Final Refuge: Book 7 of the Thrilling Post-Apocalyptic Survival Series: (The Long Fall - Book 7)

by Logan Keys

  Chapter 12

  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

  “I thought that guy would never shut up.”

  Brittany found a stranger standing at the door to the trailer looking at her with expectation.

  “Who are you?” Paige demanded. She was still struggling with her binds like a feral beast.

  The guy stepped into the light and Brittany’s jaw dropped. It was the soldier from before, the one she’d saved in the back of that truck that Dusty had captured.

  “You,” she whispered. “What are you doing here? You better get out while you can!”

  Paige shot Brittany a look like she’d lost her marbles. “Hell no! Untie us first!”

  He smiled. “That was the plan.” He leaned down and sawed through Chuck’s ties, then Paige’s. Then he crossed the room and sat next to Brittany. “I’m Beau.”

  “Brittany,” she said, still in disbelief. “You came back.”

  “Yeah. You saved me, I though the least I could do is save you. Before they captured us, they were shooting soldiers right there on the street. They’ve got a ditch filled with bodies.” He swallowed. “I couldn’t just leave you guys to take my place.”

  Her hands were free, and she touched his cheek. “Thank you.” He put his hand over hers.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Let’s go!” Paige said, and she leaned her ear against the door.

  Beau told her, “No one’s out there. They all went looking for Dusty. Apparently, there’s some trouble at the gate.”

  “Yeah,” Brittany said. “We heard.”

  They moved down the stairs, and Beau was right. No one was around…yet.

  “We have to get to the others,” Chuck said.

  “Are you kidding me?” Paige demanded. “We get out of here with our lives first.”

  Chuck walked in the opposite direction of freedom. “I’m not leaving them. I’m not leaving the city either.”

  Paige grabbed his hand. “I will drag you out of here if it’s the last thing that I do. That idiot can’t wait to put your head on a spike!”

  Chuck used their linked hands to stop her. “That may be. But in times like these we are a dead people walking anyway, Paige.” Chuck pulled away from her. “Might as well die doing something worth doing.”

  He started to walk away again, and Brittany glanced at Paige then followed.

  “Oh, you, too?”

  Brittany could tell Paige was being sarcastic because Brittany had nearly fallen apart with her run-in with Dusty, but then she’d realized, even though she was scared, that didn’t make someone a coward. “Yes, me, too. And don’t look at me like that, Paige. You don’t know what I’ve done to get to this point. I’ve faced men like Dusty before, and I’ve come out on the other side.”

  Paige’s eyes widened, and she finally seemed to snap out of herself for a moment. She blinked and then said, “Fine. But we do this my way.”

  Chuck and Brittany shared a smile. “Beau?” Brittany asked.

  “I’m in,” he said.

  Paige pointed at Beau. “Did you see where they keep the armory? They have a crapload of military grade weapons, they must stockpile somewhere.”

  “It’s just a few blocks in that direction. They have it guarded though.”

  “Did you bring anything?”

  Beau shook his head. “They took it all. All I have is a knife.”

  Paige sighed. “Better than nothing. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Keep your eyes peeled, they won’t be gone forever.”

  **

  Together they worked in shifts of two going up ahead while two kept lookout. It turned out to be wise, because Chuck and Brittany were caught just two blocks in. Two of Dusty’s men found them just as they turned the corner.

  Like Paige had told them to do, they split up and ran away.

  Brittany was afraid they might shoot her in the back, so her heart felt like it would burst as she bolted straight to where Beau was hiding behind a dumpster.

  She went right past it as if there was nothing there, and Beau tackled the guy chasing her just as they went by.

  On the other side of the alleyway, Paige did the same thing, bringing down the man who chased Chuck. She hit him so hard, his head smacked the concrete with a sickening thud, and then she forced it against the sidewalk again and again, so that Chuck had to pull her off of the guy. There was blood everywhere from where she’d cracked the man’s head open in a fury.

  Brittany looked away as they checked them both for more weapons after grabbing the rifles they were carrying.

  “You ever used one of these?” Beau asked Paige and she chuckled.

  Paige looked fairly comfortable with her new rifle as she checked that it was loaded. “Son, I was shooting a weapon of this kind back when you were still getting your first zit.”

  Beau’s face turned red as Paige winked at him, and Brittany bit back a laugh.

  The guy that Beau had tackled was coming to. “Should I…” Beau left it hanging of what he wanted to ask. If he should kill the guy or not.

  Chuck, the nice guy, the one who’d always been so good, he was the one to say without hesitation, “Yes.”

