The Reckoning Series Box Set

by Lee West

  “You ready?” he asked Meg.

  “Yes. Let’s give this last truck a minute to clear the area; then we should be good.”

  They waited until they were sure the truck wasn’t coming back.

  “Okay, go!” said Meg.

  The couple effortlessly dashed across the open landscape to the car lot. Once there, they joined Brett and Nancy behind a large passenger van.

  “Did you see that?” asked Nancy. “Those people were marked with armbands. What is this, WWII?”

  “Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought we’d be witnessing such a thing on our soil. It’s state terrorism!” said Brett excitedly.

  “Why were they all men? That’s what I want to know. What happened to the women? Where is everyone else?” said Meg.

  “I have no idea and don’t intend to find out,” said Nancy.

  Frank, Mike and Marvin reached the last dumpster and paused. Joe watched as the three men started to move. They were about halfway to the lot when the sound of a heavy-duty truck reached his ears. He knew immediately that they were in trouble. The truck would be on top of them before they could reach the car lot.

  The men made the same calculation and picked up their pace. Everyone except Marvin. The old man tried to run a little faster, but it wouldn’t be enough.

  “Shit! He’s not going to make it! We need to do something!” said Nancy excitedly.

  “Stay put! If we rush out, we’ll all get caught,” said Brett.

  Marvin managed to make it to the side of the car lot’s salesroom. He ran to the wall and stood, waiting for the truck to pass.

  “Get down,” hissed Joe. “What is he thinking?”

  During his naval training, Joe had learned that occasionally in high-stress situations fellow combatants would freeze. Others in a squad needed to be watchful of their fellow squad members and help them in those sorts of situations. In this case, Joe could only look on with horror as the old man stood frozen in place.

  Suddenly, at the last possible second, the door behind Marvin opened, nearly knocking him off his feet. An unseen pair of hands grabbed him and yanked him inside before closing the door just as fast. The door closed mere seconds before the truck rolled by. Someone had saved Marvin from certain discovery.

  “What the hell?” said Frank.

  “What just happened? Did I miss something? Where’s Marvin?” asked Mike.

  “Marvin almost got caught. Someone opened the door and brought him inside the building!” said Nancy.

  “What? Who?” asked Mike.

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out,” said Nancy.

  She quickly moved from behind the passenger van to the next vehicle. Glancing over its hood, Nancy stood and then ran to the door Marvin had just entered. Joe watched helplessly as she tried the door, only to find it locked. She knocked on the door, but it didn’t budge. Clearly, whoever had saved Marvin had no intention of letting them all inside their hideaway.

  — 14 —

  Marvin lay flat on his stomach, his cheek pressed firmly against the smooth concrete floor. A foot jammed into the middle of his back held him firmly in place. He still didn’t know what had happened out there. First he was running across the street; then he just didn’t know what to do. It was as though his mind couldn’t put together the situation quickly enough. He knew he was in danger, but couldn’t figure out how to save himself. He simply froze. Whoever pulled him inside had saved his life.

  “Let him up. They’re gone,” said a woman.

  The foot lifted from Marvin’s back, allowing him to sit up. He moved gingerly at first, unsure whom he was with. Finally, he sat up and looked at the people in the building. He was surrounded by a heavily armed, serious-looking group of eight men and two women. Hats and bandanas concealed their identities.

  “What the hell, man? You almost brought the feds right to our door,” said one of them men with a heavy Spanish accent.

  “Sorry about that. I’m not sure what happened. I just couldn’t move. It was like I had no idea what to do,” said Marvin shakily.

  Suddenly, the doorknob turned. Someone was trying to get inside. The group reacted quickly by fanning out and pointing their firearms at the threat. The person on the other side knocked softly.

  “It’s probably one of my friends. Can you let them in?” said Marvin.

  “No way. You need to go and take your friends with you,” said the woman. “Clear the area.”

  “I agree. The less exposure, the better,” said one of the men.

  “Who are you? What is all of this?” asked Marvin.

  “We’re the resistance. The only thing fighting for your freedom at the moment,” said one of the masked men angrily.

  “What’s been happening? We’ve been hiding out and trying not to get caught. Do you know anything?”

  “Our government claims to be responding to some sort of threat. In their wisdom they thought jailing citizens would help the situation,” said the man.

  “Where did they take everyone?” asked Marvin.

  “We think they have internment camps set up in Avon.”

  “An internment camp? Like they used to incarcerate the Japanese during WWII?”

  “Exactly like that. Whatever the so-called emergency is, it allegedly required our federal government to declare martial law. They’ve been dragging people out of their homes, conducting searches, and seizing weapons. We’re waiting for the right moment to strike.”

  “You guys are a lot braver than me. I’m just trying to stay out of their camps and get to the mountains with my friends.”

  “If that’s the direction you plan to take, you’d better get moving. They’re actively sealing off the city,” said the woman.

  “Another day and you won’t be able to leave. That’s why they brought the men back. They’re using civilians as labor to seal off the city,” said another member of the group.

