by Bruno Miller
“Maybe, but we need to stay alert. Until we clear these houses, we won’t be sure.”
After the dogs finished making their rounds to each of the kids, they were finally able to head for the containers where they had been held captive. Ben hated to travel in such a large group, but it was good to have them all together right now so he could keep an eye on everyone.
Once they knew if Rita and Carlos could be trusted or not, he’d figure out a new plan of attack for dealing with any remaining moonshiners. Neither one of the couple was in great shape physically, so Ben wasn’t planning on much help from them when it came to fighting, but they could still provide valuable information about the layout of the camp and where best to look for their missing gear. He also hoped they could tell them if all the moonshiners had been eliminated or not. The latter was less important because Ben planned on hitting each container home regardless.
As they approached the prison cell containers, he could see fingers sticking through the holes of both.
“Hey… Hey, you gonna let us out of here? Please, Mister.” The man had changed his tune from earlier as he pleaded with Ben.
“Shhhhh.” Ben held his finger to his mouth. “Joel, cover that path. Allie, you watch the way we just came. If you see anyone, shoot them.” Ben’s words were stern but necessary. He didn’t want any hesitation from either of them if the situation called for action. But part of what he said was for the benefit of the guy in the containers. Ben wanted him to know that they meant business and were prepared to do whatever it took to put this hellhole behind them.
Bradley and Emma stood back and to the side of Ben a little ways while Sandy sorted through the keys they’d acquired from the first guard. She started with Rita and Carlos, and although Ben was fairly confident that they were decent people, he kept his pistol ready.
Sandy glanced back at Ben. “Ready,” she said.
“Go ahead.” Ben took a step closer as Sandy removed the padlock and slid the chain through the handle of the door. She pulled it open and stepped out of the way behind it. Rita slowly emerged into the dim light with her husband by her side. Carlos was standing on his own now, but it looked as though it was taking everything he had to stay upright without Rita’s support.
“Thank you,” Carlos said in a gravelly voice.
“Yes, thank you.” Rita went to Sandy as soon as she spotted her behind the door and gave her a hug. If Ben had to guess, he would have figured them to be in their sixties, although the way they moved made them look much older. Their dirt-smudged faces and torn clothing didn’t help make them look any younger, either.
Emma did her best to keep the dogs at bay, but eventually they surrounded the couple to investigate.
“Easy there. Good boy.” Carlos staggered and almost went down, but Ben was able to catch him in time and keep him steady. By the looks of it, Gunner might have weighed as much or more than the man. They were both malnourished, and their skin hung loosely on their faces. Ben paid attention to how Bajer reacted to the couple, but it was obvious she wasn’t their dog. And the possibility of having another dog with them for the remainder of the trip seemed closer to reality.
“How long have you guys been here?” Ben helped Carlos over to a stump where he could sit down.
Rita answered for her husband. “Since it all started. We were on our way from New York to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Our daughter and her husband live there.” She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Ben could tell she wanted to say more but didn’t have the stamina to get it all out at once. He took the opportunity to check in with Joel and Allie, who were standing guard at both ends of the footpath that ran through the area. They needed to get Rita and her husband something to eat and drink, but they needed to make sure the compound was secure before they could even think about doing that.
“Hey, what about me?” Ben had forgotten about the other guy.
“What do you know about him?” Ben asked Carlos quietly.
“That’s Martin. He’s harmless enough. Got here about a week after us.” Carlos lowered his head and his voice before continuing. “His wife only lasted a few days, but she was already in bad shape when they got here.”
Suddenly, Ben felt bad for the way he’d judged the man.
“Well?” Sandy looked at Ben.
“Martin, you’re going to be nice to everyone, right?” Ben asked.
“Yes, yes. I promise. I’ll do anything you want if you let me out of here,” he pleaded.
Ben nodded at Sandy, and she unlocked the door. He readied himself for whatever would follow. Sandy swung the door open and once again took a position behind it and out of the way.
“Come on.” Ben motioned with the pistol for Martin to step outside. A worn and weary husk of a man stepped out of the shadows and into the pale light of the burning still. He was wearing what looked like office attire, or at least what was left of it. His dress pants were torn into shorts, and his button-down shirt looked more like a shop rag than clothing. He slowly made his way out of the container and offered his hand to Ben.
“Thank you. I’m sorry about before.”
Ben lowered his gun and shook the man’s hand while the dogs gave him a thorough sniffing. Ben didn’t call them off like he had for Rita and Carlos, and he didn’t offer the man any reassurances that they wouldn’t hurt him, either. No reason to let him think otherwise for now.
Ben watched Bajer again, but the dog paid even less attention to this guy than she had the dead moonshiners. And Martin wasn’t a dog person, anyway; that much was obvious by the way he held his hands up high and out of Gunner and Sam’s reach.
Ben let out a sigh, partly because he knew that Bajer was coming with them now and partly because he realized this guy was no threat to them.
“Gunner, Sam, here.” Ben gave the command, and all three dogs came to him. He glanced at Emma, and she immediately called over the dogs so they were out of the way.
