Season five, Episode fifteen – “Cuckoo”

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode Seven “Industrial”It was slippery and tough going in the industrial rubble by the river’s edge. The old man pulled himself up over a concrete slab that blocked the trail. The slab had rebar sticking out of it like the broken bones of an old corpse that had been torn open by wolves. ...Hello survivors. Happy Thanksgiving! Let me say, first of all, that I have been dying to use the phrase “Arms akimbo” in a story my whole life. Akimbo is an interesting English word that means "with the hands on the hips and the elbows bent outward at sharp angles". They think the word akimbo has some relation to the word ‘bow’ like ‘bow and arrow’ – because the arms are bent like a bow. The first recorded usage was by Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales in the 1400’s. I’m going to stop right there before I start waxing poetically about Richard III and Henry IV and Iambic Pentameter. All in good time. Back to the story… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Nov 202126min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode six “Scorpion”…Bill the dog was attuned to gunfire. It did not bother him as much as it heightened his senses to what was going on around him. Bill was trained to save lives. He was trained to sense danger and do what he could to protect the lives of his squad. He was a soldier first. He didn’t think. He acted in accordance with his training. He had no sense of bravery or heroism – only a burning sense of duty.The safety of the squad was his first priority. ...Outro S2 E6 – ScorpionThe patreon page -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseThe FaceBook Group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypseThe Show on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypse11/10/2021Hello survivors. Here we are, Episode 6 of the 2nd season of After the Apocalypse a Pandemic Survival Story. And we have our friend Bill back in play, so you can stop with the angry messages. But, we’re not out of the woods yet. We left you with a cliff-hanger! Or more like a grassy-knoll hanger. https://flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2021/09/26/writing-tip-23-never-kill-the-dog/Learned a couple things this week. First, and I already knew this, but it was hammered home by some comments on our Facebook page, is that when you’re reading or listening you create a picture in your head from what the author is telling you. That is the magic of reading or listening. That’s the advantage of reading or listening over TV or movies. You get to create your own visuals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Nov 202127min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode five “Forage”Janet braced herself against the doorway of an old brick mill building. She had worked her way through the back streets and vacant lots to the river’s edge. From this vantage point, downriver, she could see the bridge and the river foaming around it. She held her breath as the shuttle bus punched into the water and bounced unsteadily across the span. Janet uttered a small prayer as the men in the Humvees arrived and started firing on the bus from the bridgehead. Adrenaline mixed with fear and anger as she searched her mind for any action she could take to help them. ...Outro S2 E5The patreon page -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseThe FaceBook Group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypseThe Show on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypse10/29/ 2021 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Okt 202129min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode four “Empty”Mags watched the old man slump into an overstuffed, coffee-stained chair in the teachers’ lounge. It smelled like cigarettes and moth balls. Decades of stale smoke wrapped in tweed jackets with elbow patches. Undoubtedly, it had been the treasured refuge of some crusty old academic with only a few years left to retirement. This old chair his redoubt from the squalling of adolescent rage. That person was gone. Their jaded, dusty dreams swept away with the apocalypse. Now this chair was empty. Now it made a good place to temporarily store this old man. ...S2 E4 OutroHello survivors! Welcome back! Picking up steam in Season 2 now. How do you like our new characters? I like the Mags character. I hadn’t pre-planned to write her this way but she just naturally turned into a strong person. The kind of person you need in the Apocalypse. I did have several people threaten to unfriend me over at the Facebook group after episode 3. Have patience. And, if you need to yell at me you can join us at the after the apocalypse Facebook group. And, if you want to hire Robert for something, I don’t know, maybe to record the message on your voicemail, you can find him at Command Voices. Wouldn’t that be great? “Welcome to the Apocalypse, We’re tied up surviving at the moment. Please leave a message. We’ll get back to you, if we survive…” …Our tribe is growing nicely. We are at 28XXX downloads and running between 100-400 per day. Thank you to those of you who have subscribed in your apps. And thank you for sharing with you friends, enemies and total strangers. It looks like it’s working. Keep it up! Just drop the link shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypse into Facebook, twitter, whatever. We are word of mouth so keep making words with you mouths in the direction of other people. Also thanks to new Patreon member Corby who threw me a couple bucks. I appreciate the help. …Feel free to reach out to me with any suggestions or comments. I am having a blast writing and producing this – and I hope you are too. If we have brightened your day even a little bit with our story telling it makes us happy. We appreciate all your help and attention – and whatever you do – keep surviving. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Okt 202132min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode three “The Hungry River”Janet glared through the sleet, up the hill, searching for the Humvees that she expected to appear over the crest at any moment. “Persistent deadbeats…” She swore under her breath as the chain saw chattered in her hands. She knew if she could slow them down, even for a minute, it might give the bus enough time to escape....Outro S2 E3https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseHello and welcome back survivors. Here we are, episode 3 of season two and it feels like we’re hitting our stride.This was a fun episode to construct. I love the visual of the river devouring the bridge. Just a great picture in my mind’s eye. The other thing that happened here, not to give you too much of the sausage-making, was a roller coaster ride. It’s a series of tension builds and releases, where we are just letting you off the hook and we slap you again with a new shock wave. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Okt 202124min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode two “Pursuit”KJ clutched the knife in one cold hand, lowering the heel of her other hand to the ground for support.She was in a full crouch now. Just a few yards away she could see the hooded man on the bench, under the portico, and he looked to be dozing.“If he’s a guard, he isn’t a very good one,” She thought. Something about him didn’t fit. A moment ago, as she was sneaking along the wall, she had glanced into the window of the resort and saw some of the thugs.The King’s soldiers were no better at guard duty. They lay sprawled and asleep on the lobby furniture, surrounded by trash and bottles, no doubt sleeping off another hard debauch. ...Outro Episode 1 Season 2 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Sep 202134min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode one “The Gathering Storm”“Geez-Us”, the old man swore, looking out the window. “Is this ever going stop?”Janet just looked at him. She didn’t feel like beginning another conversation about the weather. It had been raining for at least five days straight. Some sort of late season not-so-tropical storm remnant had wheeled up the Gulf and parked over the Southeast. The weather was strange. Something about the abrupt cessation of human activity on the planet had thrown everything into chaos. Once again, Janet thought, the irony was thick and steady in the apocalypse. ...Outro – S1 E2Stranger in a strange land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Sep 202129min

Book One - The Old ManAvailable at WWW.Booklocker.com...Hello Survivors – This is Chris from the future! Yes indeedy – I am speaking to you from Groundhog Day 2025 – with an update! If you are listening to The After the Apocalypse Podcast series and have gotten to this point that means you are at the end of season one. And I have teleported in from the future to let you know I have now published the novelization of season one. It’s a real, 362 page book, with great writing and great story telling and the characters you love. This book covers the same narrative as What you have just listened to, but has been greatly refined. There are new chapters and new sequences and lots of filling in the blank where things were brushed over in the podcast. So if you are a reader of books, first of all congratulations, because you’re part of the 5% who are, and second of all go buy and read a leave a review of my first book in this series, “After the Apocalypse, A Pandemic Survival Story, Book One – The Old Man. You can find it at any book seller but the best place is at my publisher’s website www.booklocker.com.Or, if you want some special love, I have some physical copies and will gladly sign and inscribe one and send it to you, just reach out to me by email at cyktrussell@gmail.com.Thank you so much for your support, And as you lock and dead-bolt the bunker door and settle down to read your new book by the flickering candle light, don’t forget to keep surviving! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Sep 20212min