by Nelson, Kip
Mr. Smith's grip tightened on her shoulder and then he stomped around her so he could speak to her directly.
“You don't know what you're talking about. All my followers are with me, and if people just would give me a chance they would see I only want the best for them. They would understand what I'm trying to do! But no, everyone must deny me my right to make the world in my image. They're jealous. That's it. They always have been. They're just jealous because when the world ended I took the reins, not them. I was the one who stepped up and took control. I'm the one in charge here and you're all just jealous!”
“Like I said, deluded,” she said sarcastically, as though she was talking to herself.
This really set off Mr. Smith, though. He grabbed her jaw and made her gasp as he forced her to look at him. Her demeanor changed completely and fear ran down her spine as her eyes began watering. When she was with Mack and the others she felt strong, and it was easy to forget Mr. Smith was a horrible man, but here she was being given a reminder of his terror. His slender fingers pressed against her skin and she could feel his hot breath as he spoke.
“You either can join me willingly or you can be forced to comply. I’ve grown tired of these games. I have considered all my options and you are the one I have chosen to stand with me. You cannot rely on your friends or anyone else. This is the last place you are going to see. So you may as well adapt to the new circumstances because I'm not going to let you leave. This is your future. This is your destiny.” He released his hands from her face and she stretched her jaw, attempting to ease the pain that was shooting through her.
“I'll give you a chance to think about it,” he said, and then he turned his back on her.
For a few moments, she was too shocked to move. She was afraid this was some terrible trick, and that if she tried to leave she would be punished. Without Mack and the others, she felt extremely vulnerable. Her eyes darted around the walls of the hut, replaying the vicious look in Mr. Smith's eyes as he had been talking to her. His offer had been a surprise and it didn't seem as though she had much choice. She knew she didn't want to comply, not after Mack had taught her how to fight, and after how she had spent all her life resisting people like Mr. Smith.
After she caught her breath, she could move again. She staggered out of the hut. There was nobody around. She was tempted to make a break for it, even though she knew that somewhere close by somebody was watching her, and if she did try to run she would soon feel a bullet burning a hole in her back. But she couldn't leave her friends, either, and this was a tremendous shift in her thinking.
While she had been part of a hacking group, there had not been any real closeness with the others. They all had lived a rather transitory life. Aside from D1ABL0, none of them were a constant presence. As such, she did not feel an obligation toward them as she did toward Mack and Luis. So she slowly made her way back to the tent, walking through the camp with a dazed look on her face.
The color had been drained from her skin. Grace looked lost. People started to talk as they saw her come back from the general direction of Mr. Smith's hut, and when Mack was alerted his blood boiled. He and Luis both noticed her quickly and they abandoned their posts, running back to be with their friend. The guards who were supervising them were amused to see them in such distress. So they didn't protest when they left, but told everyone else to keep working.
Luis was the first one to arrive in the tent, although Mack was only a few paces behind. Upon seeing him, Grace flung her arms around Luis, who tried his best to comfort her. Grace was shaking and tried holding back her sobs even though they were away from the prying eyes of the camp. She was not someone who was prone to emotional outbursts.
“What happened?” Mack asked, and as her voice shook Grace quickly told him what had transpired.
Mack clenched his jaw and his fists. If the tent had been made of a firmer material, he would have punched the wall. “That bastard,” he said.
“He's been luring me in all this time then he turns around and takes you like that. I should have seen it coming. Maybe if I had been more interested...if I just had agreed to be a part of this, then he wouldn't have threatened you like that.”
“It's not your fault,” Grace said.
“It doesn't matter whose fault it was. This man is a monster and he must be stopped. We need to start thinking about putting this plan into action because I don't want to be here to see what Mr. Smith is going to do next,” Luis said, still holding Grace.
Mack had a thoughtful expression on his face as many thoughts were whirling in his mind. All this time Mr. Smith had been working toward getting people to be a part of his supposed master race. Since Mack had declined his offer he had turned to Grace, who he must have known had a special bond with Mack. But Mack dared not think of what he was going to do to make Grace comply. He only could assume it involved taking either his or Luis' life.
“No, I don't want you moving the schedule up because of me. I can handle it. We need to wait until everyone is ready. Like Mack said, we're only going to get one shot at this and we need to make sure we make the most of it,” Grace said. Wiping her nose and mouth, she pulled away from Luis and stood using her own strength again, although Luis kept his arm hanging over her shoulder.
“No, Luis is right. This is only going to get worse and I don't want to give Mr. Smith another chance to hurt you. In ideal circumstances, we'd have another few days, but this world isn't ideal. We're going to have to move tomorrow. It's time to stand up to Mr. Smith, once and for all. I, for one, am tired of letting him have all the power here.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ever since the man with no name had shouted at Steve, the young guard had felt indebted to Mack and had tried bringing him some extra rations every now and then. Although he had been taken off guard duty, things had to be shuffled around as other people went on patrols. So, occasionally Steve did resume his duty of bringing them meals. Steve had been the only guard they had spoken to directly about their plans. Although the fear on his face was plain to see, he agreed to help them, and Mack was impressed by the young boy's courage.
