STEADFAST Book One: America's Last Days (The Steadfast Series 1) Read online

  What Readers are Saying

  I just finished Steadfast Book One. As usual David has done an outstanding job of drawing you into the story. The overall story line is so believable you start thinking about what you would do in a situation like that. I am looking forward to Books Two and Three.—Karen McClimon

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  Not only did Steadfast grab me from the first sentence, but it has caused me to take a close look at my own Christian journey. With the crumbling of Christian values today, it is easy to believe this story is a possible tragic path for America’s future.—Gayle Wilson

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  STEADFAST

  America's Last Days

  * Book One *

  D.I. Telbat

  https://ditelbat.com/book/steadfast-book-one/

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  Copyright 2017 ~ D.I. Telbat

  All rights reserved

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  Cover Design by Quest Publications

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  In America's last days,

  only the steadfast will prevail!

  Bible Scripture verses taken from the KJV.

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  FREE PDF Downloads

  Get your FREE Steadfast Drawings at

  ~ https://ditelbat.com/steadfast-drawings/ ~

  *~*

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

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  Dedication

  for The Steadfast Series

  To those who know they must begin

  to stand for Christ right now, not later.

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  Acknowledgements

  for The Steadfast Series

  Every book requires a team,

  and every series requires commitment,

  so, thanks to the individuals who bless me,

  and strive alongside me,

  by correcting, editing, and advising:

  Dee, Jamie, Sharon, and Mountainman Ed.

  Special thanks also to my Beta Reader Friends!

  Most of all, I acknowledge the finished work

  of Jesus Christ for us,

  and the saving work of God in us.

  May our work bring Him glory.

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  Table of Contents

  What Readers are Saying

  Title and Copyright

  FREE Downloads

  Dedication

  Note from the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Character Sketch

  Glossary

  Other Books by D.I. Telbat

  About the Author

  BONUS Chapter: Steadfast Book One Bonus Chapter

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  Note from the Author

  Dear Friend,

  The Steadfast Series is a story that takes place in the mountains of Wyoming. Originally, these were the Laramie Mountains with Casper in the north and Cheyenne in the south. But I have taken fictional license with the geography and presented a hypothetical mountain range and river system within the Rockies, in central and eastern Wyoming.

  The Meridia Virus, which kills one hundred million across America, is a fictional virus, though I modeled it after the Ebola Virus of Western Africa.

  The edible plants and roots mentioned in the story are real and accurate for the region.

  Though I believe Christ will return soon for His Church before the collapse of America, I have presented a "what if" scenario in the immediate future. But if Christ doesn't return to judge the world as soon as we believe, will we remain steadfast and uncompromising in our faith?

  Please tell me what you think of The Steadfast Series through your reviews on Amazon, and visit us at ditelbat.com for our weekly blog posts and publishing updates.

  For the King, David Telbat

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  "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable,

  always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know

  that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58 KJV

  *~*

  Chapter 1

  Eric Radner was starving to death. It had been weeks since he'd eaten an actual meal. Like a wild animal, he'd begun to eat grass and insects, even worms and snails. The only thing that scared him more than starving to death was the possibility of dying by the virus.

  Now, a cold rain chilled his shriveled skeleton. The Wyoming forest was quiet except for the static of falling rain and Eric's chattering teeth. This was the end, Eric thought, as he sat on the ground and leaned against a tree. In a couple of days, he'd fall asleep and never wake up. His body couldn't take much more torment from the elements.

  The thought of death saddened him most of all because he never understood why he'd been born in the first place. What was the point of life? It all seemed so insignificant. His malnourishment mixed with hopelessness brought upon him an overwhelming depression. There seemed no escape from the pending doom.

  He tightened his designer belt around his midsection, but his belt wouldn't fasten any smaller. His clothes hung off him in tatters. The sole of one shoe had fallen off, and two of his toes had been cut on rocks while crossing a creek a week earlier. Though he knew nothing about living in the wilderness, he decided it was still better this way. In his imagination, he saw mountains of bodies in every city—infected, rotting, discarded . . . No, he wouldn't die from the virus.

  Using the tree to stand, he studied the terrain around him. The movies always made it seem like the mountains were plentiful with caves, but he hadn't found a single one in weeks. His nights had been spent at the base of trees, covering himself with leaves and branches, restless from bug bites and nightmares of coyotes tearing at his corpse. Living like this, he'd never survive the winter.

  Above the tree tops, he glimpsed a steep mountain slope, rocky and jagged. It seemed like a potential place for a cave—or to cast himself off a cliff to end his suffering. Why was he prolonging the inevitable? An instant later, he answered his own thoughts. He wasn't rushing into eternity because he didn't know what eternity held. He'd never taken the time to find out.

  Using his hands, Eric climbed the mountain slope. In his city footwear, he slipped many times in the first few minutes, bloodying his knees and even his brow. He paused after ten minutes to scan the terrain behind him. Now above the trees, he looked down on the still green and gray forest, a sheet of rain barring him from seeing beyond a mile.

