by Payne, T. L.
“I think we continue straight. I’m pretty sure,” Beth said
But she wasn’t sure at all. She’d only been this way a time or two. It wasn’t until they made the hairpin turn at Fairview that Beth was confident, they were heading in the right direction.
When they reached Highway 17, Beth felt like getting out of the vehicle and kissing the ground. They were so close. Bucyrus was to their south. She was less than twenty miles from the cabin and her children.
Maria made the left-hand turn onto the highway. Beth immediately heard the sound of an engine start. Not a car engine. She leaned over and looked into her side mirror.
“Shit. Damn. We have company,” Beth yelled, turning to Maria.
Maria checked the rearview mirror and then another engine started. Beth turned in her seat and Dawn and Krista did the same. There were two men on four-wheelers coming up fast behind them.
“Stomp on it, Maria. There’s two of them now,” Beth called out as she turned back around in her seat.
As she was turning to face the front, she felt the vehicle coming to an abrupt stop. She looked up just in time to see three, four-wheelers blocking the lane. Four men stood to the side, pistols raised and pointed their direction.
“Oh, fuck no. Not this shit again,” Maria said.
Maria floored it, and the vehicle slid sideways.
As Maria pulled onto the shoulder of the road, Beth brought the pistol she’d taken off the guard and leveled it at the closest man. Beth squeezed the trigger. The gun’s report made her unable to hear what Maria was saying.
As the men began returning fire, Beth unloaded the pistol into the men who were still standing. Bullets ricochet off the vehicle as they sped past the group and down the highway. Beth turned and looked behind them. Two of the four-wheelers were attempting to give chase, but they just weren’t fast enough. They disappeared from view as the hummer sped around a tight curve.
Five miles later, the engine gave its first sign of complaint. As it shuddered and coughed, Beth cursed their luck. Maria looked down at the fuel gauge.
“Empty,” she said.
It ran for another half mile before rolling to a stop.
Beth lay her head on the dash. She wanted to cry, but all of her stress came out as laughter. Maria looked at her and shook her head.
“What the hell is so funny about running out of gas?” Maria asked.
Beth pointed to the gas station on the corner of Highway 17 and 32.
“And what is so funny about that?”
“I don’t know. It is just ironic, I guess, running out of gas at a gas station,” Beth said as she opened the door.
Maria opened her door and stepped out.
“Stay here. I’m going to see if old man Ousely will sell us some gas.”
Beth ran across the road toward the store’s entrance. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a pool of blood on the gravel parking lot. Beth brought the pistol up and started to back away when she noticed two more pools of blood nearby. At that, she turned and ran back to the vehicle.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Beth said as she opened Krista’s door and picked up Jack’s carrier.
Beth led the women behind the post office, and they cut through a field. They hugged the treeline and eventually came out on Highway 32.
After walking for at least five miles, they had stopped to rest on the shoulder of the road.
“How many more miles would you say we have,” Krista said, rubbing her blistered feet.
“I think maybe another five miles or so,” Beth said.
Although she, too, was tired, her feet blistered, and she was very thirsty, she wanted to keep pushing on. She was so close. They rested another five minutes then got back on the road.
“Have you lived out here long?” Krista asked.
Beth looked down at the girl in her plain denim dress. Sometime during the trip, she’d let her long brown hair down, and it now hung down her back.
“A while,” Beth said, being deliberately vague.
“How old are you, Krista?” Beth asked.
“I’m twelve.”
“She was taller than Maddie had been at that age.
“I have a daughter who is eighteen and a son who is…”
Beth stopped. She didn’t know what day it was, but Zach had a birthday in September.
“My son is fifteen,” she continued.
“Are they waiting for you at the cabin?” Krista asked.
“Yes, I hope…”
Beth saw movement in the brush on the side of the road ahead of them. She grabbed Krista’s arm and began heading for the shoulder.
“Maria. Dawn,” Beth whispered then pointed to where she’d seen movement.
As they crouched down in the ditch alongside the roadway, Beth watched for any sign of danger. Beth dropped the magazine on the pistol and counted the rounds left before making sure there was one in the chamber.
“It could have been an animal,” Maria finally said.
“It could have.”
After waiting for another minute without seeing any further movement, Beth stood and stepped back onto the road. The others followed her.
“It was probably a deer,” Krista said.
“Prob…”
Beth saw pants legs emerged from the treeline and then the figure of a man.
“Stop,” Beth yelled, pointed the pistol at the man.
The man stepped onto the roadway with one handheld in the air and the second held in a sling across his chest.
“Roger?” Beth called out.
“I’ll be damned,” Maria said, lowering her pistol.
Beth lowered her weapon and ran toward Roger. She threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight.
“How?” Was all that would come out as she fought back tears.
“I thought I was behind you all this time. I left just after Kate said you’d gone. I thought I’d catch up with you by the time you reached Colorado,” Roger said, holding Beth out and looking her over.
“I thought…”
“I know. I’m sorry. I should have let you know what my plan was before I took off, but there just wasn’t time.”
“Damn, Roger. You had us worried,” Maria said, walking over and slapping him on the shoulder.
Roger winced.
