Fall of Houston Series | Book 4 | No Surrender

by Payne, T. L.

  Savanah leaned forward and looked where Walker had pointed. She gasped and stood.

  “It’s Isabella!”

  Walker grabbed her arm and pulled her down. “Get down, Savanah. We’ll be no good to her if we get ourselves caught.”

  Savanah yanked away. “The kids. Where’s Cayden?” Her mind raced with all the possible dreadful scenarios.

  “First things first. We need to get to her. They aren’t looking this way. I’m going to cross over and run behind that truck there. You follow me. Stay close. We’re going to follow them and wait for a good opportunity to get her back. Then we’ll go for the others.”

  Savanah couldn’t think. She was in full panic mode now with the thought of evil men hurting her children. “Okay,” she whispered. Isabella would know what had happened to the others. They had to get to her.

  “Stay down,” Walker whispered as they crept along the street, staying close to the vehicles. They moved from car to car, keeping the vehicles between them and the man with Isabella. Where were they taking her? Would any of their friends be there?

  “Maybe we should follow them. He might lead us to the others.”

  “I don’t think so. Why would that crowd still be back at the community center if they’d moved everyone out?”

  “You’re thinking they caught her as she ran from the building?”

  “I am.”

  Savanah was shaking. She was furious and scared all at the same time. “The others may still be inside? What if they set fire to that building too?”

  “First, we get Isabella. She’ll be able to tell us what happened and how many of our guys might still be inside.”

  “How are we going to confront the man without alerting that mob back there?”

  “I think you should distract him while I make my way around and surprise him.”

  “Distract him?”

  He pointed. “See that alley there.”

  She nodded.

  “When I reach it, you step onto the sidewalk and call Isabella’s name. That will cause them to stop and turn to face you. Keep them talking. I’ll go around the building and come at him from behind. Hopefully, I’ll get the jump on him, and we can do this quiet like.”

  “Hopefully?”

  “It’s the best I’ve got, Savanah.”

  She puffed out the breath she was holding and nodded. Walker took off and turned down the alley. The man never turned to look. Walker hadn’t been seen. Savanah moved from between the cars and stepped up onto the sidewalk. “Isabella!”

  The man spun around, pulling Isabella in front of him like a shield.

  “Isabella, are you all right?”

  “Yes. The kids are safe,” Isabella said before the man punched her in the side of the head.

  Isabella bent forward and threw her arms up to block the next blow. The man yanked her back, causing her to trip and almost fall. He started to turn, but Savanah rushed forward. “Stop. Where are you taking her?”

  “Stay right there,” the man said. “I’ll hurt her. Stay right there.”

  “I’m not armed. I just want to know where you are taking my friend.”

  “None of your business,” the man spat. He was shorter than Isabella, his hair long and dirty though he wasn’t as thin as everyone in Savanah’s group. They’d been stealing food from families. They were killers and thieves, and they needed to be stopped.

  “What if I want to come too? I don’t want to be left out here all alone.”

  The man’s eyes fixed on her. She could feel them perusing her body. She felt naked and exposed. It made her sick.

  “Come this way,” he said. “Slowly. Let me see your hands.”

  Savanah took a step forward with her arms bent at the elbows and palms facing out to show him she had nothing in her hands. She took another step, and then another.

  Where the hell is Walker? There was no way she was surrendering herself to this lunatic. No way.

  Savanah inched forward, trying to buy Walker more time to get into place. She was within ten feet when she spotted movement behind the man but she kept her eyes fixed on him. He was smiling ear to ear, his yellow rotted teeth on full display. The sight of them made Savanah sick to her stomach. The thought of him touching her made her skin crawl. She couldn’t imagine how Isabella felt with his arm around her neck.

  Walker closed the distance in a flash and pressed the pistol against the back of the man’s skull. He whispered something Savanah could just hear over the sound of her pulse beating in her ears. She felt bile rise into her throat and nausea coming on.

