by Kate Morris
“Sam,” he calls to her, confident they are alone, “call it in. We need an evac.”
She gives him a thumbs-up.
Simon goes back to reviewing the scene of the crime. It is ghastly, not more than a few days old at his best guess. There are children, too. This makes him sick. He wonders if any of this group was able to escape. Surely, they did.
He moves to their enclosed, fenced off area where they must’ve kept livestock. A little shelter had been erected, not much more than a three-sided, wooden structure only big enough to hold maybe goats. There is also a chicken coop. Their farm animals are gone, the pens empty, the gates left in the open positions. He wanders cautiously toward a smaller, fenced-in space, an obvious garden with tidy, hoed rows of vegetation. The gardens have been picked clean, nothing left. He scans the area and goes back to Sam, not wanting to leave her alone for very long. She is standing under the overhang of the building, probably trying to avoid having to look down at the carnage.
“They’re on the way,” she tells him.
Simon nods. “Good. There’s nothing to see here; nobody left to talk to about this.”
“Yeah,” she agrees in a melancholy tone. “What do you think happened?”
“Could’ve been the highwaymen, probably was. Looks like their assassination method. They probably didn’t stand a chance, got overrun quickly. The animals and food are all gone.”
“Should we check out the buildings?”
“Yes, let’s do it quickly before the guys get here.”
They enter through one French door of the many sets connecting the brick patio and are greeted by another dining area, this time much grander in size and décor, except that it’s dusty and filled with cobwebs. The club must’ve held wedding receptions, banquets, and events in the large room. This obviously wasn’t where those people were making their sleeping and living quarters. They go through the double doors which lead them to the main lobby and reception area. Again, not a soul is in sight. Sam taps his arm and points to their right down a long, dark hallway. He nods and walks ahead of her in case there is danger awaiting them in the shadows.
By the time they make it to the end of the building, they’ve passed many rooms which were apparently where the murdered people were housing themselves. They look like former offices of the hotel employees, and in the next wing, they find hotel style suites. Every room appears to have been lived in by the looks of the beds and some personal belongings like backpacks and plastic bins of belongings on the floors. Most of the rooms have been ransacked, as well. He figures whoever killed the people and took their livestock also raided their compound for anything they could take with them to use.
They cross to another section of the country club where he and Cory saw vehicles parked before only to find that their vehicles are missing. The raiders must’ve confiscated them, as well. The only modes of transportation now are a few once-white but now filthy golf carts. He’s surprised the thieves didn’t steal these, too. Simon nods to Sam, and they enter through a single door to another, smaller building of the compound. It might’ve been an employees-only facility because there are lockers and offices. A shuffling and clicking sound at the other end of the small building alerts Simon. Sam must hear it, too, because she stops abruptly and freezes.
He holds his fist up to stop her. Then he signals that she should hold her position and provide cover fire if he needs it. Then Simon walks swiftly to the other end of the hallway and swings left with great caution into an open door. He startles two small children and a woman, all three cowering in a corner. However, the woman, who is clearly frightened by him, is pointing a revolver at him.
“Hey!” he says firmly. “Don’t shoot me, ma’am.”
She hesitates and flinches. In her defense, Simon is pointing his own rifle at her. It’s an intimidating piece with the high-power scope and long barrel.
“Don’t shoot us!” she cries after a long, assessing pause.
“I won’t,” he reassures her.
“Simon,” Sam’s small voice comes from his side.
“Sam, stay back!” he calls to her so that she doesn’t approach any closer in case the woman with the gun develops a sudden tick in that finger on the trigger.
“What’s going on?” Sam asks.
Simon doesn’t take his eyes off of the woman long enough to glance towards Sam. She could make a move, lunge at him, shoot him.
“Please, lower your gun, ma’am,” he says.
“We’re here to help!” Sam calls into the room.
“Sam, get back,” he says, wishing he could swear at her. He doesn’t want to frighten the woman any more than she clearly already is. “Ma’am, please. My friend’s right. We’re here to help. Can you tell me what happened out there?”
“Who are you?” she asks with fear.
“We came here today to make an alliance. Our people spotted your group a while back, and we’ve been watching your compound.”
“You’re with them, aren’t you?” she asks and raises the gun higher.
“What? The men who did…that?” he inquires, referring to the mass murder in such a way so that the children don’t understand. They look scared out of their minds, hungry, tired, and mentally drained. She nods with trepidation. “No, no way, ma’am. We’re not like that. We came to offer our alliance, our friendship. I think whoever did this is the same group we’ve been hunting for a while now. We know they’re attacking people on the roads. We were coming to warn your group about this and also to offer our help if you need it. I see we’re too late.”
Her eyes fall to the floor, and tears slip from them. The gun in her hand begins to shake, and she finally lowers it.
“I’m sorry we didn’t make it here in time,” he apologizes as Sam brushes past him into the room with the woman and children.
“I’m Sam,” she says and squats to the eye level of the children. The little girl offers a nervous smile.
