“At least you’re going to live,” he said.
Glancing at his injured foot, she jumped up from the floor and made a run for it. She reached the door to her daughter’s room and jiggled the handle.
It was locked. Sobbing, she pounded on the door. “Rachel!”
Bill smiled anew and dropped the duct tape at his feet to aim the shotgun properly once more. “Get back over here.”
She stepped away from the door just as her daughter opened it. A tear-streaked face popped out. “Mommy?” The girl saw him and froze.
Bill leaned against the wall again and kicked the tape toward the woman. “Tie up your daughter.”
“No,” she said in a shaking voice.
Bill aimed the shotgun just over her head and pulled the trigger.
BOOM! The sound was tremendous in the enclosed space. The mother jumped, and the kid screamed.
“Now!” Bill yelled to hear himself over the ringing in his ears.
Chapter 17
We reached the chain link fence around the compound and this time I made sure I locked it behind us. Alex went to put the key back in the fake rock by the log.
“I can’t find it,” he said.
“Look harder,” I suggested.
Not waiting for him, I walked on to the guard tower. Moonlight gleamed on the pebbly ground. I rang the buzzer to let Richard know we were back and then waited for him to come open the door. That door was too thick to hear much on the other side, but I could have sworn I heard the chuk-chuk of Richard’s shotgun.
I froze. Why would he answer the door with a loaded gun? He always checked the cameras first to see who was there, so he’d know whether or not it was us. I heard locking bolts sliding away. Coming to a quick decision, I darted around the corner of the tower. I saw Alex crossing over to the door and waved to him. He stopped and stared at me. Then came the groan of hinges, followed by, “Don’t move a muscle, kid.” Horror sliced through me. That voice was vaguely familiar, but from where? The guy from Newark. My insides churned and adrenaline sparked in my extremities. Kate and Rachel were inside with him. Richard, too. My mind raced through a dozen horrible possibilities in the span of just a few seconds.
Alex couldn’t have been more than twelve feet away from me, the intruder even less, but I was hiding around the corner and behind the door, so he couldn’t see me. I raised my pistol and flicked off the safety.
“Where’s your father, kid?”
“Who are you?” Alex demanded.
“You don’t remember me? I’m Bill. Now answer the damn question.”
“I don’t know. I thought he was here.”
“Well, he’s not. Walk toward me. Real slow, with your hands up.”
Alex did as he was told, his eyes flicking to me as he started forward.
I gave my head a slight shake.
“What are you looking at? Come to think of it, how’d you ring the doorbell from all the way over there?”
“Dad, run!” Alex said. He hit the ground.
BOOM! The shotgun went off, and my heart seized in my chest.
But then Alex bounced up, his shoes spitting gravel. Chuk-chuk. The door swung wide, and a shotgun barrel swept into line with my head. I ducked behind the corner of the tower. BOOM! A chunk of concrete exploded beside me, the pulverized debris pelting my arm with a fierce wash of fire.
“Come out and play, dickhead!”
I ran around the side of the tower, my heart pounding. Where was Alex? Was he okay?
I stopped at the back of the tower and listened. My ears were ringing and the crickets were the only thing I could hear. I couldn’t stay where I was. Bill could come around from either side and he’d see me right away, whereas I’d have to turn my head in both directions to be sure of seeing him. Spying the roof full of solar panels in front of me, I remembered that it was about two feet off the ground. The solar panels added an extra foot. That was enough to provide cover.
I ran along the side of the roof, crouching as I went.
“You’re louder than an elephant!” Bill crowed.
BOOM! I braced myself for a slug to go tearing through me, but instead I heard a metallic shearing noise. He’d shot out one of the solar panels. Chuk-chuk.
I darted around the back of the shelter and peered over the top. He was standing where I’d been a moment ago at the back of the tower. I could see that he was leaning heavily against the wall.
Richard. He must have got in a shot before giving up his gun. I grimaced at the thought of what that might mean for my brother-in-law.
“I’ve got your wife and your little girl down stairs,” Bill said. “If you want to see them alive, you’d better throw your gun away and come over here.”
I was just taking aim with my gun when he pushed off the wall of the guard tower and ducked down behind the solar panels.
“By the way, at this distance, and in this piss poor lighting, a gun like yours isn’t going to kill me. It’s just gonna make me mad. Mine on the other hand, will gut you like a fish.”
I heard a tell-tale metallic groan, followed by a heavy thunk. The door. Good thinking Alex!
“Shit!” Bill popped back out of cover and went limping around the tower, using his shotgun like a cane. I jumped up too and took aim at his back.
Bang! His right shoulder jerked with the impact and he fell over cursing. A split second later he was back on his feet. BOOM!
“What did I tell you!” he screamed. “Now you’re dead you dumb fuck!” Chuk-chuk. He fired again and concrete exploded in my face. The fragments stung my eyes and blinded me. I dropped my gun and clawed at my eyes to clear them. The gun was useless if I couldn’t see to aim it.
My ears were ringing too hard to hear, but through my tears I saw a blurry shape appear standing over me. I groped around for my gun, but Bill kicked it away and thrust the barrel of the shotgun in my face.
