Showing results by author "N.C. Reed" in All Categories

Doom. Devastation. Death. Destruction. It seems that no matter what direction he looks, Clay Sanders can see little else. He has tried to maintain at least a small oasis of safety for the people closest to him, but that bubble is constantly threatened by those who want it for themselves, or else want to deny it to Clay and his family and friends, even though it belongs to them.

“No plan survives contact with the enemy.” An age-old idiom that Clay Sanders knows very well. In this case however, it's surviving contact with the people who are supposed to be on his side. Plus, the "Citizen's Committee" is still out there somewhere, there's a nutty "Reverend" working the airwaves into a frenzy, there are disgruntled members of the community sowing discord and strife, apparent rogue nomadic elements of some kind, cannibals still active in their area, and more....

Captain Meredith Simmons and her pilot husband Lincoln were formerly officers for the Commonwealth, but each of them have now traded their commissions for civilian life and now make a living running cargo on their space freighter Celia. Everything is business as usual until a customer makes the unusual request for the Celia to take a young girl home with them as a passenger back to her people on the outer rim. As time passes, the crew begins to notice that there is more than meets the eye to their young passenger.

Clayton Sanders left home the minute he had his high school diploma in hand. He waited that long only because the Army wouldn't accept him without one. Now, 10 years later, he's home. Home with no warning, no advance notice, no anything after being gone 10 years with almost no contact with his family. Home carrying a secret that is burning him up from the inside. A secret that has pushed him to the brink, forcing him to become a criminal in order to be where his family needs him to be, even though they don't realize it yet. Because Clayton knows something they don't.

A group of people evacuating ahead of civil unrest amid a societal collapse find themselves lost, alone, and on the run, deep in the woods of rural West Tennessee. With snow on the ground, no skills, and not much more than the clothes on their backs, the group is in dire straits and probably won't last the coming night. Until out of the falling snow, a lone figure approaches. Over the next few days their silent benefactor will keep them safe, fed, and warm while helping them acquire the know-how to care for themselves. The thing is, he's just a kid....

Helicopter landing at the farm after everything quit working? Check. Outrageous (sort of) demands being made by the regional military command? Check. Clayton Sanders drafter back into the Army? Che-, er what? (insert record skipping noise). Army Colonel Hal Woodson visits the farm and appeals to both Clayton and Greg Holloway to step up and help restore order to the region. Each has their own job to do and their own role to play. For Clay? Escort a convoy of relief supplies in the area.

The war between the Freeborn and Commonwealth may be over, but the veteran crew of the Celia has learned that old rivalries die hard, especially when the captain and crew chief, both former Commonwealth Military, learn that the notorious Freeborn assassin Stormcrow has been living on their ship. Apparently, time can heal old wounds, and now they have bigger problems. Not only is the ship's pilot in desperate need of medical attention, but they still have yet to solve the mystery of their young passenger whose mind kicks into autopilot during emergency situations.