by Jack Hunt
Elliot watched Damon lead Jesse and Ella off to the bunker. They passed Rayna on the way and she glanced at Ella before looking back at him.
Rayna’s brow pinched. “Elliot, who’s that?”
“Ask Damon. He’s the one who found her and insisted that she come back.”
“But you said we weren’t going to be helping anyone else.”
“And I meant it. Try telling that to him. That kid is on another wavelength.”
She nodded. “So, how did you get on? Any food?”
“If you can call a few boxes of muffins food, yeah. I’m sure we can distribute out the chocolate chips and last a few more months,” he said sarcastically.
She gripped him by the arm. “Well I’m glad you’re back, we need to talk.”
He sighed, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow? I’m exhausted. I can barely string together two thoughts.”
“No. It will be too late by then.”
“What is it?”
“Has Gary spoken to you about heading to a FEMA camp?”
He nodded.
“And?”
“It’s just hot air. He won’t leave.”
“Not according to Jill. She sounded serious.” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, there’s another camp. Maggie connected with a group down in East Texas called New Hope Springs. Apparently they have more than enough food to last for the next three years for 1,700 people. They have less than a hundred there right now.”
“That’s a lot of food.”
“It’s a lot of people.”
He studied her face. “Hold on a minute. Why do I get a sense you are suggesting we head down there?”
“I’m not. I’m just saying it’s an alternative that we should discuss in light of the fact that Gary and Jill are heading out tomorrow.”
“Whoa! Tomorrow? He never said anything about that.”
“Well, she did. They’re leaving tomorrow morning, Elliot, for a FEMA camp near the Big Apple.”
“That’s insane.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
He shifted his weight from one foot to the next and squinted. “Are you considering it?”
“I’m…” she trailed off and sighed. “My home is with you. Where you go, I go, but we have Lily and Evan to think about. I won’t let them starve, Elliot.”
“And you think the solution is to hand over our weapons and walk into a FEMA camp?”
“I didn’t say that,” she said. “I’m suggesting that we discuss New Hope Springs. If it has enough to feed 1,700 for the next three years, we need to jump on that now before others join them. It’s going to fill up fast.”
Elliot shook his head. “No, something doesn’t sound right. Why would anyone open their doors to strangers?”
“We did.”
“For three people.” He looked off toward the bunker as Ella climbed down. “Okay, four people but that’s a big difference compared to 1,700.”
“Is it?”
Elliot scoffed. “You have spent too much time around Jill and Gary. They’ve infected your mind with the… society is going to go back to normal.”
“Don’t belittle me, Elliot, or put words in my mouth. I’m just saying that not all of society is going to push people out. Look at what we’ve been able to accomplish with just ten families. Now imagine 1,700 people working together. Who knows how quickly life could change for the better?”
“Or the worst.”
“Why are you so damn negative all the time?”
“Negative? I’m a realist! Think about it, Rayna, society has collapsed. There are thousands upon thousands of people in towns and cities all over the country that are in dire straits. Now, ask yourself this… why would anyone open their doors and allow their supplies to dwindle?”
“Why did we? We could have ignored our neighbors, but we didn’t.”
“No, but there was a reason why. We…” He started to become at a loss for words. She was good at communicating, whereas he was just a mess, especially when he was hungry and tired, and damn he was hungry. “We needed help.”
“And maybe they’re the same.”
Elliot scoffed. “You’re jumping the gun, Rayna. Besides, it’s a long way to Texas and what happens if we’re wrong? Huh? What happens if it’s a bad situation? I’m not going to place your life or the kids’ in danger. At least here we can cope. We know how it works here.”
She pointed to the town as smoke spiraled up. “There have been more fires started, more homes burned to the ground. Things are out of control. It’s only a matter of time before raiders show up here on this street. We are not prepared for them. Besides, people are hungry. We’ve bled this county dry. You’ve been out there and every time you come back with fewer supplies. Unless you can think of something better, this might be our only hope.”
Elliot exhaled hard and leaned against the Jeep and took a drag on his cigarette. Kong came bounding over with Lily and Evan. Both of them wrapped their arms around him and he smiled. He nodded. “Okay, let’s talk about it. Get Gary and Jill together. We’ll take a vote on it.”
Rayna leaned in and kissed him on the lips.
Just as he went to tell the kids to head over to Gary’s place with Rayna, an epic explosion shattered the silence. Fire licked up into the night sky from one of the homes farther down the street.
“That’s my place!” Tristan Summers yelled, making a mad dash.
The rest of them followed but not before Elliot told the kids to get down in the bunker. He scooped up his AR-15 and double-timed it after the rest of the group. As they got closer two individuals emerged from the home, fleeing on foot with armfuls of supplies. Sean and Zach gave chase but it was pointless. They hopped into a white truck and tore away. It was the same one that had been stolen from the police department a few months back.
