Timothy Nugent Author

Chapter 128 - Portals

Blake stood next to the shore of Goldwater Lake and watched as the long line of civilians hesitantly moved through one of the portals to Pinetop. With over a thousand people rescued from Prescott over the last couple of days, four separate portals were required to accommodate their queues. 

Prescott, Payson, Pinetop, Phoenix… Why does every city in Arizona start with the letter P?

Blake shook his head at the irreverent thought as the line of families steadily dwind...

Interlude - Making a Move

President Warner raptly watched the recorded video. He maintained his composure despite the words of the obnoxious teenager. “I want to show the world that I’m not some warmonger who’s going to take over factions left and right. Trust me, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future, and we’ll be more than ready for them.”

When the recording of Blake’s council meeting ended, Scott Peters leaned forward. “Now you understand why we needed to keep the asset in place. T...

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I am still in pain from my jaw/tooth, and have not been able to write for the last couple of weeks. However, even before that, I was getting burned out. I will continue to write this book, but the pace of updates will dramatically slow down. I'm not sure if I will get one chapter a week written or not.

I expect most of you to unsub, and want to thank you for donating to me and my book. If I get my writing mojo back, I will resume a fast pace of chapter releases, but who knows when tha...

Lack of Posts this week

Hello everyone. I am sorry that I have not made my usual three chapters this week. I am having extreme jaw/tooth pain, which ibuprofen has not touched. The dentist can find nothing wrong and thinks it will go away in a week or two. Meanwhile, it has been very difficult to write. I hope to finish the next chapter today and publish it, but I can make no promises.

Chapter 127 - Updates

Blake lounged within the camper’s recliner as he waited for the nightly meeting to begin. Jennifer sat slumped across from him, while Bobby stood sentry atop the eleven-foot tall trailer. 

This is so much better than a folding chair.

Earlier that day, while Blake slaughtered the ColoColo, Montgomery and Jeff had retrieved numerous campers from a storage lot just outside town. Now, the pioneers of the Goldwater Lake expansion town had a comfortable place to sleep an...

Chapter 126 - Escape

Blake knew better than most that the Architect did not care about fairness. However, despite its cruel nature, the scenarios were always capable of being completed. They may be more difficult than normal, or require ingenuity to finish, but it did not give impossible tasks.

He fought the desire to use his Ambassador to the Architect title. It would grant him a face to face meeting with the alien AI, but he doubted the machine would be sympathetic to his plight. Even worse, he would wast...

Interlude - Betrayal

President Richard Warner lounged into his comfortable, oversized, reading chair as he sipped his morning whiskey. Despite the high humidity, this was still his favorite part of the day. It was not yet hot enough for him to sweat, and he could almost pretend the apocalypse had not occurred. Especially clothed in his pajamas as he presently was.

He once again glanced out the window to observe the construction of the primitive buildings on the White House lawn. Initially, Richard had been ...

Chapter 125 - Frozen Wasteland

“How come you get to go through the portal, but we gotta sit here with our thumbs up our butts?” Montgomery complained while he leaned against the bathroom wall.

Blake pointed to the constructor and his laborers as they worked to upgrade the Goldwater Lake faction hall to level two. “Because I’m paying you to protect those workers. And, I really don’t want to know what you do when you’re bored.”

Jeff chuckled.

Montgomery, however, ignored Blake’s snide commen...

Chapter 124 - Extermination

Blake lounged within the foldable chair as he scrolled through the comments of Jennifer’s latest video. His Public Relations expert kept her word, and made the leader of the Black Diamond faction infamous. Jennifer also allowed all viewers to reply, rather than her subscribers only. The comment section was riddled with indignation at the captives’ treatment, and some even promised to ‘take care of him’ themselves if they found him.

Blake did not think that was likely.

Jaco...

Chapter 123 - Captives

Within the break room, men and women lay on the floor, shackled with makeshift restraints. Their hands were tied behind their backs with shirts, while gags filled their mouths. A faint whiff of ammonia filled the air, a testament to how long they were left in that condition.

Well, at least they didn’t kill everyone before they ran.

When Blake first entered, they shied away, fear written across their faces. However, they quickly recognized he was not one of their torment...

Chapter 122 - Assault

Blake finished the last of his breakfast, threw away the packaging the sausage links and cheese were wrapped in, and stood to search for Jennifer. The camp was a mess of activity, as workers feverishly assembled the quarry, metal workshop, and wood workshop. 

The faction hall was completed in the middle of the night, and they had immediately begun construction on the structures required to upgrade their faction hall to level two. According to Austin, their new constructor, they wou...

Interlude - Spying

Jeremy Jackson leaned over the prone form of Jeff and nudged him awake. “Jeff,” he whispered. “It’s your watch.”

The short man grumbled in complaint, then wiped his eyes and sat up from his sleeping roll. “Time?” his deep voice croaked.

“Six in the morning,” Jeremy replied.

Jeff nodded while he yawned and then glanced over to Montgomery’s still sleeping form. He frowned and then backhanded his friend’s chest, hard.

“Ugh!” Montgomery jerked awa...