“Say cheese!” Click. Bill dropped another f-bomb and threw the weapon away. “Your lucky day, maggot. I’m gonna have to do this the hard way.” He shifted his grip on the weapon, wielding it like a club. “Batter up!”
Just then came the echoing report of a rifle. Bill’s left arm jerked with an impact, and he spun around like a ballerina.
“Get him, Dad!” Alex called down to me from the tower. He’d gone up and found the hunting rifle that Richard left up there for emergencies.
I jumped to my feet, but Bill spun back the other way, whipping his shotgun around so fast that it whistled. Clack!
A home run. I was outta there. Darkness folded around me, and sucked me under.
Chapter 18
I awoke to the sound of screaming sirens. My eyes cracked open and pain erupted in the side of my head. Kate and Rachel were there in the back of the ambulance with me.
“Kate,” I mumbled. “You’re okay.”
Kate grabbed my hand.
“Daddy!” Rachel bounced over to me and tried to give me a hug, but one of the EMTs pushed her back.
“Please keep your daughter away, ma’am.”
Kate nodded and quickly moved to restrain Rachel.
“What happened?” I searched my wife’s face. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. I felt a tickling around my head and reached up to scratch the itch. That was when I noticed the thick bandage.
Another EMT pulled my hand away. “Don’t touch the dressing, sir.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“You don’t remember?” Kate asked. “Alex said that monster hit you in the head with Richard’s shotgun.”
I didn’t remember getting hit in the head, but I did remember Bill. “Did Alex... kill him?”
Kate shook her head. “He got away.”
“How? We locked the fence.”
“He shot the lock with his pistol.”
“Damn it.” Then again, I was glad that he’d decided to make a run for it. Better that than stay and have a shootout with my son. Come to think of it—“Where is Alex?”
“He’s in
the other ambulance with Richard.” Kate’s mouth turned down, and she looked like she was about to start sobbing, but she pulled it together. “He feels responsible for what happened.”
“And Richard?”
“Please try to save your strength,” one of the EMTs chided. Rounding on my wife, the EMT said, “You shouldn’t be talking to him right now. There’s a reason I didn’t want you to ride in the back.”
“We don’t have another way to get to the hospital!” Kate snapped.
“Your husband’s welfare is my primary concern. Not family reunions.”
I felt my ire rising with that exchange. I was just about to give the pimple-faced kid a piece of my mind when a stabbing headache stopped me. I gasped from the pain. I’d probably better save all the pieces of my mind for now.
“You see?” pimple-face said, noticing the look on my face. “Please sit down, ma’am.”
“Richard got shot,” Kate replied, ignoring the kid and staring at me with trembling lips and welling eyes. “In two places. And that monster stomped on his face. His nose is shattered. He’s in critical condition.”
“Shit. And they let Alex ride with him?”
“Up front, not in the back,” Pimple-face chimed in. “Sir, I need you to relax and stop talking, right now. Your vitals are rising, and that’s only going to put more pressure on your brain. Do you understand?”
I nodded once.
“Good.”
A burning need to urinate struck me. “How far is it? I have to use the bathroom.”
“That’s the diuretics doing their job. We’re about twenty minutes away. Can you hold it? If not, we have a bucket you can use.”
I was bursting. Twenty minutes sounded like an eternity. “Bucket,” I croaked.
EMTs scurried about, and I winced as the ambulance went over a bump that sent a jolt through my aching head. When it came time to use the bucket Kate turned Rachel away so that I’d have some privacy. One of the EMTs held me steady while the other one pulled down my pants. The sheer indignity of it was infuriating, but I had bigger things to worry about. The EMTs sealed the bucket and went back to checking my vitals.
It seemed like a long ride to the hospital. When we arrived, I was whisked straight on through, while my family was forced to stay in the waiting room. I overheard the doctor talking to the EMTs as they walked me down the hall. Pimple-face said that I should go to the ICU. Something about a subdural hematoma. Another gurney went racing past mine. It was Richard. I caught a glimpse of his injuries. He was all bandaged up—head, shoulder, and leg. My guts clenched when I saw how pale and waxy his skin looked. He went directly into surgery while I went on to the ICU. I remembered Kate had said he’d been shot. They probably still had to remove the bullets. How long had it been since he’d been shot? How much blood had he lost? What if he didn’t make it?
My thoughts twisted with horror for more than just the sentimental reasons. Richard was our guide and mentor for the dark times ahead. He was the survivalist, not me or Kate. I didn’t even know how to grow food in his greenhouses, let alone what to do to keep the shelter warm when the snow started to fall. We hadn’t gone over any of those things with him yet.
Come on, Richard, I thought. Don’t die on us now.
Chapter 19
—TWO DAYS LATER—
June 10th
“You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Greenhouse,” the doctor said.
I looked on with Rachel and Alex as the doctor gave Richard and my wife care instructions for his injuries. Richard’s broken nose was set, his shoulder and leg bandaged and the bullets removed.
I’d been discharged just this morning, thank God. We didn’t have the money for a longer stay. As it was, I was going to have to get to a bank and withdraw a good chunk of our savings to pay for this.
