Dead South | Book 4 | Dead Love

by Bohannon, Zach

  Jon pulled up to the fence and shut the bike off. Brooke greeted him at the gate, opening it for him as he rolled the bike through. He stopped and kissed her, then closed the gate behind him.

  "Any luck?" Terrence asked from the other side of the yard where he sat with Jada on the hood of a car.

  "Snagged a rabbit and a squirrel."

  "That's better than nothing," Brooke said. "At least you caught a rabbit."

  "How did things go here?"

  Brooke put her hands on her hips and glanced away.

  "That good?"

  Brooke looked back at Jon. "These people just aren't fighters."

  "Anybody can become a fighter when their life is on the line."

  "But, Jon, I just can't—"

  "No, I know. We don't want to put these people in that position."

  "And the kids."

  "Do you think we should rethink all this?"

  Brooke tilted her head. She then narrowed her eyes, clearly trying to read Jon.

  "I'm serious. Maybe it's best for us to just leave."

  "But what about the innocent people at Freedom Ridge? And what if Malcolm follows us and tries to find us? We don't want to live like that."

  "There's no guarantee he'll try to find me."

  "And what about you? Can you live with knowing that he's still out there—the man who…" Brooke paused. "I'm sorry."

  Jon paused, looking away. "If you were asking the old Jon, he'd tell you to get the hell out of his face."

  Brooke laughed. "Yeah, I remember that guy. That's about what you said to me when I came to your cabin that first time we met."

  "But that guy's gone," Jon said. "I've changed. You've changed me, Brooke. Before I met you, I didn't care about anything. Honestly, if I'd died out in the fields amongst some zombies, I'd have been happy. Hell, if I was still that man, I would have marched to Black Hill myself by now and probably died trying to get to Malcolm. But you, Lucas… all the people here—you gave me something to live for again."

  Brooke stepped closer to Jon and put her hand on his cheek. "I know you've changed. I know you aren't that man I met at the cabin, who I brought back to Hope's Dawn after he wrecked his bike. But I know you won't be able to live the life you want to live if you know Malcolm is still out there."

  "I don't need the revenge anymore," Jon said. "That's not who I—"

  "I know it's not about revenge," Brooke said, interrupting him. "It's about doing what's right. And even if Malcolm doesn't come after us, he'll still be harming others. I can't consciously let that happen, and I know you can't, either."

  Jon hesitated before nodding. He said nothing back, instead hugging Brooke and giving her another kiss. He couldn't express with his words how important she was to him, or how thankful he was to have her on his side.

  "Come on," Jon said. "Let me park my bike and then we'll get this food ready to eat. Hopefully, Raylon will be back soon."

  As he pushed the bike away from the gate, headlights flashed on the road and Jon turned around.

  "It's almost like you summoned him," Brooke said, smiling.

  The van made a hard turn into the driveway, nearly fishtailing. It shot up gravel as Raylon slammed on the brakes, the van skating and nearly busting through the gate. Jon and Brooke glanced at each other, concern on both their faces.

  "This doesn't look good," Brook said. She went to the gate and opened it.

  Raylon pulled through, not bothering to park the van all the way behind the house and out of sight. He got out, slamming the door behind him and kicking at gravel. Neither Jon nor Brooke said anything. They didn't have to.

  "I don't know how he could be so stupid," Raylon said. "I mean, what is he thinking?"

  "Did he at least give a legit reason why?" Brooke asked.

  Raylon scoffed. "Hell no. All he did was spout the same bullshit from before. He honestly thinks the truce he has with Malcolm is going to hold."

  It didn't surprise Jon, but that didn't mean he hadn't hoped for a different result from Raylon's visit. The truth set in slowly; Hope's Dawn was going to be on their own if they wanted to take down Black Hill. They were going to have to consider changing their plans, just as Jon and Brooke had talked about. But it would be best to give Raylon at least a little time to calm down first, even if they had little time to spare.

