June 14th! Write it down people because that’s the day Aftermath will be released. I am incredibly excited about it and thank everyone for their support. I will update you all more in the upcoming days about events and book signings.
Joe Reyes
June 14th! Write it down people because that’s the day Aftermath will be released. I am incredibly excited about it and thank everyone for their support. I will update you all more in the upcoming days about events and book signings.
Joe Reyes
Dream Snatched Up
âJust a few more hours,â Deron encourages himself as he throws water on his face. The doorbell rings outside, but Deron doesnât notice it. His stomach is in knots and he doesnât want to leave the safety of the bathroom. He then picks up a hand towel and dries his face and hands. The lights flicker slightly, but Deron doesnât pay any attention to it.
âDeron! Mr. Spencer is at the door,â an elderly woman shouts.
âBe right out grandma,â Deron replies while looking at himself in the mirror. He has a mammoth body, but currently feels minuscule.
Deron softly challenges himself getting pumped up, âYou ready?â He beats his chest once and opens up the door.
âThere you are, boy,â Grandma June takes Deronâs arm and directs him down the hallway. The whole two bedroom Georgian suburban home is packed with family and friends to support Deron. âD, steaks are almost done,â says his father.
Deron replies over his shoulder, âThanks Pops,â
âMan, youâve been in there so long we thought you got stuck,â his friend KP, who is much smaller than him, jokes while putting an arm around Deron. Deron convincingly tries to laugh it off.
âWhile you were there powdering your nose, we have been keeping Mr. Spencer entertained,â June scolds him.
Mr. Spencer, a well-dressed man in his fifties stands up and extends his hand. âPlease madam, call me Sam,â he politely introduces shaking Deronâs hand.
âThanks again for coming by today, sir,â Deron says with generosity.
âNo problem, son. I know how stressful today can be and its best if Iâm here to fill you in on trades and rumors,â Sam conveys.
KP states, âYo, Double S, Iâm hearing Miami is trying to trade up,â
Sam tries to smile off the ridiculous name they have given him, âWell, we have a few hours left until the dance so I would imagine a lot more teams will try to jump up,â Sam takes a seat on the couch.
âIt would be nice to stay down South,â Deron thinks, hoping his agent can make this happen.
âIâll see what I can do. Now we just hang for a few hours, eat some barbeque, and relax,â Sam crosses his legs and takes a quick glance at his phone.
Deron takes a seat next to Sam, âYou really think Iâll go number one?â Deron cups his hands and looks at the television. On the screen, the sports experts are discussing the draft. Deron sees his name at the top of all the draft boards.
âItâs not an exact science, but I hear from every GM in the league and they all say the same thing about you, âTake him now,ââ Sam looks at his watch. âNow, the film crew should be here soon,â Sam stands up. âIt would be best if you sit in the middle of the couch with your father and grandmother on either sides of you. Sound good?â Sam asks while looking around.
âIâm deferring to you on this,â Deron stands up and moves over a cushion.
Sam says, âIâm glad you listened to me about staying here and didnât fly up to New York for this,â
âYeah, why didnât you want him to go there?â KP asks.
Sam begins to say, âAlways best to stay home for these things. Just in case something bad happens,â Deron looks surprised about the âbadâ part. âAnd it looks better seeing you at home with your family,â Sam continues.
âUmm, what bad can happen?â asks Deron curiously.
âWell, like I said, itâs not an exact science. If you donât go first, then you might drop down a bit,â Sam says while Deron nervously sits down.
âHow far is a bit?â Deron wonders.
âDepends. If the first teams donât pick you then some of the others will start to panic and then you find yourself in the upper twenties, if youâre lucky,â Sam nonchalantly takes out his phone and to answers a call.
Deron feels the knots in his stomach returns and wants to sit down, âNo! Just play it cool. Youâll get picked…eventually, and eventually is better than not at all,â he reassures himself.
âBUUZZZZZ!â The television makes a quick high pitched sound and then goes black. âSee! My boy needs that first round money to pay the bills up in here,â KP jokes, but nobody acknowledges him. The power goes out in the house. The partying stops and everyone looks around.
A firetruck barrels down the street followed by a half-dozen police cruisers. Some of the guests go outside. âWhat the Hell is going on out there?â Deronâs grandmother inquires following the group outside.
âHello? Hello?â Sam looks at his phone, âCall dropped and I have no service all of a sudden,â he says to Deron.
The house begins to shake slightly. Everyone starts to steady themselves. Plates fall from the shelves in the kitchen. âHey, everyone! Come out here!â someone yells from the backyard. Deron runs outside, followed by KP.
