Cloverdale (Book 4): Confrontation

by Miller, Bruno

  Vince did his best to stay awake so he could talk to Mary about her day, but his eyelids were growing heavy and he found it difficult to keep them open. Not even Nugget’s intermittent snoring was enough to keep him up, and before Mary was done in the bathroom, Vince was dreaming of better days.

  * * *

  “Vince… Vince, get up!” Mary shook his shoulder, and he slowly came to. He rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on her face. Nugget was standing on the bed next to him and wagging her tail, oblivious to the nature of the disturbance. Vince was about to ask Mary what was wrong, but when he heard two short blasts from the air horn, he knew exactly what was going on. The looters were back.

  They had decided to use the air horn instead of the truck’s horn. The horn on the pickup was weak to begin with, and Vince was afraid that it wouldn’t be loud enough to alert everyone. The other reason for the air horn was so that the looters would hear it, too. Vince and John both thought it was a good way to let their attackers know they’d been spotted and that the people of Cloverdale were ready and waiting to hold their ground.

  Vince couldn’t believe he’d slept through the first blast.

  Mary pulled back the curtain and peered out into the night. “I knew they’d be back.”

  Vince knew as well, but that didn’t mean he was ready for it. His grogginess turned to anger as he sat up and fumbled for his boots in the darkness. Why couldn’t these animals leave them alone? Was it too much to ask to get a full night’s sleep these days?

  “Stay here until I figure out what’s going on, okay?” Vince tucked the .45 into its holster and picked up the shotgun leaning next to the door. Mary already had her shotgun out and ready by the bed.

  “Be careful,” she pleaded, but Vince was already on his way out the door. He only nodded as he slipped out and pulled it closed behind him. Still half-asleep and trying to come to terms with what was actually happening, Vince paused for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the lack of light and to get his bearings. He let out a sigh as he checked his watch and abandoned any hope of sleeping tonight.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  John and Cy were already outside their rooms and looked like they were struggling to accept what was going on just as much as he was. With the looters’ apparent lack of interest in Cloverdale lately, they had all become a little complacent. Cy hopped awkwardly on one foot as he pulled on his remaining shoe and tried to keep the AR slung over his shoulder.

  “I saw headlights out near the interstate overpass,” Mark Meyer, who was standing watch in the pickup at the edge of the parking lot, called out. A few of the others started to come out of their rooms, and Vince was happy to see that they were all carrying their weapons. Not because he wanted a fight, but because they were ready for one.

  They all made their way over to the pickup truck, and Mark handed John the binoculars through the open window.

  “I don’t see anything now, but someone is out there. I know what I saw.” Vince believed Mark, but John was beginning to shake his head while he glassed the area.

  “I don’t see anything.” John handed the binoculars to Vince and shouldered his AR to look through the scope instead. Vince studied the area around the underpass as best as he could but saw nothing as well. Of course, it was pitch black; someone could have been standing in the middle of the road out there and they would have easily missed them.

  “We need to take a closer look. Let’s move up to the wall,” Vince suggested. That was why they had built the barrier, and now all the sweat and back-breaking work that had gone into the wall of cars was going to pay off. They no longer had to worry about the looters, or anyone else for that matter, charging into town in a vehicle and taking shots at them. At the very least, the wall gave them a defensible position with cover and helped level the playing field.

  Vince had initially felt guilty about having the younger kids fill sandbags, but now he was glad they’d helped fortify the wall in certain areas. The sandbags were placed in strategic areas along the wall and under some of the vehicles so the gap between the bottom of the cars and the ground didn’t leave their legs exposed. It would also allow them to move along the wall without giving away their locations to someone on the outside.

  The group split up and took positions about twenty yards apart from each other along the wall. Vince wished they had the spotlights rigged up, but they hadn’t had time to do that yet. Being able to light up the road and bordering fields that led into town from the interstate would have really given them an advantage. The taller weeds swaying in the occasional breeze only added to the difficulty of trying to spot anyone.

