by T A Williams
“Hey short stuff, what are you doing?” he asked as he walked over next to her.
She smiled as he approached. Her smile, which typically lit up her entire face, was subdued. The girl was only around ten or eleven years but was sprouting up so fast it looked like she was going to be taller than her father.
“You mind if I take a breather over here by you?”
“No, that’s ok.” Just a slight hesitation.
“So you plan on learning how to ride one of these things?” he asked, nodding towards the horses.
“I hope so.” Another subdued smile. “I didn’t realize how big they are. Are you?”
“Don’t have much of a choice. Gas is limited so if we want to get around we’re going to need a renewable source of transportation.” Though he didn’t want to admit that jumping onto one of those horses scared the living crap out of him.
Jamie just nodded her head and looked back at the field. She didn’t seem to be focused on the horses, or the field, or anything for that matter.
“Jamie, I’m sorry if this crosses a line, and I’ve never been very good about talking about….feelings, or stuff like that.” He glanced over at her and her gaze never wavered. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Not definitive.
“I know it can be hard to talk about…..things.”
Jamie turned to him. “Do you miss them?”
This time Alec fought the urge to gaze out into the nothingness. “Every day.”
“How….do you notice that some days it’s easier to forget than others?”
“Yeah, I do.”
When they had first met Trevor had shared with him that his wife, Jamie’s mother, died shortly after the power went out. She had been a diabetic and after a time they couldn’t find any more insulin. Alec remembered how it felt watching his mother slowly die and not being able to do anything.
“I’m afraid I’m going to forget,” Jamie’s voice cracked slightly. “I feel bad that some days are easier than others.”
“You’ll never forget. You wouldn’t be sad if you lost someone you could forget. Things get easier after time but it’s not because you’re forgetting the people you love, it’s because you’re learning how to live without them.”
“That doesn’t sound much better.”
Alec tried to recover. “There is a big difference though. Like you, I lost my mother and she was everything to me. She was there when I woke up, through the time until I laid my head down to sleep. She was my constant and then one day she was gone.” He felt the familiar feelings of loss washing over him. He let it flow over and past him. “I really did think my life was over when she died because I couldn’t imagine my life without her, I’d never had to.”
“How did you-“
“I kept going. The power went out shortly after that so I didn’t have a lot of choice, but I continued living. My mother gave me the knowledge and the strength I needed in order to live without her. Every moment she was with me, every lesson she taught me helped make me who I am today. So don’t be sad that you’re able to keep on living without your mother being here, it just means she did her job.”
“It got worse when we got here.” He watched her fight back a tear. “At least out there we were always searching for food or a place to sleep so it didn’t feel like we had a home, but now we have a home and she’s not here. And then I lay down at night and realize I wasn’t sad for her. That I went an entire day without missing her.”
“I know what that feeling is like. Trust me when I say that the people we’ve lost wouldn’t want us sitting around feeling sad all the time. The memories we have of them are happy ones, and it would be a waste if all we did is focus on the small amount of sad memories instead of the abundance of happy ones.”
Jamie wiped away her tears. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I guess we are all a family here.”
Alec looked back at the trailers, tents and dozens of people mulling about in the distance. He did feel a fondness for the people here. At first it was just a duty to help them out since he was there when their home were destroyed, but he did genuinely care for them.
“Dad said when we had to leave our house that home is where the heart is. He said it because I never thought we would have a home again, just like I never thought I would have a family again. But everyone here is my family.”
“You know what? I think you’re right.”
Jamie smiled, and this time it was back in full force. “So do you know what you are going to call this place?”
“Call it?”
“Yeah, everyone keeps calling it a settlement but this is like a new town.”
Alec smiled. “I haven’t given it much thought.”
“You should call it the one thing that Dad says can beat anything.”
“What’s that?”
“Hope.”
Ally
The first week had been the hardest. Ethan hadn’t been able to talk Roy into letting her have a blanket yet so she had been stuck sleeping in a ball in the corner of the cage. But Roy had come back one day complaining that his “buyer” wasn’t motivated enough, so she was going to be staying there for a while. After that he had relented and given Ally a moth-eaten blanket. It smelled and looked dirty but it was soft.
All she did was sit in her cage. She sat there in the hot humid days when it felt like the air wasn’t moving and she was drenched in sweat, and she sat there during the cold nights when the old wooden floor felt like it was frozen. Roy would throw her scraps at the end of the night but Ethan would sneak her food all throughout the day.
In her cage all she could do was think. Think about how things used to be. Think about the people she had lost.
Think about Joseph.
He was her brother but he was also her best friend. She hadn’t gotten along with the little girls in her school. They always said she was too rough and would complain to the teacher. They called her names and said she acted like she wanted to be a boy. She didn’t even know what that meant. She was just being herself. Joseph understood her though. Even when they played rough he didn’t make fun of her or call her names. Sure he tried to run away from time to time but that just made it more fun. He was her best friend and he died trying to protect her. Ally wanted to go hunt like she always did when she got sad but she couldn’t. All she could do was sit there and remember. She couldn’t stop the tears.
