At the camp it was calm. The sky shined bright against the green foliaged that consumed the entire perimeter. Three cabins sat huddled together, surrounding a smoldering campfire. A red ball sat idle waiting for a kid to kick it. To the side of the left cabin sat a moss covered well. The backdrop of the wooded forest gave off a comforting feel, an enclosed feel. The green had effectively walled off the horrid world that plagued the lands around them. Inside the center cabin Jack sat in a corner watching his sleeping friend. Michael had awoke yesterday morning. He ate his fill and talked to Jenna before he fell back to sleep again. He was healing fast. Three days staying concealed deep within the park without a single sight of orange or any other color of jumpsuit for that matter. It had been peaceful. Watching his friend's chest rise and fall he wondered what should be their next move.
Rachael carried a bowl of fresh water to Michael's bedside. She cleaned and dressed his wounds daily. He had awoke halfway through the bandaging. Immediately he reached for his side arm and once getting a glance of his surroundings he relaxed, untensing his sore muscles.
"How long have I been out?" Michael rubbed his sore bandage covered shoulder and looked around for his daughter. She sat in the far corner staring blankly at her father, her mind never left Michael. Once he saw her all of his worries ceased and Michael was in a physical pain but a mental bliss.
"As far as I know, since yesterday morning." Jack leaned forward.
"Well thanks to this lovely gal, i'm feeling a hell of alot better." Michael stretched out on his bed without wincing from pain and groaning with pleasure as if it had been the first time he had ever moved, a petrified human finally loosening rusted bones.
"Well brother, that's great news because you need to start carrying your weight around here." Jack jokingly replied in a light hearted tone.
"I see how you feel," Michael reached for Rachael and tugged her sleeve. "I'm feeling light headed all of the sudden. I think I need few more days of rest." Michael ran with the on going joke.
"I've taken care of you for long enough." Rachael joined in the fun.
Jack laughed and stood to his feet. Jack almost forgot what it was like to simply joke around worry free. "Well lace your boots up whether you're light headed or not. You are on watch with me this evening. I need to show you what we've done with the place." Jack slapped his friend's back just in time for outside light to flood the small cabin. Michael refrained a wince from the slapped back.
Standing in the doorway was the woman whom everyone had come to know as grandma. "Scott is dead!" Tears streamed from her face. Rachael ran to her grandmother and they set off for the body.
"I'll be back." Panic and worry covered his face as Jack raced out of the door.
Everyone but Jenna and her father remained. Michael sat up rather easily. He stretched and then motioned for his daughter. She silently walked over to his bed. He patted the seat next his and she jumped up to sit next to him.
"Are you okay?" Michael asked.
She nodded. Michael paused. He didn't know how to say what needed to be said. He struggled to find the words.
"What he did to you was horrible and he deserved more than death." Michael's blood boiled at what he saw when we wandered out last night. He had awaken, aching and in pain. Everyone was asleep and Jenna was missing so he went out to look around and then he saw what brought forth the monster inside of him.
A tear rolled down her cheek. He put his arm around her. He loved his daughter immensely. He would not fail to protect her ever again. She threw her arms around her father and hugged him tightly
"You can't tell anyone or I most likely won't be able to be apart of the group sweetheart," Michael kept his arms wrapped around his precious daughter, his only reason for being. "I will never let anyone else hurt you ever again. Never. I promise I will keep you safe." Tears were streaming from both of their eyes.
The door open again. "You up for a manhunt?" Jack seemed fired up and ready to go.
"Yeah, I'm up for it." Michael go up and pulled his boots on. Luckily they had laid them and his gun belt next to his bed. Clipping his belt and buttoning up his olive green park shirt Michael proceeded to kiss Jenna on the forehead.
"I love you Kiddo. I'll be back soon. Sit next to Rachel and Grandma and see if you can't get a fire going." Michael then proceeded out of the cabin feeling healed but sore and still covered in blood soaked, mummifying bandages. The two friends walked behind the cabins and proceeded on a trail walking deeper in the forest.
"As you can see, I chose to move us into the forest instead of hanging around the main camp at the entrance. There are small clusters of cabins throughout the park and that is why I can't figure out how anybody could have even found Scott let alone kill him." Jack took a breath and shook his head.
"When and where was the last time you saw him?" Michael asked. They were traveling further into the woods.
"Just last night. I just don't see anyone knowing where we are. We made sure we weren't being followed" Jack was deep in thought.
"Well maybe it is someone who is already here?"
"What do you mean? Like someone in our group?" Jack was starting to get a headache.
"No not necessarily. It could be someone who has already taken refuge here and is somehow jealous or feels intimidated. It could be a bad person taking advantage of the times." Michael threw out a few ideas.
"I really don't know but we are going to start by checking the nearest set of cabins" Jack and Michael walked on.
They walked in silence. The path was starting to fade the further the duo ventured and only visible from years of hikers roaming about the nature trails in search of the least most explored trail in the furthest reach of the park but the thick, overgrown vegetation was an ever pressing enclosure. Shades of green and brown clashed and melted as one in the same. Not a soul would see them coming. It was the perfect location for long term survival. The local area was far enough from the city to avoid the fallout and secluded enough so that no freed prisoners would find them. The two approached their destination. A huddle of cabins could be spotted just through the interwoven branches. They advanced cautiously. Slow and steady with their guns raised they tackled all three cabins. Entering each dwelling to systematically root out any wrongdoers.
