Isolation | Book 4 | Holding On

by Jones, Nathan

  That offered the slight hope that he and Liza could escape too if they really needed to, although at the moment Statton had one of his people keeping a close eye on them at all times. Thankfully at least the hole dug for a crude latrine was surrounded by a tarp for privacy, although having to relieve themselves through the chain-link flooring was a messy and disgusting process.

  Not exactly ideal circumstances for a prison. He just hoped it wouldn't be long term.

  Sighing, he turned away from the chain-link wall in front of him and turned to check on Liza. She was huddled in one of the sleeping bags they'd been given, snoring softly. Which he could hardly blame her for, considering the sleepless night they'd just had.

  She looked unexpectedly peaceful at the moment. Her face had been filled with so much tension for so long, a result of stress from Jay's insane war with Stanberry and the fallout of her open opposition to it among their friends, that he'd almost forgotten how she looked without all that worry creasing her brow.

  It was nice to see. Maybe in time they could sort out all the chaos they were stuck in, and Larry would be able to see her looking like that when she was awake, too.

  He wasn't sure what she thought about them turning themselves in, but for his part he felt like a huge weight had lifted off his shoulders. He still had a lot of worry about the future, especially with what Stanberry would decide to do with Liza for her part in Jay's war, but the fact that he'd finally done what he felt was the right thing made a huge difference.

  Finally giving into his own exhaustion, he retrieved his sleeping bag and laid it out across the cage from Liza, facing towards the chain-links so he could look out at the people around him as they prepared lunch. It all looked normal, people chatting and kids playing, which just reinforced how insane Jay had been to try to vilify all these innocent people so he could justify terrorizing them.

  Well, Larry was glad he and Liza were done with that now.

  He just hoped their information would help Stanberry stop the man before anyone else was hurt. Including everyone in Jay's group; whether they were misguided or just happy to have an excuse to indulge their destructive side, Larry still held out the hope that they'd finally see reason and go home.

  Before Jay got them killed in his insane war.

  ✽✽✽

  Ellie paused to look over her campsite one last time, thinking of all the work they'd done to build it and secure it against enemies. Not to mention the wonderful memories she had of this place.

  She'd married Hal here. She'd grown closer to Todd, Linny, and Den here. She'd helped quell an outbreak in the main camp from here. This camp represented an important part of her life.

  Even so, she couldn't say she felt too bad about leaving it behind.

  With Darrel gone and Darby struggling to pull through, the Norsons' friend John Borden on the City Council had taken over leadership of Stanberry. Aside from reorganizing the patrols under new leadership, one of the first and biggest decisions he'd made was to honor Darby's previously made and broken agreement with the quarantine camp, allowing everyone who'd gone through their three weeks to finally move into Stanberry.

  That one simple announcement had gone a long way to quelling a lot of the resentment the camp had for the town. And more personally, Ellie was beyond relieved to finally be able to leave their vulnerable campsite and go someplace safe.

  Especially with the recent escalation of violence in Jay's war against them.

  Since she was mulling on such grim thoughts, she jumped slightly in surprise when an arm slipped around her waist. Then she relaxed at Hal's familiar presence and leaned into his side. “Hey,” she murmured.

  “Hey,” he murmured back. “I think we're ready to go . . . saying goodbye to this place?”

  “In a way.” She looked up at him with a wan smile. “It has some great memories, but I'm glad we're finally getting behind the barricades. A more permanent home, for once.”

  The Norsons, Gen, and Billy had been welcomed into the house of friends when this trouble started, an older couple whose children had moved out so they had plenty of room. Bruce and Winn had convinced their friends to let in Ellie and Hal and their family as well, and after a bit of shuffling around the living room and a study had been prepared for them.

  In spite of Cara's complaints, they'd eventually agreed that Ellie and Hal would have the study, while Cara and the kids would be in the living room.

