American Apocalypse Wastelands Read Online Free PDF

going to be another hot, muggy summer. Max had a shotgun and his .45 while Jake and I just wore our gun belts. I was wearing a daypack with our lunches, a medic kit, and water inside.
    We went down the path, single file, not talking. Max went through a couple of hand signs that we would use. They were basic stuff like STOP! and DOWN! and I SEE THE ENEMY! Jake loved it.
    It was closing on midday when I took point from Jake. I kept us going for about twenty minutes, and then I flashed STOP! and went forward about fifteen feet. Here I shrugged off my daypack and tossed it underhand into a bush about five feet from me.
    I stood there for a few beats and enjoyed having the weight gone. I wiggled my shoulders to loosen them up and stared at Jake, who was behind me. I started walking toward him. As I did, Max quietly slid to the side and off the trail.
    â€œWhat’s up, Gardener?”
    I told him, “It’s time for you to go.”
    He laughed. “Me? Why?”
    â€œYou think I was going to let you live after you touched Night?”

    He started laughing. “Shit, Gardener, she ain’t nothing. She’s just a throwaway piece of Asian ass. We’re better than—”
    I drew. He drew.
    My first round hit him in the chest and staggered him. He looked stunned, probably because he hadn’t even cleared his holster. Time this, prick , I thought, and shot him again.
    He went down to his knees. Then he went face-first into the hard-packed clay of the trail. I walked over to him. He was going, if not gone.
    Â 
    Max joined me, looked down at Jake, shook his head, and asked, “You hungry?”
    â€œYeah. Let’s eat.”
    We found a downed tree off the trail to sit on after I retrieved my pack. Jake’s body was cooling where he had fallen.
    Max indicated the body. “We’re going to have to do something about that.”
    â€œYeah, I know, Max.” I was looking inside the pack. I was hungry and curious what Night had packed us for lunch. “Alright!”
    Max looked at me curiously.
    â€œShe packed the last of the Twinkies!”
    â€œThat’s love, Gardener. I would have eaten them and left you with something healthy like a can of tuna fish instead.”
    I tossed him one. “She packed enough for two.”
    â€œNice. Very nice.”
    We also had Tupperware containers with rice and beans, plus an apple for each of us.

    â€œHey, Max. Did you know what was going to happen here with me and the asshole?”
    â€œNo. I knew something wasn’t right. Hell, I probably would have ended up getting around to it myself eventually.”
    â€œHmm … you say anything to Night before we left?”
    â€œWhy do you ask?”
    â€œShe only packed two lunches.”
    He laughed and laughed. Max wasn’t the kind of guy who spent a lot of time laughing. He was still chuckling as we stood over the body. We always looted our kills. It kept our cash flow positive a lot of the time.
    I found a set of keys and held them up to look closer at them. Puzzled, I said, “He brought his car keys?”
    â€œHabit. A lot of people are still running on old habits. That’s what keeps getting them killed.”
    That made sense to me. I dug Jake’s wallet out and did a quick check for cash. He had $549 in new dollars. Handy for the few places left that took it. Cash was on its way out. The new national ID was going to be upgraded to a debit card, and eventually it would tie into all your accounts. Max had pointed out the obvious to me: “Real-time spending data is also real-time GPS until they figure out how to tag all of us.”
    â€œYou want his weapon, Max?”
    â€œYou don’t want it?” Weapons and anything else always went to the winner of the encounter.
    â€œNo. Let someone else get lucky.”
    I grabbed his arms and Max took his feet. On a count of three, we tossed him into the bushes and vines that lined the