“What happened?” Simon asks.
“We…we were working out in the gardens. Some of the men were gone.”
“When? Was it daytime or at night?”
“Middle of the day. It happened the day before yesterday.”
Static on his radio interrupts their discussion, and Simon answers John. He tells them of their location and to meet them at the entry door to the building. Within minutes, John is there with Kelly, and Simon is telling them about the woman, who they introduce them to. They learn her name is Bianca, and the little girl is her own and the boy an orphan that she managed to save from the carnage.
“They came without warning and just started shooting people,” she explains. “I grabbed my daughter and Oliver here and ran. My husband was one of the men who was gone.”
“Gone where?” Kelly asks.
Her brown eyes jump to Kelly and show a certain tentativeness. Everyone is always afraid of him, even though Simon only knows Kelly to be kind and gentle. He is as lethal a killer as John or Derek and definitely Cory, but Simon also knows he doesn’t enjoy it.
“They went to hunt deer. We have to go to the woods, the countryside to find deer or to catch fish,” she tells them. “It’s usually the only meat we have. We had a few dairy cows and goats, but they took them, too. They took everything.”
“I saw,” Simon remarks.
“Did you know these people?” John asks, earning a more relaxed expression from the woman. If she only knew how deadly John could be.
“No, sir,” the woman answers. “I’ve never seen them before in my life. They were…”
She shivers and lowers her gaze to her hands which are folded in her lap. Sam has taken the children to a nearby table and is sharing their packed lunches that Sue and Hannah made of sandwiches, apples, berry scones, containers of water, and chopped vegetables.
“What?” Simon presses. “What were they?”
“Monsters,” she says stoically, awful memories assailing her senses.
Nobody says anything for a moment as the heavy mo
od settles in on the room and her tears reside enough to allow her to speak again. This woman is highly traumatized.
“How many others made it out?” Kelly asks.
“Just me and the two children. I looked for survivors,” she says.
“What about your husband and the other men?” John asks.
“He didn’t make it, either,” she explains. They wait for her to continue. “They ran into the men on the way back in. They just picked the wrong time to come back home from their hunt.”
“Did your men come and go at the same times every day when they left the camp?” John asks.
“Yes, sir. They usually left in the morning and tried to be back before dinner each afternoon. They were good about being home to make sure we closed the club before dark. We felt it kept us safer. We were wrong.”
Kelly breaks in to say, “No, you were right. That was smart. These people were probably watching your camp. They saw the pattern. They knew when to ambush the ones left behind and when they’d be able to take out the men returning to it.”
“Agreed,” John says with a nod and a frown. “They canvassed your place and knew when the best time to attack was going to be.”
“Probably,” she agrees with a nod. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Why were you staying here…after what happened?” John asks.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she answers honestly.
Simon asks her, “No family? Friends nearby?”
She shakes her head, and Simon looks to the guys. They will definitely be taking three extra people with them when they leave the city today. They would never even consider leaving her behind to fend for herself and two small children, especially since her food is likely mostly or all gone.
“We have another place to go today,” Kelly informs her. “Maybe you might even be able to help.”
This gets her attention.
“We have also been watching another place nearby,” Kelly continues. “There seem to be a lot of kids, young people living together at an old Army base near here. We’d like to approach them and see if they’ve heard or seen anything about these men who attacked your group. You could help us, explain, talk to them, let them know we aren’t going to hurt them.”
“I can’t leave here. I need to stay and take care of the children.”
“We might have another option for you,” John offers. “That is, if you’re interested. We wouldn’t force it on you.”
Her eyes skirt to his and rest there with unconcealed hope.
John continues, “You could live in our town. It’s safe. Safer than here, even before what happened. There’s a wall to keep people out. You could live in one of the houses, even live with people who would take you and the kids in until we can get a house opened up. It’s not far from here.”
“Hell, I feel bad we didn’t approach you sooner,” Kelly says. “We weren’t sure if your group was the ones we’ve labeled the highwaymen.”
“It’s not your fault, sir,” the lady says. “You couldn’t have known this would happen.”
Kelly looks as if he doesn’t believe this as if this will weigh down his already troubled conscience that they let this happen, that it’s the Rangers’ faults.
“Where are you from?” John redirects. “Around here?”
“No, my husband and I are from Texas. After the first nukes went off overseas, he brought us north for fear of what could happen. His parents lived near Knoxville, a house on a big lake. We lived there for a few years until the lake community was overrun.”
“By people like the ones who did this?” John asks.
She shakes her head. “No, dissension from within. It was so sad. We had a great system. Everyone was bartering with one another. The community was gated, small, manageable. But then the fighting started. We didn’t have a good crop season last summer, too much rain. People started stealing from one another. Then murdering. After his father was killed, my husband got us out of there, us and a small group of like-minded families.”
“We’ve heard that most of Texas was hit with flooding and tsunami waves,” Simon puts in. “Were you still down there when it all happened?”
