“Right, so we’re going to stay inside for a little while.” Harper sat on the couch.
“What’ll we do if the bear shows up at the barbecue?” asked Jonathan.
“Cook it, too,” deadpanned Mila.
“No,” said Madison and Lorelei at the same time, with nearly equal horror in their voices.
Becca slithered out from under the sofa.
“He almost ate you.” Mila poked Madison.
“It’s not his fault. He’s a bear. We shouldn’t kill him for doing bear things. He didn’t hurt anyone.” Madison jumped on the couch and attached herself to Harper’s side. “No one said anything about there being bears in Evergreen.”
“Fuzzy,” whispered Lorelei, grinning.
Harper put one arm around each of her sisters, and stared up at the ceiling while trying not to have a nervous breakdown at a six-year-old wanting to hug random bears. This kid is going to give me a heart attack before I’m nineteen.
26
Bad Dreams
Harper awoke in the middle of the night, unsure why.
No alarm bells rang in her bladder. Both Madison and Lorelei remained asleep beside her. Subdued not-quite-snoring came from Cliff’s room.
Why am I awak—?
A creak in the distance sounded an awful lot like the back door opening.
She slipped out from under Lorelei’s arm, sat up, and grabbed the shotgun from where it leaned against the wall. After listening to silence for a few seconds, she eased herself to her feet. Without being under blankets, her gossamer nightie didn’t do much for warmth. Jaw clenched, skin prickling at the cold, Harper crept to the bedroom door. A soft creak might have been the floorboards shifting or the house reacting to the wind.
A figure appeared in the bedroom doorway.
Harper jumped, barely managing not to fire in response to something jumping out in front of her. She stared over the gunsights at Mila’s pale moonlit face, wide-eyed and terrified.
The instant she recognized a child, she tilted the Mossberg away. “Mila? What’s—”
Distant gunfire rang out, three shots rapid, then one a few seconds later. Another shot came from a different direction, also sounding far away.
Mila emitted a faint whimper and ran in, diving to the floor and crawling under the bed before whispering, “He’s here. He chased me. You said you’d help…”
Cold crept up under Harper’s nightgown. Shivering, she edged past the doorjamb, aiming toward the living room. Seeing nothing unusual, she crept into the hall and padded forward, quiet as a held breath, her toes sinking into chilly carpet. At the end of the hall, she stopped, scanning left to right. The back door drifted inward, slow like the wind pushed it.
Harper shifted her aim toward the door.
A black figure all but floated into the kitchen, making so little noise he could have been a ghost. His head turned toward her, a featureless black mask over his face.
She pulled the trigger.
The Mossberg bucked into her shoulder, emitting a deafening boom. She lowered her aim point to his chest and fired again, two shots in two seconds. He crumpled to the ground, half on the porch, his legs sticking into the kitchen.
A heavy thud came from Cliff’s room.
Jonathan started screaming.
Harper kept the gun trained on the man in the doorway, but he didn’t move.
Cliff’s door swung open. Her father of circumstance stalked out into the hall in boxers, handgun raised. He shifted his gaze to her.
She held up one finger, then pointed toward the guy. Cliff nodded, advancing past her into the living room. After aiming briefly toward the front door, he crossed to the kitchen and peered at the guy.
“Hmm. This mask wasn’t made out of Kevlar.” Cliff leaned back.
Harper cringed, then blinked. Holy shit… what’s wrong with me? I just killed some guy trying to sneak into the house and I’m not freaking. She closed her eyes. I will not let anyone hurt Madison or my family… or a terrified little girl who came running to me for help.
A scattering of air horns went off outside, from multiple directions.
“Figures, crap goes down on my night off.” Cliff shook his head, then ran back to his room. Fifteen seconds later, he reappeared dressed in camo with his AR15. Harper started following him to the door, but he spun and grabbed her arm, giving her a ‘stay here’ stare.
“What?”
“You’re wearing a nightie thinner than used tissues. Stay inside.”
