EMP [Collateral Darkness] | Book 4

by Tony Mastrolacasa

  “How did you guys get away?” Sydney asked.

  “They abandoned us to drive up to the gates in that plow truck of theirs.” Dan replied. “As soon as we saw we were alone we took off and followed the shoreline around the lake a ways. Then we went into the trees and started looking for the road where we heard all the gunfire.”

  “Can we assume that was you guys?” Collin asked.

  “Yeah, that was us.” Corey replied. “There’s four dead pricks back there in two little yellow trucks.”

  “Our friend, Cole, is lying dead in the road back there too.” Terrell added as he rummaged through his bag.

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.” Dan said. “We really appreciate you guys coming.”

  “We were kind of expecting more of you though.” Austin added.

  “There is more of us.” Corey said. “We’re just spread out.”

  “We were expecting more of you guys too.” Sydney said. “Where’s Hal and his family?”

  “Those bastards took them away when the shooting started.” Mia said. “They were taken up to the house.”

  “Alright, we should get moving then.” Sydney said. “Stu needs our help.”

  “Can you guys spare any weapons?” Dan asked. “One of you has already lost his life over this bullshit. It’s only right that we jump into it ourselves and help out.”

  “Yeah, I’d like to tag along too.” Collin added.

  “T, hand over the Barrett and Cole’s shotgun.” Corey said as he accepted two pills from their medic. “You hang onto that 30-30.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Terrell said.

  “Collin, I’m not kidding when I tell you that Barrett is gunna hurt.” Corey said as he tossed the pills back.

  “I’d like to come too.” Mia said. “Even if only to watch those assholes get what they’ve got coming to them.”

  They heard the sound of a gunshot come from the road ahead and then the first explosion.

  “Sounds like Stu’s almost ready for us.” Corey said as he tossed a bit of snow in his mouth to wash down the pills. “Anybody else coming?”

  “We just want to get the hell out of here.” Austin replied. “We’ve had enough.”

  “That’s fine, guys.” Corey said. “Leo’s back there about eight kilometres in the Bronco. Try to get to him.”

  “Would you please care for Cole’s body when you get up to him?” Sydney asked as she started moving off. “It would be a big help if you could clean him up a little. I’d hate for his girlfriend to find him that way.”

  “Not a problem.” Austin replied. “Good luck.”

  Sounds like you’re gunna need it.

  ◆◆◆

  Olivia had struggled with the urge to run and help her family. While Stu and Donny were busy vaporizing the men out front, she had remained in the mouth of the culvert watching the house. The explosions were all occurring far enough away that she didn’t think she was in any danger, but each time she tried to move a terrifying explosion would immediately force her back again.

  Minutes earlier, she had seen that Ken jerk pushing her aunt and uncles up to the house. She had come very close to running up to them and shooting that prick, but she knew that she would just end up getting herself shot. Rather than committing suicide right in front of her family, Olivia decided instead to lay low and hope that a more reasonable opportunity to help them would present itself.

  When an explosion occurred further into the resort, though, she suddenly realized that Stu and Donny probably had no idea where her family was. Worried that they may start bombing the house next, she decided to double back through the culvert to let them know that her family was inside. As Olivia turned around to begin making her way back through the small pipe, she heard the distinct sound of people jogging past overhead. She could clearly make out the sound of their gear rattling as they moved along.

  Whether they were friend or foe, Olivia had no idea, so she decided to get out of the culvert to take a look. Sneaking up to the top of the ditch, she peaked out onto the road relieved to see Brian, George, Stacey and Grace heading towards the gates. Assuming it was safe to join them, Olivia began to climb up onto the road. Before she placed a single foot on the road, though, somebody fired a shot from the house. The bullet struck her in the left thigh sending her tumbling back into the ditch.

  Terrified for her life, Olivia scrambled to get back into the culvert. Frozen with fear and in excruciating pain, she laid there while the blood oozed from her body. The sound of two more dynamite explosions finally brought her to her senses. She tried desperately to apply pressure to the wound, but there simply wasn’t enough room inside the small drain pipe for her to reach down far enough. Olivia knew that she could bleed out if she didn’t do something, so she decided to ease herself back out and hope that the gunman could no longer see her.

  In fact, if it wasn’t for the latest detonations, Geoff would have seen her just fine. Fortunately for Olivia, he had already moved off to see what was going on around the other side of the house. He was also fairly confident that there was nobody left over by that culvert worth worrying about.

  Olivia knew that she had been shot in the back of the leg, but she didn’t realize that the bullet had passed right through her until she saw the blood splattered on the front of her snow pants. She frantically dug through her pockets searching for the med kit that Stu had given her. Finding it, she opened it up to see what she had to work with. She found a roll of tensor bandage, a package of gauze and a small roll of electrical tape. Knowing that she needed to hurry, she tore open the packaging and dropped her snow pants.

  She taped a gauze pad directly over the two bloodied holes in her tights and wrapped the bandage tightly around her leg. Once she had it secured in place with a few additional wraps of electrical tape, she quickly pulled her snow pants up and got back into the culvert.

