"No. Wait. I do see something." Sean adjusted the glasses. With the binoculars he could make out several figures standing between the tents. To his dismay, one man had a firm grip on Brooke's arm, another man had Jenny by an arm, and both had their hands bound together behind their backs with plastic handcuffs. Two other men stood guard on either side, one balanced a rifle on his hip and Sean figured he must have been the one that fired the shot.
He raised the binoculars slightly and refocused. Now he could make out the Captain, who was standing several feet away with his hands out.
He felt a nudge and Scott asked in a loud whisper, "What do you see?"
"Four men, two have the girls, and there are two guards. Captain Sears is apparently still trying to talk to them," he whispered back.
"I'm moving to another tree so I can see what's going on," Scott said before moving off on all fours.
Sean focused back on the man holding Brooke's arm. He seemed to be doing most of the talking so Sean assumed he was the one in charge. Sean could only see him from the back and occasionally caught a glimpse of his profile. He was very tall and every part of him seemed long and thin. When he turned, Sean could see that even his nose was long, but shaped more like a beak than a nose. He had wavy dark brown hair tied back in a long ponytail that went halfway down his back. His clothes and watch were expensive looking, and he was wearing dress shoes.
Sean took another quick look at the man holding Jenny; he was nicely dressed and clean shaven, but a lot shorter than the man next to him. Most likely the bodyguard or second, Sean thought to himself. The other two men flanking them were obviously former military and he gave them an even faster once over. Nothing new there.
He zoomed out so he could view the entire scene. The situation didn't seem to be getting any better. Captain Sears looked perplexed and was shaking his head. Abruptly, he swung around on his heel and headed for the jeep behind him. The four men turned and led the girls back into the white tent on their right.
"Damn," Sean muttered to himself. Obviously there was a stalemate and that was bad for everyone involved.
****
Charlie was waiting at his truck outside City Hall when Mick showed up carrying a large backpack slung over his shoulders and a rifle hanging from one hand.
"Sorry it took so long," Mick apologized as he carefully placed the rifle on the grass and wriggled out of the backpack, swinging it into the back of Charlie's pickup with a loud grunt. "I'm not sure Cindy bought all this, but she didn't come right out and say anything."
"Same here," Charlie said. "Judith was giving me the look that says you're up to something. When I told her we'd be back before dark she relaxed, but not completely."
"They know us too well," Mick remarked as he opened the passenger side door and climbed in. After Charlie hopped in he said, "Cindy and I are always honest with each other, but she and Judith have enough to worry about. They're trying to locate Megan and Darrell to let them know what's happened to Jimmy and the others. If we tell them what we're going to do, they'll insist we either stay or take more people."
Charlie nodded and started the engine. They were going to take the road as far as possible before hiking the rest of the way in. Most of the town's inhabitants rode bikes or walked, but those in office still needed vehicles to be able to get around quickly if needed, so Charlie still had the pickup he inherited when he first came to Shady Oaks.
"Did you manage to get everything on your list?" he asked Mick.
"Almost," Mick said. He pulled his piece of paper out and scrutinized it carefully. "Wasn't able to get three flash bangs, but I did get two."
"Two's good," Charlie remarked as he passed the soccer field on the way out of town. He waved at a couple of kids kicking a ball back and forth and they waved back. He sent up a quick prayer that things would continue to go well for them at Shady Oaks, but the way things were progressing he wasn't so certain.
Until they were stronger with more people residing there to help defend the town, their entire situation was tentative at best. The Connor Group could bring them all down, but at least with the military around they had a fighting chance.
Mick interrupted his train of thought. "Do you hear that?" Mick stuck his head out the window, then back in again. "That weird thrumming sound?"
Charlie slowed down and stuck his head out the window. He could clearly hear it and it was getting louder. He glanced at Mick, who had his head out the window again. "What is that?"
Suddenly Mick stiffened in his seat. "I see it! You're not gonna believe this, but it's a helicopter!"
