He was the first to awaken as the sounds of birdcalls began to increase in frequency and volume, signifying the arrival of daylight. He nudged Amanda a few times, then bent down and kissed her. She patted his face a few times and whispered, “Good morning.”
Five minutes later they were all standing at the stairs, guns pointed upward toward the doors. Allistor climbed up and removed the bar, then used it to shove one door upward. He winced as the hinges creaked, but nothing jumped out at him.
They all made their way up, and Meg said, “Gonna hit the head before we go.” She and Amanda ventured inside the house as Sam and Allistor picked a convenient tree to relieve themselves upon.
The ladies came back out with two laundry baskets and a large box. They went back down to the cellar and filled all three with jars. Sam found some empty wooden crates, and they filled those too as Allistor made trips up and down the stairs to load them into the trucks. When they were done, they had about sixty jars – more than half of what had been on the shelves. Before they left, Sam closed and barred the cellar doors from above to keep the critters out. They could stop by on the way back and finish clearing out the food. With twenty more mouths to feed, there was no such thing as too much food.
They pulled out of the driveway and back onto the road. Moving along at their safe 30mph pace, it was only a couple hours until they reached the outskirts of the town. It looked like any other small town, only smaller. Maybe half the size of their own town, before it was crushed. By comparison, this one was intact. Mostly. A couple of buildings had burned down, and several homes sported broken windows and open doors.
The Stronghold they were looking for was easily spotted. Right in the center of town, the main thoroughfare was cut off by a twenty-foot-high stone wall with an iron gate. As they approached, faces appeared atop the wall. Sam stopped his truck a good fifty yards back from the gate.
Several of those faces were holding guns.
Chapter Ten
Shoot First, Don’t Apologize
The four got out of their trucks, and Meg shouted, “We’re looking for Luther. I’m Meg!”
A man atop the gate raised a hand in greeting. “I’m Luther. Glad to see you, Meg! We’re going to need you to leave your weapons where you’re standing before you come in.”
Allistor shook his head. “That’s just not going to happen, Luther. My name is Allistor. Did Meg mention me?”
Luther nodded. “Leader of the Warren. I appreciate you coming. I really do. But we’ve had some… incidents with other survivors.”
Allistor looked around at the others. “Luther, I promised to keep these people safe. Much like you probably did for your people. In light of the incidents you just mentioned, how smart would it be for me to just walk them in there without weapons?” He paused for effect. “There are four of us here. You outnumber us five to one. And frankly, I have the ability to cast spells that are much more dangerous than my shotgun. We need to learn to trust each other. I’ve got a truck full of food here, and an invitation for you to join us at the Warren. But if you’re not gonna let us in as we are, we can turn around and head back.”
Meg glared at him, but Sam patted her back to calm her. She whispered, “We are not leaving these people here to starve.”
Allistor whispered back. “I know you want to help them. So do I. But we don’t know anything about them. And looking around here, I don’t see why they’re starving. There are viable vehicles to use here,” he motioned all around them. “So they could hunt farther out if all the game in the forest is gone. They have walls, with space inside for gardening. So either they’re incompetent, or they’re playing us. Either way, they need us. We have the upper hand here. I’m going to make sure it stays that way.”
They waited as Luther argued with someone atop the wall. A minute later, Luther called down. “Fine. Come on in.”
The gates opened as the four got back into their trucks. Sam led them through the gates into the section of the town that had been walled off. The street just continued through the gates and on toward the back wall. The shops and buildings on either side remained intact, as far as Allistor could tell. People milled around, watching the two trucks. About half carried weapons. And as Luther had described, there were several children and elderly folks in the group.
Turning off their engines, they exited the vehicles. Luther had come down from the wall and was approaching Meg. “I’m sorry about that, Meg. We’re all just a little twitchy. We’ve been attacked twice since we put up this wall. By humans, I mean. Lost some family and friends.” He reached out a hand to shake.