  Slowly and carefully she began inching down the pipe towards the far end. She knew that her leg wasn’t broken and she didn’t think that she was bleeding too badly anymore, but the pain was still unbearable. If she could get over to the other side of the road, she might be able to make her way back over to her original position. From there, maybe she could shout her warning across the road to the others. She knew that her family’s lives may very well depend on her being able to get that message to them in time.

  ◆◆◆

  Leo was already feeling anxious after hearing the opening gunshots, but the faint sound of explosions drove him absolutely insane. He knew that his job was to stay back in the Bronco, but he simply couldn’t do it anymore. His little brother, Brody, had saved their fathers life by ignoring a similar order months earlier. It was his turn to make a bold decision. Getting grounded was a small price to pay to ensure the safety of the people he loved.

  “Screw it, I’m outta here.”

  He started the Bronco, pulled out of the trees and barrelled down the road as quickly as he dared. The roads were still very slippery, so he forced himself to ease off the accelerator a little. He was glad that he did because he was soon confronted with a roadblock. Not only was there a small yellow pick up truck in front of him, but four people stood with guns pointed directly at him.

  “Shit!”

  He pulled his handgun as he hit the brakes and slid to a stop. Thankfully, he eventually recognized the people as some of Hal and Nora’s guests at the resort. He was even more happy when they recognized him as well. They lowered their rifles and handguns and started waving him in.

  Leo would soon learn of Cole’s death and what was occurring at the resort. After Austin had gathered the weapons from the dead men in the trucks, they had all donated an article of clothing to assist in wrapping Cole’s body. They had all armed themselves and were just heading out to find him when they had heard a vehicle approaching. Obviously, they were all incredibly relieved when they saw his familiar Ford Bronco appear.

  Reluctantly, Leo was finally convinced to stay behind with them. He helped carry
Cole’s body safely to the side of the road and then drove them all back to the trail that he had just come out of. As much as it pained him to stay out of the fight, he was at least happy for the opportunity to help these seven people out. They had lived through enough without him taking off and abandoning them by the side of the road as well.

  ◆◆◆

  Stu dove into one of the massive craters that he and Donny had created and pulled the two dynamite bundles from his pockets. He and Donny had discussed at length what he was about to attempt and Stu could only trust that Donny was correct. If he could land the two packages close enough to one another there would be no need to light the second fuse. Donny had told him that the explosion of the first would most certainly detonate the second.

  As the man in the driver’s seat continued to struggle with the dump truck, Stu lit one of the fuses. Then he tossed both bundles in quick succession and ducked down. The first landed beside one of its flattened rear tires and the second landed just shy of the first. Stu saw the driver’s eyes widen in shock as he realized what had just been thrown at him. He quickly disappeared as he dove down onto the seat. The men in the dump box, also quite aware of what was about to occur, abandoned their attempts to target Stu and disappeared as well.

  Dump trucks of that era were extremely well built, strength and durability considered in every aspect of their construction. As Stu braced, he hoped its engineers hadn’t decided to make them explosion proof as well.

  As expected, the two massive explosions had occurred within a fraction of a second of one another. They caused extensive damage to truck’s undercarriage and cab, but the dump box remained relatively intact. What the truck was absolutely defenseless against, however, were the incredible blast forces that had suddenly been exerted against its side.

  The first explosion got the entire left side of the truck up off of the ground and the second got it teetering on the edge of going over. Surprisingly, it was an unexpected third explosion that finally sounded its death knell. Its right side tires had already been damaged, but having to support the truck’s weight on only their sidewalls was too much for them to bear. They all blew out simultaneously causing the massive vehicle to keel over onto its right side.

  Stu looked on with a smile as he stared at the truck’s massive under belly. He had no idea if the men in that truck had survived the toppling over or not, but he was satisfied to watch through his riflescope and wait for his backup to arrive.

  Donny was the first to join him with Brian, George, Stacey and Grace arriving seconds later. All were amazed at what they had just witnessed. Corey’s team was still missing, but Stu knew that the men in the pick ups would have held them up a little. Considering that he hadn’t heard any additional gunshots coming from the east, he was sure that Team One would be along any minute.

  “Donny, you got anymore dynamite on you?” Stu asked.

  “No, but there’s plenty more across the road.” Donny replied. “You figure we need it?”

  “Not sure.” Stu said. “Somebody took a shot from around back a minute ago, but I don’t know who he was shooting at. You guys didn’t see Liv out there by any…?”

  …Without warning, five men suddenly got up from behind the wall of iron that was the ruined dump truck and began firing at them. Recovering quickly from their fall when the truck tipped over, they had taking the time to restack the pallets. Using their new platform, they found that they still had an excellent position to fire from.

  Stu and the others flattened their bodies into the bottom of the crater while they tried to figure out a way to deal with the situation. An incredibly loud rifle blast immediately answered their prayers. None of them were brave enough to lift their heads, but they already knew what was happening. Team One had finally arrived and Corey was putting the .50 cal to work again.

