by Payne, T. L.
As their enlarged group began to gather, Larry suggested they all take a walk across the street and ‘down the block,’ as he put it, to take a look at the progress his crew and Bo were making on the cabins. The kids and a few of the younger adults actually took off running to go see. Everyone was super excited about getting out of the cramped Henson farmhouse and into one of the cabins.
“It’s exciting, huh?” Beth said as they stepped onto the trail. Maddie smiled. This would be her first chance to see the progress they’d made. It would be nice for everyone to have their own homes.
As they rounded the corner on the old mill road and the bluff came into view above the spring and the old mill site, the excitement seemed to bump up a notch. Bo and the crew had placed the first course of logs for all four cabins.
“That's what I call a million-dollar view,” Larry said.
“This property was actually up for sale for nearly two million dollars a year ago,” Ryan said.
Larry laughed. “We got an awesome deal then.”
After visiting the site of their former cabin, a few members of the group took off to check out Ron’s old place. Maddie hadn’t been there since the flood. She had no desire to see the destruction of Ron’s home.
Instead, Maddie and Jacob headed back and took a swim in the cool waters of the spring. Maddie stretched out on a blanket under a shady tree and tried to imagine how the new government could possibly rebuild the infrastructure and return law and order to the country. She was sure that if it were possible, Rank, Aims, and Harding would be the ones leading the way.
“The crews have done a great job cleaning up Ron’s place. They even burned all the debris already. It’s almost like it was never—”
“Don’t,” Maddie said. “Don’t say it.”
Zach looked apologetic. He glanced toward the sky. She knew he hadn’t meant any disrespect to Ron’s memory. She felt bad for making him feel guilty.
Larry had built a shed and corral to hold the wild horses Aaron, John, and Erick had brought back from Eminence. Maddie was thrilled that they’d somehow managed to even catch the stallion.
Maddie extended her good arm toward Zach. “Help me up, and let’s go get Harmony’s surprise.”
Harmony’s smile looked fake. Maddie wondered if Zach noticed. She’d had a rough time getting past what had happened at Nelson’s. They had a team out every day searching for Dillon and Chloe, but they hadn’t found them. After two weeks, there still hadn’t been any sign of them. If Rank had been there, he and Lugnut could have tracked them down. Maddie loved Harmony’s soft heart, but they’d needed to get back to work on the farm. If the new government was successful, maybe life would get easier for everyone again, but for now, they still had to fight to survive—fight the elements and the people bent on destruction.
“Before you open the lid, Gene has a little surprise for you,” Maria said.
Maddie scowled at her. Whatever it was could wait. The ice cream was melting.
Harmony looked around for Gene. The crowd gathered around her parted and Gene stepped forward, a little blonde girl perched on his hip.
Harmony shot to her feet. “Dillon! Chloe!” She grabbed Chloe from Gene and scooped up Dillon with her other arm.
“One of the women had taken them home with her. She’d lost her children in the flu pandemic last winter. From what I could tell, they were doing well with her. They wanted to come and thank you for helping them,” Gene said.
Harmony wore the biggest smile as she led them back to the wagon where Maddie waited with her second birthday surprise.
Harmony opened the lid on the cooler, and surprise spread across her face.
“What’s in there, Harmony?” Emma asked, pushing past Zach and rushing over. “What is that?”
“Is it?” Harmony asked as she lifted one of the containers out of the cooler.
Zach handed her a spoon. “Try it.”
Harmony spooned a scoop of ice cream into her mouth and shut her eyes.
“What is it?” Emma repeated, jumping up and down.
Without a word, Harmony scooped another spoonful and handed it to Emma. Emma shoved the spoon into her mouth and squealed with delight.
“Ice cream! We have ice cream!” Emma handed the spoon to Chloe. “You just have to try this.”
“Make a wish, Harmony,” Emma said.
Harmony smiled and put her finger to her temple.
“Let me see.” She nodded and then blew out the candle on her cupcake.
Emma clapped her hands together. “Yay! Let’s eat cake and ice cream.”
“I have something for you too, Harmony,” Jacob said, handing her a neatly-wrapped package.
Maddie gave him a sideways glance.
“What is it?” Harmony asked, taking the package and unwrapping it.
“Just open it,” he said.
“Is that what you traded your books for?” Maddie leaned in and whispered.
He nodded.
Harmony held up the Condor tactical belt and a CQC belt-mounted holster. At first, she looked confused but then a smile spread across her face. “You remembered? But that guy wanted too much for them.”
“I’m very persuasive,” Jacob said.
As Zach helped Harmony adjust the size of the belt and screw the holster into place, Maddie and Jacob took the opportunity to slip away to swim in the spring again.
“That was a nice thing you did for Harmony. How’d you know it was her birthday?” Maddie asked.
Jacob grinned. “I found an inscription in one of the books Harmony lent me. It was from her mother for her fifteenth birthday. It was dated.”
“That was sweet of you,” Maddie said, kissing his cheek. “It’s the perfect gift for a sixteen-year-old girl in the apocalypse.” Maddie was quiet for a moment. “She should’ve gotten a car for her birthday.”