  Vince wished he had his tractor with the bush hog implement to clear the fields and ditches of the tall grass, at least in the immediate vicinity of the wall and along the road. Without the usual highway crews cutting grass, some of the more aggressive weeds had grown almost waist high in a week’s time. The taller vegetation cast shadows on the ground from the faint moonlight that filtered through the clouds and made it nearly impossible to differentiate between shadow and threat. If he stared long enough, his imagination took over and he saw things that weren’t there, like a man with a gun crawling on the ground.

  Vince glanced down the wall at the small groups they had split into and then back out beyond the wall. It gave his eyes a break and helped him discern the shapes he was seeing or not seeing. The fact that he hadn’t really slept much wasn’t helping. He rubbed at his eyes as he strained to focus. This could go on all night: sitting and waiting for something that might or might not be real. He began to question if Mark had actually spotted anything at all.

  “I don’t see anything.” Cy leaned on the hood of the Chevy Tahoe they were hiding behind and scanned their surroundings for any signs of life.

  “There could be somebody out there twenty feet away tonight and we wouldn’t be able to see them,” John said without looking away from the scope on his AR.

  Vince was about to suggest that they let some of the others return to the motel for some much-needed rest and just keep a skeleton crew here at the wall until they knew what was going on, but suddenly, a loud crack broke the silence. Instinctively, Vince ducked behind the SUV, but not before he noticed the muzzle flash light up the area under the interstate. He heard the bullet hit somewhere down the wall and checked to see if everyone was all right. He counted heads as best as he could in the limited light.

  “Well, I guess we know that Mark really did see something. Do you think it’s the looters?” Cy asked. Before Vince could answer, glass shattered somewhere down the wall as another bullet struck a vehicle’s window.

  Vince heard a muffled cry from the next closest group to them. “You guys okay?”

  “No, Tom’s covered in glass and he’s cut pretty bad,” Bill answered.

  “Get him back to the motel and tell the others to stay in their rooms. And no lights.” Vince didn’t want to give the shooter any targets. He figured the shots being fired weren’t aimed at anyone in particular, not in this light. He wished now more than ever that he had his M1A scout .308 from the safe. His shotgun was useless at this range, even if he could see what he was shooting at.

  Boom! The unmistakable sound of a shotgun startled him. Vince spun around and saw Fred Morgan aiming over the hood of a car.

  Boom! He shot again before Vince could stop him.

  “Fred, stop shooting and get down,” Vince yelled. Not only was Fred wasting ammunition at this distance, but he was also giving the looters or whoever was shooting a clear target. Sure enough, only a few seconds passed before Fred’s shots were answered with return gunfire from the underpass.

  “We can’t just sit here and let them shoot at us,” Fred yelled back. Vince could hear the frustration in his voice.

  “I agree, but you’re wasting ammo at this distance. The buckshot you’re using won’t even reach them from here,” Vince answered back. Fred was right, though; they couldn’t sit here trading shots all night.

  Two mo
re shots pinged off the wall. These two shots were close enough together that Vince knew they were dealing with more than one person. It was probably the looters, back for revenge.

  “I got you, you little—” Crack…crack! John squeezed off two quick shots from his AR before sinking back down behind the Tahoe. This time, there was no return fire. Instead, Vince heard a car start up, followed a few seconds later by revving engines.

  “I think they’re leaving.” Cy peered over the hood. Vince looked as well and saw two sets of taillights fleeing from the underpass. Cy took a shot at the vehicles as they drove away, but it had no effect on the retreating lights. Maybe John had hit one of them. Vince continued to watch the cars until the taillights were too dim to follow anymore. It was the looters, all right; it had to be.

  Who else would show up out of nowhere and start shooting? The attack was probably a continuation of their efforts to wear down and harass Vince and the others. At least that was what he thought their plan was. The wall probably took the looters by surprise. But now that they knew what they were up against, they would surely start working on a plan to breach the barrier. Even more reason to get the lights installed.