“Yes, a lot of it was flooded and destroyed, but we were north of Dallas, so we made it. Then we went to Knoxville. It worked for a while, but people being what they are now, it didn’t last. Nothing does.”
Her eyes turn toward the children and grow even sadder. This woman has seen her fair share of death and tragedy. Simon understands her woes all too well. It seems that everyone they meet has dealt with the same things, loss of loved ones, murder, rape, robbery, and deceit. It makes him think of Paige. He wonders if Sam is right about his sister’s feelings toward Cory. Does he make her happy? And if so, is it right to keep her from seeking that happiness with him? Life is so short and mostly bleak. His dictate of keeping them apart could be a selfish act and one he may come to regret like so many other bad decisions he’s made. He only wants his sister to be safe, even her tender heart.
“Ready?” John asks him, standing directly in front of Simon.
“Yes, sir,” he answers, not sure if he missed something.
John hits him with a look that lets him know that he did. “We’re taking her with us, and we’re going to talk to the kids at Campbell. Stay alert and help her gather whatever she wants to take. We’ll move in ten.”
“Yes, sir,” Simon repeats with a nod.
Sam continues to keep watch on the two surviving children because they trust her as all children do, while Simon helps the woman pack, and Kelly and John surveille the area. Half of the pick-up’s bed is jammed full of articles and boxes of items that she wanted to take with her. They don’t argue. It’s all she has left, and most of it looks like things for the kids.
John decides to forgo the need for a covert breach at Fort Campbell and instead drives up to their makeshift gate. Immediately they are met by a young man who can’t be more than sixteen. After some gentle coaxing and a lot of convincing by Sam and the woman that they are not here to harm them, they are permitted entrance into the old Army fort, which has seen better days.
They are met in an open courtyard by more young people and are introduced to their leaders. Simon is guessing that maybe they might be in their early twenties.
“We need to warn you about some people…” John says but is interrupted.
“We know who you mean,” the young woman says. “We’ve managed to avoid them so far, but we’ve seen the messes they’ve been leaving on the roads.”
It is interesting to Simon that she would refer to the mass murdering of people as a mess. Perhaps she is shielding the children nearby who are aptly listening to their conversation or else she is just that hardened by this world now that she thinks such disgusting acts of violence against fellow human beings is nothing to concern herself about. Her name is Melora, and she has long, dark blonde hair that is pulled back into a single braid. Her eyes are a light hazel green, and they seem as cold as her demeanor.
“We want to offer your group help,” Kelly tells her.
Her eyes become much more guarded at the sight of Kelly, which is nothing new.
“How?” she asks, looking at the young man beside her who is around Simon’s age. His name is Hardy, and he seems much more open to conversing with them, although she does most of the talking.
“We have a small town that is completely secured and fortified with trained soldiers and a wall that surrounds it,” John explains.
“And there are other children there and a school- well, a library that we use as a school,” Sam adds.
Hardy says, “That sounds pretty good.”
His further comment is shut down by a look that Melora sends him in haste.
“We don’t need help. We’re doing fine on our own,” she tells them.
“You won’t be when those jerks find this place,” Kelly says. “And, trust me, they will.”
Their new friend from the country club says
, “Yes, they will. They found us. It was much more well-hidden than this place, too. Our men were armed. The women were trained. It shouldn’t have happened to us, but it did. It’ll happen here, too.”
Kelly jumps in to say, “Once they run out of people to terrorize on the road, you better be damn sure they’re gonna start hitting places like this.”
Simon adds, “And we’ve heard from a source that there could be as many as six hundred of them in their group.”
“Six…?” Hardy says and trails off. “Melora, we can’t go up against that many. They’d clobber us.”
Her eyes dart to his again and then to Simon and the rest of his group.
“We’re not trying to pull one over on you, ma’am,” John says gently. “We saw your place a while back. We’ve watched it a few times. If we can do that, so can they. And they will. We believe they researched the country club before they attacked. They knew when the men would be gone. These aren’t just unskilled idiots running around robbing people. We think they have experience, tactical equipment, and the numbers to make it happen.”
Sam says, “And we have allies. I live on a different compound, and the man that runs it is an ally to John and Kelly. They’ll tackle this together. It’s what they do. They’re all ex-military and have the experience to take out this group.”
“When it’s over, you all could come back here if that’s what you’d want,” Simon tells her. “We wouldn’t stop you. We don’t force anyone to stay in our town that doesn’t want to.”
“Right, we’d never take away your free will,” Kelly says.
John points to the cluster of children who have gathered near the wide door opening of a building. “I don’t want to see anything happen to these kids. If you’ve seen the stuff on the freeways, then you know that these scumbags will not give quarter to children. They are ruthless.”
Melora nods and says, “Yeah, we know. We’ve seen it, too.”
“I don’t feel comfortable leaving those little ones unguarded,” Kelly says. “If you don’t come with us, I think I’m gonna have to stay.”
