by Payne, T. L.
“Are we in a barn?”
“Girl. You just don’t get it. No. We are not in a barn. It looks like a large garage or shop building. The walls are metal, and the floor is concrete.”
A concrete floor meant no tunneling out, at least not without chipping away a lot of concrete.
“How many guards are there?”
“Four that I saw. The four men who brought you in here.”
Maddie shuddered at the memory of their hands on her. She pushed the memory away. She had to focus.
“Are we the only two prisoners here?” She dreaded the answer.
“Yes and no. We’re the only two locked in this small room. The others are in the main area.”
“Did you see any of them? Did you see a boy about fifteen, brown hair, wearing a brown shirt and boots? He was with a girl with honey-colored hair. She was wearing a yellow floral print headwrap.”
“Yeah. I saw her. I can’t say about the boy. They hurried me in here so fast.”
Maddie’s lower lip trembled. At least she knew Harmony was alive.
Zach was too. He had to be.
Gene, Aims, and Harding would get help. They would make it back to the farm and get the others. They’d bring back an army to rescue them. They just had to make it until then. Jacob—he’d be out of his mind with worry. So would her mom and Emma. She needed out of the damn box. She had to find Zach.
Maddie wiggled onto her side, trying again to slip her hands free. There wasn’t room enough to bring her legs up. She wouldn’t be able to slip her hands under her feet like she’d done when she’d been taken by the Goth brothers. She shook off the image of Kelly Goth’s expression when she’d shot him.
The heat inside the box was unbearable as she struggled to break free. She was hyperventilating. It was dark, and the air was thin. Had they at least drilled air holes in the thing?
“Can you open this box?” Maddie asked. “I’m having trouble breathing.”
When she didn’t receive a response right away, she thought the woman was gone. She almost panicked at the thought of being stuck in there all alone.
Finally, the girl said, “I can’t help you. They’ll hurt me again if I do. If you’re smart, you won’t fight. They’ll only hurt you. No matter how tough you think you are, they’ll break you.”
No matter how tough she thought she was? She wasn’t as physically tough as she’d been nine months ago when she’d encountered the Goth brothers, but she wasn’t that same scared girl either. If she got the chance, she wouldn’t hesitate to take these animals out, too. She wouldn’t stop until her friends and family were free and safe.
“How long will they keep me in here?” Maddie asked, relaxing her shoulders. She needed to conserve her strength to fight the men when they opened the box.
“It depends. One girl spent two days in there. If you don’t give them any trouble, they could let you out tonight. Anyway, I heard them say they were moving us tomorrow, as soon as their boss gets here.”
Moving? They must know about Gene and the others. They must have gotten away. But if they move us before they can bring help…
Lugnut and Rank can track us.
Hope slipped away as she recalled that Lugnut and Rank had gone to help Stephens find her gold. She replayed the conversation about tracking the Godwin boys over and over in her mind. How long would it take for someone to track Lugnut, Rank, and Ryan down and get them headed this way? A day? Two days? Too long. Until then, they were on their own.
“Did you see any small children?” Maddie feared they’d left the kids behind. Dillon and Chloe were likely so frightened that they’d stayed hidden. The men might not even have known they were there. The irony was that the children's odds of survival were lower out there on their own than here with these animals. Could she even find them if they ran away?
“I saw a little blonde girl,” the woman said. “Is she yours?”
“No. They’re orphans we found on the road. They were hiding in the brush when I was taken.”
“They separate kids from their parents. They use the kids to control you.”
Rage rose within Maddie. The thought of helpless children being traumatized like that. There were so few kids left. So many had fallen ill or been the victim of evil people with no one to stop them. Maddie thought about what Stephens had said about the new government’s goal of restoring law and order. That was the one thing they needed most. They could somehow eke out a living off the land, but keeping what they managed to obtain was their biggest hurdle to survival now. Evil people seemed to be growing stronger by preying on the weak. Before long, there might not be any good people left.
Good people? She wouldn’t fit into her pre-apocalypse definition of the term. There was a thin line, and often that line was blurry. She often questioned which side she was on. The thought lingered for what seemed like hours as she contemplated how far she was willing to go to save herself and the ones she loved. Her lack of remorse for those she killed, as she decided who lived and who died, no longer bothered her. She had no qualms about it. She would do whatever it took for her family to survive.
“What’s your name? Maddie asked.
“Aubrey. What’s yours?”
“Maddie. Maddie Langston.”
“Maddie. Are you the Maddie Langston from Evening Shade?” Aubrey asked.
“Yes. I’m from Evening Shade,” Maddie replied. “Have we met?”
“No. I used to live in Houston. My dad told us about what you did at the prison. That was badass.”
“You may know my husband then, Jacob Rawlings.” Maddie didn’t want to think about what she’d done at the prison. She and the others had done what they needed to do to protect their families and the community from violent offenders. They hadn’t been left with any choice when the military pulled out and left no one to guard six hundred maximum-security prisoners. Letting murderers and rapist loose in the community wasn’t an option.