  The world was finished, he guessed. Humanity, at least, would be wiped out by the virus. It all seemed so pointless—births and weddings, barbeques and vacations. Eric felt that he'd never done anything significant for anyone but himself, and even if he'd used his money to build homes for earthquake victims or fed the homeless, what would it all matter if everyone was to die now by a contagion?

  To his right, Eric spotted a ridge that angled upward. On the spine of the mountain, the climbing was easier. In his pursuit for a cave to hide and die in, he exposed his thin frame not only to the pelting rain but now to a driving wind. A cliff face stretched beside and below him, and he contemplated a hasty end. His soul was pierced by defeat, deeper even than his fear of the virus or of the eternal unknown.

  As he crawled over a boulder the size of a van, he slipped and tumbled off sideways. He landed a few feet below on
his back, breathless, staring up at the cloudy afternoon sky. The rain stung his eyes. Slowly, he sat up and noticed he'd landed on a narrow ledge above the cliff. He'd heard of mountain goats and deer that had game trails where people couldn't safely walk.

  Too dazed and weak to stand, he crawled along the cliff as a barely discernible trail cut up the mountainside. His knees were numb from the gashes. His head hung heavily, his untrimmed hair filthy and matted against his sopping skull.

  His head bumped into something. He lifted his eyes to find not a tree, but flat boards. Several seconds passed before his mind recognized a manmade structure. A door and a wall were disguised by bark and slabs of rock set up against a small cabin, as if to hold it upright against the wind. An antique latch clicked under his thumb, and the door swung inward on modern though rusty hinges.

  Was this real? A dark interior welcomed Eric, and he crawled out of the rain to roll onto his side on the plank flooring. Tilting his head, he looked up at a one-room habitat, large enough for a wide kitchen counter, a narrow bed, and a small wooden table. Open shelves lined the walls with books, charts, and cans of food. A rifle hung on a sling by the doorframe, and a closed trunk sat under the bed.

  Eric drew his tired bones upright, leaning heavily on the kitchen counter, and hesitantly selected a can from one shelf. His deliverance was here before him. Through gasps and sobs, he fumbled for a manual can opener amongst a set of knives. After three attempts with the can opener, he tossed it aside and went for a sturdy kitchen blade. Impatiently, he stabbed weakly at the top of the can until he could pry open the top. His knees nearly buckled at the aroma of shredded beef in thick gravy.

  For a man who'd eaten worms and insects for days, eating beef with his filthy fingers straight from the can was still a banquet.

  Halfway through his feast, he clutched his midsection as cramps seized him. His stomach had shrunk. He was already stuffed. Setting the can aside, he took three hasty steps, then lunged at the bed. Facedown, he slept where he fell, one leg and arm hanging off the rustic structure.

  #######

  The following day, Eric woke to a chill on his back. He rolled off the bed and stood upright. Though weak, he felt rested. The cabin still seemed like an illusion, but the cold morning breeze was real. With a nudge, he closed the door and more thoroughly studied the interior of his sanctuary.

  The cabin on the mountainside, miles from civilization, overlooked a vast, dense forest. Thick plastic windows had been set into the sturdy walls. The roof was angled sharply to avoid snow accumulation. Binoculars sat on the table next to a late generation radio and transmitter. A plaque on the wall confirmed what Eric had already surmised—it was a U.S. Forest Service cabin.

  He'd found a forest ranger lookout post, probably only manned during fire season. Maybe occasionally by hunters. The lack of much dust indicated someone had been there within the last few months, but vacated, Eric guessed, when news of the virus had been heard.

  "Why me?" Eric asked aloud.

  Never before had he asked that question for anything but bad circumstances. But now, he understood he was being blessed, or honored, and he didn't know why. This wasn't luck. Death had surrounded him. Now, he stood in a mountain shack that contained everything he needed to survive.

  In the trunk under the bed, he found men's jeans and flannel shirts. On one shelf, a row of books leaned against boxes of rifle cartridges. There were volumes on survival, hunting, and North American herbs, as well as a musty collection of crime novels and a set of encyclopedias—missing several volumes. And a Bible. Eric reached out and touched the binding of the Bible. None of this was an accident. Though he'd never read the Bible, he knew he was about to. He needed answers—about life and death and the end of the world.

  The radio! He sat on a wooden chair at the table. After a moment, he found the power switch and turned it on. Using a dial, he clicked through static only briefly before he heard voices. With startled attention, he listened as reports poured in from around the country. Most of what was said were recordings. When the tapes looped for a second time, Eric changed the frequency to hear another.

  Only weeks before, maybe four, he'd run to hide in the Wyoming mountains. Now, whole cities were closed off. The virus had spread to every metropolitan area. Half of Atlanta had burned. New Orleans was a ghost town from the dead and dying, or those who'd run for safety. Los Angeles was a war zone of looting survivors and a military force trying to regain control. Martial Law had been initiated nationwide, but the virus had depleted the National Guard ranks. Or soldiers had left their posts to care for their own families.

