Amy wrapped her arms around me, offering me comfort. I leaned down and kissed her hair, reveling in her clean floral scent.
“Luke, you know a lot. Probably too much. Your brain never seems to stop churning away, trying to solve one problem or another. So, I have another question for you.”
“Fair enough, Amy. Ask it.”
“When are we leaving, Luke?”
I tried to make my face stone, but Amy must have been practicing up her reading skills when it came to me. I saw her brow begin to wrinkle, and then realization dawned as her face took on a stricken appearance.
“That’s what this has been all about. I’m not going with you, am I, Luke?” she whispered.
I couldn’t meet her eye. Shame filled me and I turned away.
“Are you planning on leaving me here, Luke? You’re just going to head on down the road without me?” Tears filled her voice and I turned back to see great wracking sobs running through her body. She stumbled, trying to keep from collapsing on the concrete floor.
Acting instinctively, I scooped Amy up in my arms and held her to my chest, rocking her against me as I tried to sooth her hurt with mere words.
Gradually, Amy seemed to regain control of her emotions and the tears began to wind down. Her face was red and blotchy, and she seemed more resigned than angry at what must seem like a betrayal to her. I still held her in my arms, and lifting her slightly I picked her up and sat her on the sturdy wooden work table. This brought her eyes up closer to my level, though I could tell she was having trouble making eye contact.
“Amy, will you let me explain?” I asked simply. When she nodded, I sighed and continued.
“You know I have feelings for you, Amy. I really care about you. And I don’t see you as a little girl anymore. You’re mature way beyond your years, and I only want to spend more time getting to know you.”
“But you are going to leave me behind. You said I could go with you, wherever you went,” she said, finally complaining directly.
“I did say that. Back when I thought of you just as a traveling companion. But Amy, my feelings for you have changed. I can’t stand the thought of you being out there, exposed and in danger.”
“But you can protect me, Luke. I know you can. And I’ll work really hard to learn more, so I won’t be such a burden.” She said this last bit in a faster tone, as if she thought I would try to interrupt her. I noticed her breathing was getting back to normal but tears threatened to fall once again.
Lifting her chin, I tilted her lips up to mine and gave her a slow, gentle kiss.
“I love you, Amy. I know it isn’t right and I’m asking a lot from you, but I just want you to be safe. You have never been a burden to me. I fought my attraction to you for so long, telling myself you were too young, or you only acted nice to me out of appreciation after…you, know, when I was there to help you when you needed a hand.”
“I love you Luke. And it is more than you saving me. Or taking me with you. You’ve treated me as special from the very beginning, like I matter as a person. And now I’m afraid I’ll never see you again.”
She paused, as if gathering her courage to continue.
“I’ve never really had the chance to go out on a single date, you know. My mom said she would let me go out on group dates when I turned fifteen. That’s next month, by the way. But still, spending time with you let me know what kind of man you are.
“I want you in my life forever Luke, and I don’t even know your last name.”
“It’s Messner. Lucas Messner. Sam and Claire are my parents. My little sister is Paige. And they will love you as soon as they get a chance to meet you.”
“What do you mean?” Amy asked, confusion etched in her fine features. “I thought you were going alone from here?”
“That is the plan, once we get the security situation firmed up here. Darwin and Nick are meeting this afternoon with a group of neighbors with a plan to lock down the road leading into this community. That’s step one. Step two involves getting the Branson people integrated into the existing structure. They need the people to help defend the crops and the homes. Next, we need to do something about those other girls if we can, and Nick has an idea for that.”
Amy gave me a wide-eyed look at my list. But I wasn’t done yet.
“This last part is something I don’t want you to mention to anyone, okay?”
I waited for her nod.
“There’s somebody we think may be behind the trouble around here. Definitely the raiders and what happened to the Trimbles, and we think it also ties into the girls being held at that school. This man, he’s managed to set up some kind of trading network, using the girls and knowledge he has about the farms in the area.”
“What is the plan?” Amy asked. She knew me too well. As soon as I saw the problem, I would start working on some kind of a plan, right?
“Well, he’s got to die for what he has done. That’s a given. Nick thinks the only way we can do that without some kind of blowback on us is to work with the local National Guard unit up in Bentonville. Lori said they were actually out of Fayetteville, but trying to provide support there to the refugee center at the school. So, we are going to sit down and try to come up with a plan. I can’t see getting any of those girls out of a guarded compound without some help. But Nick and Mark have been around a lot longer than me. I’ll bet they have some ideas. We’ll also want to talk to the girls again, Lori and them. Those three might be able to give us more details about the school, and those jackasses running the place.”
Amy sat for a long time, digesting what I laid out for her.
“And after all that? Then what?”
“Then I have to go check on my family. See if the home fires are still burning back in Ripley. I know some of this stuff scares you, and really, it worries me some, too. When it was just the two of us out there, things were simpler. But, I worried about you from the start. This way, if we can get some kind of handle on the surrounding area, it will be safer for you to stay here with our friends. They will look out for you, and protect you, until I can get back. Heck, I think Ruthie is already convinced you are her little sister or something.”