  There went his plans for tomorrow, along with any chance of rest and relaxation. Not that he thought he was actually going to relax, but he was at least hoping to slow down a bit. He wouldn’t ask anything of the others, but his new priority for tomorrow was mounting those spotlights. He checked his watch again. Who was he kidding? Tomorrow was already here. His plans to drive out to his and Mary’s houses with Nugget would have to wait.

  It would only be a matter of time before the looters were back for more. And now that they knew about the wall, they would come prepared. It was also time to post a man on watch at the other end of the enclosure, at least at night. He hated having to do that, but they would’ve had to eventually anyway. They were already stretched thin with their current watch schedule, but what choice did they have? The looters would eventually try to gain access from another location, and it would almost definitely be at the other end of town. Vince and the other survivors had to be ready for them.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Vince and the remaining few who ran out to repel the attack at the wall stayed for a few more minutes to make sure the looters were truly leaving. Once they were satisfied that the danger was gone, everyone began to make their way back to the motel. Mark stayed behind to finish out his watch shift with the radio in hand and the air horn close by his side. His brother, Richard, volunteered to finish out the night and keep an eye on things at the south end of town.

  The first thing Vince did was check up on Tom to see how badly he was hurt. The poor guy couldn’t catch a break between the gunshot wound to his arm and now this. Vince had to admit, he was mostly concerned about whether Tom would be able to continue helping, especially when it came to the solar electric system. He couldn’t help but feel a little selfish for thinking this way. Although he of course genuinely cared about Tom’s well-being, there was always the bigger picture to consider.

  When Vince arrived at Tom and Beverly’s room, he found Reese tending to his cuts. Ryan sat across the room, watching as his father winced in pain. Reese was doing her best to clean him up and clear away the blood.

  “How bad is it?” Vince asked.

  “I’ll be fine,” Tom said through a clenched jaw as Reese went over his wounds with a wet rag.

  “They’re mostly superficial. I just don’t want them getting infected,” she said without looking away.

  Vince could see that Beverly had been crying. He truly felt bad for the guy and his family, but he was glad to hear that the damage was minimal. He wasn’t sure what they would do without Tom. They needed his skills as an electrician to keep moving forward with their plans. Vince could probably figure it out, but a lot of what they were doing would have to be done by trial and error without Tom’s expertise—not a good method for working with electricity.

  “Just try to keep these clean.” Reese sat back and rummaged through her bag of supplies.

  Tom rolled his eyes and started to stand. “I’ll try.”

  “Hold on. Let’s take a look at the arm while I’m here.” Reese made him sit back down.

  “No matter what happens for the rest of the night, or morning, I want you to stay put and rest,” Vince stated.

  Tom didn’t argue and only nodded as he readied himself for the pain of having his bandage removed.

  “I mean it. You’ve done enough today,” Vince insisted and looked at Beverly. “Make sure he stays put, will you?”

  She managed a smile. “I will.”

  Vince turned to leave but stopped. “You’re doing a good job, Reese. We’re all lucky to have you.”

  Vince didn’t wait for her to answer and headed out of the room. He surveyed the walkway and motel parking lot. The attack had come and gone so fast it was almost hard to believe it had happened at all, although he was sure Tom would disagree.

  He rubbed his hands over his face and then peered over toward the wall. All the days were running together, and the overall feeling was surreal. Living in a motel with a wall of cars protecting them from a roving gang of looters was still hard to accept at times. It was like a bad dream that he couldn’t wake up from. Only it wasn’t a dream at all; it was very real, and everything they did had very real consequences. How much longer could they hold the looters off?

  The wall had done its job tonight, yet he somehow felt less sure about their long-term chances of survival. He tried to shake the feeling off and chalk it up to his exhaustion, but he couldn’t rid himself of the anxiety building up inside his chest.

