The Rise

By J. Rudolph

A Montana town searches for strength amid the dangers following the zombie apocalypse in this sequel to The Long Road.

Community—it’s the reason the survivors have made it through the carnage and mayhem of the apocalypse. It is the source of their strength . . . until a message from the stars divides them.



With half of the group off to Ireland in search of greener pastures, the remaining survivors gamble on whether they will be strong enough to make Wilsall rise.



The road so far has not been without its stumbles, and more than a few enemies have been made. Many of the group are left with festering wounds, and only time will tell whether they can heal. Will community be enough to keep these survivors on their feet? The future of Wilsall rests on their shoulders.

Praise for The Complex

“I really enjoyed The Complex. . . . It brings a new and missing dynamic to the genre. . . . Ms. Rudolph tells a good story that left me wanting more.” —David Forsyth, author of the Sovereign Spirit Saga

“This is a fantastic read that I could not recommend more!” —Tony Baker, author of Survivors of the Dead

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781682612149

Book preview

A PERMUTED PRESS BOOK

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-68261-214-9

The Rise

The Reanimates Book Five

© 2017 by J. Rudolph

All Rights Reserved

This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

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Permuted Press, LLC

New York & Nashville

Published in the United States of America

To Connor--

Be a part of the whole that makes a home. No one can do it alone.

CONTENTS

STAYING

BABY MINE

NOT IN KANSAS

BRANCHES GROW

DIEDAL WAVE

STOLEN PROPERTY

FAST FORWARD

BURLEY

THE LOST BOY

EMERGENCE

WRATH OF WISCONSIN

RUNNING FROM BEFORE

FORCE AND REVENGE

ATTACK

BONUS CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

STAYING

Derek, Four Years After Threshold

For a moment after the announcement that there was indeed a flotilla taking people out of the United States and over to Ireland, there was absolute silence. It lasted about two-and-a-half seconds before half of the group erupted in excited chatter about being able to get back to civilization and the other half began to spout their objections. The meeting was put on hold as people conferred with their families about their objections and support for such a move.

Louise, my beautiful wife, who was pale on a normal day, was even more pale, her mouth shaped in a shocked ‘O’, and her eyes wide as they filled with tears. She knew, like I did, that our son, our grandson, and our daughter-in-law were already making plans to go. The only reason why they hadn’t left already was that they needed to be sure that here was something in New York to go to. 

Derek, she whispered, they can’t. They just can’t. They went through hell just getting to Idaho. They could have died in that little trip! How can they even be thinking about this like it’s just a Sunday drive? You have to change their minds!

Baby, I don’t think I can. They decided this as soon as they made contact with ‘Major Tom’ floating around up there. You know that.

They can’t though. That’s our family right there.  They weren’t supposed to be able to actually make any connections with anyone on the other side of the country. Louise’s eyes couldn’t hold back the tears from falling on her cheeks anymore, and they raced down. 

We could go with them. We could grab Kristen, Mike, and Nathan and all go.

I know you don’t want to do that, honey. Aside from the constant threats of death every time we leave the walls, this is just about exactly what we used to imagine when we retired. You were going to build your own metal workshop and make custom parts for whatever needed done. I was going to have a glorious garden and plenty of space for our grandkids to play in while I dug around.

If you told me that leaving would make you happy, I could readjust. No, it’s not my favorite idea to go but I would.

I feel horrible about this, but I don’t want to go either. I feel like I’m abandoning them though, not wanting to take that kind of trip. I don’t want to move and start over again, with heavy stress on the word ‘again.’ I feel selfish saying I’m happy right here.

Don’t, because that’s how I felt about this, too. Once we got settled, I remember feeling like finally we were home and this was where we were going to live out the rest of our days.

How do we make them stay though?

I think we’re limited to just telling them what our plans are and why. This is their choice, too. 

It was with those words that my heart felt like breaking. It was with those words that I felt like I was saying goodbye to my family. I was staring at my knees when that realization hit and I focused on the pattern in the denim until the urge to cry got under control. Once it passed, I turned and faced my beautiful wife and kissed her. 

I’ll talk to them. I just don’t want to get your hopes up. You saw how resolved they were on the stage. She took her hands and wrapped her long slender fingers around my hands and squeezed them gently. 

I cleared my throat and made my way across the chaotic cafeteria to where Cali and Trent were standing. They broke away from the conversation they were having with Lacey and Lucas and turned to me. It was clear by the sparkle in Cali’s eyes that they were coming along. That girl never did have a poker face except when it came to treating patients. 

