by K. M. Fawkes
That was partly true, of course, but his instincts screamed something more in spite of the fact that his house had already been searched. There was simply nothing else he could do. He had to go out with the search party tonight. This would be his best chance to have several people helping him, and a vehicle to load Anna and the kids into if he found them. If, God forbid, any of them needed medical attention, this would be the best place to bring them.
He could figure out all of the rest later.
“Hey, Ben,” Brad said as he walked up to the cow pen.
“Hey,” Ben replied, looking at him. “Did you hear that someone is roaming around the complex?”
Brad nodded. “Yeah, the soldiers looked through my place.”
“Mine, too,” Ben agreed. “I guess they searched everyone's.”
“That’s what it looked like.” Brad cast him a glance. “Do you think it’s one of the people who got evicted?”
Ben snorted. “No. They don’t usually come back.” He continued to look at Brad. “You’re a smart guy. You know what ‘evicted’ means.”
“And you don’t care?” Brad demanded.
“Fuck yes, I care,” Ben hissed. “But what am I supposed to do about it? I’m just trying to stay under the radar until spring.” He snapped his mouth closed as if he’d said too much, and then shrugged. “Hell, there’s no reason not to tell you. Once it warms up, I’m leaving. I’ve got my escape route planned. I just don’t want to turn into a popsicle over a situation I can’t change.”
Brad pushed his hand through his hair and let out his breath. Who the hell was he to judge Ben, anyway? “I get it, man,” he said. “I really do.”
“Just try to keep your shit together until spring,” Ben said. “It’s a hell of a lot better time to have morals.”
Brad gave a quick laugh and Ben smiled. It was gallows humor and they both recognized it. They were both equally hopeless and Brad realized that he’d miss Ben when he was gone. But the other man had a plan and Brad knew he’d never be able to talk him out of it. Ben was leaving in the spring. Brad was leaving tomorrow night.
He tried to go about his day normally, but it wasn’t easy. At dinner, Brad ate slowly, complaining that he felt sick. He took the remains of his ration back to the apartment, saying he’d eat it once he’d rested.
He walked in, happy to find Jamie was still there. He’d been afraid that the kid would run. Apparently, Jamie had thought about it. He had a bag packed and ready. But he’d also cleaned up Brad’s apartment. All of the previous occupant’s clothes were back in the closet.
“Wow,” Brad said, looking around. “Thanks, Jamie.”
“No problem,” Jamie said with a smile. “I didn’t have much else to do.”
“Either way, it was a lot of work,” Brad said. “I brought you something to eat.”
“Thanks!” Jamie took the bowl and gulped the contents down quickly.
“So, I guess you were hungry,” Brad said with a smile.
“A little,” Jamie admitted.
“What have you been doing all day?” Brad asked. “I mean, besides this.”
Jamie shrugged. “Not much. I read a little.” He gestured to a Sherlock Holmes novel he’d left in the kitchen. Then, he picked up the knife that Brad had given him that morning and twirled it, making it dance between his knuckles. Brad did a double take.
“What?” Jamie asked. “Don’t freak out; I’m not going to hurt myself,” he said.
“No, it’s not that,” Brad said. “It’s just that my old man used to do that.”
“Oh, yeah? I learned it from that guy who was with the group I was with. He could do it with a lighter, too.” Jamie pulled a silver-cased lighter from his pocket and repeated the trick. “See?”
“Tell me about that group again,” Brad said, trying not to sound too eager. “You still haven’t told me anything about them, or how you got here.”
“Oh yeah,” Jamie said. “I guess I should do that, huh?” He took a breath and began another story. “After I met Lee—”
“Lee?” Brad asked, trying as hard as he could to conceal his excitement.
“Yeah, he’s the one who saved me. Anyway, after I met him, he took me to meet up with a group of survivors that he knew.”
“I’m sick and damn tired of camping,” Lee muttered as he stared into the fire. “He’d have to be there by now.”