Amy reached out then, her cool fingers tracing a line on my face.
“I love you, Luke. This is not some little girl, puppy dog crush. This is the real deal. Forever and always. You do what you have to, and then you come back to me. I’ll wait for you. No matter how long it takes.”
Then she kissed me. A hard, devouring kiss that seared my lips and turned my brain into jelly. This, again, was a promise. I stepped into her embrace and we stood like that for what seemed like hours, exploring each other with our mouths and lips and tongues.
Finally, I heard a noise behind me that caused me to jump back, releasing Amy and reaching for the pistol at my hip.
“Hold on!” cried a familiar voice and I looked back to see Stan waiting. He was eyeing the pistol in my right hand like it was a snake. With a sharp exhale, I holstered the weapon and looked back at Amy. She appeared to still be frozen by our kiss, her lips pursed and her cheeks suffused with a rosy glow that made my heart hammer once again. Flushed, she looked so beautiful.
“Dude, when you guys are done, Darwin would like to see you. The neighbors are starting to gather for that meeting you guys set up.”
“Alright, Stan. I’ll be right over,” I replied, my eyes never leaving Amy.
“Wow,” Amy finally managed to say as she opened her eyes. “What happened? Why did you stop?”
“That was our buddy Stan, master of killing the moment. Darwin needs me up at the house. But I need to know first, are we cool?”
Amy blushed deeper. “I am anything but cool right now, baby. But yes, I understand. When we get squared away here, you go blaze us a trail and then come back to me. You promise?”
There was that word again. Promise. Was that what we meant to each other now, or what the future held? Whatever it meant, I was in.
“I promise
.”
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
“What do you want, kid? Water line is over there.” The soldier said with a tired sigh at the end as he gestured with his chin, rifle at low ready in his hands. I noticed he wasn’t wearing a name plate on his uniform. None of them were, now that I looked.
“Got plenty of water, sergeant,” I replied, trying to remain calm. “I got a letter in my pocket for your CO. With your permission, I’ll take it out slowly.”
The sergeant gave me a look I couldn’t begin to decipher, but finally he nodded and said, “I’ll take a look. Slow is good, kid, and let me see those hands at all times. But I gotta tell you, if this is some kind of shakedown, you will end up sad, sorry and sore.”
“Sure thing. But this is nothing like that,” I replied. For today’s mission I wore a set of age appropriate clothes, which meant teen fashion. A long sleeved tee shirt with the logo for the Arkansas Razorbacks, cargo shorts and a pair of Nike sneakers. Amy, reluctantly, helped me pick out the clothes the night before. I needed the long sleeves to cover the bandage on my left forearm, of course.
Moving now with glacial patience, I removed the already protruding envelope from my left side pocket with thumb and forefinger.
“That’s good. Now drop it on the ground and take three steps back.”
I complied and waited while the sergeant eyeballed me for a long moment. He then called over his shoulder to another of the soldiers standing behind him.
“Conners, get over here on the double!”
The voice was loud and commanding but not worried. Just the way some noncoms liked to communicate. I didn’t realize I was smiling until the sergeant spoke again, this time at a lower decibel level and clearly directed at me.
“Something funny, son?”
The sergeant was in his early to mid thirties, so a little young to be calling me son, but I figured that was another of his mannerisms picked up in leadership school somewhere.
“Sorry. You just reminded me of my father. He sounds like that sometimes.”
“Really? Was he in the Army?”
“No, sergeant. Marine Corps. Retired as a gunnery sergeant. When I heard that tone I as a kid I knew I’d better be double timing it.”
“Your dad somewhere around here? Providing overwatch for you?”
“No sergeant. I haven’t seen my father since just before the lights went out. The only person watching out for me is the guy who gave me a ride. He’s unarmed and just waiting to see what happens.”
After much debate, Mark volunteered to come with me and deliver the letter. I was just supposed to drop the letter and call him in to meet. Darwin didn’t like me even being there, but dressed in the proper attire I did look less threatening than either of his sons. The old man wanted to do it himself, or at least drive the truck, but everyone else in the room disagreed. Grudgingly, the old man bowed to our wishes this one time.
By the time the sergeant and I finished our little talk, Corporal Conners was there, picking up the envelope from the asphalt as directed. Glancing warily in my direction, the corporal handed the paper off to the sergeant and took a step back, flanking the older man. I felt Conners watching me as the sergeant used a thick forefinger to unseal the paper flap. Conners was a younger version of the sergeant, but with a black frame glasses and a bit of a baby face.
Reaching inside the envelope, the sergeant copied my earlier move and grasped the edge of the paper with thumb and forefinger.
I could see the writing through the single thin sheet of white paper, Darwin’s handwriting clear and strong but illegible from my angle. That didn’t matter. I helped him write the message. I watched the sergeant’s eyes widen, then narrow as he digested the words. Then he looked over at me once more, his regard a cold and analytical examination.
“You know what’s in this letter?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You don’t sir a sergeant, son. Your father should have taught you that.”