Cali, Trent, I began, I see how serious you guys are about this idea. I also see the value in going, but your mom and I, well, we aren’t up for a commute like that. We like it here. Sure, there are problems, and going to Ireland would fix the problems there are, but I see moving as a whole different set of problems. I look at the trade-off from being crammed together all over again in a series of apartments and going back to relying on a network of deliveries to get supplies. I look across this town right now, and I know what resources we have and what we need to do to keep going. I like it. I like the simplicity. It’s something I always wished for before the zombies, and now I have it. Why would I want to run across zombie infested madness and fight to get on a boat to go back to the world we had?

Derek, people are dying here. We have to fight tooth and nail for every last thing, and they die anyway. Tears began to pool in her eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment. She has the best of intentions, and I know that, but I wasn’t destined to be on that path.

Cali, baby, everyone dies. We can do our best to stave off death for as long as possible, but in the end, we all have to die. Slowly I walked over to her, and with great effort I kept my own urge to scream at her to just stay, to do something that would make it so losing half of my family was off the table. It wouldn’t have helped either of us if I had. Sometimes being a man means you have to lose, and, God help me, I really didn’t want this to be one of those times. I stated my objections, my reason to stay, but those only really applied to me. I know she wasn’t at the same space and time of her life as I was; not that it helped me out right then. All I could do was be there for them, so I put my hand on her shoulder, looked into her eyes, and asked, Do you really think this is the best idea that you can come up with for your family? She wordlessly nodded, so the only thing left to do was to swallow my own feelings and lean in towards her and say, Then you do what you have to do. You take Trent and Drew, and you run. You run fast and hard and don’t stop until you get your son and yourselves on that boat, my decision be damned. Tears filled my eyes, and I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. Cali threw her arms around my shoulders and squeezed me tightly. When she broke the hug and stepped back, we chuckled over the fact that both of our faces were wet. 

She turned to the rest of the group and, in a very clear voice, called out so everyone in the room could hear her, Guys? Trent and I, we’re going to New York. You are all invited to go with us, but no one has to. You don’t have to, and I want you all to think on this heavy tonight. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. People nodded, deciding to table their conversations until they were home.

I think that for some, the idea that no one had to decide right there was comforting. For me though? With that proclamation, my heart ripped out of my chest. Louise seemed to feel like I did as I watched her suddenly lean against the wall for support, and the look in her eyes said more than words ever could. 

My head was still swimming with the thousand thoughts that threatened to take over. Thoughts like, They went through hell getting to us, we all worked our asses off to carve out a meaningful existence here, and now that was going to be all over and safely getting there was a long shot. Trent, my only son, was going to leave and we were still here. With the shambling dead wandering all over pressing the global reset button, the belief I had that family should always be together was solidified. I thought we all felt like that, and yet half of my family was leaving. 

Kids are supposed to leave the nest, of course, but to leave the nest and move to a continent that they never had been to on the advice of a man orbiting the world in a tin can? 

I hated this. I hated watching them get ready for a trip I believed was a mistake now that we were settled and doing well. Secretly, I had this hope that they would find that the boat stopped running. I hoped there was something that would bring them back like they came to their senses half way through. Ultimately, I admonished myself for wishing something like that. What I wished was what every father wishes for their sons: that they would succeed beyond every success I ever had. Trent didn’t know this, but he already had surpassed me in so much. He was a brave, strong leader that people followed, not out of fear but out of loyalty. He was a calm pillar that people could trust. He was a man, and I was proud of him. It made the idea of him leaving so much harder. Cali became a daughter to me. She was a strong, independent woman that challenged those around her to be just as strong and brave. Trent and Cali? Those two were gears that meshed perfectly and kept the whole machine running. Their absence was going to be felt in our community for a very long time, but in the machine that they were a part of, I knew that while it ran better with those two, the whole thing was not about to crumble to dust.

Across the room, I could see my friend, Ty. His face was lined with worry and sadness. If there had been a mirror available, I imagine my own face looked just like his. They say misery loves company, and at least for me, I could use a conversation with someone that I wouldn’t have to explain how I was feeling to. Slowly, I made my way over to him, weaving through the crowd until I got to where he was and leaned against the wall.

Ty and I had an unexpected friendship. I was old enough to be his father, yet I related to him the most. We both thought the same way, and in that moment, we both knew what it was like to have your family torn apart. 