“Oh. Yeah. Right.” She backed up to the bedroom as Cliff ran out the front.
Jonathan poked his head into the hall, not a trace of sleepiness in his expression.
“Stay down,” whispered Harper.
He nodded and zipped back into his room.
“What’s going on?” asked Madison in a bleary voice. “What was that boom? Did you shoot?”
Harper peered back at the bed. Madison sat up, rubbing her eyes. Lorelei sprawled next to her, still zonked. “Yes. Don’t leave the room.”
“The Shadow Man is angry,” said Mila, still hidden beneath the bed.
“Why are you hiding?” asked Madison. “I thought you said he would get you and you’d just stand there.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Mila, the man who followed you tonight is dead,” said Harper.
Jonathan crawled over to his door, peering out. “Mila’s here?”
The blanket lifted up from the floor. Mila peeked out. “What?”
“I’m not going to tell a nine-year-old to go look, but trust me.”
Jonathan darted back into his room.
Mila tilted her head. “You saw him die?”
“Technically.”
Jonathan ran across the hall, flashlight in hand.
“What do you mean technically?” The girl narrowed her eyes.
“It’s dark. I saw him fall over. Cliff checked him and said his mask wasn’t made out of Kevlar.”
Madison glanced at the window and crawled into the corner by the pillow, hiding her face behind her knees.
“Eww,” said Mila.
“Yeah, exactly.” Harper shivered. “We’re all going to stay right here for a bit.”
Mila crawled out from under the bed, stood, and scrambled into a hug. “The Shadow Man got outta jail by turning into ninja bodies all over the place. He tried to grab me out of my bed, but I was awake. Bet he’s sorry he made me throw the knives ’til I could do it without looking.”
“What?” asked Harper.
“Put it in his eye.”
Harper gawked. “They what? You… what?”
Mila made a tossing gesture. “Before I escaped, the Shadow Man made me throw the little knives over and over at a wood board ’til it would stick every time, ’til I could hit a little dot, ’til I could do it with a cloth tied over my eyes. Every time I missed, he beat me with this long stick that stung like bees.”
“Oh, my god…” Harper sank to her knees and wrapped her arms around the girl. “That’s horrible.”
Jonathan added himself to the hug.
“I know,” said Mila. “That’s why I escaped. Is my mom okay?”
Harper released the hug and picked the Mossberg back up. “I’ll check on her as soon as Cliff’s back.”
Madison shivered. “Is there really a dead guy in our house?”
“Umm.” Harper bit her lip. “Technically, no.”
“Technically?” asked Madison, Mila, and Jonathan at the same time.
“Just his legs are in the house.”
Madison gagged.
“No,” said Harper. “He’s not in pieces; he’s in the doorway.”
“Oh.” Madison pulled the blanket up over her head. “That’s still bad. I’m gonna have bad dreams now.”
Mila looked at the lump in the bed. “No, you won’t. You’re not going to be able to sleep again. You’ll have bad dreams tomorrow night.”
Madison made a noise that could’ve been either laughing or cr
ying.
“I won’t let the Shadow Man get you.” Jonathan held the flashlight up like a weapon.
Mila poked Lorelei’s foot. “Is she still alive?”
“Yes, she…” Harper couldn’t help but run over to check. “Yeah, she just sleeps hard.”
Gunshots went off in the distance.
“Eep!” said Madison.
“Everyone stay down.” Harper sat on the floor in the corner opposite the bed. From there, she had a clear line of fire on the door as well as anyone sneaking in the window. I’m covering my freakin’ bedroom door with a gun. I don’t like this world. I wanna go home.
Mila crawled over and huddled up against her, holding on.
Jonathan sat somewhat in front of her as if to shield her from the doorway.
“If you tell anyone I got clingy,” said Mila, “I will deny it.”
“I won’t.” Harper gave her a quick squeeze, then put both hands back on the shotgun.
A few more gunshots rang out in the distance, sounding like firecrackers.
Harper stared over the gunsights at the bedroom door. C’mon Cliff. Be okay.