“They won’t hurt you.” Ben tried to put him at ease when he noticed Martin keeping an eye on the dogs. Even if the guy wanted to cause them any problems, Ben doubted he had the strength to make any real trouble. And based on the information Carlos had given, he didn’t blame the guy for being less than pleasant earlier. He wasn’t ready to offer Martin a gun just yet, but he might prove more useful than Ben had previously thought.
Rita and Carlos were too weak. There was no way they could follow him around the camp and ID the bodies, at least not in a timely manner. But Martin looked like he could manage.
“So you’ve been here about a week?” Ben asked.
“Something like that. To be honest, I’ve lost track of time here. Feels like I’ve been here a lot longer.” Martin rubbed his face as he took stock of his surroundings.
“How many moonshiners do you think there were?”
“Had to be a dozen or so. I figured it’s a couple families running the place. Even the kids are in on it.” Martin shook his head. “They’re animals, all of them. They deserve to die.” He cut his eyes at Emma and Bradley and then back at Ben. “Sorry.”
“Well, there aren’t many left now,” Ben said. “We can account for ten of them.”
“What about the others? Have they shown up yet?” Martin asked.
Ben straightened up. “What others?”
“The other moonshiners from the other camps.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ben’s blood ran cold at the news that there were other compounds like this one.
“What are you talking about?” He stepped toward Martin and shot a worried look at Sandy.
“I’ve seen them meet with other groups of people to trade moonshine and the other stuff they take from people.”
“How far are these other camps?” Ben asked.
“No idea. But I’ve noticed them do it a few times since I’ve been here.”
Ben turned toward Rita and Carlos. “Is this true?”
“Yes, I would have said something, but I didn’t think much of it,”
Rita said apologetically.
Ben couldn’t believe that she had neglected to share that very important piece of information with him. But then again, given the couple’s physical state, they were doing the best they could. He couldn’t be mad at them for something they had no control over.
But this changed things, or maybe it didn’t. They had no way of knowing how far away these other camps were. Maybe there was enough distance between this compound and the others for the still explosion to go unnoticed. Ben couldn’t rely on a maybe, though. They were going to have to be ready for anything and assume the other moonshiners knew. And now there was even more of a reason to hurry up, recover their stuff, and get out of here as quickly as possible.
Even if there were only two other camps with about the same number of moonshiners as here, that was way more people than they could handle. They wouldn’t fare well in a firefight against twenty-plus attackers, especially without the element of surprise on their side. They were lucky to accomplish what they had here. He didn’t want to roll the dice on another encounter if he could help it. His earlier thoughts of revenge and his plans for making sure these people weren’t able to do this to others suddenly took a back seat to his family’s safety.
As much as he wanted to see this place obliterated and leave no stone unturned when it came to eradicating this trash from the face of the earth, he didn’t want to put his kids in harm’s way any more than was necessary. And the longer they stuck around, the more those odds increased. Ben fought to quiet the voice inside that told him to cut their losses and get as far away from here as they could, and as fast as they could, right now.
That would have been the easy thing to do, but it wouldn’t be very smart. They needed every ounce of gear and food they came here with or they might not make it to Colorado. But there was also a little emotion involved with that decision as well. He wasn’t about to leave behind the things Jack had given them, and he wanted to set an example for the kids. You couldn’t always run from your problems. It was important to choose your battles carefully but equally important to stand your ground and fight for what was yours once the commitment was made.
This post-apocalyptic world they were living in wasn’t meant for indecision or weakness, and those who suffered from either wouldn’t last long. They would recover their gear and leave only when that was done. But first things first: Ben had to make sure the rest of the compound was secure.
“Martin, you feel up to tagging along with us?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Joel, come with me. Allie, Sandy, see if you can find them some food and water. But don’t wander into areas we haven’t cleared yet.” Ben turned to Rita, who had found a place to sit and rest next to her husband. “We’ll get you guys taken care of as soon as we can.”
“I know you will. You’re good people, Ben. Thank you.” Rita leaned against her husband and smiled as best as she could.
Ben hated to leave Sandy and the kids behind, but they’d move a lot faster and quieter without them. Emma was put in charge of keeping Sam and Bajer back with Sandy and the others while Ben, Joel, and Gunner led Martin around to the bodies and explored the rest of the camp.
Ben’s ultimate goal was to eventually make their way up to where the vehicles were parked so they could see how much gear had been stripped from the Jeep and Blazer. With any luck, there would still be ammunition buried under the less important stuff in the back and he and Joel could reload. He didn’t have high hopes for finding much intact from their packing efforts a couple of days ago at Jack’s. The thought of the moonshiners rummaging through their stuff and dividing it up like hyenas over a carcass was enough to make his blood boil, but he was over it now. There was no point in dwelling on something they couldn’t change. Besides, being faced with the possibility of additional moonshiners coming in from other camps helped put things into perspective.