“We understand.” Meg ignored the hand and hugged the man. “It must have been rough here. Our town was completely destroyed by a sixty-foot-tall asshole giant that stomped it flat. But we haven’t had to fight other humans yet.”
Amanda interrupted. “We can talk later. These kids look like they’re about to pass out. Let’s get some food off the truck and into their bellies.”
Luther motioned for people to come and help unload. When Allistor opened the back of the box truck, there were gasps of surprise and cries of joy. One old man who looked to be about seventy took the box of jars Allistor handed him with tears in his eyes. “Bless you, son.”
Allistor, a lump in his throat keeping him from speaking, just nodded his head.
They unloaded a couple dozen jars of fruit and veggies, and Meg demanded to be shown to the kitchen. She and Sam began cooking burgers that she brought along in her ring. They used one of the recipes that bestowed buffs to Stamina and health regeneration.
Allistor sat in the back of the truck with Luther as Amanda began examining the children one by one. He began to speak quietly to the man.
Luther, I have to ask… why are you and your people going hungry? There are hundreds of miles of forest around you to hunt in. And there have to be other towns close by.”
Luther shook his head. “We were doing fine until about two weeks ago. We foraged here in town, just gathering food as we needed it. Got the stronghold set up pretty early. A few of our people already had gardens in their yards, and we used those for fresh vegetables. After a few monster attacks claimed lives, everybody moved inside the walls.”
He took a deep breath, then let it out. “Then we got attacked by humans. They walked up to the gates just like you, asking to be let in. Talking about how rough it was out in the wild. I felt sorry for them and opened the gates. Five of our people died before we chased them off. They stayed for three days, looting everything of value in town. We tried going out to stop them – there were ten of them, and we had more fighters than them back then – but we lost two more people in that fight.”
Luther’s shoulders slumped, and he wrung his hands in his lap. “We decided to just wait. Let them take what they wanted and go. The assholes didn’t just take. They destroyed. Started a couple fires. Poured bleach in our gardens. Then their leader said if they caught us outside of town, they’d kill us.”
Allistor could guess the rest. “And how long did you wait before you sent out a hunting party?”
“Three days. We were getting low on food. I sent out three men under cover of darkness. They went over the back wall and walked into the forest. About an hour after they left, we heard a bunch of gunshots. The next morning, their bodies were left in the street outside the gate. When a few of us went out to retrieve them, we were gunned down as well.” Luther pulled his shirt aside to show a scar below his collarbone. “I was lucky and made it back inside.”
Allistor asked, “How many have you lost to these assholes?”
Luther whispered, “Fourteen. Men, women, and children. Including my son.”
Allistor was furious. “And how many of them are left? It sounds like you got a few of them.”
Luther shrugged. “We’ve never seen more than ten. We killed a couple. But we haven’t seen them in a week. I just don’t know.”
“Do you know where they’re holed up? Do they have a stronghold of their
own?
Luther nodded. “We recognized some of them. From a town to the south. Their leader is Evan, an asshole sheriff’s deputy. Or he was before they fired him. Used to let young girls out of speeding tickets if they… well, you get the idea. He likes power a little too much.”
As if summoned, a gunshot rang out. A woman atop the wall shouted, “They’re back!”
Luther grabbed his rifle and sprinted toward the wall. Allistor followed. When they reached the top, Allistor saw three men with M16’s standing roughly in the same spot they’d parked earlier. About fifty yards out from the gate.
The one in the center shouted. “Luther! I know you guys got visitors this morning! Send them out with whatever goodies they had in those trucks!”
Allistor didn’t wait for Luther to respond. “You must be Evan?”
The man nodded. “No need for you to get hurt, whoever you are. Give us your trucks, and you’ll be free to walk back to wherever you came from. This town, and everything in it, belongs to us.”