  “That’s not good. What are they doing to seal off the city? What should we look for as we’re leaving?” asked Marvin.

  “From our sources, which are admittedly somewhat limited, we think they’re putting concertina wire down in a ring around the city. They’ve sealed off the roads, and we think they’re building bunkers or some kind of fortifications.”

  “How the fuck are we going to get through that?” said Marvin with a little more panic than he intended.

  “Tell me again where you’re headed?” asked the woman.

  “We’re going to Fischers. My friends, who are out there waiting for me, have a house there. We think we should be safe if we get there.”

  The group looked at each other, silently communicating. Marvin couldn’t help but think that they were actively deciding his fate. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable to be alone in a room of heavily armed, masked strangers.

  Finally, the woman said, “We have a truck coming. He’s someone on the inside who’s been running messages for us. I’ll see if he’d be willing to give you guys a lift to York. That’ll put you near enough. From there, you’ll have to make your way through the forest to your destination.”

  “That’d be amazing. Do you think he’d do it?” asked Marvin.

  “I don’t know. It’s really risky for him, but we can ask. We need people to get out of the city, especially people who wouldn’t be good in a gunfight. No offense.”

  “None taken. Seeing as I’ve never actually held a gun, I’m sure I’m not the guy you’d want on your side in a gunfight.”

  The woman pulled out a handheld radio and walked into a different room. She clearly didn’t want him to hear her conversation. Again, a sense of panic struck him. Could he really trust these people? Getting into a truck with a stranger and trusting that person to take you where you want to go was risky, even on a good day.

  She returned. “He’ll do it. Truck should be here in thirty minutes. You need to get your friends ready. He’ll pull up to the repair center, back end first. Once he’s there, your team needs to be ready to j
ump in. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “We’ll let you out now. You need to follow the building to the rear. From there, we’ll make sure the first door is open. Go through the door and wait. It shouldn’t be too long,” said the woman.

  “I don’t know how to thank you. You saved me twice.”

  “Don’t thank us yet. We haven’t gotten you anywhere. A lot could go wrong between here and York.”

  “Trust me when I say hitching a ride is saving me. I feel like my slow pace is putting me in peril of being knocked off by someone in my group.”

  From the back of the room, an unseen man yelled the word clear. Then the man closest to Marvin used a mirror affixed to a stick to look onto the street. Once he determined it was safe to open the door, he said, “Time to move.” The door opened and Marvin was shoved out of the building just as quickly as he had been pulled inside.

  — 15 —

  Marvin emerged from the door looking as bewildered as he had before. Nancy waved to him to no avail, but he clearly didn’t see them in their hiding place. He just stood there looking around.

  “For shit’s sake, Marvin,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Whistle at him. He’s going the wrong way!” said Brett.

  Joe quickly whistled soft enough to avoid detection from a distance, yet just loud enough for Marvin to catch the sound. He finally turned in their direction, a look of relief flashing across his face.

  When Marvin reached them, he took a knee. “Thanks for waiting for me. Sorry about that. It was a close one.”

  “What the hell happened in there? Who are those people?” asked Nancy.

  “They’re the resistance. A bunch of heavily armed, masked civilians who said they’re fighting against the feds.”

  “Glad someone is,” said Nancy.

  “They found us a ride to York.”

  “A ride? Are you serious? York is a quick jump to our house,” said Brett.

  “I’m totally serious. We need to move to the repair bays. The truck will be here shortly.”

  Before Marvin got up to lead the group to the back of the building, Nancy caught his arm and said, “You sure we can trust these people?”

  “No. But it’s all we have. They saved me from getting caught. So maybe. I don’t know. They’re a very serious bunch.”

  She considered their options for a moment. Marvin wasn’t the only person in the group who moved slowly. Frank was a close second in a competition to get them caught. If they didn’t take a drastically different approach, they would be caught eventually. The truck likely offered them an opportunity to bypass all of the danger presented by moving on foot.

  Finally, she said, “Alright, let’s do this.”

  Marvin led them to the side of the building. Nancy watched as he carefully navigated through the lot to a particular door near the repair bays. Once inside, she said, “Who’s the guy that’s driving us?”

  “I don’t know. They were really secretive about the whole thing. All they would say is that he’s an insider who’s part of the resistance. Given that, I assume he’s a soldier, but I have no idea.”

  “That’s good enough for me. I don’t think our group will make it all the way to your house on foot. We’re too slow, and there are more and more of them arriving by the day,” said Frank.

  “They told me the men were released to run concertina wire around the city, closing it off.”

  “Fuck that. We’re out of here,” said Brett.

  “I agree. Hopefully, in a few hours, we’ll be feeling very lucky to have run into this group. What do we do now?” asked Nancy.

  “We wait. They said he’d pull up. Once he’s here, we need to be ready to jump into the truck. He can’t wait for us.”

  Nancy pulled herself into Brett. She needed a moment to recollect after what they had witnessed. Seeing regular citizens marked and used as slave labor really shook her. The warmth of Brett’s body against hers calmed her down enough for her to be able to think straight.

  A covered cargo truck turned into the car lot and headed in their direction.

