The Invasion Trilogy WJ LUNDY Contents The Invasion Trilogy The Darkness Chicago Suburbs Day of the Darkness 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 The Shadows Global Joint Base Meaford 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 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 The Light Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Chapter 70 Chapter 71 Chapter 72 Chapter 73 Chapter 74 Chapter 75 Chapter 76 Chapter 77 Chapter 78 Chapter 79 Chapter 80 Chapter 81 Chapter 82 Chapter 83 Epilogue Thank You For Reading OTHER BOOKS FROM UNDER THE SHIELD OF FIVE ROADS TO TEXAS After the Roads For Which We Stand Convergence Showdown at Chimney Rock Labyrinth Royale DEAD ISLAND: Operation Zulu Invasion Of The Dead Series THIS BOOK WAS FORMATTED BY The Invasion Trilogy W. J. Lundy Phalanx Press V1.62416 This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental. All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. © 2016 W.J Lundy The Darkness BOOK I Chicago Suburbs Day of the Darkness, Plus 5 The city was a ghost town. Jacob’s co-workers jokingly called it a FEMA holiday, like a snow day in the summertime. Office buildings closed, the government declaring a national shutdown with only essential employees required to report. It was rumored that police officers and even medical professionals were starting to walk off the job, refusing to report for duty. Jacob willingly agreed to working from home until the crisis passed, happy to avoid the traffic for a few days. A long break from the out-of-town travel would be nice, and he could spend some much-needed family time with his wife and young daughter. As the emergency progressed, internet connections and even the phones began to fail. He tried to call in to the daily meetings at the factory but received a fast-busy signal and dead phone lines instead. Grocery stores sold out of everything as the mass hysteria slowly spread. Gas, milk, eggs, water… everything hoarded, or the prices raised beyond the average person’s reach. By the time Jacob figured out something real was going on, something that wouldn’t pass, it was too late. He drove by the local superstore and saw armed guards at the entrance of the parking lot where shoppers were required to show cash before they could enter. The store delivery trucks didn’t even bother to unload their goods as merchandise was being exchanged right out of the backs, like a shady underground marketplace. The news just seemed so far away and foreign. It was something that happened in the third world, not here in the suburban neighborhoods of Chicago. Jacob sat on his living room sofa watching a looping satellite broadcast of the chaos in Atlanta. The anchors warned that the rioters had already breached the lobby. Stairwells were full of piled furniture and the elevators sat dead at the bottom of their shafts, but still the rioters came and destroyed everything in their path—nothing was left untouched. Not knowing what else to do, Jacob loaded his handgun and stared at the TV. The loop always stopped at the enraged face of a man with pearly black eyes; the image would freeze before the video re-started. Jacob turned to watch her pace the room while she dialed the phone over and over, receiving the same steady tone as a response. He knew she was afraid; everyone was. She wanted to go to her parents’ home near the lake, north of the city. It was out of town and quiet there; maybe she was right, but how would they get there? He had seen then video feeds and knew the city wouldn’t be safe—even the outer areas of Chicago would be chaos—and he couldn’t risk it on the interstate, not with Katy. Laura suggested the trains, but that was the last place he wanted to be stranded if the lines went down. He knew the phones were down, the circuits jammed, but she tried nonetheless. Once she realized she would have no contact with her mother, she would be devastated. Jacob didn’t want her to give up on him; he needed her to stay focused. He needed her and Katy to be strong. He could not do it alone. He watched the scrolling bar on the bottom of the TV. Emergency officials demanding calm, ordering civilians to shelter in place. He looked over his shoulder, she held the phone by her side, and tears were filling the corners of her eyes. “Give it a couple days, Laura; if nothing changes, we'll try for the city, we’ll get to your folks.” Day of the Darkness Plus 7 “What happened?” Jacob muttered, pulling his head away from the airbag. He tasted blood from a broken lip and smelled oil dripping from a hot motor. Looking over the dash and through a broken windshield, he could see a second vehicle with steam still pouring from its radiator. Jacob could barely hear his daughter, Katy, screaming over the weather siren. In the side mirror, he caught a glimpse of a man in denim dragging his little girl from the car, then lifting her to his chest before turning to run. Jacob strained and painfully pressed against the driver’s door, the metal screeching as he forced it open. Losing his balance, he rolled from the car and onto the street. His daughter’s screams faded. He felt anger rising, giving him strength; he scrambled to his feet and ran after the screams. His daughter fought, screaming and flailing her arms and legs while scratching at the man’s eyes and nose as she struggled. The man dropped her and put his hands to
