Once he had them all idling, he walked back over to Bray and reported that each truck had two freshly topped up fuel tanks. He then mentioned that the diesel fuel tanker still had better than half of its load aboard. ‘Enough to get the entire convoy to Florida and back!’ he had happily announced. The soldiers hadn’t even made a mess of their cabs.
When the other five men returned from looting the marina store, each carried two jugs of two-stroke oil and a bulging canvas bag. Looking into a few of their bags, Bray saw that they had also found some fuel stabilizer, quick start engine spray and an assortment of spark plugs and fuses. These were all items that would stretch out the life span of their vehicles considerably, especially the snowmobiles.
They all hopped behind the wheel of a truck and pulled out. This was by far the best score they had managed since leaving Sudbury and Xander would be extremely pleased. He wouldn’t be in a good enough mood for Bray to change his mind though. Bray would try to talk him into leaving these people alone and taking the trucks to meet up with Mick instead, but Xander wouldn’t have it. By the time they arrived back at the house, Bray would find that Xander’s plans were set in stone.
Tomorrow morning, this community would become property of The Company.
Chapter 13
Finding that the front door was frozen shut, Stu and Brian rushed back outside through the back door. They made their way around the cabin, the waste deep snow slowing them down considerably. They found Stacey standing off to the side, teary-eyed with her hands to her face, while Corey worked frantically to help the person they had just found.
Coming in for a closer look, Stu and Brian saw why Stacey was so upset. Hess was lying on her back with a bullet hole in her chest. As she wheezed and struggled for breath, Corey had her coat opened up and was trying desperately to apply pressure to the wound. It was immediately obvious to Stu and Brian that his best efforts wouldn’t be enough. Blood ran from the back of her coat as well, even more so.
Hess’ breathing slowed and then finally stopped. Corey worked away on her for a few additional minutes, but a quick look at her face told him it was time to stop. Her lifeless green eyes were already beginning to frost over.
“No way.” Brian said softly.
“What was she thinking?” Stu added.
Looking the area over more closely, Stu saw that Hess had struggled for short time before finally falling to the ground. A trail of blood led three metres from the window to where her body now lied.
“Let’s see if we can find her gun, Bri.” Stu said. “It couldn’t have gone far.”
After a quick search, Brian found it and pulled it out of the snow. As Stu had feared, it was one of the three Smith and Wesson M&P handguns that he had given Hal.
Returning to Hess’ body, they looked down at her and tried to figure out how they would break the news to her family. The snowshoes she had on and the tracks leading from the forest told them how she had made her way down here unnoticed, but why she had come remained a mystery.
Of course, none of them would ever know what Hess’ life had been like the past few weeks and how utterly helpless she had felt. They would never know how desperately she wanted Mick punished for how he had treated her, for what he had done.
Yesterday afternoon, while Mick and his idiot friends were all out chopping firewood, Hess had snuck into Mick’s cabin with a very particular task in mind. After quickly removing her boots, so she didn’t leave any suspicious puddles behind, she carefully went to work on his frozen front window. Once she got the bottom sash free of its icy grip, she slid it up and popped out the screen. With no better option, she gave the screen a hard toss and sent it spinning off into the snow. Of all the things that might upset Hal tomorrow, she reasoned, a missing window screen would rank very low.
Before closing the window again, she pulled a small jar of Vaseline from her pocket and smeared some on the window jamb slides. Years ago, her mother had told Hess about petroleum jelly’s ridiculously low freezing point and how well it works as an unscented lubricant. ‘If you don’t want your husband stinking up the place with WD-40 always be sure to have some Vaseline on hand,’ her mother had told her.
After cycling the window a few times, she was happy to find that the window raised and lowered quite easily. More importantly, though, it did so very quietly. She closed the window again and made sure it remained unlocked. This was all for nothing if she couldn’t open it from the outside. She slipped her boots back on, gave the place one last looking over and slid back outside. Hess walked back to her cabin with an enormous grin on her face. It was probably the first time she had smiled in days.
Today, finally seeing her opportunity to sneak away, Hess put her plan into motion. She excused herself from the others and went to grab the gear that she had already set out. She quickly got dressed, strapped on her snowshoes and disappeared into the dense forest beside the house. With all the excitement going on nobody even noticed. Walking over top of the one metre deep snow, she followed the treeline all the way down to the lake and over to cabin number one. By the time Hess heard Brian calling out to Mick she had already been waiting there for five minutes.
While they shouted back and forth, Hess carefully slid along the wall to the front window making sure to stay out of sight. Hess found that she actually had to bend down slightly to take a quick look inside, the snow pack keeping her almost a metre above the soil below. She could see that all of their attention was towards Stu’s group out back and the rifles they had pointed at them. That left Hess free to continue watching from outside the front window. As long as she kept quiet and remained absolutely still, her presence would go undetected. Hess placed her hand in her pocket and wrapped it around the handle of her pistol as she waited for her moment.
When Hess saw Joe open the back door and head outside, she cautiously placed a hand on the window sash and prepared to open it. The instant Mick took his first step through the door, she slowly slid the window up and drew her pistol. Using the window frame to steady her arm, she slowed her breathing, put the back of Mick’s head in her sights and squeezed the trigger. A bullet would find Hess seconds later, but not until she had seen what she was hoping for… Mick’s head exploding.