“I had to track down the damn sniper and take that son-of-a-bitch out.”
“So, you got him?” Maria asked.
“I’m here, ain’t I?”
“Oh, Roger. This is Krista and Dawn. Roger is a friend. We were traveling together and got separated.”
“Hi,” Krista said, holding a hand up in a wave.
“Hello,” Dawn said, her voice low and timid. Her gaze never left her feet.
“Well let’s get off this highway and get you to the cabin,” Roger said, turning around.
“Let’s take Paddy Creek Road. Fewer houses and fewer chances for more trouble,” Beth said, falling in beside him.
“What if the bridge over the creek is washed out again?”
“Then you’ll have to carry me on your back,” Beth said, a broad smile crossing her face.
Chapter 26
Langston Cabin
Texas County, Missouri
Event + 18 days
While Roger approached the cabin from the side of the barn, Beth, Maria, and Dawn covered him. When Roger reached the back steps, he motioned for Maria to join him. Beth leaned her shoulder against the wall of the barn, sat Jack’s carrier on the ground, and placed the stock of her rifle to her cheek. Dawn held her pistol gripped in both hands as Maria had shown her.
Roger turned the knob and shoved open the door, then he and Maria disappeared inside. The wait was excruciating.
Jack barked.
“Damn it, Jack. Shut the F up before you get us killed,” Beth said under her breath.
“Should I stay with Jack?” Dawn asked.
Beth debated the idea for a moment.
“No. It isn’t s
afe for you to be alone out here. We don’t know how many people are here or where they are.”
A moment later, Roger appeared in the doorway. He stepped down the steps and scanned the areas to his right and left then motioned for Beth and Dawn to come over to him.
“No one is in there at the moment, but someone has definitely been staying here. The stove is warm and there is a pot of coffee on the counter.”
“Can you tell if it is Ryan and the kids?” Beth asked.
“I haven’t had time to look around to see. Come on in and we will go through the stuff in the bedrooms and see if we can tell who may be staying here,” Roger said, holding the door open for them.
As Beth stepped inside her family’s cabin, she inhaled deeply. It held that same earthy smell she remembered. She bit down on her lip and slowly released a breath. Beth hadn’t been to the cabin since Greg died. The memories of that day flooded back. The grief was almost overwhelming. The pain was as fresh as the day the officer had delivered the news that changed Beth and her children’s lives forever.
“Beth? You okay? Beth?” Roger asked.
Beth cleared her throat before answering.
“Yeah,” she said, stepping into the mudroom.
She looked around at the clothes neatly folded on top of the dryer. Several pairs of shoes were lined up under the bench and jackets she didn’t recognize hung on hooks.
Beth turned her head to her right and surveyed the kitchen. It looked just as she remembered it. Dishes were drying on the counter and the coffee percolator did, indeed, sit to the side of the wood cook stove. Beth recalled how difficult it had been to get the behemoth stove into the cabin. Greg had purchased it at a nearby farm auction, and they’d had to take it apart to get it through the door.
When Greg had said he bought her a wood-fired cook stove, Beth imagined a beautiful antique. But what arrived at the door looked like something straight out of a commercial kitchen. It looked modern and new. The first time she used it, however, erased all disappointment with his purchase. The Pioneer Princess’ huge cooktop made it easy to cook for the large groups they were hosting at the cabin.
Beth walked over and placed her hand near the pipe that went from the stove to the ceiling. It was warm.
Someone has definitely been here today.
Her heart leaped. Her children could be out there in the woods somewhere right that moment. She could be moments away from holding them in her arms again. She struggled to restrain herself from running out the door screaming their names.
Unable to wait any longer for the confirmation, Beth rushed down the hall to her right and threw open the first bedroom door. She dropped to her knees, threw her hands over her face and wept. Maria and Roger rushed in behind her. Roger placed a hand on her shoulder.
There on the floor at the bottom of one of the bunk beds was Maddie’s Salomon runner’s vest pack that Ryan had given her for Christmas. Beth hadn’t known that Maddie carried it with her to California. But there it was sitting on the floor beside her red Salomon running shoes. Her baby girl had made it safely to the cabin.
Zach!
Beth rose to her feet, sidestepped around Roger and Maria and ran over to the next bedroom. She threw back the door and rushed in. The smell hit her. It was so bad that she was forced to plug her nose.
“Rank,” Beth said.
“It does smell awful,” Maria said, coming up behind Beth.
“No, I mean, Rank was here.”
“No doubt,” Roger said over Beth’s shoulder.
Beth stepped over to the bunks. Lying on one of the top bunks was the Daryl Dixon vest she’d bought Zach for his birthday. She picked it up and turned to Roger.
“He found it,” Beth said through tears.
“Maddie remembered where Greg buried it,” Roger said.
“That means they likely remembered where the other caches were buried.”
“Oh, I’m sure Zach did. Greg drilled him on that many times,” Roger said.
“Where is everyone? Why did they not post a guard?” Beth asked, laying the vest back onto the bed.
They all stepped back into the hall for a breath of fresh air. Roger shook his head as he shut the door behind him.
