Nick's stomach rumbled as his mind jumped unbidden to all his favorite places to eat, which now seemed like a distant memory. “I hadn't even thought of that,” he admitted. “Maybe this won't be so bad after all.”
That brief moment of optimism was shattered when they got back and the kids, led by Ricky, rushed over to hear the news. Cara, who'd been watching them with Val, came over as well, but Val was nowhere in sight.
For that matter, neither were any of Nick's scavengers; their friends and family joined the crowd around Nick and Gen clamoring for news, but it turned out their worry was because their own loved ones had also been taken to the relief camp soon after Nick went with Corporal Preston.
It looked as if Gorstrom had moved quickly to go after everyone accused of wrongdoing since the pandemic started.
Nick wanted to answer his friends' questions and ease their fears, but he also wanted to give the bad news to his kids in a more personal way, so he could make it as easy for them as possible. He shot Gen a helpless look, and she seemed to understand his dilemma; he supposed she was facing it as well, with Billy.
Although breaking the news of a move was easier than breaking the news that you had to leave them, maybe for years.
“I'll fill everyone in,” his girlfriend said firmly, ushering everyone towards the outdoor tables where they shared meals.
That left Ricky and Tallie hovering close to Nick. “Dad, what's wrong?” his son asked, knowing him well enough to tell there was a problem. “Are Ben and Chet in trouble?” His lower lip trembled as he said that; he liked the brothers, like everyone seemed to.
Nick sighed and picked Tallie up in one arm, kissing her cheek, and offered his son his other hand. “Come on, let's go find some shade and I'll tell you all about it.”
Leading them beneath a maple at the edge of the property gave him time to find the best way to break the news to them. He didn't want to go into specifics, mostly because they wouldn't understand the nuances of the situation and he didn't want them to think he was a bad person.
But he also needed to be truthful.
Settling down on the grass with both his kids on his lap, looking up at him with furrowed brows, he took a deep breath. “You know Administrator Gorstrom represents the President of the United States, right?” They both nodded solemnly. “Well, that gives her authority to give orders to us about some things. And it turns out that she's ordering me to go and join the rebuilding efforts. I'll be doing the same sort of work I did before Zolos showed up.”
“Why is she making you go?” Tallie asked. “Is she making Mommy go, too?”
“No,” he said slowly. “Your mom is going to be staying here, and so are you guys.”
“Wait, you're leaving us?” Ricky asked, looking far more fearful than Nick had expected. “But what if something happens to you, and we have no way of knowing?” His voice rose in pitch. “What if something happens to us, and you aren't here?”
Nick abruptly realized why his son was so worried. Ellie had been traveling when the pandemic started, and it had taken her a long time and a lot of hardship to get back to them. During much of that time they had been out of contact with her, fearing the worst.
It had taken its toll on the children, and it tore him apart to have to put them through that again.
“It won't be like when your mom couldn't get back to us,” he said gently. “Zolos isn't a threat anymore, and I'm going to be helping get things back to how they were. Soon we'll have phones, and cars, and airplanes, and internet with video chats and everything. And relief convoys will be coming through here all the time, so I'll try to send you guys letters.”
He hoped all that was true.
Nick wanted to promise them that he'd visit if he could, or have them come visit him, but he couldn't be sure about either of those things and didn't want to get their hopes up. So he assured them with what he could.
“It won't be too bad,” he continued, making his tone as bright and hopeful as he could. “It'll be just like when Mommy has to travel for work, except it'll probably be for a bit longer.” He hugged them both tightly. “But even though I'll be gone, you know I love you and I'll be thinking about you all the time.”
Ricky was stiff in his arms, obviously still worried, but Tallie hugged him back fiercely. “I'll miss you every day, Daddy,” she said, big eyes full of tears. “I don't want you to go.”
“I don't want to go either,” he said, voice thick. He forced a smile. “But I do have some good news. You know how I've been going out with Gen? Well she and Billy are going to be coming with me, so at least I won't be alone.”