“Why would she come down here?” Stu asked. “Why did she feel she needed to…?”
“…I’m sure she had her reasons, Stu… personal ones.” Brian replied, starting to make sense of it now. “A nice looking woman, the only one here around their age…”
“Oh, I hope they didn’t…” Stacey stopped herself from saying the words aloud.
“Take it easy, Stace.” Corey said as he continued to inspect Hess’ wound. “Brian doesn’t know anything for sure. Let’s just get her home.”
“Liv is… Oh, that poor girl…” Stacey said, her face now a mess of tears.
“This is gunna be brutal.” Stu said.
“Brian, take Stacey around back, will ya?” Corey asked. “I need to have a word with Stu.”
“Yeah, okay.” Brian said, taking Stacey by the arm and leading her away.
“Stu, take a look at this.” Corey said, rolling Hess onto her side and holding up the back of her coat.
“Damn it, Corey.” Stu said, recoiling. “Did I really need to see that?”
“You don’t get it… The bullet went straight through her, man. There’s a golf ball sized hole in her back. To go through all this clothing and then make an exit wound like that… Shit, the bullet might have even gone through a wall first.”
“What are you getting at, Corey?”
Corey shook his head as he closed Hess’ coat again and gently placed her on her back.
“That’s a lot to ask of a 9mm handgun round, Stu.” Corey said. “This was from a rifle… I’m sure of it.”
“Oh, come on…” Stu said, disbelief and regret sweeping across his face.
“I think one of us hit her, buddy.”
◆◆◆
By the time the gunfire ended, everyone wait
ing up at the house was in a state of shock. Other than Leo and the Army guys, none of them had ever heard so many gunshots fired all at once. They had no idea what the end result was, but the respite at least offered them a chance to slow their heart rates.
They hadn’t really discussed it, but Hal was expecting Stu’s group to signal them, offer something to let them know that they were alright. After 15 minutes of silence, however, they were starting to get worried. Nobody from down at the cabins had called out or whistled or offered any indication whatsoever as to what had just happened. They knew that Stu didn’t want anybody else going down there, but they couldn’t just stand around all day waiting to see if they still had a problem.
Just as Rob was about to suggest heading down anyway, they heard a snowmobile being pull started. On the third attempt it roared to life and began roughly idling, fighting the urge to stall out. They could tell that the mystery rider was giving the thumb throttle a few additional squeezes to encourage the frozen engine to cooperate. At least they now knew that somebody was still alive down there. The only question remaining was whether they were friends or not.
“We don’t know who that is yet.” Hal shouted out. “Everybody stay behind cover and check your fire. Wait for my signal.”
The defenders listened intently as the unseen snowmobile began moving slowly amongst the cabins. Instead of heading directly up to the house, though, it remained down by the lake. It would move a little, idle to a stop for a few minutes and then slowly move again. This carried on for another 10 minutes before Rob finally spoke up and asked aloud what every single one of them was wondering internally.
“What the hell’s going on down there?”
“I have no idea, Rob, but Stu never said anything about going for a snowmobile ride today.” Hal replied. “Damn it… I hope they’re alright.”
“Shit, you think that’s why Stu hasn’t sent anybody up here yet” Rob asked.
“Again, no idea, but while we’re standing here doing nothing, one of those assholes could be loading up his gear and getting ready to take off.” Hal replied.
“He’d never get past us, Hal. He’d be dead before he reached the top of the hill.” Rob said.
“You don’t think he knows that? He’s not coming up here, Rob. He’ll probably head out onto the lake. He’d be five kilometres away before we even got down there.”
The snowmobile’s engine started to rev quite loudly as it began moving steadily past the row of cabins. When the snow machine reached the main driveway, it turned right and started slowly heading towards them. Every rifle they had was pointed directly at the crest of that hill. They had no idea who was coming, but friend or foe, this particular exit was well covered.
A wave of relief washed over the defenders as, one after the other, the face of a friend came into view. As they lowered their weapons, the snowmobile finally revealed itself and what they had been doing became abundantly clear. For some reason, they had decided to hook up a sleigh and tow it behind the snowmobile. It appeared as though there was something on it, but the others walking alongside obscured their view of it. Eventually, however, they were all shocked to discover that the sleigh carried a body wrapped in bed sheets.
“You see anyone missing?” Hal asked his younger brother.
“Stu’s on the sled. Corey, Brian, Stacey, Dan, Russ… They’re all there. It must be one of the Sudbury guys.”
“Why the hell would they…?”
“…Hey, guys, have either of you seen your sister?” Nate asked, surprising them both.
Hal and Rob turned around to see Nate and Oliva standing behind them. Apparently, Olivia had grown impatient and had decided to expand her search for her mother. She had found her father just as the snowmobile started heading up the hill. Shocked when he realized that his daughter was in a potentially dangerous situation, Nate had insisted that Olivia get behind him. The instant they saw that it was only Stu’s group, Olivia had taken her father by the hand and dragged him over to ask her uncles.