It’s an amazing thing to watch, isn’t it? Ty whispered, his voice thick. You spend all of your adult life trying to keep your family safe and together. You hold your newborn son, and you promise him that you will protect him with your very last breath, promise him you will teach him to be a man. You do really good at teaching him this stuff, and you realize indeed, you taught him to be a man, and now, he’s doing man things like planning on taking a road trip to protect the others. Now, my boy, DaWayne? I believe him when he says that he wants to protect the group like he says he does, but even more, I believe that he wants a fresh start in a world that makes sense like Trent and Cali do. All of that said, I believe his biggest motivation is to get far, far away from where he lost his wife and child, and I don’t blame him for that for not one second.

I wouldn’t either. Shayla and Charity were huge heartbreaks for all of us, and I can’t even imagine how much harder it was for your family.

"It’s going to be such a huge loss to have Trent and Cali go. Cali is the reason DaWayne is still alive. Back at the complex, DaWayne was shot, and she pulled out the bullet and made sure he didn’t get an infection after.

"Regarding the deaths of Shayla and Charity? I’m relatively certain they are a part of why Cali would want to go. We have been expecting a nurse to be a multiple specialty surgeon and that wasn’t fair to her. I think it’ll be easier to remember that Trisha isn’t, because she never went to school. She’s had some amazing on the job training, though. And Trent? It was his idea to take this town and seal it off. We wouldn’t have had this place like we do, if it wasn’t for his planning and hardworking leadership. 

You weren’t there in those first days of the outbreak, but those two made us feel like we could do this until we were able to believe it ourselves. Your kids are amazing, and I’m going to miss them just as much as my own son.

When you guys showed up in Idaho I was struck by how much of a family you all were. You all moved like you had been a part of each other’s lives for such a long time. It was hard to remember that you guys were just neighbors before. I imagine that, like in all apartment complexes, you recognize the faces, say hello as you pass on the sidewalks, maybe the occasional complex wide get together, but the way you all moved as a complex single being was like you all grew up on the same street and had been just as much a family as any single household, if not more so. I smiled at the memory of this raggedy group that communicated very well with a few sidelong glances. 

The end of the world will do that to ya, my friend. We both had a long chuckle over that one.

So, Ty, what are we going to do now? I prayed he had some sort of idea. Something that I could hold on to and build on. 

Ty paused and looked thoughtful, almost like he had been looking for this answer for himself, before finally answering in a soft voice, Make sure they get there safely is the only idea I have. Give them every possible resource that we can make do without, so they have it while crossing the country. And after? I guess we keep going. Not like there are many other options.

It was very true, we really didn’t have any other options. Keep going after? That was all any of us could do. 

The next day, the official lines were drawn and families were left with jagged tears in them. Almost every home was split in some way. Lucas and Lacey were going, and they were taking their daughter, Raine, and their adopted kids, Liam and Abigail. Erin, Liam and Abigail’s older sister, was not going to go, deciding that she would keep little JJ with her, their baby brother. The road was no place for a three-year-old. Lucas’ brother, Matt, was going to go with them, along with his boys, Justin and Jackson, since he couldn’t deal with the idea of staying after the death of his wife a few years before. Ty’s kids divided too: Trisha was going to stay with her adopted kids, while her brother DaWayne was going to go. My daughter, Kristen, was going to be staying with her family while my son was leaving with his. My little grandson, Nathan, was just too small to be able to tolerate such a big trip. They planned on going themselves in five more years, assuming that the flotilla still was running that far into the future, and I knew there would be another meeting like this one then, if it still was. That was going to sting like hell for both of my kids to be on an island across the world. I took a deep breath and reminded myself to not get too ahead of myself on what could happen. 

It was a traumatic divide, to say the least. Half of the group was just taking off, and the rest of us would be left picking up the pieces. I wondered if we ever really could pick them up all of the way. 

With nothing else left to be done and reality crashing all around us that no amount of foot dragging was going to change the situation, we started planning out how to make this work, and how to create a wagon train that would keep them safe. After several scrapped ideas, we came on a solution where we were going to start by taking apart a car chassis, leaving only the frame, the wheels, and the steering mechanism. The next phase was going to be bolting the tool sheds that were acquired in Bozeman to the frame to hold all of the supplies and create a bench for the wagon driver. After all of that, we were going to have to create a harness system to attach the horses Cali was going to get

Reviews for The Rise

[capiam1234 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

At first I was interested in this for the fact that it was a journal, but the audiobook possibly ruins the novelty of this because there's only one time that the voice is changed in the story to provide a bit of variety. Hearing the same character recap days within the journal just gets old and boring fairly quickly.

[smcamp1234 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

At first I was interested in this for the fact that it was a journal, but the audiobook possibly ruins the novelty of this because there's only one time that the voice is changed in the story to provide a bit of variety. Hearing the same character recap days within the journal just gets old and boring fairly quickly.