by Sam Sisavath
“If we killed him during the gun battle, that’s fine. I won’t lose sleep over it. But this…this is murder.”
She gave him a sharp look, ready to get pissed at him, but saw the very real conflict on his face. He looked so young, even with that Mohawk.
“When did you get so soft and gooey?” she asked instead.
He chuckled. “Is that what I’m being? Soft and gooey? Just because I don’t want Will to murder some guy?”
“You really think he wouldn’t do the same to us if the shoe was on the other foot?”
“I’m sure he would. But we’re better than him. He and this Kellerson guy. These collaborators. That’s what sets us apart from them.”
Gaby didn’t reply. She didn’t really know how. Maybe he was right. The old Gaby would have jumped at the chance to agree with him. But she had seen too many things, faced too much ugliness from her fellow man, and lost too many friends to just forgive Harris for “following orders.”
When she didn’t answer, Nate said, “Gaby?”
“What?”
“Nothing. I expected you to say something.”
She shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. That you agree with me would be nice.”
“I don’t.”
“You don’t?”
“No. Why do you find that so hard to believe?”
“I thought—” He paused. “I just thought you would.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“So you’re fine with Will shooting Harris in cold blood?”
“I’m fine with whatever Will decides to do with him.”
“You trust him that much?”
“I trust him more than I trust you. You’re cute and all, but you haven’t been through the shit me and Will have been through.”
He grinned crookedly at her. “You think I’m cute?”
She gave him a wry look. “Really? From arguing for Harris’s life in one breath to grinning like an idiot over me calling you ‘cute’ in the other? Classy, Nate, real classy.”
“Hey, a guy’s gotta make some points where he can. Girls like you don’t come around very often, you know.”
“I have bruises and scratches all over my face, and my forehead looks like someone cut it open with a hammer, then poured dirt into it.”
“Scars heal and bruises fade, but you’ll always be beautiful.”
“Wow. That was almost…sweet.”
He laughed. “I get some brownie points for that, right?”
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
*
Gaby was amazed they had survived the ambush unscathed, given the state of the Beetle. It was almost completely destroyed, every single window shattered, even the back windshield. The doors were covered in bullet holes and the car seats and dashboards were shredded. The man had really unleashed on them, but then again, given how much ammo he was carrying inside the Saleen, she guessed he wasn’t exactly trying to conserve bullets.
Before she left Benny, Gaby had taken some of the emergency supplies from the gym bag they were hauling around, giving Benny the bulk of it to take back to Lara. The ham radio she had brought with her was in pieces in the back of the Beetle, with a nice big hole in the center.
They grabbed their packs and headed back to Will.
*
“Radio’s kaput,” Gaby said.
Will nodded, keeping one eye on Harris, who was still seated on the curb in front of him. As she expected, Will didn’t look all that torn up about the loss of the ham radio.
Of course not. He left before I came back for a reason…so he wouldn’t have to explain to Lara why he isn’t coming back to the island yet.
Slick, Will, real slick.
Next to them, Nate was busy taking inventory of everything from inside Harris’s truck, including one of the green ammo cans that had been stolen from Mercy Hospital. The bullets inside were 9mm and 5.56x45mm silver rounds, not that Harris had cared or noticed. There was also a white Level B tactical hazmat suit in the backseat, along with a spare M4 rifle, a backpack, gas mask, and a crate of food.
“So what’re we gonna do with this asshole?” she asked Will.
Harris narrowed his eyes at the insult.
“We’ll leave him here,” Will said. “If he survives the day, fine. If not, that’s his problem.”
Gaby glanced over at Nate to see his reaction. He looked satisfied with the compromise.
“I can live with that,” Nate said.
“What about my suit?” Harris asked.
“What about it?” Will said.
“I need it.”
“That’s too bad, because we’re taking it, too.”
Harris didn’t bother arguing.
She left Will and Harris and climbed into the front passenger seat of the truck.
Nate settled down behind the steering wheel, moving his butt around the luxurious leather sports seat and whistling his approval. “I could get used to this.”
“Considering the fates of every vehicle I’ve been in lately, you probably shouldn’t.”
“Oh come on, your luck’s changing.”
“What gave you that crazy idea?”
“You met me, didn’t you?”
“Unbelievable,” she said. “We’re probably going to die soon, and all you can think about is getting into my pants.”
“Is it working yet?”
“You’re not even at the belt.”
“Damn,” Nate said.
She watched Harris outside the window, looking forlornly back at them. He hadn’t bothered to move from the curb, probably realizing there was nowhere to run anyway.
Will soon showed up, riding his Triumph motorcycle across the flat highway lanes over to them. He stopped next to Harris, who remained seated like a kid sent to the corner as punishment.
“What’s the point?” Harris asked. “So you save a couple of kids. Then what? There are hundreds—thousands—of people out there. You’ll never be able to save them all. Why even bother?”
“How many did you personally hand over to the ghouls?” Will asked.
“Enough.”
“Maybe you can explain to them how loyal you’ve been when you see them tonight.”
