She slipped through now, pushing through the heavy bushes on the other side. Vines and limbs dragged at her pants as she started to lead the way up the slope.
This is hopeless, she thought, not for the first time. I’ll never see them again. Dominic left the island with Pop, and that’s it.
And just then, she heard the distinctive sound of heavy footsteps on rock. It was coming from somewhere in front of them, but her view was limited by trees and bushes. She came to a sudden stop and thrust her free hand out to hold Garret back.
“Is that an animal or—”
Garret spoke in a whisper, but she pressed a hand over his mouth. Only then did he finally get the point. Elna crouched behind the bushes, straining to hear the approaching figure. It sounded like someone was walking down from the peak, making no effort to be quiet. They were carrying something, because she heard a kind of rattle and clank, as if they had a box or large tool in their hands.
Holding up the gaff, Garret pointed in the direction of the approaching stranger, glaring at her in a way that said, We’re armed. Let’s go kick butt. Elna pointed at her eye then at the stranger, trying to communicate, Let’s wait and see who it is. The dull glaze on Garret’s face suggested he didn’t understand.
She rose and tried to slip through the bushes as quietly as possible, but the branches still clawed at her clothes. The footsteps stopped suddenly, and she heard someone sniff. Cover blown, she rose and marched forward boldly, bringing up the revolver. Garret followed behind her, breathing like some kind of roused bear.
“Uh?”
A single word from the stranger, and then Elna stepped out into the open, aiming the gun at him. Even as she stood there facing the man, it took her a few seconds to make sense of what she was seeing. Her father, standing by himself, his button-up shirt absolutely filthy, his wispy hair sticking out at all angles. Under the crook of his arm, he was holding a large plastic box. At first, it looked like a radio or an old cassette player, but then Elna spotted the receiver hanging from a hook on the end of a curled wire.
“What in the hell, Pop?” she shouted.
Above him, the rocky terrain rose to the bare mountaintop. She saw no one else in that direction.
“Pasqualee, you just about got shot by your own kid,” Garret said, coming up beside Elna. “What are you doing wandering around the island? We thought you might be dead.”
At first, Elna’s father seemed baffled, looking from Elna to Garret and back, as if he couldn’t understand their concern. Then he gave his daughter a knowing smile and nodded.
“Sorry, I was thinking about this,” he said, holding up the plastic box. “I forgot about all of the other stuff.”
Elna saw now that he was holding an old CB radio. It had a relatively small antenna stuck to the top with a suction cup, but what drew Elna’s attention was the red LED display. It was shining brightly.
“It works?” she said. Instantly, all thought of Dominic fled. “You found a CB radio, and it works?”
“Yeah, can you believe it?” he said, laughing. “I had to hike up the mountain to get a clear signal, but, Elna, I did it. I’ve spoken to people on the mainland!”
Elna felt a rush of excitement. The last time she’d felt anything like it was when she’d bungee-jumped off a dam in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Contact with the mainland—it was like seeing the world rise from the ashes.
Garret stepped forward and tapped his gaff loudly against the rocks. “Wait, wait, wait. Where is Dominic? I’ve been looking to clobber that guy all morning.”
Pop combed his mustache with his fingers and shook his head, as if remembering some youthful misadventure. He held up his right hand, letting his sleeve fall back to reveal a distinct red mark on his wrist. “He force-marched me down to the old military compound. Put me in the guardhouse and tied me up. He was going to make a trade, me for Selene, and then he planned to build a raft and cross the bay. But I pulled out of the ropes and got away while he was sleeping. Anyway, all of that is beside the point.” He held up the portable CB radio. “He had this hidden in a hollow under the floorboard, and I took it.”
“He probably got it from that cave we found his stuff in. Might have protected it from the EMP,” Elna said.
Pop reached up to switch off the CB. “Better save the battery. We’ll need it.”
“Old man, we thought you were in danger,” Garret said.
“Oh, I was, but it doesn’t matter now.”
“Where’s Dominic.”