“Who?” Jamie asked. The others had noticed Lee talking to himself and it really bugged them. Jamie didn’t mind. It was tactical, not maniacal. He’d seen enough crazy to know the difference.
Lee looked up as if surprised to find him sitting there. “Don’t worry about it, kid,” he said. “It’s not a big deal.”
“You seem like you’re worried about it,” Jamie challenged. “Sometimes, talking it out helps.”
Lee gave a small laugh and leaned back. “I guess I’m having what you would call a moral dilemma,” he said, gesturing at the other survivors. There were seven of them. “See…” he chewed his lower lip for a minute and then said, “Fuck it. I’m gonna take a chance on you. I’ve got a place a few hours from here. Well, more than a few hours now that we’re stuck walking. But we could get to it in a few days. It’s a cabin, stocked to the rafters with stuff. Definitely enough supplies to last the winter.”
The older man glanced into the fire and rubbed his hands over his arms. “And I have a feeling it’s gonna be a rough one. The animals are acting weird.” He shook himself out of that thought and picked up where he’d left off. “I’m hoping someone will be there. So what should I do? Take everyone with me and have a really thin winter? Or just hit the trail without them because I’ve got someone I’m desperate to see?”
Jamie blinked at him, already shaking his head in a firm denial. “You can’t leave. You’re the best hunter we have! You’re teaching me to do all kinds of things!”
Lee smiled and shook his head. “Don’t worry about yourself, kiddo. You’re the one I’ve got no qualms about taking along,” he said. “But what about everybody else? What should I do?”
Jamie looked across at them as well. The seven of them had sort of formed their own group. They were content to let Lee use his skills and knowledge to keep them fed, but they saw no need to provide him with companionship. In fact, they seemed to look down on him, considering his knowledge almost strange. Since it had saved their asses time and time again, Jamie thought that was a little cold of them.
“I would leave—” Jamie began, but he never got to finish the sentence because gunshots filled the air.
He and Lee dropped down instantly as the soldiers pushed into the campsite, whooping and yelling as they shot.
“That’s the last time I saw him,” Jamie finished up. “We got separated during the attack and I got lost. I was just wandering around in the woods when the Major’s men found me.” He scoffed bitterly. “I thought I was finally safe. I just can’t help but wonder how it would have been if they’d listened to Lee.”
“What do you mean?” Brad asked. “Listen to him about what?”
He was dying to ask more about Lee, but he was almost afraid to. What if it somehow wasn’t the same guy? He didn’t think he could take it if it wasn’t. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to take it, even if it was. That would mean that his father had come to Bangor to look for him. That was why they hadn’t met up at the cabin. They’d probably crossed paths as Brad headed up to the cabin and Lee headed down to Bangor.
“He wanted to head into the country way before that night, but everyone else said he was crazy.” Jamie sighed heavily. “I really hope Lee got out to the country like he wanted. I was pretty relieved that he never ended up here.”
Bradley sincerely hoped that he hadn’t. If they really were talking about his father, and he went back to the cabin, he’d find nothing but a pile of ash. And who knew where the might lead him? For all Brad knew, it might lead Lee straight to the Family. His father was smart, but could he really stand against a whole cult? Especially
if he discovered that they had ruined everything he’d worked so hard to build?
“It’s nearly sundown,” Jamie said after a few moments. “You’d better go. Just…be careful, okay?”
“Sure thing,” Brad said, patting Jamie on the shoulder. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry too much.”
“I won’t,” Jamie assured him. “I’ve got a book to finish. I’ll be fine.”
But Brad saw the worry in the boy’s eyes. He wished that he could think of any reason not to go tonight, but he knew that none of his reasons would matter anyway. He forced a smile, but he didn’t feel too great about walking out and closing that door behind him.
Chapter 22
“I’m glad to see you’re on time,” Major Walker said when Brad walked in. “I assume that means that you’re feeling better than you were earlier?”
