Gateway To Chaos (Book 3): Seeking Justice

by Payne, T. L.

Scott fought the urge to turn and see who the man was speaking to.

  "That's all I have. You are welcome to it. I just want to be on my way," Scott said, not taking his eyes off the man's finger on the trigger.

  "Well, son. That ain't gonna happen. You see, I don't know you. I've lived in these parts all my seventy-nine years on this planet, and I've made it my business to know my neighbors. You don't belong around here."

  "You're right. I don't live around here. I'm just visiting, and my car broke down. I was just walking back to my friends…"

  "You're part of that group that's squatting at the Wards’ place, ain't ya?"

  The man scrunched up his face like he'd smelled something rotten. That didn't bode well for Scott's chances of just walking away.

  "Yes, sir. But they're not squatting. Mrs. Ward..."

  The man cut him off again. "That's just your word. Mrs. Ward ain't here to confirm it. You could say anything and with the blasted phones not working, there's no way for folks to challenge you on it."

  "That's true. It is. But I can assure you that my friend, JJ and I, we drove Mrs. Ward up to St. Louis to visit her sister. She gave us permission to come back and stay at her house to look after her animals because she didn't know how long it would be until she could make it home.”

  Scott struggled to think of something he could say to make the man listen to reason. Scott didn't have time for this. JJ was running out of time.

  "Yeah, your friends said that already. Still don’t matter. If you were honest folks, you wouldn't have opened fire on Jeb Cartwright and his boys like you did."

  "What? I don't know anything about that. Like I said, I left and was on my way to find my daughter, but my car broke down, so I…"

  "Shut up. I don't want to hear any more of your lies. Just shut your mouth and start walking," the man said.

  The elderly man led Scott down the middle of the two-lane highway past the cemetery. Scott couldn't help but glance back as they passed Possum Hollow Road. He'd been so close to reaching the Wards’ farm. So close to reaching Raine and possible help for JJ. How much time did she have? Could she hold out long enough for him to escape the old man?

  People came out on their porches and stared as the man marched Scott down the street at gunpoint. An elderly woman in a long dress and tattered tan coat stood on the porch of an old country store.

  "Where are you taking him?" the woman called out.

  "I'm gonna hand him over to Jeb," the man said as they passed her.

  The woman stepped down from the porch.

  "Jack Cartwright. You know that's not right. You know what that man will do to him."

  "You stay out of it, Libby. This ain't none of your concern."

  The door to the store opened, and a teenage boy stepped outside.

  "What's going on, Grandma?"

  The woman turned to the boy.

  "Josiah, run tell those folks staying up at the Wards’ to hurry down here. Jack's got one of their friends and is gonna hand him over to Jeb and those boys."

  The boy turned and disappeared in a flash. Scott's stomach dropped. He had to make his move before they reached Jeb. Scott stopped in the middle of the road and turned.

  "Listen. I understand you are wary of strangers. I get that. I just want to get to my friends and let them know that someone we care about is in trouble. I came to get their help to rescue a woman from her abusive husband. If you don't let me go and get help, he's going to kill her."

  The elderly woman took another step closer. The man lowered his shotgun just an inch. Scott could tell he was considering what he'd told him.

  "Lies. All your types do is tell lies," the old man said, flicking the barrel of the shotgun. "Keep moving."

  Scott turned toward the woman, his eyes pleading. She took another step forward.

  "Jack. You stop this right now. This ain't civilized. If you think he's done wrong, then you need to take him to the sheriff, not Jeb."

  "The sheriff ain't been around here in over a week. We got prisoners stacking up like cordwood down there at the church. Pastor Murray and Deacon Brown's been treating them like refugees or something. Hell, they're eating better than me and mine."

  "Still, that's the Christian thing to do. Now's not the time to turn barbaric. We're gonna see enough of that before long. Try to stay right while we can, Jack."

  For a moment, it looked like the woman was getting through to Jack. Then he turned his back to her.

  "We have to protect this community. Coddling criminals down at the church is just gonna encourage others to steal and break the law. We have to handle these things ourselves, if the sheriff ain't gonna protect us."

