Season five, Episode twenty – “Released”

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason two, Episode Fifteen, “Breakout”Mags could see the distribution center buildings stretching off into the horizon in neat, rectangular rows of asphalt and metal. From her perch on the hill overlooking the port authority complex it was like looking down on the map of an old board game. The mid-morning sun had chased the fog away. Its warm rays now glinted off shiny, metal, man-made objects in the panorama. She squinted at the ‘glass menagerie’ effect that created prisms of light in her scope as she scanned. Outro S2E15Hello my survivor friends! I liked this episode. I tried to take a little extra time and make sure we got the characters and the scenes right. I thought it came out well and I liked Robert’s read. By the way, if you have any audio projects you can reach Robert at CommandVoices.com. He doesn’t just do the gravely old man voice – that is an affectation just for me. He does full on commercials and voice overs. I kicked off a contest on the facebook page. I want to have one of you be a guest reader for one of my stories – not this story but something standalone I’ll write – All you have to do to play along is send me an audio recording to cyktrussell At Gmail – and I’ll have my panel of judges listen to them all and select a winner. Then that person can perform a story and we’ll drop it on the feed. The other thing I need help with is some proofreaders. This is deeper than typo hunting. If I’m going to turn these seasons into proper books I need to flesh them out a bit. And I’ll be looking for help from you to do it. So reach out to me in any of these haunts if your interested in joining the editorial board. Other than that Everything is on track and wonderful. Hope you all are well, links in the show notes and don’t forget to keep surviving!Podcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsePatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseKindle Vella Story -> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHMerch Store -> http://tee.pub/lic/8MubRv7yeAw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Mar 202224min

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason two, Episode Fourteen, “No Good Choice”Mags knelt on the gravely tar roof of the building and surveyed down the road. This was where the dog was leading her, but she didn’t like being so exposed. She had climbed the rusty fire escape of this place to take a look. ...Podcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsePatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypsKindle Vella Story -> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHMerch Store -> http://tee.pub/lic/8MubRv7yeAw…Anyhow, hope everyone’s hanging in there. “May you live in interesting times” is a phrase that is commonly attributed to a Chinese curse when used ironically. That is most likely apocryphal, i.e. made up by the British fairly recently. We probably don’t get to choose the nature of our times, interesting or not. Our job is to take it day by day and keep surviving. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Mar 202225min

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason two, Episode thirteen, “Dead Man in a Chair”KJ felt her hand hit hard against something under the water. Not so much felt as sensed the impact. The cold water had numbed and sucked the sensation from her extremities. She swam on muscle memory now. She trusted her technique, long tuned by hours in the pool, to keep her afloat on the swollen river and move her forward.To the far bank. Her only chance was to make it to the other side....Outro S2 E13OK my survivor friends. Nice to see you all again this week, although some of you look like you haven’t got a good night’s sleep in weeks. That’s what the apocalypse does to you. Apocalypse Post Link TreeDo us a favor and like the podcast, leave a review, forward it to a friend so we can all Keep Surviving. Podcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsePatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseKindle Vella Story -> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHMerch Store -> http://tee.pub/lic/8MubRv7yeAw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Feb 202231min

