Edge of Collapse

by Alex Gunwick

  “She’s afraid of you.”

  “Why would she be afraid?” he yelled before lowering his voice. “She’s not afraid. Stop projecting your insecurities onto her.”

  “I know what you do at night. I know where you go,” she whispered.

  Her sniveling, simpering tone grated on his nerves. What he’d ever seen in her was such a distant memory that he couldn’t call to mind even the smallest list of her positive qualities. If he hadn’t preached so vehemently against divorce, he would have dropped her years ago. But every man of true faith had been forced to carry an albatross of one kind or another.

  “Go fetch Melinda,” he said.

  “No.”

  He reeled back and slapped her hard across the face. An angry red blotch instantly formed on her cheek. Tears sprang into her eyes and her bottom lip trembled.

  “You disgust me,” she whispered.

  He grabbed her by her hair and slammed her into the shed. With her face pressed against the wood, he whispered into her ear.

  “One day I’ll be rid of you,” he growled. “Tomorrow maybe. Or the day after. Or maybe in a week. Keep trying my patience, woman. It may be the last thing you do.”

  When he released her, she crumpled to the ground.

  “Go get Melinda. Don’t make me ask again.”

  She crawled away from him.

  “Get to your feet and clean yourself up. I don’t want to hear a single complaint from the flock. They already whisper about your clumsiness. Needless speculation will only hurt the family.”

  As she rose to her feet, all light had faded from her eyes. He recognized the slack-jawed look of defeat. Good. She needed to learn her place in the new world order.

  Several minutes later, Melinda appeared.

  “You called for me, sir?”

  “Yes…yes I did.”

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her into the forest.

  Liz sat in the blind she’d created part way up the hill behind the cabin. Constructed with natural materials from the forest, she’d situated it next to a large oak tree. Using infrared goggles, she scanned the forest around her house. The only sign of movement came from the occasional ground squirrel. They were ubiquitous in the area due to a lack of predators.

  She’d been on watch for three hours when she decided to take a break to use the bathroom. As she hiked down the hill, her foot landed on a pile of loose rock and slipped out from under her. She landed hard on her butt.

  “Dammit.”

  As she climbed to her feet, she heard the loud snap of a branch somewhere in the distance.

  She froze.

  A squirrel wouldn’t make that much noise. It could be a coyote or a mountain lion. Although those animals were stealthy enough that they wouldn’t step directly on a branch. That left only one possibility.

  She seated her goggles over her eyes and scanned the tree line at the edge of the clearing around the cabin. When she spotted movement, she dropped to the ground and lay on her belly. She pulled the rifle sling off and pointed the rifle toward the movement.

  The green landscape offered little contrast, making it hard for her to see what was causing the branches to snap.

  The sudden jingle of the bell traps sent a bolt of fear down her spine. Whoever was out there now knew that someone was living in the cabin. The kids were both asleep inside and it was her job to protect them.

  She raised the rifle and adjusted the sight as much as she could. It wasn’t the perfect setup; thermal imaging would have been better, but she had to work with what she had.

  As she scanned the area of trees, the outline of a man appeared. He stepped into the clearing and cautiously stalked toward the porch.

  She aimed the gun at his chest and let out a soft breath before pulling the trigger. The man went down with a shout.

  Inside the house, a light snapped on. She cursed under her breath. She’d told the kids a thousand times never to turn the lights on, especially at night. She just prayed they’d stay inside the cabin.

  Two more silhouettes raced into the clearing. They stopped where the other man writhed on the ground. Loud moans rolled up the hill, becoming shrill and sharp when the other men tried to help the fallen man to his feet.

  From a distance, she wasn’t able to make out any identifying features. But there were definitely three of them, and they were all big enough to be men.

  As they carried off their fallen comrade, she considered following them. Letting them leave could be a huge mistake. They knew where she lived, knew she was armed, and they might return with reinforcements.

