Turners | Book 3 | Junction

by Thomas, Ellis

  “I think we should have others strategically placed around town so we don’t get surprised by any stragglers that might wander in,” Jon said.

  “Good idea,” Joshua replied. “I’ll set up the radio we brought with us and try to reach Aftertown. They need to know what we’re up against.” To Sydney, he said, “Let’s find the boys first, though.”

  They found them all at Vic’s. They’d been out setting up barbed wire and had come in hungry, streaked with sweat and dirt. True to her loving nature, Frances had taken care of their stomachs and their hearts.

  “We have some company coming,” Joshua told them, “and we’re rounding up sharpshooters.” He filled them in on the plan and then asked, “Care for some target practice?” He knew exactly what they would say—especially after the previous night’s events. They jumped at the chance, just like he knew they would.

  “First, Christian, I want you to help me set up the base station with the radio we brought with us. It’s time we connected with Aaron and Jeremy,” he said. Christian was out of his chair in a flash. Sydney knew that all the boys missed the people in Aftertown. After all, it was the first home they’d had in a very long time.

  “If you don’t mind, Joshua, Austin and I will come with you, too,” Mason said as he wiped his mouth.

  They started for the door.

  “Come on, then. We have a lot to do before our visitors arrive.” Joshua held the door open for Sydney, and the boys followed.

  Stopping only to get the radio, they went straight to the sheriff’s office and started setting up the equipment. Jon and his deputy had used cell phones, but when the cell towers went out, the phones were useless and the whole community was essentially isolated. Since it was a small town, communicating with radios worked well enough for most purposes. They just couldn’t communicate outside of the town.

  Joshua set up the radio system and cranked it on, using the generator for power.

  “Aftertown. Aftertown. Are you out there? This is Joshua Delgado. Over.”

  No answer.

  “Aftertown. Aftertown. Are you out there? This is Joshua calling in. Over.”

  No answer.

  On the fourth try, he connected. “This is Jeremy in Aftertown. Joshua, is that really you? Over.”

  “Hey, buddy, it’s me. Man, it’s good to hear your voice. How are things? Over.”

  “We’re still popping heads around here. In fact, we had more than usual last week. How ‘bout you? Are Sydney and the boys okay? Over.”

  “They’re fine. They’re standing here with me. We’re in a place called Junction. It’s a small border town southeast of you that’s surviving well enough, but they’re getting more visits here, too, and we’re facing off with around forty this evening, the best we can tell. Over.”

  “Do you have the resources to take care of them? Over.”

  “They have plenty of people who can shoot straight, but a limited supply of ammo. Over.”

  “Can we help in any way? Over.”

  “We’re a couple of days from you at best, so there’s nothing you can do for us now. But if you can get these people a good supply of lead, powder, and primers, they’d be really grateful. They’ve been careful about collecting their shells, so they’re good there. Over.”

  “We’ll have everything loaded and be heading out to you within the next three hours. Give us your exact coordinates. Over.”

  Joshua helped Jeremy zero in on Junction, giving him a route that would be sure to bypass 90 Degrees. The boys and Sydney decided to head back to Vic’s and fill Frances in on the good news. They found her in the kitchen, baking. Normally, she didn’t let anyone in her domain, but for reasons only she knew, she took to Sydney and the boys, and she allowed them some liberties. She was just taking a batch of fresh cupcakes out of the oven. Her eyes lit up as bright as the boys’. She was having a good time with them.

  “Good news!” Sydney said as she plopped down on a stool. “We got in touch with Aftertown, and they’re prepping supplies to deliver to us as we speak.” She then brought up something she had been thinking about for a while. “You know, I was wondering, Frances, do you know how to shoot? I know your thing is cooking, but have you ever fired a gun?”

  The question caught Frances by surprise, and she let out a throaty chuckle. “Oh, I shot a gun once or twice when I was a teenager, but I’ve never really had the need to get good at it.” Her eyes twinkled. “Besides, I usually have enough people around to do the shooting for me.”