  “Either that’s our ride or we’re screwed,” said Brett.

  The truck turned around and backed up to one of the large glass bays. The driver, a smart-looking young man in a military uniform, got out and entered the building.

  “Are you our ride?” asked Marvin.

  “Sure am. Let’s move. I can only sit here for a moment. I’m going to roll the door up and open the back of the truck. You people need to pile in as fast as possible,” said the man.

  The soldier opened the large door and appeared to fumble with the back of his truck. Nancy could tell the fumbling was a ruse to disguise the fact that he was surreptitiously looking up and down the street. Once he determined it was safe, the man stood aside and motioned for them to climb into the truck. He then grabbed some boxes from the garage and loaded those inside before disappearing. The idling truck lurched forward a few moments later and picked up speed on the street. Nancy tried to find a comfortable spot where she wouldn’t be too badly injured from the relentless bouncing as they made their way toward home. The others seemed to be struggling with the same dilemma. Marvin attempted to move some of the boxes to make a spot for himself. However, he merely knocked everything over onto Frank and Mike. It would be a long ride home.

  — 16 —

  Joe held Meg in the darkness of the truck. They rumbled and bounced their way out of the city, hopefully toward Nancy and Brett’s house. He too wasn’t sure trusting the group of strangers was the best idea. On the other hand, he also agreed that they would never make it out of the city at the rate they had previously travelled.

  “Is everyone all right?” asked Brett.

  “Mostly,” answered Meg.

  “I’m just hoping this guy’s for real, and this isn’t some kind of trick,” said Joe.

  “We’re all hoping that,” said Nancy.

  “Marvin, did you say the released men were being used to run wire around the city?” asked Meg.

  “According to the others, that’s exactly what they’re being used for. God only knows what else they have them doing.”

  “Did they say anything about the other citizens? Where are the women and children?” asked Mike.

  “They said the feds have set up internment camps. People have been trucked to those, from what they could tell.”

  “Internment camps. Shit. That’s not good. Where are those?” asked Joe.

  “They weren’t entirely sure, but they think some of the camps are in Avon.”

  “All the way out there?” said Mike sadly.

  “Did they say what happened to cause all of this?” asked Nancy.

  “The feds are claiming that they need to respond to a threat of some sort. It seems the feds are being very secretive about it. The group didn’t know more than that.”

  “A threat? Must be one hell of a threat to warrant incarcerating all citizens. We should be part of the resistance! Others are fighting while we hide in the back of a truck! What’s wrong with us?” shouted Brett.

  “What’s wrong with us is that we’re trying to save our own skins. That’s what’s wrong with us. I want to fight too. Believe me. I’d like nothing more than to join them, but I can’t right now. Right now we need to find my mother and Rudy. We also need to help Mike find his family,” said Nancy.

  Joe was surprised to see the couple quarrel. Generally, they seemed to exist very harmoniously. The stress of their predicament must be weighing down on them just as much as everyone else.

  “I’m not sure you’d want to join that bunch. They weren’t academic resisters like the two of us. They were a hard, dangerous-looking bunch—armed to the teeth. I didn’t get a good vibe from them despite the fact that they rescued me. It was like being surrounded by a pack of wild wolves,” said Marvin.

  “Maybe not. I just feel like I’m not doing my part to push back against everything that’s happening,” said Brett.

&n
bsp; “Aren’t we pushing back? We stole a life raft and fled our cruise ship and have been hiding ever since. We aren’t shooting at them. I get that. But we’re resisting in our own way,” said Meg.

  Meg’s words made Joe feel better. He too was thinking they should be doing more than simply saving themselves. She was right, they were resisting by not being swallowed up into the system. Maybe they would be able to do something from the outside.

  “You’re right. Resisting by keeping clear of them will allow us to give an account of what happened here. Those in the camps won’t be able to tell the world anything more than their own limited view of things. We will have the chance to expose the entire deception foisted on the citizens of the United States,” said Brett with strength.

  “You got that right. By witnessing the events, we’ll fill a critical place in history as survivors who are able to give an accurate account of the events,” said Nancy.

  “Unlike the bullshit story they’re likely to peddle once this thing starts to unwind itself,” added Marvin.

  “Exactly,” she said.

  “Once we get back, I’ll need to start keeping a log of the events. If we’re ever discovered, at least there will be a written record of everything we already know occurred,” said Brett.

  “Good thinking. We might all want to think about writing a few words. You never know what the future holds. All I know is we need to at the very least be sure they never erase this from our history,” said Nancy.

  “Sorry. I won’t be doing that. Writing was never really my thing. I’m more of a hands-on sort of guy,” said Joe.

  “Same here. I won’t be keeping a diary or journal or whatever you’re calling it. I hated English in school. I can’t see myself starting something like that now,” said Frank.

  “For you it would be a journal. For some reason when men keep a diary, those are labeled as journals, whereas a woman’s writing is always referred to as a diary in historical records. It’s just one of those things,” said Nancy.

  “Well then, I won’t be writing in a diary. You can count me out too,” said Meg.