by Payne, T. L.
Maria pointed to the truck.
“Pull over right there.”
The right rear of the truck was up on a jack stand. A tire lay on the gravel shoulder beside it.
Beth hesitated.
“It looks like they had a flat. The owner could still be around.”
“I don’t think so. The terrain is so flat out here you could see them ten miles away. There is no one out here,” Maria said, still motioning for her to pull over.
Reluctantly, Beth pulled in behind the truck. Maria jumped out and grabbed the gas can. She slid under the pickup and a moment later emerged with half a gallon in the little red container.
“It isn’t much, but it is something,” Maria said as she poured it in the tank.
“At least we have something to collect it in now. Must be the lucky rabbit’s foot,” Beth said, smiling.
With only a one-gallon fuel container, filling the Bronco’s tank was time-consuming. In the time it took for Beth to pour the gasoline into their vehicle and get the can back to Maria, about as much additional precious fuel had spilled on the ground, requiring several stops at other abandoned vehicles to repeat the task and fill the Bronco’s tank.
They continued zigzagging through rural roads to avoid towns and came out at a junction with a country store. On the front porch was a soda machine.
“We should see if we can get some water or soda out of that machine. I haven’t seen a water source since we lost the truck,” Maria said.
“It isn’t going to work without electricity.”
“I know that. I’m going to see if I can break the lock.”
Maria held up the screwdriver she’d been using to put holes in the fuel tanks.
“I don’t know. It sounds dangerous.”
“Look around. There is no one out here in the boonies,” Maria said, opening her car door.
“All right, let me pull around in front. That way, if someone does show up, we can make a quick getaway.”
“You make us sound like Thelma and Louise.”
“I loved that movie,” Beth said.
Maria handed Beth the Henry and hurried over to the soda machine.
Beth was turned in her seat looking up the road when she heard the squeak of the door being opened. Before Beth could even put the Bronco in gear, Maria dove into the SUV and slammed her door shut.
“Go-go-go, Beth! He’s got a gun!” Maria yelled.
Beth fought the urge to look for herself. She put the car into drive and stomped on the gas pedal as she heard the first round hit the rear panel of the Bronco. The second shot took out their right front tire. Beth swerved trying to maintain control of the vehicle. She heard the sound of an engine and looked into her rear-view mirror.
“He’s chasing us!” Beth yelled.
Maria turned in her seat.
“Shit! Stomp on it, Beth!” Maria said.
“I am, but the tire is flat. It can’t go any faster, or I’ll wreck us.”
“You better, or we are going to get shot.”
As they picked up speed, the man, who was driving a lawn tractor, slowed to a stop in the middle of the road behind them.
Beth looked at Maria, who had a huge grin on her face.
“Whew—that was close!” Beth said.
“Yeah. Now I know how O. J. felt during his slow speed chase.”
Beth didn’t get it at first, but when it sunk in that she was referring the infamous white Ford Bronco slow-speed chase, she chuckled.
They made a few turns, still bumping along slowly on the tireless rim, before they found their way back to the highway. They stopped to put on the spare tire before continuing their trek east. Beth’s heart leaped when she saw the sign for Baxter Springs, Kansas, knowing that she was only three hours from the cabin.
Beth thought of her home in Clarkson Valley and her husband, Jason. She tried not to think about what may have happened to him. He was a good man—and she had loved him—but she had no illusions about the fact that people as ill-prepared as Jason were all history by now.
Not now, not now. Grieve later.
“Are we getting close?” Beth asked.
“Yes. Just a few hours now.”
“Awesome.”
Beth wasn’t sure how, but Maria was routing them entirely on the back roads in Kansas before they reached Interstate 44.
“Are we in Missouri already?” Beth said, sitting up taller in her seat and gripping the steering wheel tighter.
“Not yet. This is the Oklahoma turnpike,” Maria said.
Beth turned and saw the sign for Miami, Oklahoma. For the first time since leaving Arizona, she knew where she was.
Heading east on the Will Rogers Turnpike, Beth drove as fast as she could while weaving in and out of the snarl of abandoned cars, trucks and semi-trucks. When they approached the sign announcing their arrival into the state of Missouri, Beth could hardly contain herself.
They arrived just outside of Springfield late that afternoon. A trip that usually took two hours had stretched into five with another stop for fuel. Maria had found an additional fuel can, so that chore was faster.
“I think we should avoid Springfield,” Maria said, taking a drink of the last of her water.
“You thinking of going south through Republic and taking Highway 60 east?” Beth asked.
“I think that would be safer than going through all the towns that Interstate 44 travels through.
“I agree,” Beth said, making the turn south just before Republic, Missouri.
“Too bad you weren’t able to get into the soda machine. I could really go for a Pepsi right now. I’d even drink it warm—and they taste bad warm.”
Maria reached down in the seat beside her and pulled out a blue can.
“Like this one?” Maria chuckled.
“Exactly like that one. Were you holding out on me?”
Maria popped the top and handed the warm soda to Beth.
“No. Just waiting for the right time, but I guess now is as good of a time as any.”
“Thanks, Maria—and thank you for coming with me,” Beth said, starting to choke up.
