Stranded Box Set Read online

  STRANDED

  Theresa Shaver

  Copyright © 2019 Theresa Shaver

  STRANDED – Box Set

  Book 1 through 6, Land, Sea, Home, City Escape, Frozen, Iced

  Ebook Edition

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Cover art by German Creative

  Also by Theresa Shaver

  The Stranded Series

  Land – Book One

  Sea – Book Two

  Home - Book Three

  City Escape – Book Four

  Frozen – Book Five

  Iced – Book Six

  The Endless Winter Series

  Snow & Ash – Book One

  Rain & Ruin – Book Two

  Sun & Smoke – Book Three

  Fire & Fury – Book Four

  Scorched – A Dry Earth Novel

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  Please visit: http://theresashaver.com

  Land

  Book One

  Prologue

  So much blood, how can there be so much blood? was all she could think.

  She just wanted to go home. Being only seventeen, she was just a kid. It wasn’t fair. She had been hung from a wall to be raped. She had shot and killed people and now she was supposed to perform surgery on one of her best friends. Why did this have to happen to her? She just wanted her mom and dad. She wanted to go home.

  When her sobs subsided, she stood back up and looked out over the fields. The voice behind her didn’t jolt her, but the words did.

  “There’s a reason why we all think you should be the one to do this, Alex. You’re our leader. You always have been. Right back to when we were kids and you marched us into the forest and bossed us around to build our clubhouse. You’ve always taken the lead. Quinn might be the responsible one, but you are our glue. It was always you that held us together and organized all the adventures growing up. You have the biggest heart and you are one of the strongest people I know.” He gave a small laugh. “I wasn’t surprised a bit when you came through that door at the biker’s house. I knew you’d find a way to get free. You’re a hero, Alex. We trust you to do this.”

  Alex shook her head in denial, “I’m scared out of my mind, Josh! I’m not a hero!”

  He smiled a compassionate smile, “Don’t you know, Alex? That’s what a hero is. Someone who’s scared out of their mind and does it anyway.” He opened his arms wide and she rushed into them. He held her tight and said no more.

  Chapter One

  Alex looked around at the bright, overly decorated buildings on Main St. Disneyland and gave a sigh as she pushed a golden red curl out of her green eyes.

  “This would have been a lot more fun if we could have been here when we were ten,” she said, turning to her best friend Emily.

  Emily was busy scrolling through her iPhone and didn’t even hear her. Alex frowned over at her friend and then sighed. She was glad that they were going to have a chance to spend some time together. It seemed to her that they had hardly spoken in the last three months since Emily had started dating Mason. Growing up together on neighboring farms in Alberta, they had been inseparable since they got on the same school bus for their first day of kindergarten. They had grown up with all the same interests and hobbies until age thirteen when Alex started to get serious about gymnastics and Emily decided swimming was her favorite. Even different sporting schedules had not deterred them from BFF status. But now at sixteen, it seemed there was finally a huge obstacle in the way of their friendship.

  Alex looked over at Mason and his group of friends standing apart from the rest of the class. As always, Mason was holding court with his friends, Lisa and Mark, who were hanging on to the football quarterback’s every word. Alex could understand Emily’s attraction to the guy. He was tall and broad with sun-streaked brown hair that fell over his forehead in a dreamy kind of way. His eyes matched his hair, a golden-brown hazel surrounded by eyelashes any girl would kill for. So yeah, standing here looking at Mason, any girl would get a flutter as long as you just looked. Within minutes of talking to the guy though that flutter should turn to stone. Mason was one of those jocks that was all about himself and needed constant adoration and his two friends were just as shallow as he was. Mark almost seemed to pride himself on being the class bully and had a sickening sneer on his face most of the time. Lisa was just as bad. She wore her cheerleading uniform like a status badge that gave her the power to judge and be as mean as she wanted to the other students.

  Once again, it baffled Alex as to why her best friend was dating the jerk. Both girls were on the honor roll and volunteered for extra credit. Emily, having way more patience, started tutoring and that’s how the Mason thing started. After a week of tutoring Mason in math, Emily had started walking the halls, holding hands with him and sitting with his group at lunch. When Alex had tried talking to her about it, she had brushed her off, saying that she was too judgmental and if she really knew Mason she would like him, too.

  After that Emily drifted further away and rarely did anything with Alex. I really miss her but she has changed so much, thought Alex.

  Looking around at the rest of her class she saw some of her other friends off to the side and realized that the class was divided mainly into two groups – farm and town. With another sigh, Alex thought about how Emily wasn’t really in the farm group anymore.

  Mr. Carter was trying to get the class to move closer together so he could give out the schedule for the day and wasn’t having much luck. The kids were excited and distracted by being in Disneyland. It still amazed Alex that somehow her class won this trip by having the highest test scores in the whole province. Bringing more than twenty teenagers to California seemed a little crazy to Alex, even with three teachers and two parent chaperones. When she first found out about the trip, Alex didn’t really want to go. She figured it would be a bit of a gong show with some of the town kids getting out of control and she felt Disneyland was made for a much younger crowd. Surprisingly, it was Emily who convinced her to come, saying it would give them a chance to reconnect and spend time together. She had seemed really excited that they could share a room together in the hotel. Alex was really happy to hear this because she had heard Lisa telling another girl that she and Emily were going to room together and Alex had been jealous and disappointed that Emily was choosing Lisa over her.

