Darien nodded, envisioning a line of trees stretching across the backyard. "Yeah, it could work…but it’ll take a lot of effort. And more time."
Cami nodded. "I know. I'm going to have to call together the whole neighborhood to get this done as fast as possible."
"So what, we’re just gonna build a wall around Bee’s Landing?” Amber asked.
Darien grunted. “That's a tall order. This is a pretty big neighborhood."
Cami shook her head. "That might be something we need to look into long-term, depending on how things shake out with the rest of the country. But for now, I think our best bet would be to fortify this house first. We throw up a wall all the way around, and it turns into a castle. We don't even have to go all the way around, actually—we can just start a wall here in the backyard.” She pointed at the tree line. “We can extend it as we cut trees down, right up to the house just north of us. But since the Westin house burned to the ground, and Marty's house blew up—evidently,” Cami said as she looked over Darien's shoulder at the rubble pile that used to be her neighbor's house.
Darien nodded. “Your house is now the anchor on this side of the road.” He put his hands on his hips and looked around, appreciating the old man’s tactical thinking. “We can turn this into a fortress, since it seems to be the point of interest for every attack so far."
Cami nodded. "If we fight them here, we don't fight them elsewhere, exactly.”
Darien shrugged. "I still think leaving Cisco to his own devices is going to cause problems for us down the road, but I'm here to help. What can I do?”
Amber smiled at him and squeezed her mother’s hand. Cami looked at her daughter, then looked back at Darien and smiled. "Thank you."
Chapter 8
Lavelle Homestead
Bee’s Landing Subdivision
Northwest of Charleston, South Carolina
Cami looked out at the sea of faces in her backyard. "This is everyone?" she asked Amber at her side. They stood on the deck and looked at what appeared to be half the neighborhood. The survivors largely mingled and chatted, though some remained quiet. The low murmur of their conversations rippled back and forth and ruined the silence of the morning after the hurricane. The downed trees, dozens of branches scattered through the yard, and leaves plastered against everything presented a fitting post-apocalyptic backdrop to the gathering.
Cami grunted. As if the bullet holes in her deck, the shattered plywood coverings over every window on her house, and the scorch marks from explosions that scarred the siding painted a different picture. The wreckage of the hurricane confirmed that they were living in end times…at least the end times for modern civilization.
Amber's hand clutched hers. "I think they’re ready, mom."
Cami shook off her morose thoughts and focused on the task at hand. She cleared her throat and the conversation died down. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Cami began. She shifted her weight and winced as her injured leg took more pressure than she wanted. "I know we've had a rough couple of days—”
"Rough month!” somebody shouted from the back of the crowd. Begrudging agreement and a few derisive chuckles rippled back and forth through the crowd.
"I won't argue with that," Cami agreed with a sad smile. "This has personally been some of the hardest times of my life all rolled into one nasty month.” She shook her head. "But we’re not out of the woods, yet. I think you all know the threat posed by Cisco and his marauding barbarians, so there's no need to go into details."
Murmurs of agreement, angry scowls, and nodding heads greeted her statement. The neighborhood of Bee’s Landing had been attacked twice by Cisco—three, if one counted the attempted robbery by impersonating National Guard soldiers as the first offense—and they had lost more than dozen people in the neighborhood killed in the fighting that left several families homeless. They well knew the depravity of which Cisco was capable.
The crowd broke into shouted discussion instantly.
"What are we gonna do about it?"
"I say we go after him! Teach ‘im a lesson!"
“No! We have to leave this place, go somewhere else.”
“What, leave my home? Never!”
Several people raised shotguns or hunting rifles in the air at that suggestion, and a cheer went up. Two people actually left. They waved over their shoulders and walked away.
Cami leaned forward against the rickety railing on the deck and raised both her hands, ignoring the pain that made sweat break out on her forehead. "That's not what I'm suggesting! Going out on a military campaign right now is the last thing we need to do!"
