Arkhangelsk Box Set: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller - The Complete Arkhangelsk Trilogy (Archangel Rising Archangel Falling Archangel Triumphant) - A Final Dawn Story Read online

  ARKHANGELSK

  A Final Dawn Story

  The Complete Arkhangelsk Trilogy

  Book 1 - Archangel Rising

  Book 2 – Archangel Falling

  Book 3 – Archangel Triumphant

  By

  Mike Kraus

  © 2017 by Mike Kraus

  www.MikeKrausBooks.com

  [email protected]

  www.facebook.com/MikeKrausBooks

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, without the permission in writing from the author.

  Books from Mike Kraus

  Final Dawn: The Complete Original Series Box Set

  Clocking in at nearly 300,000 words with over 250,000 copies sold, this is the complete collection of the original bestselling post-apocalyptic Final Dawn series. If you enjoy gripping, thrilling post-apocalyptic action with compelling and well-written characters you’ll love Final Dawn.

  Final Dawn: Arkhangelsk: The Complete Trilogy Box Set

  The Arkhangelsk Trilogy is the first follow-up series set in the bestselling Final Dawn universe and delivers more thrills, fun and just a few scares. The crew of the Russian Typhoon submarine Arkhangelsk travel to a foreign shore in search of survivors, but what the find threatens their fragile rebuilding efforts in the post-apocalyptic world.

  Surviving the Fall

  Surviving the Fall is an episodic post-apocalyptic series that follows Rick and Dianne Waters as they struggle to survive after a devastating and mysterious worldwide attack. Trapped on the opposite side of the country from his family, Rick must fight to get home while his wife and children struggle to survive as danger lurks around every corner.

  Prip’Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl

  Two teens and two Spetsnaz officers travel to the town of Prip’Yat set just outside the remains of the Chernobyl power plant. The teens are there for a night of exploration. The special forces are there to pursue a creature that shouldn’t exist. This short thriller set around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster will keep your heart racing right through to the very end.

  Book 1 – Archangel Rising

  Chapter 1

  Alexander peered down the narrow corridor, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of anything that might be ahead. His breathing was slow and methodical, though he could feel his heart practically bursting through his chest. Blood fell slowly from his forehead, pooling on his right brow before dripping in front of his eye onto his cheek. The wound wasn’t deep, though the smell of iron was strong. He moved his hand from the handguard of his rifle, wiping away the blood with the back of a sleeve that was already soaked through.

  Behind him came the sound of dozens of shuffling feet along with the murmurs of a crowd. Alexander gritted his teeth and prayed silently, hoping that anything in the corridor wouldn’t be able to hear the people behind him. His footsteps were measured and quiet, honed from seven years spent as a special forces operative. The people he was leading, though, were not nearly as skilled.

  There were a few businessmen, many dockworkers, two government employees, one homeless woman, several children and family members and a few others that Alexander had forgotten about. They were all that was left of the larger group that had managed to cling to survival in the city after the day the sky had turned to flame and ash. They were the last survivors of the city.

  Not that it matters in the end, he thought. This whole world’s gone mad. First half the city gets wiped out, then those… things. He forced back a shudder, not wanting the grip on his rifle to waver. Another drip of blood came down, this time into his eye. He stopped in his tracks and lowered his gun, blinking and rubbing his eye to rid it of the blood.

  The ambush came without warning, from a small metal door in the wall. Alexander had his gun halfway back to his shoulder when the metal door was forced open with one blow, striking him in the side. Powerful muscles plowed into him, slamming him into the far wall and knocking the breath from his lungs. Alexander struggled as he fell, but nothing could slow his inexorable collision with the ground. Pain lanced through his back, up through his neck and reverberated in his head. Light exploded in his eyes, and he suddenly wished for nothing more than to close them and fall asleep.

  A roar came from his side, and through the haze, he realized that the attack wasn’t just from one creature. Two others passed by him in the dimly lit corridor, heading for the crowd that Alexander had been leading. A scream came from down the hall as the survivors caught sight of the creatures bearing down on them. A few scattered gunshots echoed out, but Alexander knew they would be no match for the intensity of the attack.

  Another roar came forth, this time from the creature that was now standing in front of Alexander. Human in appearance only, it snarled at him, light glinting off the silvered metals that twisted through its body. Hands raised for a killing blow, it came forward again to finish what it had started. Watching the creature charge him was like a light switch in Alexander’s mind. A fresh surge of adrenaline poured into his veins, and the pain in his head was gone.

  Alexander rolled to one side, off of the small ledge he had been thrown on and narrowly avoiding the creature as it slammed into the wall above him. The sound of metal colliding with tile and concrete was agonizing and exhilarating. Alexander felt around him with his hands, squinting through the dust and dirt, searching for his weapon. More gunshots sounded out, along with the painful squeal of one of the creatures.