  "Look," Jon said, "there's nothing more we can do about Lennox. I caught some small game, so let's cook it up, and after that we can—"

  Jon stopped when he heard an engine roaring on the highway. Narrowing his eyes, Jon stepped back to the gate and looked up toward the road.

  His eyes got big as he watched a black SUV pull into the driveway.

  "What the—"

  Jon dove out of the way as the first gunshots were aimed at him.

  24

  Bullets ricocheted off the back of the van as Jon crawled farther away from the gate. Screams echoed through the air, and Jon looked around to see where everyone was. Brooke and Raylon were near him, of course, and he saw Rosa near the back door with a few of the children, including one of her own, out of the view of the gunmen.

  "Gather all the kids and get them upstairs!" Jon shouted.

  Rosa hesitated. She was looking toward Jon, but clearly she was in a state of shock.

  "Now, Rosa!" Brooke yelled. She looked at Lucas, who was lying on the ground about five feet away from Rosa, covering his ears and looking toward his mom. Keeping her eyes on her son, Brooke pointed at Rosa. "Go with her! Do exactly as she says!"

  The boy stared at his mother, but didn't move. His body shook as a couple more gunshots sounded.

  "Go!"

  Rosa had gotten the other children into the house, and she went over to Lucas as he had begun pushing himself up. She helped him the rest of the way onto his feet, and both of them stayed low as they rushed through the back door.

  This left Jon, Brooke, Raylon, Terrence, and Jada outside. Jon looked up and saw the guns the group had been practicing with sitting on the hoods of two cars. They had to get to those weapons. He had his hatchet and his bat still fastened to his back, but all five of them needed to be armed.

  "Come on!" Jon said.

  He jumped to his feet, and the others followed. They made it over to the guns and ducked down on the other side of the old cars. Jon carried his pistol at his waist, but grabbed one of the automatic rifles and the ammunition sitting next to it.

  "They should all still be loaded from practice," Terrence said.

  "Someone needs to get inside to protect the others," Brooke said.

  Jon agreed. "You, Terrence, and Jada get inside. Stay low, and watch the entrances. There are only a couple ways into that house. Me and Raylon will hang back here and make sure no one comes in from the back. Hopefully, they all try to come back here, and the two of us can take them out."

  "Can you get to the door?" Brooke asked Terrence.

  Terrence nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

  "We know you're back there, Savage!" a man yelled from the driveway.

  "Go!" Jon said to Brooke in an urgent, low voice. "We'll cover for you."

  The three got up. Jada ran across the yard to the back door, reaching it first. Not wanting to leave Terrence behind, Brooke also got up, but she put her arm through Terrence's to help him.

  "I'm fine," Terrence said. "Just go!"

  "Do it!" Jon told her, standing up and aiming his gun toward the fence.

  Brooke ran to the door, keeping her eyes on the fence.

  Terrence grimaced as he hobbled across the yard. Then, a man appeared at the gate. The van offered some cover, but the men still had a clear shot at Terrence, Jon, and Raylon.

  But Jon knew they just had to protect Terrence, whose injury left him less mobile.

  "Stay low, Terrence!"

  He fired at the man, and Raylon followed suit.

  The gunshots caught the man off-guard, and he dropped to the ground. It was enough to keep the man from shooting Terrence, but then Jon saw another
gun peeking around the corner, the person holding it hiding behind the wall. They fired aimlessly. Jon and Raylon took cover behind the car, and once Jon saw Terrence had made it safely inside, he hid all the way behind the car. Raylon did the same.

  "There's at least two of them, but we're going to have to figure out how many of them there are total," Jon said.

  "How could I have been so careless to let them follow me?" Raylon asked.

  "There's no time to worry about that. We've got to focus, Raylon."

  Raylon drew in a couple of breaths, gathering his composure.

  "The gate's locked, but there's nothing keeping them from jumping over it or trying to run their truck through. We're going to have to get closer so that we can see them and take our chances that we're better shots than they are."