  “What will you do if you’re by yourself?” Mason asked. The scenarios were playing out in his head and he had genuine concern for Frances.

  “Well, I had always thought that I would just brain ‘em, if you’ll excuse the expression, with my iron skillet!”

  Sydney had to laugh as she thought about this gentle woman bashing out the brains of a Turner with her cookware. Maybe there was a side to Frances she had yet to see.

  “Do you really want to get that close to one?” Sydney asked her.

  “Not really, but there’s nothing else to be done.”

  “I could teach you to shoot!” Mason jumped in, with so much enthusiasm that Frances and Sydney both laughed.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m steady enough to handle a gun.”

  “It’s just a matter of getting used to it,” Sydney said. “If you have ten or fifteen minutes to spare, we can give you a quick lesson.”

  “Okay. Give me a few minutes to finish up here.” Sydney had a feeling Frances was going along with the suggestion more for Mason than for herself.

  The boys dove into the warm cupcakes while Frances put away the ingredients she had pulled out and set the pans in the sink to soak. They all then headed out into the desert to an area used regularly for target practice, where they wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally shooting someone.

  6 A Lesson Learned Well

  Since it would be easier for Frances to focus if only one person were talking, and since Mason was such an accurate shooter, they all agreed that he would instruct Frances while the others stood to the side and watched.

  “Okay, Frances, this is a .22 rifle,” he began. “It’s a good all-around gun because it’s reliable, it’s accurate, and it has very little recoil, or kick.” He had her hold the gun, to get the feel of it. She seemed okay so far. He then showed her how to work the safety and where to place her hands. Then he demonstrated how she should stand and how high to hold the rifle. When she was comfortable with that, he had her aim at a can lying about thirty feet away. She hit to the left of it and was visibly thrilled that she got that close. Truth be told, so was everyone else! From that point on, Mason just pointed out targets and fine-tuned her aim. For someone who’d never shot at anything, she seemed a natural, and she showed respect for the firepower. Best of all, she was having fun with it. She continued awhile longer, pretty much hitting everything she aimed at.

  Mason could see that she had the hang of it, so he suggested that they end the lesson and save the ammo. On the walk back to Vic’s, he veered off from the rest of the group to get a suitable handgun for Frances to keep close by, just in case.

  Joshua was waiting for them at Vic’s. Austin was the first to blurt out what they had been doing. “Frances just learned how to shoot, and she’s good!” Frances looked embarrassed, and Joshua grinned.

  “Well, they convinced me that shooting was cleaner than using my cookware,” Frances said, “and this way I won’t have to worry about getting brains on my good skillets,” They all laughed. “And, to Mason’s credit, he was a very patient teacher. He was easy to relax around, so I wasn’t nervous.”

  Just then, Mason walked in with a pistol he had packed in the SUV.

  “Here you go,” he said, handing the pistol to Frances. “It works the same way as the rifle. You have a good eye, so just point and shoot. It’s a 9mm, and it holds fifteen bullets. This is the safety. If you can, keep a mental count of how many shots you fire so you don’t get surpr
ised.” Frances made sure the safety was on (lesson number one) and stuck it in her apron pocket, which was big and heavily stitched. From the looks of it, it had held a lot of utensils over the years.

  Mason turned to Joshua. “Who’ll be coming to bring the supplies from Aftertown?”

  “Jeremy and Aaron. They have enough good men who can fill their shoes for a few days. They want to meet the people here in Junction and see the situation for themselves, which is smart if they’re going to be donating supplies and, hopefully, trading.”

  Mason got excited. He had spent a lot of time with Jeremy, and the two had become very close. Knowing that Jeremy would be along gave him more to look forward to.

  The guys all headed back over to the sheriff’s office, except for Austin, who decided to hang out in his favorite place, the café. The boys seemed to have endless appetites. Mason and Christian had grown at least two inches in the last six months. Frances made Austin a sandwich and brought Sydney a cup of coffee, along with one for herself.

  “You know, it really gives one a sense of power, being able to handle a firearm. I know ammunition is in short supply, but I would really like to shoot three or four more targets before this evening.”