  "Sir. I haven't done anything. As I told you, I just need to get help for my friend before her—”

  "Shut up. I know you're with that group that shot at Jeb and his kin. Just shut your lying mouth and walk.”

  Chapter 9

  The Ward Farm

  Farmington, Missouri

  February 23rd, Approximately 11:30 pm

  The back door banged open and Gage rushed in.

  “We have visitors,” he said, running through the kitchen.

  “What? Who is it?” Sheena asked.

  “I don’t know. I think they’re at the gate, though,” Gage said, stopping in the doorway to the family room. “The cans worked.”

  Raine followed him. “Where’s Brandon and the others?”

  “They’ve gone to see who it is. Jim said for us to stay inside and guard the doors and windows.”

  “He did, did he?” Raine said, whipping around, looking for her coat.

  “You’re going out there?” Sheena asked.

  Raine slid her arms inside her coat and picked up her rifle. “I’m not going to let anyone get close to this house.”

  Sheena turned and grabbed Raine’s pipe wrench from under the sink.

  “You should take DeAndre and go down into the basement and hide,” Raine said as she reached for the door handle.

  “Oh, hell no. No way I’m ever hiding in a basement again. I’ll fight to protect this place and my boy. I’m not running,” Sheena said.

  Raine smiled. She loved to see the fire return to Sheena’s big brown eyes. That was the fierce momma bear Raine knew. “I’m going to be in the tree line beside the barn,” Raine said.

  “I’ll get the south side of the house,” Lucy said, rounding the corner and entering the kitchen.

  Raine nodded and opened the door. As they parted on the back walkway, Raine thought she saw Lucy smile. Raine had suspected that Lucy was an adrenaline junkie, but this was serious. This was life and death for not just them, but all those inside that couldn’t defend themselves.

  As Raine crossed the driveway and ran toward the barn, she caught movement at the gate and stopped. Brandon was running back to the house.

  “What is it?” Raine yelled as she began sprinting to him.

  “Scott,” Brandon said as he approached.

  Raine turned toward the south side of the house and raised her hand to wave.

  “Lucy. It’s Brandon. Don’t shoot.”

  Brandon’s eyes widened and he turned. “Don’t shoot me, Lucy.”

  “Scott’s back?” Raine asked, turning to Brandon.

  “No. Yes. There’s a kid at the gate. He said some neighbors are holding Scott. He wants us to go save him from them.”

  “What the hell? How…”

  “Jim and Aiden took off with the kid. I came to get you and Lucy to see if you want to go with me. I’m not sure how many of them there are.”

  “Lucy,” Raine yelled.

  Lucy sprang from the corner of the house and ran down the shoveled front walk. “Let’s go.”

  Raine opened the front door and yelled inside. “The neighbors have Scott. We’re going after him.”

  “I’m coming,” Sheena yelled as Raine shut the door.

  Raine shoved it back open and was startled to see a fully-dressed Sheena standing there with a pistol in h
er hand.

  “Sheena. What about Dee?”

  “Gage, Tom, and Antonio are gonna look after him,” Sheena said, pushing past Raine.

  Raine stepped back. She stared at Sheena as she hurried toward where Brandon and Lucy stood in the middle of the driveway. Raine looked into the family room. Antonio nodded and Raine closed the door.

  “Hurry. We have to catch up with Jim and the kid,” Brandon said as he pulled a chain up over the top of the post and slid the gate open.

  Raine, Sheena, and Lucy didn’t wait while Brandon re-locked the gate. Raine was in the middle of Possum Hollow Road, trying to determine which set of footprints to follow, when Brandon caught up with her.

  “They went this way.”

  Raine felt exhausted by the time they reached the junction of Possum Hollow Road and the highway. She’d never struggled so much just to run half a mile before.

  “Which way?” Sheena asked, stepping into the middle of the road.

  Brandon stepped forward and bent down, inspecting the tracks in the snow.

  “I’m not sure. There are so many tracks here. It’s hard to tell which are fresh.”