  Because if this guy went back to Dusty and said where they were, more people would die.

  Beau walked over, and Brittany glanced away as he pulled out his knife and leaned over the man on the ground. Then she forced herself to look back. In profile, Beau’s jaw flexed as he put the point of the knife against the man’s jugular. Then he made a quick movement to slice it open. He didn’t cringe at the action. Beau simply turned to meet Brittany’s gaze with a steady one of his own.

  This was who they all were now. She nodded, letting him know she supported his decision. That she supported him. He was the hand that freed them. And now the hand that bloodied itself to free them once more.

  Paige motioned for them to follow. “Come on.”

  **

  On the last block they found it. They counted three men in front of the armory.

  “Why do we need all of this?” Beau asked. “We have guns now.”

  Paige tapped her temple. “Yeah, but they have tanks. I plan on getting some grenades and…well, I’ll figure out the rest.”

  Beau seemed dubious of that plan.

  “We get in there,” Chuck said. “We free my group. We fight back.”

  “Doesn’t sound like much against hundreds of them and tanks.” Beau was the only one sane enough to actually do the math.

  Brittany shrugged when he glanced at her as if he expected her to be a voice of reason. “I’m not sure we need to kill the hundreds.”

  Paige nodded. “Just one.”

  Chuck elbowed Brittany. “You ready to run again?”

  “What?” she asked, fear making her skin tingle. “Again?”

  “It worked before,” he replied. “I think we go across then run back this way. They will follow and…”

  “This is the armory,” Beau said shaking his head. “They won’t leave it if they’re smart. They’d just shoot you in the back. The last guys wanted to capture you, return Dusty’s prisoners, but if you’re going after their goods that’s another story.”

  Paige begrudgingly agreed. “He’s right. Another plan.”

  Brittany thought hard for a moment. “What would draw them away? Before, when we were on stage, the only thing that stopped it was when they called for help. Would that work?”

  Beau answered, “The radio!”

  Chuck lifted the one in his hand. “Took this off the guy that Paige…uh.”

  “Curb stomped?” Brittany supplied, and Paige batted her lashes then smiled.

  She felt no remorse over the deed, and Brittany understood it. They’d been about to murder her brother.

  “What?” Paige answered the unspoken questions. “It’s not like these douchebags don’t deserve worse.”

  Chuck had them follow him back around the corner, radio up to his mouth. “You shoot. I’ll call for back up.”

  �
��Will it work?” Beau asked.

  Paige motioned for Chuck to press the button before she fired a few rounds.

  He shouted into the radio, “We need back up! Now! We’re under attack.” Beau fired his weapon between words. “One block south of the armory!”

  Paige and Brittany banged metal trashcan lids together to make more noise for whoever was listening.

  “Is it working?” Brittany asked when Chuck let go of the button.

  They crept to the edge of the alleyway and saw that two of the men that had been guarding the armory were running in their direction.

  “Get down!” Paige shouted at Chuck and Brittany. They dove to the ground just as the men turned the corner.

  Beau and Paige quickly cut them down.

  “Let’s go” Paige said charging onto the street and rushing toward the one final man standing before the armory. He grabbed his radio to call for help but Paige was quicker.

  She stopped, aimed, and fired as soon as she was close enough, and he fell to the ground and didn’t rise again.

  “Get the keys!” Beau told Brittany as she arrived behind them. She dropped to the ground next to the dead guy and yanked the ring off of his belt.

  Not even bothering to get to her feet, she jabbed each key into the lock methodically.

  Paige and Beau were facing the opposite way, guns up.

  “Someone had to hear us shooting,” Paige said. “We don’t have much time. Hurry!”

  Her shouting only made Brittany fumble more, but at the fourth key, the lock turned. “I’m in!” she cried, and they rushed inside.

  They all paused to take in the overflowing space. Inside the small room were weapons, floor to ceiling.

  “Holy mother of God,” Paige said.

  Beau gaped at the mountain of ammo. “Agreed.”

  Chuck grabbed a bag and started filling it full of grenades.

  “Get as many of those as you can,” Paige said, and she rushed over to help.

  She smiled at her brother.

  “You have a plan,” Chuck said mirroring the smile.

  “I have a plan”

  Beau started to gather the ammo. “Good,” he said, shaking his head and grumbling. “Because we’re going to need one.”

  They loaded up as heavy as they could and then went back outside. They had limited time to raid the room so they’d only gotten the ammo and grenades. Two spare guns for Brittany and Chuck.

  Brittany had a pack that was so heavy she nearly fell back off her feet just walking.

