as advanced as it was, it still felt claustrophobic. Luke felt as if he couldn’t breathe, even though the air flowed freely through the small mask over his nose and mouth under the large, clear visor. Finally, he grabbed the puppy that was eagerly licking the legs of the suit and stepped through the last door.

  The decontamination area housed vehicles of all sizes and shapes. There were battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, light infantry vehicles, utility vehicles, heavy equipment trucks and smaller vehicles that only carried a few people. Every vehicle looked like it would protect its occupants from the dangers Outside. The largest airlock he had ever seen loomed in front of him again, just as it had when he was brought to the base. If I go through that, they’re sure to capture me. Then, in the other corner of the great room, he spotted a small airlock. ‘personnel lock,’ announced the sign over the door. Of course! Why would they cycle a huge door every time? But there would be guards outside. He hugged the puppy.

  The controls were simple, very similar to the airlock of his own home. Once inside the compartment, Luke flicked a switch on his suit, it rippled and he disappeared. “Cool!” But when he moved, a hazy outline of his arm shimmered against the interior airlock wall. He triggered the lock cycle then crouched low to the ground and waited immobile. Cycle complete and outer door now open, he saw the guards outside. He let go of the dog and whispered, “Shoo!”

  YAP, YAP, YAP. The puppy scampered toward the guards, only ten feet away.

  “What the…?” yelled one guard, wheeling around to face the small animal.

  The other guard looked right at Luke inside the open airlock but apparently did not see him. “How the hell did a dog open an airlock?” he asked.

  Nurse Lady’s puppy scampered away from the soldiers. “Get him!” yelled one of the guards and both chem-rad suited men took off after the little dog.

  Luke left the airlock chamber and moved in the opposite direction from the guards. Through the trees, down a hill, around a boulder and downhill again. Far enough, he thought. Quickly, he removed the helmet, ripped off the air mask and stripped the suit from his body. He left it activated and saw it flickering in a heap on the dirt. He ran north by the dim light of the star- and moon-filled sky, keeping the domed military facility far to his right.

  It was massive. If it was daytime, Luke was sure he would be able to see buildings, houses and people inside. But under cover of night he only saw the clear glass structure... and with any luck, no one would see him.

  Once past the dome, he traveled along the ridgeline for many miles. The terrain was easy here, unlike the heavy undergrowth of forest he had trudged through from his shelter to Dover, on his search for Isabella. Luke hoped the Colonel would assume he would leave the base and follow the main road to the mutant community. Perhaps they wouldn’t search for him on their own property. He would find a place to cross the mountain and get to Telemark, the back way.

  He needed to find the village no matter what. He had to find it. The pills rattled in his backpack as he hiked steadily onward.

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