  It was a secondary consideration under the circumstances, but Ellie couldn't complain about the opportunity to have more privacy with her new husband. Thus far their honeymoon had been under a pall of tension, with her and Hal trading off shifts on sentry duty to defend their loved ones in case Jay came again.

  That had meant far fewer moments for intimacy than she would've liked, and usually they'd had to go out of their way to create them.

  Not that those moments hadn't been wonderful, but for once she would like to be able to have an uninterrupted night with Hal, and ideally a leisurely chance to sleep in. She was full of that honeymoon glow and wanted to be with him every second of the day, but with things how they were she'd take what she could get.

  With a sigh Ellie took a final long look at the campsite, then turned away. At least all their work here wouldn't be wasted; now that they were moving out Starr planned to expand the main camp's fence to include it, and use it as a sort of reinforced emplacement to guard the entrance to camp.

  “All right, let's go,” she said briskly to the kids, who were bundled down with their things. “Everyone ready?”

  “We were waiting for you, Mom,” Ricky said, the others all nodding in fervent agreement.

  Hal chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. “That sounds like a yes.” He moved over to pick up his own large load of supplies and camping equipment, Ellie joining him to retrieve hers.

  Then they walked away from the campsite without a backwards glance.

  At the Zolos-free entrance to the camp a few hundred people were waiting for them, all the others who'd gone through their 21 days. Borden had done his best to find Stanberry residents willing to take people in, but there had only been so many of those. So most of the new arrivals would be housed in businesses and public buildings, made as comfortable as they could.

  Nobody was complaining about the accommodations; pretty much anything was better than camping, especially in a crowded place where Zolos loomed as a constant threat.

  Among the people moving into Stanberry were Johnny's and Starr's families. The two camp leaders had elected to stay behind to continue fulfilling their duties, which Ellie admired; she could see how relieved both men had been at the knowledge that their loved ones were finally getting into Stanberry, and how painful it had been for them to stay behind.

  She intended to continue doing what she could to coordinate things in the camp after she moved, but honestly she'd never even considered staying behind. Their campsite was too vulnerable, and there was no way she was going to be parted from Ricky.

  Or Hal's siblings, who she was coming to love like her own children.

  Ellie led the group along the Zolos-free path to Stanberry's southern roadblock, where a welcome party led by Borden was waiting to usher them through the rebuilt barricade. She noticed people gawking at the scorch marks on the walls and on the road beneath their feet from Jay's bomb as they shuffled into town; hopefully that didn't erode their feeling of safety from being inside the barricades.

  “Come in, come in!” Borden called. “We've got hot soup and lemonade waiting, then we'll get you settled in.”

  That was a thoughtful gesture, and from the expressions of the crowd of new arrivals a much appreciated one. They eagerly followed the town's new temporary leader towards the center of town, where the public buildings and businesses were located.

  Ellie was about to follow when a familiar face pushed through the press. “Ellie!” Gen shouted with a beaming smile as she rushed forwards to throw her arms around her. “I'm so glad you're finally h
ere!”

  Surprised but pleased, Ellie hugged the plump woman back. She wouldn't have expected to be so happy to see her ex-husband's new girlfriend, but she really was; it was hard not to react like that when the woman was such an absolute sweetheart.

  “Thank you so much for everything,” she said, the words feeling inadequate to express her true feelings.

  There was another happy shout and a small figure darted around them and rushed over to Ricky, giving him a big hug. Ricky tried to act cool and mature as he hugged Billy back, but it was obvious he was happy to see his friend.

  Billy was so excited that he even hugged Todd, Linny, and Den, even though he didn't know them as well and they'd always had to stay at least fifteen feet apart. As for Hal's siblings, after so long isolated with just each other to play with, and more recently Ricky, they looked just as happy to have a new friend.

  “Did you talk to Brant about us joining the sentries?” Hal asked Gen as they watched the kids play.