  Last night in the hotel, Alex and Emily stayed up late and talked about a lot of things that had happened in the last few months. They felt reconnected after not spending any real time together for so long. Alex talked about her gymnastics and other things in her life and Emily confessed her mixed feelings over her and Mason’s future.

  “I don’t think I’m ready for what he wants. He suggested that this trip would be a good time for us to “take the next step” but we’ve only been dating for a few months and I’m not sure I want to go there yet.” Emily said with a frown.

  Alex was used to her friend being more assertive and sure of herself so she tried to help.

  “Just tell him how you feel and make it clear so there’s no confusion,” she advised.

  Emily grimaced, “You don’t know Mason. He doesn’t like to be told no. I’m just so glad you decided to room with me. I overheard him telling Lisa that he’d let her know what night he wanted her out of the room. I didn’t want to let that happen so thanks again for staying with me.” She smiled gratefully at Alex.

  Alex was shocked. That’s why Emily wanted her here, to run interference? After the disappoin
tment and loneliness of the past few months without her friend, Alex was hurt and frustrated.

  “Really, Em?! That’s why you convinced me to come, so I could protect you from your bully of a boyfriend? Really? How stupid am I that I thought you missed me and wanted to spend time with me? Unbelievable! Well if that’s all you need me for, then forget it! You’re my best friend but three months ago you dumped me for a guy. A guy who you can’t even say no to. You can’t treat me like that and then expect me to just snap to it when you need help!” She turned away with frustrated tears in her eyes.

  Alex stared at the hotel’s bland wallpaper waiting for a response from Emily. When none came she whirled around ready to yell and saw her friend staring down into her lap with tears flowing down her face. All the anger left Alex and she slumped down beside her and put her arm around her shoulder. They sat like that for a while until Emily composed herself and started to quietly talk.

  “You’re right Alex. I owe you an apology. I have put Mason ahead of you and I’m so sorry. He really isn’t a bully. He’s just strong-willed and I really like him. He’s so different when it’s just the two of us together. I know if you got to know him you’d see a different side of him. Please, Alex, forgive me? I didn’t just ask you to room with me to put him off. I really miss you and wanted time with you, too. Please understand?”

  Alex sighed in frustration. “I can’t get to know him if we never hang out Em. I miss you, we all miss you. I promise to make the effort to get to know him better if we start spending time together again. I love you and just want my best friend back, okay?”

  Emily brushed her tears away and threw her arms around her best friend. They spent the rest of the night gossiping and giggling.

  Alex smiled at the memory and looked around at her classmates. She found herself meeting the dark blue eyes that belonged to Cooper Morris. The amused, mocking smirk on his face made Alex quickly look away. She didn’t know why Cooper always made her feel nervous but often found herself looking in his direction at school, and it seemed that most times he was looking right back. Cooper had the bad boy rep at school and looked the part with a beat-up leather jacket, his black hair, dark blue eyes, and a devilish grin. It seemed to Alex that the bad boy rep was mainly rumors, but it wasn’t like they hung out with the same people so she didn’t have a lot of firsthand knowledge about him. After Emily’s comment about Alex being judgmental, she was going to try harder to have an open mind about people.

  She kept looking around to see if they were going to be allowed to head deeper into the park when she noticed Quinn and Josh heading in their direction. The boys were good childhood friends of both Alex and Emily and had spent a lot of time while growing up together camping, hanging out at the lake and working on 4H projects. The third boy that usually completed their group was David but Alex didn’t see him nearby. She wasn’t really surprised as David had been in love with a clueless Emily for forever, and he tended to avoid her since she started dating Mason. The boys had also felt Emily’s absence in the past few months and were happy to see her and Alex had made up.

  “Hey, guys! Any idea where you want to go first?” asked Quinn

  “I’m hitting Space Mountain until I feel like puking and then I plan on finding Goofy and hurling all over him!” Josh exclaimed.

  Alex groaned but had to laugh as it was so typical of Josh and his rough and crazy personality to make such a statement.

  Quinn punched his friend in the arm and joked, “If you change that to Mickey Mouse, then I could get on board with that plan.”

  Josh was of medium height and stocky, with a barrel chest and thick muscular arms that he had developed from the hard work he put in on his family’s farm. He had curly brown hair and brown eyes that always seemed happy. Quinn had the height and build of a football quarterback – tall, broad and muscular, but his calm blue eyes and wavy blond hair was hard to miss.

  Alex was watching her teacher impatiently. “Looks like Mr. Carter isn’t having much luck moving the class together and he’s going to each group and giving the schedule out.”

  “Finally! I’m ready to rock this playland,” Josh said.

  For the first time, Emily looked up from her iPhone and joined the conversation, brushing her long blond hair back impatiently.

