Starting Over — Darrell Maloney

The story continues… Not even the preppers expected a one-two punch that would bring the world to its knees once again. Everything has changed, and not for the better. An already chaotic world has become more volatile. Like a platoon suddenly finding itself trapped behind enemy lines, Tom, Sara and Tracey are in territory which is unfriendly and growing increasingly desperate. And they're saddled with two additional charges. A tender young girl of eleven named Millicent, and a troubled boy named Charles who'd rather spit upon someone than accept their help. In San Antonio, the war against the SAPD is over. Robbie Benton has lost his one-man crusade against his former brothers in blue. An uneasy calm comes over the city that will last only until the new blackout. It cripples the force, but not for long. Enter Tillie, a tough woman traveling alone in search of her loved ones. And R.J., a former executive chef at a five-star restaurant, now reduced to trapping and eating rats to survive. Back in Junction, in the compound Scott built to protect his family, things are falling apart. Most of their electronics were destroyed during the second wave of EMPs. They have no working surveillance system. They're short-handed and vulnerable as they've never been before. And the vultures are starting to circle.