“Yes, sergeant, but my father also taught me to respect my elders. Plus, I’m a little nervous being here. Sir.”
“I’ll bet. Can you corroborate any of these allegations, son?” the sergeant asked, holding up the letter in a gesture.
“Yes, sergeant. I was there when we rescued those girls. I’ve talked to them, both right after and then later on after they’d had a chance to calm down some. I heard their stories. I also know the men who had them were very, very bad.”
“And how do you know this?”
“I helped bury some of their victims.”
“We’ll talk more about that, as well as how that rescue came to happen, later. For now, I think we need to take a ride back to the base so you can talk to the Captain.”
I really didn’t want to do that, for a lot of reasons. Mainly, if we got sidetracked at their base, some more of those poor girls might get sold off while this captain dithered. But, I had an ace in the hole, if I was willing to play it.
“Sergeant, you know which girls this concerns, correct?”
“Yeah, this is that group of high school cheerleaders. I took a report from one of them a few weeks back. Transports still not available. This is the best place we could house them. Most folks aren’t even getting the clean water and what little food we can scrounge. And we didn’t know any were missing.”
“Junior high, sergeant. One of those girls we rescued is twelve years old, I think. What if I can get one of them from inside to corroborate what I’ve said? At least on the sale of the other girls. Would that be enough to get you to act here and take these girls out of this refugee center.”
“Hell, even if we pulled them out, where would they go?”
“The man who signed that letter, Darwin Keller, is willing to take the other girls in if you can spring them. He’s got a farm a good ways from here and can feed and house them.”
“And how do we know they’ll be taken care of? Even if something is going on here, how can we be sure you won’t just do the same thing to them out there?” The Sergeant asked bluntly.
“Mr. Keller anticipates someone, either your captain or higher up the chain, will want to get farmers back to work. He also expects to trade food for fuel at a reasonable exchange rate. He is already stretched providing food, water, and protection to the people sheltering on his farm and with his neighbors. He will take in those girls, and stretch further, because it is the right thing to do. Some people have managed not to become animals in these fallen times.”
“Look, son. We’ve already got a lot of…stuff going on right now. We don’t have the time or manpower to take over the running of this refugee center. In case you haven’t noticed, things are getting worse out there, not better, as this power thing drags on. I’ve already lost good men to snipers and bandits. I can’t go piss off these people on your word.”
Conners never moved, but I heard him mutter something under his breath.
“What’s that, Conners?”
“I said, ‘can the hardass shit, Harry’ and I meant it. Listen to the kid. And you know there is something not right about this place. And those fucking Red Cross volunteers.”
Conners stared at the sergeant for a handful of heartbeats before dropping his eyes to the ground. I could read the exhaustion and heartache in that face perfectly. I’d seen that same expression staring back at me on those rare occasions when I stood in front of a mirror. Out on the road, before I met Amy.
“We just thought they were skimming food, kid. I swear. We can’t get them much now anyway. What’s your name, anyway?”
“Luke. My buddy out in the pickup is Mark. He’s a good guy. Spent some time in the Army. One of Mr. Keller’s sons, too.”
“I’m Nathan Conners, and this is Sergeant Harry Erlich. He’s our squad leader.”
“Nice to meet you guys. Look, I know the shit is deep everywhere. And getting deeper. Thing is, I think I can guarantee one of the girls will talk to me. Problem though is even if she is willing, the other girls may be used as hostages for
her behavior.”
“What, do you know her or something?” Erlich asked, cautious again.
“No, but her older sister is one of the girls we saved from the raiders the other day. The girl left in there is Summer Thompson, age thirteen. Her older sister Lori told me some things I can use to gain her trust if I can just talk to her for a few minutes.”
“Like what?”
“Like her older brother’s name. Scott Thompson. Age eighteen. Traveled all the way from McAlester, Oklahoma to rescue his little sisters.”
I pointed to my chest. “Me. Or, close enough to pass in the dark. I think they might let her go just to get rid of me. The girls are kept locked in a classroom most of the time but only a couple like Lori knew something else was in the works. One of the girls we have at the farm overheard the deal being made, food for three of the girls. She hurried back and told Lori. Lori told Summer before they drug her away.”
“Jeez. That’s cold. You got anything else to convince this girl?”
“Yes. Lori told me Summer’s code word.”
When both men gave me a look of confusion, I gave a little wave.
“Nothing mysterious. Parents with teenage kids are often swapping rides. Most of the kids know all the parents. In case there’s any question, Lori and Summer each have a code word their parents give to someone authorized to pick them up.”
“I guess that makes some kind of twisted sense,” Conners allowed.
“So, you think you can get her to play along?” the sergeant finally asked.
“Yeah. I think with those things plus the fact I’m a teenaged boy myself will convince her.”
“If you can talk her into it, great. But the ‘volunteers’ may not let you get close, much less let her go. They may know, or suspect, she’s got too much inside knowledge.”
“That’s a possibility. Well, if you will loan me a weapon, I’m willing to do the job myself. Or, you can send a few of your men along as escorts.”
Home Fires Burning (Walking in the Rain Book 2) Page 14