  For the next several days, Eric ate canned food and listened to the radio. Something they called the Meridia Virus had swept across America like a vengeful wind. Some said it was a biological weapon accidentally loosed. Others said it was intentionally released by the Russians, or Chinese, or jihadists. No one knew where it had started, or if it would end. The nation's infrastructure was collapsing, and the death count hadn't even peaked.

  While the Internet was still online and radio stations were still broadcasting, one hundred million had been reported as infected. Rumor had it, once infected, no one lived beyond two weeks. Death came after symptoms of skin boils, rashes, and dehydration.

  The public, as a whole, seemed to accept the virus as an evolutionary response to overpopulation and unrestrained chemical consumption. Therefore, people reacted passively, with no desire to pursue ways of survival. Hopelessness prevailed.

  Apocalyptic theorists boasted in their own reasonings for the pandemic, and offered numerous ways to overcome. None of them agreed, Eric found, and as the days passed, they went silent. Or died.

  There was even a religious report that looped nonstop. The Christians were looking toward the heavens for answers. Many guessed that Christ would have returned while America was still eating and drinking, marrying and partying, texting and gaming. But the clouds seemed silent. So, believers understood the virus to be a warning, a final flag for all to repent. The wealthiest nation, the proudest people, had been brought to its knees. But while on its knees, would the remnant call upon the Lord?

  Two live operators broadcasted what they knew or suspected—from Denver and Chicago. But after another week, only one remained, then the last operator went quiet as well. All that was left for Eric to listen to were announcements and warnings he'd already heard about the virus: avoid contact with everyone, even family. The virus could be airborne, or it could be transmitted by touch. No one knew for sure.

  Eric finally turned off the radio and walked outside. The early autumn sky was blue. Below his cabin, the forest stretched like a blanket to the south. Lakes and ridges interrupted the green trees, but he was otherwise isolated. Yet, for how long? He couldn't stay in the ranger cabin. Someone might return, someone with the virus. Or someone with murderous intent for survival. They'd take his remaining possessions and he'd be starving in the wilderness again.

  If he were to survive, he'd need to relocate in secret. Shielding his eyes, he gazed to the east. He was pretty sure he'd abandoned his car in that direction. The forest was dense there, and the mountains high. There was plenty of water, and trees to build a cabin, and game to hunt.

  But he had much to learn first. He'd never hunted deer, let alone cut meat off a carcass. Reaching for the survival book, his fingers brushed the Bible again. How to gut a deer would have to wait.

  Opening the Bible, he paged through its crisp pages. Someone had made notes in pen in the margins of almost every page. This was someone's personal Bible, the object of untold hours of attention and devotion. Where were the answers he sought? He flipped to the beginning and started reading.

  Over the next two weeks, Eric turned on the radio only twice more, but found the same looped recordings. His Bible reading was interrupted only by meals, sleep, and studying the survival guide. His strength grew. He considered which items he would take from the ranger's lookout, and which items he would leave behind for so
meone if they returned. However, it seemed no one was coming back to that mountain.

  From the Bible, he found the truth of a just God, wrathful against rebellion and sin, but gracious toward repentant sinners. Eric was forced each evening to look honestly at his own heart. The words in the Bible had awakened something inside him. The fear of the virus and his concern of being around other people remained, but it lessened in the face of God's apparent plan for all of humanity. Even him. Mankind had entered a path of destruction. God alone promised to show Himself as Victor. Jesus, God in the flesh, had proven Himself as that Victor, and man was meant to be His followers and ambassadors to bring Jesus glory. It began by faith, Eric read.

  He didn't see how he could possibly obey much of how the Bible guided him to live, since he was isolated from other people, but there were steps he could take now, privately, between himself and God. Faith, for the first time in his life, came alive. And he believed.

  #######

  "The following announcement is a pre-recorded statement in coordination with the Public Broadcasting System, in case of emergency. State and federal authorities are asking all citizens to remain in their homes. Because of the current health risk, specialists are advising all citizens to refrain from contact with your neighbors. Do not share food. Do not shake hands. Do not touch.

  "The virus seems to have a long incubation period. Eight to ten days after exposure, the symptoms begin to show. Fever is the primary symptom, followed by other extreme flu-like symptoms. Due to dehydration, dry patches or sores may appear on the skin, possibly erupting as boils that may make transmission more possible. If someone has a fever, then they are contagious by touch, though airborne particles haven't been ruled out. Tylenol may be taken to reduce the fever, but the infected will still be contagious.

  "Hospitals are not trained or equipped for this emergency. Do not bring your symptomatic loved ones to the hospital or any public treatment facility. You'll only be endangering others. At this moment, a vaccine is being prepared for distribution.