“Daryl, they’ve arrived!” Devin hollered from the house.
Excited to see Hudson, Daryl sprinted from the barn to the front. In anticipation there wouldn’t be fighting, he had taken down the trip wire so everyone could walk freely.
He cleared the corner and saw Rivers standing with a small duffel bag over his shoulder and one man they’d never seen before next to him.
Rivers turned to the man and said, “Thank you, Robert.”
“We hate to see you leave,” Robert replied.
“Where’s Hudson?” Daryl asked.
“Is the plane ready?” Rivers asked.
“Of course it is. I gave you my word. You have to understand that my son is everything to me. I have no intention of screwing this up, and if you want a plane, I’m obviously your best bet.”
Rivers nodded and looked at Frank, who walked to the black SUV and opened the rear door.
A young boy about six years old stepped out and walked up to Rivers’ side and stopped.
Devin and Daryl both gasped when they saw the boy.
The expression on Daryl’s face went from surprise to anger. “What the hell is this?”
“What’s wrong? This is your son, here,” Rivers said and nudged the boy towards Daryl.
“That’s not Hudson. Where’s my son?”
Rivers looked at Daryl oddly, then turned to Robert and said, “You said this was his son.”
Robert was also confused. “This isn’t your son?”
“No, it’s not,” Daryl blurted out angrily.
Rivers snapped, “You said this was his son. Where’s his son?”
“I don’t know. I was only going off of what I was told,” Robert answered.
Daryl walked up to the boy and squatted down to look him in the eyes. “Do you know a Hudson Jenks?”
The boy was scared and looked to Rivers for an answer.
“Answer him,” Rivers urged.
“Do you know Hudson Jenks?” Daryl asked again.
The boy nodded his head.
“Where is he?” Daryl asked.
The boy grew increasingly nervous and scared that he was going to get in trouble.
Rivers shook the boy and spoke loudly, “Tell him!”
“I-I—”
Daryl reached out and grabbed him by the arms and in a firm voice asked, “Where is my son?”
“They took him away with the others. I didn’t want to go, so I…I overheard the guards saying that a Hudson Jenks was going home. They came back to find him; I hit him—”
“What are you telling me? What did you do?” Daryl asked.
“I hit him, knocked him out, and told the guards I was him so they’d release me.”
Daryl looked at Rivers, who had lost all the color in his face upon hearing what the boy had admitted to. “Where were you keeping the children? When he had me, they weren’t there. Where do you have them?”
Rivers looked at Robert and took a step back.
Robert followed Rivers’ lead and took a half step back towards the SUV.
Daryl stood and readied himself for the fight he felt was about to erupt.
“Where’s my son, damn you?”
“I didn’t know. I had nothing to do with this, Daryl, you have to believe me. We captured everyone, but I had nothing to do with the children.”
“That’s not what I heard. I heard you liked to eat the kids, that’s what I heard, so don’t give me the bullshit story you had nothing to do with it.”
Robert reached for the pistol in his shoulder holster, but a well-aimed bullet hit him squarely in the forehead. He dropped to his knees and fell down face first in the driveway.
Tess had taken the shot from a perched position on the second floor.
The boy ran off screaming down the road.
Rivers backed up farther, horror in his eyes at what had just happened to Robert.
“I can get your boy. Now please calm down and let’s work this out,” Rivers pleaded.
Daryl pulled out his Sig Sauer P239 compact 9mm and walked up to Rivers, who had now backed himself up against the hood of his vehicle. Placing the muzzle in between his eyes, he said, “You’re going to get my boy, and you’re going to do it now.”
“Of course, of course, I’ll get him, but don’t think about killing me. Doing so will mean you’ll never see him again,” Rivers begged.
Reed, Illinois
“You probably thought you were being clever, didn’t you?” Daryl said as he poked Rivers in the cheek.
Devin pulled the SUV into the Reed Elementary School parking lot and parked next to several trucks. Rivers was sitting in the front passenger side with Daryl sitting directly behind him, his pistol shoved behind his head.
“Once we get your son, you’ll still honor your word and take me where I want to go?”
“Yes, I gave my word, and I intend on living up to that.”
“You have to believe that I didn’t know that boy wasn’t your son.”
The boy in question had run off, and after a quick search, they couldn’t find him.
“An elementary school? You are some sick fucks,” Devin commented.
“They eat people; can’t get much sicker than that,” Daryl barked.
“We do what we have to in order to survive,” Rivers said, a weak attempt at defending his barbaric practice.
“How many times did I say to prepare for something like this, and nope, didn’t listen, so in your infinite wisdom, corralling people and eating them is a better alternative than preparing. You’re such a decent and upstanding person,” Daryl said, jabbing the pistol into the back of Rivers’ head.
“Let me go get the boy.”
“Nope, I’m coming with you,” Daryl insisted.
“I wouldn’t advise that. Some of these people know you, and after what happened the other night, they’d know something is wrong. You’d never make it out of there alive.”
“He’s right,” Devin said. “This guy really wants you to fly him somewhere. I think he’ll get your boy.”
Daryl pulled out some school photos he had taken with him before they left and gave them to Rivers. “Here, so you grab the right kid this time.”