“I know Jacob. We went to school together. He’s my brother’s age. I didn’t know he’d gotten married. Congratulations. He’s a great guy.”
Maddie agreed. It was nice to hear others say so. Everyone loved Jacob. Even her father would have liked him. She felt a familiar pang of grief. She’d experienced it more and more lately. The loss had hit her hard on her wedding day. Every girl wanted her father there to walk her down the aisle. But not only did he miss her wedding, he wasn’t there to see how she and Zach were using the skills and training he’d provided them. All she could do now is try to make him proud. What would he do in this situation? She knew one thing: he wouldn’t just sit there and wait for help.
“Thanks. Jacob and the rest of my family will be looking for us, but I’m not sure how long it will be. We should be ready for it. Is there anything in the room we can use as a weapon?” Maddie asked.
She would play along with these assholes as long as she could and bide her time for her family to come to rescue them, but if an opportunity presented itself? She’d act. She’d need to find Zach, Maria, and the others and let them know to be ready. When the time was right, they’d make them regret ever messing with the Langston group.
Chapter 19
With her hands tied behind her back, Maddie was unable to wipe the sweat from her brow. She had tried every trick she knew to calm herself as she waited inside the stifling-hot box. It was so difficult to keep positive and not lose hope. She thought back to all her training. All those hours and hours of doing hand-to-hand combat drills with Lugnut, and escape-and-evasion practice with Rank, had provided her and Zach with many skills that had helped them through the last nine months. At the time, she had never dreamed how often she’d be called upon to use those skills to save her life or the lives of those she loved. But none of her training had prepared her for being trapped inside a box.
Maddie’s stomach growled. She tried to recall the last time she’d eaten. She was so very thirsty. Her lips were parched, and her tongue clung to the roof of her mouth.
> “Aubrey? Are you still there, Aubrey?”
“I’m here.”
“Can you tell if it’s dark out?” Maddie asked.
It was likely that Lugnut and Rank would wait for dark to hit the compound. They’d watch for a while to see how many guards there were and how they came and went. Then they’d come and rescue them. They’d want to hit before daylight.
“I can’t tell. There isn’t a window.”
She’d forgotten that.
“What about light coming under the door?” Maddie asked.
“It’s dark. I can’t see anything.”
Maddie tried to calculate how long she had been in the box, but she was so hot and dehydrated that concentrating was difficult. Realistically, however long it had been probably had not been enough time for Aims or Harding to find Lugnut and Rank and bring them back here. She couldn’t afford to wait. She had to be ready for the moment when they opened the crate.
“Do you hear anything, Aubrey?”
“Crying. I hear people crying.”
A second later, the crying grew loud enough for Maddie to hear, and then she could make out shouting.
What was going on? Could it be Lugnut and Rank? Were they here already? She felt her mood lift. She wanted to scream, “I’m in here.”
“What’s going on, Aubrey?” Maddie asked
“They’re back. They’re separating the families.”
Maddie’s heart sank. She knew that Rank and Lugnut were excellent trackers and they’d find them wherever they moved them to, but that would take more time.
“How do you know they’re separating families?” Maddie asked, trying to focus on the moment.
“One lady is screaming for them not to take her babies. A man is telling a woman that everything will be all right, and he’ll see her at the farm.”
“They separate men from the women, too?” Maddie asked.
Harmony would freak out without Zach. He’d likely do something foolish and get himself hurt…but no, Zach was like her mom. He was cautious and thought things through.
But if they separated everyone, how would she find the others? What about Gene, Aims, and Harding? Would they at least keep them together? She had to hold on to the hope that Gene, Aims, and Harding got away. If not, they were all on their own against dozens of well-armed and well-fed guards.
She heard a loud bang and thought at first thought it was gunfire, until she heard the man speak.
“Did you learn your lesson this time, Aubrey?”
“Yes, sir. I will never try to leave again. I promise.”
“You won’t try to go looking for Jack?” the man asked.
“No. There’s nothing out there for me. I see that now,” Aubrey said.
“All right then, go join the others in the wagon. I have to give the orientation speech to our newcomer there.”
“You’ll want to watch out for her. She’s going to be trouble.”
That bitch. She’s selling me out.
“Oh yeah?” the man asked. Maddie could hear scraping on the box above her and then a prying sound. “Why do you think that?”
“She asked a lot of questions. And she wanted me to find something to use as a weapon.”
The man laughed. “Don’t you remember your first day here? You head-butted one of the guards and bit another.”
“I remember.”
“Go join the others. And, Aubrey, keep your head down. I’m still watching you.”
The nails holding the lid on the box squealed as the man pried it open. Maddie considered her options. She could bust through when the last nail was removed, maybe knock the man over and make her escape, or she could wait until he opened it and headbutt him as he tried to pull her from the box. But, if she did that, how many guards would she have to fight on her way to the door? They’d have guns. She would be no good to anyone dead.
Instead, when he opened the lid, she allowed him to pull her to her feet. She didn’t resist. She didn’t slam her head into his nose like she wanted to. The first thing she noticed about the man was his long, red beard.
