The Renewal Read online

  The

  Renewal

  Other Books by Steven C. Smith

  The Reversion

  The Revival

  The

  Renewal

  Book III

  of

  The Stonemont Series

  Steven C. Smith

  Copyright © 2017 by Steven C. Smith

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Contact the author at: [email protected]

  As before and for always, to my wife and children.

  You are the loves of my life and the reason for all my efforts.

  .

  Rightful liberty is unobstructed action

  according to our will

  within limits drawn around us by the

  equal rights of others.

  I do not add within the limits of the law

  because law is often at the tyrant’s will,

  and always so when it violates

  the rights of the individual.

  -Thomas Jefferson

  Recommendation

  Steven Smith - or as I know him, Craig - lived, taught, and now writes about the real stuff that very few have dealt with, and even fewer can write about in the way he does.

  As the former publisher of Grandmaster Magazine, he brought coverage of authentic martial arts and combat sports to the true butt-kickers around the world. His columns and editorials revealed the reality of a violent world that was appreciated by those of us who lived it and instructed those who had only heard about it. His treatise What Makes a Warrior? should be etched in bronze.

  Now, he has combined his knowledge of survival, preparedness and the harsher side of reality to create a series of books that describes a world after the collapse in a way that makes you live it - and want to live it.

  I have been an avid reader all my life, enjoying great writers from H. Rider Haggard to the modern adventure authors, and rarely have I enjoyed books as much as I have the Stonemont series. If you want to know what the world will be like after the collapse - and what to do about it - read these books! Only one warning: don’t start them too late at night – you won’t get any sleep.

  As I have asked before, when is the next one coming out?

  Jim “Ronin” Harrison

  Montana, 2019

  Called one of the most dangerous men alive by Bruce Lee, Jim Harrison is one of the true legends of martial arts, combatives and survivalism. Known for his notorious battles during the “Blood-n-Guts” era of American karate, he has been called the closest thing to a modern samurai the 20th century can produce.

  He was 3-time U.S. Karate Champion, 3-time All-American Grand Champion, undefeated U.S. light heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, and coach to the undefeated U.S. Professional Team.

  He has trained U.S. Army Special Forces, Rangers, SEALs, Marine Scout-Sniper/Recon and members of First Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force).

  He has provided personal security for Chuck Norris, Linda (Mrs. Bruce) Lee and Prince Mikhail Matijasevic.

  He was awarded a Ph.D. (Research, Analysis and Instruction) by Yudanshakai University, and was inducted into the International Karate Hall of Fame with Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee.

  He is the founder of Bushidokan, Ronin Jutsu and Sakura Warrior Arts.

  Foreward

  In his first novel, The Reversion, Steven Smith took the modern post-apocalyptic genre to a new level of general fiction, introducing us to a world after a cataclysmic collapse and taking us into the lives of those who survive and begin to rebuild.

  In his second novel, The Revival, he once again broke a barrier into adventure fiction, mixing humor and intense action with social commentary, political philosophy and in-depth examinations of comparative justice and cultural constructs - all skillfully woven into a compelling story of personal and societal survival so as to be both powerful yet comfortable to the reader. It was, in essence, an examination of relative societal design wrapped in a story of survival, love, loyalty, perseverance, responsibility and the desire of people to live peacefully if possible while remaining ready to respond to violent, existential threats when necessary.

  In this, his third novel and the third installment of the Stonemont series, Smith takes us a step farther - or perhaps several steps.

  The worst of the die-off is over. Over ninety percent of the continental population has perished due to starvation, disease, the violence accompanying societal collapse and the general inability of most to provide for themselves. Those who remain have come together in communities of various types and have learned to survive – some in cooperative fashion, some under the authority of strong leaders and some under the savage control of fanatical tyrants.

  Survival, however, is not enough for the people of Stonemont, and in them we see the renewal of industry, inter-community commerce and societal interaction, and a desire to rebuild a world that was better than the one in which they had previously lived.

  Civilization is returning, but in the world around them lurk difficulties and dangers of which they are not yet aware. The question is what comes next - and Smith takes us there in a way no one has before. His approach is original and his style unique, having been described as a combination of Jack London, Robert Heinlein, Nelson DeMille and Louis L’Amour - and perhaps only this combination could have brought forth a vision and a series like this.

  Many have said, after reading the first two books, that they would rather live in the new world of Stonemont than in their current world. I have come to agree. And after The Renewal, you will too.

  John Middleton

  South Carolina, 2019

  Author’s Note to the Reader

  This book is a sequel to The Reversion and The Revival - and the third in the Stonemont series.

  In writing it, I had to decide whether to include enough background material to enable it to stand alone, without the reader having first read The Reversion and The Revival, or to simply continue the story. I decided on the latter, as reading sequels filled with repeated re-introductions of people and situations from previous books has always irritated me and interrupts the natural flow of the story.

