The Hollow Men (Book 1): Crave by Jonathan Teague

their bloodthirst in his own throat. Outwardly, he showed no signs of his internal struggle to keep from grabbing his friend by the ears and shaking the stupidity out of him.
    “You’re being foolish,” he said. “What happened after the game was only a taste of nasty things to come. I am not going to sit around waiting for hell to arrive at my doorstep. I’m going. I’m taking my family. Come with us, or don’t come.”
    Scott glared at his long-time friend. “Take a breath and try this again. First, I agree with you. We’re going on offense not defense. We’re saving our families. Neighbors, if we can. Now, let’s figure out the best thing to do, and then come back to when.”
    “That’s easy. We take everyone to the Lomazzo Estate.”
    Lomazzo began as an old stone fort and military surplus storehouse constructed in the mid-1800s. In the 1920s, a wealthy industrialist named Francis Lomazzo bought the land and had the old fort reconstructed into an expansive residence in the architectural style of an Italian castle. His family owned the estate until the 1960s. Scandal and bankruptcy left the property untended. Over the decades, the building had fallen into disrepair. Vandals had marked the exterior of the once-majestic stone walls.
    “It’s perfect. Surrounded by fruit orchards. And it’s huge. We could bring as many people as we want. Best of all, it’s built on a rounded hill and has an unobstructed 360-degree view. Its walls are still strong, and there are many defensible positions if ever attacked. I have enough guns stashed to hold off a small army.”
    His argument didn’t convince Scott. “It’s a pretty famous structure surrounded by acres of produce. It will become a mecca for hordes of hungry, displaced people. What do we do with them? Shoot them? Welcome them? We both know the violent will be hiding among the desperate. Things could fall apart very quickly.”
    Scott paused. Tom could feel Scott’s eyes studying his face. Tom kept his face slack, unreadable. His friend continued, “My family has a cabin in a remote valley in the Adirondacks. I know the area very well. It’ll need some repairs, which will be difficult, and we’ll gather food, we’ve both been trained to survive in harsh conditions. Most importantly, we’ll be in a place no one will stumble across, let alone look for.”
    Normally, Tom relished debate. Arguments tested the strength of any plan, revealing weaknesses and ultimately resulting in stronger solutions. Tonight, frustration boiled in him. The sense that danger pressed in on his family became more intense. Something had fundamentally changed since his fight in the locker room. His core had shifted. He felt like a paper man, a fragile version of himself too weak to protect those he loved most in the world. His tone was brittle. “It feels like banishing ourselves to the land of starvation. And it feels like hiding. I don’t like it.”
    They fell into silence. Frogs thrummed with the sound of twanging rubber bands.
    Scott broke the quiet with a heavy sigh. “Hey, you OK, buddy?”
    The question irritated Tom. He didn’t need coddling. He thought Scott should stop wasting time disagreeing with him and just get on board with his plan. Pathetic.
    His lip curled into a sneer. “Doing better than you, buddy. You should stop worrying about me and focus on your wife and kids. It’s tiresome building a plan to save your family in addition to protecting mine.”
    Scott squared off against Tom. Tom saw his fists tightening. He readied himself for the punch he knew would come, excited by it. In battle, he normally felt complete calm. His mind would clear. Tonight, he heard a roaring in his ears comparable to standing at the base of Niagara Falls.
    A microsecond before Scott took a swing, Tom gained control of himself, relaxed his position and backed away, hands held up in surrender, making peace.
    He didn’t understand why his emotions were so out of control and felt