“I don’t know where they went, but they haven’t been gone long. The coffee is still warm.”
“Coffee sounds amazing right now. Do you think they’d mind if I have like half a cup?” Dawn asked from the kitchen.
“No—go ahead. I am going to make a cup myself and then try to figure out where everyone went,” Beth said.
“What about Jack?” Dawn asked.
“Oh, shit. I forgot about him.”
“Maria and I will go. We’ll clear the barn and check out the greenhouse. You guys get some coffee and see if there is anything quick to eat before we go patrol the rest of the property,” Roger said, as he turned to leave.
“Thanks, Roger. I’ll have something ready for everyone to eat by the time you get back,” Beth said as Roger and Maria walked to the back door.
Beth opened the pantry door off the mudroom and found the shelves lined with cans, jars, and bags. It looked like they had found at least one of the buried caches of food. The small, white dry-erase board attached to the shelf by a magnet contained a detailed inventory—written in Maddie’s handwriting. Beth smiled.
She was listening.
At that moment, Beth was so proud of her children. Somehow, on their own, they had both found their way to Ryan’s farm in Illinois and together they’d made it to the cabin. They were not only surviving here but from the looks of things, they were thriving.
“Can I help you with something?” Dawn asked, pulling Beth from her thoughts.
“Yes, actually you can. Grab that large can of dried eggs. We are making breakfast.”
Beth emptied her armload of items taken from the pantry onto the counter and she and Dawn set about filling the firebox with wood from a crate on the floor. Beth pulled two cast iron skillets and a large pot down from the hanging rack above the stove.
As she stirred the pancake batter, Beth looked out the window over the sink. She was admiring the fall crocus she and Maddie had planted along the path to the barn when two figures emerging from the woods caught her eye. In the distance should couldn’t make them out. When she heard a dog bark, Beth wondered why Jack was still barking after Roger had gone to retrieve him. Then it registered that the bark was much deeper.
Beth reached down for the rifle she had leaned against the bottom cabinet as she pushed the curtain back further with her left hand.
“What is it?” Dawn said, reaching toward her holster.
“I’m not sure. All I know is that the dog barking is not Jack.”
Beth moved to the back door and slowly opened it. After scanning from left to right, she stepped down the stairs and placed the butt of the rifle to her shoulder.
“Stay here, Dawn.”
Peering through the scope, she saw a man she did not recognize. His rifle was now pointing back at her. Beth heard footsteps approaching fast to her right. Pivoting she saw that it was Roger and Maria crouching low and moving toward the barn. Roger motioned for Beth to get back inside. As Beth’s foot hit the bottom step, she spotted more movement in the brush behind the man. Beth dropped down to one knee and pulled the rifle tighter to her shoulder.
Chapter 27
Langston Cabin
Texas County, Missouri
Event + 18 days
When the group had passed the grove of pawpaw trees, everyone but Jacob stopped to help pick the fruit.
“I can make pawpaw cobbler for dinner,” Harmony said, stuffing the mango-like fruit into her mouth.
No one spoke.
Images raced through Maddie’s mind of the day Ron first introduced her to the fruit. A tear ran down her cheek as she bent down to pick one up.
After gathering up all the pawpaws from the ground, they quickly got back on the path and trailed behind Jacob. He was quiet after Ron’s mem
orial. Just before they reached the clearing, Maddie hurried to catch up to him. As she did, Buster bolted from Harmony’s side and took off barking in the direction of the cabin. Maddie grabbed hold of Mugsbie’s collar. He didn’t seem interested in chasing after Buster or whatever had caught his attention, so she released him.
Everyone shouldered their weapons and picked up the pace.
“Maddie, wait. Hang back and let’s see what has alerted Buster,” Ryan said, a moment too late.
As Maddie stepped into the clearing, she saw Buster running off toward the barn. At the back door, she saw a female figure. Maddie stopped dead in their tracks.
Maddie’s hand flew up to her mouth and then she heard her name being called.
“Mom!” Maddie yelled as she raced toward the cabin.
Behind her, she heard Zach calling her name.
She looked over her shoulder.
“Zach. It’s Mom!”
Zach was only steps behind her when she reached her mother. Maddie practically dove into her mother’s arms. Maddie felt Zach pressing in behind her and the three of them were entangled in an embrace. Beth’s ankle gave way and they all toppled to the ground. Hearing her mother’s laughter was the best sound she’d ever heard. Zach stood and helped Maddie and Beth to their feet. By that time the rest of the group had arrived and were surrounding the trio.
Maddie looked over her mother’s shoulder at Jason. Her step-father placed a hand on her mother’s shoulder. A broad smile crossed Maddie’s face, and she pointed behind her mother.
Beth looked back but appeared not to see Jason. Maddie placed her hands on her mom’s shoulders and turned her around to face him. The look of surprise on her mother’s face told Maddie that she had not expected to see Jason there.
Jason gently placed his arms around his wife and the two wept. After a moment, Jason held an arm out and invited Maddie and Zach to join in a family embrace. Maddie felt her mother’s tears drip on her neck as she buried her face in Maddie’s shoulder.
“How? How did you get here, Jason?” Beth asked through tears.