  Raine joined them and looked to her right and left. She didn’t see Jim or Aiden.

  “Are you the folks staying at the Wards’?” a frail voice asked behind her.

  Raine whipped around to face the elderly woman.

  “We are. We’re…” Raine said.

  “Better hurry. Jack’s taking your friend out to Jeb’s place,” the woman said, pointing to her left.

  Raine looked back over her shoulder. “Should we trust her?”

  Sheena stepped toward the woman. “Where’s this Jeb’s place?”

  “Just past the church outside town there. The first road on your right. It’s the only house on that road. You best hurry, though. Jeb and his boys are hotheads with no moral compass,” the woman said.

  Raine looked down the stretch of road before them. Her heart sank. She wasn’t sure she had the energy to hurry and get there in time. Sheena took off and Raine, Brandon, and Lucy followed her.

  “Do we have a plan?” Raine called to her back.

  “Save Scott and JJ,” Sheena said over her shoulder.

  Raine glanced over to Brandon. “Did the kid say JJ was with him?”

  “No. He just said a man that fit Scott’s description.”

  “What the hell happened to JJ, then?” Lucy asked.

  Raine shook her head.

  A group of men stood in the parking lot outside a red brick church. One of the men pointed at Raine and the others as they ran by.

  “You’re those folks from the Wards’, right?” one of the men called.

  “Yeah. Just looking for our friend,” Brandon yelled back.

  Raine heard an engine start. An old beat-up red GMC pickup backed into the road and approached them.

  A man in a black trench coat held the passenger door open. “Get in. I’ll take you to him.” Raine looked at Lucy, then to Brandon. Sheena didn’t hesitate. She jumped into the cab of the truck and pulled on her seatbelt.

  “Get in,” the man said, pointing to the bed of the truck. “We don’t have much time.”

  Lucy ran around to the tailgate and climbed in. Brandon half-shrugged and followed. Raine hesitated. Unsure about trusting this stranger. They didn’t know him. For all they knew, he could be taking them there to kill them. He could be one of them.

  “Hurry, Raine,” Brandon said, holding his hand out to her. Against her better judgment, Raine walked around to the tailgate and allowed Brandon to help her climb up into the bed of the stranger's pickup truck.

  The tires spun and the back end slid sideways as the truck accelerated. Raine hung on and hoped they wouldn’t end up in a ditch.

  The truck turned onto a narrow gravel road and stopped.

  Sheena climbed out, shut the truck’s door, and pointed over her shoulder. “He said it’s that house there.” Sheena gripped her pistol in one hand and held it out in front of her as she headed toward the driveway.

  “Sheena. Wait. We should have some kind of plan or something. We can’t just go up and knock on the door and demand they hand Scott over,” Raine said.

  Brandon brought his rifle up and scanned the area. “We need to figure out where JJ’s father and brother went.”

  “We should work our way around to the metal building back there. I bet that’s where they’re holding him,” Lucy said.

  Raine heard a second truck approaching and turned. An old white truck stopped behind the GMC. Raine gasped as a group of men jumped out of the back and rushed toward them. She spun on her heel and pointed her rifle at them.

  “We’re friends. We came to stop Jeb and his boys,” a round man wearing a tweed flat cap and long coat said as he approached them. The man looked to be in his late fifties, early sixties. Raine wasn’t sure how much help he could be to them.

  Raine heard yelling from the back of the house as they approached.

  “I think that’s Jim,” Brandon said.

  “Let’s go,” Sheena said taking off around the side of the house.

  “Where’s my daughter?” Jim said as he pressed the muzzle of his pistol against the back of a man’s skull. Raine recognized his dirty coveralls and Timberland boots from earlier.

  Aiden had his right knee in the middle of the back of a hefty man on the ground.

  “I told you already. I don’t know anything about a woman. He was alone when Jack found him walking down the road.”

  “Take me to him. Now!” Jim said, shoving the man forward.

  Aiden jumped back and nudged the pudgy man with the toe of his boot. “Get up. Follow them.”