"Then what would you suggest?" Harriet said in a clear voice that cut through the rumbling. "Should we send out a peace envoy or a tray of cookies?”
Cami frowned at the quiet laughter that accompanied Harriet’s barb. Of course, it would be Harriet. "No, I'm suggesting we build up the defenses of this neighborhood."
"Don't you mean your house? Seems to me everybody's fixing up your place…” Harriet pointed out.
"No, Harriet, I mean the neighborhood," Cami spat. "This madman has attacked us twice and tried to trick us at least once. When we defeat him—and we will," Cami said forcefully, "I want us to be ready for the next madman."
"Don't you think one psychopath is enough? Why do we need to invent others?" Harriet asked.
“While I appreciate your personal willingness to get your hands dirty and help everyone else defend the neighborhood against Cisco,” Cami said to a few smiles in the crowd, “I’m going to ignore the fact that you choose to stick your head in the sand when it comes to other potential threats, Harriet.”
Cami turned away from Harriet's increasingly red face and addressed the rest of the crowd. "For anyone out there who does have the ability to think beyond what's happening right now, consider this: we already know Cisco is the product of a failed judicial system—Sheriff McIntyre explained that someone fat-fingered an order to release all the prisoners in the county when the power went out after the tsunami. Cisco is just one of thousands of criminals roaming the countryside right now. Yes," Cami said as she lowered her arms, "I'm sure most of them have probably already perished, either in the tsunami, the immediate aftermath, or the hurricane. I know from personal experience that people out wandering around in the countryside aren't exactly going to be in the best shape to be able to find food and shelter in these times." She shook her head. "It's not a fate that I would wish upon anybody, actually. Whether or not they deserve to die by starvation and exposure to the elements is quite another. But that's beside the point," Cami said quickly before she lost their interests. "Cisco is just the first in what I'm guessing is going to be a long line of people that are going to try to take advantage of the situation, to exert force and power over others they perceive to be weaker, to take what they want. It's happened before, it's going to happen again. This is no different than what has happened all throughout human history."
"Yeah, but we don't have the US Army to back us up, and this is not some kingdom from the Middle Ages!" one of the HOA board members called out.
Cami nodded. "True. But that doesn't mean that we can't learn from the lessons of the past."
"Cami, what is it exactly you’re proposing?" Gary asked, right on cue. Some of the people up front snickered at his obviously timed question. Amber looked at Cami and frowned—she'd already voiced her opinion of planting someone to continue the questioning in the line that Cami wanted. She considered it fake, and too political.
Cami squared her shoulders. “I propose we make a palisade around the entire neighborhood."
"Say what now?" Mitch asked, as he scratched his chin standing next to his father.
“A palisade,” Cami said quickly. “We don't have to get medieval—but we might have to get colonial. Think back to the time of the revolution, and just before that. When Native Americans posed a real and direct threat to settlers—especially in our neck of the woods," Cami said with a grin. "We
cut down trees, we taper the tips into points, and we plant them in the ground vertically to make a log wall."
"You're talking some Davy Crockett tech right there," Mitch replied with a grin. "I like it." A few others around him nodded in agreement.
"But what about heavy machinery? We don't have enough gas for the chainsaws, let alone excavators to haul everything around…” the HOA man replied. "This is a preposterous idea that's going to get somebody hurt or…or even possibly killed!"
“As legal counsel for the Bee’s Landing Homeowners Association,” the man next to him said, “I strongly advise you all to avoid this line of thinking. We’d be opening ourselves up to serious litigation if—“
Cami cut him off with a wave of her hand. "There is some amount of risk in it," she admitted, "especially because we don't have the ability to get to a doctor or hospital whenever we want. But I think the risk of doing nothing and allowing our neighborhood to stand open for the inevitable attack that’s sure to come from somewhere, is taking a greater risk.”
