Tears of Chaos
The Jared Chronicles - Book Two
Rick Tippins
Copyright ©2020 Rick Tippins
Published by: Doomsday Press, a division of Beyond The Fray, LLC
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 13: 978-1-953462-08-4
Doomsday Press, a division of Beyond The Fray, LLC, San Diego, CA
www.doomsdaybooks.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
About the Author
To Dennis -
A fine example of a man
Chapter 1
Jared stood in front of the small group who were eating breakfast, his chest heaving with emotion. All four heads turned and stared, but no one reacted. John was the first to speak.
“We need to give the man a proper burial before we do anything,” John somberly suggested.
Jared stood staring at the former Special Missions operator, his breathing beginning to slow as he realized John was right. There was no way, after all Bart had done for Jared, he could simply leave his body to rot on some mattress inside the house.
Shannon motioned to a full bowl of what appeared to be oatmeal. “Come, sit and eat something.”
Seven-year-old Essie gawked wide eyed at Jared as he relaxed his shoulders, allowing them to sag slightly as he stepped forward before sitting with the rest of the group. No one spoke as Jared took his spoon and began shoveling the warm oatmeal into his mouth. He ate with a different purpose than he had before the event that stripped the world of mostly everything run off electricity. He no longer chose a meal out of desire, cravings, curiosity or convenience. A meal was reduced to nothing more than refueling his chassis, like gassing up his car had been before the event. The faster he finished eating, the more time he would have to complete daily tasks needed for survival.
Jared had worked for one of the largest tech companies in Silicon Valley before a massive solar flare tore through the western hemisphere, destroying America’s electronic infrastructure. Jared was your typical hoodie-wearing twenty-eight-year-old computer engineer before the solar flare, but was unable to remain cast in that mold after the solar flare. In order to survive, he began to evolve into more of a survivor and less of a dependent with the help of Bart an older man, who now lay dead in the next room.
A short time after the world began its slide back towards 1800s living, Bart took Jared in, making sure the young computer engineer had the basic yet essential skills necessary to survive in the new world with all its hardships. Bart was much older than Jared; even so, the two formed an odd but special relationship. Now Bart was gone, and Jared knew he would have to manage on his own from this day forward.
Essie sat across from Jared, studying the man who rescued her after tragedy struck her family. Jared showed up at her house after her father was shot to death in the family’s living room and her mother had been dragged from their home to the house next door. One day earlier Jared had been in the neighborhood and noticed Essie’s family was living next to a house that had been taken over by a gang of criminals. After foraging for food the following day, he stopped by to leave food on the family’s back porch.
When he found the door kicked in, Jared investigated and found Essie hiding in a cabinet, with her father lying dead not even ten feet away. Something came over the young computer engineer in that house. What he did next was something he would never have thought he was capable of doing.
After that, Essie came with him, and he did his best to provide for the little orphan. Between Bart and him, they hadn’t done too bad, in Jared’s opinion. The girl was fed, clothed and even bathed whenever it was possible considering their lifestyle of constant tension and fear. Jared made sure Essie brushed her teeth and hair before and after bed each and every day.
Sitting next to Essie was Shannon, a woman who was a schoolteacher before the lights went out. She was a country girl at heart and preferred to live in the hills outside the San Jose area. Before the event, she would spend her winters commuting long hours to teach before transitioning into a much more relaxed summer routine. During her summer break, Shannon rarely left her home in the hills and spent most of her time reading on her front porch.
When the world began to come apart at the seams, she met Calvin, a neighbor in his seventies, who talked her out of going to town due to the dangers the lawless city posed. The two banded together, since they were alone at the time, and shortly thereafter, the two caught Bart and Jared coming up the road. After a short and nearly disastrous exchange, the four shook hands and formed a tribe, which included Essie.
Essie immediately took a liking to Shannon, who began caring for the little girl in ways Jared lacked. Shannon was not only a teacher; she had a nurturing side to her as well. This tender, loving side was exactly what Essie needed after what she had been through.
Then there was John,