Chapter 121 - Interrogation

Blake strode into camp with a corpse in each hand. The bodies dragged across the pavement and left dark stains behind. Laborers and their constructor paused their work to gawk at the sight, but he ignored them. Just a step behind, their eighteen prisoners marched, single file, past the ring of fires, toward the park restroom.

Jennifer, now awake, stood outside his destination and sipped coffee from a mug. Her eyes went wide when she saw him steadily grow near, a body in each hand. When ...

No Chapter Today

Sorry, I just realized that I forgot to post this on Friday. I am out of state for my grandpa's funeral. I should post another chapter Wednesday.

Chapter 120 - Thieves in the Night

Blake visualized himself stepping through space to appear atop the restroom building. He released a slow breath and concentrated on replicating the same sensations he underwent when he teleported with the Architect’s assistance. This time, he endeavored to do so without the alien AI. His focus deepened, and he raised his arm as he manifested his desire.

Nothing happened.

He was so engrossed in his pursuit, he failed to notice when Montgomery approached him. “Yo. What’cha doi...

Chapter 119 - Prescott

“Is that Prescott?” Bobby asked as he leaned forward behind the steering wheel of their truck.

“I think it’s Prescott Valley,” Blake frowned as he stared down at the printed map they had scavenged from a gas station.

“Is that a neighborhood in Prescott?” Jennifer asked from the back seat.

Blake shook his head. “No, it’s a separate town, about ten miles east of Prescott.”

Bobby let out a sigh of relief. “Then we’re almost there. I’m tired of dr...

Chapter 118 - Heading Out

“Is this the first time you’ve been outside town?” Blake asked from the front passenger seat of the converted diesel truck as they pulled through the first gate. The original entrance remained, yet the large area beyond it was now entirely filled with farms, their metal workshops, and tanneries.

His people celebrated the move of their loud, smelly industry away from their living area. The constant clang of Kuruk and the other blacksmiths was now dampened, and people no longer smel...

Interlude - Blake v Warner

“Remember, polite but firm,” Jennifer reminded Blake as he adjusted his clean armor.

A flash of annoyance crossed his youthful face as he glanced over to her. “I got it, I got it.” 

You better. This might be the most important interview you ever do.

Jennifer had tied her future to the young man before her, and could not help but worry. Blake was not a natural leader by any stretch. He lacked charisma, presence, and behaved awkward in the spotlight. ...

Chapter 117 - Future Plans

Blake watched as Jennifer stared off into the distance and chuckled quietly.

I wish she cared about the meeting as much as her father.

Over the last hour, as they discussed the current state of his faction, Jennifer barely seemed to pay attention. While she did occasionally acknowledge a subject, she spent the vast majority of her time distracted by her interface.

Conversely, Corwin scrutinized every detail and constantly asked for clarification. While the interrupt...

Chapter 116 - The Council

After Blake expressed his desires, Corwin assured him that as long as Blake did everything he could to become a force to be reckoned with, he would remain loyal. At first, Blake disliked the qualifier, and almost rejected the man’s offer of assistance.

However, after he considered it further, he realized it made sense. Mister Taylor did not want to ally himself with a man who only used half measures or surrendered when things got tough. Blake could only agree with the sentiment, and a...

Chapter 115 - Advisor

Blake followed behind Jennifer as she navigated the now busy streets of his faction town. In the distance, he heard the clang of blacksmith’s hammers, the whinny of horses, and kids screaming as they played.

Hard to believe I did all this.

He of course had plenty of help along the way, but without his hard work and knowledge, the people around him would have been in danger for months, if not already dead. In his last life, he was not sure when the ‘Dealer’s Choice�...

Chapter 114 - Public Relations

Blake watched in annoyance as Jennifer cradled her head within her hands and sighed. Then, she fell backwards into her bed and collapsed while she muttered, “How is this real?”

Overreacting much?

As promised, after he finished talking with Rajesh, he tracked down the influencer and shared the recorded conversation with her. Admittedly, things could have gone better, especially his request to look after the scientists. However, he accomplished his task, and Rajesh rema...

Interlude - Reaching Out

“Stay away, or I’ll shoot!” the gun store owner threatened.

Just try it and see what happens.

Rajesh sneered contemptuously at the obese man behind his counter while he maintained his Force Resistance spell. The ability required him to focus, but he found he was still easily able to accomplish tasks while he did so. His concentration threatened to slip only when he was unduly stressed or forced into complex physical action.

No threat of that here.

Chapter 113 - Revelations

Blake gestured to the other cots within the jail cell. “I’ll answer any questions you have now.”

Within reason.

Both Jennifer and Bobby seemed nervous, but he could not blame them. A jail cell was a harsh place for an interview. Unfortunately, it was the only location where he was certain their conversation would remain private. 

“Okay,” Jennifer sighed after she carefully sat on the cot adjacent to Blake. Bobby remained standing. “You got us here. ...

Interlude - Trust

Jennifer was livid.

She had attempted to contact Blake Summers for days, but each time her messages were automatically rejected. After numerous failures, she went to his mother in hope that the issue could be resolved. Unfortunately, the chancellor informed Jennifer that if her son did not wish to talk to her, she would only intervene if it were a life or death situation. She was forced to admit it was not. Blake’s father gave a similar response, and she had no desire to approach his ...