  She waited until they were out of sight before sneaking down the hill. She stayed within the tree line, circling around until she’d reached their breach point. As she paused, she listened for the sound of cracking branches. It was easy to identify her prey. They weren’t doing anything to try to mask their retreat.

  Although they’d gotten a head start, she was able to stay on their trail all the way to the stream. The open area around the stream wouldn’t offer much protection, so she proceeded with caution.

  As she stepped out toward the stream, the bright flash of a gunshot registered a split second before the sound. She dropped down and ran back into the tree line where she hid behind a thick oak.

  Six additional shots hacked away bark from the trees surrounding her location. Completely pinned down, her only option was to wait. She considered firing return shots, but they were likely to chip away at trees instead of hit their target. It would be a complete waste of ammo.

  The shots stopped.

  She cautiously raised her head and peered around the edge of the tree. Silence suffocated the forest. Nothing moved. Not a single squirrel. Not a single bird. Nothing.

  Crouched behind the tree, she finally registered the distant crack of a branch. They’d used their gunshots as cover to beat a retreat.

  Without information on their location, she couldn’t risk moving forward. For all she knew, one of them could have left the others and circled back to the cabin. She couldn’t leave the kids unprotected, so she turned and picked a silent path through the forest.

  When she reached the cabin, Sierra cracked open the front door.

  “Mom, is that you?”

  “Yes. Get inside.”

  Liz pushed the door open just enough to slip through. She closed it and set the two-by-four lock into place.

  “I heard gunshots. What’s going on?” Sierra asked.

  “Men came out of the forest toward the house.”

  “Men? What men?” Sierra paled.

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t see much because it’s pitch black out there and these goggles aren’t much good for details.”

  “Did you see anything? How tall were they? Did any of them have anything special, like a beard?” Sierra asked.

  “A beard?” That seemed oddly specific. “Why would you ask about a beard?”

  “I don’t know. It seemed like something that might be easy to see.”

  “I couldn’t see shit out there. We need to get our perimeter lighting installed. Just enough to light up the area around the house. We’ll use motion sensors to do it.”

  “Dad has all of that stuff in the shed,” Kyle said as he poked his head over the edge of the loft.

  Justice scrambled down the steps and ran to her side. She petted the dog. Maybe she should let him roam around at night. But how much warning could he really give? He probably would have been shot had he been outside when the men arrived.

  “Where did they go?” Sierra asked.

  “Past the stream. I lost them there.”

  “So they were headed over the hills toward the west?”

  “Yeah.”

  Sierra bit the edge of her lip. She wrapped her arms across her belly.

  “I know it’s scary,” Liz said, not wanting to see her daughter so terrified. “But we knew this might happen. That’s why we have the trip wires with bells set up. We just need to work on the perimeter
more.”

  “I wish Dad were here.”

  “I do too, but he’s not. No amount of wishing is going to change that, so we need to do what we can to fortify this place until he gets here.”

  “How do we know he’s not dead?” Sierra asked.

  “We don’t. We don’t know anything.”

  “We should assume he’s dead,” Kyle said softly.

  The grim expression on his face tore at her heart. If he gave up hope, how long would it take for Sierra to follow suit? How long before she lost hope herself?

  “He’s not dead,” Liz said. “He’s out there fighting his way home. We don’t know what he’s going through, but I’d know if he were dead.”

  “How?” Sierra asked.

  “I’d just know.”

  Liz walked into the kitchen to pour a glass of water. Although she tried to maintain a strong façade with the kids, inside, she was breaking. Even if she could handle this alone, she didn’t want to. Luke had to come home, and soon. The stress chipped away at her body every day, and eventually she’d be so worn down, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to defend the cabin. And then what would happen to her family?

  25

  Three minutes after midnight, Elijah jolted awake at the sound of pounding on his front door. He slipped out of bed.

  “What’s going on?” his wife asked.

  “Nothing. Go to sleep.”