“Hey little bird, you still up?” Ethan’s voice floated into the room.
Ally had only been mildly aware that night had fallen. The room was always dark but usually the drop in temperature clued her in. She had been so lost in her head she hadn’t noticed.
Ethan walked into the room with a candle that pushed the darkness to the edge of the room.
“You okay? Why are you crying?” Ethan looked at the room then stopped. “Oh, Roy. Don’t worry I won’t let him sell you.”
She had watched the men interact she was well aware of who called the shots. “You can’t stop him.”
The man’s face turned red. “If I wanted to I could. When the time comes, I will let him know you are not going to be sold. He’s bigger and stronger than me but I’m a survivor. I’ve made it past worse than him.”
“Let me go. Let me go and then you don’t have to fight him.”
“No,” the man shook his head. “It’s dangerous out there. You need someone like me to watch over you. A lot of people tried to make it on their own and they’re dead. You always need someone watching your back.” Ethan paused and looked at her strangely. The look in his eyes made her feel uncomfortable. “You know, you’re going to grow up to be quite beautiful one day.”
Ally scooted over to the far side of the cage. Ethan’s eyes never left her.
“Don’t worry, I’m not like Roy’s friend. That’s disgusting.”
She wasn’t sure what he was talking about. She didn’t know why someone who be interested in buying
her. All she knew was that if that person was friends with Roy, she didn’t want to know them.
“I’m a patient man and I have morals. We’ll be best buds until you get older, then we’ll see.” The man laid down next to the cage and stared up at the ceiling. “By then I’ll have this place fixed up and it’ll be just like those nice houses before the power went out. Momma always wanted to live in a nice fancy house like this one. Do you miss your family?”
The sudden topic change caught her off balance.
“I never knew my dad but my momma was great.” The man paused. “Well, maybe not great, but she did as well as she could. We never had a lot of money but momma always made sure I always had what I needed. I always had food in my belly and a warm bed at night, what else can you ask for? Your momma take care of you?”
Ally’s mind turned to her mother. She remembered her smile and the feeling she got when her mother tucked her in at night. “Yeah, my mom took care of me.”
“Was she nice?”
“The nicest.”
Ethan smiled at the ceiling then the smile vanished and he sat up and looked at her. “What happened to your momma?”
“She died.” The empty feeling resurfaced. “Before the lights went out. She was sick.”
“I’m sorry.” He sounded genuine. “My momma died too. She wasn’t sick though. I never knew my daddy. My momma had a boyfriend and she tried to tell me to call him Daddy but I didn’t. He was nice to me when she was around but when she wasn’t, he wasn’t. He’s the one that killed my momma.”
Ally didn’t know what to say. Ethan was a bad person. He watched a man get killed and he helped kidnap her, but that didn’t stop her from feeling sorry for him in that moment. “What did you do? Where did you go?”
“I lived with my uncle for a while, until he lost his job. Then they kicked him out of his house and we lived on the streets. It really wasn’t that bad.” He sounded like he was trying to convince her. “I didn’t really like him so I left and lived on my own. I’m a survivor just like you.”
“What would you have done if someone kidnapped you when you were on the streets all alone?” she asked.
“I didn’t kidnap you. I’m protecting you. Things would have been better if someone tried to protect me.”
The pity she felt for him vanished. He had no intention of ever letting her go.
“I didn’t have a family growing up and you don’t have a family now. Everybody should have a family. Tell you what, I promise that I’ll make us a happy family and then you won’t be so sad.”
Ally wrapped herself up in her blanket. Ethan continued to talk but she just blocked him out and pretended to be asleep. After a few minutes Ethan finally stopped talking.
“You asleep?” She heard him rustling around as he got up to check. “Out like a light. Good night little bird.”
She watched the darkness replace the light as the man took the candle and left the room. She laid there for a few moments unsure of what to do or what to think until finally she fell into a troubled sleep.
Ben
The men had finally started to use their brains and were going door to door searching for them. One of the trucks would circle the block in case they tried to sneak out; a few wanted outside while the rest went inside the buildings searching for them. Ben and the others crouched near the windows, waiting.
“There are three keeping guard outside and I counted ten heading inside.” Mason said.
“Truck is coming by around about every fifteen.” Stevenson added. “Looks to be about another half-dozen in that thing.”
No one said anything else. They just waited.
Ben checked the safety on his gun for the umpteenth time. Every minute seemed to take an hour to pass.
“They went in, what, about twenty minutes ago?” Ben asked.
“Somewhere around there. Don’t worry, well know once they find our hiding spot.”