Will gunned the motorcycle and shot forward, up the southbound lane, before switching over to the northbound. Nate eased the truck back onto the road, then increased speed as they hopped the lanes. Will had slowed down for them to catch up before increasing speed again.
They drove past a sign that read, “Sandwhite Wildlife State Park. 29 Miles.”
Gaby looked in her side mirror, back at Harris. He was still sitting on the curb, watching them go.
“How long do you think he’ll last out here by himself?” Nate asked. “Without food, weapons, or the hazmat suit?”
Gaby remembered the kids, their faces pressed against the rear windshield of the Humvee, looking back at her, horror frozen on their tear-streaked faces.
“Gaby?” Nate said. “How long do you think he’ll last out here?”
“I couldn’t give a shit,” she said finally.
*
Sandwhite was only twenty-nine miles from Harvest, but as they approached the five-mile mark, Will slowed down and pulled over to the side, motioning for them to drive up next to him.
Gaby glanced down at her watch: 11:55 a.m.
Nate pulled up alongside Will and put the truck in park.
Will flicked up his helmet’s visor. “How big is Sandwhite?”
“It’s big,” Nate said. “About 10,000 acres the last time I was there. The state might have expanded it since.”
“Ten thousand is massive,” Gaby said.
“Yeah, it’s pretty big. Some rich family originally owned it before gifting it over to the state. It’s essentially halved—one for the hunters and the other for campers. It’s got trails, but honestly, it’s a good idea not to get lost inside at night.”
“What kind of wildlife?” Will a
sked.
“Squirrels, rabbits, wood ducks, and large herds of deer. And oh, woodcocks.”
“Woodcocks?” Gaby said doubtfully.
“Yeah, you know, small birds with long, skinny beaks?”
“You’re making that up.”
“No, I’m serious. They’re called woodcocks.”
“Trails?” Will asked.
“About twelve miles in all, mostly used by hunters. We used to notch some nice trophy bucks from those woods.”
“What’s the plan?” she asked Will.
He glanced at his watch. “What are you loaded with, Nate?”
“I have Harris’s 9 mil Beretta, and I swapped my rifle with his spare M4. Thought it’d be more appropriate if we run across this Kellerson asshole.”
“I reloaded all the mags with the silver from the ammo can,” Gaby added. “Just in case.”
Will looked forward. “If Harris was telling the truth, then Kellerson will have already delivered the kids and left yesterday. You said there are places in the park where the sun doesn’t reach?”
“A lot of places,” Nate said.
“This is where I give you the option of turning back,” Will said. “Gaby—”
“Forget it,” she said, cutting him off. “The only place I’m going is wherever you are.”
She thought she was in for an argument, but instead he looked at Nate. “What about you, ROTC?”
“Hell, I came this far,” Nate said. “Why the hell not?”
“You could die.”
“Yeah, well, I could die tomorrow. Or the day after that. If I am going to die, I might as well do it for a good cause. And rescuing some kids is as good as any.”
Will nodded. “Harris said they drove to the main parking lot and waited for the others to come get the kids. You know where that is?”
“There’s only one main parking lot, in the center of the park. I know where it is.”
“All right. You take point.”
Will flicked his visor back down and waited. Nate pulled on ahead, and Will followed behind them.
Gaby glanced over at Nate. “Are you doing all of this just for me?”
He gave her a serious look. “Maybe. I don’t know. But I wasn’t lying back there. I don’t like the idea of kids being hand-delivered to those things by other human beings. It makes my skin crawl.”
“Yeah, me too.”
He drove in silence for a while, before asking her, “How good is Will? Tell me the truth.”
“He’s really good. Just do what he says and follow his lead, and our chances of coming out of this alive are decent.”
“I was hoping for more than decent.”
“Yeah, well, hope springs eternal, Louisiana.”
*
Nate pulled off I-49 five miles later, taking a small two-lane road for the next ten minutes.
“Sandwhite?” she asked.
Nate nodded. “This is the main entrance. From here, we’ll go to the main parking, which is exactly in the middle of the park for easy access to all the other areas.”
They passed large sections of undeveloped land, broken up by the occasional wall of trees to the left and right of them. There were buildings and small businesses, but no houses or farms that she could see. It was quiet, almost serene, but Gaby couldn’t shake the feeling there were things inside the woods watching her.
Eventually, Nate slowed down and took a right onto another two-lane road. It went east for about five minutes, before curving left for another two, then arching back right again. They passed more thick trees, so many and so tightly packed together that it was impossible to see slivers of sunlight between them.
Gaby shivered slightly at the thought of being lost in there. It would take days, maybe weeks, to find her way out. That was, if she survived the first night…
“You okay?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. How much farther?”
“One more mile.”
They passed a group of tanned buildings. There were three similarly colored trucks parked in front of them, but she didn’t look quickly enough to catch the sign up front.
Then there were more trees. Everywhere. She had never seen so many trees in her life.
Ten thousand acres. Twelve miles of trail. Where do we even start?