  She rolled over.

  He slipped into a robe and headed to the door. As he opened it, Turner and Ivan stood outside. They carried a limp, lifeless Paul between them.

  “He’s been shot,” Turner said.

  “Get him inside,” Elijah said. “Ivan, get Kat. Don’t tell her why. Don’t tell anyone else.

  “Yes, sir.”

  After Ivan left, Elijah helped Turner carry Paul to the kitchen table. He moved everything off the table except for the tablecloth and laid Paul on top of it.

  “What happened?” Elijah demanded.

  “We tracked the girl’s trail back to a cabin a few hills over. We didn’t see any sign of life, but as we got closer, Paul tripped over a trip wire. They’d strung bells across it. Not a bad trick for an amateur.”

  “Then they opened fire?”

  “No,” Turner said. “We didn’t see any movement, so we continued toward the cabin. Paul got about three yards out from the forest when a sniper opened fire.”

  “A sniper?”

  “Yep. They had him positioned on a hill overlooking the cabin.”

  “Smart.”

  “I would have done the same,” Turner said.

  “How many were there?”

  “I’m not sure. Other than the sniper, I didn’t see anyone else. I didn’t even get a good look at him.”

  “Could it have been a girl?” Elijah asked.

  Turner frowned as if insulted by the question.

  “No way. I don’t know any female who could shoot like that. It had to be the girl’s father. Or maybe her brother. Regardless, the guy’s a great shot. He would have taken us all down if we hadn’t returned fire.”

  Paul groaned.

  “Stay still,” Elijah said. “We’re getting help. Where the hell’s Kat?”

  The front door burst open and Kat walked in followed by Ivan.

  “Status?” she said in a clipped tone. Probably habit from her days as an ER nurse.

  “Bleeding from a gunshot wound.”

  “Who shot him?” she asked as she slapped her medical bag down on the table.

  “We don’t know.” Elijah shot a warning look to Turner and Ivan behind Kat’s back. “Is he going to make it?”

  “He’s lost a lot of blood. Get me some clean towels, water, and I need more light. A lamp or a flashlight would help me see.”

  As Ivan ran to gather the items, Elijah held Paul’s hand. He knew there’d be casualties in a holy war, but Paul was a good man. A good father too. His family would be devastated if they lost him. His wife was three months pregnant. A terrible time to lose a husband, not that any time would be good.

  Ivan returned with a lamp and clean towels. As he went into the kitchen to boil water, Kat cut off Paul’s shirt. She spread the fabric and used a washcloth to clean the wound area. She rolled him onto his side and checked his back.

  “You’d better start praying,” she said. “Looks like the bullet didn’t exit.”

  “Can you operate?” Elijah asked.

  “I’m not a surgeon.”

  “You’re the closest thing we’ve got to one.”

  “I’ll do what I can, but I’m not going to lie to you. He’s probably not going to make it.”

  Elijah stepped back and prayed with every ounce of righteous conviction he could muster. Ultimately it would be the Lord’s will, but as His faithful servant, he liked to think he had God’s ear.

  As Kat dug around to try to get the bullet, Ivan turned and ran toward the kitchen sink. He threw up, then washed his mouth out with water. He leaned over the sink with his hands braced on either side for several seconds. When he turned to glare at Elijah, the preacher responded with an equally cold stare. How dare he set his accusatory gaze on him? Who did he think he was?

  Ivan pushed away from the sink and walked toward the table.

  “This is your fault.”

  “Mine?” Elijah balked. “It’s the shooter’s fault.”

  “We shouldn’t go on recon missions at night. Who knows what kind of traps we could be walking into,” Ivan said.

  “Are you not a member of the security team?” Elijah asked.

  “I am.”

  “Are you not sworn to protect the family until the end of days?”

  “I am, and I will. But I’m not taking any crazy chances anymore. That girl Adam found is not what she seems. We don’t know anything about her. She could be holed up with an army of men waiting to protect her,” Ivan said.