  Alexander grimaced. Perhaps they’ll make it after all. The creature closest to him roared in pain, one of its arms dangling from its side, twisted and broken. It charged him again, slower this time, and Alexander knew he wouldn’t be able to pull off the same trick twice. Unable to find his gun, he rolled onto his back and pulled out a black blade from the front of his vest. He strained to sit up and grasped it with both hands, raising the blade as the beast slammed into him.

  The force of the blow knocked Alexander back several feet, but this time he was prepared. He rolled with the impact, falling backward while keeping his chin tucked and the blade steady. It pierced the chest of the creature as it slammed into him again. Alexander rolled back as he fell, pushing against the creature’s legs with his own and sending it flying over him and down the hall. The knife stayed lodged in the creature as it went, and the once-powerful roar softened to a dull whimper before going silent.

  Another scream drifted toward Alexander, reminding him that he had no time to sit still. He scrambled to his feet and stumbled back down the corridor. His eyes flicked back and forth across the floor, searching for his weapon once again. The glint of metal and sound of wood came a few seconds later as his foot collided with the gun, sending it skittering across the gravel a few feet ahead of him. Another burst of adrenaline came with the sound as Alexander realized they still had a fighting chance.

  He picked up the weapon and charged back toward the group of survivors. A scream of fury escaped his lips, and he raised the rifle as he ran. A thin beam of red lanced forward from the end of the rifle, piercing the darkness and coming to rest on the silvery strands on the back of one of the beasts. It was hunched over, clawing at a body on the floor, when Alexander squeezed the trigger. Fire bloomed from the end of the gun and the sound of explosions filled the air as lead found flesh and bone.

  Before the creature’s body hit the groun
d, Alexander was already at the center of the group, scanning the corridor before and behind him for any sign of the second creature. One of the survivors pointed back at the creature Alexander had killed. Slumped over on the ground, one of its hands was still buried in the body of the second creature, which it had been mauling even after death. Alexander turned back to the survivors and raised an eyebrow.

  “Who?” he whispered.

  A tall man in a torn business suit stepped forward. His arms were bloody, and he limped along, carrying a pistol in one hand. “I did.”

  Alexander nodded. “Good—” The accolade was cut short as a shriek came from further down the corridor, in the direction the survivors had been traveling from. Howls joined the shriek, then a series of roars. Alexander felt his stomach sink.

  All pretense of stealth was dropped. Alexander turned on the flashlight that was pinned to the front of his vest and pushed his way to the back of the group. Bared fangs and glistening eyes reflected off of his light. Alexander braced himself against the closest wall, ejected the empty magazine from his rifle and slammed home a new one before shouting to the group behind him.

  “Run! For God’s sake, RUN!”

  Chapter 2

  On March 26, 2038, the world was destroyed. Virtually every nuclear bomb in existence detonated at the same time across the planet, causing widespread death and destruction. For those few who survived, the true horror was only just beginning. Instead of facing deadly radiation, they were met by a far more ominous enemy. Swarms comprised of trillions of nanobots – tiny, nearly invisible robots – blanketed the globe, killing many of the survivors and transforming others into horrifying creatures. Controlled by an artificial intelligence created by a clandestine government program, the nanobot swarms were responsible for the destruction of the planet – and the devastation that followed.

  Four of the individuals who managed to survive both the bombs and the swarms were united under the most unlikely of circumstances. Each carried with them their own experiences, skills and knowledge. Leonard McComb, an engineer, was deep beneath Manhattan Island when the bombs fell. Marcus Warden, a self-made millionaire, was camping in the middle of a West Virginia forest. Nancy Sims, an accountant, was crossing the plains of Kansas. Rachel Walsh, a government scientist who had worked on the artificial intelligence project, heard her family’s screams as they died.

  All four were on separate paths when they met and were forced to work together while under attack. After formulating a plan, Leonard and Nancy headed west, toward Alaska, where the signature of a Russian nuclear submarine had been detected by an orbiting satellite. Rachel and Marcus, meanwhile, headed to the lab where Rachel had worked in the heart of Washington D.C. to try and recover a device that could destroy the swarms.

  Though their journeys nearly cost them their lives many times over, they were, in the end, triumphant. Rachel and Marcus managed to link up with another survivor from the government lab, along with a specially designed electromagnetic pulse generator that was powerful enough to destroy even the largest swarms. Leonard and Nancy found the Russian submarine, the Arkhangelsk, and convinced the commander of the sub to assist them in their destruction of the swarms.

  As the swarms built a massive structure along the gulf coast of the United States, the two groups raced to get there, knowing that each moment they delayed was another moment the swarms came closer to achieving their ultimate goal: the complete eradication of humanity. The structure built by the artificial intelligence was dubbed the “Nexus.” Situated along the gulf coast of the United States, the artificial intelligence used the structure as the backbone of a computing network designed to help itself “evolve” to a new level of existence.