  “That’s cool,” said Austin. “I’ll go out with you.”

  “Me too,” Sydney chimed in.

  Frances finished her coffee and then disappeared into the kitchen to tidy up before she began preparing for the next mealtime.

  Sydney studied Austin’s face. “You thinking about tonight?” she asked him. She was. Turner membership drives were not exactly an evening out.

  “Yeah, but we’ve done this before,” he replied. His dark eyes had a rare seriousness in them.

  “I know. But we’ve lost so many people we knew because they ‘didn’t see it coming.’ It’s those unexpected moments that get you.”

  “We always have each other’s back. We’ll get through it,” he assured Sydney, and she couldn’t help smiling as she reached over and put her hand on top of his.

  A loud crash from the kitchen interrupted their conversation, and as they raced toward the sound, a loud blast rang out. Cautiously stepping through the doorway, they saw a large kit fox lying on the floor with a fatal head wound, and Frances leaning back against the counter, the pistol hanging from her hand.

  “What happened?” they both asked at once.

  Concern was etched deeply in Frances’ eyes. “I don’t know how it got this far without being spotted, but it was definitely turned. This is the first time I’ve seen an animal in that condition,” she said.

  “You know, Frances, I really don’t think you need any more practice,” Austin said with a grin. Although her heart was still pounding, Frances had to laugh.

  Right about then, Joy and Leandra burst into the kitchen to see what was going on. They had been categorizing and storing new inventory in the store when they heard the gunshot. When they learned what had happened, in unison they said, “We need lessons, too!” Frances and Sydney couldn’t help but chuckle, and Austin, of course, immediately offered his services. Sydney could see that girls were beginning to intrigue him, and he was trying to figure them out. Even though he hadn’t spent much time around girls his own age, he was smart enough to know that the best way to get to know them was to do things with them, or for them.

  7 More Orphans

  It was getting late, and the most recent communiqué with the patrol revealed that the Turners were within two miles of Junction. The men on patrol had gotten as close as they could without giving themselves away. With that news, Junction started buzzing.

  Out at the confrontation point, Joshua, Jon, and George were busy positioning the first row of sharpshooters. The true size of the oncoming group of Turners was now visible with binoculars. The original count had been skewed by the huge amount of dust the Turners had kicked up, but it was obvious now that the group was a lot larger than they had first thought.

  The first row of shooters had been instructed not to fire until their targets were within a hundred feet, so they could get a clear headshot. Since they were all crack shots, that wouldn’t be a problem. Joshua, the boys, and Sydney were in the backup line.

  Within thirty minutes, the first shot rang out and a Turner dropped. The others steadily came on. Sydney had never faced off with this many Turners before, and she felt unnerved. The Turners were such erratic walkers that it was hard to sight them in. They jerked around, moving to the side and up and down. Since there was no rhythm to their movements, it took longer to get a good aim. There were also some fairly new Turners in the bunch, and they started making a beeline for their intended feast.

  Though Turners steadily dropped, a few were getting too close for comfort. The sharpshooters dropped back to strengthen the line. Six Turners had managed to get within fifteen feet, and one was almost within grabbing distance of Austin. A shot came from behind, and the Turner dropped at Austin’s feet. Sydney picked off two more before glancing over her shoulder to see who had fired that shot. Frances was standing there with her 9mm, zeroing in on her next target.

  Christian and Mason were superior marksmen. With his sharp vision, Mason was able to pop Turners at quite a distance. Although Christian was deadly with his crossbow, this type of an attack called for the fast hits of a rifle. Sydney could hear the two of them keeping score.

  “That’s two for me!” Christian yelled, and Mason countered, “Just got another one!” This went on until the horde was wiped out.

  When the dust settled, almost sixty Turners had been debrained, but there were casualties on the human side as well. All the dust in the air had made it possible for a few of the smaller Turners to penetrate the defensive line, and two men had been bitten.