Ben could hear the smile in Stevenson’s voice. But he didn’t share in his amusement. Yet every time it felt like fear was overcoming him, he would think of Rook, and his determination would return.
Just as the quiet began to return, it happened.
The explosion blew out the windows on the top floor of the hotel. Even though they were posted up in the building across the street, they could still feel the shock wave from the explosion. Ben was in awe at the destruction.
Mason and Stevenson busted out their windows and fired at the three men cowering outside of the building. It only took a few bursts before those men were no more.
It had been Zima’s idea. When the men had started going from building to building, they knew it was only going to be a matter of time, so Zima set a trap. He set a trip wire and rigged up the small amount of C4 they had, and in just a moment a large portion of the bad guys were neutralized.
The sound of screeching tires echoed down the streets and just as expected the truck came screaming down the street in front of the building. Just as Ben had been in awe of the destruction, so too were the men who, for just a moment, stopped and stared up at the damaged building. That was when they opened fire. Ben let out two controlled bursts. The first hit the street near the truck, the second managed to get a few bullets into the actually truck.
“Fall back!” Mason yelled.
They all dove back away from the windows and a few moments later bullets tore into the building. They had expected this and their hope was that the men would turn their attention to their firing position that way Zima, who was hiding in the alleyway of the hotel could approach unnoticed and toss a few grenades into the truck. A much smaller explosion erupted from outside, confirming the plan went as planned.
“Get to your positions.” Mason said as he jumped to his feet.
Stevenson returned to the window as Ben followed Mason down the stairs into the street. Once there, the destruction somehow seemed even more immense. The street was full of debris from the explosions and the air was tinged with the smell of smoke. Ben kept his focus and sat at the edge of the alleyway covering his section. Mason met Zima at the entrance of the hotel and made their way up. They had five minutes to make sure the fatality rate of their C4 trap was 100% and then they were going to fall back. The wait this time wasn’t nearly as long and twice the silence was interrupted with short bursts of gunfire from inside the building. Zima and Mason came out of the building and they fell back to their rendezvous point, which was an old dentist office five blocks from the hotel.
The rushed into the building, barricaded it and then got into position to make sure they weren’t followed. All of them were silent, their focus outside. Ben felt the pounding of his heart in his chest, the sweat pouring down his back and felt alive. They had done it, he had done it.
After a few minutes Zima called it. “Looks like we’re clear.”
Ben finally relaxed and fell back against the wall.
“Any injuries?” Mason asked.
Ben checked himself over. It looked like he scrapped his elbow at some point in time but other than that he was fine.
Mason saw his elbow. “Make sure to clean and cover that. You don’t want it to get infected.”
At first Ben thought he was joking but the man’s face remained serious. “Er, yes sir.”
“How many were inside?” Stevenson asked.
“I counted eight.” Mason answered.
“I saw nine confirmed.” Zima answered. “The three guards outside were confirmed and then the six in the truck that pulled up. I’m no mathematician but it looks like that’s eighteen confirmed in ten minutes?”
“I don’t have my calculator with me but you’re probably right.” Mason said taking a swig out of his water bottle.
“Well it looks like the odds have been evened up just a little.”
Ben
“I count six.” Mason wiped sweat from his brow and did his best to catch his breath.
“I think six is manageable.” Zima said with a smile.
“Also their arg
uing,” Mason added. “They might end up killing themselves for us.”
Ben looked up at the old brick plant from their hiding spot behind the trees. Ivy had taken over the entire eastern side and was spreading out all over the rest of the abandoned building. The brick was faded and the yellow windows were broken or covered over in dust. This place was where the last of the bad guys were hiding.
“What are they arguing about?” Ben asked.
“Sounds like they just had an op that went bad. I don’t anything about that, do you Zima?”
“I’m at a fucking loss.”
“Should we give them some time, see if they kill themselves?” Stevenson asked.
“Negative.” Zima glanced at the window. “This little lover’s spat will provide us with the cover to finish this.” He turned to Mason. “You saw all this from the roof?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can your old legs get you back up there?”
Mason rubbed his chin with his middle finger. “I think they can manage.”
“Good. Mason, take the roof; Stevenson, take the dock doors on the west side, and I’ll go around the back.”
“Where do you need me….sir?” Ben asked.
“Here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“They don’t have a way to get out on the east side so the only other route they have is here. You see someone, you take them out.” Zima spoke quickly as if he was trying to reassure Ben it was a valid order. Ben hadn’t even questioned it; he didn’t have to prove himself to anybody. “Alright boys, let’s finish this for Rook.”
They spread out and took off to their positions while Ben hunkered down. He felt the safety on his gun and switched it off, no need to recheck. He had an extra magazine in his right front pocket and his pistol was attached to his side thanks to Rook’s old shoulder holster. The thing was a little big but Mason had been able to rig it up to fit him. Having it on helped him feel ready.