  So, with this in mind, I highly recommend that anyone who has not yet read The Reversion and The Revival do so before starting this one. It will make all the difference.

  Semper Paratus

  SCS

  The

  Renewal

  Si vis pacem, para bellum.

  (If you want peace, prepare for war.)

  1

  Kelly cut a sprig from one of the rosemary plants and placed it in the basket with the other cuttings, thinking about what else she needed for the afternoon class. The position of the sun told her it was mid-morning, and she didn't need to be at the hall until after lunch, so she took a moment to sit on the stone wall that surrounded the herb garden and watch the activity around her.

  True summer had finally arrived, the spring rains having done their job and passed, and the warmth of the lengthening days brought a calm that was reflected in a slower pace of people and the community as a whole. The frenzy of planting was over, the cold of winter and fury of spring was a fading memory, and everyone had settled into the saddle of summer, enjoying the rest and reflection that good weather and fewer chores allowed.

  She looked over at the house garden where Naomi was showing something to Brody and Morgan. Naomi was a natural teacher, and the kids loved learning from her as much as she obvious
ly loved teaching them.

  Declan and the Rangers had returned to Texas several weeks after the wedding, but Jim and Kelly had persuaded Cilla to stay longer, fixing up one of the recently vacated cabins for her to live in until fall, when Declan had promised he would be back. She had initially resisted, but the opportunity to spend more time with the daughter she had wondered if she would ever see again won out and she had thrown herself into life at Stonemont, helping wherever she could and enjoying the kind of community she had missed since the collapse.

  For her part, Naomi had settled comfortably into the family even more than she had before. As Christian's wife, she was now a part of everything from daily activities to long-term planning, a field she had shown a particular talent for, and found that her new position brought out interests and abilities she had not known she had.

  "Are you watching us, mommy?" called Morgan.

  Kelly smiled, realizing she had been admiring the easy way Naomi had with the kids. "I guess you caught me."

  Morgan walked slowly toward her, touching something on her hand. "I found a lady bug. Naomi says they help fertilize the garden."

  "Pollinate, Morgan," said Brody.

  "I mean pollinate," Morgan said, trying to stroke the tiny bug with a fingertip.

  "That's right," Kelly said. "They help things grow. Would you like to help me snap the heads off these basil plants?"

  Morgan stopped, looking up at her mother with a grimace. "Snap their heads off?"

  Kelly laughed and took a branch of a sweet basil plant in her fingers. "See where these flowers are starting to bloom?"

  Morgan looked closely, forgetting her lady bug. "Yes."

  "We need to snap them off so that the leaves don't get bitter."

  "What do we do with the flowers?"

  "We put them in salads or other dishes."

  Morgan's eyes grew wide. "We eat them?"

  "Yep. Remember the rose petals on the cake Jasmine made for us?"

  Morgan thought for a minute. "Are all flowers eatable?"

  Kelly laughed again. "You mean edible, and no, not all are." She thought for a minute, looking around. "The ones around here that are edible are carnations, roses, clover, lilac, honeysuckle, marigolds, sunflowers, pansies and dandelions."

  "Dandelions?" Morgan gasped, making a gagging noise. "I would never eat dandelions!"

  Kelly gave her an amused look. "You wouldn't?"

  "Ugh! No!"

  "You know the corn and cheese casserole you like?"

  Morgan looked at her cautiously. "Yes."

  "Well, sometimes I put dandelion petals in it. I put the leaves in our salads, too."

  Morgan took a step back, a horrified look on her face. "You put weeds in our food! How could you! Ick!"

  Kelly laughed harder. "They're very nutritious."

  "What's nutritious?" asked Aedan as he came up the garden path from the corrals.

  "Mommy puts weeds in our food!" exclaimed Morgan.

  Aedan looked at his mom, confused.

  "I was just telling her what flowers are edible and told her that I sometimes use dandelions," smiled Kelly.

  "Oh, yeah," Aedan nodded. "They're really good for you, Morgan."

  "Ick!"

  Aedan looked back at his mom. "I'm going out to do some training with dad. When does everything start?"

  Kelly looked toward the commons and central hall. "They’re already setting things up, and people will start showing up around mid-afternoon so they can visit and watch the steer roast. We'll start about tree-top," she answered, referring to the traditional starting time of when the sun touched the top of the western tree line.

  "Okay." He looked at his brother. "Brody, are you coming with us?"

  Brody shook his head. "I'm going to help mommy with her class.”

  "Okay." Aedan looked back at his mom. "Is dad in the house?"

  Kelly nodded. "He's in his den with Christian and Bill."

  "Okay. See you later."

  "Bye, honey. Have fun."

  Aedan walked down the stone path from the garden around to the veranda, mounted the steps and entered the kitchen door.