Rivers took the photos and examined them.
“By the way, where am I taking you?”
“Green Bay, Wisconsin.”
“What the fuck is in Green Bay?” Daryl asked.
“Does it matter? I have family there, I made contact with them, they have a boat and are leaving.”
“To go where?”
Rivers turned around and barked, “What do you care? I need to get there quickly is all.” He opened the door and slammed it shut.
“Do you really care?” Devin asked.
“Not really, it really doesn’t matter at all.”
Devin looked at him in the back and wondered what was going through his mind. “If you’re planning on doing something, please clue me in on it so I can be ready.”
Daryl only smiled and went back to looking out the window.
Devin looked at his watch and then looked at the sun quickly approaching the horizon, giving the clouds an orange hue.
“Something is wrong,” Devin said.
“I agree.”
“Well, what do we do?”
“We’re not leaving here without him,” Daryl said as he pulled his pistol out, press checked it to see if a round was in the chamber, then reholstered it.
“Damn it!” Devin exclaimed.
“Believe me, you think I want to go in guns blazing,” Daryl lamented.
The front door suddenly opened, and out came Rivers but no Hudson. You could see the look of despair and disappointment on his face. He walked up to Daryl’s window and knocked.
Daryl was seething with anger, and the temptation to just shoot Rivers was very high.
The front door to the school opened again, and out came several armed men.
Daryl lowered his window and asked, “Where is he?”
�
��There’s a problem.”
“There’s going to be one for you if those men don’t stop.”
Rivers knew Daryl meant business, so he waved the men to stop.
Devin squirmed in his seat; he didn’t want to fight again but would if he had to. In an attempt to be proactive, he started up the SUV.
“Your son isn’t here; he’s been moved.”
“This is becoming fucking bullshit, and I’m tired of it. Where is my son!” Daryl screamed, pulled out his pistol, and stuck it under Rivers’ chin.
Devin kept his eyes glued on the men and finally noticed that one of them was Frank.
“I-I-I’m so sorry, but please put your gun down. I can’t talk with a gun jammed in my face,” Rivers muttered.
“Is he dead? Just tell me!” Daryl yelled.
“No, he’s not. You see, after I left my guys, well, they have new leadership. They, um, they struck a deal with a group from Arkansas. They sold the children into slavery.”
“What group?” Daryl asked, pushing the pistol harder under his chin.
“I don’t know. Frank knows; he’s in charge now.”
“Frank’s in charge. Which one is Frank?” Daryl asked.
“He’s the one, um, the guy with the longer hair, standing out front, the first guy,” Rivers stuttered.
Daryl opened the door, but before he stepped out, he leaned over towards the front and whispered to Devin, “Get ready. This is going south.” He fully opened the door, pushing Rivers aside.
Frank and the other two men readied themselves seeing the door open.
Devin pulled the door handle to pop the door, but didn’t open it fully.
“Mr. Mayor, are you telling me my son has been sold into slavery and you can’t do anything about it. You, in fact, aren’t even in charge. So what does that make you? Worthless to me,” Daryl snapped furiously.
“I can help, Daryl. I can help, please.”
Devin didn’t think this would end up the way they wanted, so he quickly exited the car and hollered out, “Frank, where is the boy named Hudson?”
“Sold him, he’s gone. I told the mayor here, it’s out of our hands,” Frank replied.
“What does a boy like that sell for?”
“Women, we exchanged women for children.”
The one word that came to Devin’s mind was ‘disgusting’. “What was the name of the group in Arkansas? How can we contact them?”
“Why the fuck should I tell you? They’re a trading partner of ours; we’re not going to fuck up a good relationship.”
“Everything has a price. What’s yours?” Devin asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
Frank turned to both men and began a conversation.
While this was happening, both Daryl and Rivers were watching. Daryl was curious and Rivers fearful.
Seeing that Rivers had lost some influence, Daryl posed a question, “Frank, what’s he worth?”
Frank laughed and answered, “To us, not much, he abandoned us.”
“No, Frank, that’s not true. You and I talked about this,” Rivers challenged.
“So if I kill him, would you give a shit?” Daryl asked.
Devin looked over and said, “Don’t do it, Daryl, not a good idea.”
“Please, no, don’t shoot me,” Rivers begged.
Frank looked amused at the scene playing out in front of him; then he hollered, “Daryl, I’ve heard a lot about you. I can tell you this, we don’t have any issue with you. That’s between you and him. But with my group, you have nothing to fear. If you kill him, I can tell you this, he won’t go to waste.”
“Frank, you son of a bitch, everything I did for you and the group. I saved us, I fucking saved us!” Rivers screamed, referencing his leadership during the months that followed The Death’s spread.
Again Frank chatted with the two men next to him, laughter broke out.
“You don’t seem to have anyone who likes you, Mr. Mayor. Looks as if you lost your constituency,” Daryl joked and stepped up within inches of him and whispered, “Do you know the name of the group in Arkansas?”
Rivers nodded.
“Good, then you’re coming with me. Get back in the truck.”
“Wait, Daryl, hold on,” Devin cried out. “Frank, how much to give us info?”