27
Quarterback
Astonishingly, Mila fell asleep while clinging to Harper.
Madison kept hiding under the blankets. Lorelei hadn’t even woken up.
Jonathan squirmed after a while. “Is it okay if I go to the bathroom?”
“Sure. Just do not go to the kitchen. Once you’re done, come straight back here… or go to your room if you want.”
He nodded and zipped out.
The sound of the boy taking a leak filled the tomb-silent house. Harper fidgeted in discomfort. Hearing it made her want to go, too. Soon, Jonathan returned and curled up on the floor beside her.
“Are we in danger?” he whispered.
“It’s been long enough, probably not,” said Harper. “Just being extra careful.”
A squeak came from the front door. She tensed her grip on the gun.
“It’s me,” said Cliff. “Assuming you’re still up.”
“Yeah.” Harper let her head fall back against the wall, and all the strength out of her muscles. The Mossberg dipped to the floor. “Holy crap.”
“Sit tight a few more minutes. I’ll be back”
“Okay, Arnie.” Harper couldn’t quite bring herself to laugh.
Men murmured in the distance. Based on the footsteps, shuffling, and grunting, she figured they collected the guy she’d killed and dragged him off. She didn’t move from her spot, resting rather than guarding.
Roughly twenty minutes later, the door clattered again.
“Back,” said Cliff.
Footsteps thudded across the house and into the hallway. He appeared in the door, AR15 over his shoulder. The relief in his eyes soothed her frayed nerves. She set the Mossberg on the floor and stretched her arms to chase away the aches from sitting there so long without moving.
“We got four bodies in Walmart ninja costumes and weird masks,” said Cliff. “All dead.”
Harper nodded.
“What?” Mila sat up, wide-eyed. “Are you sure they’re four different people? The shadow man can make himself into clones. If the one in jail is still alive, he’ll just keep making more copies.”
“Nah, kiddo.” Cliff shook his head. “Five different dudes all wearing the same sorta getup. One black dude, one Indian, three white. Definitely not clones.”
Mila looked confused for a moment, then scowled. “Seriously?”
“Yep.” He nodded.
She blushed. “I’m an idiot. I really thought he had magic.”
“You’re nine.” Harper patted her on the head. “I believed in magic at that age, too.”
Cliff approached, lowering his voice. “Fred took a knife to the chest. Not sure if he’s gonna make it.”
“Oh, no…” Harper covered her mouth and cried. “Fred…”
“He’s a tough bastard, so he might pull through.” Cliff set his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “Something damn sure went wrong with those guys. Guess they got confused or something.”
“What do you mean?” asked Harper.
“They all had these balanced throwing knives, little leaf-shaped suckers. One idiot had a knife embedded in his eye socket. Guess his buddy got jumpy and they had a little friendly fire incident.”
“That was me,” said Mila. “I hit the Shadow Man in the eye when he tried to grab me outta my bed.”
He blinked at her. “Wait, you threw a knife at him? What’s going on here?”
She nodded.
“Umm,” said Harper. “Mila’s been telling me some really scary stuff. Sounds like they were trying to be ninja assassins or something. From what she said, they abducted and forcibly trained her.”
“They told me to kill this man they had tied up. But I wouldn’t do it. They said they wouldn’t give me food ’til I proved myself, but I escaped. Shadows are bad. I’m sorry for bringing them here.”
Cliff ruffled her hair, smiling. “Not your fault, kid. But, if those guys were ninjas, Harper’s an NFL quarterback.”
“I’ve never even touched a football. That’s not a great analogy.”
He laughed. “That’s exactly the analogy. Those guys were about as stealthy as a cow on roller skates.”
Harper furrowed her eyebrows. “They snuck up on me… but I’m not an ex-Ranger. Guess they would seem like idiots to you.”
“Bunch of Dorito-munchers who watched too many ninja movies.” He winked.
