Survival 101: A Brutal Journey: Survival 101 Trilogy, #2

By MJ Dixon

In a new apocalyptic world, what do you do when the murderous Hunters you manage to kill don't stay dead? For teen Shane Conner, now with her sister safely at her side, she has to continue her frightening road trip across the country with the goal of eventually finding her father.

 

Still with Shane on this harrowing journey are stoic survival expert Colton, savvy and popular Dorinda, whip-smart Omar along with his crush and best friend Angel, worldly peacemaker Bailey, diplomatic Miguel, as well as sweet and too-cute college baseball player EJ, who could become very special to Shane if they can manage to stay together and help each other survive in this terrifying new world.

 

Along the way, through Texas before heading to California, tensions within the group run high. Daring rescues from zombie hordes and dangerous weather threaten to tear the survivors apart. Death is around every corner, and nobody is safe.

 

A YA-ish apocalyptic cross country road trip with a twist of romance thrown in.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: MJ Dixon
• Release date: Sep 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223470977

Book preview

A BRUTAL JOURNEY

DEDICATION

For Melanie. The shoes. If not for your ability to see those shoes in a different way and your willingness to inquire about them on my behalf, this trilogy would not have seen the light of day. I know you say you don’t need it, but you forever have my thanks anyway. Love you.

CHAPTER ONE

I can’t believe we’re already splitting up! Shane threw her hands in the air and spun away from the group. Just as fast, she swung back and pointed at Colton. And I can’t believe you’re the one suggesting it when it has barely been forty-eight hours since we left you alone to die.

Hey, no we didn’t and It wasn’t like that and That’s kind of harsh greeted her from the group, but she noticed Colton wasn’t one of them.

Shane, along with college baseball player EJ, Boho-chic Bailey, lifelong friends Omar and Angel, and silent little girl Piper had just rescued Shane’s younger sister, Faith, who’d been trapped in their home, alone, after watching Faith and Shane’s mother die. Tragically, they’d lost Angel’s sister, Jacquie, in their harrowing escape from Shane’s townhouse. Only hours prior to that, the group had become separated from Colton, had been unable to find him, and had continued their mission without him, certain he was dead. Miraculously, Colton had saved himself, and while on a trek to rejoin the group, had been picked up by Dorinda and Miguel, a brother and sister the group had left behind days ago at their family home in Florida.

Yesterday afternoon, the two groups had hooked back up in Kansas and made their plan to continue to Texas, to Omar’s grandmother and aunt. All of them were crammed together in an SUV; they’d had to abandon the hot-wired maintenance van they’d used to make their Great Escape from the townhouse complex.

As a collective, they’d decided to take refuge overnight in a little, white-painted, brick ranch house they’d found empty on a sprawling green section of a state road. They hadn’t quite made it officially into Texas yet; they were still on the Oklahoma side of the border.

Now in the driveway of that ranch house, early morning dew still clinging to the thick grass that was just beginning to look overgrown, Shane lasered in on Colton, her brow lifted.

After only a second, the focuses of the others shifted from her to him, tension clear.

We’re headed to a densely populated area in San Antonio, Colton explained. Again. We have to find more weapons. We are one hundred percent going to need them.

So you’ve said, Shane answered. Why don’t we all go together to find them?

Colton shrugged. We can if that’s what you all want, but it’s a waste of time. We aren’t moving fast; you have to remember that. It’ll probably take us two days to reach San Antonio. And that’s if we don’t run into any problems. Look at our track record so far. His stare pierced straight into her soul. And shriveled it to a raisin.

I don’t want to waste any more time than we have to, Dorinda piped in. For Omar’s and Angel’s sakes. If Omar could find his grandma and aunt, Angel would stay with them, not continue to California.

Dorinda crossed her arms against her ample chest, and the tap-tap-tap of a perfectly manicured pink nail drummed a beat against her bare elbow. You know I don’t like to agree with him, standing so close to Colton, she bumped him on the arm with her shoulder, but he’s right. Divide the tasks and conquer.

Miguel, quietly but intently observing until now, said, When we reach a town we all agree on, Bailey and I will go with Colton and Dorinda to search for a gun store. Shane, you take EJ and the girls to find food.

This house they’d stumbled on had precious little in the way of packaged, processed goods. What fresh they’d had in the fridge and on the table had long spoiled without electricity in the Oklahoma heat.

Omar and Angel can try to locate a car with keys or at the very least siphon as much gas as they can find. I’m going to guess there will be even more long stretches of road in Texas without anything in sight than there was through Oklahoma. Does that sound good to everyone?

Successfully filibustered. With such ease and rationale, too. If this world ever got up and running again, Miguel would surely, naturally, follow in his mother’s footsteps. She’d been a successful politician. Plus, he was incredibly handsome. Bailey clearly thought so. She hadn’t taken her eyes off him since he’d climbed out of the SUV yesterday.

Taking a step back, Shane held up her hands in surrender. Hey. When I’m overridden, I’m overridden. I believe in democracy.