  “She’s just a girl.” Elijah sniffed. “And as far as when and where you’ll be sent, I will determine that. You will do as you’re told.”

  Ivan’s fists clenched at his sides. His jaw twitched. Shadows from the flashlight jerked across his face. For a moment, Elijah wasn’t sure the other man would back down. Then he finally relented.

  “What can I do to help you, Kat?”

  “I can’t get the bullet. I’m going to need more light.”

  As he held the light for Kat, Elijah surveyed the team. Eventually he’d need a real doctor on his team. Maybe he should sent scouts back to the city to try to find one.

  A sudden gush of blood spurted from Paul’s chest. His entire body convulsed before falling limp.

  “Shit, we’re losing him,” Kat yelled.

  The bedroom door opened and Patrice walked out.

  “What’s going on?” When she spotted Paul, she let out a sharp cry. “What happened?”

  “Go back to bed,” Elijah snapped. He didn’t need to deal with her sniveling on top of everything else.

  “What happened to your face?” Kat asked Patrice.

  “Nothing,” Elijah answered. “You know how clumsy she can be.”

  Kat narrowed her eyes before returning her attention to her patient. Patrice went back into the bedroom and slammed the door.

  Several minutes later, Kat backed away from the table. A grim expression marred her face.

  “He’s gone. There’s nothing else we can do. He lost too much blood.”

  Elijah’s stomach clenched. To lose one of his flock was a blow not just to his ego, but to his numbers. Paul was one of his strongest men. Without him, they were weaker. He’d have to be replaced as soon as possible.

  “Please notify his wife,” Elijah said.

  Kat nodded. She washed up in the kitchen before gathering her medical equipment. She left without a backward glance.

  “This means war,” Elijah said to Ivan and Turner, who stood in the shadows. “At first light, I want another team out there. Survey, but don’t engage. I can’t afford to lose any more men.”

&
nbsp; “We can’t,” Ivan corrected.

  “Yes, we. Of course.” Elijah dismissed him with a wave. “Bury him away from town. Get a wheelbarrow if you need help carrying him.”

  “What should we tell people when they ask what happened?” Turner asked.

  “Tell them…” Elijah paused as he formulated a plan. “Tell them the holy war has begun. Insurgents are circling the camp and we must be ready to fight. I will address the flock at the morning meal. We will use this to our advantage. It will bring us closer together.”

  “Yes, sir,” Turner said. “I’ll get the wheelbarrow.”

  After he left, Elijah turned to Ivan, who’d been silent during the last exchange.

  “If you have anything to say, son, now’s the time to do it,” Elijah said.

  Ivan pressed his lips together and shook his head no.

  “Good. I want all traces of his blood cleaned up by morning.” Elijah walked toward his bedroom door. Before going inside, he turned back to Ivan. “Make no mistake, there will be more casualties. More violence. More death. If you want to leave, you’re free to go. But if you’re here come morning, I’ll expect you to follow my orders without question. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good.”

  Elijah closed the door behind him. As he slipped into bed beside his frigid wife, he laced his fingers behind his head. Eventually he’d do something about her too, but for now, he’d have to maintain the charade of being a doting, loving husband. Just one more sacrifice he’d have to make as the chosen leader of God’s children.

  Sierra couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. She paced back and forth from window to window peering out into the darkness. As she searched for any sign of the men who’d snuck up to the cabin, she couldn’t help but think that it was all her fault. She shouldn’t have gone past the stream. She should have run as soon as she saw Adam. But why would they sneak over in the middle of the night instead of during the day? Was it really someone from the church, or was it a different group?

  Determined to find out the truth, she waited until after breakfast before venturing out into the forest. As she followed the landmarks back toward the church, she stopped to tie green string around a branch every few feet. If someone wasn’t looking for the string, they’d never notice it. But she could use them to navigate home.