by Alex Gunwick
“Dead?” The color faded from her face.
“We haven’t checked all of the houses. Last night we were trying to find a place to stay. The neighbors between here and the main street are dead. We didn’t kill them, we found them that way.”
“I have to go back to my parents’ house.”
“It’s your best option,” Luke said.
“It’s a ten-mile walk to get back.”
“You could rest before you leave,” Boyd said.
She shook her head and stared at the cat as if trying to decide what to do.
“Thank you for feeding him.”
“We didn’t kill your neighbors or break in.”
“I know. You don’t have any blood on you. Well, except on your pants. What happened to your leg?”
“Gunshot.”
“What?” Her eyebrows jolted up.
“It happened yesterday. I’m okay though. It’s only a graze.”
“Let me see it.” When he didn’t move, she added, “I’m a nurse.”
“Okay.”
He sat in a kitchen chair and held the flashlight over the gash. Although it was still red, the streaks emanating from the wound had faded.
“Who stitched you up?” she asked.
“I did.”
“It looks like Dr. Frankenstein got ahold of you.”
“I thought the stitches were good.”
“Serviceable, but you’re going to have one hell of a scar.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m more worried about infection.”
“I’ve got some antibiotics in my night stand.”
“Uh, so about those…”
“You took them.”
“Yes.”
“So you did steal from me.”
“Just the antibiotics. We didn’t think you’d be back,” Boyd said.
“I wasn’t using them anymore,” she said. “So go ahead. Take them.”
“Aren’t you supposed to take all of them until you run out?” Luke asked.
“Typically, yes. But that was my backup prescription.”
“Why did you have a backup?”
“In case I ever needed them, but couldn’t afford a doctor.”
A ball of tightness formed in Luke’s gut. He’d turned into the one thing he swore he’d never be: a thief. Although he didn’t have any way of knowing what they were for, or when the homeowners would be back, he could have waited until they found a pharmacy. Guilt and shame rose up to claim him.
“I’m sorry I took your meds.”
“You needed them. It’s not the end of the world…well, maybe it is the end of the world, but you needed them. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure my pill-popping mother has cases of pharmaceuticals at her house,” she said with a wry smile.
“Thank you.”
“Good luck out there,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many times I had to hide the kids. This place is overrun with gangs.”
“They were armed and organized before the bombs. They’re the worst threat out there.”
“No. The worst threat’s in here.” She put her hand over her heart. “People are running out of food and water. They’re starting to give up already. I see it in their eyes. At first everyone was furious, demanding to know how this could have happened. This is America, for crying out loud. But after almost two weeks, people are starting to realize how bad it’s going to get. Some people are ready to dig in and find a way to survive. Others have already resigned themselves to death. It’s pathetic. People need to come together as a community.”
“Are there people still left near your parents’ house? Good people,” he clarified.
“Yeah. They’ve lived in the same neighborhood for forty years. All of the neighbors know each other.”
“Good. Then you have a chance. The only way to survive now is to work together.”
“That’s the plan. Take care.”
Boyd walked back into the kitchen with his pack on his shoulders. He handed the other one to Luke. As they headed toward the door, Luke glanced back at the kids. Light still shone in their eyes. He hoped no one would snuff it out.
Luke sat on the edge of a freeway overpass as he popped another antibiotic pill into his mouth and washed it down with a swig of water. He peeled back the bandage on his leg. Even though he’d been walking all day, the redness and swelling had diminished significantly. He didn’t have enough pills for a full course of treatment, but hopefully it would be enough to get him home. A little rest and tender loving care from Liz would go a long way toward making him feel better.
“How many miles do we have to go?”
“Only two more,” Boyd said. “We’re two exits from my street.”
“So we should get there before sunset.”
“Easily. I can’t wait to see Vicki and the kids. You should spend the night. We’ll have a big barbecue to celebrate.”
“As much as I’d love to fall face-first down into a bed, I have to get home. I’ll walk as far as I can tonight. If I don’t make it all the way, I’ll camp away from the road. Most of the land near the cabin is a protected wildlife sanctuary, so the human population is low. I doubt someone’s going to put a bullet in my head in the middle of the night. But a mountain lion might decide to snack on me.” He grinned.
“Not enough meat on your bones,” Boyd said. “He’ll have to chew you up to get at the bone marrow.”
“Funny.”
“I haven’t felt this good in almost two weeks. Just knowing I’m this close to home is better than snorting an eightball off a hooker’s ass.”
“That’s just—wow.”
“I’m kidding. Come on, you grew up in the eighties.”
“I was a teenager.”
“Old enough for hookers and blow.”
Luke side-eyed him.
“What can I say?” Boyd held his hands up and shrugged. “I was a wild child in Riverside.”
“You don’t seem like the type.”
“My best friend died on my seventeenth birthday. He got some bad shit. I went cold turkey after that, turned my life around.”
“Damn, that’s terrible.”
