The Collapse Trilogy (Book 3): Through the Ruins

by Rod Carstens

  The compound had a fence around it, and security was nice and tight. They’d interrogated the survivors from the place and they’d no problems with gangs. When they’d needed to scavenge, they’d just flown off and found a lone settlement or small community. One of them had contacts in Resource Control and had heard about the pandemic, so they had just loaded up and left with little in the way of preparation. Just a few rich friends feeling safe and smug out in the Zones. But it didn’t take long before they were out of supplies and were forced to scavenge. Tanner and the others had been the first convoy they’d seen, and they’d thought they could attack it. They were now locked up in a unheated or air-conditioned shed and fed the group’s leftovers once a day.

  Vin had left Mike in charge while he and the others went back for Blondie. At the thought of her, he pounded his fist into the steering wheel and said, “I should have thought of this when we left. Just get out of sight and go back for Blondie that night. Damn it! I was so stupid.”

  Cat looked over at him. “None of us thought of it. Shit happens, but now we’re going to fix it.”

  “Do you think she’s all right?”

  “My girl is one tough bitch. She’s been through shit that would have killed someone else. She’ll be all right.”

  Vin took his eyes off the road for a second and glanced at Cat. She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself as much as him. They’d made good time since they left the others. They had just been down this road, and Vin still remembered where the breaks and downed trees were, so he didn’t have to feel his way along. They were still a few hours from the area of the bridge. That would put them there at the best time to attack an enemy: that 3:00 a.m. dead zone for alert sentries. Good, Vin thought, things might just work out after all, and in some small way make up for Johnny.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Someone touched Blondie, and she was instantly awake. It was Chris. Chris put one finger across her lips for silence. Her eyes were big with fear and nervousness. She leaned close to Blondie and said, “They are half-asleep. They never noticed me walking in.”

  “Good.”

  Blondie stood and pulled out her boot knife. She had been studying the shack since the first time she woke up in the tiny place. It was poorly constructed. There were cracks between the boards everywhere she looked. There was no floor, just the concrete of the interstate bridge. The rear wall, facing the bridge’s railing, was the filmsiest, and that said something.

  She thought she could pry a couple of the boards off and then climb over the railing and make her way behind the shacks using the retaining wall and railing for cover. That way she wouldn’t have to deal with the guards or any other people who might wake up in the middle of the night to relieve themselves or something. If she could just disappear without having to deal with anyone, that would be the ideal way to slip out and get to the waiting ATV.

  So she stood at the rear wall looking closely at each board, searching for those that would be the easiest to take down. There was enough moonlight that Blondie could see through the cracks. One board was almost falling off. Blondie took her knife and gently pried the board loose at the top and then the bottom. Then she removed it and carefully placed it on the floor. She would need at least two more before the opening would be large enough for them to squeeze through.

  The boards on either side of the first one were better attached to the framework, but they had only one nail holding them to the two at the top. Blondie placed the blade of her knife between the board and the two by four and twisted the blade. It pried the board away. She had to do it several times before the nail finally came out. She realized that she didn’t have to take the nail at the bottom of the board all the way out. All she had to do was loosen it enough that she could rotate the board to the floor.

  She did that and gently lowered the board then started on the next one. When she lowered that one, it created an opening just large enough for them to squeeze through onto the railing of the bridge. She turned and motioned for Chris to go first. All Chris could do was stand there and shake her head no, so Blondie grabbed her and slipped out the back of the shack, pulling Chris along. Blondie stepped over the railing and down onto a small ledge that ran the length of the bridge. When she stood, her head was just over the top of the railing. She still held Chris’s hand, but the girl wasn’t moving. Blondie couldn’t force her, but it was evident she was afraid of heights.

  Blondie pulled the girl close and whispered, “You have to come now. They’ll know you helped me, and you know what they’ll do to you.”

  “I can’t. I can’t…”

  “Climb over the rail and get in front of me. I can make sure you won’t fall. Now come on!”

  Chris slowly climbed over the rail and got as close to the bridge as she could. Blondie stepped across her, so her legs and arms were on either side of the girl and Blondie slowly began to inch her way along the small ledge.

  There were vines and other plants growing on the railing. At times they got in the way of her handholds, and other times they gave her better ones. She and Chris inched past a shack that had a small fire going. Blondie could see two people sitting by the fire talking in low tones. Two others slept beside them. Blondie felt as if she could reach out and touch them, they were so close. Her foot slipped on some loose gravel on the ledge, and the sound was loud enough for the two inside the shack to turn and look. One stood and walked toward the back wall of the shed. Blondie pressed her body against Chris’s and crouched, so her head was just below the railing. She could clearly see a woman looking out into the darkness through one of the cracks in the wall.

  “Anything?” the other person asked.

  The woman standing at the wall didn’t immediately answer. Then, turning away, she said, “No, must have been a rat or raccoon.”

  Blondie slowly stood and began inching her way down the ledge again. She had gone several steps before she realized she had been holding her breath. She looked down the bridge. They realized that they had a long way to go yet. They weren’t moving nearly as fast as she had hoped. Chris was slowing her down.