  Jason and George took the compromised men to an area where they could be isolated. A couple of women—the men’s wives or girlfriends, Sydney assumed—went with them. Less than ten minutes later, two shots were fired. A human was never destroyed without clear evidence of transitioning, and a witness whenever possible.

  The patrols did one last detailed sweep before their replacements arrived. Sydney, Joshua, and the boys helped pile the carcasses so they could be burned, and then headed back to the clinic for the night. Exhausted, they all plopped down on the sofa and chairs in the waiting room. Nobody said a word. They only wanted to be near each other, grateful for these moments of safety and rest, and thankful that they had fared so well.

  Finally rising, they headed down the hallway to get cleaned up and turn in. That’s when they heard it—a low, gurgling, groaning sound. Only a couple of lights were on in the whole clinic, as no one had been in there since before dark. Austin caught the smell first. In the dimness, Sydney could barely make out a form bending over. Mason, who was in front, yelled out, “Move, move, move!”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Faster than Sydney had ever seen a Turner move, it was on them. Mason was too close to raise his rifle and the Turner grabbed him. Just as it was about to clamp its gaping maw into Mason’s arm, Christian fired his gun, spewing decaying brain matter for yards. Joshua pulled the Turner off of Mason and immediately started checking him over. Jason, who had been next door in the lab, came running around the corner. After quickly assessing the situation, Jason told Joshua to take Mason to the exam room, where the lighting was better. Sydney was shaking badly as she followed them down the hall, silently thanking God for Christian’s quick reflexes.

  Impatiently, Sydney, Christian, and Austin waited outside the door while Jason examined Mason from head to toe. Jason had asked Joshua to stay in the exam room, just in case. When the door finally opened and Mason came out, there was a flurry of hugs. Tears streamed down Sydney’s face as she kissed Mason’s cheek. Her relief was overwhelming.

  The gunfire had summoned Fred, Kyle, George, and Jon, and the men had begun a sweeping inspection of the clinic while waiting to see if Mason was all right. When they were confident that no hiding place had gone unchecked, they returned to the exam area
.

  “How on earth did that happen?” Joshua asked them.

  “That was Alison. Last time I saw her, she was out on the firing line with the rest of us. Best I can tell, she must have been compromised, started feeling strange, and was making her way to see Doc when she turned.” As Jon explained his theory, Sydney thought he looked like he had aged several years. This must have been a blow to the gut for him. He knew everyone in town, and Alison was probably a friend.

  “She has two daughters, Shawna and Kiley,” Jon continued. “I’m going to have to tell them.” He rubbed his hand over his face to shake off the fatigue and stress.

  Seeing his friend so upset, George offered to go see the girls instead. “I’ll take them over to Krissy’s house. She’ll look after them until we find a permanent place for them.”

  Joshua slipped back into military mode. “We need to account for every person who was out on the line tonight. I know it’s late, but one little nick is all it takes—and we can’t take any chances.”

  Jason wasted no time setting up an area where multiple people could be held at once, and the rest of the men went to round up everyone involved in the evening’s conflict. Jason recruited Sydney to assist him with the exams, and the boys helped out wherever they could. Christian and Austin were unusually attentive to Mason, and Mason wouldn’t walk more than ten feet from them. They’d had plenty of close calls before but had always been wiry enough, or lucky enough, to keep some distance. This night, they’d all had an awakening regarding their own mortality.

  It was one long night for everyone, but at least those who came in to be examined were able to leave.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  After sleeping in, the group made their way straight to Vic’s for breakfast the next morning. Frances met them with hugs.

  “I heard all about last night,” she said. “A lot of the townspeople who were helping with the aftermath have been trickling in. So sad about Alison. She moved here about two years ago with her two girls. Her husband left them alone when all the chaos broke out. He couldn’t handle the responsibility of looking after all of them. She was a bright girl, but she had a lot of emotional baggage to unpack and discard. Seemed like she was finally getting on her feet, emotionally, and then this. Those poor little girls.” She shook her head and turned to go back into the kitchen. A few minutes later she reappeared with hot coffee and breakfast rolls and sat down to join them.