  "Raine. Brandon. Follow us. The rest of you, watch that house and make sure no more of the crazy SOBs come out of there,” Jim said, grabbing the slender man’s collar.

  The hinges of a door squealed and Raine turned. The oversized door on a metal building slid open and two men rushed out, guns raised. The same middle-aged man in the Carhartt jacket they'd seen earlier ran toward Jim.

  “You better let my sons go or I’ll pump you full of lead.”

  Chapter 10

  “Drop that shotgun, Jeb. No one is dying here today,” the man in the tweed cap said. He stepped forward and approached Jeb.

  Jeb spun around and pointed the weapon at the man.

  “Reverend. This here ain’t none of your business. You best just go on and get off my property.”

  Raine looked from Jeb to the reverend. Every cell in her body tensed as the man kept walking. Jim and Aiden continued advancing on Jeb. The shotgun boomed, followed by the thunder of rifle fire. A hand slammed into Raine’s back and she dropped to the ground, wrapping her hands over her head. It all happened so fast. She couldn’t make sense of it. She felt the rifle beneath her and started to get up and return fire. The gunfire stopped.

  “Raine. Sheena. Stay here. Stay down,” she heard Aiden say. She was afraid to look up. Afraid of what she might see. Raine shifted her weight to look under her arm to where she believed Sheena and Brandon were. Sheena was prone on the ground, looking around wide-eyed and gasping for air.

  “Are you okay?” Raine asked.

  Sheena nodded and lowered her forehead to the ground. She heard ragged gasps behind her and arched her back to get a better look.

  “Brandon!” she yelled as she got to her knees. Brandon was sitting in the snow, clutching his left calf.

  Raine ran over to him. “Are you shot?”

  “In my leg,” Brandon said.

  “Oh, my God!” Sheena said. Lucy dropped beside him and began ripping part of her shirt to use as a bandage.

  Raine looked over her shoulder. Sheena was on her feet, facing the barn. Raine turned. Two men lay on the ground. Jeb was motionless. The reverend was on his knees. He looked like he was praying. The snow surrounding him was red. Raine looked for Jim and Aiden. They were gone.

  The men that had arrived with the reverend surrounded him. Raine sa
w his ashen face as they carried him to their vehicle. She doubted he’d make it without surgery. She turned her attention back to Brandon. The men with the pastor rushed over to him.

  “I need to go find Jim and Aiden. Will you guys be okay here?” Raine asked.

  Brandon waved a bloody hand and motioned for her to go as Lucy and another man helped him to his feet.

  “Sheena, you should go with him,” Raine said.

  “You shouldn’t go after them alone,” Sheena said.

  “You don’t have a weapon.”

  “I have this,” Sheena said, holding up the pistol.

  “Here. Take my rifle,” Brandon said, holding his rifle out to her.

  Sheena didn’t hesitate. She rushed over and took it from him, turned, and ran off toward the barn.

  “Be careful, Florida,” Brandon said.

  Raine nodded. “I will. Take care, Georgia.” Brandon gave her a thumbs-up. “Take care of him, Lucy.”

  “I will. Watch yourselves,” Lucy said as they turned toward the vehicle.

  As she ran toward the barn, Raine realized she hadn’t asked where they were taking him. She stopped and turned, but they were already too far away. Raine sidestepped Jeb’s lifeless body and followed Sheena inside the barn.

  “Where is everyone?” Raine asked.

  Sheena pointed to a door in the back of the barn. “I think they went out the back.”

  Loud voices in that direction confirmed her suspicion. Raine and Sheena ran to the door.

  “Wait. We need to see what’s going on first,” Raine said, extending her arm and blocking Sheena from exiting.

  Raine eased the door open with her right foot and looked out.

  “What do you see?” Sheena asked, leaning forward to get a view out the door.

  Raine shook her head. “I can’t see them.” She eased the door open wider and took a step forward.

  “There,” Sheena said, pointing to the men running across the field to their left.

  “Is that Aiden and Jim?” Raine asked, stepping through the doorway.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”