“My kids are inside,” Tristan yelled as she tried to make her way in. Rayna physically restrained her as Elliot dashed into the smoke-filled building calling out her kids’ names.
“Jana. Kendrick.”
He could hear crying. As he pushed in, a large chunk of ceiling collapsed cutting off the way. He coughed and gagged, covered his mouth and nose with his arm as he squinted into the darkness and flames.
“Here!” Damon appeared behind him with a blanket soaked in water. He placed it over him and pulled him out. They circled around the house looking for another way in. Elliot used the back of his rifle to smash the rear windows on the house.
“Elliot. No. It’s too dangerous.”
He ignored him and climbed inside and continued calling out their names. The smoke was even more intense. They must have used some type of accelerant because there was no other way it could have burned this fast. He struggled to breathe as he moved through into the hallway trying to reach the stairs. Damon was close behind as he hopped over burning debris and ascended the staircase that was now engulfed in flames. If it weren’t for the soaking wet blanket, he wouldn’t have been able to get that far inside. He could feel the heat from beneath it as he pressed on shouting out their names. When he reached the second floor, he followed the sound of crying and entered a room to find a young black girl cowering in the corner holding her teddy. He scooped her up and shouted for Damon to check the next room but the fire was too intense. He backed up as Elliot handed Jana to him. “Get her out of here.”
“Elliot, it’s going to collapse. We need to go now.”
“Just get her out!”
He didn’t hesitate and scooped up Jana, covering her in his blanket and then disappearing into the black smoke. Elliot coughed hard and navigated his way around flaming debris. Chunks of ceiling were engulfed and fumes coming off plastic were making it hard to breathe. He called out to the older kid but didn’t get any response. He checked two more rooms but couldn’t see shit because there was so much smoke. As he turned to head out, the ceiling collapsed cutting off his way. He hurried back into the room he was coming out of and approach
ed the glass and pushed the window open. The sudden intake of air caused a backdraft. A whooshing sound and flames came at him; he covered his face with the blanket but could feel the searing heat as it bore down on him. He gasped for air and crawled out of the window, rolling down a portion of the lower roof before dropping to the yard below. When he landed someone rushed over with a bucket of water and tossed the contents all over him to put out the flames. Once they were extinguished, he threw the blanket off. From across the yard, coughing and spluttering, Tristan cried out hysterically. “Where is he? Where is my boy?”
Elliot couldn’t answer her without coughing. Her son was gone. There wasn’t enough time to get them both. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground sobbing while holding her sole surviving child. Rayna rushed to help Elliot, placing her arms around him.
“I’m sorry,” Elliot muttered. “I tried.”
His words were lost in her cries.
The flames engulfed the clapboard home and within minutes the place was a roaring inferno. Elliot looked at his wife and she didn’t need to say it, he knew what she was thinking. This was the beginning of the end for them.
An hour later, those that would or could attend gathered around a campfire in Elliot’s backyard. It was a somber atmosphere. Tristan wasn’t there, Susan Wilmington was taking care of her. The conversation that night revolved around the obvious need to leave Lake Placid.
“I don’t have to explain. It’s pretty obvious. We stay, we starve or die,” Gary said. “Now Jill and I are planning on leaving tomorrow for a FEMA camp on the outskirts of New York City. Now you are all welcome to come… or stay.”
“There is one other option,” Maggie said, interrupting. She brought everyone up to speed on what she’d heard over the radio earlier that evening.
“I’m not sure if it’s real or just a ploy to trap people but not everyone is onboard with going to a FEMA camp,” Rayna said, walking around the campfire as everyone looked on. Shadows danced on their faces from the fire, a look of stress, strain and sadness dominated. “We feel we should take a vote. Those of you in favor of leaving put up your hands.”
In attendance that night there were eight of the ten families. Everyone had been informed that it was going to be a discussion about leaving Lake Placid and not everyone wanted to leave. The town was their home no matter how bad things got. The dangers beyond were self-explanatory.
Eighteen people put up their hands to leave.
“I’m all for leaving but I’m thinking that FEMA sounds better than this New Hope Springs. First off it’s too far away. Second, we would have to go directly past Kansas and West Virginia and who knows what the danger level of radiation is like there. Sure, we are fine here and it’s been six months but we are taking a huge risk heading down there. Why don’t we all head for FEMA?” Bobby Wilmington asked.
“We can,” Elliot added. “But are you willing to hand over your weapons?”
“I never carried before. So it’s no skin off my nose,” he replied.
“I’m not handing mine over,” Zach said in a defiant tone.
“Then the decision is made,” Gary said. “Those who are okay with laying down your weapons, you’ll go to FEMA with us. Those who aren’t can go with Elliot.”
Elliot stared at his old friend across the campfire. Everyone was seated on logs. Jill stood behind Gary rubbing the back of his neck. Elliot got up and motioned to Gary to have a word with him.