A nurse wheeled Richard out of the hospital and waited with us for a self-driving Uber. When the vehicle arrived, the nurse helped us get Richard inside. The hospital had provided him with a cane, but he wasn’t strong enough to walk around with it yet.
The ride back to Richard’s place was a long one, as usual, but thanks to the self-driving car we had all the privacy we needed to talk.
Richard’s eyes found Alex and he glared. Like most self-driving vehicles, the seats in the back faced each other.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Richard,” Alex said for the umpteenth time.
“Not sorry enough.” Richard’s voice was nasal and muffled by his broken nose. He nodded slowly and his jaw clenched. He was definitely holding a grudge, or maybe it was the pain-killers wearing off. “I’d give you each your own key, but then what happens if one of you gets taken hostage?” Richard’s gaze flicked to Kate. She’d already told me how she and Rachel had been tied up with duct tape. The thought of whatever Bill had been planning for them made my blood boil.
“We need a plan to avoid these types of situations going forward,” I said. “That guy is still out there, and not only does he know where we live, but now he also knows how well we’ve prepared.”
“So do the police and the EMTs,” Kate said.
Richard glanced sharply at her. This was obviously news to him. “What do the police know?”
“They came to question me. I had to tell them what happened and where,” Kate said. “It’s hospital policy to report gunshot wounds.”
“Did they go investigate?”
Kate hesitated, and then shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Let me guess, you left the front door wide open.”
“Because we don’t have the key,” Kate replied.
“You could have taken it out of my pocket!” Richard roared.
Tears welled in Kate’s eyes. “We were in a hurry. I was arguing with them about letting us ride in the ambulances, and you were both unconscious. You almost died!”
“And now you’ve killed us all,” Richard said, nodding agreeably.
“Hey, take it easy,” I said. “It’s not her fault.”
Richard rounded on me, eyes flashing. “Don’t you get it? Billy the Kid found out about our shelter and look what happened next. Now a handful of EMTs and who knows how many policemen know about it too.”
“They’re police,” I said. “Not thugs.”
“What happens when their backs are to the wall?” Richard challenged. “Don’t fool yourself. Police make great thugs.” Looking back to Alex, he said. “From now on, we have a curfew. No one goes out after dark.”
“What? That’s ridiculous!”
“If you don’t like the rules, you’re welcome to find someplace else to live.” He glanced my way. “That goes for all of you.”
I bristled at that. “Hey, if you don’t want us, just say the word and we’ll be gone.”
Richard shook his head. “I didn’t say that, but having a couple of years’ worth of food and supplies stored up isn’t going to do us any good if we’re all dead in a couple of months. From now on, the rules are simple. No one goes out after dark. We always lock the doors behind us. The keys will be hidden, not kept on us—in case we run into trouble while we’re out. And finally, we always check the cameras before opening the door. Is everyone clear?”
I nodded. Kate’s head bobbed along with Alex’s, and Rachel said, “Crystal clear,” in a tiny voice that sounded far too serious for her age.
I didn’t like Richard’s attitude or his tone, but I had to admit his rules made sense. The world was gearing up for war, and so were we.
* * *
Hours later we were all sitting in the living room, sans the kids, who were in their rooms resting. We were all grateful to come home and find that there wasn’t any police tape waiting for us. It didn’t look like they’d been by to investigate either, despite Richard’s concerns. I figured since no one had been killed, they might not be allowed to search the scene without our permission. Either that, or local law enforcement was overrun and our case was a low priority—again, probably because it wasn’t a homicide case.
Richard
was sitting on the couch, busy with his laptop. He’d been there for over an hour already, staring fixedly at his screen. I wondered what could be so absorbing and went over to take a look.
His screen was filled with a colorful graph and numbers as well as a black box full of scrolling text, or maybe that was computer code.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Radio waves detected from the rogue star,” Richard replied. “I’m running a pattern matching algorithm to see if I can find something.”
I shook my head. “I don’t get it. What kind of pattern?”
“One that might indicate intelligent life.”
Kate came over to join me in looking over her brother’s shoulder. “But it’s not, right? They found a natural explanation.”
“It can be hard to rule out natural causes. The signal is periodic and it seems to have structure, which was enough for people to assume it was ETI before they knew about the rogue star.”
“ETI?” Kate asked.
“Extraterrestrial intelligence,” Richard said. He went on, “The rogue may be naturally emitting EM in the radio spectrum, but there could also be intelligent aliens in orbit around it who are transmitting. In that case, the radio waves would overlap and blur together across different frequencies, exactly like we’re seeing here. In my opinion, the only way we’ll know for sure if someone’s out there is if we send our own message. If we get an answer, we’ll know it’s ETI.”
I considered that. “Wouldn’t it be just as hard to classify a subsequent message?”
Richard shook his head. “Not necessarily. The first message might not have been directed at us, in which case the information it carried was designed to be interpreted by them, not us. Even considering all of the potential barriers to communication between us and an intelligent alien race, it should be easy enough to send a message that cannot be mistaken for natural emissions. Interpreting the message might well prove to be impossible, but the very existence of the signal would say something all by itself, the cosmic equivalent of—Hello, I am here.”
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