Lindsey abruptly turned and reached for the barrel of one of the deputy’s rifles. He deftly pulled it away, but she wasn’t deterred. She grabbed for another. And another. All of the men were protecting their weapons as the wild-eyed Lindsey tried desperately to grab a rifle. Then all at once, the SWAT team and Sheriff Jock turned their attention back toward the Albrights and Frees.
Less than a quarter mile away, the sound of shuffling feet approached. Then muffled voices filled the deathly silence that had come over the Seven Mile Bridge. Everyone turned to focus their attention on the heads and shoulders that rose above the hoods and trunks of the cars blocking their advance. People turned sideways to slide by. Others used the bumpers to climb up and over the obstacles.
Hank Albright began to cry. Erin hugged him, and then the rest of his family gathered around. Tears flowed. Nervous laughter poured out of their mouths, stifled by some as they clamped their hands over grinning lips. Smiles and hugs were generously shared.
For as far as the eye could see, the people of the Middle and Upper Keys were coming. Hundreds of them. More likely, thousands. Some looked disheveled. Others appeared injured in some way. A few needed the assistance of a friend or family member to join the rest.
They were coming to stand up to Lindsey and the sheriff. They were holding their heads high with confidence and pride to support Hank and his family. Those who could manage a smile did. Those who still had tears to shed let them come out without any misgivings.
This was their fight, too.
In the middle of the pack, County Commissioner Bud Marino walked alongside the other two commissioners who would oppose Lindsey. They were accompanied by the attorney Mrs. Morton, who would provide them the legal means to oust the tyrannical mayor.
Near them were members of the clergy led by Reverend Deb. They were from all denominations, creeds and colors. They were calm, carrying the power of God in their hearts.
Mayor Juan Ramirez, his wife, Lisa, and the mayors of Islamorada and Key Largo were next. They smiled and nodded at Hank, giving him a thumbs-up and fist pumps.
The emotional scene swept over the residents of Driftwood Key. Weeks of trial and tribulation had come to a head. They’d set out to confront Lindsey, fully expecting that this might be a fight they couldn’t win. They’d expected Jock’s deputies to raise their weapons and even kill them on her orders.
However, today was not their day to die. It was their day to start a new life. As the new arrivals surrounded the Albrights and Frees, the power of their spirit and energy engulfed Hank. He accepted their gracious show of support.
He set his jaw, took a deep breath, and turned to Lindsey. He was about to speak when something remarkable happened.
Sheriff Jock Daly walked away from Lindsey and joined Hank by his side. He adjusted his uniform and confidently turned to face his soon to be former lover.
“Enough is enough, Lindsey. No more.”
Next, Sergeant Rivera crossed the imaginary line in the sand that stretched from one side of U.S. 1 to the other, pointing directly at Fred the Tree, the symbol of the Florida Keys’ resiliency. He was followed by the entirety of his elite SWAT team who’d carried out Lindsey’s demands.
With a defeated look on her face, yet still unabashedly proud enough to hold her head high in utter defeat, Lindsey spun on a dime and marched away between the massive blades of the front loaders designed to clear a path for her. Now, the only path she could follow was back to Key West, where she would resign in disgrace.
As soon as she got in her car and drove off, the tensions eased, and everyone, all thousand-plus, cheered. They cried. They celebrated. And for an afternoon, they forgot they were in the midst of the apocalypse.
They were Conchs once again.
THANK YOU FOR READING NUCLEAR WINTER: DESOLATION!
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READ ON for my AUTHOR’S NOTE as I share some final thoughts on the NUCLEAR WINTER series and to see what’s coming next—BLACK GOLD, book one in the TEXAS FOREVER series, available on Amazon.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
June 14, 2021
It has been six years to the day since I published my first novel, THE LOYAL NINE, book one of the Boston Brahmin series. I have written about a wide variety of potential catastrophic events, all of which have a basis in scientific fact or have occurred in our planet’s history. With the Nuclear Winter series, like my other novels, my goal was to introduce readers to the potential threats we face following a nuclear exchange and what to expect as the events unfold. Through the experiences of my fictional characters, I hoped to let you imagine the scenario for yourselves and play it out in your mind so that you’ll be prepared when catastrophe strikes. Each event is unique in its own way, and nuclear winter ranks alongside the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano in its potential to devastate the planet.
I started this series with a basic premise, a warning of sorts:
Preparing society for something of this magnitude would be near impossible. It’s the kind of worst-case scenario that politicians talk about in hushed tones while in private and the general public cannot fathom. As a result, the potential for nuclear winter is accepted as scientific fact. However, like so many other catastrophes I write about, the world crosses its fingers and prays it never happens.
Here are the salient points of my research that I hoped to have conveyed to readers in the Nuclear Winter series.
While it is true that millions at ground zero of the detonation would perish, in the aftermath, hunger and starvation would plague the survivors of a nuclear war. Millions of people would starve to death in the first few years following an all-out nuclear war.
World food reserves at any given time would be frighteningly small should production fail. They have amounted in recent years to about two months’ supply at present consumption rates. In the United States, food stores would feed the population for less than a few months subject to distribution constraints.
The means to transport the food from sites of harvest or storage to the consumers would no longer exist. Transportation centers would be shut down. Roads, bridges, as well as rail and port facilities, would likely be rendered inoperable.
A breakdown in agribusiness would be an inevitable consequence of a nuclear war. Without the means to harvest, process, and distribute those crops that survived, there would be much spoilage.
So much of the social and economic structure of society as we know it would be destroyed. Relationships that we take for granted would disappear. Money would have little or no value. Food and other necessities would be obtained, when available, by barter.