The Florida Keys become the Conch Republic
Mayor Lindsey Free has declared the Keys are independent of the mainland and evicted non-residents from the islands, blockading bridges to keep the asylum seekers out of her little fiefdom. Mike Albright is laying in a pool of blood, a knife wound in his chest from the hand of Patrick/Patricia. Peter Albright has made his way from Washington D.C. to the bridge across the Keys, linking them to the Florida mainland. Halted by Lindsey's barricades, Peter attracted the attention of Jimmy Free, Lindsey's nephew, drafted into working the barricades. Jimmy is trying to get Peter away from the mass of bodies pushing to get through the barricades to the paradise represented by the warm Keys when shots ring out. Lacey (Albright) McDowell and son Tucker are on a boat making their way to their family home on Driftwood Key. The family will, God willing, unite.
With world tensions at an all time high, minor players in the nuclear ball game couldn't hold their water and let fly the dogs of war. Nuclear dogs. Pakistan and India exchanged a couple hundred missiles at each other. Iran saw its chance and lobbed a few missiles at Israel. Israel responded in kind, maybe a few more than Iran, but who's counting? The fat little maniac in North Korea cackled with glee as he hit South Korea and Japan, then sent the rest at the U.S. Several thousand tons of radioactive dust and debris were launched into the upper atmosphere, where it quickly spread out and covered the world, blocking sunlight and warmth from the surface. Ash and debris continued to fall, covering the surface with a radioactive blanket.
Does this scare you? Are you frightened? I am. All this power in the hands of a few megamaniacs. It's bound to happen. Who will start it? Who will press the button first? Doesn't matter. The whole world will feel the results. If anyone survives, the next war will be fought with sticks and stones. The author is doing his usual best to frighten the hell out of us, a teaching lesson, a warning, an attempt to urge us to be prepared for whatever scenario will threaten our survival. Prepare for tomorrow because you never know when or what will happen to our fragile existence on this bright blue marble.
The characters are perfect for their roles and the storyline is as educational as it is horrifying. The master storyteller, the prophetic guru of our demise, Bobby Akart has succeeded in urging my half-assed attempts at prepping for the future to take the next step and prepare. Because you never know when yesterday will be the day before.