“No, if you didn’t see her on the other side of the house, she must be over with…”
…Hal didn’t even finish voicing his assumption before he saw Leo walking towards them. He appeared to be in good spirits and was obviously happy to see that his father was back, but he was definitely alone.
“That’s odd.” Hal said. “Where the hell did she get off to?”
What they were about to learn was that Hess was only a few metres away.
Stu pulled to a stop beside Hal and his family and shut the engine down. Nobody said a word. Dan and Russ simply walked off to find their wives, both with their heads hanging low.
“Everybody okay up here, Hal?” Stu asked as he stepped off the seat.
“Other than a few piss stained snow pants, we’re doing alright.” Hal replied. “Which one of them is on the sleigh there?”
“I need a word with your family in private, Hal.” Stu said. “Can you tell everyone to gather their families and go home, please? You too, Leo. Go with these guys back to the cabins.”
“Okay, but…”
“…Just go, Leo.” Stu said as he turned to Corey, Stacey and Brian. “I’ll see you guys in a few minutes.”
As Stu’s group walked somberly away, not one of them made eye contact with anyone from Hal’s family. The fact that Stacey’s face was still producing fresh tears did not go unnoticed either. Hal, now eager to get on with it, quickly shouted out for everyone to collect their families and head home. Nora noticed that something was going on outside, so she quickly got her coat and boots on and joined them as well.
Once Stu had Hal’s family alone, he began to explain what had happened. He left the contents of the sleigh until the very end and even then he had trouble getting the words out right.
“When we heard that first shot… we didn’t know where it had come from. One of them turned and fired…”
“…Stu! Who’s on the damn sleigh?” Hal asked firmly, no longer interested in listening to Stu’s ramblings.
Stu put his head down and placed a hand in his pocket. When he looked up again his eyes were glassed over with tears. He held his hand out to Hal and handed him the Smith and Wesson handgun that had belonged to his sister.
“I’m so sorry.”
◆◆◆
While Stu talked to Hal and his family, Brian, Corey, Stacey and Leo had walked back down to their cabins. They needed to bring Leo up to speed and discuss a course of action. They had no idea how much information Stu intended to give them right now, but they hoped that they could still call these people their friends after today.
When Stu finally got back down to the cabins, Leo was waiting for him outside. He told his father that the others had gathered at Brian’s place, so the two of them walked over and went inside. While Leo stood off in the corner, visibly upset, the others sat around the table with a chair waiting for Stu.
“Take a seat, Stu. We already told Leo what happened down here today, that one of those guys shot Hess.” Brian said, staring at Stu expressively. “We just need to decide what we’re gunna do now.”
“Leo, go over to our place and start packing.” Stu said. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
Without hesitation or any sign of complaint, Leo opened the door and stepped out. He had obviously been having a hard time keeping his cool and was anxious for an excuse to be alone again.
“Did you tell them what I told you, Stu?” Corey asked.
“No, it’s too early to get into the details.” Stu replied. “I just said that one of them fired at her and we found her dead out front. It won’t be long before they start asking for more information though.”
“Stu… we’ve been talking.” Brian said. “We don’t think we should tell them what Corey discovered.”
“What? We can’t just let them…”
“…What good will it do, Stu?” Brian asked. “Corey’s not 100 percent sure of anything. All it will do is end our friendship and cost us both a beneficial pa
rtnership.”
“It could even turn ugly.” Corey added.
“I hardly think this would turn them into our newest enemy.” Stu said. “None of this was intentional.”
“Stu, what if Hal or Rob had shot and killed Sydney today?” Brian asked. “How would you react?”
“What the hell kind of question is that, Bri? I’d be pissed, what do you think?” Stu replied. “I wouldn’t retaliate or lash out at them though… Not if it was an accident.”
“What if you thought it was because they were being overly reckless?” Corey asked. “What if you felt she died because they were firing automatic rifles all over the damn place like a bunch of lunatics?”
“That’s not at all what we were doing!” Stu said, immediately defending their actions.
“We know that, Stu, but think of it from their perspective.” Brian said. “Most of those people have never heard rapid fire like that before. It would be very easy for them to think that we were being careless down here, that Hess was hit because we were just spraying lead everywhere without a care in the world.”
“What if you thought that, Stu?” Corey asked again. “What if you thought they were being needlessly reckless?”
“Damn…” Stu said, finally seeing their point. “I’d lose my shit on them.”
“This had got to be kept a secret, Stu.” Brian said. “No good can come of telling them any different. Hess died because she didn’t tell anyone where she was or what she was planning. The whole thing was just a terrible mistake.”
“But it wasn’t because of anything you guys did.” Stacey added, finally jumping into the conversation.
“Alright, I get it.” Stu said. “We’ll do it your way. We really need to get home though. As soon as Hal says we can head out, we head out. I don’t know if I’ll be able to look these people in the eyes again.”
“Stu, what we did here today was a good thing.” Stacey said. “Hess died doing what she felt she needed to do to protect her family. It’s tragic, but not entirely uncommon these days. Everyone we’ve lost died doing exactly the same thing.”
EMP [Collateral Darkness] | Book 4 Page 21
