2020: Emergency Exit Read online

  EMERGENCY EXIT

  By Ever N. Hayes

  Praise for Emergency Exit

  “Every once in awhile a book comes along that catches you by surprise. You think you’ll like it then you love it… you think you’ll start reading it and then you can’t stop. In the last ten years I haven’t read a more intriguing, thought-provoking, hard to put down book. Can’t wait for the movie! (And the sequel!)” – Steve Wetzler (Twin Cities Magazine Owner/Publisher)

  “A perfect marriage between the Incredible Journey and the Hunger Games. If this book isn’t a movie in the next few years I’d be shocked. You’ll find yourself casting actors as you read, I promise!” – Brittney Castro (Restaurant Owner. St. Cloud, MN)

  “You can imagine everything in this book happening as it does. The pace just keeps on picking up. A gripping keep-you-guessing ride.” – Pete Boldingh (Pharmaceutical Manager. Rochester, MN)

  “My 13-year-old loved it as much as I did. As a school librarian I’m thrilled when I find easy to read, suspenseful, adventure stories like this. Definitely going on our “Hot List.” – Stefanie Ayers (Librarian. Madison, WI)

  “Publishers and agents should be fighting over who gets this script. Incredible ending. The worst part of the book was the last page. Only cause I wanted more!” – Kristie Schreck (Teacher. Sioux Falls, SD)

  EDITORIAL REVIEW

  “An Incredible Journey Remake With People” – Pure Wander Magazine

  General Fiction/Adventure: In a not-too-distant future, 7 powerful nations form an alliance against America & launch a chemical attack wiping out 90%+ of the North American population. Only the most remote areas had a chance at surviving and even then faced an enemy "clean up crew" sweeping the country.

  The story follows a family and friends in northern MN as they discover what has transpired. That group intercepts a coded message revealing the lone safe haven--in Hawaii. Their task--crossing a dark continent in the face of an army--is daunting, if not impossible, but they have no choice. "The only way to live is to leave."

  Cast is mixed--age, gender & race--"average American," if you will. Largely narrated by the father, Ryan (mid-30s). His son Danny (20) & daughter Hayley (18) are the main characters, combined with a love interest for Ryan and the conflicted antagonist Eddie. It takes a few chapters to set up then quickly moves forward from there. They encounter a mixed bag of friends and foes along the way, allowing for extra character drama, personal challenges and loss.

  It's hard to say if anything like this could ever occur, but it's as believable as being wiped out by an EMP, virus, or plague, and more conceivable than the popular dystopian tales out there. If you accept it for what it is, then this is an enjoyable ride with many twists and surprises. You may find yourself wanting more love story or more fighting, but there's no lack of action, suspense or intensity.

  *** - Pure Wander is a family magazine. Emergency Exit would be appropriate & enjoyed by our audience PG-13+ (Violence, Mild language, Adult content) - (4.5 out of 5)

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Emergency Exit

  Copyright © by Ever N. Hayes

  All rights reserved.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the author.

  Published as an e-Book in April 2014 by ENH.

  Published in Paperback in May 2014 by ENH & CreateSpace

  Word Count: 126,126

  CREDITS

  Cover Design by James T. Egan of Bookfly Design LLC

  Copyediting by Kira Rubenthaler of Bookfly Design LLC

  Copyediting by Eileen Cotter of Pure Wander (Boston)

  Note from the Author:

  Most of the credit for the existence of this book goes to my wife and son, without whose patience and support I’d never have even had the opportunity to write it. Additional gratitude to the friends & family who read it and provided critical and instrumental feedback: Stacy, Dylan, Steve, Mom, Cathy, Pete, Eileen and Hilary. Thanks as well to the editors of the magazines I’ve worked for the past seven years: Darin and Steve – for believing in me and allowing me to hone the craft of writing under your tutelage. And to the professional editors and copy editors who worked on this script over the past seven months to help perfect it. Thank you to my Dad, to God for the remarkable grace and countless blessings you’ve provided in this life, and to my four awesome kids for your daily inspiration. Finally… a special thank you to YOU for picking up this book and giving it a chance. I hope it is both enjoyable and surprising in equal parts.