That brightened his kids' mood a bit, although they were obviously sad about their friend and his mom leaving.
Nick carefully stood, still holding Tallie with one arm and putting his other around Ricky's shoulders. “Come on,” he said. “How about you help me and Gen and Billy all get packed?”
✽✽✽
Chet paced furiously in the small chain-link cage he and Ben had been shoved into by Gorstrom's soldiers, swearing under his breath.
How was this even happening? The war with Jay had ended almost a month ago, and they'd all moved on. He'd actually been able to forget most of that nightmarish time, even the jarring way that bald maniac had ended things.
All his focus recently had been on planning for the wedding with Aimee, and working on day to day survival. Things like trapping small game, hunting bigger game, helping Statton and the others with their ambitiously large garden, and getting Ben's and their dad's new house on the property built.
And then after weeks of peace, suddenly for no good reason here he was under arrest for that arson in Wensbrook BS.
And even worse, they'd dragged his little brother into it, too.
How did they even know about that? What cowardly little rat pretending to be their friend had told them? And what gave them the right to make arrests when they couldn't prove anything?
What gave them the right at all, a glorified pencil pusher and her cronies? They didn't have the law on their side here.
On the other side of the cage Ben was poking at the fastenings between the modular chain-link fencing that made up their cage. “We could probably get out of here without too much trouble,” he said.
Chet peered warily through the fence at the guards lounging nearby, keeping a close eye on the couple dozen prisoners they'd gathered. A few of those in the other cages were people Chet had heard rumors about having done this or that during the crisis, usually theft or assault. Stuff that had been worked out already by the town's leaders to the satisfaction of all parties.
But that didn't seem to matter to Gorstrom; she was really going on a rampage here.
He hurriedly pulled his brother away from his suspicious behavior. “Cut that out. We don't want to give them a reason to take back their “generous” offer.”
They'd been watching a parade of bigwigs from the town and quarantine camp going into Gorstrom's tent for the last hour or so, but apparently they weren't important enough for that dubious honor. Instead, one of her aides had come around to their cage to explain their situation and give them the deal:
Serve the maximum sentence for multiple counts of arson with no hope of parole, or join the rebuilding efforts in a work program for five years, with time reduced for good behavior.
Chet had been tempted to tell the smug bureaucrat to shove his deal where the sun don't shine. The fact that they were throwing justice out the window to pressure him into giving them free labor was infuriating, and the stubborn part of him couldn't imagine taking it.
But the reasonable part of him knew that, as BS as this situation was, refusing the offer would be much worse. And he had more than himself to consider.
His brother was in hot water too because of him, and he also had to consider Aimee; he had to get out of this mess and back to her as quickly as possible, so they could continue with all the plans they'd made.
Assuming she was willing to wait s
o long, after he'd messed up so badly. He was genuinely afraid it would be too much for her, after everything she'd been through already.
Sure, he was angry, but the guilt for how he'd failed her was crushing every other emotion. So yeah, he was seriously considering taking Gorstrom's offer. Not only that, but being a model prisoner or worker or whatever so he could maybe reduce his time served.
A commotion of soldiers, accompanied by medics carrying a stretcher, passed by their cage. It turned out to be Larry, pale and weak from the wound Jay had given him, but apparently even so not exempt from arrest; the medics carried him into the cage next to the one Chet and Ben had been shoved in, carefully laying him down.
For a minute or two they fussed over the wounded man, checking his vitals and making sure he was comfortable. All the while Chet did his best not to glare at the soldiers, while for their part they kept a wary eye on the prisoners in the cages around them.
Then the soldiers and medics strode away, to whatever had them so busy, leaving Larry to look around at his new prison with a slightly dazed expression. Then his eyes fell on Chet and Ben through the chain-link between them. “So you guys got scooped up too, huh?” he said with a bitter twist of his mouth.
“Yeah, for complete BS,” Chet growled. “They can't prove we did anything, but we're still here.”
