The Ruins Box Set Read online

  The Ruins

  THE COMPLETE SERIES BOOKS 1-4

  (PLUS BONUS NOVELLA)

  THE RUINS BOOK 1

  THE RUINS BOOK 2

  THE RUINS BOOK 2.5 (BONUS NOVELLA: THE SHADOWED WALL)

  THE RUINS BOOK 3

  THE RUINS BOOK 4

  By

  T.W. Piperbrook

  www.twpiperbrook.com

  www.facebook.com/twpiperbrook

  ©2020 Post Script Publishing

  Cover Design

  Alex Saskalidis, a.k.a. 187designz

  Typography

  Polgarus Studio

  Editing & Proofreading

  Cathy Moeschet & Sheila Shedd

  Technical Consultant

  John Cummings

  Table of Contents

  Preface

  THE RUINS Background: Pertinent Recap of The Last Survivors

  THE RUINS Chapter 1: Bray

  Chapter 2: Kirby

  Chapter 3: Kirby

  Chapter 4: Bray

  Chapter 5: Kirby

  Chapter 6: Kirby

  Chapter 7: Bray

  Chapter 8: Bray

  Chapter 9: Kirby

  Chapter 10: Kirby

  Chapter 11: Kirby

  Chapter 12: Kirby

  Chapter 13: Bray

  Chapter 14: Bray

  Chapter 15: Kirby

  Chapter 16: Bray

  Chapter 17: Bray

  Chapter 18: Bray

  Chapter 19: Bray

  Chapter 20: Bray

  Chapter 21: Bray

  Chapter 22: Bray

  Chapter 23: Bray

  Chapter 24: Bray

  Chapter 25: Bray

  Chapter 26: Flora

  Chapter 27: Flora

  Chapter 28: Flora

  Chapter 29: Bartholemew

  Chapter 30: Bray

  Chapter 31: Bray

  Chapter 32: Bray

  Chapter 33: Bray

  Chapter 34: Deacon

  Chapter 35: Kirby

  Chapter 36: Bray

  Chapter 37: Bray

  Chapter 38: Kirby

  Chapter 39: Kirby

  Chapter 40: Kirby

  Chapter 41: Flora

  Chapter 42: Flora

  Chapter 43: Deacon

  Chapter 44: Jonas The Collector

  Chapter 45: Deacon

  Chapter 46: Bray

  Chapter 47: Jonas The Collector

  Chapter 48: Jonas The Collector

  Chapter 49: Bray

  Chapter 50: Jonas The Collector

  Chapter 51: Bray

  Chapter 52: Bray

  Chapter 53: Jonas The Collector

  Chapter 54: Bray

  Chapter 55: Kirby

  Chapter 56: Flora

  Chapter 57: Kirby

  Chapter 58: Bray

  Chapter 59: Kirby

  Chapter 60: Flora

  Chapter 61: Kirby

  Chapter 62: Bray

  Chapter 63: Bray

  Chapter 64: Bray

  Chapter 65: Kirby

  Chapter 66: Bray

  Chapter 67: Bray

  Chapter 68: William

  Chapter 69: Kirby

  Chapter 70: Kirby

  Chapter 71: Kirby

  Chapter 72: Bray

  Chapter 73: Kirby

  Chapter 74: Bray

  Chapter 75: Bray

  Chapter 76: Bray

  Chapter 77: Bray

  THE RUINS 2 Preface

  Chapter 1: Bray

  Chapter 2: Bray

  Chapter 3: Bray

  Chapter 4: Flora

  Chapter 5: Bray

  Chapter 6: Bray

  Chapter 7: Bartholomew

  Chapter 8: Jonas The Collector

  Chapter 9: Bray

  Chapter 10: Deacon

  Chapter 11: Kirby

  Chapter 12: Jonas The Collector

  Chapter 13: Bray

  Chapter 14: Flora

  Chapter 15: Kirby

  Chapter 16: Bray

  Chapter 17: Flora

  Chapter 18: Flora

  Chapter 19: Halifax Soldier

  Chapter 20: Bray

  Chapter 21: Flora

  Chapter 22: Kirby

  Chapter 23: Kirby

  Chapter 24: Bray

  Chapter 25: Kirby

  Chapter 26: Bray

  Chapter 27: Kirby

  Chapter 28: Bray

  Chapter 29: William

  Chapter 30: Bray

  Chapter 31: Kirby

  Chapter 32: Kirby

  Chapter 33: Deacon

