Read Online The City Burns: A Prepper's Struggle for The Truth by BJ Knights - Free Book Online Page A

percent. Brett shook his head. “It’s no use, Twink,” he said. “We’ve got to go.” “I think I’ve almost got it,” he responded. The bar moved up to ninety-five percent. “Go,” Twink said.
     
    “Yeah, like I’d ever let you tell me what to do,” Brett said. The bar crawled up to ninety-six percent. “My mother always said it would be my stubborn pride that’d kill me.” The encryption code was almost cracked as the second to last number fell into place. “God, I always hated that woman,” he said.
     
    Twink worked through the lines of code on the laptop and flashed a smile. “Well, I hate to prove your mother wrong,” he said as he hit the enter button. “It looks like that stubborn pride won’t kill you today.” As the last number fell into place, the loading bar stopped frozen at ninety-eight percent.
     
    The two jeeps raced towards the highway as the ashes of Phoenix smoldered in the distance. Jim pulled out his pistol and aimed for the tires. He fired two shots and blew out the left rear one. The jeep swerved as Matt tried to keep it under control. Matt pulled out his gun and fired back at him. A few bullets went through the windshield shattering portions of the glass. Another bullet ricocheted off the hood as Jim ducked behind the console. He came back up and aimed the pistol at the other rear tire and fired. It blew out and the jeep swerved in a circle as Matt was unable to keep control of the wheel.
     
    Dust and sand settled around the jeep as Jim pulled right up to the side of the jeep before slamming on the breaks. He squinted through the dust, but couldn’t see the girls.
    “Sammy! Annie!” he screamed. He got to the jeep, and when he looked inside it Samantha was unconscious and bleeding from the forehead. She stirred a bit when he said her name and her eyes opened. “Jim?” she mumbled.
     
    Matt’s silhouette appeared in the dust behind Jim. “Get away from my wife, Jim,” Matt said. Jim slowly turned around to see Matt with his arm around Annie covering her mouth and shielding the front of his body. Jim stepped out of the jeep with his hands in the air.
     
    “Don’t do this, Matt. Whatever it is you got yourself into I can help get you out,” Jim pleaded.
    “I don’t need your help. We don’t need your fucking help!” Matt screamed. Annie’s eyes were red with tears as her muffled cries came through her father’s hands.
    “Let her go,” Jim said.
     
    Samantha watched in horror as her husband held her daughter’s mouth shut and pointed a gun at her brother. She tried to get up, but kept falling back down into her seat. Matt looked at him and started to laugh. “You think I’m going to hurt my family, Jim?” he asked. The words of a mad man were coming out of him. “No,” he said shaking his head. “The only person I’m going to hurt is you.”
     
    Matt’s finger moved to the trigger, when suddenly Tigs leapt from under the jeep, landing on Matt’s leg. She dug her claws into Matt’s leg, clinging on as he shook her. Annie fell to the ground as, and in response, Matt fired his pistol into the side of the jeep, narrowly missing Jim.
     
    Jim sprinted towards Matt and sent him flying into the sand. The two men wrestled as Matt clawed for the pistol just beyond his reach. Jim had him in a head lock, but Matt flew his head back and knocked Jim’s jaw causing him to lose his grip.  Matt scrambled for the gun and grabbed it. As he whipped himself around, Jim grabbed Matt’s arm with the pistol in it and slammed it to the ground. They both rolled over on top of each other again and again trying to use the moment they’d gain to pin the other man down.
     
    They finally came to a halt on their sides. Both men had their hands wrapped around the pistol attempting to point it at the other man. The barrel of the gun tilted back and forth slightly between Jim and Matt.
     
    “Matt,” Jim pleaded, “don’t do this.” His teeth were gritted as the gun