Deron swings open the door and stops dead in his tracks, âMove Deron I canât see,â KP exclaims trying to push past. When he finally does, he stops as well and his jaw drops, âOh my God,â he utters. Smoke columns rise up in the distance as missiles fly above them in all directions.
In the corner of his eye, Deron sees Sam jump into his car and speed away in panic. Deron is too scared to be angry at Sam. Deronâs father grabs June by the arm, âDeron! Go inside now,â his father orders, leading her inside.
Some of the other partygoers drive off as well. âPops, should we leave to?â Deron looks around at the people leaving. Neighbors scream in terror as the came outside. An ambulance speeds by towards one of the pillars of smoke.
âWe lock up and stay put until we figure out whatâs going on,â his father looks to the other people while debating what to do, âEveryone come inside with us,â he says, leading people in. More explosions ring out in the distance.
As soon as Deron goes inside he locks himself in the bathroom. He leans against the wall and runs his fingers through his hair, âThis was supposed to be my day,â he looks in the mirror and throws a punch that shatters the glass.
BEEP BEEP BEEP! The heartbeat monitor echoes around the room. An old man, Armando, lays in a bed with IVs in his veins and a breathing mask on his face. His body is frail and liver spots and scars coating his body.
A nurse walks up to the IV and adjusts the dosage. âThis should help with the pain a bit,â the nurse assures, putting a hand on Armandoâs shoulder. âCortez is outside. Would you like me to let him in?â the nurse asks. Armando gives a slow nod and the nurse opens up the door.
Cortez takes a long look at the old man before taking a step into the room. He is much younger than Armando and is of English descent. Cortez adjusts a few stray hairs on his head to make sure he looks presentable as he enters.
Cortez pulls up a chair and sits next to the bed. He knows this is the final time he will see Armando. âDoes itâŠâ Cortez begins to say but Armando interrupts.
âStop it! We donât have time to waste,â Armando exclaims coughing a bit.
Cortez says while quickly looking down, âSorry sir,â
âThere isnât much time left,â Armando informs taking off his mask. âI need you to be strong and lead this army,â Armando says struggling with his last words.
Cortez pleads, âWhy me? Why not Edgar, he wants this more than I do,â hoping Armando is going take this all back.
âEdgar is a brute and thatâs all. I need you to lead this army,â Armando forcefully pokes his finger into Cortezâs chest.
âYou know, I donât know the first thing about war,â Cortez says, wondering why he is in this position.
âI have groomed you for this. Even when I found you, I named you after one of the great conquerors to be the heir to my vision. You were bred for this moment,â Armando conveys.
Cortez begins, âYou want me to kill millions of people to,â
âTo save billions! You must change things, and the only way you can do that is to tear down the walls that have been already built. Will you do it?â Armando asks in anticipation for the right response.
âI will,â Cortez confirms quietly looking down.
Armando sits up, âPromise me boy!â he yells.
Cortez looks up into Armandoâs eyes, âI promise,â
âGood. The plan is almost done, all we need are the other groups to finish their work. When that happens, just lead what forces you have gathered,â Armando gasping on his words. He puts his mask back on and takes several slow breaths.
âNow I donât have much time left. I donât want you to see me die like this,â Armando speaks as though this isnât a big deal. âGo!â Armando commands.
Cortez remembers, âShould I send in Edgar?â
âNo,â Armando says, leaning back in his pillow.
Cortez wants to hug Armando, but knows thatâs not what his dying mentor would want his last moment to be. He doesnât even take a last glance. Cortez gets up and makes his way for the door. âThank you,â Cortez whispers as he walks out.
Cortez takes a deep breath as the door closes behind him. âDid the old man kick the bucket yet?â Edgar asks from across the hall.
Cortez walks right past him saying, âSomeone sounds bitter,â hoping that would annoy Edgar.
âWhy would I be bitter?â Edgar asks while walking behind Cortez. âIâve known him longer, served under his command for longer, killed more people than you, but somehow he picked you to lead. The son he never had,â Edgar jabs at Cortez.
âYouâre adopted too, remember?â Cortez rubs the tension out of his neck, thinking about his next move. He had never led a full army before. Armando has an army of loyal soldiers who all know Cortez is in charge and will not try to supersede him.
âNothingâs stopping you from going off on your own,â Cortez hopes Edgar would take his advice. Edgar is always in a bitter dispute for Armandoâs affection over Cortez.