Allistor shook his head. “That’s not gonna work for me. I drove two hundred miles to see my friend Luther, here. Old friend of the family, ya know? I get here, and the first thing I hear is some asshole named Evan killed his son. You should leave. Now.”
Evan smirked up at him. “We’ve got this place surrounded. Send out your shit, or we’ll come in and take it!”
As Evan spoke, Allistor put his shotgun into inventory and pulled out a Mossberg 30.06 with a scope. Just as the man finished speaking he raised the rifle, took aim, and fired. Evan’s head exploded. The two men on either side of him stood in shock for a moment. It cost the one to the right his life as Allistor chambered another round and put one through his chest. The third man managed to reach cover.
Luther looked at him wide-eyed. “What the hell did you just do?” he shouted. Both men ducked down as answering fire came from the third man, and at least two others they hadn’t seen before.
“I just took out their leader. They’ll be confused and disorganized, at least for a while. Maybe even argue amongst themselves about who should be in charge. I’m hoping they retreat long enough for us to get you safely out of here. Assuming you want to come with us?”
Luther’s voice was bitter. “It’s not like we have much choice, now. They won’t stop till we’re all dead.”
Allister shook his head. “What’s different? These guys were always going to kill you. Either by raiding this place, or starving you out. If they thought they could take these walls, they would have already. Now there are two less of them, and their leader is dead. If anything, I improved your position.”
The old man that had taken the fruit from Allistor earlier put a hand on Luther’s shoulder. “He’s right, boy. Another week in here, and we’d starve. Even with the meat these folks sold us. We ain’t got the funds to keep buying food.” He moved his gaze over to Allistor and grinned. “Nice shot.”
Just then Sam joined them up on the wall. “You’re here fifteen minutes, and you’re already picking fights?” He winked at Allistor. He peered through a slot in the wall, and said, “One second.” Sliding his rifle barrel into the slot, he took aim at something. Letting out a breath, he paused, then squeezed the trigger.
Turning back to them, he said, “The guy with the blue shirt hiding behind the ford. Stuck his head out too far.” The grin on his face made Luther shudder. The old man just cackled.
A voice rang out from outside the wall. “You’re gonna pay for that! You’re all dead!”
Sam shouted, “Stick your head out and tell me that again! One college puke and one old marine sniper just took out almost half your group! I’d take Allistor’s advice and leave while you can!”
Nothing but silence answered him. After a few minutes, they straightened up and peered over the top of the wall. There was no sign of movement.
The old man said, “I’m George. Luther’s my boy. I want to thank you again for coming here and helping us. Glad to know there’re some good folks left in this god-awful new world.” He shook hands with both Allistor and Sam. “How ‘bout we go get some of that food I smell and talk some more?”
Remembering how hungry these people must be, Allistor felt bad. He’d been wrong; they weren’t incompetent. They’d just been bullied into a bad situation. He wanted to kill every single one of the men outside.
As they climbed down, an explosion rocked the gate. Allistor clambered back up and looked out. A man behind a nearby truck had his arm cocked, about to lob a grenade at the gate. Allistor cast Restraint on the man. He froze in place, a look of horror on his face. Three seconds later the grenade went off in his hand. What was left of him fell behind the truck.
Three more men broke cover, dashing behind vehicles as they retreated. Sam’s rifle put one of them down just as he was about to duck into an alley. George fired at another and struck him in the leg. Allistor missed a shot, and Luther’s shot blasted out a storefront window as his target rounded the corner. But the glass deflected the bullet, and the man disappeared.
George said, “Five dead, one wounded. Unless they got a good medic, he’s gonna die too.”
Sam said, “If I were them, I wouldn’t come back.”
The four men once again descended the wall. Making their way to an area where several long tables with benches were set up, they joined the back of the chow line. All of the children and seniors had already been served and had taken seats. Though they looked longingly at their plates, none of them touched the food.
The line moved quickly, and soon all but three guards up on the wall had food. A fourth guard piled burgers high on one plate, and then he grabbed a jar of peaches, plates, and forks and headed back up to the wall.