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason two, Episode twelve, “Trust”Brad looked at the steaming pile of eggs on his plate and didn’t know what to think. ‘Eggs for dinner?’He loved eggs. His mom used to make them for him. And did the concept of ‘dinner time’ even mean anything anymore?John Tasker noticed his hesitation and said with a smile, “Go ahead, boy, dig in!”. We got plenty.” Brad did as he was told, bringing a greasy, savory forkful to his mouth. There was a time he wouldn’t have even thought about the taste of his food. But now, this mouthful of scrambled eggs felt like a warm explosion of joy in his mouth. His whole body shuddered. ...Podcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsePatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseKindle Vella Story -> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHMerch Store -> http://tee.pub/lic/8MubRv7yeAw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Feb 202229min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode Eleven “John Tasker”The old man grabbed Brad’s arm and hissed, “Let me do the talking.” Brad felt the strong grip on his arm and watched, mystified, as the old man transformed. He hunched over and assumed the guise and deportment of a completely different man than he was, an aged and feeble man. With the old man shuffling and supported on his arm, they emerged into the daylight....https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsehttps://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypsehttps://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypsehttps://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHhttps://www.teepublic.com/stores/after-the-apocalypseEnjoy your week, spring is coming, the days are getting longer, (at least on my side of the planet) and Keep surviving. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Jan 202227min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode Ten “Logistics”Mags looked at the old man with a tiredness that belied the weight of the world on her shoulders. She hadn’t been getting enough sleep. There was so much to do. There was always too much to do. She had to stay on top of the details. They couldn’t afford to lose any more people to this chaotic world. How had she been thrust into the leadership role of this small and broken tribe? She didn’t know if she was up to the task, but she would keep working to make something out of this and out of them. If humans were to survive and move forward, it would take groups of people working collaboratively. She thought that, just maybe, this group could be the start of something good.She wasn’t going to let that die on her watch. ...Outro S2 E10Hello my survivor friends. Had some interesting irony this week. I started reading ‘The Stand’ by Steven King. I’m 2 weeks and 700+ pages in. It’s a big book and takes a long time to build. I’ll have more thoughts on it when I’m finished. If I ever finish. The ironic part is that I picked up a cold over Christmas from my 87-year-old Mom. Which is ironic in itself because we’ve been trying so hard to protect her from the actual pandemic and she turns around and gives us all a bad cold. I was hoping to get a lot done in my week off – and that statement right there tells you a lot about me and my neuroses – but I was sick and spent a lot of time reading and resting, which was good timing to tackle the oversized tome that is The Stand. Here’s the ironic part; I’m lying in bed reading about all these characters who think they only have a cold actually having a superflu that wipes out humanity. At the same time I’m writing a story about a pandemic apocalypse where everyone dies from a virus and listening to the news about a raging pandemic. Talk about meta! I’m a character with a sore throat and a runny nose during a global pandemic, reading about a global pandemic apocalypse and writing about a global pandemic apocalypse. That was my week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Jan 202229min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode nine “Reunion”Bella watched as the big dog pushed his head into the old man’s lap. The dog was wiggling its butt like a puppy and the old man was pretending to be mad. “No”, the old man said, looking away from the supplicant dog, who was vigorously nuzzling at him. “You didn’t listen to me. You could have gotten yourself killed.” The dog gave a big push and the old man slipped out of the chair sprawling onto the linoleum floor. Bill pounced on the old man as he fell to the ground and licked at his face. The old man put his hands up for protection and laughed despite himself. ...Outro S2 E9Hello my survivor friends. Welcome back to the apocalypse. In this episode I wanted to give all y’all a bit of a breather from all the tension and action. That last episode where KJ has to escape across the river was harrowing. Death, destruction, fear, tension, cats and dogs living together – real end-of-the-world stuff!My editors and I had a multi-day discussion as to whether she would bring her boots with her. Tim said to tie the boots around her neck. I just couldn’t see how she could swim with the boots around her neck. I rewrote it 3 times. Tried a compromise. Long distance swimmers actually have these waterproof floaty bags they put stuff in and tie to their ankles. But it was getting to complex and awkward, so I sent them a text that read “I don’t care about the @#$%@ boots!” It’s running joke between us now. I figure in the Hollywood version of the story this scene will give them an excuse to have the heroine take her clothes off! Of course, by the time Hollywood is done with it there will be sea monsters, laser beams and aliens. So – I wanted to take it easy on you this week. And I gave you that tense reunion scene as a flashback so you would already know the outcome and it wouldn’t require so much stress. Then we got them all together back at the school. A bit of a holiday gathering if you will. The security of the group. The gathering. Not the quickening. The gathering. It’s odd how strangers can come together for a common purpose in times of crisis. ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Des 202125min

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason two, Episode Eight “The King”<Editor notes: Slow cadence in this section, let it build and burn. >The King’s given name was Andre Bobette. No one called him that. No one had ever called him that. When he was a kid his hard-drinking, white-trash father had called him ‘Bubba’. At least he had, as long as that miscreant loser was still living with them in the double-wide trailer. ...S2 E8 The King – Outro Hello my survivor friends. Welcome back. How’s the apocalypse going for you these days? This was a long episode. 3500+ words. I thought about breaking it up into two episodes, but it seemed to hang together well enough, and it advances the story line in the right direction. I just listened to Roberts read of the King’s backstory – OH MY GOD! It was terrifying! Great work. Why does Janet care so much about what these bad guys are doing? Because she sees the bigger picture. She sees that this is one of those moments in the arc of time when direct action by a few individuals can determine or alter the broader outcome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Des 202131min