  "Alright," Raylon said. "I'll follow your lead."

  The gunfire had ceased, so Jon poked his head up again to glance at the gate. He no longer saw the gun sticking out, or either of the people who'd fired at them. He waited for another few seconds to see if either of the shooters would show their faces or one of their guns, but neither did. Scouting the area, Jon tried to figure out where the best place to move would be. They could use the van as a shield, but the vehicle had taken enough damage. They needed to be able to drive that van. A couple of other vehicles sat on the other side of the yard, which would provide an unobstructed view through the fence while also giving Jon and Raylon cover. He decided that would be the best place to go, so he gestured for Raylon to follow him and stayed low as he started toward the destination.

  From the angle they moved at, the van still provided cover and the shooters wouldn't be able to see Jon and Raylon changing position. But that wouldn't be true in a few moments. He squeezed behind a vehicle, still having cover from the van. There was a gap between the one he was behind now and the one he needed to get to, though. Jon knew once he made the run for the gap, he'd be exposed, and the shooters would likely be ready to fire. If they didn't know where he and Raylon were, then whoever crossed first might have a better chance at making it.

  "We need to get behind that next vehicle for cover," Jon said to Raylon. "They probably don't know we're here, so you should go first."

  "Alright." Raylon exhaled and switched spots with Jon. He took a few more deep breaths, then counted to three. Then, he hurried across the gap while staying low.

  "There!" one man yelled.

  Several shots were fired, but Raylon had already found cover behind the rusted car. Bullets buried themselves into the body, but Raylon was safe.

  Jon had been hoping the men wouldn't see Raylon, but he hadn't been that fortunate. Trying to run across the gap would be suicide now, but he couldn't stay where he was because then he'd be no help to Raylon. His only other choice was to go to the van. It had already been shot up pretty badly, but he didn't have many options.

  He made his way to the side of the van, again staying low. He tried to control how much noise he made as he moved, but it was difficult.

  Raylon remained ducked down. Jon hoped the men would stay focused on him, and then maybe Jon would catch at least one of them by surprise.

  Keeping the rifle at the ready, Jon shuffled around to the front of the van. He was about to peek around it and look toward where the men had been when he heard feet running across the yard behind him. Jon followed the sound and looked back to see a man running toward Raylon. Jon raised his gun to shoot, but the man dived over the hood of the car even as Raylon stood up and tackled him.

  Before Jon could go help, he heard someone approaching from behind him. He turned and saw a man with black hair, his eyes wide. The man raised a pistol up to Jon's face, but Jon reacted by palming the man in the wrist and knocking his hand against the van. Jon dropped the rifle in the process. A shot went off, but it went by Jon's head, missing him. The impact against the van had caused the man to drop the pistol, and he was shaking his hand in pain. But he recovered quickly, landing a punch on Jon’s cheek.

  The blow stunned Jon, causing him to stagger backward. He stayed on his feet, but before he could regain his bearings, the man came at him and spear tackled him. They both fell to the ground, the man's weight landing on Jon as his back slammed against the dirt, briefly knocking the air out of him. Landing on the bat and hatchet hurt like hell and prevented him from being able to grab either of the weapons—it also meant that his assailant had the leverage and punched Jon twice before he could do anything. The blood pooled in his mouth, an iron taste gathering. He finally got his hands up to block a blow, but the man kept coming.

  The man next hit Jon in the stomach, causing him to lower his arms and allowing the man to get in another shot at Jon's face.

  His mouth had filled with blood, and some of it seeped out of the sides as Jon worked to block the man's assault. Unsure what else to do, Jon waited for when he had a clear shot at the man's face, and then he spit a mouthful of blood at him.

  The move surprised Jon's assailant so that some of the blood got into his eyes. Instinctively and without any other choice, he had to move his hands up to his face to wipe the blood from his eyes.

  Jon saw his chance.

  He raised his arms up and grabbed the asshole by the throat. The man hadn't been able to get all the blood out of his eyes and was keeping them closed, but he had to move his hands down to his throat to get Jon's off of him.

