An Apocalypse Family (Book 1): Family Reunion by P. Mark DeBryan Page A

kickin’-n-screamin’. Her strawberry blond hair had some gray to it, but she’d taken to dying that out years ago. She rode her horses, tended to her livestock, and was about as real a cowgirl as you would ever meet. She could sing like an angel and drink you under the table if she’d a mind to.
    She’d lived a good part of her life as a singer in multiple country western bands after migrating to Texas in her twenties. Maddie was also a nurse anesthetist by trade and had the funds to support the lifestyle she’d become accustomed to. She had a son, Branson, from her first marriage; he was on his own, living life as a twenty-eight-year-old.
    Maddie had met and married Harry a few years ago; robbing the cradle, so to speak, as he was forty-nine now, and barely able to keep up with her. That’s not to say he wasn’t in good shape. He weighed 175 pounds, but at 5´9˝, he was solid and strong. He had blue eyes and blond hair and the women said he was cute, in a manly way. Harry owned a towing company and specialized in towing big rigs and unusually large vehicles. He was constantly teased because his last name was Towes—no kidding, Harry Towes. He’d become quite the fighter in grade school, where the other kids teased him about his hairy toes. Even after he was much older, he’d been in a few scraps over his name. Eventually he got past it and used it to promote his business.
    Harry mostly just nodded, throwing out an, “uh-huh,” and a “you bet, sweetie” every once in a while, while Maddie held up the conversation.
    She was a prepper. That is to say, she was sure the government was heading to hell in a hand basket, and she would be ready when it happened. She and Ryan had kept in touch over the years, both leery of the direction the country was headed. Where Ryan was somewhat prepared for the collapse of society, Maddie was fucking A prepared. Perhaps even a little bit anxious to try out all of her goodies. She wasn’t paranoid, just prepper-anoid. She would tell you this and then laugh with such gusto that you had to laugh with her.
    She’d given thought to calling off the trip when the flu started in South Africa, but Ryan had given her a hard time. He joked with her that if the shit did hit the fan while they were at the reunion, he would need her help protecting all the helpless liberals. She laughed and told him she would see.
    Once she’d decided to go, they made the decision to drive because Harry didn’t like to fly. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t, just that he didn’t like to. They were due for some time off anyhow, and Harry’s kids wanted him to get away from the shop for a while.
    Maddie looked around at RVs and thought about buying a camper to tow behind one of their trucks. She changed her mind when a wealthy client, who was also a good friend, asked Harry if he wanted to borrow his Marathon motor coach . Harry didn’t explain to Maddie that they were going to Oregon, drop it off, and pick up a new one his client had ordered.
    Maddie literally did a little dance when she saw the coach for the first time.
    “DAMN Harry, this thing is a mansion on wheels!” she said, feeling the custom wood finish inside the door. “This is too nice; we can’t borrow this.”
    Harry smiled. “Uh-huh, you bet we can, sweetie.” And that was that.
    She spent the next day and a half loading the considerable storage areas with all the things a prepper considered nice to have in case of TEOTWAWKI. She was looking forward to the trip north, which would take them through some of the most beautiful country in the world.
     
    *****
     

Carla
9:00 a.m.
San Diego International Airport
One Day before Outbreak
     
    Carla Wilford sat in the Range Rover in the cell phone lot. She marveled at how excited she still got picking up Jake from his frequent business trips, even after twenty-eight years of marriage. He worked for a marketing firm that handled all of the mailers and telemarketing for one of the big three