"Let me get this straight,” the HOA man argued, “you're telling us you want to build a log wall all the way around the neighborhood? That's gonna take forever with the hand tools and few chainsaws that we have! Not to mention—”
“If colonial Americans could do it with axes, modern-day Americans can do it," Gary replied with finality. That got a resounding chorus of agreement from the crowd. The HOA man promptly fell silent. Harriet looked ready to burst a blood vessel.
“I’ll help you, Cami,” Mitch said, his hand raised. “Who’s with me?” he asked, looking around. Several others with grim faces raised their hands.
"So how do we get started?" one of the others asked.
"Well, I think it's only logical that since we've been attacked—the neighborhood—three times," she said with a quick glance at Darien Flynt. “And all three times have come to a point at my house, I think it only prudent that we put the barrier up starting here."
"Oh, I see," Harriet said loudly as the crowd parted around her. "This is really just an excuse to build a wall around your house! But what about my house?” She asked. Harriet waved a hand in Cami’s direction. “What about Mia's house?"
“Don’t drag me into this, Harriet,” Mia said forcefully. More than one person nodded in agreement and patted Mia on the back in support.
Cami shook her head. "You're missing the point, again, Harriet. My house is on the westernmost lot in the neighborhood. We stick out the furthest. Can someone tell me where Cisco's camp is?”
"In the forest preserve, due west," Flynt said loudly, dispelling the chatter.
Everyone turned their attention to him, then back to Cami and fell silent. "It stands to reason,” she began, “that if he hits us again, it's going to be from the west, am I right?"
Heads nodded. "And we know Charleston is southeast of us. Any gang activity—especially the kind that the sheriff warned us about—is going to come from that direction most likely. I don't see a lot of trouble heading to us from Myrtle Beach, do you?"
The crowd murmured in approval.
"Okay then," she continued with a nod. "We start with the barrier to the west, wrapped around the south end of my house, then cut straight across the neighborhood toward the entrance, blocking off the southeast.”
"How convenient," Harriet said with a smile on her face as if she'd caught Cami in a lie. "You’d just have us make your house the corner of the neighborhood?"
Gary turned and looked at Harriet. "You see any houses south of hers? Marty's house blew up a couple days ago, in case you didn't notice…”
“And the Westin’s house was the last one on the corner,” Cami said.
“But that one burned to the ground—again, in case you didn't notice,” Mitch added.
“There's nothing between the main road and Cami's house, now—nothing but rubble,” Mia said, her face flushed.
The others agreed, so Cami pressed forward. "I think we need to separate ourselves into groups of volunteers willing to cut down the trees and dig pits to stack the logs. We can have those who can't or won't help with the heavy lifting,” Cami said with a pointed look at Harriet, "ready to help with food, cleaning, and resupplying the workers with water, or first-aid. Does that sound reasonable?"
Merle Orchard pushed his way to the front of the group. “We’ll need a guard force, too, Cami. The scouts are kind of already doing that on their patrols in the woods,” he said as he scratched his jaw. “They could just keep on keepin’ on…”
"I think you're onto something here…” someone mumbled.
“Yeah, we probably got enough people we can go ahead and create shifts …that way nobody gets tired of doing one thing all the time,” Gary added.
"That would also prevent injuries," Amber said, speaking up for the first time.
"Well, I’m not going to take part in this tomfoolery," Harriet proclaimed as she turned and walked away. "I think this little dictatorship has run its course. I'm calling a meeting of the homeowners’ association governing board. Anyone who thinks we ought to have some actual authority to handle these problems, I suggest you join us." She turned and looked at Cami. "I for one am not in favor of a dictatorship."
Harriet started to walk away, then looked directly at Flynt and waited, one eyebrow arched. “Well?”
“Don’t do this,” Flynt said in a voice barely above a whisper.
She laughed. “I can’t believe you’re going to throw out everything for…her…” She put a hand on her hip and gave him another couple seconds, but when the ex-con crossed his arms, she huffed, mumbled something to her supporters—one of whom laughed loudly—and left the gathering.
