Warfare Season: An Apocalyptic Thriller by Blaze Eastwood Page A

have been surprised
either way.
    An
aroma of smoke began to fill Austin's house, even though all the
windows were shut. After stepping back outside, he could see a house
across the street that was engulfed in flames. The neighborhood
residents were gathered around the firetruck that was parked in the
middle of the street.
    “ Do
you know how it started?” Austin asked.
    “ They're
saying it's the owner's fault,” Eddie answered in disbelief.
“But I saw some kids messing around out there about half an
hour ago. I think it's arson. One of those Molotov cocktails.”
    “ And
it never occurred to you to call the police or something when you saw
a group of strangers trespassing onto their property?”
    “ Well.
. .” Eddie trailed off. “I wasn't sure if. . .” He
trailed off again.
    Another
fire truck came rushing through the nearby intersection.
    “ Looks
like there's more than one fire,” Austin commented.
    There
were sirens in all directions, accompanied by more loud thunderous
booming noises.
    “ Are
those fireworks or gunshots?” Austin asked.
    “ They
sound like gunshots to me. But this is the city. What do you want?”
    “ I'd
move to a better area if I could afford it,” Austin said. “But
this is crazier than usual.”
    “ Nah,”
Eddie dismissed.
    Austin
heard a glass bottle shattering behind his house. He left the crowd
of neighborhood residents to go investigate. He hurriedly but
cautiously walked through his backyard and into the alley. The alley
and garage were empty, but his roof had caught fire. A Molotov
cocktail had been thrown onto his garage roof. He ran for the hose
and put out the fire before it was able to do any serious damage.
    He
could overhear a conversation between three people outside about some
kind of widespread terrorist attack that was taking place. They had
gathered the information by listening to the radio news in their car.
    Austin
didn't need the news to tell him what was happening. The fact that
more and more houses and business structures were going up in flames
throughout the city startled him, but it did not entirely surprise
him. He had heard about stuff like this before, but it was always
surprising when it happened right there in person.
    Sirens
continued to roar throughout the streets. The smoke in the air was
now thick enough to irritate Austin's eyes. He went back inside. The
smell of smoke was still prevalent but less intense than outside. He
watched it fill the streets, like a heavy fog.
    Screams
began to fill the air, as the residents were attacked. The
firefighters were also getting attacked, many of them evacuating the
scenes for their lives.
    Austin
watched a firefighter get dragged out of his truck, before the horde
of terrorists stomped on him and crushed his skull into the street
pavement.
    Phones
began to flood the police station with calls, but law enforcement was
unable to place the lid back on the mass hysteria. Police officers
were getting shot at by the terrorists. Other police officers were on
the same side as the terrorists.
    They
were ready to shift gears and call out the national guard.
    Some
people were dragged out of their houses, kicking and screaming.
Others were murdered on site, after their houses were broken into.
    Due
to the strict gun laws, Austin was armed only with a baseball bat.
Some of the nearby residents who owned guns illegally, used them
after some brief hesitation. But since they owned them illegally,
sufficient quantities of ammo was difficult to get a hold of. They
emptied the few clips that they had on the terrorists, before running
out of ammo and getting killed.
    Other
helpless residents sat inside terrified, desperately waiting for the
news to come back on and tell them what to do.
    Austin
wasn't entirely sure of what to do. But he knew better than to
helplessly wait for the news to tell him what to do. Before he could
finish his next thought, he saw a trio of terrorists entering his
backyard. They were heading down the