“No, anything you want to say you can say in front of all of us,” he said.
“Okay,” Elliot said. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why divide now? You were all for sticking together when the shit hit the fan. And now it’s out of control, you want to divide us up?”
“I don’t want to divide anyone. We’re just making a different decision.”
“Which in turn is dividing us. We are stronger together.”
Gary rose to his feet. “Then come with us to the FEMA camp.”
“It’s not happening.”
“Then who’s the one dividing?” Gary replied.
With that said he turned to the others. “I’ll be leaving at seven in the morning. Anyone who wants to come with me is welcome. To the rest of you, good luck.” Jill wrapped her arm around his waist and they walked away without even giving them another look.
Chapter 6
In the early hours of the morning Ryan Hayes crept out of his quarters with one thing in mind — killing military members. He was going against everything that Harlan had instructed them to do in the event the compound was taken but if he didn’t take action, who would? Of course he didn’t plan on killing them all, just a few, enough to give them second thoughts about staying.
He’d spent eight years in the U.S. Army and two years with the Dallas Police Department before the EMP. In many ways his life was damn near perfect. A great woman, zero kids, two vacations a year and the admiration of those he knew. All of that changed when the lights went out.
He’d spent the first week assisting the department as they tried to stop looters and gangs from taking the law into their own hands. It turned out to be an utter failure. Without a means of getting around the city, violence soon spiraled out of control and he knew if he didn’t get out he would probably die at the hands of an angry mob.
Fortunately, their father had purchased one of the bunkers two years prior after getting worried about the state of the country. He’d sunk his entire retirement savings into the property with the firm belief that one day they would need it.
He was right.
It was a risky investment but it paid off.
Now to have someone come in and try to take that away wasn’t just an insult, it was disrespectful to his father’s wishes. At least FEMA reps who had shown up two weeks after the collapse had the good sense to approach the gate and inquire about using the property without showing force.
Not these fools.
They could say whatever they liked about being pro-American and against the government but at the end of the day they were the ones treating them like prisoners. They were nothing more than cold-blooded killers, no better than looters in the city. This wasn’t about survival, it was control, and as long as they were at the helm life wouldn’t get any better.
Under the cover of darkness, Ryan carried a serrated hunting knife and peered around one of the buildings in the village. His target was a single military member who was positioned two blocks down. The beauty of the property was its size; they couldn’t watch over the residents and patrol the area without leaving some areas exposed. He intended to take full advantage of that.
Dressed in full black, a hoodie up and his face darkened out with camo face paint, he moved quickly, closing the distance between him and the soldier. He understood the dangers, but they’d already taken his father’s life. Now it was time for some retribution.
His movements were smooth and purposeful. Ryan darted in and out of the shadows, keeping his back to the wall until he was within thirty feet of his target. He crouched down and waited for him to walk back to the corner of the building. He’d had him under surveillance for the past ten minutes, observing where he moved. The key to this was surprise. The soldier’s finger was near the trigger. If Ryan didn’t act fast, and the soldier managed to squeeze off a round, not only would he wind up injured but it would also sound the alarm and that was the last thing he needed.
He listened to the soldier’s boots get closer. Ryan tightened his grip on the leather handle and ran through exactly what he was about to do. His heart started racing. The anticipation made sweat form on his brow. He didn’t enjoy killing but after what they’d done, he wouldn’t think twice or lose sleep.
The soldier strolled by and made a turn. As he did, Ryan jumped and jabbed the knife into the side of his neck with one hand and knocked the gun away from his finger with his other arm. The soldier slumped, and he dragged him to the ground, pulling his body into the shadows. He relieved him of the M4 a
nd a Glock, as well as additional magazines, and then removed his radio.
He didn’t linger.
A quick check to make sure no one had seen him. He listened to the radio and heard a couple of soldiers talking shit about women in the compound. Good. He was in the clear. Ryan hurried back to his point of entry and made his way down the steel ladder into the tunnels. It was dark inside. He knew where the cameras were and made sure to avoid them as he hurried through the underground network that linked up each of the bunkers. This time he headed for the chapel at the south end. He had one more kill in mind before the sun came up.
Elliot didn’t sleep much that night. Since his return to Lake Placid his mind had been preoccupied with staying alive. He wasn’t anticipating leaving. That wasn’t in the plans, he thought. He also didn’t expect to become so attached to those around him.
He looked at Rayna who was still sleeping. Her chest rose and her lips moved ever so slightly. God, he would do anything for her. At the foot of their bed on two air mattresses were his kids. Kong raised an eyebrow as Elliot got up and slipped into some clothes. He glanced at his watch. It was just after five-thirty. His stomach was grumbling, and he needed to take a piss. He slipped into his boots and Kong got up to go with him.
“No, you stay here. I can’t haul you up.”
His head cocked.
“It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere.”