âJust remember something,â Edgar says pulling Cortezâs arm to stop him. Cortez turns and looks at Edgarâs hand on him. âIâm not going to lick your boots or be your lap dog. Youâre in charge, but I will take over if you donât have it in you to do whatâs necessary,â Edgar sternly puts it.
âYouâre right,â Cortez concurs and then punches Edgar in the face. Edgar drops to a knee and covers his nose. Cortez walks down the hall, âI am in charge,â he says with a smirk feeling confident about his first act of leadership.
A few soldiers move to the side of the walls to let Cortez pass. âSir,â they simultaneously say as they stand at attention. Cortez pauses for a moment before continuing on. Word of Armandoâs death is already going through the army. Even though Armando isnât in the grave yet, he still said his goodbyes and made sure the chain of command didnât come to a halt
âI can sure get used to this,â Cortez laughs to himself as he walks up the hallway, but then recalls he has things to do.
âI should call Lucas and get an update on his progress,â Cortez thinks as he enters Armandoâs office. Cortez flicks on the lights and takes a quick look around before sitting down. The room is mostly a cluttered mess. Books and papers litter the floor. White boards are covered in numbers that nobody other than a select few know what they mean.
Cortez sits at the desk and opens up a laptop. He starts to scroll through a few icons and presses one which reads, âLucasâ. Cortez presses it and sits back in his chair. âHe probably wonât even pick up,â Cortez ponders as he waits for a response.
âHey, hold on one second,â a voice says from the computer. Cortez glances over at the computer screen and sees a fuzzy image. The image starts to clear up. Lucas turns the screen on himself. He is around Cortezâs age, but his hair is more unkempt and looks like heâs been in a room working for weeks.
Lucas looks over at Cortez. âHey buddy, got something cool to show you. Take out your phone,â Lucas informs Cortez as he starts typing on another computer next to him.
Cortez reaches into his pocket and looks at his phone screen. âDo you see anything yet?â Lucas inquires.
Cortez shakes his head. âLooks normal to me,â he responds.
âHow about,â Lucas begins to type, âNow?â he asks pressing a few last buttons. Cortezâs phone quickly flashes and looks back to normal.
âYou must be losing your touch, Lucas. It just blinked and thatâs it,â Cortez jokes as he puts his phone down.
âI made it blink and extracted every piece of data and messages youâve ever sent. It even hacked into your emails and the ones youâve deleted,â Lucas says moving his second computer in front of the one he is video chatting with Cortez on. A list generates on the screen with numbers and text messages. Lucas puts the screen back on the table. âWow, you take a lot of naked pics man,â Lucas chuckles.
âAnd thatâs just yours and it loaded in a second,â Lucas yawns as he speaks. âI can have every phone in North America done by the end of the week. We can then pull the codes from all the bases and get ready to launch,â Lucas gazes back over at the screen.
âIâm sorry to hear what happened to your friend. Before he said his goodbyes, he communicated that youâre taking over for his outlet and that we are on schedule,â Lucas assumes they arenât going to be held up.
âAll good on our end. Weâre stockpiled with enough weapons and ammo to combat any army weâd face,â Cortez starts to think over the list of things to get done. âThe underground bunkers are nearly finished. We have actually acquired another group recently,â Cortez says rubbing his eyes. He hasnât slept well in days and that isnât going to change anytime soon.
âThatâs really good. The plan is in motion. Iâm really surprised youâre choosing to go to North America. You know we can house you guys in Paradise until things settle down,â Lucas looks concerned.
âI want to be there when it happens. I can build a massive force out of the ones who are scattered around, rather than wait until they form their own little groups,â Cortez looks down for a moment and pauses. âDo you think this is the wrong thing to do?â Cortez questions, hoping he isnât alone.
Lucas turns and looks at the screen. âDonât worry about it too much. All weâre doing is destroying the world.â
Iâm sorry for my absence on this site and not responding to your emails. My book is being published and will be out hopefully by the end of the year. Iâve so occupied with that and other problems that Iâve neglected this site, but I am back now and will continue to promote my story and hope you will all enjoy it.
Joe Reyes
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https://joereyesauthor.com/2015/05/20/sleep-is-a-luxury-you-cant-afford/
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Check out Alice’s Bio to learn more about her https://joereyesauthor.com/2015/05/13/alice-character-info/
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Running creates more noise than walking. Nature gives you all the cover you need, but it conceals your enemies as well. Doesnât matter if youâre part of an army or by yourself, you must constantly be aware of your surroundings. Take your time to navigate safely because you donât want to alert everyone to your presence.