  She began to move faster. The longer they were on the bridge, the more likely they were to be found by someone just like those two. They had to move faster.

  Tanner stopped the SUV, and the three of them bailed out. Tanner and Cat crouched and slowly approached the top of the hill that would overlook the bridge. Matos was searching for a perch so he could use his scope to scan the bridge.

  “Any bright ideas how we’re going to do this?” Cat whispered.

  “Nope. But we’re going to do it.”

  Tanner scanned the bridge from their vantage point. There were lights in some of the shacks from what looked like fires for warmth or cooking fires. He had to admit it was a very well-thought-out settlement. They had only two approaches to cover, and both were fortified.

  He stared down at the positions at this end of the bridge. It was the same as the other end, with an elaborate roadblock and two fortified guard towers on either side of the interstate. He looked down the two rows of huts, one on each side of the bridge, searching for some clue as to where they might be holding Blondie. He didn’t want to go in there shooting without a clear target in mind.

  “You see anything that would tell us where Blondie is?” Vin asked.

  “Not a damn thing. We might have to harbor up and wait for daylight.”

  “Yeah, I’m afraid you might be right. It’s the only way to find her.”

  Matos came clambering down from his tree perch and lay next to Vin. “I found her.”

  “What? Where?”

  He handed Vin the rifle and told him, “Scope the north side of the bridge.”

  Vin put the scope to his eye and slowly scanned the north portion of the bridge. Sure enough, Blondie was inching her way along the outside of the bridge with what looked like another woman.

  “I’ll be damned,” Vin said with a smile.

  “Let me see,” Cat whispere
d urgently.

  She looked through the scope and laughed. “She never ceases to surprise me.”

  “Now the question is, how can we help her? Matos, keep eyes on her while we think this through.”

  Matos got comfortable and zeroed in on Blondie. Vin scanned the end of the bridge for some ideas. There was thick brush on both sides of the exit from the bridge to the interstate. It looked like she could make it there unless someone noticed her on the bridge. Then, between that brush and the guard positions, there were twenty-five yards of open ground before she could reach the tree line. The guards were watching the interstate, so at least initially they would be facing away from her. How could she cover that ground? She didn’t know they were waiting for her, so she would try something. But what?

  Then he had it.

  “Look, she doesn’t know we’re here, so she’s trying to figure out how to cross that open ground close to the guard shacks. We need to do two things: let her know we’re here and create a distraction, so the guards aren’t looking her way.

  “Okay, this is how it will go. Cat, work your way down this tree line as close as you can to that brush she’ll be in. When the shit hits the fan, cover her if she needs it. Matos, you find yourself a good perch so you can fire down into those guard towers when she reaches the bushes. You’re going to set the ball rolling. Fire shots at the guards to get their attention. When you open fire, I’ll know Blondie’s in place, and I’m going to take the SUV over the hill. Blondie’s smart. She’ll think she got lucky and make her move. While they’re worried about me, it should give Cat time to link up with Blondie. Once that’s done, Cat, fire a three-shot burst and haul ass to the top of the hill. That will let us know you have Blondie.”

  “I’ve heard better plans, Vin,” Cat said with a chuckle.

  “If you can come up with one I’m all ears.”

  “No, it’s clear. It should work if about nine million things don’t go wrong.”

  “Do I shoot to kill?” Matos asked.

  “If they start shooting at Blondie or me, yeah. I’m hoping a random rifle shot that doesn’t hit anybody will only get their attention and cause them to go into full alarm mode. I’m going to approach slowly with an arm out the window in hopes they don’t shoot first and ask questions later.”

  “Got it,” Matos said.

  Vin had known Matos for more years than he could remember. He rarely spoke, but always was there when you needed him, no matter what the situation. He was the picture of the quiet professional.

  “Okay, let’s hit it.”

  The three split up and headed for their positions.

  Blondie’s arms were getting tired. Holding them out so Chris had room enough to move was taking its toll. Blondie leaned close to Chris and said, “We’re going to stop for a minute.”

  Blondie changed the position of her arms as she peered ahead. There was some thick brush right at the end of the bridge. Most of the guards were looking the other way. But there was one sitting by a small fire either sleeping or resting—she couldn’t tell which—who would be facing the brush where she’d come off the bridge. Beyond that, there was a large open space she would have to cross to get to the tree line.

  To the right of the brush, however, there was a slope down to the river. It was steep, but they might be able to move down it toward where the tree line was closest. There were only ten or fifteen feet between the two if she could move far enough down the slope.

  The plan looked feasible, but Chris was going to have to climb that slope by herself. Blondie couldn’t do what she had been doing for her on the bridge. She leaned down and said, “Okay, here we go again.”

  Blondie started to shuffle down the bridge again with Chris holding on tightly. They had to stop once when someone left their hut and walked toward the toilets set up along the bridge. As they neared the end of the bridge, Blondie was surprised by how steep the slope was right where the bridge met the ground. It was going to be difficult to step across that space. She and Chris would have to jump, and they would be closest to a guard at that point.

  They inched their way forward until they reached the concrete abutments that supported the bridge. Blondie leaned down and whispered, “We’re going to jump onto the ground over there and work our way downstream toward the trees.”