  “Hey, guys, I’ve been reading the headlines online and something weird seems to be going on.” With a worried expression, she explained. “The US government has gone to DEFCON 2 and the news is saying that means nuclear war is the next step. CNN is saying the last time they went to that level was during the cold war.”

  “No way, man! That would be just our luck. We’re like 1500 miles from home and in one of the guaranteed cities that would take a hit!” Josh joked.

  “I don’t think this is a joke,” Emily said seriously. “I think we should tell Mr. Carter about this. I’m really worried.”

  All the kids in Alex’s group turned to look for their teacher and saw him coming towards them. A few steps away and the man seemed to stagger and freeze with wide eyes. Then he swayed and toppled to the ground.

  To Alex it seemed as though all sound was sucked out of the world in an instant. Then kids were screaming, yelling, and racing towards their teacher. Quinn got to him first and Josh was yelling at Emily to call 911. Alex felt like her feet were glued to the ground. She was looking around Main Street Disney to see if she could spot any security or employees when the realization came to her that this situation was way bigger than her fallen teacher. She could hear plenty of excited voices but nothing else. The music was gone, the sounds of rides, cars, phones ringing, all mechanical sounds - were gone. Even the huge water fountain in the middle of the square had stopped gushing, the water slowly draining away. Movement in the air caught her attention and she looked up unbelievingly. A huge airplane was slowly falling out of the sky, spinning on its way down. It looked like it would hit the ground a few miles away. Alex clutched Emily’s arm and pointed up at the plane, still unable to speak. Emily looked up from her dark phone and her mouth dropped open with a whimper.

  At this point, Quinn was doing CPR on Mr. Carter and looked over at Emily to see if she was calling 911. As he was about to yell at her, his gaze went up to see what the girls were looking at in terror. When the plane registered in his mind he fell back on his butt and cried out, “NO!”

  It seemed that everyone around them was now watching the falling plane. It took what felt like forever for it to finally pass below the horizon but seconds later the explosion was easy to see and hear. Emily turned away and buried her tear-streaked face against Alex’s shoulder.

  Alex was numb with disbelief. We’re at Disneyland. This doesn’t happen at Disneyland! she thought.

  She gently pushed Emily back and took her phone out of her hand. It was off so she tried to turn it on but nothing was working. She looked around to see if anyone else had a phone and could see lots of other students staring at cell phones with looks of disbelief.

  Someone close by was screaming and it felt like a drill in Alex’s ears so she tried to find the source and wasn’t that surprised to see the youngest teacher, Ms. Scott, belting it out while pulling her hair on both sides of her head. Just as Alex thought she should go get her calmed down, Mrs. Moore, who was the oldest of the teachers and quite the battle-ax, grabbed the younger teacher by the shoulders and gave her a quick shake.

  “Settle down!” said Mrs. Moore, sternly.

  When that didn’t work she just gave the young teacher a slap across the face. Instant silence was the result and Mrs. Moore shoved the shocked teacher at one of the parent chaperones and told her to get her settled down.

  With her hands raised in the air and in a commanding voice, she ordered, “All Prairie Springs students form up on the grass and sit down...NOW!” The last word said with a louder snap.

  As Mrs. Moore saw students moving onto the grassy area by the street she turned and looked to Alex’s group. Quinn was still sitting on the ground beside Mr. Carter
and Emily had knelt down on the other side of him and was holding his limp hand. Alex and Josh were standing staring down at him, not sure what to do.

  Mrs. Moore moved over to them and took a deep breath. “Quinn?”

  He looked up at her with a stunned expression on his face and tears shining in his eyes and said, “I think he’s dead.”

  Mrs. Moore leaned over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and spoke in a calm voice. “Yes. There was nothing you could have done for him, Quinn. He had a pacemaker and it would have stopped as well. But thank you for trying. You are a good boy.”

  “I don’t understand. What do you mean it would have stopped?” Quinn asked with confusion on his face.

  “Yes, well, please join your classmates on the grass and I will try to explain what I think is happening,” Mrs. Moore offered.

  As Quinn got up off the ground and Alex helped Emily up, Josh was shrugging out of his sweatshirt and went to cover Mr. Carter with it.

  “Josh, don’t do that!” Mrs. Moore barked.

  At Josh’s expression, Mrs. Moore softened and said in a kinder tone, “That is very respectful of you but we must be practical. You will need your sweater later.”

  With a confused look on his face, Josh stepped back and put his sweater back on. Mrs. Moore leaned down and pulled Mr. Carter’s jacket up over his face. She then took his money belt off and retrieved his wallet from his pant pocket. She dropped both items into her purse before placing a gentle hand on the man’s still chest and whispering a few words of prayer over him. When she got back to her feet she ushered the group over to the subdued students sitting on the grass. Once they were seated, she took in the whole group and lowered herself to one knee.

  “A terrible event has happened and there is no way for me to know the exact details but from what we have seen, I can guess what has happened. It appears all electronics are no longer working and as we saw with the plane falling and crashing, that means many mechanical things will have also failed. That could only be caused by an EMP, which means an electromagnetic pulse. This happens when a nuclear device is detonated or a massive solar flare from the sun hits the earth.”