  “Are you kidding?” the plump woman asked, laughing. “With all of us barely blinking for fear of missing Jay's next incoming attack, the more people willing to fight the better.” She grimaced. “Especially when Wensbrook's sending bombs at the barricades.”

  Ellie would've preferred not to think about that when it looked as if she and Hal would be taking a shift on the walls soon. But she could understand that it would be on her friend's mind, since Gen had been up there when the bombs hit.

  “Since you're feeling brave . . .” a familiar voice said behind them, and Ellie jumped slightly and turned. She hadn't seen Bruce and Winn arrive, accompanied by another elderly couple who she guessed must be the Tolsons.

  Bruce smiled apologetically for surprising her and continued. “With all the chaos of Jay's attack, then our own raid on their camp a few days ago, I think we all forgot about the supplies Nick cached in the shed. But the three weeks since he locked it up finished a couple days ago.”

  Winn nodded solemnly. “The last time someone hit back at Jay, when whoever it was burned down half of Wensbrook, he responded by torching all our outlying houses. So far they've left the houses closest to town alone, including ours thank goodness, but after our attack on their camp that might change.”

  Ellie was nodding along to the older woman's words, and when she finished Hal grunted in agreement. “You're right, I hadn't even thought of that,” he said. “We should get those supplies as quickly as possible.”

  Winn clapped her hands briskly. “But first, let's get you settled in. We've got the whole day ahead of us.”

  Bruce nodded. “Besides, before we go we should ask Nick to keep a closer eye on the area around our house while we're there. We're still waiting for the hammer to drop with whatever Jay's going to do after we torched his camp.”

  That sobered the mood as the group made their way down a side street to the Tolsons' house, the kids running ahead laughing and shouting.

  It had been two days since Nick and Denny had chased Jay out of the area, and thus far the man had yet to even contact them over the radio with his usual threats and verbal abuse, let alone strike back at them. That wasn't unusual given Jay's previous methods, a fact confirmed by the defectors from the Wensbrook group, Larry and Liza, but somehow lack of a response felt more ominous this time.

  As if Jay was planning something far worse than anything he'd done before.

  Ellie had personally spoken to the two prisoners, hoping to use their familiarity with their former leader to get a feel for his way of thinking. And she wasn't the only one of the leaders who'd done so; even Brant and Borden had risked Zolos to interview the defectors.

  Larry and Liza had turned out to be contrite and forthcoming, obviously ashamed of what they'd been part of and wanting to do whatever they could to prevent future grief. But in spite of their help, so far none of them had any solid predictions about what Jay was planning next. They were still reduced to scouting carefully and keeping their guard up, hoping to be able to spot the attack coming and respond in time.

  For once.

  What they did know now was that, among Jay's other plans, his group had been making Molotov cocktails that they had yet to use, and at the time of Nick and Denny's attack they'd been stored in a van. Unfortunately, that was one of the vehicles Jay's group had rescued, so those firebombs were still in play.

  Considering that the quarantine camp was all tents or at best flimsy wooden structures, and Stanberry was surrounded by a barricade of mostly flammable material, the idea of wackjobs out in the night with a bunch of Molotovs was a disquieting one. Especially since Jay's group seemed to get a kick out of torching stuff.

  Ellie had organized firefighting teams for the camps weeks ago, talking with the other leaders about the best way to defend the vulnerable tents from that sort of attack. And she knew Stanberry was on top of firefighting preparations as well.

  When they weren't deliberately holding back for fear of Zolos, like they had with the houses Jay had torched.

  With the defectors' warning the town and camps had stepped up their preparations for putting out fires, and even run drills. Hopefully that would help if Jay ended up coming back and using those firebombs; if nothing else, at least it eased people's fears about arson.

  Up ahead the Tolsons' house came into view, a modest sized place with Victorian style architecture, either old enough to have been made when that was still in fashion or built to match the style of most other houses in the neighborhood. It looked as if it could accommodate the addition of Ellie's family and their new in-laws, although things would definitely be cramped.