  He felt responsible for these people, these last survivors of the town he called home. He didn’t want the burden, but little by little, the once casual acquaintances and familiar faces he’d seen around town were quickly becoming like family. Either that or he was getting soft in his old age.

  Vince jumped when Mary put her hand on his shoulder.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Why don’t you come back to bed?”

  He sighed. “Sun’ll be up in a couple hours. I’m not sure I can sleep.”

  “You need to try. I know you’re exhausted. We all are, but not sleeping isn’t going to solve anything.”

  She was right and he knew it, but that wasn’t going to stop his mind from working overtime. He was still keyed up from the fight with the looters and he’d probably have a better chance of sleeping in his office chair with his feet propped up on the desk. It had happened plenty of times before, unintentionally. Maybe it would work now. But Mary wasn’t going to let him get away with that, not tonight.

  Vince gave in and followed her back to the room. Nugget was excited to see them and leaped up onto the bed. Her tail was wagging so hard it shook her whole body and the bed with it.

  “Hey there, girl, did you miss me?” The little dog forced a smile out of Vince, and he gave her some scratches around the neck and head.

  “Come on, get those boots off and relax. There’s still plenty of time to get some rest before morning,” Mary said. Although technically it was already morning, she was right. They had no plans for tomorrow, and they’d already told everyone that it was going to be a relaxed routine for the day. Vince needed to take his own advice for once.

  He eased his boots off and scooted back on the bed until he was half-sitting, half-lying down against the pillows and the headboard. Mary lay down next to him and put her head on his shoulder. Not to be left out, Nugget cleared the gap between the two beds in one swift motion and quickly found a spot by their legs to curl up.

  Vince let out a deep breath and closed his eyes as Mary scratched his arm. He tried not to think about the looters or Dalton and his sister Jackie or how they were all going to survive another day. Or any of the other seemingly endless worries that occupied his thoughts on a regular basis. He did his best to ignore the anxiety he felt about tomorrow and the list of things he wanted to still accomplish. S
queezing his eyes closed, he forced himself to focus on Mary’s touch and living in the moment. He deserved to let himself forget and relax; at least he deserved to try.

  Slowly, Vince’s worries slipped away and became a little less important, thanks to Mary’s fingers running up and down his bare arm. That and the sheer exhaustion wracking his body. The adrenaline surge from the firefight dissipated and gave way to his body’s need for rest, and before long, his eyes had no trouble staying closed on their own.

  Tomorrow would be a good day; it had to be. If nothing else, he could take some comfort in that he was fairly certain the looters wouldn’t come back before tomorrow night. He hoped so, anyway, and as he drifted off to sleep, he focused on having a day to step back and enjoy all the victories they had won so far as a team.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Mary’s rooster trumpeted his morning reveille. For a moment, Vince thought it was part of his dream before realizing that the morning had actually arrived. It seemed impossible that the last two hours had gone by so rapidly, but a quick glance at his watch proved they had. His second thought was of John starting the 6:00 a.m. watch shift. He felt bad for the guy, but he’d volunteered for it even after knowing they were taking Travis and Dalton for a ride out of town.

  Mary was still sleeping, and Vince did his best to remain still for a while longer and let her sleep, but he was growing restless. The lure of a fresh cup of coffee and the chance to have some quiet time before too many people woke up was too enticing. The fact that his right arm was trapped under Mary and he was starting to get a little hot and uncomfortable wasn’t exactly encouraging him to stay put, either.

  Vince was careful to move slowly and do his best not to wake her up. She had been up just as long as he had yesterday. Even longer, actually. He thought about her staying up and rubbing his arm until he fell asleep. Nugget stared at Vince as he maneuvered his arm out from under Mary and eased himself off the bed. As soon as he was clear, Nugget promptly relocated to his spot and curled up against Mary’s back. Vince was thankful for that and hoped it would help fill the void so he could make a clean getaway.