There’s nowhere to hide.
The time of the virus has passed, but war now looms on the horizon.
Compelled by fear, an injured Drew Murphy, tormented by his own demons, is determined to get home to save his family from the vilest of mankind.
Hundreds of miles away Annabelle Murphy must fight to save her young daughter and elderly mother. She will be tested like never before and will have to do the unthinkable in order to survive.
Meanwhile, news anchor Glen Daniels has arrived in New York City and has become the face of the country as it rebuilds. Evil has returned and is prepared to release War, the second Horseman of the Apocalypse. Possessing anyone in its path, his plan will stop at nothing to destroy humanity.
Can Drew and his newfound friends stop the aftermath of the ominous entity and survive the most devastating war the world has ever seen?
Don’t miss this exciting continuation to E.M. Kelly’s award-winning novel, Addiction & Pestilence, from his A Journey Through Hell series.
Targeted Age Group:: 17 – 99
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I've always drawn to and wanted to write about post-apocalyptic stories. I think it has a lot to do with survival and pushing all known boundaries to live.
How is writing Science Fiction different from other genres?
SciFi allows you to use your imagination and not be boxed in. If you can think it, you can write it.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
I based them upon people I know and how I thought they would act when thrown into the apocalypse.
Book Sample
Paxton, Nebraska
Bill Johnson sat on the front porch with a glass of cold lemonade that his wife, Maureen, had just poured. For the past few hours he’d worked at repairing the windmill, which needed greasing to keep working and create electricity for the house and barn. Along with the windmill, they’d also had solar panels installed behind the house three years ago to help offset the rising electricity costs.
The screen door creaked open and then slammed shut behind Maureen as she came out to join her husband and enjoy the cool weather. The heat from the stove kept the kitchen cozy, but sometimes it could become a little too stuffy for her liking.
“How far do you think he’s gotten?” asked Maureen, referring to their salesman, and friend, Stanley, who’d had the luxury of being with them the day the FAA had closed all the airports.
“Boston is a long way from here,” he said before taking another sip of his drink. “And the carnage he described seeing on his first attempt before returning, well, I guess that’s going to add some time to his trek home, especially if it’s like that the whole way.”
“Well, he hasn’t returned, so he must be doing okay,” she said.
“Or he’s already dead.”
“Bill!” she yelled, hitting him with her apron. “He’s our friend, how can you say that?”
“I’m just saying, is all. You saw how bad it was on the news.”
“I know, but I don’t want to think about it. He was a nice man.”
“Don’t you mean, is a nice man?”
“Yes, is,” she said, straightening her apron.
“I’m just concerned about all the major cities and towns he has to cross through before reaching home. People act like monsters to one another when society collapses.”
“Oh, hush,” she said, whipping him again with her apron.
“I gave him those guns, so he should be all right,” he said, placing his hand on her lap. “He’s a resourceful man; he’ll be fine. Try not to think about it, is all.”
She gently tapped his hand and said, “I can’t help it,” then stood up. “Go wash up. Dinner should be ready in a few minutes,” she said, turning and walking into the house, the screen door slamming shut behind her.
Bill took another long swig from the glass and looked out at his crops, which he knew he would soon need to be harvested.
I just hope there is a society left to sell them to, he thought, before carrying his glass into the house.
After dinner, Maureen snuck out onto the porch, making sure the door didn’t slam behind her, to have a smoke. It had been a while since she’d had one, and for some unknown reason she’d been craving one all day. Pulling a cigarette from the pack, the sweet smell of the old tobacco filled her nostrils. The pack was probably a year or so old, and the butt tasted the way the pack smelled when she placed it between her lips. The old lighter sparked right up, and she drew in a deep breath of smoke, filling her lungs. It tasted good, and she instantly felt a rush as the nicotine hit her system.
Sitting there, smoking, helped wash away the stress of the day and calmed her nerves. In the morning, Bill planned on venturing into town. They were low on supplies, and after days of discussion they’d decided he would head into town to look for supplies and to see who, if anyone, in town had survived. Bill had wanted to take the boys, but she’d given a hard, “No.” There was no way she would allow her two babies to risk their lives over simple, everyday supplies they could live without if they had to— but soap would be nice, as they all stank.
They showered with just water, which as Eben put it, was like rinsing a dirty dish before putting it in the dishwasher. They only got so clean, and soap helped with the “stuck-on”, smells, as he called them. The boy was right, water itself did not wash the stink off from working all day in a barn with animals.
Besides the supplies, Bill wanted to find out how bad it was out in the rest of the world. They had crops to harvest soon, and if there was no one left to buy the crop, they wouldn’t have to rush trying to get them to market. Nor would they have to plant next season, other than what they would consume for themselves. She guessed the only good thing about the sickness was that there were no more bills to pay, and chuckled to herself that she no longer had to write out a check for the mortgage. They wouldn’t receive any more threatening letters from the bank.
Taking another haul off the cigarette, she scanned the darkness before her, hoping someone they knew was still alive out there.
Tilting her head back she exhaled, blowing smoke into the night sky. The stars were in full view, and she searched them, trying to find the different constellations as she had as a child, when something on the horizon had caught her eye. The stars seemed to dim in a certain area, appearing as if a wave of heat had passed in front, the way the road shimmers on a hot day. She thought it might be water evaporating and rising into the night sky, and took another drag from the cigarette.
A piece of tobacco stuck to the tip of her tongue and she tried spitting it out, but it wouldn’t budge. Bringing her hand up to her mouth, she licked the tip of her finger to transfer it off her tongue. But still it stuck. Using her fingernail, she scraped it off, looking at it before wiping it on her apron. When she looked back up, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
Off in the distance, a pair of bright red lights appeared in the middle of the field, piercing the darkness. Maureen sat still as a chill of fear ran down her spine. Time seemed to halt as the pair of glowing red orbs grew closer. The cigarette between her fingers burned down to the filter, and the long bit of ash fell onto the porch. Fear turned to fright as Maureen realized what the red glowing things were: eyes.
Hello, Maureen!
She heard her name as if someone had whispered it from the nearby crops.
Maureen tried to move, but couldn’t. She was frozen in place.
About the Author:
E.M. Kelly is a former Marine Corps Reservist and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in Boston. Being an avid reader one of his lifelong dreams was to write a novel. Finally, he put "pen to paper" as his wife had long ago suggested and fulfilled his dream in 2018 when he released his first novel, Addiction & Pestilence – Book One of his A Journey Through Hell series.
This post-apocalyptic horror thriller is a modern retelling of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which has won five awards, including Readers' Favorite bronze medal for Action and the coveted Readers' Favorite 5 Star Reviews. E.M. is known for writing riveting fiction highlighting gritty, raw and real characters.
He can usually be found reading a book, and that book will more likely than not be a thriller of some sort.
At night he is absorbed in creating his newest page-turner and just released his second novel, Demons & War, in February of 2021. Currently he is a billing supervisor for a large Boston hospital, and he lives just south of the city with his loving wife and daughter.
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