Charlie pulled over to the side of the road, slammed on the brakes, and jammed it into park. They both jumped out of the truck.
"Over there!" Mick pointed toward the soccer field.
"I see it," Charlie said as he watched the helicopter swoop in and hover over the soccer field. He didn't know too much about helicopters, but knew it was a dual-bladed Huey Cobra, and a fairly beat up one at that.
The two kids playing there had already fled the field and were talking excitedly to one another in the parking lot.
As the chopper began a descent, clearly intending to land on the field, Charlie reached into the truck and turned off the ignition.
"Looks like our little trip will have to wait for just a bit, let's go see who that is and what they want," he yelled over the roar.
Mick nodded and together they slowly trotted toward the now stationary helicopter. They were almost there when the pilot shut down and after a moment, stepped out and waved.
"Do you know him?" Charlie asked.
"Never saw him before," Mick replied.
When they reached the stranger, he thrust out a hand and both men shook it. He was well built with a rugged look to him and of medium height, with short curly black hair and brilliant blue eyes. The women in his family would always tell him that he looked like the kind of guy who should be on the cover of some outdoor magazine. Beside that, he immediately reminded Charlie of someone.
"I'm Harry Jones," he said with a smile. I've come to Shady Oaks to see if I could find my niece."
"Ah," Charlie said with a grin. "I know who you remind me of now; you're here for Bitsy, aren't you?"
Harry nodded. "I sure am, is she all right? Her parents made it to our place, but we ran into problems and unfortunately I'm all she has left in the world now."
Charlie returned the nod solemnly. "Sorry to hear of your loss, but yes - Bitsy's fine. She's quite the firecracker and had to manage on her own until we found her or as she tells it, she found us."
"She's been staying with my wife and I," Mick interjected. "We've really enjoyed having her around. Right now she and her friend Travis are at one of the farms fetching eggs; she'll be thrilled to see you."
Charlie glanced down the hill; several people were headed their way. "Looks like the welcoming committee is almost here." He glanced back at Harry. "Please feel free to stay here for as long as you need, I'm sure you and Bitsy need some time together. We'll make sure someone keeps an eye on the chopper for you."
With a quick glance at Charlie, Mick said, "We were on our way to check on some things, we'll make sure someone gets you over to my place where you can wait for Bitsy."
"Thank you," Harry replied. "I need to secure the chopper first, so if you'll excuse me."
Both men watched Harry for a moment until he was out of earshot.
"I see Judith leading the pack, so I'm going to ask her to escort him over to your place," Charlie said in a low voice. "Then let's get out of here."
"Okay, I don't see Cindy, she must have stayed behind. I'll get back in the truck and maybe after you talk to Judith we can make our break."
"Sounds good to me," Charlie said. Mick headed for the truck as Charlie went to greet Judith and the others. He was excited about Harry Jones appearing literally out of nowhere with a helicopter, which could turn out to be something they could really use, but he was beginning to feel frustrated by all the delays.
Charlie introduced everyone to Harry then quickly said goodbye again to Judith before trotting over to the truck and hopping in.
"Phew," he said as he reached over and started the truck. He looked in the rear view mirror. “They're swarming the poor guy," he said with a chuckle as he slowly pulled away from the curb.
Mick turned to watch for a moment before turning back to Charlie and grinning. "Harry is probably wondering what he got himself into."
"He'll find out soon enough."
"What do you think his plans are? If he stays at Shady Oaks, that helicopter could sure come in handy."
Charlie reached the road leading up to the meadow and turned. "Guess we'll find out soon enough," he replied. He pointed to a spot ahead. "Sorry, to change the subject, but see that big tree? Let's stop there and go over what we have and what we're going to do once we get up there so we'll be ready."
Mick nodded. "Sure thing, we definitely do need some kind of plan."
