by Stalter, D
“Where were you, baby? We went to Uncle Dave’s house four times, but no one was there and the people that we saw said that Uncle Dave left the day of the flare and never came back.”
Fonda nodded. “We went to Uncle Dave’s friend’s house in the country. They said it was safe there. They said there was no one left in town and that bad men were on the roads. But I knew you were still in town. But Uncle Dave wouldn’t let me go. He said it was too dangerous.”
“Did he know you left today?”
“No, they were all still sleeping. I left a note. I put it on the table.”
“We’ll find a way to get a message to them that she’s safe.”
Mary set the steaming mugs of hot chocolate on the table and there was silence as they savored the sweet chocolate. Fonda’s mother gazed at her daughter with a smile.
Frank McCall turned to Allison. “Don’t let me forget to get the box out of the truck. I brought more pens and pencils and some whiteboards and dry erasers.”
“Thanks,” said Allison. She tipped her mug and drained the chocolate. She rose and rinsed the mug in the sink. She was walking to the table to gather empty mugs when the door opened and Riley walked in followed by Will.
Frank finished his hot chocolate and nodded at Will. “Mind if we go outside and have a talk?” he asked.
They walked to the police car where Frank leaned against it and faced them. “My guys went with the FEMA boys to all the surrounding farms on the west side of town. They found most of the farmhouses empty. Many had been ransacked.”
Will nodded, knowing there was more to come.
“Six farms,” Frank continued. His voice trailed off before he started again. “There were six farms that had been attacked and the occupants murdered. Of those six farm houses, nine innocent children and fifteen adults were dead. They’d been shot or had their throats slashed. The houses were ransacked. I believe that the group stopped by this family you brought back yesterday were responsible for all of them.”
He shook his head. “It fits that they would approach each house claiming to be from FEMA. When the homeowners would put down their weapons, they would be killed and the house ransacked. Anything the gang wanted, they took and then destroyed the rest.”
He paused and took off his hat to rub his head. “I don’t know how,” his voice cracked. “I’ve been a police officer all my life. First in the military and then in public service. I’ve seen some pretty horrible things that people do to each other. But this is something way over the line. This is just evil.”
The bunkhouse door opened and Fonda followed her parents out. Allison, Mary, Jean and Sherrie trailed. Fonda’s mother stopped to hug each of them.
Frank unlocked his trunk and lifted a box to hand to Will. “Pens and stationary Allison asked for. There’s also some cotton balls James asked for. And a couple super-goodies.”
“Super-goodies?” Allison asked.
“Seems someone moved a case of toilet paper and hidden underneath was a case of night vision goggles. The store lost them last year. Thought an employee stole them. Even fired someone. We’ll make good use of them.”
“What did James want the cotton balls for?”
Will spoke up. “I asked him to get them if he could. I want to do a life skills class with the kids. I’m going to teach them different methods of fire starting.”
Allison stepped up. “Thanks, Frank. Can you put them on the table, Will?”
She turned back to Frank. “What about Fonda’s uncle? He’s got to know she’s gone by now. He’ll be just as worried about losing her as her parents were. Can we do anything?”
Fonda’s father looked at Fonda. “Honey can you remember where the farm is that you were staying?”
She nodded. “Just turn that way by the grain bins,” she said pointing. “It’s the third place on the left.”
Frank scratched his chin. “I’m not familiar with any farms out there.”
“I am,” said Jean. “That’s Kurtis Walter’s place.”
“Yeah,” replied Fonda. “His name is Kurtis.”
Riley spoke. “Will and I can go up and let them know she’s okay.”
“Take my ATV,” Jean said. “Just drop me off at the house first.”
“No, it’s what… about four miles?”
“About that.”
“The problem when you are on an ATV, or in any vehicle, is that you don’t see everything you need to see. We’ve got nothing going on today that can’t wait. We’ll hoof it and do some scouting while we are out there.” He followed Will into the bunkhouse.
Frank nodded to the Bohm family. “Let’s get you guys home.”
Her mother turned to Allison again. “Thank you so much for getting my daughter home.”
“It was a group participation and most of the credit goes to Fonda for being brave enough to head for home.”
Chapter 14 Riley
Will stood two rows into the standing dead corn that had never been harvested. “You ever wonder what happened to all the cars that were stalled on that day? Remember how the traffic was backed up and people were fighting each other to get past stalled cars?”
“My guess is that most of them eventually started and were driven off. Remember Allison saying that hers kept dying but would start back up? And look up there.” Riley pointed to a Mercedes with it’s back end sticking out of the ditch, the trunk hanging open. “The ones that didn’t restart are abandoned.”
Will pointed north. “There’s Kasbeer. We need to cross the highway and go west on the first road. Do you want to cross here where we have the cover of cornfields, or head north and check out the town before we go west?”
The town was silent. Nothing moved. Houses stood as they once did. There were no visible signs of violence. It was like nothing bad had ever happened. Except there was no activity.
“I’d rather cross the road and stay inside cover. We can get a look at the town from the other side of the road once we get even with it. Jean said there would be two farms before we get to Kurtis Walter’s place. If there’s anyone there, they might be able to tell us how the town has fared.”