“I love a girl’s road trip. I used to take them all the time with…” Maria said.
Maria drew quiet. Beth knew she was thinking of her sister. They both were silent as they weaved back and forth, avoiding abandoned vehicles.
Beth made the right turn onto Highway P and headed farther south to skirt the populated areas outside of Springfield, Missouri. An hour-and-a-half later, they were nearing the town of Ava, Missouri, where they would turn and head north. Coming out of a sharp turn, Beth had to raise her hand to shield her eyes. The sun was low enough on the horizon to shine in and impair her vision, even with the visor down.
“Up here just, before Ava, you’re going to turn left,” Maria said, pointing to the map she held up in front of her.
Beth glanced over to see the spot on the map that Maria was pointing to. When Beth looked back to the road, a large piece of metal lay in the roadway. Beth swerved to miss the object but her left front tire made contact with it, she over-corrected as the vehicle pulled to the left, and the truck ran off the right side of the roadway and slammed into a tree.
Chapter 16
Langston Cabin
Evening Shade, Missouri
Event + 15 days
When Maddie entered the guys’ room to wake Zach for his turn at watch, she saw that Austin Henson was not in his bunk. She had not seen him as she walked through the kitchen, but it was dark so he could have been there, and she just not noticed.
Rank, Ryan, and Jason were fast asleep. She pinched her nostrils shut with her left hand, and with her right, she nudged her brother.
“It’s your watch, Zach.”
“Already?” Zach asked, rolling out of the top bunk.
Zach noticed the bunk below him was empty.
“Where’s Austin?” He asked as he pulled on his boots.
“I don’t know. I’ll meet you outside
. I have to get out of here. Even with my nose plugged, I can still smell the foot funk.”
“I still have my boots on,” Rank whispered.
“Then, somebody needs a shower,” Maddie whispered back.
Maddie backed out of the room and walked down the hall to the living room. The space was made much smaller with the additional sandbag seating arrangement. Ryan had spent the day filling sandbags with dirt and instructing Jason on how and where to stack them. The two-foot-wide, three-foot-high sandbag wall under the window provided extra seating for their little growing group while serving as cover from possible incoming bullets.
Greg Langston had planned for twenty people to live on the property, but the cabin itself felt cramped with the eight people now occupying it. The two bunk rooms slept eight each. The large dining room off the kitchen sat twelve comfortably at the long farm-style table. Her father envisioned that people would be eating and sleeping in shifts because of the amount of work and guard duty required.
Austin wasn’t in the living room. Maddie was checking the bathroom when Zach came out of the guys’ bunk room.
“Did you find him?” Zach asked, on his way through to the back door.
“Not yet,” Maddie said, closing the bathroom door.
She was just about to reach for the knob of the basement door when she heard a voice behind her.
“He is in the barn with Lugnut,” Jason said.
“Oh. Okay, good to know. Thanks,” Maddie said.
“He’s a good kid,” Jason said, as he opened the bathroom door.
“You’ve talked to him?”
“Yeah. I wanted to assess his mental state, given all his losses and what he’s witnessed. Frankly, I wanted to make sure it was safe to close my eyes with him sleeping across from me.”
“Smart thinking,” Maddie said. “And you think he’s not a risk?”
“I think he is only a risk to himself. He blames himself,”
“Why? Survivor’s guilt?”
Jason turned and walked closer to Maddie. Lowering his voice, he said, “he knew his sister was sneaking out to meet the boyfriend. Austin didn’t tell his father because he didn’t want to get her in trouble. Even when the search party was out searching for her, he thought she was safe. He’s afraid that everyone will blame him for all the killing.”
“That is a lot to carry. He was just trying to be a good brother.”
Maddie tried to imagine what she might have done it that situation. Siblings cover for each other all the time—but it rarely leads to mass killings. He couldn’t have anticipated all that occurred because of his omission.
“You’ll help him deal with it?” Maddie asked.
“I’ll try for as long as he is here. But he doesn’t want anyone else to know.”
“I’ll keep it between the two of us,” Maddie said.
“Those guys snore so loud,” Jason chuckled.
“We have ear plugs somewhere. I’ll see if I can find them for you tomorrow. I have to get to my post. Sleep well—or at least try,” Maddie said as she turned to follow Zach out to the road.
Everyone but Harmony was on a four-hour watch schedule. Three people on watch at all times meant that no one was getting more than four hours of uninterrupted sleep. There was too much to do during the day, but Maddie tried to get everyone to at least take a few hours nap or at least have some downtime in their bunks to rest or read a book.
The day before, Ryan, Jason, and Harmony had installed a couple of the solar panels on stands in the back of the barn—enough to power a few lights in the kitchen and bathroom once they get them hooked up to the cabin. Afterward, Ryan had given Harmony and Jason their first firearms lesson.
Ryan had found Beth’s rolling garden seat, and Harmony happily pushed him around. Harmony had taken responsibility for caring for the baby goats and chickens as well as preparing all the meals. Even though her constant chatter drove Maddie crazy, she was glad Harmony was a part of their group.
Buster stood guard on the front porch during the day and slept with Harmony at night. He’d finally adjusted to all the nocturnal animal noises and stopped barking at every sound.