Chapter Six
"I can't believe so many people take this hike," Charlie huffed. He glanced up at the tree-lined, meandering deer trail they walked on. He waved a hand in the air. "Okay, time for a break."
Mick spotted a fallen log and headed directly for it. He sat on one end, sighed loudly, and wiped the sweat from his brow with the bottom of his shirt. "Good timing, I was about spent," he managed to say. He quickly swung his canteen around and took a long drink.
Charlie sat down next to him and took a swig from his canteen. "Cold still, oh man that's good," he said with a chuckle. He took another drink and wiped his mouth. He watched Mick take a drink and pointed his canteen toward the path.
"See where the trail turns?" At Mick's nod he continued. "If I read the map correctly, right past that bend we should come across the meadow, so we'll have to stay within the tree line once it starts to open up."
"Do you think we'll run into the boys?" Mick asked as he screwed the cap back on his canteen. "They would be furious if they knew we were up here."
"Hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, we can be in and out before anyone knows what happened." He patted his backpack. "Our little "distraction" should see to that."
Mick grinned. "Don't know about the little part, but yeah, it should definitely work."
"Yep, I'm counting on it," Charlie said. "Well, enough jawing, let's get going."
Both men stood and after donning their backpacks, set off. To their surprise, as soon as they rounded the bend, the meadow was before them. Without a word, they both scurried for the shelter of the trees.
Once safely hidden, Charlie glanced out at the camp before them and whistled softly. "Will you look at that? We almost walked right in on them."
"The camp is huge," Mick whispered back. "How will we find them amongst all those tents?"
Charlie was stumped. He expected a small contingent, not a well established camp, and he wasn't sure how to proceed.
"There must be at least a hundred people in there, judging by all the tents," he said with a shake of his head.
Mick pointed. "See the two large white tents? Maybe they're being kept in one of those."
Charlie squinted, and then dug in his backpack for binoculars. Holding them up to his eyes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Mick, take a look at the big tents," he said in a low voice as he handed the binoculars over.
Mick adjusted the binoculars as he put them up to his eyes. "Oh my," was all he managed to say as he handed the binoculars back to Charlie and looked at him with surprise in his eyes. He couldn't believe their luck. Both girls were in front of the large white tents. Mick didn't like the fact that they were obviously being held against their will, but at least they knew where they were.
"They're talking to Captain Sears," Charlie said, watching from the binoculars again. "Oh damn, he just turned and walked away, they're taking the girls into the tent on the right."
"That's not good," Mick remarked dryly as Charlie turned and sat next to him with his back against a large oak tree. Mick picked up a twig and sighed. "If the captain can't get them back, then we'll have to go ahead with our plan." He snapped the twig and flung the two pieces into the underbrush. He turned back around to glance at the camp again while Charlie dug a jacket out of his backpack and tied it around his waist.
Mick heard a rustling coming from the underbrush where he'd just thrown the twig and assumed he scared up a rabbit or squirrel. When he glanced back, he was startled by the long barrel of a rifle pointed right at his face. Charlie sat frozen next to him. Mick swallowed and looked up at the men now surrounding them. They were all dressed in black fatigues and carried a variety of weapons.
"On your feet!" the man with the gun pointed at them growled. "Move!"
Mick swallowed hard and nodded. From the corner of his eye, he could see Charlie doing the same. They stood, hands in the air.
"Head for the camp," the man said as he gave Mick, then Charlie a shove. They both turned and headed down.
"Well, we don't have to worry about sneaking in," Charlie whispered without looking at Mick.
Mick kept his eyes straight ahead and whispered back, "That's for sure."
"Now for Plan B," Charlie said.
Mick chanced a quick glance at Charlie. He was grinning and gave Mick a wink. Mick nervously grinned back as he wondered what they'd gotten themselves into.
****
Sean swept the binoculars around the camp. He almost missed movement from the left and quickly swung back to take a better look. What he saw caused him to gasp.
"What's up?" Scott asked.