Steve also had spread the word among some of the other people who had been forced to serve as guards, as most of them had not enjoyed keeping their own families in check. They also had used Luis as a messenger between Steve and his brother Danny since the guards often were kept separate from their own families to make the division between them more apparent. Mack was aware of this and he did not want to harm these people if they could help it. So, although it was a gamble to let word spread through the guards, he trusted Steve's judgment to tell only people who would remain tight-lipped. But more than that, it was helpful to have a person on the inside who could give them accurate information about the comings and goings of the patrols.
On this morning Steve brought them their breakfast and nodded to them in turn.
“Danny said to keep your head down, and that he and your mom are looking forward to seeing you again real soon. They're both proud of you,” Luis said. Steve blushed and an awkward smile came upon his face.
“I'm proud of you, too, Steve. Thank you for helping us like this. I know it's not easy and that you must be very afraid, but you're going to be helping a lot of people by doing this.”
“I know, I just want to do my part,” he said.
“Something happened yesterday that means our plans have to move forward. We're going to have to attack today. Do you think that's a good idea?” Mack asked.
Steve chewed his lip and traded his weight from foot to foot before he answered. “There's a big patrol going out today, around lunchtime. Word is they've found another big group nearby and they're going to strike before they attack us. Most of them are going, with only a few staying behind.”
“Good, then perhaps it won't matter that we didn't have a chance to get organized properly,” Mack said.
“Hopefully, this all will be over by the time the patrol gets back, and we'll be able to give them
a warm welcome.” The others grinned, and Steve joined in.
“I also brought you these,” he said, and reached around his back, pulling out a piece of cloth from which he had made a makeshift bag. He handed it to Mack, who unfolded it.
“These will come in really handy,” he said. Steve had managed to smuggle them in some knives.
“There are loads of them in the armory, a whole big box. I was asked to inventory them yesterday and I figured they wouldn't notice if a few of these smaller ones went missing.”
Mack handed one of them each to Grace and Luis, and then stopped in front of Saul. The big man looked up at Mack and blinked. They hadn't spoken much since their last discussion, but Mack knew it was time to give him a chance. Perhaps he hadn't been fair to him.
“I think we've been blaming you for long enough, Saul. We're here now and we have to deal with it. Even if you hadn't done what you did, there's no guarantee we would have slipped past that scouting party. Like it or not, you're a part of this group, and I'd like your help now, if you're willing to give it,” Mack said, offering the knife.
Saul looked up at him for a long while. In that time, Mack wasn't sure Saul would take his offer, but then the knife was taken from his hand and Saul stood up.
“I'm with you,” he said. The two men linked arms and smiled at each other, although Luis remained suspicious.
“You'd better get going now, Steve. I don't want them getting suspicious of you. If they come in here to check on you and see us holding these, we'll all be in trouble. Watch for the sign, and then you know what to do.”
Steve nodded. “Good luck,” he said, and he left the tent. Once he was gone Mack and the others examined the knives. They all were a similar length, about five inches, and a couple had ornate handles, while the others were more generic.
“Now, I don't want to take lives if I can help it, but the time may come when it's called for. I don't expect you to do the same, though. Killing someone is a hell of a thing, even if they're coming after you. It'll change you in ways you can't imagine. But we've all agreed to be a part of this, and I'd hope that we'll be in it all the way if we need to be. There's no sense in backing out now. If the time comes then the worst thing you can do is hesitate, so you might want to think now about how this is going to play out. It's not going to be tidy, and it's not going to be easy. Yes, we've planned, but if there's one thing I've learned from my time in the army it's that plans can go awry very quickly.
“These people already have taken out a military bunker, and who knows what else? So we know they're no chumps, and they're not just going to stand by while we threaten their cushy little lives. Then there's Mr. Smith to worry about as well. He's a dangerous man, as we all know, and he certainly isn't going to be pleased about this happening. This is more than a camp to him, more than a place to live. It's the foundation of his new world and any attack on it is an attack on him, his authority, and his ideology. Once we start this there's no going back, and if we fail it's going to cost us our lives. If any of you want to back out, then this is the time to do it.”
Luis had looked a little unsure when Mack had mentioned the possibility of killing someone, but there was no chance any of them were going to back away. Mack was pleased when his questions were met with silence.
“Now, I would have preferred to give this speech to everyone in the camp so they all could be aware of what's going on, but I'm going to have to rely on you to spread the message. Once you all are in positions I want you to relay what I've just said. Tell them if they want to they still can back out and we won't think any less of them. You people are my lieutenants and I know that I can trust you. And I'm sure you're all aware of the plan, but let's go through it again. Once we're out there I don't know if we'll get a chance to speak again.”