  "Hi, Jasmine," he said, seeing her working at the large island. "That smells good. What are you making?"

  Jasmine looked up, smiling. "Zucchini bread. What are you doing?"

  "I'm going out with dad for a while."

  He came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. "Can I have a piece?"

  Jasmine poured batter from a large mixing bowl into four loaf pans and chuckled. "There's part of a loaf under that tea towel." She nodded her head at a sideboard. "Your dad already sliced some off of it, so you may as well too."

  Aedan smiled as he uncovered the still-warm loaf and cut off a slice. “Thanks. Mrs. Hernandez never let me steal early bites.”

  Jasmine smiled. “Well, that was probably just her motherly instincts, not wanting you to spoil your appetite.”

  “I don’t spoil my appetite no matter how much I eat,” he said around a mouthful of the bread. “I could eat a dinner before dinner and still have room for dessert.”

  “I bet you could,” Jasmine laughed, covering the loaf back up, “but if you have any more there won’t be enough for everybody else.”

  She hooked her thumb toward the door. “You’d better get before anybody else comes in here wanting early samples.”

  Aedan stuffed the last of the loaf in his mouth and turned to leave. “Okay. Thanks. See you later.”

  “And don’t talk with your mouth full,” called Jasmine as he disappeared through the doorway.

  "Are we really going to see a movie?" he asked as soon as he entered the den.

  Jim looked up from a sheaf of papers he was holding and smiled. "Where did you hear that?"

  Aedan started to answer, then thought for a minute. He smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "Sorry, I can't reveal my sources."

  Jim tossed the papers on the table in front of him, looked at Christian and Bill, then back at his son with an amused look on his face.

  "Sources, huh? So, there are more than one. Or you could have purposely said that to try to make me think there are more than one, when, in fact, there is only one."

  Aedan looked at his father warily. "Uh, why would I do that?"

  Jim squinted with one eye while raising the other eyebrow. "Because you're crafty. All great covert operatives are masters of micro-behavior."

  Aedan gave a quizzical look at Christian and Bill, then looked back at his dad. "What is micro-behavior?"

  "Subtle, fleeting expressions, actions, movements, noises or comments, supposedly occurring outside of the perpetrator's awareness, but which, when consciously executed by a trained professional, can be used to mislead the unsuspecting target regarding the perpetrator's knowledge, actions or intent."

  Aedan looked again at Christian and Bill, who were now grinning, then back at his dad. "I just wanted to know if we were going to see a movie tonight."

  Jim took a deep breath. "Can't tell you. It's a secret. Are you ready?"

  Aedan nodded. "Yeah."

  "Good. Sit down."

  "I thought we were going to train."

  "We are. Sit down."

  Aedan sat on the couch next to his dad, his impatience apparent.

  Jim looked at his son. "What is stealing?"

  "Why?" Aedan asked, a questioning look on his face. "Did somebody steal something?"

  "No, no," Jim chuckled. "Bill is putting together our new set of statutes and I want to see how understandable they are."

  "Oh," said Aedan, his relief apparent. The thought that someone at Stonemont would steal something had jolted him for a moment. "Well, it's taking something that's not yours."

  "So, if you are walking through the woods and you pick up a cool looking rock to bring home, did you steal it?"

  Aedan shook his head. "No. It doesn't belong to anybody."

  "So, something has to belong to somebody in order to make it stealing?"

  Aedan
nodded. "Yeah, of course."

  "And what if the owner told you that you could have it? Would it be stealing?"

  "No, because they told you that you could."

  Jim smiled. "So, with those things in mind, how would you define stealing?"

  Aedan leaned back on the couch and thought for a minute, now understanding the reason for the questions. "It would be taking something that belongs to someone else without their permission."

  Jim looked at Bill. "There's your answer, judge. If a twelve-year-old can understand it, any adult should be able to."

  "Should we ask him about murder?" laughed Bill.

  Jim got up. "That will have to wait. He and I are headed out to do a little training in the woods. You two feel free to stay here if you want to."

  "Okay," nodded Christian. "Where do you keep your Wild Turkey?"

  Jim shook his head. "Can't tell you. It's a secret."

  They went through the kitchen, each cutting off another piece of zucchini bread, and walked out onto the veranda where they picked their rifles out of the rack.

  "When do I get a pistol?" Aedan asked, nodding at the handgun on Jim's belt.

  Jim smiled. "Why do you need a pistol?"

  Aedan thought for a minute. The real answer was just that he thought it would be cool, but he knew that his dad required reasons for doing things. "Well, in case I see a snake. I wouldn't need to use my rifle on it."

  "And would you shoot any snake you saw?"

  "No, just copperheads and rattlesnakes."

  "Why just them?"

  "Because they could kill us. The rest just eat mice and things."

  Jim nodded, stepping off the veranda and into the commons. "So, you just want a pistol to shoot snakes?"