  Walker hauled the man’s head back and slammed the pistol into his skull. He dropped to the ground in a heap. Isabella rushed toward Savanah and threw herself into her arms. Savanah stroked her hair as Isabella sobbed into her chest. “It’s all right now. I’ve got you. You’re safe.” She took hold of Isabella’s shoulders and pushed her back to expose her face. “Isabella, where are my kids? Where are the others? Are they still in the community center?”

  “They all got away. I was in the rear, making sure everyone made it out the back. That pervert grabbed me. I told Jack to make sure they kept running.”

  “Where are they headed?”

  “Kurthwood,” Isabella said through sobs.

  Twenty-Three

  Will

  After some discussion, the group decided to move the Dongfengs back to the intersection a mile or so south of the roadblock. Will drove one of the Chinese military’s Humvee-like vehicles to a spot behind a barn near the intersection. He exited the vehicle and readied the 120mm rocket-propelled grenade launcher, reciting to himself Pete’s instruction on how to fire the shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled weapon. He tried to put the fact that the weapon was made in China out of his mind as he prayed that this one weapon was not a defectively manufactured Chinese product.

  Pete and Jason occupied the opposite side of the road with Rob and two others farther down. They’d strike any vehicle that managed to get through. A six-person team, including the lanky kid who’d led them to the IEDs, remained at the roadblock; they were armed with only the PLA soldiers’ rifles and a few hand grenades. Will hoped that they wouldn’t be needed.

  As the convoy came into view, Will faced the intersection and aimed the PF-98 to the left slightly. He steadied himself, not knowing how big a kick the rocket launcher would have. At the same time he fired, Pete and Jason did the same. The convoy stopped. Will had hit the first vehicle. The sound was deafening. A huge ball of smoke arose from the vehicle. Will inserted a second 120mm round into the weapon’s breech and fired again. As he did, two soldiers exited and attempted to run for cover. They didn’t make it far. Pete or Jason must have fired at them and taken them down.

  The third and fourth Dongfengs in the line had been hit, and soldiers were fleeing the armored vehicles. Rob, who was hiding on the opposite side of the road, fired the Chinese-made automatic rifle, mowing down three of the enemy before they could make it to the field beyond the road. A second later, he fired again and took out the three racing through the field.

  One enemy soldier almost made it to the old farmhouse one hundred yards from the road. Will heard a shot, and the man dropped. Will reloaded the rocket launcher and shifted south to a point where he could fire upon the last vehicle in the line. It was backing away. The round landed on the hood, but nothing happened. Will ran back and reloaded. By the time he returned, the vehicle had reached the bend in the road. It was just about to disappear when a loud boom sounded to the right of Will. Smoke rose, and men fled. Automatic gunfire stopped their retreat.

  One of the teens walked out of the woods, his QBZ-191 Chinese-made assault rifle resting on his shoulder. Pete yelled, but it was too late. One of the soldiers fired his pistol, and the kid fell to one knee. He attempted to raise the rifle and fire, but a second and third round slammed into him, knocking him back. Will felt sick. He was so young. The boy had had his whole life ahead of him. And now it was over. Ended by a foreign
invader. Anger boiled in Will’s chest. He dropped the grenade launcher and slung his rifle around the front. He raised it and took aim but before he could fire, Pete sprayed the PLA soldiers with automatic gunfire, emptying the magazine into them. After, he walked over and shot each one in the head with his pistol.

  He stopped and stood over the body of the kid, made the sign of the cross, and moved back towards Will. The two of them cleared each vehicle. Some of the soldiers had escaped. They were on foot without food or water. They wouldn’t last long. They’d likely die of dehydration or run into outlaws. Either way, they were very little threat to the president or his Doomsday plane.

  Will and the others collected the weapons and loaded them into two of the Dongfengs. The others were too damaged to move. Eventually, the rest of their comrades would arrive and find the scene. Will was sure they’d send out someone to look for them. They’d want to know if it was a military unit that did this.