“Maybe Stephens and the new president can get the country back up and running. If Brazil is still making weapons, they might be still making cars.”
She put her finger to her chin. If South American hadn’t been hit, life would have gone on as normal. They’d still have power and working vehicles. They might even have Pepsi. “How far away is Brazil, do you think?”
Thank you for purchasing Mayhem: Book Six in the Days of Want series. If you enjoyed it, I’d like to hear from you and hope that you could take a moment and post an honest review on Amazon. Your support and feedback will help this author improve for future projects. Without the support of readers like yourself, self-publishing would not be possible. Click here to leave your review. Don’t forget to sign up for my spam-free newsletter at www.tlpayne.com to be the first to know of new releases, giveaways and special offers.
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Have you started my Gateway to Chaos series, yet? Turn the page for a free sneak peek from book one of Seeking Safety.
Preview of Seeking Safety
Gateway to Chaos, Book One
Delmar Arms Apartments
St. Louis, Missouri
February 8th - 7:30 p.m. CST
Raine Caldwell was startled by the slamming of a car door. Keys rattled, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. She stopped cold in the blackness. Raine hated walking to her apartment building in the dark. The security lights were out in the parking lot. She wished now that she'd fished the flashlight out of her bookbag before exiting her car.
Standing on the sidewalk with a laundry basket balanced on one hip and a bottle of laundry detergent in her other hand, she wished she'd hadn’t stuffed her apartment key into her pants pocket. Her heart began to race as the footsteps were joined by a second sound of clomping boots on concrete. They
were moving quickly in her direction. Raine picked up her pace. She tried to tell herself she was just paranoid. She considered stepping aside and letting them pass, but one side of the narrow sidewalk was bordered by thorny bushes and the other by parked cars.
The tone of the voices supported her presumption that the clomping feet behind her belonged to two males.
How close were they? She was afraid to look. Her heart was hammering inside her chest.
“Want some help with that basket, pretty momma?” a husky voice behind her asked.
“Twenty more feet. Just twenty more feet. Don’t panic,” she told herself.
“No, thank you,” Raine yelled back as she rushed toward the door.
“Come on. That big old laundry basket looks way too heavy for a little thing like you.”
“No. I’ve got it. Thanks.”
Ten more feet.
“No, really. Let me get that for you,” the man hollered insistently.
Raine heard the heavy footfalls speed up. She didn’t dare turn to look—that would take too much time. Relief washed over her as she approached the door and discovered it propped open. Normally, she’d be upset with her neighbors’ lax security, but at that moment, it was a blessing.
As she went through, she kicked the rock holding the door open and let it bang shut behind her. When she reached the stairwell to her third-floor apartment, she realized the light in the stairwell was out as well. She’d have to climb them in the dark. Raine tripped on the first step, righted herself, and took the rest of the stairs two at a time. The sound of her own feet hitting the steps drowned out any possibility of hearing if the men had followed her. If they had, she couldn’t be sure how close they were.
At the third-floor landing, Raine dropped the basket and detergent and reached into her right front pocket for the door key. At that moment, she wanted to kick herself for carrying a keyring with so many charms and keys that made it difficult to remove from her jeans.
Raine fumbled with her keys before locating the correct one. As she attempted to unlock the door, she dropped the keys with a clatter.
“Crap!” she said out loud.
Raine quickly knelt and frantically ran her hand across the floor. The mere seconds it took to locate the keys felt like hours as she listened for the men. The door downstairs banged shut. Were they in the building? Footfalls in the stairwell echoing off the walls amplified her urgency to get inside.
She vowed to herself to move to a safer neighborhood once her lease was up, but this apartment had been the cheapest place she could find this close to campus, and she was already a mile and a half away from the university. She hadn’t expected rent in St. Louis to be so high. Housing around WashU's campus wasn’t cheap. Still, it was less expensive than living in the dorm, and having roommates helped sometimes.
By her left foot, she finally located the keyring and grabbed it. She shot to her feet and quickly inserted the key into the lock. The footfalls grew louder. They were nearing the top of the landing when she turned the knob and pushed it open with her left hand. With her right hand, she reached for the baseball bat she kept by the door. She turned on her heel and backed into her apartment. As she did, she felt for the light switch. She flipped it up.
Nothing. Her apartment remained pitch-black.
Raine took two quick steps back into her apartment and slammed the door. With her left hand, she turned the deadbolt and slid the chain across. She turned and put her back against the door, her breaths coming in rapid gasps. After placing the bat back into its position leaning against the wall by the door, Raine bent forward, attempting to catch her breath before reaching for the lamp on the side table next to the sofa. Tripping over shoes and her roommate's overstuffed backpack, she extended her right arm and caught herself on the table. Feeling her way up the lamp, she found the switch and turned it—still nothing.
Damn you, Gage. You forgot to pay the electric bill? Again? Really?