“No idea,” Pop said with a shrug. “Out there scheming, I imagine, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve been in touch with the mainland. We’re going to be okay. Come on. Let’s tell everyone else.”
He started back down the mountain, pushing through the bushes. Elna glanced at Garret. He was clearly annoyed, scowling at her father’s retreating back. Elna hurried after Pop.
“Pop, who did you talk to on the mainland?” she asked.
“I talked to a number of people,” he said, but then he looked at her over his shoulder, smiling so broadly his leather cheeks bunched up in wrinkles. “You won’t believe it. This will blow your mind. But I spoke to Rod.”
“Rod?”
“Rod Smith.”
The name sent an icy chill right through Elna. “My ex-boyfriend? Are you serious?” She hung her head. What were the odds?
“Now, wait a second,” Garret said, as they squeezed through the fence and crossed the gravel lot. “Forget about the ex-boyfriend for a second. Where is Dominic? You just left him sleeping? You didn’t bash his brains out while he was lying there?”
“He might have overpowered me if I’d tried,” Pop said. “Anyway, we’re in contact with the mainland. Didn’t you hear me? There’s already a group coordinating relief efforts over there, and they know we’re stranded on the island. Don’t you realize what this means? No more worries about food and water.”
“Is Rod leading the relief effort? Please, tell me he’s not going to come over here and rescue me,” Elna said.
They walked along the back of the winery toward the guesthouse. “I don’t know. We got cut off, Elna, but I’m telling you, everything’s going to be okay. We have to inform the others.”
He approached the back door of the tasting room.
“I wish I could believe that,” Elna muttered.
Pop opened the door and stepped inside. Elna followed. She was so irritated at the sudden intrusion of Rod Smith into her life that she wasn’t paying attention when she entered the room. It took a second to notice the strange sounds all around her—strained breathing, anxious movements, hushed voices. When she looked up, she saw the gun pressed against her father’s cheek, the barrel making a dent in his whiskery skin.
Instinctively, Elna started to raise her own gun, pointing it toward the shadowed figure who came out from behind the open door.
“Don’t try it,” Dominic said, sneering at her.
He wrapped his free arm around Pop’s neck and dragged him backward. Elna’s father struggled, but Dominic clocked him on top of the head with the handle of the revolver.
“Hold still, old man.” He pulled Pop off-balance and backed toward the bar.
Malin and Selene were both seated at the bar. Sniffy was on the floor, whimpering and growling, but Selene had firm hold of his leash. Unfortunately, Dominic had backed into the corner, so there was no easy way to approach him, and he was mostly hidden behind her father. Elna didn’t have a clear shot—and wasn’t much of a marksman to begin with. She looked helplessly at her father. A trickle of blood ran from a small gash on his head, tracing a line down his temple and along the edge of his sideburn.
“Don’t hurt him,” Elna said.
Garret realized what was going on then, and he slammed the back door, growled like some kind of sub-human, and started to push past Elna.
“Oh, this guy’s dead,” he said. “He is a dead son of a gun. Just you wait and see.”
Elna thrust her arm out to hold him back, but
Garret pushed her arm down and kept going. Dominic pulled the hammer on the revolver, the loud click filling the room.
“Garret, stop,” she cried. “Just stop! Before someone gets hurt.”
“No one has to get hurt, that’s right,” Dominic said, out of breath, his teeth bared like a cornered animal.
Garret stopped, clenching both fists so hard his knuckles cracked, and said, “I’ll give this punk one minute to do the right thing. He doesn’t have enough bullets in that Ruger to get out of here alive.”
“I just want food and water,” Dominic said. “You thieves took all of my provisions. Put some water bottles and canned food in a backpack and bring them here. Do that, and I’ll leave in peace. Hurry up!”
Norman rose from his barstool. When Dominic turned the gun on him, Norman raised his hands.
“I’m going to get your food and water,” Norman said. “We can’t make it appear out of thin air, son!”
With a nod, Dominic pressed the barrel of the revolver back against Pop’s head. As Norman left the room, Elna was tempted to stop him.