  She was once again grateful to the older couple for agreeing to take them in, in spite of the hassle.

  Billy shouted for his new friends to follow and led the way towards a few toys sitting in the front yard, and Ricky and the others dropped their bundles of possessions on the sidewalk in front of the house and bolted after him. Ellie smiled at their carefree playing, glad they had a distraction from all the tension in the air, between the threat of Zolos and Jay's war.

  With that in mind, she decided to let them have their fun while she and the others unpacked and sorted out their new living situation. Gen seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she crouched to scoop up all the kids' stuff. Together they followed the Tolsons as they led the way to the front door, then inside.

  The interior was about what Ellie would expect from elderly empty nesters: immaculately clean in spite of the current circumstances, with fine but faded furniture and walls and shelves lined with family photos and knickknacks.

  Since she'd tried her hardest to keep her own home neat and orderly, she could appreciate how fussy their new hosts probably felt about so many strangers living here. She resolved to make sure to keep the rooms they were given tidy, and to make sure the kids didn't roughhouse and break anything.

  “What a beautiful house,” she told Mrs. Tolson, looking around in genuine admiration.

  “Well thank you!” their host said. She waved around at the living room. “Hopefully this should be big enough for you and the kids, Mrs. Fullerton,” she told Cara. “I'm afraid all we've got left is a broom closet under the stairs.”

  Hal's mom looked as if she was trying to hide a sour expression, but thankfully she showed the bare minimum courtesy. “We'll make do.”

  Mrs. Tolson nodded solemnly. “Something we've all had plenty of practice at, since this awful plague hit us. We've got plenty of sheets and blankets, but let me know if there's anything else you need.” She turned briskly to Ellie and Hal. “And our newlyweds!” Her smile grew much warmer. “We cleaned out the clutter in the study and pushed all the furniture against the walls, but the bed takes up pretty much all the extra space in there.”

  “That's fine,” Ellie assured her. “That's all we need, and we're so grateful for it. For everything you've done for us.”

  “Well, I appreciate you being understanding.” The older woman's eyes twinkled, and she winked at them. “Although
considering you're still on your honeymoon, I'm sure as far as you're concerned a bed is all you need.”

  Hal coughed, and Ellie saw a hint of a blush creep onto his cheeks, visible even beneath his tan. She had to stifle a laugh, feeling a surge of fondness for her husband; he was usually so calm and on top of things that it was cute to see him a bit off-balance.

  Although she could admit she was kind of embarrassed herself about their host's frank hint.

  Coming to her husband's rescue, she hefted her bundle. “Well, we'll get our stuff unpacked and get out of your hair.”

  They all split up from there. Their hosts and the Norsons headed towards the center of town, where Borden was getting the other new arrivals settled, to help out and then bring some of the promised soup and lemonade back for Ellie's group. Meanwhile Cara dumped her possessions in the living room and went out to “watch the kids”, settling down in a comfortable chair on the porch to wait for the food.

  As for Gen, she nodded towards the study, eyes twinkling. “How about you two get settled in? I'll go play with the kids for a bit and make sure they stay out of your hair.”

  The implication was clear; their friend was stepping outside so they could have some privacy. Ensuring that the whole house was now empty, in fact.

  It was Ellie's turn to feel her cheeks flush at the broad hint. But considering how hard it had been to find time to be with her new husband, just the two of them, she wasn't about to turn down the offer.

  “Thanks,” she said. Catching Hal's eye with a clear message, she headed towards the study while Gen made her way outside.

  He was hot on her heels, obviously just as eager at the unexpected opportunity.

  The moment Hal shut the door of the study behind them, Ellie dumped her bundle in the cramped walking space and launched herself at her husband. He dropped the rest of their stuff in time to catch her and fiercely return her kiss, lowering her down on the bed.

  It was only a mattress on the floor with clean sheets and a comforter, but after over a month spent living rough it felt luxurious. And more importantly it was big enough for two.