Sharing a tiny apartment with three other people hadn’t been her dream living arrangement, but she was a pre-medical student, and money was beyond tight. As her foot hit the backpack a second time, she recalled that her roommate, Elle Ferguson, kept a flashlight in her bag for the long walks across campus at night. Dropping to her knees, Raine felt for the cylinder-shaped object that should be clipped to the outside of her bag. Finally feeling the cold metal, she unclipped it, felt for the switch, and flicked on the small flashlight. It wasn’t super bright, but it illuminated their tiny living room. The clothes strewn about the floor at her feet reminded her that her laundry was still in the hallway by the stairs where she’d dropped it.
Crap!
She turned and looked through the peephole. It was too dark to see anything.
Raine put her ear to the door and listened. She no longer heard the sound of the men’s boots in the hall or in the stairwell. She listened for what seemed like an hour but was probably only a minute or two. She thought she heard whispers, then…nothing. She caught her breath when the door at the bottom of the stairwell slammed shut followed by…silence again. After another minute of listening to nothing, Raine suddenly exhaled, realizing she’d been holding her breath. Raine unlocked the deadbolt and slid the chain back. Raine again grabbed the baseball bat and listened once more before turning the knob. Opening the door just a crack, she shined the flashlight out, scanning the hallway to her right. Not seeing anyone, Raine eased the door open wider and pointed the flashlight’s beam to the left.
Gathering her courage, Raine darted into the hall and flipped her laundry basket upright, stuffing her now-unfolded clothes and the bottle of detergent into the basket before rushing back through her open door and pulling it shut. Raine turned the deadbolt and slid the chain into its slot. The hair on the back of her neck stood as her overactive mind developed a vivid image of the men slipping in while she was getting her laundry. Raine turned and scanned the room with the flashlight.
Satisfied that no one was in the room, Raine turned toward the hallway that led to her room. The first room on the left belonged to her roommates, Elle and Rodney. The next room on the right was Gage’s. At the end of the hall was her tiny bedroom—her escape from the world. And today, she just wanted to escape.
After dropping the basket by her door, Raine plopped on her bed and put her head in her hands. Her pulse pounded, the sound of it loud in her ears. Her breath came in gasps.
Get a grip, Raine.
She took several deep breaths and let them out slowly as she nervously twisted her diamond stud nose ring.
What an awful end to an otherwise crappy day.
While she’d been thrilled when her research project mentor had asked to meet to discuss her project, she greatly resented that he’d pushed the supervisory task to his research assistant. She disliked the guy. He wasn’t committed to the project and hadn’t shown the same enthusiasm the professor had. She’d thought Professor Berry understood how important her genetic research project was. He seemed equally passionate about finding a cure for Ewing’s sarcoma.
His assistant was condescending, and when he’d expressed his sympathy for the loss, he’d said it like losing her brother to pediatric cancer somehow disqualified her from objectively carrying out the project. And when she called him on it, he even said that Raine might be oversensitive. How the hell did he know what it felt like to have a sibling die of cancer? Overly sensitive? No. Raine was passionate about finding a cure. Shouldn’t he be? Overly ambitious for an undergraduate project—that was his critique. Despite his apparent apathy, she’d somehow have to make it work. It was too important for her to let his bias stop her.
Tears stung Raine’s eyes
I won’t give up, David. I miss you, Bubba.
Raine fell back on her bed. She didn’t even bother taking off her clothes before curling up and pulling the covers over her head. She was bone-tired and being chased up the stairs to her apartment had sapped what little energy she'd had. She was sleep-deprived and stressed from e
xams, and she just needed eight uninterrupted hours. She’d deal with her roommate not paying the electric bill tomorrow. She didn’t need electricity to sleep anyway, right? Wrong! She suddenly realized it was freezing cold in her room.
Reluctantly, Raine threw back the covers, climbed out of bed, and slid her closet door open. On the floor was her hiking backpack. She recalled her last long hike as she loosened a drawstring to pull her sleeping bag out. It still smelled faintly of pine needles. She wished she was there, in the mountains of Colorado—or Utah. Anywhere but St. Louis in the dead of winter.
It wasn’t that she disliked the city. St. Louis was a great place, except for some sketchy parts of town—like where she lived. She just needed a break—a break from the grueling class schedule and from the spoiled rich kids from California and New York that seemed to dominate the campus. She’d refused to join a sorority and wasn’t interested in going to nonstop frat parties, and that seemed to have made her an outcast. She felt invisible.
Most days, Raine didn’t mind being unseen. She was used to it. Raine had even grown to like it. She had been invisible to her mother and father. And to the nurses and doctors of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where she’d spent the better part of three years during her older brother David's cancer treatments. He’d been the one person who'd seen her—really understood her. Now, she just felt alone.
Raine held the sleeping bag up to her nose, inhaled the fresh pine scent, stood, and rolled it out on the bed. She unzipped it and crawled in, then reached toward the foot of her bed to pull the quilt her grandmother had made her up and over her head as she flopped back. She inhaled deeply, held it, let it out, then quickly fell asleep as memories of hiking with her brother in sunny and warm Arizona washed over her.
Delmar Arms Apartments
St. Louis, Missouri
February 9th - 4:00 a.m. CST