Each cabin was checked and cleared. The worn wood of the old cabins gave a off a peculiar but familiar stench. It was the smell of rotting wood glue and sawdust. Each cabin in the entire forest were set up the same except for just a few of the larger, multi roomed cabins which this cluster was not. The only thing to find here was that odd smell. Not a sign of life anywhere. Jack joined Michael in sitting on a bench that sat in the clearing between the three cabins.
"So I guess we're checking the next set of cabins?" Michael asked.
"Looks like it." Jack unclipped the canteen from his belt took a swig and then handed to Michael.
"How did he die?" Michael asked as he downed a large portion of water and then returned the canteen.
Jack stood up and started walking along the path deeper into the forest and Michael followed. "His face was beaten in with tree limb. His face was, it was... unrecognizable." This put a determined look on Jack's face.
In silence they walked further along the weathered trail. The sun was beginning to set as they came upon the next set of cabins. Jack stopped in his tracks. Michael was curious and looked to see why his friend had stopped but Michael never made a peep. They were a few hundred feet from another duo of old, wooden dwellings and Michael knew to stay silent when around enemies. If there were any. He has forged the ability not to make a sound when startled and to never give a reason for your position to be discovered. Michael knew there probably was no one in the cabin but if their was a chance, however scarce that chance may be you can't underestimate any situation. Michael knew what had happened to that kid and he deserved every swing of that mighty branch but Michael had to play along and hell you never knew who was camping in these woods when the bombs fell so
in all likelihood, someone could easily be in this forest.
Jack was pointing to an even more transparent, hardly traveled, and overgrown trail. Michael followed His friend. The two had always been paired together and always ordered the same assignments because of the ability know what the other was planning. Friendly rivals who were always evenly matched and accomplished wonders. This sudden change in direction struck Michael as odd. He couldn't read his childhood friend's demeanor.
Following the path immediately shrouded the two comrades in a web of overgrown vines that tangled amongst themselves clouding the surrounding view, large trees blocked some of the light above cooling the air around them and what small gaps of forest landscape that could be seen was covered in wild shrubbery. Michael focused on the inclining path. He dug his heels one after another following Jack up the steepening hill. He wondered why Jack would walk this way when they were so close to the furthest and last set of cabins. There was no way he could have known. Knowing his thoughts were his worst enemy he rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head clear his mind. Maybe Jack had seen though Michael’s bluff. Why wouldn’t they be walking toward the other cabins? Michael began to speak about their direction choice but decided against it because if Jack was on to him then questioning their destination would solidify Jack’s discovery. Michael began to become even more paranoid with every step further. Soon the trail started to widen and then he finally realized where Jack was leading him. It started to make a little more sense. Michael gave a silent sigh of relief. Perhaps he hadn’t been discovered after all.
Michael knew exactly where they were. Seeing as they were already in the furthest reaches of the park it should have been much more apparent beforehand. Maybe lack of food and being beaten within an inch of his life took a toll on his mental capabilities. His mind flooded with past memories that before had been pushed aside by the cognitive anguish of the past few days.
A few years ago Michael and Jack had arrived for their first day of work. War was still fresh in their mind but due to a particular psychologist they both had learned to cope in different ways. They were both aching to start teaching. Park management sent an ad out for six specific subjects to teach with only three available openings. They both could teach four of the six subjects; survival, firearms, history, and hand to hand combat. The park was attempting to attract new visitors by adding new aspects to outdoor activities. After debriefing and a little R&R they applied for the job. Jack had adjusted well to life at home and only continued going to the psychologist to help him fight past horrific memories. Somehow he can achieve peace by twisting, morphing, and tricking his mind into believing there is a positive outcome from the experiences. That approach didn't go over so well with Michael. He increased his visits to the shrink. The memories, sound triggered flashbacks, and night terrors have never fully ceased. Michael as well couldn't adjust to the passive ways of civilian life. He had little love for the military however it was the only outlet for his way of life. He didn't know why but he craved for the actual threat that heightened the senses, put the body on autopilot, and thrown his skills into overdrive. He needed to be living under the pressure of survival. He never felt right with a nine to five cookie cutter lifestyle, it just wasn't who Michael was meant to be. The cutthroat asshole known as Major, wielding total control of the elite special force group was also something Michael wanted no part of and he worked so hard to achieve something more than a firing squad. That is where Michael had left his doctor; a bandage covering a much larger wound. Despite the widespread suffering, the bombs were the best thing that had happened to Michael. This new found lifestyle was better than any sort of psychological therapy. This was who he was meant to be. He had to keep his daughter safe and satisfy his newfound urges at the same time. This he will have to work but one thing was for certain, the bliss that was his new world was well welcomed. No longer having to remain in the cage called docile life for fear of returning to be a member of a murderous firing squad. He has been able to justifiably live on the edge.
