TRIAL: A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Thriller

by Murray Mcdonald

  They had maintained their position over the home-stealers, or as they had renamed them, the Boise militia, for the first few days. Alex had been fascinated as to how organized the group was, in comparison to the vast populous and had insisted they stay in situ. Thirty-two horses and five carts had been acquired by the militia within hours of the power outage. A corral was being constructed behind the estate while the carts, with a significant contingent of outriders as guards, ferried back and forth with supplies from a local supermarket, which they could only assume the militia had taken control of. The brutality of their acquisition of the estate and ability to secure so many resources suggested that law and order, within just hours of a catastrophic failure of all power and communication, had effectively ended, at least for these men and the area they inhabited.

  It had been a mind-blowing revelation. No one had thought for a second any of that would happen so quickly, but the militia had obviously assumed the worst and their survival instinct and plan had been initiated and executed with devastating efficiency and brutality.

  Within two days, the food supply runs ended and the storing of goods and products was complete. Every garage, shed, and spare room had been filled. The carts had been redirected and building materials had begun to appear, including wood, nails, tools and sand. A number of the militia were obviously builders and carpenters, as a barn began to take shape. On the perimeter, sandbags were filled and machine gun nests were installed, each with a clear line of sight to the next and a hundred-yard killing field in front. Another two nests adorned the bridge that separated the estate from the main city. No uninvited guests would be getting anywhere near the estate anytime soon.

  Within three days, they had secured a base of operations that would allow them a stronghold over the city of Boise. It was, as Alex commented, a truly remarkable and impressive feat, whilst also one of the most chilling and depressing things he had ever witnessed. With the base secure, points were being identified in the hills above for lookout posts. At that point, it had become apparent they’d have to move. Alex had insisted they wait one more night, a night they both wished they’d never have to relive.

  Unlike the previous two days, as the sun began to set, the carts set back out for the city, the outriders once again accompanying them. They crossed the bridge and unlike previously, they turned right into the large housing estates that lined the opposite bank of the river and stretched off into the distance, and not left towards the commercial buildings. An uneasy feeling had swept through them, as the sound of gunfire and screaming echoed across the hillside. The last wisps of light allowed them to see the carts arriving back, filled with a new range of supplies. The women that filled the carriages were tear, blood, and fear-stained. It seemed that food and building supplies were not the only things the militia were planning to take as they pleased.

  Alex and Nick began urgent preparations to move, as there was only so much they could stomach. The mass rape of innocent women was most definitely way beyond that point. The thought of listening to the screams of women being raped throughout the night was not one either could bear, and with over sixty militia members in a highly secure base, there was nothing either could do to stop them, certainly not without endangering themselves, or more importantly, their mission.

  Three miles later, and with not one word spoken, they stopped high above Warm Springs Mesa, a larger community in the foothills of Boise. It was there they had bedded down and where Nick, as the sun rose, prayed for some semblance of normality.

  He lifted his binoculars and with a heavy heart looked down on the community, expecting the worst. He scanned the various streets. There were no machine gun nests, no sign of violence or unrest. It looked like any neighborhood would at that time in the morning. His heart began to lift as the first signs of life erupted from the houses. Neighbors were talking with each other, kids appeared on the street, taking full advantage of their impromptu school vacation. Watching plates of food being transported between houses after their previous view had a smile breaking on his face for the first time in days. The world hadn’t quite descended into chaos after all. America and the city of Boise did still have its heart and soul.

  “What’re you seeing?” asked Alex, awakening to Nick’s movements.

  “Hope!” replied Nick.

  Chapter 19

  With complete darkness falling just after seven, it had been amazing how quickly their body clocks had accustomed to the situation. Once darkness set, there was little that could be done. Candles were already a rationed resource, and with no other light source, sleeping during the hours of darkness became the norm.

  Danny and Ava seemed to be coping with the change far easier than Sophie, who had always been a night owl. Never a great sleeper, she had struggled and dreaded the long dark nights, particularly without her tablet, which had been a constant source of tension between her and Kate over the previous few months.

  Kate only wished they were still having those fights as she woke up to another powerless morning, the sun edging its way into the sky. They had stretched the perishable foods out across the first four days, longer than expected. She rose and washed herself with cold water, a cloth, and small amount of soap. They’d had to reconsider everything they did. Every resource they used was finite, whether it was the water in the storage tank which was quickly emptying, bottled drinking water, food, gas for the barbecue, deodorant, candles, or even soap. They only had so much and as each day stretched on, the likelihood of ever being able to get more diminished, as did their resources.

  Kate dressed and made her way down to the basement. There were a few items of the cooked food still left. If they were lucky, it would stretch to breakfast and lunch. They had enjoyed huge meals up until then, but as she opened the door, it was clear the feasts were over. Rationing of the longer life food was going to have to begin. Her ever eager helper, Danny, appeared by her side.

  “Oof! That stinks!” he wafted the smell from his nose.

  Kate closed the door. “Yeah, we won’t be eating that anymore. Did you sleep okay?” she asked, bending down and giving him a hug.