  Paige turned to Beau. “Tell me these guys are stupid enough to put all their tanks in one spot.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, they are. But it’s far. Like two miles that way.”

  “Then we need a ride.”

  Brittany searched the street. “Anyone know how to hotwire a car?” Everyone shook their heads. “Well that would have been too easy.”

  “I know where they parked my truck.” Chuck said. “I saw them put it in a parking lot. Let’s check and see if they left the keys with the cars.”

  “Okay, you lead the way,” Paige offered.

  **

  Lucky for them, night cloaked the group enough to work through the streets without being easily spotted. Wherever Dusty had gone, loads of his men were too drunk from celebration to be much danger and mostly they ran into a few partygoers. The ones that saw them were too drunk to recognize that they weren’t part of the group.

  A few even offered to hang out.

  Paige had warned them to just play it cool and pretend to be douchebags, too. Brittany found it wasn’t hard; they just acted like they owned the place and no one bothered them. But that wouldn’t last. Once they announced on the radio that the armory had been raided, or that Brittany, Paige, and Chuck were missing, that would change.

  They made it to the parking lot where hundreds of vehicles were parked. “Where are all of these people?” Brittany said with a sinking feeling.

  “Most of them are dead.” Beau said sadly.

  “My truck,” Chuck called. He climbed inside and checked all of the consoles, and the visor, but no keys. He slammed his hands against the steering wheel. “Come on!”

  Beau was checking the car next to the truck. “This one has keys!”

  He started it, and Chuck glanced back at his truck with reluctance but got inside.

  “Just go around the main roads. We should be fine,” Paige told Beau, and he did.

  Beau motioned ahead. “Once we get to the tank row. Your people are near there.”

  **

  They pulled up to the row of tanks after an uneventful ride. “Guess no one thought they’d be working tonight,” Brittany said.

  Paige grinned. “Exactly.”

  “The plan?” Chuck asked.

  Paige walked up to the first tank and climbed to the top.

  “Are you going to steal it?” Beau asked. “We can’t drive them all. They’ll just come grab other tanks and chase us down.”

  “I don’t need a tank,” Paige said, opening the top. She pulled out a grenade, then another, and removed the pins. “And neither do they.” She dropped them down into the hole and shut the lid.

  Brittany turned and ran the same time that Beau and Chuck scattered.

  Paige laughed like a hyena as she leapt down off the tank and raced away before the grenades exploded.

  Brittany pushed her back against a nearby building that was a good fifty feet away, but the explosion was so loud it sounded like she might as well have been a couple feet away.

  “Let’s go!” Paige shouted over the ringing in Brittany’s ears. “We have five more to do!”

  Chuck and Brittany mostly watched, handing out grenades, but Beau and Paige made fast work with the remaining tanks. Once they did two at the same time, just for giggles.

  They got down to the fifth one when people came running. Paige lifted the top and pulled the pin on her grenades and dropped them in.

  Then she shouted, “Go go go!”

  Pulling pins on grenades, Paige haphazardly tossed them behind her as she ran.

  Brittany had never run so fast in her life. Her legs pumped, and her arms swung, she just knew she was going to trip and fall and one of those grenades bouncing just on their heels would shred her to pieces.

  She followed the group as they turned down an alleyway. They kept running, but behind them was a sound like none she’d ever heard in her life. And she’d just heard five tanks get destroyed.

  The explosions eclipsed one another so that it was like the world was ripping apart. Those who’d been chasing them were being obliterated by the last grenades, but Brittany didn’t dare turn around to look.

  They ran on foot the two miles back to where Chuck’s group was being held.

  Paige and Brittany were the first ones to round the corner. To come to a stop.

  To find themselves face to face with Dusty, all bloody and battered, but standing on two feet.

  The radio was going crazy as people reported the destruction of his tanks and deaths of his men.

  Dusty did a half-bow, then stood straight. He had blood on his face as he lifted a brow. “Looks like I underestimated you folks,” he said.

  The Long Fall Book 8:

  Frozen Collapse

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  Authors’ Notes

  August 24, 2018

  Dear Readers,

  You’ve made nearly to the end! Wow! What a journey we have been on from one side of the globe to the other. This episode shows that some of our characters have to move towards what you’ve seen in the prologues. It’s exciting to have the two ends meet in the middle…soon. Tough to guess all the end games, but I bet you readers have some guesses by now. Thanks to all of you awesome readers for following along with The Long Fall series and your feedback in reviews makes it easy to push onward towards the next epic scene, so make sure you drop a line (even a short one) and let us know what you thought. It’s how we know that we need to make sure the next one gets out very fast.