Mack looked at each of them in turn. The experience of the apocalypse had hardened them all, as had being kept in this camp. Luis had changed the most. Already, in such a short time, he had lost the wide-eyed way he looked at the world and his fear had been transformed from a weakness into a piece of steel that strengthened him. Acting like this was natural for Mack, and it took him back to a time when he had known his purpose in life, when he had a mission and all he had to do was carry it out. His duty brought order, and it left no room for doubt or reason. And even though he wasn't doing this for the army, he felt as though he still was doing this for America. He was fighting for these people's freedom, and battling against a man who sought to impose his own way of thinking on the population.
It could have been his last stand, and as he was talking he felt the photograph of Anna burning a hole in his pocket (it was the one thing aside from his clothes the guards hadn't confiscated upon capturing him). There was a good chance this could spell the end of his time on Earth, and his quest to find his wife would end in failure, but he never had been a selfish man. If he didn't try stopping Mr. Smith, then he wasn't worthy of Anna's love. One day he hoped to see her again and tell her all about this battle and how he ended the reign of a man who used fear and intimidation to dictate the course of people's lives. But that was a long way in the future, and right now he had other things with which to concern himself. His body throbbed with anxious excitement as the adrenalin began surging through his body. It was a reaction that he had been used to when he was in the field at the beginning of his career, before he transferred into interrogation.
There was something special about this feeling, about knowing that you were going into battle to defend honor and freedom, to give your body and soul over to something greater than yourself. It made Mack feel alive, and he hoped it inspired the same feelings in the others as well. He was proud of Grace, who had come a long way since their first meeting, when she was just a sullen girl on a plane, and then a scared young woman who was worried she had no place in this new world. But now she, too, had a purpose and was willing to give herself to the cause, rather than stay detached and alone like she had in the old world. And then there was Saul.
Mack still hadn't made up his mind about Saul yet, but he was willing to give him a chance because that was the kind of man Mack wanted to be, the kind of man there needed to be more of in the world. There were already too many bad ones. Saul had been written off enough in his life, and Mack hoped he would take this chance to prove himself and find a new purpose, and perhaps realize that he didn't have to be a lone wolf anymore.
Just before they went through the plan Mack felt the tension in the air. He knew it only was going to increase as the morning continued, and they waited for the right moment to strike. The plan already was being implemented earlier than they had hoped. So there was plenty that could go wrong, but sometimes you just had to roll the dice and hope all your preparations held up. So, Mack took a deep breath and went over the plan again, making sure everybody knew their roles. If one person messed up, then it could spell the end for them all. Coordination was going to be their biggest obstacle and it was up to all of them to maintain order over each of their areas. Over the course of their stay in the camp they had made friends with others and generally were liked well enough. So Mack hoped there were no surprises on that front.
“Okay, let's just go through this one last time so everything is straight in our heads. Remember, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. If something goes wrong out there I trust you to use your own judgment. I've come to know all of you over the time we've spent together. I know the three of you are good people and you're going to do what's right. There are no better people I would rather trust to have by my side today. Whatever happens, I want you to know that I'm glad we had the chance to know each other.” At his solemn words the other three looked at each other, nodded, and smiled, even at Saul. Then, they stepped a little closer to Mack and gathered around him as he relayed the plan.
“Right, Luis, you and your group are going to cause a distraction so I can lead a group to the armory. We're all going to load up on weapons and then split up. Grace, your group is going to secure th
e bikes and the wagons. Luis, as soon as you've created the distraction, I want you lot to get back as quickly as possible. Once the guards realize what's going on, they're not going to care you're unarmed. Saul, I want you to get to them with extra guns as quickly as possible and cause as much chaos as you can. Hold the perimeter and try to subdue people as quickly as possible. After I'm done at the armory I'll go to the horses and make sure they're okay.
“We don't want any of the guards to escape and warn their friends before they get back. With any luck, we'll be done before that patrol returns. When they do come back we can just capture them and put them with the others. Hopefully, once Mr. Smith sees what's happening he'll surrender.”
“He's not going to surrender. He's mine,” Saul growled.
“Get in line,” Grace said, a fiery determination written on her face.
Mack decided not to argue with them. He knew better than to try fighting against powerful emotions like that. With the plan laid out before them all there was left to do was wait. Mack walked to the edge of the tent and peered out of the doorway. The morning sun was high in the sky and there was something in the air. He wondered if Mr. Smith or any of the guards could feel it, too. So far they had been fortunate in that nobody they had told of their plan had let word slip, at least not to his knowledge. So hopefully, the element of surprise would be enough to give them the advantage they needed. One by one, they all left the tent and went to their separate areas, trying to walk as though it was just a normal day. Yet all of them had things on their mind.