George waited, standing at the end of one table as the others all took a seat. He spoke softly, just loud enough for everyone present to hear. “Let us give thanks for our new friends, and the bounty they have brought us today.” He bowed his head, as did everyone but Allistor. His family hadn’t been religious, and he was an agnostic. Still, he waited patiently for the others to finish. George raised his head and said, “Let’s eat,” with a wide smile on his face. He took a seat and dug in.
Allistor was focused on his own delicious burger when Amanda elbowed him in the ribs. Looking up at her, he saw her nod her head down the table. Following her gaze, he saw two little boys that looked so much alike they had to be twins. One of them was cutting his burger in half as the other wrapped his burger in a napkin and stuck it in his bag. Then the two of them began to nibble on half a burger each. When he looked at Amanda, she had tears in her eyes.
Allistor cleared his throat and stood. Looking at the boy who’d pocketed his burger, he said, “What’s your name, kid?”
The twin looked guilty. Shrinking down in his seat, his voice squeaky, he said, “Dillon, sir.”
Allistor laughed. “Okay, Dillon. Nice to meet you. And please, I’m not old enough to be a ‘sir’. Just call me Allistor. I’m here to tell you a few things. First, you’re done being hungry. There’s no need to save any of this food for later. We’ve brought lots of food.” He paused as the boy sheepishly removed the burger from his bag and set it on his plate.
Allistor looked around at the whole group. His gaze landed on Luther, and he raised his eyebrows, asking a silent question. Luther nodded.
“My friends and I have a stronghold as well. Not like this one, exactly. It’s mostly underground. We have all the comforts of home, including electricity. And we would be honored if all of you would come and join us there. We can create more housing units, and maybe even expand to build walls above ground like you have here. More importantly, we have learned how to make ourselves stronger, and how to fight! And there’s plenty of food for everyone.”
He looked around at the faces looking back at him, trying to gauge their level of interest. Some were nodding their heads, others whispering to neighbors. He added, “We’ll stay the night, if you don’t mind, and you guys can decide what you want to do
in the morning. It’s a long trip back, about two hundred miles. And we ran across some obstacles on the way. But we’ll get you there safe and sound.”
Taking his seat again, he finished his burger as he listened to the chatter around him. Meg was actively lobbying the elders to join them at the Warren. Sam was exchanging war stories with George. Amanda was silent next to him, listening as he was. The general consensus seemed to be that they wanted to leave. Ironically, the fact that Allistor and Sam had killed several of the bullies was working against them. A few folks were feeling confident enough in their odds that now they wanted to stay.
After lunch, Luther offered to take them on a tour of the Stronghold. They obligingly followed him around as he told them about the place, how they’d come about establishing it, and introducing folks as they went. Their story wasn’t that different from Allistor’s peoples’ own experiences. They had actually done quite well for themselves before Evan and his band attacked.
Allistor asked Luther about his people’s stats and skills. Luther mentioned that some of the folks had picked up skills by accident, but Allistor could tell he didn’t understand the system. So when the tour was complete, he sat Luther and George down at the tables again.
“This new world, it works off a system very similar to virtual reality games I’ve played my whole life. It lets us build up our strengths quickly, heal quickly when injured, and learn skills faster than we ever could a few months ago. For example, that guy with the grenade? I used a spell I learned called Restraint to stun him, forcing him to hold the grenade until it went off.” Allistor held up a hand and pointed a finger toward the sky. A small jet of flame shot upward about a foot. “And I learned to do this, as well. If you like, I can share some of this knowledge with you and your people over dinner. And if you join us, you’ll have the opportunity to learn much more.”
Luther stammered, still absorbing the magic display. “Why… why are you so willing to take us in? We don’t have anything of value to bring with us.”
Shadow Sun Survival: Shadow Sun Book One Page 20