“We don’t need to bargain, I have Rivers,” Daryl said.
“Wait, what if he’s lying, God knows I would,” Devin said to Daryl.
Frank said, “I hear you have explosives. Here’s the deal, you give me a crate of that, and I’ll put you in contact with the slaver we sold them to.”
“Daryl, I’d trust a man who wants to do a business deal over a man vying for his life.”
“Tell him we’ll make the deal,” Daryl said. “But I’m going to hold onto the mayor.”
“You have a deal. Come to the house in an hour—”
“Fuck that, we meet in a neutral location. Meet at the intersection of Highway 120 and Madison Road in an hour. You bring the explosives and blasting caps, and I’ll bring the info. I’ll also have the radio to contact them.”
Devin didn’t hesitate. “Done, we’ll see you in one hour.”
Frank and his men walked back inside.
Devin got back in the vehicle and put it in gear.
“You can’t trust Frank. He’ll double-cross you.”
Daryl, still holding his pistol, jammed it back into Rivers’ head and said, “Then you better think of a way we don’t get double-crossed.”
Highway 120 & Madison Road
Devin had initiated the deal with Frank and his group, but it definitely wasn’t his idea to be left at the intersection by himself with Rivers while he went to gather the explosives. He understood Daryl’s rationale, and it all made sense, but he just wished it could have been someone else.
When the sounds of vehicles hit his ears, he hoped it was Daryl, but to his dismay the sounds were coming from the south; therefore it had to be Frank, and he was on time.
“Here come your cannibal friends,” Devin cracked.
Rivers didn’t respond. He picked up a rock and threw it at a stop sign.
Two pickup trucks pulled up and stopped. Several armed men jumped out of the beds and stood staring at Devin.
Devin wondered if they were looking at him more as a meal or as a threat; the thought itself was disturbing.
“How could you do it?” Devin asked Rivers, who stood a couple feet away from him.
“Do what?”
“Eat people, how could you do that?”
“It wasn’t something I set out to do, but as food supplies dwindled, we had to begin to look for something that could sustain us. It’s eat or die, right?”
“Why not go to a camp, seek help?”
“Ha, go to a camp and be a prisoner of the federal government, give in to their demands. They created this entire mess. FEMA camps are nothing more than glorified prisons or, better yet, re-education camps.”
“How do you know that? Ever been to one?” Devin asked. He had heard this rumor before, but so far he hadn’t met one person who had ever been to one.
“Those who go never come back. Does that tell you anything?”
“Yeah, they’re happy. Why come back to be eaten by fucking savages like you.”
“Believe what you want. I and others chose to remain free, and the only way to do that was stay away from those places.”
“Free to eat other humans, real choice.”
“Fuck you.”
Deborah came to mind and angered Devin. He stepped up to Rivers and said, “Speaking of fucking, you find it fun to rape and have sex with your food?”
“Get away from me,” Rivers shot back.
Frank stepped out of the lead truck and hollered, “You two getting acquainted?”
“Frank, thanks for coming,” Devin called back.
“Where’s the explosives?”
“Coming any minute now.”
Frank looked at his watch and said, “Eac
h minute that goes by means the farther the boy is away from him.”
The growl of a vehicle sounded out in the distance.
Devin looked north and saw the black SUV speeding their way, the double exhaust blaring its arrival to everyone.
“Here he comes now,” Devin said, happy to see Daryl coming.
Daryl was behind the wheel of the SUV and parked it just north of the stop sign and got out. He walked to the back, opened it up, and pulled out a crate. He carried it over to the center of the intersection and put it down.
“There’s my end of the deal. A full crate of C4 with blasting caps.”
Frank and two other men walked over to the crate and examined it. Unsure of what he had, Frank asked a man with him if it all looked correct. The man nodded.
“Great, this is great,” Frank said, a large grin on his rugged face.
One of the men picked up the crate and walked away.
“Where’s the info on my son?” Daryl asked.
Frank walked up to within a foot of Daryl. He took a toothpick from his flannel shirt and jabbed it into his teeth; he swirled it around and spit out small chunks of food.
Daryl looked at him with disgust because he only imagined what he spat was human flesh.
“Info, now,” Daryl insisted.
“You know, I got thinking. You seem to have a lot of cool gear and gadgets.”
“Stop right there. If you think I’ll go quietly or barter more, won’t happen. I know this type of game. You think you can just keep asking and asking. Dealing with people like you is like dealing with a terrorist. This is the deal, take it or leave it,” Daryl said firmly. He was willing to do whatever it took, but dealing with a dishonest party could be like a dog chasing his tail.
Devin stayed far enough back so he could respond if things went poorly, but also far enough back that he had a hard time hearing clearly. By the body language, he could see Daryl was not happy.
Frank chewed on his lower lip as he thought about what Daryl told him.
“Timing is everything. I need that information now,” Daryl pressed.
Frank continued to hesitate. He wanted more but also knew Daryl and his people were formidable regardless of their number. Not being a gambling man, he acquiesced, “Fine.”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handheld ham radio, turned it on and keyed it.
The Death: The Complete Trilogy Page 22