“What about you?” Ben asked. “I'd ask what you did to end up here, but it's not exactly a mystery.”
“Says the guy who lit houses full of sleeping people on fire,” Larry snapped, then grit his teeth around an apparent surge of pain.
“Hey, we didn't know you had-” Ben started to reply furiously.
Chet cut in before they could start a pointless argument. “Come on, we've put this behind us.” He didn't think he'd ever like Larry, or trust him, but the big man had taken a bullet helping them. That had to be acknowledged. “How you doing? The move cause you any trouble with your wound?”
Larry grunted. “Nah, not too bad. You saw how careful they were.” He scowled. “I'm more worried about the fact that they arrested Liza too, but she's not here.”
“I'm sure she's fine,” Chet said, feeling a sudden spike of concern for Aimee; there was no reason she would've been arrested, but she still must be worried sick about him.
“Yeah,” Ben said, grudgingly getting over his sudden pique. “They probably have rules about separating male and female prisoners. I bet she's here somewhere.”
Larry clenched his fists angrily. “They shouldn't have taken her in the first place.” He looked away. “I'll admit my part in what happened, and I'm willing to do what it takes to make it right. But she never did anything but try to convince Jay to leave you guys alone. She doesn't deserve this, especially not after everything she's been through.”
Chet believed the big man, but he knew a lot of people in Stanberry and the camp wouldn't make that distinction. Many had never forgiven the two Wensbrook defectors for being with Jay, and the guard Starr had continued to keep on the pair was as much for their own protection as to make sure they didn't cause trouble.
No doubt plenty of people would be happy to make sure Gorstrom thought Larry and Liza were just as bad as Jay himself, and deserved the harshest punishment possible.
Things didn't look good for the two.
“So they gave you your deal?” Ben asked, apparently thinking along the same lines.
Larry snorted bitterly. “Ten years, with reduced time for good behavior. Beats the multiple lifetime sentences they were hanging over my head if I refused.” He grimaced and motioned weakly to his side. “Although I'll probably spend the first few months sitting in some cell recuperating before I'm strong enough for them to put me to work.”
“Well, you're in good company,” Chet said, sinking down onto one of the two cots in the cage. “We were on the right side of the fight, and we still got five years.”
The wounded man's expression tightened slightly at that, but he let it pass. “Maybe we'll end up working in the same place,” he said wryly, then sagged back on his cot, obviously exhausted.
They fell into glum silence after that. It was probably a good five minutes later when Ben abruptly nudged Chet sharply in the side, and he looked up to see Aimee making her way down the row of cages, accompanied by a soldier.
For a moment his heart dropped and he feared the worst, that she'd been arrested too. Then he remembered that none of the cages in sight had female prisoners, and she was making her way directly towards his cage. From her posture, and the soldier's, he was escorting her, not guarding her.
Aimee caught sight of him a moment later and cried out, then rushed the rest of the way to the cage as he quickly stood and stepped over to meet her at the fence, clutching the chain-links between them.
“Thank God, honey,” she said, doing her best to grip his fingers through the fence. “I had no idea what was going on when they took you. I was afraid I'd never see you again.”
Chet winced, thinking of the five year sentence hanging over his head. “I'm okay, they just brought us here and shoved us in this cage, then left us alone.”
Aimee glanced back at the nearby soldier, now lounging nearby looking bored, then lowered her voice. “This is about that trip you took to Wensbrook, isn't it?” Anger had joined worry in her tone as she said that; she'd never approved of him going down there and starting those fires. In fact, it had probably put more strain on their relationship than anything he could think of.
Chet hung his head, unable to meet her eyes. “Yeah.”
“I'm guessing you don't think it was such a good idea now?” she pressed.
Off to one side he noticed Ben fidgeting uncomfortably. “No,” Chet said glumly. “I messed up, I know. I lost my temper and did something stupid, and now I've ruined everything for us.”