Their military recommendation was the reason they landed the job but at the same time their resume contained all of the knowledge the park sought after. Their own experience rivaled their own recommendation and it alone proved their credentials and role for the job. Their first job was to read a large book on the history of the park and to walk every trail. At the furthest reaches of the park was a cliff that jutted out high and seemed to reach for the stars. Visible from the edge was the entire town and its surrounding area. Michael new they were close to this location. It was a sight to behold, especially at night.
The path had all but disappeared. The two men emerged from the covered trail onto a rocky grass patched plane. The evening air was chilling this high up. Jack hadn't said a word and Michael stayed to the side of his friend trying to make more sense out his motive for the detore. The moon was out in full light. Jack walked to the edge of the cliff. Michael joined him. The sun had dipped below the horizon casting a milky purple hue across the lower half of the sky. Michael remembered what the town had looked like from this view before the bombs. House windows were lit up across the city. Streetlamps outlined the pairs of red brake lights throughout the lanes. The tall hospital would stand shimmering in the center of town lit from floor to the top. There may be a squad car blaring down the street off to stop a crime or the occasional ambulance squealing through cars rushing to save a life. Now the city was a carcass. Devoid of life. There were a few light here or there. Fires were more common.They blazed unattended wreaking havoc with no fire engine coming to battle them away. Some house were already ashes. If you squinted you make out the occasional overturned car. The hospital was desolated. Windows were shattered leaving huge holes in the glass walled face of the tower. A fire and smoke billowed out of one of the broken windows. The once beacon of well being and statue of human ingenuity was a now hollowed shell with the fire close to the top acting as a torch guiding the way for all who was wicked. So many innocents had perished in this small town. Other places had to be better. There had to be order out there somewhere. The scene left an eerie feel in the air. The temperature seemed to plummet upon looking at the bones of their hometown. The cliff they were standing on rose hundreds of feet high into the air. Jack felt as if he could touch the clouds.
"We can make a life here," Jack broke the silence. "At least until we establish some sort of contact with authorities. There has to be some something left, some functioning form of our government somewhere."
"And if there isn't?" Michael questioned while gazing over the edge the cliff.
"Then a long as we stay secluded we will be fine. Far enough from the fallout to avoid contamination of the soil. We will have to grow crops in the greenhouse to protect them from the rain for a couple seasons." Jack's mind wandered.
"I don't blame you for bringing along Pete's family but you left us on the first night of this crisis. I almost died protecting your family Jack. You have been a leader all your life you know you should have hunkered down until the first and worst storm blew over. You knew those fucking convicts knew about us." Michael erupted in a soft anger. He didn't raise his voice but he spoke with an intensity that got his point across. Michael himself didn’t expect the outburst so suddenly. It needed to be said though. Michael had been angry then about it and he needed Jack to realize who he fucked up.
"His family might have not made it through the night. It was Pete's last request." jack stated reasonably. All Michael heard was an excuse.
"Your family might not have made it through the night! The fact of the matter is you should have stayed home the first night and put your family's needs ahead of theirs." Michael had to force himself to breath. The rage was building up inside of him.
"You're right. I should have been there and I should have looked for them once our place was secure," Jack paused. His hands went into his pockets. He stared at the town sprawled before him. "I just want to do things different this time."
"Different? W
hat do you mean?"
Jack took a breath before answering. "At the school when I saw all the kids lying there in blood is when it hit me. This is war again. Except this time it's everyone pitted against each other. I want to do the right things this time around and have a clear conscious."
"Unlike the Major?" Michael asked.
"Yes, unlike that bastard I will try to do what is good. I felt I needed to go after them. I couldn't let their blood be on my hands. It was too early to leave again. I should have been there through the nightfall. It will be hard going through this hell without you. I don't want this life we live in to corrupt you either Michael. In the process of protecting our families we should still keep a clear mind as to what is still right and wrong." Jack finally shoved the weight off his shoulders.
"Well the line between right and wrong is very blurred as of this moment. Right now we have a murderer to find. Scott's killer is either off of park grounds completely, on the other side of the park roughing it in the wildlife preserve where there is no lodging, or in one of those two cabins down the trail." Michael changed the subject and started walking away from the cliff and back to the trail. He knew there was a slim chance anyone was in the cabins unless a squatter had taken residence before their own group had come to the park.
"If someone lived here and stumbled upon Scott and then killed him out of fear then they probably will have ran far away by now." Jack stated when turned from the sight of the unrecognizable town before him.
The friends left the beauty of the overlook and traveled the short trail back to the cabins. The wind died away once they escaped the overgrown enclosing path. Checking their weapons before advancing to the duo of cabins they had passed earlier. The two looked for any signs of life. They circled the cabins finding nothing, not even a boot print. Each man was ready and took a cabin. Both doors were kicked open in unison and the manhunt began. Jack searched his two room cabin looking through the kitchenette and under the bed. He was able to take a couple steps toward the closet when he heard an agonizing cry come from the other cabin. He bolted out of the door immediately. Either Michael found someone or someone found Michael. Being as Michael was still recovering. Jack wanted to make sure no one got the better of him. He raced across the path of dirt separating the two wooden houses.
No Time To Mourn Page 23