Cami exhaled. Only half a dozen people followed in her wake. She wasn't sure how many people were still on the fence, but if Harriet only had a handful of active supporters, that had to count for something. Amber squeezed her hand in support.
"Well, if that's all settled," Cami said somberly, "Amber and I will be ready to set up volunteers—unless someone else wants the job?"
The group murmured, and people shifted back and forth on their feet, but no one stepped forward. No one other than Mitch offered vocal support for the project, either.
Flynt tromped his way up the steps and stood next to Cami. "Me and my crew will take first watch with the heavy lifting. You folks have shown us a lot of support since we've been here, and despite everything that's happened, y'all have been pretty welcoming. It's the least we can do."
Rufus stood taller in the crowd. "Amen!"
Jon Boy, Flynt’s mentally deficient sidekick, shrugged his thick shoulders. "We get to cut down trees?"
Flynt smiled at the man who could be Paul Bunyan. "Yes, Jon Boy, we’re going to make us a log cabin fort. Won't that be fun?"
"Oh boy! Just like Davy Crockett!" He looked at Cami. “Can I have a coonskin hat, Miss Cami?”
Several others grinned and chuckled at this exchange, then Mitch stepped forward. "I don't know how useful I'm going to be, but count me in as a volunteer."
Before Cami could open her mouth to say something, the tide broke. “Y’all gonna let poor Mitch do this on his own?” asked Merle Orchard. “C’mon, get up here with me or hand over your man cards.”
In a few moments, Cami had a line of people waiting to volunteer for work crews. She turned to Flynt. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"Look,” he mumbled, “I already told you me and my men want to be part of this community. We’re on the same side, remember?"
Cami nodded and smiled. "Right."
The corner of Flynt’s mouth curled up. "Although next time, I'd appreciate it if you gave me a little head’s up—I could've been a little more prepared, you know?"
Cami smiled broader. "Sorry about that…it was kind of spur of the moment…and…sorry about Harriet," Cami added quickly.
Flynt sighed and rubbed the side of his head. "Yeah, well, I think that was a fight that was coming, no matter what happened here. She's just…”
“A vicious, mean old b—“ Amber began helpfully.
"Amber!" Cami snapped.
“Well, it’s true!” argued Amber. Mitch joined her and laughed, sliding his arm around Amber’s shoulders like they’d been dating for years.
Cami took note but didn’t say anything.
Flynt laughed. “She ain’t lying, Cami. Harriet’s got a mean streak a mile wide. I just don't know if I can take being with her much longer."
Cami grimaced. "Well, many more public performances like that, and I don't think you’ll have to worry about it."
Flynt frowned. "Well, at least the tsunami didn’t change one thing.”
“What’s that?” asked Amber.
Flynt grinned and took his place in the volunteer line. “My track record with women."
Chapter 9
Charleston, South Carolina
Reese led Jo across the street to the strip mall, and they stopped in the parking lot adjacent to the nail salon. Broken windows decorated the storefront, just like every other shop in the building. Reese narrowed his eyes and squinted into the dim interior, but couldn't make out any shapes. He kept the police shotgun at a ready low position and waited for Jo to catch up.
"This is your show,” he whispered to her. “Go right ahead…I’ll cover you."
Jo stepped around Reese and shielded her eyes as she peered into the store. "Hello? We’re not going to hurt you. Does anyone need help? I have some medical supplies…I might be able to help…”
A young woman with her hair pulled into tight cornrows stepped out of the shadows. “It’s pop-pop. Can you help?” she asked as she warily looked left and right.
Reese followed her gaze. He saw no one, and no movement whatsoever, except for a few birds up in the sky, and lazy plumes of smoke that rose into the air off toward the horizon. "You expecting somebody?"
"Nobody good,” the girl said.
Jo looked at Reese and shrugged. "Long as you got that thing, I doubt anybody's going to try to start something."
Broken Tide | Book 6 | Breakwater Page 6