They crossed the highway and worked their way through standing corn until they found the road they needed to follow west.
“We’re off the highway now,” Riley commented. “Following the rows was one thing. It won’t be easy to work our way across the corn. Want to stay in the middle of the road? We’ll look like less of a threat if we stay in the open.”
“Yep, sounds like a plan,” Will agreed. “You know, I miss being seventeen and my biggest worry was who was going to buy us alcohol.”
Riley chuckled.
They hadn’t gone far when a hoarse voice muttered, “Stop where you stand.”
They both moved their hands to their waists.
“Don’t,” came the voice.
“South side just inside the corn,” Will muttered.
Riley focused and saw the man only when he moved into the open. He was tall and muscular. Even in the chill of late October, he wore just a long sleeved fitted shirt with a t-shirt over. He held an AR to his shoulder - his finger near, but not on the trigger.
“Moves like military,” Will spoke softly.
“Used to be,” the man said. “I hear pretty good too. What brings you down my road?”
“We’re looking for a man by the name of Kurtis Walter.”
“You found him. What do you want with him?”
“A little girl by the name of Fonda.”
The rifle came down. “Have you seen her?”
“She showed up this morning. We got ahold of the chief of police in Princeton. He got her parents and they came and picked her up.”
“Picked her up from where?”
“Do you know Jean and Dan Schmidt?”
“Yeah.”
“She ended up at the place just south of them,” Riley said.
“Allison’s?” Walter looked behind them and held a finger in the air. Riley turned to look and f
ound a man they hadn’t noticed standing at the edge of the corn field on the north side of the road. He held his AR across his chest.
“You know Allison?” Riley asked.
“Yeah. Help them bale hay from time to time. So, how’d little Fonda end up down that road? It’s a dead end.”
“Well, a woman on horseback saw her on the highway and wanted to see if she could help, but Fonda thought she was chasing her so she turned off the highway and ended up at Allison’s. Don and Jean have a radio that they can contact the Princeton police and they called in.”
“Dave will be happy to hear that she made it home. He’s been searching all day.” He walked through the ditch and came on to the road holding his hand out. “Kurtis Walter.”
Will shook it. “Will Mead, and my friend is Shane Riley – better known as Riley.”
“I don’t know those names. You guys from around here?”
“No, we ended up in Kasbeer the day the flare hit. We got stuck here when Riley’s nephew was hit by a flying bullet. Got lucky enough to hook up with Allison a week later and have been there since.”
“How are you guys doing out here?”
“Not bad.” Kurtis Walter rubbed the side of his nose with his hand. “The first week or two was the roughest. Quite a few wanderers coming through. But not much now. Ya guys want a beer before heading back?”
“How far to your place?”
Walter shrugged. “Half mile.”
“A beer sounds good.”
Walter’s house was set back about a quarter mile from the road. If you hadn’t known it was there, it would have been very easy to miss. It was a white two story. Two German Shepherds stood alert, their tails held low, ears perked. Walter whistled. Both dogs raised their tails and wagged them before settling back down on the porch.
“They didn’t even bark,” Riley commented.
“They don’t. Uninvited guests don’t deserve the warning. And, if I hadn’t whistled, they’d have done their job.”
He led them up the steps to the front door. Both dogs lay still, chins on paws, watching the men. “Ah, go ahead and take a seat on the steps. I’ll bring the beers out. Don’t worry,” He pointed at the dogs. “They’ll be fine.”
He returned with four cold bottles of beer. A moment later, a tall blonde woman on crutches pushed her way onto the porch. Both dogs lifted themselves and padded over to stand by her. She made her way to a chair and settled in, leaning her crutches against the wall, before Walter handed her a cold beer. “Thanks, babe,” she said with a smile.
“Chrysta, this is Will and Riley,” Walter introduced the group. “They found Fonda this morning and also found her parents. Fonda is back home now.”
“I’m so happy to hear that. Dave’s been worrying himself to death.” She reached over to straighten the crutches that threatened to slide down the wall. They sparkled in the sunshine.
Riley looked closer and saw that they’d been coated with glitter. Kurtis grinned, one side of his smile a little higher than the other. “Chrysta loves glitter.”
Her grin exposed even, white teeth. “And coffee. Don’t forget my coffee.”
“And coffee,” Kurtis declared. The look that passed between them almost made Riley jealous. Almost being the important word.
“We’ll make sure that Dave knows Fonda is safe,” Walter said. “So, tell me how the Schmidt’s and the neighbors are doing? Any trouble down there?”
“It’s been fairly quiet. There were a couple close calls in the first few days, but it’s been pretty quiet.”
“And you say you are in contact with the city of Princeton?”
“Yes, we don’t go in all that often, but the chief of police visits us occasionally. We trade with the town.”
“What do you trade?”
“Allison makes medicine. We have a garden.”
“How do you have a garden this late in the year?”
“We’ve got a greenhouse set up in the horse arena. We’ve set up the compost pile with copper tubing to help heat the greenhouse. The harvest is just about done. We won’t be able to plant again until the end of February, but we have plenty to trade.”