She was about to give up ever reaching anything resembling civilization again when Nate slowed down and pulled onto an asphalt parking lot. It wasn’t nearly as big as she had expected, given the size of the park. There were about thirty to forty vehicles already inside, with plenty of empty slots for at least a hundred more. The wall of trees made it look foreboding, like the green scenery could collapse in on them at any moment.
“I thought it’d be bigger,” she said.
“Most of the hunters like to park around the area so they can reach their favorite hunting grounds faster. The people who park here are mostly campers and hikers. There’s a bayou about a mile’s walk where you can do some fishing.”
“You do come here a lot.”
“What can I say? I’m easily bored. Hunting and fishing take up a lot of time.”
Will pulled up ahead of them, sliding his motorcycle into one of two open spaces flanked by a white and a red truck. They were both much bigger than the Saleen and swallowed up the sports truck as it eased into the empty spot next to Will’s bike.
Will was already off the Triumph with his M4A1 in his hands by the time she and Nate climbed out with their packs and rifles.
The air around them was thick with the sound of animals. There was more wildlife here than she had seen or heard in a long time, though they were all either perched on branches or high up in the trees. Land animals, like in the cities, didn’t last very long these days.
“Nate,” Will said. “What’s the highest point in the park? Some place where we can get a good look at what’s around us?”
Nate thought about it. “Trail #8 takes us north to Sandwhite Point. It’s a hill and should give us our best view of the surrounding area.”
“There was something that looked like official buildings about a mile back, with some trucks in front of them.”
“Game warden’s office.”
“All right. If anything happens and we get separated, we fall back to those buildings to meet up. Whatever happens, the two of you stay together. Understand?”
Nate and Gaby nodded.
“Lead the way, Nate,” Will said.
Nate headed off across the parking lot, she and Will following.
The animal noises seem to increase in intensity as they neared the wall of trees, as if they knew humans were approaching. Her chest tightened as she took her first step inside the woods, the almost-choking chilly air wrapping around her fingers.
God help me to survive this place…
CHAPTER 22
WILL
Will spent most of his career moving across hot deserts and rocky mountainsides before trading it all for hard concrete and steel jungles. There were woods in Afghanistan, but they were nothing like the thick, deep canvas of Sandwhite Wildlife State Park.
Nate was up front, keeping to Trail #8, with Gaby behind him. They were both moving at a fast clip while maintaining complete silence. Will kept them within range while drifting behind a bit, watching for signs of movement around them. The last thing he needed was to get outflanked in here.
Squirrels raced along branches above his head, and woodcocks fluttered when they got too close.
The trail was essentially a dirt path, approximately two meters wide. He saw old tracks—truck tires and faded shoe prints, some trampled over by much fresher prints. Bare feet.
Ghouls.
They were, without a doubt, moving behind enemy lines.
After about twenty minutes on Trail #8, Will caught up with them. “How far to Sandwhite Point?”
“Maybe another ten minutes,” Nate said.
“You sure?”
“Pretty sure,” he said, pointing at a sign about ten meters
ahead that read, “Sandwhite Point” with an arrow pointing up the trail.
“Good enough,” Will said.
They continued up Trail #8.
There was supposed to be a massive deer population in the park, but so far he hadn’t seen a single one. Except for the birds and animals high above them, it seemed as if they were the only living beings moving on the ground.
They walked for another fourteen minutes before they finally reached Sandwhite Point. It wasn’t much—a wide, circular clearing with a cliff at the end. Four wooden picnic tables were spread across the grounds, faded trash bins on opposite sides, and a couple of crushed beer cans half-buried in the dirt. There was an opening at the top of the clearing, which allowed sunlight to pour through. They had been moving through heavy canopies for so long that finally feeling heat against his skin again brought an odd sense of comfort.
“Sandwhite Point,” Nate said.
“It’s not much,” Gaby said.
“Nope. But it’s the highest point in the entire park.” He started toward the cliff, Gaby and Will following. “We’re still at the northern edge of the 10,000 acres that make up the park. Won’t be able to see everything from here, but we’ll be able to see a lot of it.”
Will glanced down at his watch: 12:45 p.m. “If we don’t find anything in two hours, we need to start heading back to the vehicles and looking for shelter for the night.”
“I don’t mind telling you, I’m looking forward to that,” Nate said. “This place gives me the creeps.”
“But you’ve been here before,” Gaby said.
“Yeah, but it was never like this. Quiet and empty, and…”
“Dead,” she finished.
“Yeah.”
Nate and Gaby reached the cliff first, when Nate suddenly went into a crouch, grabbing Gaby’s arm and pulling her down with him.
Will followed suit, his rifle raised, searching the area behind them. “What?”
“Oh my God,” Gaby said, her voice breathless. “Will, come see this.”
When he was sure there was no one behind them, Will hurried over, keeping low. He crouched next to Gaby and peered over the cliff.
Where he expected to see a valley teeming with nature, there was instead a large, ragged man-made clearing at least half a kilometer in diameter. It was a camp, filled with gray, beige, green, and camouflage tents. He was looking down at a sea of thick, heavy canvas spread out to accommodate a large population that didn’t belong among the greens and trees that surrounded it.