  Chapter 34: Deacon

  Chapter 35: Bray

  Chapter 36: Kirby

  Chapter 37: William

  Chapter 38: Bray

  Chapter 39: Kirby

  Chapter 40: William

  Chapter 41: Bray

  Chapter 42: Deacon

  Chapter 43: Kirby

  Chapter 44: Bray

  Chapter 45: William

  Chapter 46: Bray

  Chapter 47: Bray

  Chapter 48: Bray

  Chapter 49: Kirby

  Chapter 50: Bray

  Chapter 51: Enoch

  Chapter 52: Bray

  Chapter 53: Bray

  Chapter 54: Bray

  Chapter 55: William

  Chapter 56: Deacon

  Chapter 57: William

  Chapter 58: Deacon

  Chapter 59: William

  Chapter 60: Deacon

  Chapter 61: Bray

  Chapter 62: Kirby

  Chapter 63: Bray

  Chapter 64: Kirby

  Chapter 65: Deacon

  Chapter 66: William

  Chapter 67: Bray

  Chapter 68: Kirby

  Chapter 69: Bray

  Chapter 70: Bartholomew

  Chapter 71: William

  Chapter 72: Bray

  Chapter 73: Kirby

  Chapter 74: Bray

  Chapter 75: William

  Chapter 76: Kirby

  Chapter 77: Flora

  Chapter 78: Enoch

  Chapter 79: Kirby

  Chapter 80: Bray

  Chapter 81: William

  Chapter 82: Kirby

  Chapter 83: Enoch

  Chapter 84: Kirby

  Chapter 85: Bray

  Chapter 86: Bray

  Chapter 87: Bray

  THE RUINS 2.5 Preface

  Chapter 1 - Bray

  Chapter 2 - Bray

  Chapter 3 - Bray

  Chapter 4 – The Trail Guard

  Chapter 5 – Kirby

  Chapter 6 – The Trail Guard

  Chapter 7 – Kirby

  Chapter 8 – Bray

  Chapter 9 – Bray

  Chapter 10 – Bray

  Chapter 11 – William

  Chapter 12 – Bray

  Chapter 13 – Bray

  Chapter 14 – William

  Chapter 15 – Bray

  Chapter 16 – Kirby

  Chapter 17 – William

  Chapter 18 – Bray

  Chapter 19 – Kirby

  Chapter 20 – William

  Chapter 21 – Kirby

  Chapter 22 – William

  Chapter 23 – Bray

  Chapter 24 – Bray

  Chapter 25 – Bray

  THE RUINS 3 Preface

  Chapter 1: Bray

  Chapter 2: Bray

  Chapter 3: Cullen

  Chapter 4: Bray

  Chapter 5: Bray

  Chapter 6: Bray

  Chapter 7: William

  Chapter 8: Kirby

  Chapter 9: Kirby

  Chapter 10: Rudyard

  Chapter 11: Kirby

  Chapter 12: Kirby

  Chapter 13: B
ray

  Chapter 14: The Clicker

  Chapter 15: Bray

  Chapter 16: Bray

  Chapter 17: The Clicker

  Chapter 18: Bray

  Chapter 19: William

  Chapter 20: Bray

  Chapter 21: Kirby

  Chapter 22: Bray

  Chapter 23: Bray

  Chapter 24: Bray

  Chapter 25: Cullen

  Chapter 26: Bray

  Chapter 27: William

  Chapter 28: Bray

  Chapter 29: Bray

  Chapter 30: William

  Chapter 31: Bray

  Chapter 32: William

  Chapter 33: William

  Chapter 34: Drew

  Chapter 35: Kirby

  Chapter 36: William

  Chapter 37: William

  Chapter 38: Kirby

  Chapter 39: Bray

  Chapter 40: William

  Chapter 41: Bray

  Chapter 42: Cullen

  Chapter 43: Kirby

  Chapter 44: Kirby

  Chapter 45: Bray

  Chapter 46: William

  Chapter 47: Bray

  Chapter 48: Kirby

  Chapter 49: William

  Chapter 50: Amelia

  Chapter 51: William

  Chapter 52: Kirby

  Chapter 53: Bray

  Chapter 54: William

  Chapter 55: Amelia

  Chapter 56: William

  Chapter 57: Bray

  Chapter 58: Kirby

  Chapter 59: William

  Chapter 60: Amelia

  Chapter 61: William