Woodland hunters set traps to catch animals and people alike. Traps are easy to set and even easier to conceal if you arenât paying attention. When you run, you arenât able to pay attention to all the details in the woods. That one misstep will be the difference between life and death. Unless youâre on the run for your life, do the smart thing and walk. Slow and steady keeps you alive in Aftermath.
Joe Reyes
Traveling light is the smart thing to do when youâre a nomad. You wouldnât want to weigh yourself down with unnecessary items. The best backpacks you can find are the ones with multiple compartments because you can easily separate materials.
The items you need are:
The tradable pieces are useful when you encounter a nearby city. Paper money will be obsolete. Metals and items of value will be the only source of currency. It would be wise to have something tradable incase the hunting grounds are bare and water sources are contaminated.
Rope you will need if you decide to sleep in a tree (previous Post). Also, rope can be used to set up traps. You have no idea what dangers will present themselves, but the best method to ensure your survival is to be prepared.
There is a good chance you will be on the run for your life at one point. Having unneeded weight can be a definite way to get yourself killed. Travel light, travel smart is the best motto when picking out your survival gear.
Joe Reyes
Justin is the character that allows you to see the militaryâs point of view. Justin has been wandering around with his fiancĂ© Amy since the bombs fell. Justin was difficult to write about because during the planning, he didnât have a whole lot going on. However I have found a way to get him right into the mix of the plotline, more so in book two.
In Aftermath, Justinâs main focus is Amyâs safety. They have been making their way from one side of the country to the other looking for somewhere safe. The US government has many safe zones scattered around the country still. A heavily protected area is exactly what they are looking for. With the ensuing battle going on in the country, it is time consuming to navigate around the fighting to get where they need to.
The sequel will throw Justin into the middle of the fight. I envisioned him to be a passive character at first and then changes from all the fighting and what else I throw at him. Justin is like Ian when I planned him. At first I didnât know what to do with him, but after a few days of planning I found a great path to put him on and interesting characters to make him react to.
Joe Reyes
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First there will be utter chaos and then civilizations will rise up. You can do the âlone wolfâ act for a while, but after the chaos starts to dwindle down, you MUST pick a side. Armies and communities will start to quickly spring up. Wars WILL tear most of the country apart. The goal of a war is to implement your principles and beliefs as the new mentality of the area. You have to find out what side of the war you want to be a part of.
First you have to understand who you really are and what you stand for. Do you want to change the way things were previously run? Do you want to follow a new set of rules? What are the major armies in play? Can you safely become a part of that group?
If you canât find a group that embodies your beliefs, then the next best thing is to start your own army. You must find people who you can help see your vision of the future and follow your command. Becoming a visionary is incredibly hard. You have to be able to âinspireâ to get others to join your cause and âterrifyâ to make enemies bow down to you at the same time.
Joe Reyes
Ron was the second character that I wrote about. He was originally a quick one page short story about someone in a post-apocalyptic story. The story was called Even Heroes Get Hungry, and it was about a man fighting for food in the wilderness. The story was to illustrate how sensible people will do irrational things for food.
I was writing the Ian story when I decided to put Ron in the mix, because I really liked his character. I wanted Ron to be young, around 10 years old. I wanted his parents to be dead, forcing Ron to be on his own.
Ron was an interesting journey because he doesnât know much. Everything he learns is in the woods. He stays away from people, because he doesnât trust them. How could he? Heâs been independent since the tragedy, which everyone is out for themselves.
When Ron gets in contact with a group of rebels itâs difficult for him at first. He has never been a part of a âgroupâ before. At first he is thinking how he would get away from them. But then, as things progress, those feeling disappear.
Ron started off as a little boy with a knife to a little boy with a machine gun. Through Ron, you get to see into the army of Cortez. He is the only character in book one who is up close and personal with the leader.
Joe Reyes
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Guns will be hard to find, but bullets will be rarer and more valuable after the bombs fall. The problem is you canât tell if an enemyâs gun is empty or fully loaded. Youâre first thought should always be âthat gun might be loaded,â
If someone is hesitant to pull the trigger, that doesnât mean the gun is empty. Since bullets are rare, most people wouldnât want to waste them if they donât have to. Intimidation is the most aspect when using a gun, especially if it is empty. You must make your target believe that you have a fully loaded gun with ammo to spare.
Most would just rob you for some water or food. The best way to handle an attacker with a gun is to defuse the situation. Give your attacker what they want, if itâs not too outrageous, then kill your attacker when they feel like they have won.
Joe Reyes