As they made their way around the compound, Martin proved his worth by identifying each and every one of the bodies lying on the ground. He wasn’t sure about the number of kids who had been in the camp at any one time, but he was certain that there were at least two other unaccounted-for adult females.
They were either hiding in one of the makeshift container houses or they had fled during the chaos. A part of him hoped they had run away, mostly because he didn’t want to deal with the moral dilemma of what to do once they found them, especially the kids. It was one thing to take out an armed man or woman who was actively trying to kill him or the others. But if these missing people were hiding and he was able to find them, he wasn’t really sure what his next move would be. He’d have to wait and see how fanatical they were about the cause here, whatever that was outside of making moonshine and holding people prisoner.
At the very least, they would have to tie them up, but then what? Maybe he’d leave that up to Rita and Carlos or even Martin. After all, they had suffered the most at the hands of these backwoods miscreants. Or maybe they wouldn’t find anyone remaining. That was a very real possibility, albeit one that made Ben even more nervous.
If some of them had escaped, they would surely run to the other moonshiners for safety and subsequently alert them to what happened here—if they hadn’t already seen the giant fireball in the sky and heard the explosion. The more he thought about the scenarios, the more pressure he felt to move fast. But Ben didn’t want to make any mistakes, and they needed to move cautiously while clearing the houses.
Gunner led them to the first container. It was one Ben had passed by earlier when he was tracking the blood trail. The flickering light was still visible through what looked like a bedsheet curtain hung over a crudely cut window. The door was ajar, but not enough to see inside without sticking his head right up to the opening. And maybe that was exactly what the person inside wanted.
What he wouldn’t have given for a flash bang right now. Of course, he would have needed a dozen of them to clear the multiple container houses. He’d have to do this the old-fashioned way: slow and smooth.
With his pistol at the ready and Joel prepared to back him up, he slowly breached the first door. Slicing the small space into segments, he made his way inside. The container was empty apart from personal belongings. There was a small bed in the corner and a few crates stacked against the opposite wall to form shelves.
“Here, boy. Go get ’em,” Ben said sharply. This was the command he normally used to send Gunner after a downed bird. Gunner recognized the tone and the phrase immediately, although he was unsure where to go at first and just wagged his tail. Ben threw out his hand and pointed into the container. Gunner took the cue enthusiastically and leaped into action, searching the place earnestly with his nose. It only took a few seconds for Gunner to give the place a going-over, but he found nothing of interest and made his way back out just as excitedly as he had entered.
Ben reached back inside and blew out the candle he’d seen burning from outside. If any of their gear was in here, he didn’t want to risk losing it to a fire. Satisfied no one was hiding under the bed or in any of the darker corners of the room, he began to leave.
He spotted a flashlight on his way out and grabbed it. Testing the light quickly against his hand so he didn’t ruin his night vision, he verified that it worked.
“Here.” He handed the light to Joel. “Only use it if you have to. And short bursts.”
The light would be helpful, but it would make Joel a natural target if he used it too much. By the looks of it, the fire at the still was beginning to diminish in size and intensity. They hadn’t heard any random pops or seen any flare-ups caused by stray jars of moonshine in a while now. The amount of light the fire threw off had also decreased, and he felt as though there was a noticeable difference since he’d entered the small home. But as he stood outside and set his sights on the next container, he heard a vehicle start.
They all looked at each other. Gunner stopped panting and cocked his head as the sound of the distant engine being revved to its
limits resonated through the otherwise quiet woods.
“Sounds like it’s up near the front gate,” Joel said.
“Let’s go!” Ben started for the compound’s entrance. The rest of the containers would have to wait.
Chapter Fifteen
Ben wanted to sprint, but he was too tired, and even if he had the energy, he needed to proceed with caution. He still managed to set a quick pace that Joel and Gunner had no trouble matching, but Martin was falling behind. Ben didn’t want to lose sight of the guy, but he had to make a choice, and Martin was the lesser of his concerns.
He had a feeling the engine they were hearing was the sound of the remaining moonshiners making a run for it. But even more concerning was the thought of them taking the Jeep or the Blazer to make their escape. Whatever gear and food hadn’t been stripped from the vehicles at this point would be lost for good, along with one of their vehicles, if they got away.
Ben slowed down when they approached the main entrance, and for the first time since they’d been captured, he laid eyes on their trucks. He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the Jeep and Blazer parked outside the gate, alongside two other vehicles. The pickup they’d been loaded into when they were captured was one of them, along with another truck Ben didn’t recognize.
Before he had a chance to react, the unfamiliar truck launched forward. The wheels cut hard as the driver maneuvered the long-bed Ford through a nearly 180-degree pivot while spinning the back tires and flinging gravel everywhere.
“Gunner, no.” Luckily, Gunner hadn’t gotten too far, and Ben still had a clear shot. He wished he had a few rounds left in the .338, but he didn’t. With the pistol as his quickest and only real option, he opened up on the truck.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Using the taillights for reference, he did his best to take out the left rear tire, but the truck didn’t show any signs of slowing down. They couldn’t let them get away and warn the other camps.