  He nodded. He didn’t have a worry in the world to stop him from sleeping. He was blissfully unaware of how bad the situation was becoming. Danny wasn’t party to the talk from the neighbors. As the days passed, the stories of the breakdown of the society they had come to love worsened. The hospitals were, as one neighbor described, worse than any he had seen in a war-torn city. People were lying in their own filth while gunshot victims were dying as they waited for the dwindling number of staff to attend to them. Medicines were already running out and morgues were overflowing with decomposing bodies. The message was clear and simple. They were fast becoming no place to go if you were sick.

  With the militia effectively stealing the local supermarket in its entirety, those not as quick to stock up had had to resort to finding other stores and supermarkets in the wider area. By the end of Day 2, the police were just about managing to control the unrest at each of the stores. By Day 3, and as the last remaining food sources emptied, the dwindling number of officers, who were still attending for duty, had effectively given up. By Day 4, none of the neighbors ventured out. The situation in the city below had become too dangerous. Gunfire had become so common that Kate had stopped flinching each time she heard a shot.

  City Hall and the council offices had closed on Day 3. A hand-written note from the Mayor wished the citizens of Boise the best of luck through those trying times. With no transport, communication, water or power, there was nothing that could be done. Even the fire department had closed its stations. Without vehicles, water or communication, there was little they could do and like everyone else, the fire officers had families to look after for themselves.

  Day 4 had been a wakeup call for many of those who assumed the power would be back on soon, that the authorities would fix the problem and that life would go back to normal. Day 4 had been the day the local authorities themselves had given up on B
oise and gone home. Day 4 saw the last police officer walk out of the final station that was still manned in the city. Day 4 witnessed the murderers being let loose from the county jail where the officers had held on dearly to try and keep them longer, but with no food or water, they’d had no choice but to let them go. Day 4 was the day the warden, who had ordered the release of the murderers, became a killer himself, gunning down the murderers as they walked out of his jail, before turning his gun on himself.

  Day 4 had been the day many households ran out of food and water as they’d failed to comprehend how dire the situation really was.

  Day 5 was a day Kate was not looking forward to. Day 5 was the day people would appreciate their new reality. A reality that the vast majority had no idea how to survive in, just like Kate.

  “Ouch!” said Danny. “You’re squeezing me too tight.”

  “Sorry, just needed an extra big hug.”

  He squeezed her as tight as he could in response. “There! Better?” he asked.

  She nodded, a tear welling in her eyes. “Let’s get some bags and we can get rid of the food before it stinks the whole house out,” she said, not wanting him to see her upset. Day 5 was going to be tough. They would have to start rationing food and as much as she didn’t want to think about the problem, they had to find a solution to the bathroom, as the toilets had finally become blocked.

  Ava joined them as Danny was being dispatched to Harry’s with the smelly food, for his dog, Hank.

  “Should you let him out on his own?” asked Ava.

  “It’s 7.30 a.m. and he’s just going next door.” Kate defended herself against her twelve-year-old.

  “Well…,” began Ava.

  “Fine, I’ll go with him,” huffed Kate, following him out. She hated being out-parented by her daughter, but Ava was right. With no law and order, the streets were no place for an eight-year-old on his own, even just after sunrise.

  Kate knocked on Harry’s door and waited. Hank barked, an old gruff lazy bark, he was a twelve-year-old lab and acted it. Everything was done slowly. Hank didn’t waste energy he didn’t need to. ‘Old and wise’, Harry liked to call it.

  “Coming,” shouted Harry after a few more seconds. A few seconds that had Kate panicking. Danny couldn’t have been more than thirty seconds ahead of her. Harry should have just been letting Danny in, for him and Hank not to be near the door. If Danny wasn’t in Harry’s house, where was he?

  As Harry began to unlock his various locks, further proof that Danny wasn’t already there, Kate looked wildly around. The carrier bag with the leftover food for Hank, the dog, lay strewn in the street. “Danny?” she called desperately.

  Chapter 20

  Nick picked up his binoculars and scanned the streets below. It was a welcome sight after the previous few days.

  “Don’t get to emotional just yet,” cautioned Alex, he pointed back towards the militia base just a few miles to their east. “It’ll be like that here soon enough!”

  Nick shook his head. “You’re wrong, these people are looking out for one another. This is the real future!”

  Alex shrugged, it was too early for an argument and he didn’t care whether Nick believed him or not. The truth would be evident soon enough.

  “Sleep well?” he asked, changing the subject.

  Nick didn’t reply, he kept his eyes focused on the community below.

  “What?” asked Alex.

  Nick pointed to a quiet street, halfway down the hillside.

  “Shit!” exhaled Alex.

  Nick was lifting his McMillan Talon rifle from his kit when Alex stopped him.

  “No, the kid’s struggling too much, and from this distance and the way the wind shifts down the hillside, it’s too risky.”

  “I’m not standing by and watching this!” warned Nick, lining up the shot, the orange jumpsuit with ADA COUNTY JAIL filling his scope. The young boy’s face bounced into view as the man ran off with the boy held tightly to his chest.