No, don’t give him any food and water. We need it all.
But she bit her tongue. Her father was one finger-twitch away from death. They had no choice but to give in.
“You’re coming with me, Selene,” Dominic said, without taking his eyes of Garret.
“No, I’m not,” she said, softly, her voice cracking. Sniffy was so worked up, the poor little thing was trembling as he growled.
“You belong to me, and you know it,” Dominic said. His scratchy voice had gotten worse. The words sounded like they were being carved out of sandstone with a fork. His hand shook, apparently from anger. “I’m so sick of your mind games. You always play this way in front of others. You’re coming with me, and that’s final.”
“No,” Selene said, even more softly, bowing her head.
“Dude, you’re sick,” Garret said. “She doesn’t like you. Nobody likes you. Stop embarrassing yourself, and go drown in the ocean, you punk!”
Dominic spoke right over him, “You either come with me, like you secretly want to, or I’m going to kill that damn dog of yours. Get up and come over here. Right now! You know I mean it.”
Crying, Selene rose. Malin reached for her, as if to protect her somehow, but she pulled out of his grasp and walked along the bar, dragging her feet.
We can’t let this happen, Elna thought. What do we do?
She met her father’s gaze, and he gave her a sad smile. As Selene got closer, Sniffy began to bark again with renewed vigor. Dominic watched her approach, and as he did, Elna tried to ease toward him.
If I could get in close, I might be able to force the gun arm up, give my dad an escape, and then put Dominic in a chokehold.
She could see how this would work in her mind. But the minute she moved toward the corner, Dominic smacked her father with the butt of his gun again.
“Get back,” he snarled. “I’m not falling for your tricks again, woman. Move aside. Leave the back door open. Selene and I are walking out of here as soon as I get that backpack. That’s the only way your father gets out of this alive.”
Elna stepped back. I just messed up any chance I had to reason with him, she thought.
She moved to one side, making room for Selene to pass. However, thrashing Sniffy used that moment to make a desperate lunge, and the little white dog finally managed to slip between his owner’s arms. He dropped to the floor, flailing and flopping until he got his feet under him. Then he went for Dominic, zigzagging around Elna’s feet.
“Sniffy, no,” Selene said sharply, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Dominic, whose view of the dog was apparently limited, planting his free hand against Pop’s shoulder and shoved him aside so violently that Pop flew behind the bar and crashed onto his side.
“Keep it away,” Dominic shouted, raising the gun, trying to aim for the dog.
Selene had stepped in front of Elna and Garret, blocking the way as she desperately tried to grab the dog. Dominic reached for Selene with his free hand, grabbing at her hair. And in the chaos of the moment, even as Elna tried to decide her best next move, some great shadow flew over the bar. Elna was trying to pay attention to the movements of so many people that she only managed to raise a hand, just in case the shadow was headed in her direction.
But it bounded past her, leapt over Selene, and crashed into Dominic. He didn’t see it coming. Suddenly, the shadow-shape slammed into his side. Only then did Elna realize it was Malin. He hit Dominic in the side with his shoulder and shoved him into the wall.
The gun went off then, the crack of the revolver deafening in the small room. Elna reached for Selene, grabbed her long, loose shirt, and yanked her backward. Garret rushed in then as well, leaping on top of Dominic like some enraged animal. A second gunshot filled the room, followed by the crash of a window shattering.
“Get down,” Elna shouted at Selene, dropping to the hardwood floor and pulling the other woman down with her.
Selene turned and collapsed against Elna, whimpering, and Elna curled her body over her to shield her. She heard the men cursing and shouting, heard the sounds of fighting. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Malin holding Dominic’s right arm, keeping the gun pointing at the ceiling, while Garret found every opening to throw relentless punches at the man.
“Got it,” Malin shouted, stepping back. He’d yanked the gun out of Dominic hand. “I got the gun, Garret. You can stop.”
Garret took a step back, made a weird wordless growl, and gave Dominic a last haymaker, bringing a fist all the way around and up into the man’s chin. Dominic’s teeth clacked together, and the back of his head banged off the wall.