“Sure,” Brad said with a shrug. “It wasn’t a big deal, anyway. Probably just nerves.”
“There’s absolutely nothing for you to be nervous about,” Walker said. “You’re just going on a little search-and-rescue mission.”
“Are you sure you’re not going to change your mind and decide to ‘evict’ me once we’re out there?” Brad asked.
Major Walker laughed as he handed Brad a pack. “I already told you, Brad. You’re much too valuable to evict. If you get that attitude straightened out, I think we can do a lot together.” He put his hand on Brad’s shoulder. “I consider you quite moldable.”
A shiver shot down Brad’s spine as the Major followed him outside to the truck that was parked in front of the office. Mason sat behind the wheel and three other soldiers were crowded into the front seat. Brad tossed his pack into the back of the truck and climbed in after it.
“Aren’t you coming?” he asked, looking back.
“Me?” The Major acted as if it was a foreign concept. “No, why would you think that I would?”
“Who knows why I think anything,” Brad said with a sigh. “I heard that you used to go out on missions, though.”
“There were fewer people in the facility back then,” the Major said. “I’m needed much more here at home than I am out there. My soldiers know their jobs and they do them well. You run along now. You’re wasting time.”
Brad closed the doors of the truck and took his regular position, leaning against the side wall in much the same place he’d rode in. If only he’d known what he was getting into back then! He could have bolted that night before anyone ever thought to watch him.
He rested his forearms on his knees and listened to the other men talking. Other than Mason, he didn’t know them well. The soldiers tended to keep to themselves. He also had a feeling that he and Mason weren’t exactly on friendly terms anymore. Brad shrugged it off. He’d never been looking to win a popularity contest with the soldiers, anyway.
He wondered if anyone else thought it was strange that they had waited for sundown to go on a rescue mission. It would be harder for anyone to see them, but it would also be a whole lot harder to see what they came for. Brad sighed yet again; he knew better than to ask questions now.
The truck rolled out of the gates slowly, to negotiate the ice. Once they’d traveled a few miles, Brad leaned up, watching eagerly out the window as they approached Bangor. Smoke was rising from it still, which surprised him.
There was no way the city should still be burning. At least, not unless someone had started the fires again or kept them fed this whole time. Which begged the question: why the hell would somebody do that? Also, who was still living in Bangor while hating it enough to want to burn it down around themselves?
As they pulled onto the main street, that question was answered. At least, halfway. Shots rang out. A bullet pinged off the side of the truck and Brad scrambled to the middle as one of the soldiers returned fire.
Brad saw a man in black clothing fall to the ground in the sweep of the headlights. Other people in black came running to drag him off of the road and back into one of the dilapidated buildings. He was still alive, but he was grasping at his chest. Brad saw it all in that too-clear vision that a person got when they were shocked, but in reality, it happened very quickly. The people had vanished in what seemed like seconds.
“What are they doing?” Brad asked. “Who are they?”
None of the soldiers answered him. They were too busy keeping watch. Brad expected them to pull into a place that they knew was safe, since clearly they’d made the run to Bangor enough times to have expected something like this.
But the truck didn’t stop. Instead, it rolled straight through the streets of Bangor and out the other side. When they finally came to a halt, it was at an oil refinery. The huge stacks were dark and ominous against the night sky.
“What the hell?” Brad demanded once everyone was assembled on the ground. “I thought we were looking for my family.”
He’d never called them that before out loud, but he knew in an instant that it was right. No matter what else they were—no matter how complicated things became—Anna, Sammy, and Martha were his family.
“You heard the shots, dumbass,” a soldier barked. “They’re out in force tonight and I’m not getting shot on a wild goose chase.”
Brad opened his mouth to protest, but the soldier spoke over him.
“If they’re somewhere in all of that chaos, there’s no way in hell we’re gonna find ’em. So, we might as well do something useful with our time. Now, get your ass in there and help us load up.”