  TABLE of CONTENTS

  Praise for Emergency Exit

  EDITORIAL REVIEW

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  CREDITS

  TABLE of CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  ONE: (Danny) “No Answer”

  TWO: (Ryan) “Over and Over”

  THREE: “Last Supper”

  FOUR: “The Kids”

  FIVE: “How It Went Down”

  SIX: “America’s Response”

  SEVEN: “The Third Wave”

  EIGHT: “Captain Eddie”

  NINE: (Ryan) “On The Road Again”

  TEN: “Hitting the Fan”

  ELEVEN: “Go Wes”

  TWELVE: (Ryan) “Off the Mark”

  THIRTEEN: “On The Same Side”

  FOURTEEN: “Burn It Down”

  FIFTEEN: “Blowing Smoke”

  SIXTEEN: “Take It and Leave It”

  SEVENTEEN: “Bully Pulpit”

  EIGHTEEN: (Eddie) “Catching Up”

  NINETEEN: (Ryan) “Like Minds”

  TWENTY: “Check”

  TWENTY-ONE: “And We Were”

  TWENTY-TWO: “What the Truck?”

  TWENTY-THREE: “False Alarm”

  TWENTY-FOUR: (Eddie) “Too Close For Comfort”

  TWENTY-FIVE: (Ryan) “Nine Lives”

  TWENTY-SIX: (Eddie) “Hiding in Plain Sight”

  TWENTY-SEVEN: (Ryan) “Death is Taxing”

  TWENTY-EIGHT: “Coin Toss”

  TWENY-NINE: “Mount NoMore”

  THIRTY: (Eddie) “Cave Men”

  THIRTY-ONE: (Ryan) “Hot Pursuit”

  THIRTY-TWO: (Eddie) “Divine Intervention”

  THIRTY-THREE: (Ryan) “Battle of Cheyenne”

  THIRTY-FOUR: (Ryan) “Great Wall of Colorado”

  THIRTY-FIVE: “What We Did”

  THIRTY-SIX: “Karma”

  THIRTY-SEVEN: “Tragic Luck”

  THIRTY-EIGHT: “Goodbye Father, Farewell Friend”

  PART II

  PHOTO: HORSESHOE PARK

  THIRTY-NINE: (Ryan) “Day Before Thanksgiving”

  FORTY: “The Visitor”

  FORTY-ONE: “The New America”

  FORTY-TWO: “Where’s Eddie?”

  FORTY-THREE: (Ryan) “Thanksgiving Day”

  FORTY-FOUR: “Chills and Thrills”

  FORTY-FIVE: “Black Friday”

  FORTY-SIX: “Abbey Or Not Abbey”

  FORTY-SEVEN: “Paper Cuts”

  FORTY-EIGHT: “Zero Dark Forty”

  FORTY-NINE: “Vail, Colorado”

  FIFTY: “Not Adding Up”

  FIFTY-ONE: (Eddie) “Qi Jia Command Center”

  FIFTY-TWO: (Ryan) “Call of Duty”

  FIFTY-THREE: (Eddie) “Caught in the Storm”

  FIFTY-FOUR: “Guard Down”

  FIFTY-FIVE: “Leverage”

  FIFTY-SIX: “Underfoot”
<
br />   FIFTY-SEVEN: “Hunting Lions Don’t Roar”

  FIFTY-EIGHT: “Fast Food”

  FIFTY-NINE: “Too Many Questions”

  SIXTY: “Blake and Kaci”

  SIXTY-ONE: “Man Down”

  SIXTY-TWO: “Calm Down”

  SIXTY-THREE: “The Cold Hard Truth”

  SIXTY-FOUR: “Never Safe”

  SIXTY-FIVE: (Ryan) “Bitter Cold”

  PART III

  SIXTY-SIX: (Ryan) “Spring Forward”

  SIXTY-SEVEN: (Eddie) “Camp Buena Vista”

  SIXTY-EIGHT: (Ryan) “Trail Ridge Road”

  SIXTY-NINE: “The Passenger”

  SEVENTY: “Elevator Music”

  SEVENTY-ONE: “Shortcut”

  SEVENTY-TWO: (Eddie) “Sit. Stay.”

  SEVENTY-THREE: “Learning From Experience”

  SEVENTY-FOUR: (Ryan) “End of the Road”

  SEVENTY-FIVE: “General Direction”

  SEVENTY-SIX: “Run. Stop. Run.”