  Chapter 62: Bray

  Chapter 63: William

  THE RUINS 4 Preface

  Chapter 1: Bray

  Chapter 2: Bray

  Chapter 3: William

  Chapter 4: Kirby

  Chapter 5: William

  Chapter 6: Bray

  Chapter 7: William

  Chapter 8: Kirby

  Chapter 9: Kirby

  Chapter 10: Tolstoy

  Chapter 11: Kirby

  Chapter 12: Kirby

  Chapter 13: Kirby

  Chapter 14: William

  Chapter 15: Kirby

  Chapter 16: Kirby

  Chapter 17: Bray

  Chapter 18: Kirby

  Chapter 19: William

  Chapter 20: Kirby

  Chapter 21: William

  Chapter 22: Bray

  Chapter 23: William

  Chapter 24: William

  Chapter 25: Bray

  Chapter 26: William

  Chapter 27: Bray

  Chapter 28: William

  Chapter 29: Kirby

  Chapter 30: William

  Chapter 31: William

  Chapter 32: Kirby

  Chapter 33: Kirby

  Chapter 34: Bray

  Chapter 35: Kirby

  Chapter 36: Bray

  Chapter 37: Bray

  Chapter 38: Kirby

  Chapter 39: Kirby

  Chapter 40: Bray

  Chapter 41: William

  Chapter 42: William

  Chapter 43: Kirby

  Chapter 44: William

  Chapter 45: Esmeralda

  Chapter 46: William

  Chapter 47: William

  Chapter 48: Bray

  Chapter 49: Bray

  Chapter 50: Kirby

  Chapter 51: William

  Chapter 52: Kirby

  Chapter 53: Kirby

  Chapter 54: William

  Chapter 55: Kirby

  Chapter 56: Bray

  Chapter 57: Kirby

  Chapter 58: Kirby

  Chapter 59: William

  Chapter 60: William

  Chapter 61: Tolstoy

  Chapter 62: Kirby

  Chapter 63: Kirby

  Chapter 64: Bray

  Chapter 65: William

  Chapter 66: Kirby

  Chapter 67: Bray

  Chapter 68: William

  Chapter 69: Kirby

  Chapter 70: Kirby

  Chapter 71: Bray

  Chapter 72: Kirby

  Chapter 73: William

  Chapter 74: Kirby

  Chapter 75: William

  Chapter 76: Kirby

  Chapter 77: William

  Chapter 78: William

  Chapter 79: William

  Chapter 80: William

  Chapter 81: Kirby

  Chapter 82: William

  Chapter 83: William

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Email & Facebook

  Other Things To Read

  Preface

  Welcome to The Ruins Complete Series.

  If you’re here, chances are you’ve read THE LAST SURVIVORS, and you’re already familiar with the characters. If so, I want to thank you for continuing on this journey with me. I hope you are as excited as I am to find out what happens to Bray, William, and Kirby as they head out into the wild.

  If you haven’t read THE LAST SURVIVORS, you might want to check out those books first. A lot has transpired between the characters that leads into this story—events that have shaped and changed their relationships with one another, and, quite frankly, you might be lost without that knowledge, or the knowledge of the world.

  In THE LAST SURVIVORS series, we explored many of the places in and around Brighton, but by the series end, it became clear that the world was much bigger than our characters imagined. Since the beginning of that series, Bobby (Adair) and I had the concept of a “last survivor,” someone who could fill in some of the gaps of technology and information that had been lost to Brighton.

  That’s where Kirby came in.

