Read Online AFTER THE DUST SETTLED (Countdown to Armageddon Book 2) by Darrell Maloney - Free Book Online

which hauled the 53-foot trailer from one Walmart to another was equipped with twin hundred gallon saddle tanks, one tucked beneath the running board on each side of the cab. It appeared the truck driver topped off his tanks in the city of Junction, on Interstate 10, about twelve miles away.
         That was good news for Tom, because they were both almost full. And two hundred gallons of diesel fuel would power his generator for a very long time.
         His Ford was another matter entirely. It needed gasoline. But it was surprisingly good on gas, and he never took it anywhere except to and from the truck. So the gas in his tank would last him awhile. When he did run low, there were several stalled vehicles on the same highway as the Walmart truck he could siphon some from.
         He knew he’d feel a little bit guilty about doing that, when and if the time came. It would almost be like he was stealing it. But then again, chances were that none of the vehicles would ever be used again. And if he didn’t make use of the gas, it would just go to waste.
         So he didn’t figure the little bit of guilt he’d feel for taking the gas would prevent him from doing it.
         He took the three gallon diesel can out of the front seat and used a section of garden hose to siphon enough fuel from the truck’s driver’s side tank to fill it.
         It was a slow process, transferring the diesel fuel from the truck to his drums, using a three gallon can. But it was the only can he had, and he fully expected to make at least forty trips to the trailer to get everything he could use from it. He never realized how much merchandize a full sized trailer could hold until he started sorting through it all.
         So if he didn’t get all of the diesel, three gallons at a time, he’d darn sure get most of it.
         He put the full can in the front floorboard and headed back home. Six miles up the highway, he turned onto the nondescript county road that fronted his house, and then Scott’s house a little farther on.
         It was getting late in the day as he made his turn, and the sun was low enough in the sky to make it hard for Tom to see in front of him.
         Had that not been the case, he’d have seen the two men who were two hundred yards farther up the highway from where he turned off of it. They were walking toward him with the sun at their backs.
         And although Tom never saw them, they certainly saw him.
     
     
     
     
     
    -13-
     
         It was an absolutely beautiful day. And for a change, the group was more or less caught up on their chores. The corn was growing quite nicely in the north field, the animals were all happy and getting fat. Duchess was ready to give birth any day, and they still hadn’t had any trouble with marauders.
         It was too gorgeous a day to let go to waste, so Scott announced that he and the boys were going fishing.
         “Oh really,” Joyce said. “Just like that?”
         “Yep. Just like that.”
         “And what if Linda and I want to take a day off and go fishing?”
         “Then you can come along. Sara can watch the monitors and call if she sees something out of the ordinary.”
         “Oh, yeah? Well, what if she wants to go too?”
         “She doesn’t. We already invited her. She said she hates fishing.”
         Then Linda started in.
         “Wait a minute. You invited Sara but you didn’t invite us?”
         “I thought it would give her and I a chance to bond a little. You two have bonded with her, but I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had a chance to.”
         But Joyce wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily.
         “So you figured you guys would just go relax by the side of the lake, and then bring back a big bucket of smelly, slimy fish that Linda and I would have to clean and cook for you. Is that it?”
         Scott gave up. He rolled his eyes and said to