“Hmmm. I never thought about that. We think we have enough put away until spring. But it’s gonna get pretty lean before next year’s garden gets planted.”
“So, have you done much recon? Your neighbors okay? Have you checked out Kasbeer?”
“Our neighbors that are left are just fine. We have gone into Kasbeer. That’s how we got all this beer.” He grinned.
“Is there anyone left in Kasbeer?”
“Yeah. There are three or four families. They’re all related. They watch each other, but don’t think they’ve had much trouble since that Wilson character left.”
“He’s dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yep. He pushed the wrong guy.”
“Can’t say that’s a bad thing to hear. He wasn’t right.”
“I agree.”
“Wonder what happened to his sister.”
“She’s living at Allison’s.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Walter smiled. “She’s a nice lady. And talented.” He pulled back the sleeve of his shirt. “She did this one and that one.” His finger stroked two tattoos. “Somehow I don’t see her and Allison being friends.”
“I’ve seen it,” Riley said. “Allison likes her a whole lot better than she likes me.”
“Why doesn’t Allison like you?” Walter took a slug of beer.
Riley shrugged. “Don’t know. She acts like I’m the one who caused the solar flare. As long as I stay out of her way, I’m okay.”
Walter chuckled. “Yeah, I’d stay out of her way too. She knows her way around herbs. She might spike your food if she gets pissed enough.”
Will drained his beer. “Well, my friend, we should head back.” He looked at Walter. “Is there anything you guys need?”
“Can’t think of anything.”
“Well, if you need anything, you know where to get help. We’ve got security so you will get stopped before you get to the farm. Just tell them who you are and why you are there. Someone will come out to escort you in.”
“Nice to know,” Walter said. He stood and shook hands. He pointed to the back of the house. “There’s a shortcut right there. Once you get into the cornfield, there are paths. Just stay to the left and you’ll come to a hard road. Cross that and pick up the path about twenty feet east of where you came out of the corn field. Stay left again and you’ll come out about three quarters of a mile from Schmidt’s.”
Chapter 15 Riley
It was close to noon when Riley and Will crossed the road to the second corn field. Moving twenty feet east, they found the path through the corn. Will lead Riley south, the path veering to the east, closer to the highway separating them from the farm and bunkhouse.
Will stopped and threw up a hand. Riley froze. He could see the road past Will’s shoulder.
Will turned and put a finger to his lips. He took one measured step, then another. Riley followed. He saw Will reach down and pull the pistol out of his waist holster. He did the same, holding it facing the dirt.
Then he heard the voices. “How long do we have to watch them?” a younger sounding voice complained. “We’ve watched them for two days. They got security. We can’t get past them. Let’s just go find another place.” They knelt in the tall weeds at the edge of the field. Both wore clothes that were a couple sizes too big. Riley thought they’d probably fit them a few months ago.
“Shut up. We watch during the day, learn the patterns, and then we go in at night. We can get through that security easy. I want more than their food and guns. I want that little blonde girl.”
“Ma ain’t gonna let you bring her home.”
“Never said I was bringing her home. Now shut up.”
Will planted his feet and leveled the pistol before saying, “Don’t move.”
The pai
r stiffened. The younger one tossed his gun in front of him before he lay his hands flat on the ground. “Don’t shoot,” he cried.
The older one lay his hands on the ground, but one still clutched a dirty revolver, his finger wrapped inside the trigger guard.
“Very slowly,” Will said. “Let go of the gun and push it away.”
The man’s grip loosened, but then he jerked and rolled to his back. The gun started coming up, but Will’s shot ended the sneak attack. The gun dropped to the ground. The man spun and face-planted, nose digging into the dirt. One final breath, more of a groan, escaped his lips.
The boy scooted away. “Don’t shoot!” he screamed. “I ain’t armed. Don’t shoot!”
Riley stepped around Will. He knelt next to the boy and pulled both his arms behind his back. Holding them with one hand, he pulled the knot on the paracord wrapped around his left wrist and yanked. The cord unwrapped and he used it to bind the boy’s hands behind his back and rolled him over.
He was younger than Riley had thought. “How old are you?” he asked.
“Thirteen. Is my dad dead?”
“Yes.”
“Good! He was a mean sonofabitch. He wanted to kill those people and take their food and guns.”
“Yeah,” Riley said. “And what did you want?”
“I just wanted to go home and not get beat.”
Will looked down on the boy. “What would you have done when you came back at night to sneak in?”
He shrugged. “Probably shoot my gun at the ground and hide.”
“You’d have been killed.”
“Probably.” He looked at the ground between his feet and a tear slid down his cheek and splashed on the ground. “Yeah. Probably. But it might have been better than living.”
Will looked at Riley.
“Where do you live?” Riley asked.
The boy pointed west. “Down there. But now we can leave that shithole and go back home.”
“Where’s back home?”
“Princeton.”
“You didn’t live down there before?”
“Well, yeah, we did, but my mom and dad got divorced last year because he was an asshole. Mom and me moved to Princeton. Two days after the power went out, Dad came to Princeton and made us come back home.”
