Sanctuary: A Postapocalyptic Novel (The New World Series) by G. Michael Hopf Page A

With no power, there was no flowing water, operational sewage, or communications. This power disruption, coupled with the fact that a vast number of the area’s vehicles were inoperable, left Cheyenne a dead city. However, Laney’s staff immediately made contact with Lieutenant General Wasserman, commander of F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, to establish control of the city. The Air Force provided critical support to Wyoming’s Department of Homeland Security, and even though they had limited working vehicles and equipment, they fortunately didn’t experience a total collapse as other cities had. Through this quick response and coordination, Cheyenne had a functioning government.
    The fact that Cheyenne was a stable city made it easier for Conner to establish the capital he needed. It wasn’t his first choice, and getting supplies and equipment there would be a challenge, but for now, stability won out over easy access. Plus, F. E. Warren Air Force Base headquartered the Air Force’s Ninetieth Missile Wing and the Twentieth Air Force. They essentially commanded an arsenal of over 150 Minuteman ICBMs, a resource that was valuable to him. All of them were hardened against EMP, so were still operational.
    Conner sat down at his desk and started opening up drawers to check for anything of importance that he might have forgotten. When he pulled the right top drawer a small notepad slid forward. On the front page there was a list entitled “Baby Names.” The pain he felt upon reading that was enormous. Angrily, he ripped the paper off the pad and crumpled it up, tossing it in the trash.
    He left the room, and left a time in his life that forever changed his outlook on the world. When he had tossed away the crumpled paper, he had also tossed away the old Conner. Gone was the Conner that operated from impassioned beliefs. He hadn’t mentioned it to them, but if he could take back his order to nuke all of those cities, he would. He now regretted that decision, but he’d been operating out of fear. He left that fear behind too when he closed that door. He was still prepared to make the tough calls, but he next time he would try to see the long-term effects of a decision he made. His loss of fear transformed him.
    Many at the base had commented about how different he was since his surprise return. He was now a more levelheaded and even-tempered man. In private conversations some had even gone as far as to express their happiness in his changed behavior. He was aware of some of the new sentiments about him and he welcomed them. His desire to be a new kind of leader was strong. He had a purpose greater than himself, and he was going to do what it took to see his country survive.
    Sandy, Utah
    Sebastian’s change of heart about bringing Annaliese along resulted in a bitter back and forth with Samuel. Their fight was an accumulation of weeks of animosity. If Sariah hadn’t intervened, the argument would have escalated to a fistfight. Samuel didn’t like Sebastian from the moment they had met. There wasn’t a real reason, he just didn’t like that a nonbeliever was living among them and that he and Annaliese had developed an intimate relationship. Samuel was a deeply devoted Mormon. He didn’t believe in the need to travel back east like others had done, but nonetheless, he didn’t think it healthy to have someone like Sebastian around. He was also a very controlling individual and Sebastian’s talents threatened his own. When Sariah described Sebastian over the radio before their trek there, he was eager to have him, but upon meeting him all he could see was a young, handsome, and charismatic man who was out to take Annaliese away. When Sebastian had originally said he was leaving he supported it, but now this new development proved his own deep-seated prejudices about Sebastian.
    Eventually, after much discussion, Samuel acquiesced to Annaliese leaving, but under one condition: He insisted that they take Luke and