There was a long pause before Aimee sighed. “Well, it's in the past now.” She still sounded upset, and he couldn't blame her for that. He was just grateful she was being understanding.
Hopefully that wouldn't change with what he had to say next.
“I'm looking at five years,” he mumbled. “The conditions sound pretty reasonable, all things considered, but I won't be able to come back here until my sentence is up. I don't know if I can ask you to wait that long.”
Her fingers clutching his through the chain-links tightened fiercely. “Maybe you don't have to. Nick also got scooped up by Gorstrom, and Gen's going to be going with him. I'm going to see if I can do the same for you. And I think your dad wants to come too . . . there wouldn't be much for him here with all of us gone.”
Chet felt mingled relief, joy, and guilt at that. This was more than he could've hoped for, after she'd already been so good to him. But he was afraid she didn't grasp the full reality of what that would mean. “The relief worker who filled me in said I can only have visitors once a week and on holidays. I couldn't ask you to uproot your entire life for just a few hours a month.”
Aimee was obviously disheartened by that, but she gave him a tremulous smile. “A few days is more than nothing. I'd go through more than that even if it was just a few minutes.”
He felt awful at how well she was taking this. “But you'd have to leave our home, all our friends. For five years.”
“We'll make it work,” she said firmly, squeezing his hand. “As long as we're together, we'll figure it all out.” She offered him a warmer smile, the love shining in her eyes nearly taking his breath away. “Who knows, maybe you'll get a reduced sentence for good behavior.”
Chet's return smile was sickly. “Maybe. I love you, Aimee. And I'm so sorr-”
“Shh,” she said, more fond than annoyed. “That night I was almost more annoyed you hadn't invited me to go with you than that you went. Jay had just got finished smashing up your family's house and we'd just found out he'd unleashed Zolos in the camp. Believe me, I wanted to burn Wensbrook to the ground too.” She laughed bitterly. “And hey, if I'd gone with you then we could go to this work prison thing together.
”
Chet didn't even want to hear her joke about that; the last thing he wanted was for her to suffer for his poor decisions.
Behind Aimee the soldier cleared his throat, and she nodded at him reluctantly. “I'm going to go sort things out,” she said, brushing her lips across Chet's fingers. “Hang tight, we'll get through this.”
“Yeah,” he said, watching with a leaden weight in his stomach as his fiancee was led away. Things didn't look quite as grim as they had before her visit, but he still felt terrible.
He jumped slightly as Ben clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey,” his brother said quietly. “Don't look so glum. If we're lucky we'll be able to stay together, and five years will be over in no time.”
Chet snorted. “Yeah.” He hesitated, then reached up to grip his brother's hand. “I'm sorry you're in this mess with me. But if you have to be here, I'm glad I have you here in this mess with me.”
Ben laughed and pulled him into a brief, fierce hug. “Me too, big bro.”
Chapter Nineteen
Farewell
“We have to do something,” Ellie snapped.
She was with Darby, Starr, Denny, and the other town leaders who'd been arrested, along with Borden and Bruce Norson and a few others, all gathered in the gazebo in the middle of the park in Stanberry's town square. They'd spent the last few hours trying to find a way to stop Gorstrom's arrests, but so far hadn't made much progress.
“I'm open to ideas, Mrs. Westmont,” Darby said bitterly. He was seated in a chair by the railing, looking down at the flower gardens below. “The appeals process seems like an elaborate practical joke.”
That was, unfortunately, the conclusion Ellie had come to as well. Both Stanberry and the camp had issued formal appeals to the relief convoy, not just to Gorstrom but to the military leaders as well. The appeals had been duly accepted, and then they were informed that it would take up to a month to get a response.
Meanwhile, the administrator planned to ship out all the people she'd trumped up charges for, along with those who'd volunteered to join the rebuilding effort, tomorrow at noon. Ellie doubted that timing was coincidental.
Isolation | Book 4 | Holding On Page 30