  Chris shook her head violently no.

  “Chris, it’s the only way. I’m going first. I will catch you, but you have to do it. If you don’t, I’ll have to leave you, and you know what they’ll do to you for helping me escape, don’t you?”

  Chris didn’t say a thing. She was trembling with fear.

  “Sweetie, you can do this. Now on three, I’m going to jump.”

  Blondie gave the girl a one-armed hug then started to count.

  “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”

  On three Blondie jumped and landed on the slope. She was able to grab a bush and hold herself steady. She turned and motioned for Chris to follow, but she seemed frozen. Then Blondie heard footsteps.

  “Is somebody there?”

  It had to be the person sitting behind the guards. Blondie was about to reach for her knife when a shot rang out. The round hit the ground near the guard who was walking toward her. It had come from up on the hill.

  “Shit!” the guard yelled, and Blondie could hear the rest of the guards running for the guard tower.

  Blondie turned just in time to see Chris jumping. She had not said a word; the shot must have scared her into action. Blondie caught her and threw her face first against the slope. Chris grabbed a bush and Blondie. Blondie held her for a second. She had no idea who was shooting but she needed to move fast. They had gotten the attention of the guards.

  Blondie hurried across the side of the slope, trying to stay in the shadows. As she did she could hear the guard shouting. She didn’t know what he was saying, but it was the best distraction she could hope for.

  When Tanner heard Matos’s shot, he gunned the SUV forward over the hill and turned on the headlights. He stuck one hand through the gun slit, waving madly. He hoped it would be a strange-enough sight to get and hold their attention. He could see guards scrambling up on the two positions on both sides of the road. He drove slowly, trying not to look too menacing and cause them to fire.

  He scanned the open area between the end of the bridge and the tree line, hoping to catch a glimpse of Blondie. Nothing. And still no three-shot signal from Cat that Blondie was safe in the tree line. He was getting closer and closer to the beginning of the barricade. If he hadn’t heard Cat’s shots soon he was going to have to make a decision.

  He was not going to go into that barricade’s maze. It would be too hard to turn around once Cat had Blondie. The guards had to recognize the SUV. It had driven right through the middle of their settlement not even forty-eight hours ago. If he were one of the guards, he would be suspecting that they were coming for Blondie, or something equally dangerous.

  He stopped just outside the speed bumps. The roadblock was designed just like the one on the other side of the bridge. After the speed bumps came concrete chunks almost as large as his SUV for a hundred yards and then the guard positions on both sides of the interstate. Both were tall enough to give the guards a good line of sight on anyone approaching their positions. It was a well-thought-out fortification. There were no weaknesses he could use, so he decided on breaking the Stupid Rule and taking his chances.

  Tanner opened the door and got out of the SUV. He held his hands up high but kept the door between him and the guards.

  “I’ve come back for my person!” Vin yelled.

  “You made a deal, and she is going to stay with us. So turn around and leave!” one of the guards yelled back.

  Where were Cat and Blondie? He had no idea what he was going to say next.

  “That’s true, but we need her back. We’re willing to trade for her freedom!”

  “We don’t trade! Now, I’m not going to warn you again. Turn aro
und and leave. Or we will open fire.”

  Shit. This was not going as planned. He had thought Blondie and Cat would have hooked up by now.

  Blondie heard the shouting and recognized Tanner’s voice. She and Chris were scrambling across the slope toward the spot where the tree line was closest, but Chris was moving very slowly. She was still scared to death. If Blondie couldn’t get her moving, she was going to get them captured and Vin killed.

  The slope was steep enough that you were almost standing straight up when you were moving. You had to look where you put your feet and your hands, but it wasn’t that hard. Blondie glanced back just in time to see Chris lose her footing and slide down the slope for some distance before she came to a stop.

  Shit, shit, shit, Blondie thought. She could hear Chris beginning to cry. Blondie backtracked and slid down beside her. She found Chris almost hysterical with fear. The girl was trying to suppress her sobs, but they were getting louder and louder. Blondie reached over and put her hand over Chris’s mouth to shut her up. She leaned close to Chris’s face and said, “That voice you hear is a friend of mine, and if I know him, he has some others with him. Now if you don’t shut up, you’re going to get him killed and us too. Pipe down before I throw you in the river, because my friends are not going to die because you’re scared. We clear?”

  Chris slowly nodded. When Blondie took her hand off Chris’s mouth, Chris bit her lip to keep from crying. Blondie realized that the bank was less steep where they were, and they were able to scramble more quickly back to where Chris had slipped.

  They were as close as they were going to get to the tree line, so Blondie stopped and slowly poked her head over the top of the slope to look at the roadblock. Sure enough, Vin was standing in the middle of the road trying to keep the guards’ attention. It was now or never. She decided she wasn’t going to tell Chris what was about to happen. She reached over, grabbed Chris by her collar and the back of her pants, and threw her over the top of the slope. She landed in a heap. Blondie was right behind her. She pulled Chris to her feet, and they began to run for the tree line. They raced across the open ground almost bent double.