  On April 27, 2038, Rachel Walsh gave her life to save the world. Facing down the artificial intelligence inside of the Nexus, Rachel distracted it long enough for the Arkhangelsk to rain down hellfire upon the building, destroying the AI. The fires that had signaled the end of civilization, decimated the population and brought humanity to its knees were, in the end, the world’s salvation.

  In the months following the destruction of the swarms, the survivors worked ceaselessly to regroup, reorganize and rebuild. As one of the only surviving sea-worthy vessels, the Arkhangelsk proved invaluable in this effort by helping to transport supplies and building materials and by acting as a base of operations during search and rescue missions for other survivors. The first concerted effort between the survivors resulted in the city of New Richmond, a few miles down the coast from where the Nexus had once stood. Survivors from across the Americas were brought there, both by the Arkhangelsk and by teams that traveled by land.

  In May of 2039, the Arkhangelsk set sail for Russia. Long months of finding and assisting survivors in the Americas had taken its toll on the primarily Russian crew of the sub, and they were eager to return to their homeland to see what remained. Only too happy to help, Marcus, Leonard and Nancy journeyed with them to assist in whatever ways they could. With a functioning city now operating along the Gulf of Mexico, they were eager to seek out other groups of survivors around the world and to assist them in any way possible.

  While the threat of the AI had been destroyed on that April evening, the group of explorers were soon to discover that the dangers spawned by the swarms were still very much alive.

  Chapter 3

  The Arkhangelsk

  Leonard’s breath grew rapid as his headlight dimmed. He stopped crawling and slapped at his helmet a few times. The feeble light glowed brighter again in response, though it started to fade again after a few seconds. He cursed the light under his breath. His heartbeat grew more rapid, and he could feel the sting of salt on his tongue from the sweat pouring down his face.

  Once again Leonard was hundreds of feet underground. Trapped in a narrow passage with no way out, he clawed his way through debris. Rebar and concrete scraped at him, tearing holes in his clothes and drawing blood with every scratch. Dust was thick in the air, thrown up by each movement forward. The air was nearly impossible to breathe, and Leonard felt his breaths growing shallower by the second as he tried desperately to pull in more air.

  In the distance, down the narrow passage, Leonard could see a pale silver light. He crawled faster. The light was far, but close enough that he was sure he could make it before his headlamp gave out. A moment’s worth of crawling later, he could crouch. Another moment and he could stand up. He ran through the tunnel, shrugging off his heavy tool belt as the silver light grew brighter.

  He was nearly on top of it when he saw, with a gasp, that it wasn’t light at all. Hundreds of silvered eyes stared at him, the light reflecting off them from his headlamp. The eyes were static and immobile, sitting sunken in their skulls. Harsh, raspy breathing came loud from the tunnel, along with the sound of bodies rustling in the darkness. Leonard tried to scream as the eyes leapt forward and the bodies began coalescing into human shapes. Clothing tattered and skin torn, they weren’t human anymore. Twisted and misshapen, they were horrific combinations of flesh and metal. Abominations, each and every one.

  Sharp metallic claws lashed at Leonard as he tried to get away. He tried to scream again, to yell for the help he knew would never come, but his voice refused to work. The screech of metal on bone sounded loud in his ears, and he closed his eyes, still struggling against the wave of creatures that came crashing down upon him. They tugged and pulled, jerking his legs from underneath him and throwing him down to the floor.

  Leonard opened his eyes as he felt himself falling. He flailed his arms, catching nothing but air as he landed with a loud thump on the floor. Panic set in, and he began thrashing against a rough wool blanket that was dyed green and looked as though it had seen a hundred years of service. Blinking several times, Leonard slowly realized where he was. His breathing slowed, and he pulled himself up and began crawling back into his bunk, then cursed loudly as he slammed his forehead into the top of the structure.

  “Shit!”

  The pain f
inished the job of fully waking him from his slumber. He sat down on the edge of his bed and rubbed his eyes, still pulling the blanket off of himself as he struggled to get his bearings. The room was still dark, though the light from the corridor outside the room filtered in through the curtain that hung in the doorway. A deep thrumming came from somewhere underneath the floor, and he could hear gases and liquids rushing through pipes inside the walls and out in the corridor.

  An alarm clock on the floor next to the bunk was the origin of the screeching he had heard in his dream. Leonard reached down and turned it off, then patted his chest and arms, breathing a soft sigh of relief at the confirmation that it was, after all, just a dream.

  While it had been well over a year since he had crawled, climbed and fought his way to freedom out of the depths of the Manhattan sewer system, dreams of his time there still haunted him. He had been working on a repair order, hundreds of feet underground, when the bombs had fallen. The structure of the underground environment was radically altered by the explosions above ground, and he spent the better part of two days making his way back to the surface. Though he hadn’t met with any of the mutated creatures in the time he’d spent underground, the many close calls he’d had with them after the fact was enough to make every night one that was filled with nightmares.