“Okay, that’ll do,” Garret said, taking another step back. Elna noticed that he’d split the knuckles of his right hand open.
The chaos seemed to have taken all of the fight out of Sniffy, who had staked out a spot among all the people and was looking back and forth between Dominic and Selene, shivering.
“Tie him up,” Pop said, rising from behind the bar, a grimace of pain on his face. “We’ve got to have more rope around here. Where is it?”
Malin had Dominic pinned against the wall, but their attacker was clearly dazed, his head lolling on his shoulders. He was quickly developing a fat lip, and he had scuffs and scratches on his cheeks and forehead.
“We’ve got rope,” Elna said. She picked herself up, leaving Selene curled on the floor, and went to one of the piles of scavenged supplies in the far corner of the room. She rooted around in some boxes until she found an old length of dirty nylon rope. “Malin, catch.”
She tossed the rope at him, and he snatched it out of the air.
“Get off me,” Dominic muttered, his words slurring. “You can’t keep her from me. She doesn’t want to be away from me. You let her get in your head.”
Garret helped Malin tie the man’s wrists together, then his ankles, and then connect both ends so that his hands were down between his knees.
“Well, now what do we do with him?” Malin asked.
Pop bent down to pick something off the ground. When he rose, Elna saw that it was the portable CB radio, which he set on the bar. “If he broke this thing, he’s going into the ocean, like Garret suggested.” He flicked the switch, and the LED lit up. “Well, there you go. It works. Good job, idiot. You live.”
“Does he, though?” Garret said. “Are we going to let this punk nobody keep scheming? It’s the wild west now, boys. We’re the only law left.”
“Elna, what do you think?” Malin asked.
Why was he asking her? The last thing she wanted to do was decide Dominic’s punishment. Logic said he was too dangerous to keep around, but they couldn’t descend into barbarism. Especially since Dominic hadn’t actually killed anyone. Could the punishment exceed the crime?
Maybe.
“I really don’t know,” she said to Malin.
As she started back across the room, she notic
ed that one of the south-facing windows was shattered. A bullet from Dominic’s gun had gone right through the lower pane, flying off in the direction of the vineyard. She walked over to examine the damage.
“If we’re not going to toss him to the sharks, then we need to do a better job of locking him up,” Garret said. “Let’s use the kitchen freezer. Lock it, throw away the key.”
“Someone will have to feed him” Malin said. “Letting him starve to death is worse than throwing him in the ocean.”
“Maybe more fitting though,” Garret said.
As they debated the matter, Elna stuck her head through the broken window. Mostly, she heard the soft sigh of the wind, but another faint sound caught her attention. It took a moment to identify it. Water. It sounded like water. Specifically, it sounded like someone had turned on a faucet and let it run. She looked in the direction of the water storage tank, which stood in its dirt lot in the middle of the vineyard.
“Oh no,” she said. “Oh God.”
A jet of water was pouring out of the side of the tank near its base.
“What is it now?” Pop said.
Elna rushed to the back door. “One of Dominic’s bullets hit the water tank,” she shouted, flinging open the door.
“Damn you,” Garret said. He kicked Dominic in the face.
Elna heard Dominic gasp in pain, heard his head bounce off the wall again, but she was running now. She flew through the vineyard rows. Water was pouring out fast, jetting out across the clearing to splash against one of the trellises. Already, it had created a large puddle. The bullet had hit low enough that it was emptying most of the water. She ran a circle around the tank and saw that an exit hole had been created on the other side of the tank, and a smaller stream of water was pouring from there as well.
“What are the odds?” she said, stomping her feet.
The bicycle cart was parked nearby, a few tools and supplies still piled there. Elna rooted through them. She found hammers, wrenches, nails, a bit of rope, some scrap metal.
“Where’s the duct tape?” she muttered. And then, out of sheer, exhausted fury, she shouted it at the top of her lungs. “Where the hell is the duct tape?”
Island Refuge EMP Box Set | Books 1-3 Page 15