Sean lowered the binoculars and looked at his brother, a frown etched on his face. "You're not gonna believe this."
Scott frowned back. "Do tell. Like now."
Instead of replying, Sean looked through the binoculars again before shaking his head and handing them to Scott. "You gotta see to believe."
Scott growled and snatched the binoculars from his brother. After adjusting and scanning where Sean was looking, he grew suddenly still.
"Oh, tell me that's not Dad and Charlie," he groaned.
"Sorry, can't do that," Sean said with a sigh. Sean glanced around. "Where are your binoculars? I want mine back."
With another growl, Scott thrust them into Sean's hand and crawled over to his bag. After much noise and mumbling, he returned. Together they watched their Dad and Charlie being marched toward the white tents.
"This is great - just great," Sean muttered. He glanced toward his brother. "We need to get word to the Captain, but with radio silence we would have to leave our positions and we can't do that."
"Grab one of the guys chilling out around us and send them," Sean said without looking away from the scene before him. "They've reached the tents and they're going into the same one they took the girls in."
Scott snapped his fingers and rose up to look around. "Hey, remember Corporal Riley? I thought I recognized him, but just remembered his name. He's up here with us; I'll go talk to him."
As Scott went off in search of the corporal, Sean continued to watch the men escort Mick and Charlie into the tent. Once they disappeared from view, he sighed and scanned the area again. He wished they knew how many men the Connor Group had, so far he had seen less than a dozen and there had to be more. Perhaps they were all inside the other big tent or maybe they were back down in Harris, Sean just didn't know and it had him worried.
He shook himself from his reverie when Scott plopped down beside him with a grunt. "Found him, he agreed to go."
"Good, hope we can use the walkies soon," Sean said. His stomach growled and Scott raised an eyebrow. "Guess it's about lunch time," Sean said with a grin.
"Guess so," Scott said with a chuckle.
Simultaneously, they both reached for their backpacks looking for an MRE. Scott found his first and waved it in the air. "Yum, looks like I'm having beef ravioli."
Sean held his up with a grin. "I'm having meatloaf with gravy."
"Oh man, me too," Sean sighed. "The MRE ones are okay, but Mom makes the best. Let's ask her to make them when we get back, okay?"
Scott laughed. "Sounds like a plan."
Sean held up a pack of peanuts. "I didn't get candy, just these peanuts - wanna trade?"
With another laugh, Scott handed over his candy. "Sure little bro, here ya go."
Sean made a face at Scott as he popped a candy in his mouth and began to chew. "You're funny," he said after swallowing. "You know I don't eat peanuts that often."
"If that's your story..." Scott replied with a chuckle.
"It is and I'm stickin' to it," Sean chortled. He had his back to the camp facing the mountain and looked up in time to see movement on another ridge.
"Scott," Sean hissed as he dropped down to the ground. "About fifty yards up and to our left, I see movement."
Scott immediately joined him, swinging his binoculars up to scan the area. "I'm on it," he whispered back.
After a moment he lowered the glasses and gave his brother a grin. "I think I see a zombie up there thrashing around."
"Oh that's just great," Sean muttered. "We better do something before it draws unwanted attention up here."
They could no longer see the heavyset and middle-aged male zombie, but could hear him crashing through the underbrush. Finally catching sight of him again, Sean slid behind a tree while Scott did the same across from him. Sean pursed his lips and let out a low whistle. Instantly, the zombie stopped and turned toward them, now making low groaning noises. To his surprise, Sean heard the zombies below him respond with groans and then they began pounding on the walls.
Scott grinned as he pulled a large branch toward him. When the zombie was close enough, he let if fly, smacking the zombie right in the middle of its chest and knocking it down.
Sean pulled out the metal rod from his backpack as he hurried over to the zombie, kicking it in the chest as it tried to get up. "Told you this would come in handy," he said softly.
Zombified (Book 2): Shady Oaks Page 4