“Worst birthday present ever…or the best depending on how you look at it. In a way, he saved my life. I wouldn’t be the man I am today if that hadn’t happened.”
“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”
“I’m not gonna lie and tell you it was totally easy to quit. I had way too much time on my hands and no friends. I had to cut everyone from the scene out of my life.”
“What did you do to stay busy?” Luke asked.
“Worked with an animal rescue organization.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I could wrangle the meanest, growliest dogs in the county because I understood them. They’d been hurt in some way. They were distrustful and ready to lash out at anyone and everyone, so I’d wait them out. Show them I wasn’t leaving until they came with me. I can’t tell you how many I rescued, but I can tell you, they all had a hand in rescuing me from my demons. I met Vicki at the shelter.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Her mom was the manager. Vicki would head over there after school and sit in the office doing homework. She’s a couple of years younger than me.”
“Liz is younger than me too. How’d you get her to go out with you? I figure her mom had to be watching her like a hawk.”
“She was, but that made Vicki even more irresistible. Forbidden fruit. I did have to wait until she turned eighteen, but I asked her out the next day. Her mom wasn’t too pleased at first, but I won her over. We got married a year later.”
“You said you have three kids?”
“The first one was born nine months after we got married. Molly’s twenty now. Dean came two years later, then Sam two years after that. He’s sixteen now. Two more years and we’re done raising kids.”
“You never really finish raising them. My daughter Sierra is nineteen, but she’s still a kid in a lot of wa
ys. I worry about her. I think we sheltered her too much. I don’t know if she’s ready for the kind of world we’re living in.”
“This is going to be a sink or swim world. Without power, food, water, and jobs, everyone’s going to have to either figure out how to live real quick, or die trying.”
“The first year will be the worst. People are going to starve to death or get killed. After you get settled at home, you need to go out and get as many supplies as you can. Food, water, fuel for cooking, and a way to defend your home. If you start cooking barbecue and everyone else is starving, they’re going to follow the smell and find you.”
“I hadn’t considered that.” Boyd scratched at his beard.
“You’ll have to be really careful. Set up some kind of perimeter defense, maybe put someone on watch. Do the kids still live with you? The older ones?”
“All three are still living at home. Molly wanted to take a gap year after high school. I was against it, but Vicki insisted on letting her bum around Europe. I gave in. Happy wife, happy life.”
“I know what you mean.” Luke smiled as he fished a bag of beef jerky from his pack. He bit into the salty toughness and sighed. Fortunately he’d be able to eat something else when he got back to the cabin. Anything else would do. “So what’s Molly doing now? Does she work?”
“She set up a blog and has been doing YouTube makeup videos. I don’t understand how it all works, but she’s making some money from affiliate sales. Well…she was. Now that the internet’s gone, I guess she’s jobless again.”
“We’re all jobless. What were you doing before the bombs?”
“Accountant. I love balancing profit and loss statements. I know it sounds lame, but I’ve always been good with numbers.”
“Hey, we all have different skills. It’s what makes life interesting.”
“I wonder how it will change now. The kind of skills that we’ll need to survive won’t include accounting.”
“Sure they will.”
“How?” Boyd asked.
“Someone’s got to set up rations. They need to keep track of all the food coming in and being consumed. If you don’t track your resources, you won’t know when to go out hunting for more.”
“True.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about. You were resourceful enough to get yourself from Vegas to home with nothing but the clothes on your back. If you can do that, you’ll be able to survive whatever the world throws at you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Don’t mention it. Want to get moving?”
“Yeah. We should be there in less than an hour.”
After packing up their supplies, Luke shouldered his pack. Boyd took off down the road faster than a cheetah chasing a rabbit. Luke grinned. Boyd’s love for his family matched his own. He completely understood the man’s need to haul ass. He’d probably do the same when he reached the cabin.
As he hurried after Boyd, a lightness he hadn’t felt in weeks lifted his spirits. He couldn’t wait to see Boyd reunited with his family, because it would give him hope for his own reunion. In less than twenty-four hours he’d be home with the woman he loved and his kids. He could hardly wait.
18
Elijah clenched his fists under his office desk as Turner relayed the events at the cabin. Although they’d captured the brats, they hadn’t located the woman. Two of his men remained at the cabin waiting for her to arrive, while several others set out into the forest to look for her. So far, they hadn’t brought her back.
“Your mission isn’t complete,” Elijah said.
“I know. My men will bring her back as soon as they find her,” Turner said.
“Where are the kids?”
“In the Olmens’ old house.”
“Are they secure? I can’t have them escaping.”
“They aren’t going anywhere. I have to tell you, getting more manpower is making everything much easier to control,” Turner said.
“We need even more men.”
“How many are you thinking? Five? Ten?”
“Let’s start with five more. We’ll bring them on five at a time until we’re fully operational. I want a group out hunting for supplies at all times. Another to protect the community. Another for extra projects. And of course, they’ll all need to have time off, so we’ll need multiple teams.”