“I hear you’re a spunky one. That’s okay. The boss likes ‘em spunky,” said the man. This man had tattoos on his face and both arms. He had piercing blue eyes. Red hair, like Emma’s, poked out from under his black ballcap. He motioned for her to step out of the box. “What’s your name?” he asked.
That caught her off guard. She hadn’t expected him to ask her that. Why would he care what her name was?
“Jennifer. Jennifer Brown,” she lied. Jennifer Brown had been her best friend in high school. She was kind and sweet and got along with everyone. Maddie’s opposite. Why had her name been the first she’d thought of? Maybe that was who she needed to pretend to be right now. She’d pretend to be meek and mild-mannered until the time came not to be.
“Please don’t hurt me. I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t hurt me.” Was that what damsels in distress said in the movies?
“No one wants to hurt you. You just do as you’re told, and there won’t be a problem.” The man pointed to a metal chair in the corner of the room. That was when the smell hit her. Next to the chair was a piss bucket. It was nearly overflowing. The man noticed her staring at it and said, “Let’s do this out there.” He nodded toward the door, and Maddie took a step in that direction. He grabbed her arm. “Nice and slow.”
The main section of the large steel building didn’t smell that much better, but at least air from the open door was circulating and diluting some of the odor. He pushed Maddie down onto a crate and pulled one over for himself.
“Now, why don’t you tell me what you were doing lurking around our driveway.”
That question she had anticipated. “I was tracking my horse. Someone took it. I need to get it back.”
“And you think one of us took it?” Red Beard asked.
“No! I think the neighbor boy did. He asked to borrow one to go find his father. When mine went missing, I assumed…”
“You talking about the two kids we found hiding in the woods near where we found you?” the man asked. He didn’t appear to be buying her story. She didn’t care. She didn’t really need him to. She just needed to throw him off the truth.
“You found him. Did he have my horse? I need to get that back. We need—”
“Is that gray mare yours?” he asked.
“Yes! You found her?”
“No.”
Maddie faked a look of confusion. She glanced around the building. “What is this place? Why am I here, and why was I put in a box?” She tried to sound concerned but not demanding.
“This is the reception center for Sunnydale Ranch. New recruits stop here before going on to their first duty station. You were put in the box to show you what happens if you disobey or try to go AWOL. Do you want to end up in a pine box permanently?”
She hung her head as a sign of surrender. “No, sir.”
“Okay, since you seem to have learned your lesson, we’re going to load up and head to the ranch.” He stood and held out his hand to her. “But if you forget what I said or try to stir up trouble as you did with Aubrey, I’ll put you back in the box and bury you six feet under.”
Maddie swallowed hard. If she had been as desperate as most of the folks working for Nelson, she likely would have preferred the box. But she had a husband and a family. Emma would be devastated if she didn’t come back. Emma had just recently been able to sleep through the night without nightmares. They had all just started to feel safer.
“I’ll behave,” Maddie said, still staring at her feet.
Maddie spotted Harmony first. Her bright yellow headscarf stood out. Harmony looked up, and Maddie looked away. She hoped Harmony wouldn’t give her away. As she climbed onto the back of the wagon, she tried to locate Maria. The men and children must have been in a separate wagon because this one only held women. Maddie counted eight, including the traitor, Aubrey. Maddie took a seat next to a young girl who could not have been much older
than Emma. The small girl trembled with fear as the driver released the brake, and the team of horses took off down the driveway. Some of the women whimpered. No one spoke. The man she’d spoken to, along with four others, rode horseback behind the wagon.
As they pulled onto the blacktop, Maddie quickly glanced into the woods along the road, hoping to see a sign that one of the men with her had escaped and would be sending help. She didn’t want to alert the guards, so she turned her attention to the women in the wagon. Maria wasn’t among them. Had she escaped? Was she on her way home to get help now? Maddie had so many more questions than answers. All she knew was she had to find a way to get her and Harmony out of there. But first, she needed to speak to Harmony and find out about Zach and the others.
Chapter 20
The Nelson Ranch
Dent County, Missouri
July 15th
Nelson’s house looked even larger than it had from the bluff overlooking the ranch. Maddie was relieved to know the locations of guards outside the house on the grounds. Twenty-four hours before, when she had stared down at the place, filled with pity for the poor souls trapped there, she hadn’t imagined she’d ever become one of them.
The wagon pulled past the big house and around to a building on the north side of the property. It stopped, and a side door opened. A tall, stocky man in his late thirties dressed all in black stepped out. In his hand, he held an electronic cigarette. Maddie hadn’t seen one since the early days after the lights went out. She had almost forgotten they had ever existed.
“That’s some haul, Bart. A good mix. The boss will be pleased,” the man said.
He was talking about them like they were livestock.
“Yep, got some good ones for you. Wilson and Carson took the men over to the Walsh place so they could get started building the fence and digging that well. McCoy and his crew will be back with the horses anytime. Boss said he wanted that pasture fenced in before the horses arrive.”
“How many hands did you send over there?”