Harper opened her mouth to make a Dorito quip about Cliff’s extra mall security guard pounds, but… he’d lost them. Why does it annoy me so much that I couldn’t find those guys and he laughed at them? I’m a kid; he’s a commando. “At least they’re gone.”
“Yeah. You planning to sleep here or head home?” asked Cliff.
“I’m worried about my mom.” Mila stood. “Can we check on her please?”
“All right.”
Harper picked up her T-shirt and jeans. “Be right out.”
“I’m already dressed. Don’t wanna leave the kids alone, do you?” asked Cliff.
“I…”
Mila smiled. “It’s okay. They need you, too.” She hugged her. “Thank you for protecting me… again.”
Cliff took Mila’s hand and led her out. Harper stood there a while, mind going in circles. Eventually, she dropped the clothes she didn’t need to change into and hit the bathroom. When she returned to bed, Madison clamped onto her.
“I don’t like having gunfights in the house. Next time, will you please take it outside?”
Her little sister sounded so much like Mom yelling whenever she and her friends messed around with a soccer ball in the house that Harper teared up. “Sorry. Won’t do it again.”
Madison sniffled. “Good.”
Minutes passed in silence, Harper staring at the ceiling, her thoughts blank.
“Damn,” whispered Madison.
“What?”
“Gotta go to the bathroom.”
Harper laughed.
“Shh,” said Lorelei. “You’re makin’ too much noise. People are tryin’ ta sleep.”
28
Varsity
The next day, Harper stumbled down the street from the school after dropping the kids off, feeling like a zombie after too much Thanksgiving turkey.
Sneaking into an unclaimed house and taking a nap sounded like an awesome idea, but if anyone caught her, she’d probably get kicked off the militia. However, going into a situation half-awake could hurt someone. She hadn’t fallen asleep by the time Cliff came home, bringing the good news that Mila’s adoptive mother had been fine… didn’t even wake up. As best Harper could figure, she’d gotten about three hours of rest before sunrise.
She crossed her fingers, hoping to take advantage of how infrequently she ran into any other militia people this far north, and slipped into a small unused house off Inverness Drive. That the place didn’t look much different from before the wa
r made it eerie, as if eighty percent of the people in the country had simply vanished into thin air one day.
Ever since she’d run off into the ashes with Madison, she’d become a light sleeper. Trusting her newfound ability to wake at slight noises, she flopped on a brown sofa in front of a big flat panel TV. Someone’s PS4 still sat on the rug, probably left out by lazy kids the night before the blast. She sighed at it, hoping the family who used to live here made it to safety. Before she could feel too depressed at that thought, she passed out.
Harper woke in what felt like mere seconds, though stiffness in her muscles suggested she’d been out for much longer. With great effort, she resisted the urge to close her eyes again and got up, walking a few circles around the living room to stretch her legs before using the toilet down the hall. That the flush worked surprised her. She remembered the town still having three actual plumbers, and wondered how long they’d be able to keep running water operating. Hopefully, some of the kids would take on apprenticeships with them. With a sigh, she trudged down the hall to the front door and went outside.
Based on the sun, she estimated it to be about an hour before school let out. Her nap had been near perfect in length. Hopefully, no one noticed she disappeared for five-ish hours. She headed up the road, acting as casual as can be, as if she’d been patrolling all morning. A few minutes after taking the left onto Canterbury Circle, and a right on Interlocken Drive, the scuff of footsteps approached from behind.
She peered back over her shoulder at Zach jogging closer, wearing a Colorado Rockies sweatshirt and jeans a little too big on him, suggesting he’d finally gone to the quartermaster for additional clothes he hadn’t packed for his away game.
Since he didn’t give off any threatening vibes, she kept walking.
“Hey,” said Zach, falling in step at her side.
“Can I help you?”
“I was kinda hoping you might be able to.”
“What’s the problem?” she droned.
“Need to report a case of felonious loneliness in the first degree.”
Gawd. She fought the urge to sigh. “That’s a serious accusation. You should probably go straight to HQ and inform Walter Holman.”
The World That Remains (Evergreen Book 2) Page 26