  SEVENTY-SEVEN: (Eddie) “The Bitter Truth”

  SEVENTY-EIGHT: “The Package”

  SEVENTY-NINE: “Answers”

  EIGHTY: (Ryan) “Decoy”

  EIGHTY-ONE: “Dog Gone”

  EIGHTY-TWO: “In Flight”

  EIGHTY-THREE: “Mayday”

  EIGHTY-FOUR: “Almost”

  EIGHTY-FIVE: “Fox and the Hound”

  EPILOGUE

  ABOUT the AUTHOR

  ABOUT the 2020 SERIES

  “DREAM” CAST

  PROLOGUE

  EMERGENCY EXIT

  There are some things I’ll never forget…

  My son’s first word. Mama.

  Any of Michael Jordan’s signature moments. Watched every game.

  The face of the girl I almost had an affair with. Never did get her name.

  My last day as an American. Kind of.

  And the text message that killed my wife. “I think I’m lo…”

  That’s all it said.

  It was cliché. The guy was drunk. The guy was lost. He was texting and driving in the pouring rain, one block from our southern Minnesota home. I think I’m lost.

  The difference between life and death was four stupid words.

  He was in the wrong lane. Supposedly he never even saw her. It doesn’t really matter. Sophie didn’t have a chance.

  She had a seatbelt on. He didn’t. She died. He barely got a scratch on him.

  He basically got away with murder. What’s five years?

  My wife got “Amazing Grace.”

  There are a few things I wish I could change…

  My daughter’s first word. iPad.

  My college major. Journalism.

  Being the man I thought I was. When clearly I wasn’t.

  My last day as an American. Gonna have to explain that, I know.

  And my wife’s last words. “Tell him I love him.”

  She wasn’t talking about me. She was talking about our son, Danny. She should have been able to tell him herself. I messed that up.

  Sophie lost her life four years ago. If she hadn’t, we’d both be dead now.

  “Those who try to juggle wisdom, power and greed,

  drop one of the balls, every time.”

  – Greg Hamerton

  ONE: (Danny) “No Answer”

  Friday, November 11, 2016.

  Southern Minnesota.

  Danny’s pocket started buzzing again. What could possibly be so important? He shifted so he could pull his phone out and looked at the caller ID. “Loser,” it read. Again? Danny tossed it on the end table. It continued to vibrate, but he ignored it.

  “Who is it?” Kate asked from the basement mini-bar, where she was grabbing them each a soda.

  “Dad,” Danny answered. “Again!” he added in disgust. Leave a message already!

  Lightning flashed in the window. Steady rain poured down outside.

  “That’s odd,” his girlfriend replied, handing him a Dew. Danny thought so too. Since his dad had come back home five months ago, he hadn’t called Danny once. “So he’s the one who keeps calling?” Kate asked, sitting down on the couch next to him.

  Danny nodded, glancing at his watch and running his other hand through his shoulder-length blond hair.

  He picked the football up from his lap and tossed it in the air a few times. A roll of thunder shook the walls. Man! Glad we’re not out there. Last week’s loss in the state playoffs had a perk after all.

  Kate pressed Danny a little more. “Any idea why he’s calling?”

  Danny looked at her and shook his head. Where was she going with this?

  “When did you talk to him last?” she asked. He was watching football highlights. Never the best time for a conversation.

  “I talk to him every day,” he answered curtly.

  “Sorry. Danny, please. Hey.” She placed a soft, cold hand on his forearm. “Don’t get defensive with me, okay? You know what I mean.” His posture relaxed a little and he nodded. “I’m not talking about you saying a hurried ‘bye’ as you run out the door. When did you last have an actual conversation with him?”

  He shrugged, expressionless. “A few months ago, I guess.” Seriously, why was this so important to her?

  “I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on,” she said, leaning back with a deep sigh.

  More lightning lit up the room, and the rain was coming down harder.

  Danny cringed, reacting to a bone-jarring tackle on the screen. Ouch! He looked at Kate. She was still looking at him, as if waiting for a further explanation. What the heck am I supposed to say? “There’s nothing to figure out Kate. I don’t want to talk to him. That’s all.” Rain was pelting the side of the house now. A commercial came on, and he redirected his attention towards the water-streaked window. This will be fun biking home in!