The inside of the refinery was even creepier than the outside, but Brad was too angry to care too much. Why had he been such an idiot? This had never been about helping him find his people. This was about an extra body to help lug fuel barrels and help keep their goddam trucks running.
Brad was silently fuming, but he forced himself to think productively, using the time to plan the escape route he’d take with Jamie once the complex had gone to sleep. Between the two of them, they could steal one of the trucks. Brad could drive it and Jamie could hide and open the gates for him. Then, he could jump in and they could head out, hopefully with enough of a head start that they wouldn’t get shot at.
It wasn’t the most solid plan he’d ever made in his life, but it was better than being the Major’s puppet. And better than waiting around for the soldiers to find Jamie. He simply couldn’t take the feeling anymore. It was past time to go.
And Jamie had information that Brad could use. Of course, he would have saved him anyway, but it was a nice bonus that the kid could show him where Lee had last been seen. And maybe they’d get lucky on a trail for Anna and the kids, too. He should have known better than to believe they were going to help him look. No matter how much Walker claimed to “value” him.
He was aching and exhausted by the time they’d loaded all of the barrels they could fit into the truck. He’d be packed in like a damn sardine and he’d just have to pray that they didn’t take any sharp turns. Otherwise, he really might get flattened.
The sun was starting to come up when the truck bounced back into the yard of the retirement complex. Brad was so sleepy that he barely noticed the number of people out and about. When the truck stopped and he slid out from between the barrels, he realized that the entire community was there, standing quietly in the courtyard. Brad frowned. Why the hell would everyone be up this early in the morning? He was usually the only one who was moving this early. And what were they all staring at? He followed the focus of all the eyes and his blood froze.
They’d found Jamie. That explained why the Major had decided not to go on the search and rescue mission. It might even explain why the mission had changed at the last minute. They’d wanted him out of the way so that they could get to Jamie without Brad putting up a fight.
Brad hit the ground running, but a soldier in the crowd had been waiting for him. The soldier grabbed his arm and yanked him to a stop, holding him so tightly that his arm went numb.
Jamie was tied to one of the columns in front of Brad’s apartment. The one
that he often leaned against while drinking a beer with Jack and Charlie. His eyes found them in the crowd, but their gazes slid away. They were just going to stand there and let this happen?
Glancing around at the crowd, Brad was horrified to note that people had even brought their children along. Was it the same morbid curiosity that had driven humans to public executions for so many centuries, or had they been ordered to do this? Didn’t they know that this could be them one day? Or if not them, their children!
Jamie had clearly been tied to the column for a long time. The boy was shivering so hard that his teeth were chattering and his skin had turned faintly blue. They hadn’t allowed him to have a coat or his boots.
“Brad!” he yelled, struggling against the ropes. “Brad, help me, please!”
“What the fuck is going on here?” Brad yelled, yanking against the soldier’s grip.
“I’m glad that you asked,” Major Walker said as he stepped into the center of the courtyard. “We found this fugitive in your house. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
Bile rushed up Brad’s throat. He knew that Walker was giving him a chance to deny that he knew Jamie. In his search of the crowd, he saw Ben. Ben shook his head and then disappeared. Brad hoped to God that the man was going to take his chance and leave now.
“He’s not a goddamn fugitive,” Brad said. “He’s just a fucking kid!”
“So you’re saying that you willingly harbored him?” Walker pressed on. “Because that would be a very serious offense to admit to, Brad. Maybe you should think about what you’re saying.”
“I don’t need to think about anything,” Brad said. “I’m not in the wrong here. I didn’t harbor a fugitive. I fed a starving kid. I kept a teenager from freezing to death and that’s not a crime! It’s also apparently much more than you’re willing to do.” He turned to look at the crowd. “And you…why the hell would you follow someone like this?” he demanded of them. “You outnumber these soldiers—”