  Kirby stirred things up quite a bit. Not only did she give Bray some much-needed grief, but she brought Tech Magic and a whole new backstory to the series, and introduced information outside of what our characters knew. The dynamic between the trio of Bray, Kirby, and William was intriguing, and I couldn’t wait to explore it further.

  And a question kept repeating in my head: what else is out there?

  THE RUINS is my attempt to find out.

  Whatever happens, wish Bray, Kirby, and William luck as they head toward Kirby’s settlement to get more guns. They’re going to need all the Tech Magic they can get to face what’s in THE RUINS.

  -Tyler Piperbrook

  December 2016

  THE RUINS Background: Pertinent Recap of The Last Survivors

  Three hundred years after the fall of society, the last fragments of civilization are clinging to life, living in the ruins of the ancient cities in nearly-medieval conditions. Technology has been reduced to legend, monsters roam the forests, and fear reigns supreme. Wind-borne spores disfigure men unlucky enough to be infected, twisting their minds and turning them into creatures to be feared. The survivors have different names for these creatures, but some call them the demons, or twisted men.

  After accidentally killing the mother of an infected boy, a Warden named Bray—a hunter of demons—vows to keep the motherless boy safe. He loses track of the boy, William, in the Ancient City, only to watch as the boy takes up with a band of demons, succumbing to the spore’s madness. Before Bray can rescue William, a violent army captures the boy.

  While tracking William, Bray encounters a woman named Kirby from a strange settlement, who carries several pieces of Tech Magic he’s never seen—guns.

  Telling some clever lies, Bray gets Kirby to join him, under the guise that William is his son.

  They track the army to Brighton.

  After surviving a bloody battle, in which Bray is shot and wounded, Kirby reveals to Bray that she is also infected. She also reveals that she has figured out some of Bray’s lies, but she respects his bravery and his allegiance to William.

  Eventually, they rescue an emotionally battered William, who has taken revenge on the worst of his abductors by commanding a pack of demons to kill them.

  William swears off his demon brothers, and the three make a pact to l
eave Brighton for good, in the hopes of discovering what lies in the ruins.

  THE RUINS

  A Dystopian Society in a Post-Apocalyptic World

  Book 1 of The Ruins Series

  Chapter 1: Bray

  “Don’t worry, I survived another night,” Bray said, removing the bandage to check on the gunshot wound on his shoulder. “In case you were worried.”

  He grinned at Kirby, who was just stirring underneath her blankets, rubbing her eyes. She made a face at him, but didn’t answer. William was lying next to her, still sleeping. Bray could see the thin outline of the boy’s body, rising and falling as he breathed.

  After escaping the battle at Brighton unharmed—except for Bray—they’d spent most of each day on horseback, working their way east over the mountains and hitting deeper snow, then heading north and following the coast toward the settlement where Kirby’s people had all breathed their last breaths, leaving her alone in an unfamiliar land.

  On the plains again, with the ocean east and the mountains west, they’d found places where the snow only thinly covered the ground and the horses were able to graze.

  Bray, unfamiliar with the landmarks, and knowing he was in a part of the world he’d never traveled before, hoped they were getting close to the settlement.

  Normally, Bray would’ve avoided traveling in the winter, preferring a warm bath and warmer women to keep him company, but he’d made the decision to leave Brighton, and he meant to stick by it.

  Now, with the morning sun peeking through the forest, spearing the snow-covered ground and fighting back the cold that seemed to have deepened overnight, Bray watched William sleeping. He was still concerned about him. They’d had a few conversations about his mother, Ella, but most of them had ended with William looking away, seemingly lost in a swirl of thoughts that had plagued them all since leaving Brighton.

  Bray couldn’t blame the kid.

  They were all dealing with things.

  Kirby stood from her blankets. Bray glanced at the gun holstered at her side. Her rifle was on the ground, close to her. She’d refused to let him shoot either weapon, telling him that it would be a waste to spend the ammunition on anything other than killing demons.

  “We should be at the settlement today, right?” he asked Kirby.

  “Yes,” Kirby said, looking around the forest. “It’s a few miles away.”

  “Your Tech Magic hurts like hell,” Bray said, as he continued cleaning the bullet wound in his shoulder with some water from his flask. “I can’t wait to get one of those guns for myself and try it out on something other than me.”