Landfall: Islands in the Aftermath (The Pulse Series Book 4) by Scott B. Williams Page A

upon first introduction, but she could tell he had an obnoxious side too. Maybe it was just that he’d been alone here for so long and was so starved for conversation that he wouldn’t stop talking once he started, but it seemed to be more than that. Maybe it was the way his eyes locked on hers for a long, intense moment and then quickly took in the rest of her body, whether he was conscious of it or not. Jessica was used to men looking at her that way, it was just a fact of life for her because so many of them found her attractive. She saw Russell checking out Tara and Casey too, but he had been alone for a long time so it was understandable that he must have dreamed about girls the way any normal young man would. But even as he looked at them and wolfed down the oatmeal Casey gave him, he talked and talked and talked, rambling on about every detail of his ordeal there and asking endless questions about their boats and where they’d come from and what they knew of the situation.
    “That’s sick, man! You mean it’s really that bad way up in New Orleans? And all the way down to St. Thomas? Shit, man, I was hoping it was just a small area, like maybe the Bahamas and south Florida? Do you really think it was just a solar flare? I know that’s what everybody’s been saying, but the more I hear about it, the more I think it wasn’t. And then what you said about those ships. I’ve been suspicious that’s it’s something our own government did. Maybe they’ve been planning it all along. Break everybody down with this and then set up the new system they’ve been preparing for.”
    Larry waved this off and tried to change the subject, but Russell was persistent.
    “Look, man. They can totally do something like that! I’ve read a lot about it! They may even have some kind of weapon in orbit we don’t know about. Some way to send an EMP pulse that could wipe everything out and make it look like a natural event. Natural solar flares aren’t strong enough to do the damage that’s been done. Not to kill all the cars and everything! After what you’ve told me about the ships being there, I’ll bet that’s what it was! They waited until a real solar flare happened before they pulled the trigger, so they could blame it on a natural event, then they did it. Just like that! Then they just sat back and waited long enough for things to break down so they could come in and mop up. Finish the job and establish their New World Order! I’ve been thinking about it a lot while I’ve been here. I already had it figured out, and now with what you’ve told me, I know I’m right! It all makes sense. That’s why I wouldn’t go back to the U.S. now for anything! Anyone who doesn’t go along with the program is going to be slaughtered.”
    “That’s crazy,” Grant said. “There’s no way the government would do something like that, even if they could. People are dying by the thousands, maybe tens or hundreds of thousands, because of this.”
    “Don’t put it past them!” Russell said. “That kind of thing has happened before.”
    Jessica didn’t say anything, but she thought it was crazy too. Russell had been stranded here alone for too long. Maybe all the sun and solitude had made him crazy. Maybe he was already crazy before any of this happened? He seemed obsessed with his idea though, and looking at him, she figured he’d probably done a lot of drugs in his day and would now if he had them. Just as she was thinking that, he finished his breakfast and immediately turned to Larry with another request.
    “Hey man, you haven’t got a joint you could spare have you? I haven’t had any smoke in over a month! It’s crazy! But I know you’ve got weed on the boat.”
    “Nope!” Larry said. “No weed on board. I’ve never allowed it on any boat I sail. I’m a professional skipper and can’t risk it. I might burn one now and then ashore with my Rasta buddy, Scully, but we don’t bring it on the boat.”
    “Man,