Zach was waiting for Maddie at the edge of the woods.
“Did you find Dad’s night-vision goggles yet?” Maddie asked.
“No. You can use Ryan’s if you want.”
“That’s okay. I wonder where Dad would’ve hidden them,” Maddie said.
“I bet mom knows,” Zach said, his voice full of sorrow.
“I bet she does,” Maddie said.
She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.
“She’ll make it home, Zach. She is stronger and smarter than all of us, and she has all Dad’s friends who are helping her, I’m sure.”
“I know. I just wish mom would get here, already.”
Maddie clicked the light on her rifle and found the path that led to her lookout post, then flicked it off again.
“You sure you don’t want to use the NVGs?” Zach asked.
“Not this time. I’m getting good at finding my way in the dark. Who knew the apocalypse would be so dark.”
“I know. I wonder if our eyes will ever get adjusted to the lack of electric lights?”
“If Ron and Ryan can get the rest of the solar panels hooked up, maybe they won’t have too. At least until all our stash of light bulbs are gone.”
“That would be nice,” Zach said, as he pulled the NVGs down over his eyes.
“Be safe, brother.”
“You too, sis.”
It took Maddie longer than she thought it should to locate the deer stand in the dark. Up in her perch in the trees, she counted stars and named the constellations that she could remember. Maddie recited poems and even a few bible verses trying to stay awake. Then she used a trick from when she ran the one-hundred-mile races—she planned her week. She got lost in organizing her schedule into sections and setting goals to be accomplished.
She was trying to remember how long it took for lettuce to be ready to harvest when a distant light caught her eye. At first, she thought it might be Zach, but it was farther away. After a minute or so of staring at it, she realized that the light was bouncing back and forth like a flashlight beam scanning the ground.
Someone is walking toward us.
She wished they had found her dad’s radios. Radios would come in handy, at the moment, to alert Zach and Lugnut. They’d set up a signal system but hadn’t tried it at night, and she wasn’t sure if Zach could even hear it over the noise of the frogs and crickets.
The classic Duck Commander duck call was an odd sound at night, and she had not yet mastered using it so the screeching sound it made hurt her ears. Three short blasts alerted Zach that Maddie had spotted something. Two short bursts back were Zach’s acknowledgment. With his NVGs, he would be able to track the person better than she if they shut off the flashlight.
A minute later, Maddie heard Zach give the danger alert signal. She responded with two blasts for acknowledgment. As Maddie pulled her rifle to her shoulder and peered into its scope, she watched the flashlight beam grow closer and closer until she could make out at least three shadowy figures. She searched their hands for weapons but saw none. When they were within fifty yards of her position, Maddie could see that there were four men in the group. Although she saw no weapons, it did not mean they weren’t carrying any. She let them pass by and out of sight before she hopped down from the tree stand and hurried back to inform Lugnut.
“You are sure it was one of the inmates?” Lugnut asked after Maddie described the men.
“I am positive. His whole face and head are tattooed,” Maddie said. Her hands shook as she drank from her water bottle.
Lugnut turned and walked toward the cabin.
“You stay here and guard the cabin. I’m going to get Rank, and we are going to track them down and see where they are holed up,” Lugnut said.
Moments after Maddie climbed the stairs to the barn’s loft, Ryan appeared
in the door of the barn.
“I got the cabin. You go back out to the road and watch with your brother.”
As she climbed back down the stairs, Maddie asked, “Are you sure? You can’t climb up there.
“I’ll have Jason watch from the loft, and I’ll stand guard on the front porch. We’ll have the front and back covered.”
“Jason isn’t ready for watch.”
“He can look through the scope. He doesn’t need to be able to shoot straight to alert me if he sees anything.”
“All right, but you are explaining that one to Lugnut,” Maddie said, as she headed toward the path to her post.
Chapter 17
Langston Cabin
Evening Shade, Missouri
Event + 15 days
A little after sunrise, Maddie watched Harmony walk across the open field carrying a picnic basket with her dog, Buster, at her side. Maddie hadn’t seen that picnic basket in years and wondered where Harmony had found it.
After Harmony made a quick stop at Zach’s post, she walked to Maddie’s location.
“Any sign of Lugnut and Rank yet?” Harmony asked.
Maddie hopped down from the stand and took the Spam and egg biscuit from Harmony. It was surprisingly good, though Spam was not Maddie’s favorite canned meat. It was the thermos of piping hot coffee that excited her. She’d been fighting to stay awake for hours and strong black coffee would hit the spot.
“No, but they may wait until dark. They work better in the dark.”
Harmony handed Maddie a biscuit with Ron’s homemade watermelon jelly on it.
“You and Zach have to stay out here all day?”
Maddie sighed.
“Yes. Unfortunately, we just don’t have enough people to stand watch.”
“Austin volunteered,” Harmony said.
Something about the way she said his name struck Maddie funny. It was all breathy like a scene from some chick flick or something. Besides being a talker, Harmony was turning out to be something of a flirt. That would not have bothered her except that she knew her brother liked Harmony and the flirtatiousness bothered him.