  The men in the dump box, initially unconcerned, soon realized that they might be in trouble. They abandoned their assault when they noticed that the rounds being fired at them were easily punching through the thick steel plates and entering the box. Cam and Easton literally exploded when they failed to recognize the danger in time. Tyler, Curtis and Owen, however, jumped from the pallets and escaped unseen into the nearby trees. The three young brothers had definitely seen enough and wanted nothing more to do with these maniacs or their cannon.

  After a few seconds of silence, Corey shouted, “Are we clear?”

  His answer came in the form of a bullet being fired from the front window of the house. Somebody inside had opened the lower left hand pane of glass and joined the fight.

  “Not clear! Stay down!” Stu shouted back. “There’s still a gunman around back too.”

  Looking over towards Corey’s team, Stu saw that they were about 20 metres away hidden behind the trees at the edge of the entrance. He was surprised to see that Dan, Collin and Molly were crouched down beside them. He was even more surprised to see that it had been Collin shooting the Barrett. The barrel still smoked in his hands.

  “Nice shooting, Collin.” Stu shouted. “Glad you guys could join us.”

  “Thanks, Stu, happy to help.” Collin replied.

  “Hal, Nora and Rob were brought up to the house, Stu.” Sydney shouted.

  “Shit! I was afraid of that.” Stu said to himself.

  “Did everybody else get out?” Brian shouted back.

  “Yes.” Dan replied. “They’re up the road with the kids.”

  “We had Cole stay back for their protection.” Terrell shouted next.

  Terrell had noticed Grace craning her neck trying to spot her boyfriend and figured he’d offer a plausible explanation for his absence. If this group was ever going to pull off whatever Stu had planned they would all need to be at their very best. As a general surgeon, Terrell was well versed in the best place and time to deliver bad news to a worried loved one. He knew full well that it wasn’t here and it certainly wasn’t now.

  Corey, Sydney and the others immediately understood what Terrell was up to and they couldn’t help but be impressed with his quick thinking.

  “Corey.” Stu shouted.

  Once he had Corey’s attention, Stu gave him a hand signal and then held up five fingers. Stu received a thumbs up from Corey in response. Then he looked at Team Two with him in the crater and quietly verbalized the order.

  “Bri, you fire left of the house and I’ll fire right. Full-auto.” Stu said quietly. “Do not hit the house. Our friends could be in that front room with them.”

  Stu and Brian stood, raised their rifles and sprayed lead at nothing in particular. While they provided cover fire, everyone else got up and ran across the road as fast as they could. While the others jumped down into the ditch, Corey and Sydney turned and raised their rifles to cover Stu and Brian’s retreat.

  When Stu finally joined his friends in the ditch the first person he noticed was Olivia. He was mortified to see that she was hurt and immediately ran to help. The hows and whys would have to wait because she needed Terrell’s services right now.

  “Terrell, Grace, take Liv back in the woods and see what you can do for her, please.” Stu said.

  “My family is in that house, Stu.” Olivia said as Terrell picked her up. “Please, help them!”

  “We’ll get them out, Liv.” Stu said. As much as it pained him to omit the words,‘ I promise,’ he knew that he couldn’t.

  “She’ll be okay, Stu.” Donny said. “She made it all the way back through that damn drain pipe on her own.”

  “How about you, Syd? You doing alright?” Stu asked as he swapped out magazines.

  “I’m fine, Stu, but this isn’t good.” Sydney replied, doing the same.

  “I know, babe.”

  Corey took a moment to give Stacey a slight smile before reloading his own rifle as well.

  “Okay, Stu, we’re all ears.” Corey said as he slapped his charging handle.

  “Alright, Donny and I took out seven of those pricks at the gates.” Stu said. “I assume the four men in th
ose trucks have been dealt with.”

  “Oh, they’ve been dealt with alright.” Corey replied.

  “Their trucks too.” Sydney added.

  “Okay, so that brings them down to 10.” Stu said. “I gotta figure the six guys in the dump truck are dead too or at least seriously messed up.”

  “I imagine we would have heard from them by now if they weren’t.” George said.

  “Exactly, so that means there’s probably only four of them left.” Stu continued. “How many of you are willing to breach that house with me?”

  Every single one of them held up their hand.

  “You guys are awesome.” Stu said with a smile. “I can’t have all of you with me though. We need to check out that truck and secure the perimeter too. There’s at least one prick still running around out here, don’t forget.”

  “I want to help out in some way.” Mia said. “Those animals killed my whole family.”

  “I’ll head over to the truck, Stu. She can come with me.” Stacey said while giving the woman a reassuring smile.

  “Good.” Stu said. “I want Collin to go with you too. Once you have it secured, stay there and use it for cover. Make sure we don’t have any surprises trying to sneak up on us. Someone will come get you when it’s over.”

  “Got it.” Stacey said.

  “Does anybody have a firearm for Mia?” Collin asked.

  “She can take my shotgun.” Sydney replied as she swung it off of her back.

  “I’ve never held a gun in my life.” Mia said.

  “Yeah… maybe I’ll take that shotgun.” Collin said, accepting the Derya from Sydney.

  “That’s okay, Mia.” Stacey said. “You just stick close and let us know if you see anybody.”

  “What’s the matter, Collin?” Corey asked with a grin. “Don’t like the Barrett anymore?”