  She couldn’t let it go, even though it was clear he was getting upset. “Aren’t you at least curious why he’s calling? He never calls you.”

  He noted the heavy accent on the “never,” but didn’t say anything. She was right. Dad NEVER calls me.

  “Danny, come on. Maybe he’s trying…”

  “Maybe he is, Kate. I don’t care!” Placing his can on the table just a little too hard, he saw her wince. “Trying isn’t good enough!” he snapped, instantly regretting his terse reply. He knew she was just trying to help. “Sorry... Kate, I’m sorry.” He covered her hand with his own and tried to smile. “Seriously, do we have to talk about this now? I don’t want to talk about Dad.” More thunder. “Okay?”

  But she wasn’t nearly done. “Can you at least tell me what you want from him?” she asked point blank. “Honestly. Your mom told you how great he’s been to her. Right? It’s been a long time since he left, Dan. He’s been back a long time. He’s−”

  “Not nearly long enough,” Danny muttered, cutting her off. I don’t want to fight about this. He stood up and walked to the window to watch the rain. Who cares that he came back? The point was he’d left. He gave up on us.

  Kate held her hands up in apparent submission. “Fine. I just think you’re being a little unfair.”

  That was too much. “Unfair?” he asked, spinning in disbelief to face her. Seriously? “Kate, you have no−”

  “Danny, I’m not judging you,” she replied, hands up again, apologetically trying to settle him back down. She stood and moved over to him, stopping him before he could say anything else. “I get that he hurt you. I get that he messed up in a big way.” She placed her palms on his chest and paused as another bolt cut across the sky. His heart’s tempo accelerated beneath her hand. “But do you know what I would give to have one more minute, much less one more day or one more chance at a life with my dad?” She looked up at him for understanding and saw what she was saying register in his eyes. He understood.

  She diffused his anger with that response. Anything he said now about his own problems would be incredibly insensitive to her. Maybe she was right.

  He w
as about to say as much when Kate’s phone started buzzing on the table. She looked at the flashing screen. “Great. Danny, he’s calling me now.”

  Okay, this definitely wasn’t normal.

  “Do I answer?” she asked, picking up the phone.

  He thought about saying, “Go ahead,” but his stubbornness won over. “No.” He took the phone from her and shut it off. Doesn’t he get the picture? He picked his phone up from the table and switched it off too. He’s probably just worried about the weather. Danny sat back down on the couch. I can take care of myself.

  Kate returned to the window, tying back her long brown hair. He could see her watching him through the reflection in the window. She wasn’t much for arguing unless she was convinced she was right. She’d made her point. “I’ll talk to him when I get home, okay?” he asked, trying to put the topic to rest. She nodded and came back over to the couch. “I’m sorry,” he added.

  “It’s okay.” She sat down next to him. “I get it.”

  Somehow she always did.

  Kate’s mom opened the basement door about an hour later and called down, “I’m going to bed now guys. Kate, you need to come upstairs. Danny, would you like me to drive you home?”

  “No thanks Jackie,” he replied, looking at his watch. 10:18. “I’m good with the bike.”

  “Okay,” she answered. “Just sit out the storm awhile, all right?”

  “I will,” he paused. “Thanks Jackie.”

  Danny and his best friend Cameron came over to Kate’s house almost every weekend to watch sports and play pool. Cameron’s girlfriend Jenna was Kate’s best friend, and the four of them formed a tight little circle. They had no interest in the typical high school social scene. Hanging out by the fireplace and the TV, laughing and talking, that was their kind of party.

  Kate was an only child. Her dad had died of a heart attack three years ago, her first week of eighth grade. Her mom had basically taken on both parental roles since then, especially when it came to rules. Mrs. Becker—or Jackie, as she now preferred to be called—was pretty strict. Kate wasn’t officially allowed to date, and she was never allowed outside the house after 10 p.m. She always had to go to her own room when her mom went to bed, if Jenna wasn’t there. Tonight, Cam and Jenna were at a late movie, which meant an early split for Danny and Kate. But Danny didn’t object. He was grateful enough that Jackie, without prying, seemed to understand the dynamics at home right now and let him stay as late as he wanted.