“Let me run some numbers and get back to you,” Turner said. “We should be able to recruit enough men within a month.”
“Good. I couldn’t run this place without you,” Elijah said.
Although he didn’t want to share power with anyone else, he had to give Turner credit for everything he’d accomplished. As second in command, he’d proved to be a good soldier. Exactly the kind of man Elijah wanted by his side.
“I’m planning on leading a sweep of the forest,” Turner said. “After that, I’ll hike into town and look for more men.”
“Good. I’m going to talk to the kids and see if I can get any more information.”
“That girl has a mouth on her. If I were her dad, I’d wash it out with soap and tan her hide.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Elijah said.
“I should be back by sundown.”
After Turner left, Elijah unlocked the bottom drawer in his desk. He retrieved a bottle of whiskey and filled half a glass. He kicked it back, enjoying the way it burned down his throat. Although he didn’t have the mother yet, he had her kids, so it was only a matter of time before he could get rid of them for good.
He used a trail behind the church to get to the Olmen house. Three guards stood sentry. They snapped to attention when he approached.
“Good morning, sir,” Gunther said.
“Good morning. Are they still inside?”
“Yes. We nailed the windows and back door shut. The only way out is past us.”
“Excellent. I’m going in to talk to them. You and your men can take a break. Go get yourself some breakfast. Come back in fifteen minutes,” Elijah said.
“Yes, sir.”
He waited until the men disappeared around a bend in the road before unlocking the front door. His pistol shifted in his waistband. Even though he wasn’t going hungry, he’d lost enough weight in the last few weeks to loosen his pants. Once he got his teams in place, he’d have more access to food and he’d be able to bulk up.
Gloomy light filtered into the house through yellow curtains. The kids sat in chairs around the kitchen table. Sierra glared as he approached.
“Where’s your mother?”
“Like we’re going to tell you,” the boy child said.
“What’s your name, son?”
“Kyle, and I’m not your son.”
“Kyle. It’s very nice to finally meet you.”
“Don’t listen to a word he says,” Sierra said. “He’s a liar.”
“Am I? What exactly have I lied about? You don’t even know me.”
Sierra pressed her lips together and shook her head. Defiant little bitch.
“Are you hungry?” Elijah asked. “Thirsty?”
“I could go for some water.” Kyle flashed a silencing look at his sister. Maybe he was the weaker of the two, the easier one to break.
Elijah walked into the kitchen and pulled open several cabinets before finding a glass. He filled it with water from a pitcher on the counter. As far as he knew, the Olmens hadn’t returned. Maybe the guards had left the water in view to torment the kids. Or they were using it for themselves.
“You can each have as much water as you can drink as soon as you tell me where your mother’s hiding.”
“Why do you want her?” Sierra asked.
“I want to talk to her.”
“Why?”
“We need to have an adult conversation about a few things.”
“Why do you keep bothering us?” she whined. “Why don’t you leave us alone? We didn’t do anything to you.”
“Oh, but you did.” He swung a chair around and st
raddled it. He took an exaggerated sip before setting the glass on the table. “Before you showed up, we were a peaceful community. Now, there’s dissent. People are questioning my rules—our rules.”
“How could Sierra make people question you?” Kyle asked. “I don’t get it.”
“There are women in my flock who think we should all be equal, but it’s impossible. A group like ours needs strong leadership, and I’m their leader. They shouldn’t be questioning me.”
“Why not?” Sierra asked. “Why should anyone listen to you? Did they choose you as their leader, or did you just take over?”
“It’s my church. I was appointed by God.”
“I highly doubt He would appoint someone like you. You’re an egotistical asshole out for himself. Adam told me about how you starved him and his mom for no reason.”
“I had a reason.”
“What reason?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Was his mom one of the women who questioned you?” she asked. “That’s my guess. I bet you didn’t like it. You don’t like strong women who can outthink you. Women like my mom.”
“Silence!” Elijah slammed his fist against the table hard enough to knock the glass over. Water splashed across the table. The glass rolled toward the edge. He made no effort to stop it as it dropped to shatter on the floor. “You will tell me where she is, or I will make you regret it.”
“How are you going to do that, Mr. Man of God?” she asked. “Are you going to starve us too? Torture us? My mom’s going to come and get us and destroy you. Once your stupid flock finds out that you’re kidnapping and starving people, they will run you out of the community. Men like you can only survive by keeping people in a state of fear. Once they know the truth, they’ll see you’re nothing but a charlatan. A false prophet. They talk about people like you in the Bible. You use religion to further your own agenda. There’s nothing but greed and hate in your soul.”
“You little bitch.” Elijah stood so fast that the chair toppled over. “I could kill you right now. I could kill your brother and bury you both. No one would ever find you and your mother would spend the rest of her short, miserable life looking. I’d let her search and suffer until I got bored, then I’d kill her too.”