Colton slid on a pair of sunglasses he’d found in the house. Then let’s get on the road.

They all piled into the SUV, packed like sardines, and were on their way once more.

Bailey walked alongside Miguel, a dozen feet behind Colton and Dorinda, down a street in the first small town they’d come across once they’d entered Texas. To their minds, this smaller community was way safer than a city or even medium-sized town with lots of suburbs. The SUV had been left at the grocery store with Shane and EJ. They’d come to this decision as a group; Faith and Piper would require the protection of the vehicle more than the others. Omar and Angel had been dropped off at the biggest parking lot with the most cars still in it, a strip mall with a movie theater.

Feeling shyer than she ever had with a guy in her twenty-five years of life, Bailey glanced up at Miguel. When her gaze collided with his, heat flooded her cheeks. He didn’t look away; he blushed a little bit, too, and light danced in his dark eyes. A small smile hitched his mouth up in the cutest way. His short, dark hair clung with the slightest dampness to his scalp, with the edges starting to go a little flyaway with growth.

He brushed his fingers across her forehead, gently moving strands of hair away from her eyes. You look pretty when you sweat.

Her hands flew up to her hair, touching damp locks that were flat, not a bit of body left. I’m wilting.

Nope. You’re perfect. Those eyes continued to twinkle, and her stomach flip-flopped straight into a Texas two-step.

I don’t know why I’m feeling so like, she waved her fingers in front of her, as if she were spreading pixie dust, I don’t know, flitty and nervous with you. It’s not like me at all.

Dipping down, Miguel put his lips near her ear, and his voice dropped to barely a whisper. Regrets?

Intimacy from that day at his house, a closeness they’d thrown themselves into because they’d both thought this was the end of everything, exploded in vivid color and detail in her brain. Yet for all the crazy, sweaty, enthusiastic stuff they’d eventually done to each other in his bed for those hours, her chest swelled with the memory of how they’d whispered the afternoon away, getting to know each other’s secrets in between all that fun under the covers.

She looked up at him, entranced by the way he never broke eye contact. No. Never. You?

Are you kidding me? A sharp bark of laughter burst from him. Not a chance.

Relief slammed through her. At the same time, a frisson of something clammy tickled down her spine. I’m not probably who you normally hook up with though, am I? A bubble of laughter that wasn’t quite happy escaped. And now we’re on a road trip in an apocalypse together. Probably not ideal.

Turning to walk backward, Miguel tucked his finger under her chin; she hadn’t even realized she’d gone into hiding.

You don’t strike me as the kind of person who would put herself down like you just did.

Blowing out a long, unsteady breath, Bailey admitted, You’re right. I’m not. I guess it’s just, she gestured airily with her hands, again, reaching for adequate words, you’re the most impressive person I’ve ever been with, maybe that I’ve ever met, and you’re only a sophomore in college. I’m not sure if that speaks to how awesome you are or shines a very bright spotlight on the people I’ve chosen to sleep with thus far in my life.

Miguel shrugged, drawing her traitorous eyes to shoulders that were just broad enough but not too beefy. Perfect. Of course they would be.

He shared, My life was pretty planned out, and I did everything I was supposed to do. And I did it pretty well. It didn’t leave a ton of time for partying or dating. He quirked a midnight-colored brow. I don’t know if that speaks well of my discipline and desire to succeed or if it exposes how afraid I was to defy my parents and their expectations of me.

Bailey had seen photos of his parents at the house: intimidating, well-to-do, successful. One of them was a literal judge of people. Literally.

I have to imagine that nine days ago being with me would have been considered slumming it. The muttered thought slipped out of her unbidden. Shoot.

There you go putting yourself down again.

I noticed you didn’t exactly deny it.

You want honesty? He turned when they reached a corner, keeping step with Dorinda and Colton in front of them, all without taking his focus from her. I don’t know that our paths would have crossed before nine days ago, and not just because we lived in different cities. Our lives likely never would have overlapped. But if they had, he looked her up and down, and she trembled with how he took his time with the task, I firmly believe I would have noticed you. Hey, he turned his hands toward his chest, you could have just as easily taken one look and dismissed me.

She gave him the once over he’d given her but focused on the shell rather than what was inside. I would have noticed your clothes right away. They’re very expensive. I would have made a judgment based on that.

And I would have thought you have very pretty eyes. He fell into step beside her and pressed his lips close to her ear once more. Other parts of me would have noticed that your body is slammin’.

She blushed, but only said, Your friends might have looked like tools. Maybe acted like it, too. That would have mattered to me.

And I would have worried that you might think of me as too much of a kid, and I would have been afraid you would reject me. It probably would have kept me from asking you out.

She swung her gaze up to him. You would have asked me out? You wouldn’t have just tried to get me drunk and hook up with me? A one and done?