  “Let’s head back to the store and let the others know how we’ve done. We’ll rest up for the night and then head south to engage the enemy tomorrow,” Pete said.

  Rob drove one of the armored vehicles, and Jason took the other. Will sat in the back of the second Dongfeng staring out the window, his stolen assault rifle resting against his leg. Against all the odds, they’d managed to accomplish what they’d set out to do. They’d stopped the convoys from reaching Shreveport. In addition, they’d confiscated rifles, RPGs, frag grenades, ammunition, pistols, and mortars. Not enough to fight a major battle, but enough to make trouble for the Chinese. As they headed east toward their families, Pete’s cousin and his neighbors returned to their homes to pack up. They’d decided it was time to move their families out of the war zone before the fight arrived at their doorsteps.

  Will weighed whether it was a good idea to send the rest of their group ahead with them. They weren’t all that safe at the store. Not with units breaking through the front lines and racing north. If the soldiers had been able to contact their command, they would have told them of the trouble and the Chinese forces could have decided to swing wide to avoid the roadblocks, which could put them rolling through Roseville right past the store at any time. He’d need to speak to Jason and Pete about it when they got Roseville.

  Isabella would protest, Will was sure of that. But Savanah was ready to keep moving. She would do her best to convince the others. Pete might not be too willing to send his family ahead. It would depend on how much he trusted his cousin, Will thought.

  Rob slowed the vehicle near the outskirts of town and then pulled into the abandoned car lot. They drove around to the side of the building and parked the Dongfengs there. They didn’t want to park them out front for the Chinese or marauders to see. Will was sure that anyone in town would be able to hear the vehicles rolling through and would likely come looking for them. Rob and August agreed to take the first shift, staying with the vehicles and stolen weapons. Will, Pete, and Jason would relieve them in a few hours so everyone would get some rest and time with their families.

  They fast-walked six blocks north and turned on Sixth Street. Pete rounded the corner first and stopped. Will, not seeing anything, walked past him. Pete grabbed him and pulled him back to the side of the old pharmacy building.

  “What?” Will asked, trying to see for himself.

  “Outlaws,” Pete said, moving quickly back the way they’d come.

  “What? Where?”

  “They’re at the store,” Pete said without stopping.

  Jason cursed and rushed ahead of Pete. They turned left on the next block and cut through an alley to make it back to Sixth Street about half a block from the store then stopped and crouched beside a dumpster. Pete was scanning the building through the scope of his rifle.

  “How many?” Will asked.

  “Shit!” Pete spat. “They’re inside the store.” He stood and ran back down the alley.

  “What are we going to do?” Will’s heart was pounding inside his ears as he imagined the worst but tied not to panic. Jason just looked pissed. He gripped his rifle and held it, ready to mow down anyone that got in his way. “Where are we going?” Will asked. Pete didn’t answer.

  They returned to Fifth Street, turned right, and ran through the intersection. Sprinting to Pine Street, they turned right and ran, crouched low, along the sidewalk, staying close to all the parked and abandoned cars along the curb. Will knew where they were going now. They were heading toward the community center. One of the many places they’d selected as alternate shelters for the group.

  Will spotted the men milling about in front of the center, and his heart sank. He fought back despair and panic as they moved between a truck and SUV to avoid being seen by the men. “They’re not there,” Jason repeated over and over as if trying to convince himself.

  Pete pointed. “There. We need to get around and get a look at the back of the center.”

  He sprinted across the sidewalk and the parking lot between two buildings and disappeared around the back of the building. Jason ran past Will and also disappeared from view. Will was winded and having trouble keeping up. When he reached the back of the building, he saw Pete on the ground wrestling with a man. Jason rushed over toward them, but a second man appeared from nowhere and tackled him.