  “You can’t shoot!” said Alex definitively.

  “He’s got him off the street and they’re on the trail now,” said Nick. “The boy’s not been able to call for help or alert anyone to his situation!”

  Their bird’s eye view over the scene below allowed them a line of sight above the obstacles that those at ground level would be obstructed by. Although only a hundred yards from his house, the boy was effectively out of sight to all those below.

  “Danny!” a desperate plea echoed the mile up towards them. The stricken sound and sight of a mother looking for her child in a lonely street when they could see where her son was, was not an easy sight for either of them.

  Alex looked through the binoculars, scanning to where Nick directed him. Their position allowed them a view that even someone six feet from the situation would struggle to see. The man was hiding with the boy in a gulley, almost shrouded in shrubbery. Alex grabbed his pack and extracted a pair of denims and a t-shirt.

  “What you doing?” asked Nick.

  “I have my limit and that’s it,” he said sternly.

  “But our orders, I thought we were to avoid all contact with the locals?” asked Nick, setting his rifle aside and pulling out his own clothes.

  “We can’t expose ourselves for who we are. We’ll keep out of sight and if anyone does see us, we’re just two guys out for a walk.”

  Nick threw a camo sheet over their equipment and rushed after Alex. With their H&K 45Cs holstered on their belts and hidden under their tops, they looked like two walkers out for a morning stroll.

  Alex put the binoculars to his face and checked where they were heading. He broke into a run.

  “What?” asked Nick, racing to keep up.

  “Let’s just say the boy needs us there now!” he replied, breaking into a full sprint.

  Chapter 21

  “Kate? What’s up?” asked Harry, joining her in the street.

  “Danny, he…he…he’s,” she stammered. “…missing!”

  “Since when?”

  “Just a minute but…”

  “Mom?” Ava joined them in the street as Gary, the sheriff’s deputy, rushed towards them, responding to Kate’s desperate plea. “Everything ok?” he asked, pulling his mountain bike to a stop.

  “Danny’s missing!”

  Gary didn’t reassure her, he simply looked to the two men following him and issued a signal to them. Both turned and cycled off at speed.

  “What?” asked Kate.

  “There was a sighting this morning of a guy in an orange jumpsuit.”

  Kate shrugged, that meant nothing to her.

  “Orange jumpsuits are issued to sex offenders at the county jail. The description matched that of a known pedophile,” said Gary quietly, as though it would lessen the blow.

  “Oh, dear God,” Kate looked around wildly, not knowing which way to search first. “Danny!” she cried in despair.

  The cyclists appeared back a minute later, their messages were conveyed and being passed through the entire community. After the killings of Roger and Barbara, the community had realized all too late that law and order was no longer protecting them. Protection was down to themselves. A hastily-arranged community meeting had appointed sheriff’s deputy Gary as Head of Security and he had, with the support of the community, formed a small volunteer security force to protect the families and properties of Warm Springs Mesa.

  Receiving a nod from his team, he turned to Kate. “Please, don’t panic. We’ve got a search party on the way. The alert has been raised.”

  Gary’s newly-arranged communication and security process was about to be tested. A number of keywords alerted neighbors to the danger they faced, no long explanations as to what was happening. One word would illicit an immediate response and the passing on of the message to their neighbor. In this case, it was the ‘Amber’ warning and meant exactly the same as the national alert system of the same name. A child was missing and a search party was urgently required. As the message spread thro
ugh the community, the search party grew. Within minutes, the first community members arrived and after ten minutes, forty people were beginning the search for Danny. It was an impressive display of the community’s effort to ride out the storm and survive through their darkest days.

  “What’s happening?” asked Sophie, rubbing her eyes as she joined the commotion outside of her house, “You woke me up!”

  “Danny’s been kidnapped. Wait here and shout if he comes home!” barked Kate, rushing off with one of the search parties.

  “We don’t know he’s been kidnapped,” cautioned Gary, chasing after her.

  Kate wasn’t listening, her baby was in danger. Breaking off in four separate directions, four teams of ten people began the search. Kate joined the group heading to the nearest trail at the end of their street. As directed by Gary, on reaching the trail, they spread out and began a slow and meticulous search for any clues. Kate charged on ahead, “Danny!”

  While they continued their meticulous search for clues, Kate was already out of sight, her eyes darting from side to side, covering every inch of the trail and its surroundings.

  ***

  Alex and Nick raced down the trail, slowing as the shouts from whom they could only assume was the mother, from the desperation in her voice, began to near them.

  “Where was that spot?” asked Alex, looking back to where they had come from to try and work out where the hiding spot was.

  Nick looked back with him, both struggling to pinpoint the bushes under which the boy and man were hiding. Down at eye level, it all looked the same.

  “Danny!” the shout came from just around a bend in the trail.

  “She’s getting very close. She can’t see us, and we can’t explain who we are. She may think we took him!”

  “Shit, I hadn’t thought of that!”