You want a secret along with keeping things real between us? Twin lines of red slashed Miguel’s cheeks, but when she nodded, he admitted, I’ve never hit it and quit it with anyone before. Ever. Until that night with you. I’m not a one-night-stand kind of person. I was only that way with you because you were moving on that evening once it got dark. Not because I wasn’t interested anymore.

Oh goodness. If she’d had an old-fashioned hand fan, she would be furiously fanning her face right now. You’re very sweet.

He pressed a fast kiss to her temple and murmured, And I’m captivated by you.

Oh. She tripped over her feet as her heart skipped a beat. Huh. Her brain kept processing his words, double and triple-checking if she’d understood them correctly. Okay. Little fireflies of light sparkled to life inside her, nearly lifting her to walking on air. Which didn’t exactly feel normal but did feel incredibly nice. She glanced at him and blurted, I wasn’t fishing for compliments, you know, in case just looking at her gave away the stars dancing inside her.

He squeezed her hand. I know. And then he kept his fingers linked with hers.

Ahead of them, Colton turned and muttered, I cannot believe there’s a town in Texas without a gun shop.

Still holding her hand, Miguel easily transitioned to talking to Colton. Let’s try that fishing store we passed. They might have a hunting section. And we can check the back rooms and under the counters of every abandoned store on the way back to our meeting point. Couldn’t hurt to look.

Colton led the way across the street to an insurance storefront. Let’s do it.

Checking behind the counter for a gun at a packed-to-the-gills antique store, Colton swore under his breath when the cabinet closest to the register didn’t yield any treasures. Dorinda was wandering along the glass displays, searching for an antique weapon that might be on the floor for sale. Bailey and Miguel were next door at a craft store performing a similar search.

They’d found two handguns at a Realtor’s storefront so far, but nothing else. Miraculously, Colton still had his weapon; somehow he’d managed to hold onto it during his fall and subsequent abandonment. Three guns, for the size of their group, and the certain hostile territory they would soon enter, wasn’t enough.

While searching behind the counter, Colton mentally replayed Omar’s succinct retelling of what had happened on the roofs at the townhouse community. Sickness once again engulfed Colton, as it had done with the first telling. Had Colton been part of that escape, he would have suggested makeshift safety ropes for each person when crossing the homemade bridge. There was no guarantee Jacquie wouldn’t have slipped free and fallen to her death anyway—they could never know that for sure—but she at least might have had a chance. If the group hadn’t been in such a panic to leave so very quickly, if Colton could have calmed them down and gotten them to breathe, Shane might have reached this idea herself. Colton would never share this thought with the group; everyone already felt gutted by the loss of Jacquie, and Angel was like a shell of his former self. If for a second he believed one additional action on his part might have saved his sister... Colton didn’t want to think about how Angel might react to such information.

I have to find weapons. Colton redoubled his efforts. I need them if I’m going to help keep these people alive.

Suddenly, at his ear, a breathy feminine tidbit. Pretty sure my brother banged Bailey that day we spent at my house.

Colton jumped and then glared. Don’t say that to me. It’s not my business. And it’s not yours, either. Her close proximity made the back of his neck sweat. And don’t sneak up on people. You could have been shot.

She held up a finger, the pink enamel on the tip still immaculate. First, you’re too sharp to have accidentally shot me. Don’t act like you don’t know that, either. And second, her grin was pure firelight, everything is my business.

Biting back a scathing commentary, Colton got back to his search. You sure seem to think so, he muttered, in spite of himself, not sure whether to be enthralled or horrified by the mountain of gossip this girl must have had filed away in her head during her high school years.

Absolutely. Somehow, while the rest of them were sweating into oblivion, Dorinda glowed with vivacity. Against everything in him, she held him captive in his peripheral vision. And proud of it. How else are you going to be in the know?

When he didn’t immediately respond, she touched his arm to get his attention. As if he ever didn’t always sense exactly where she was. Had been like that from the moment she’d smack-talked him for the first time at the camp.

Still, she waited, arms crossed and hip pressed against the counter, until he looked directly at her. Her smile remained a mile wide and full of mirth. Did you notice him holding her hand when we turned around?

He snorted. I did not.

She snarked right back, Of course you did. She looked him up and down, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. You just don’t want to admit it. Being all tough and all, the way you like to sell.

Colton looked away and pulled open a long, narrow drawer, but he felt claustrophobic, even though two giant picture windows fifteen feet away bathed sunlight into the space. How did she know I noticed? Colton had observed and logged the budding couple in his mind as a potential future liability for the group, while Dorinda wanted it to be a topic of hot gossip.

More pearls of perspiration beaded Colton’s neck, and he tore his attention away from her. Would you like to go look for guns or ammo or anything that might help us? he instructed, he hoped helpfully.

Instead, she eased down the counter length with him. No. I’d like to stay here and talk with you.

Jesus. Executing a military turn to face her, he tunneled his fingers into his sweaty hair, shoving the stuff off his face. Go look for weapons in the back. There has to be a desk or some cabinets or something that might have a gun in it. Check everywhere.

Her chin tilted at