  Now he was struggling to free his rifle from the man’s grasp. Will stopped and brought his rifle up to fire but couldn’t get a clear shot on either of their attackers. Pulling his knife from its sheath on his belt, Will lunged and jumped on the man’s back as Jason rolled him over. The knife slid easily between his ribs but he continued to have a firm grasp on Jason’s rifle. Will yanked the knife from the man’s body and plunged it in again and again until he released the weapon and rolled off Jason who sprang to his feet and landed on top of Pete’s attacker, sending his elbow into the back of the man’s neck. He went limp, and Pete managed to pull himself out from under him.

  By that time, Jason had already taken off for the community center. Will caught up with him two buildings down. They slid into the recessed entryway and watched as people came and went from the back door. There was no sign of Isabella or the rest of the group.

  “Maybe they didn’t come here,” Will whispered.

  “They could be anywhere, Will.”

  Jason sounded defeated. Will understood the feeling, but he couldn’t accept that his family had been captured by the marauders.

  “Where would they take them?” Jason asked as Pete caught up with them.

  “Their headquarters. Those apartments just off the highway. That’s where they’re operating out of at the moment.”

  “Let’s go,” Jason said, moving back into the alley.

  “Stop. We need to search the rest of the town first. They could be anywhere. They could be hiding out in any of these buildings. We can’t just go running off and abandon them,” Will said.

  “Will’s right. They could be holed up in one of the buildings near the store. We should check out the warehouse across the alley first and maybe the church on Chestnut Street. Those are both good places. Jack and I checked them out. He might have taken them there.

  “Walker would have moved them someplace where they had an easy means of escape. The church is my best guess.”

  After a thorough search of the warehouse, they reached the church. They weren’t there. There wasn’t even a sign that they’d been there.

  Jason crossed and stopped at the back of the barbershop. He pulled his rifle to his cheek and scanned back toward the community center.

  “You aren’t going to shoot them?” Will asked. “You’ll bring them all down on us.”

  “I’m looking for someone?”

  “Who?”

  “Their leader,” Jason said, and then he lowered his rifle. “He’s not one of them.”

  “We have to hurry and find our families,” Will said, tugging on his arm.

  Jason nodded. “When I find him…”

  “I know.” Will felt the same anger, but they couldn’
t afford to let rage cloud their judgment.

  Rob and August were as anxious to find their families as Will, Pete, and Jason. Jason jumped behind the wheel of the Chinese military vehicle and slammed the door. Will crawled in and climbed into the turret. He wasn’t even sure how to load the weapon. Pete tapped him on the leg, and he moved into one of the back seats, allowing Pete to man the heavy machine gun.

  Will twisted in the seat to see if Rob and August were behind them as Jason sped north. They were and remained right on the bumper as they turned down one street and then another before Jason abruptly pulled the vehicle to a stop in the middle of the road. He quickly exited the vehicle and rummaged in the back, retrieving weapons and ammunition before running around to the front.

  Will exited the vehicle and joined the others in the middle of the street. He looked down at what everyone was staring at.

  Meet You At The Second Rally Point was scrawled across the pavement in bright pink sidewalk chalk. Savanah was letting them know they’d made it out and where to meet up with them. Tears spilled over Will’s eyelids and rolled down his cheeks. He wiped them with the hem of his T-shirt and sprinted back to the Dongfeng. They needed to get to Kurthwood before the scavengers caught up with them—or the Chinese.

  Twenty-Four

  Savanah

  Roseville, Vernon Parish, Louisiana

  Walker, Savanah, and Isabella moved quickly west along Twelfth Street, following the route the group had agreed. When Savanah spotted the words written across the roadway in pink sidewalk chalk, she nearly broke down in tears. “Kylie,” Savanah whispered. She’d fought with her about bringing chalk. There was only so much room in her tiny pack, and she needed all the room she could get for clothes and essentials.

  “Will and the others will know where to find us,” Isabella said.