  Jon squeezed, unwilling to let go. The man tried everything, digging his nails into Jon's hands. He then started swinging aimlessly, but was unable to find Jon's face with his arms in the way. He next started hitting Jon in the ribs and the stomach. It hurt like hell, but Jon absorbed the blows, knowing the last thing he could do was let go of the man's throat. This was his chance.

  What Jon's assailant hadn't accounted for in his desperation was that having his midsection punched repeatedly and knowing he couldn't let go made Jon hold on to his throat even tighter. Jon only grimaced in response, feeling his mouth fill with blood again as he squeezed.

  The man gasped for air. Realizing the punches were doing no good, he brought his hands back up his throat and tried to loosen Jon's grip again.

  Jon could feel the man's strength giving way. That was when he knew he had his chance.

  Crying out while keeping his hands wrapped around the man's throat, Jon used the strength he had left to push him over. The two men lay tangled on their sides, kicking their legs and trying to gain an advantage. But Jon was too much for the man. He got on top of his assailant, straddling him, and pushed down harder. With the man's throat pinned between Jon's hands and the ground, he had no chance. Jon had completely cut off his airway, and he watched as the man's face changed to a bluish color.

  The man's punches grew weaker as he hit Jon in his arms, desperately trying anything he could. But within moments, his arms fell down to his sides and he stopped moving.

  Jon choked him for several more seconds before finally letting go and rolling off the man. He landed on his back and heaved in deep breaths, turning his head and spitting blood on the ground. His eyes went to the car which Raylon had been behind.

  Raylon.

  Pushing himself up to his feet, Jon ran over and hurried around to the other side of it, where he found Raylon lying on his back with blood covering his face.

  Next to Raylon, lying on his stomach, was a man with blonde hair. At least, that's what Jon guessed. The hair was stained with blood, and a knife protruded from the man's back, just below his neck.

  Raylon's eyes were wide open as he hyperventilated. He appeared to be in shock, but finally made eye contact with Jon after a few seconds. All he could do then was laugh, and he started crying at the same time. He was definitely in shock.

  "You're okay, Raylon," Jon said. "Everything is—"

  And then Jon heard gunshots coming from inside the house.

  25

  Brooke stood in the kitchen with Terrence, feeling helpless as gunshots blasted outside. She wanted to help Jon and Raylon, but needed t
o be inside the house in case any of the shooters tried to come in. They didn't know how many people were in that vehicle which had followed Raylon back to the house. She had to stick with their plan.

  "Let's move into the living room so we can guard the front door," Terrence said.

  Brooke again glanced out the kitchen windows to where the outside fight was currently taking place, but then followed Terrence into the other room. They found cover behind a couch, giving them a view of the front door and protection from whoever might come through it. Terrence grunted in pain as they settled, stifling it so as not to be so loud.

  "I'm good," he said before Brooke could even ask. "I'll be alright."

  Above them, Brooke could hear the kids and other adults moving around upstairs. She assumed they were trying to figure out where to hide, but they were making so much noise. After a few more seconds of the same, Brooke's worry increased. They needed to quit making so much sound in case the attackers came into the house.

  "I'll be back," Brooke said.

  "What?" Terrence asked. "Where the hell are you going?"

  "Just hang tight and watch the door. I'll be right back."

  Brooke ran over to the stairs and hurried up. She followed the sounds of chattering and movement into the bedroom on the right.

  The kids were clearly trying not to talk too loudly while also at the same time talking over one another. Rosa and the other women were working to calm them down, but Rosa noticed Brooke at the door.

  "What's going on down there?" Rosa asked.

  "Nothing yet. No one's in the house except for us. But you'll have to be quiet. From downstairs, it sounds like a zoo up here. We have to—"

  A crash came from downstairs, followed by gunshots.

  They'd gotten into the house.

  Now, the kids were crying, but Brooke didn't have time to stop them. She had to get downstairs.