by Rod Little
“Okay, he gets my vote for most adorable prom king,” Sam announced. “I like him!”
Lucy started to cry, and sank to the floor.
“Oh hey... hey...” Sam tried to console her. “I was just joking. We're gonna get out of here. Tonight. I promise.”
“You've got to pull yourself together, lady,” Camila said. She undoubtedly had lost patience with the weaker woman these past few days. “This is not a gig at the Roxy. This is real life. Get it together, and be strong. Stop being a damn victim.”
Sam agreed, but kept silent.
At that moment, an explosion sounded at the other side of the compound. A second explosion, then a third. The men dropped what they were doing, picked up their guns and ran in the direction of the blasts. Someone started shouting orders.
And then the creatures came. They were attracted by the explosions. One of them jumped the make-shift wall of the compound and was quickly shot down. All of this was happening at the other end of camp, a good distraction. Sam recognized this as their cue to escape.
He generated an electric burst and sizzled the ropes off his wrist. He jumped up the bars and shoved the plywood off the cage. Then he jumped back down and lifted Camila. In an instant she was up and over the bars. She fell back down the other side, recovered and stood ready.
Sam lifted Lucy, who struggled to climb up the bars. He literally pushed her over, and Camila tried to catch her. They both fell back to the ground. Sam was up and over the bars in two seconds. He had always been as agile as a tree monkey.
The girls regained their feet, and all three of them turned to run for the wall. They were stopped short by the barrel of a gun. Mitch and another man stood in their way. The other man raised a machete, and Mitch levied his shotgun at point blank range – three feet from Sam's chest.
“Oh I thought you'd try to run,” he said. “What an incredibly stupid thing to do.”
He raised his shotgun, and fired.
Sam flew backward and felt his shoulders hit the ground hard. An unnatural warmth flooded his chest, and he thought: Oh, hell! That's a first.
Chapter 12
Jason thought about it, then spoke, "We can go on back and get the box from Walter's house. They only got one guy with a gun.”
“No.” Shane rubbed his eyes; they were tired and troubled. “I don't trust him. He was too calm. He's got something up his sleeve. And Dexter knew we couldn't steal anything from there. Walter was right: Dexter sent us as a message to Walter. He's coming for them.”
“So what's our plan?”
“We go back and get Sammy. I think I've got an idea.”
They trudged back the three miles to the Grinners' compound. At least they still had their weapons, and now they had four cherry bombs, as well. The plan was to create a distraction at the opposite end of the compound, farthest from the cage. While the men were busy at that end, Shane and Jason would scale the wall and get to Sam.
He knew Sam would take advantage of the commotion and make a move of his own. Hopefully, the cage would be clear of any guards by the time they got to it. The three boys could climb back over the wall, run for the cover of the woods, and then home.
“Are we planning on taking the women with us?” Jason asked. “We can't leave them there.”
“If they can climb the wall, they can come.”
“And if they can't?”
“I guess... they can still come. I don't know. Let's take this one step at a time. First, get Sam.”
They crept as close to the compound's edge as they dared. Thick bushes provided temporary cover, and they crawled under and through them as best they could. Shane spied two men standing on top of the wall. He fished three of the four cherry bombs out of his pocket.
“How's your throwing arm?” Jason asked.
“We're about to find out.”
“You've got to get them right on the wall, or over it.”
“I know.”
Jason struck a match and lit the first cherry. Shane hurled it at the wall. Without pausing they lit and threw the second one. Then something happened that they hadn't counted on. The guard on the wall saw and instinctively caught the cherry before it landed inside the camp. If a baseball is thrown at your head, some people will just catch it without thinking; this man was one of those people. In an instant, it exploded, taking off the man's hand and sending him flying back over the wall. The second bomb followed his body over and exploded inside the camp.
The other guard panicked. After seeing his comrade's hand explode, he jumped down and yelled for help.
Shane threw the third bomb, and it bounced on the wall and went off just this side of it. Shards of a car's window blew out with the blast. These were no ordinary cherry bombs. Jake must have made them himself. They carried a lot more force than the boy had expected.
Shane and Jason scrambled backward and made their way as fast as they could to the other side of the camp. They heard men cursing and shouting inside. Lizards started screaming out of the woods, heading for the wall where the blasts occurred. The noise must have shaken the bowels of purgatory itself.
The boys crawled, ran, and scrambled through the end of the woods, just out of sight from any wall guards.
When they reached the other side, there didn't appear to be anyone guarding the walls at that end. The commotion on the other side of the compound had intensified. Someone had set the wall on fire at that far end, where they had set off the bombs. Maybe the fire was meant to keep the creatures out, Shane could only guess. But instead it was attracting more.
The two of them climbed over the rubble that constituted the wall, and reached for the top. No one challenged them. They kept their heads low and peered over the side.
“The cage, look!” Jason pointed.
In front of the cage, the two women and Sam faced an armed Mitch and another man with a blade. Three other men ran to join Mitch, and raised their guns toward Sam and the women.
In a split second, too fast for him to react, Shane saw Mitch aim his shotgun at Sam and fire it directly at the boy's chest. Buckshot scattered out. Sam flew backward and hit the ground hard.
My God! He's dead. Shane wailed inside.
But Sam was not dead. Electricity crackled around Sam's upper body. He had instantly created a shield and repelled the blast. This was new, something even Shane had never seen before.
“Son of a bitch,” Jason whispered, somewhat amazed.
There was no time to think. The man with the machete ran for Sam, swinging the weapon in a wide arc. Shane drew an arrow and shot it straight into the man's neck. The fat man fell hard to the ground next to Sam, who was still unable to move. The wind had been knocked out of him.
The other men aimed their rifles at the three captives, and at the same time, a lizard came rushing up the wall. Shane knew time was too short to fight on both sides. Jason shot one of the men in the head, but the other two still aimed their guns to shoot back. Camila grabbed the machete from the dead fat man and rushed one of the gunmen. She buried the blade in his chest, just as the other gunman shot Lucy in the upper thigh. Jason put him down with a bullet to the skull.
Just in time, Shane reloaded and turned to repel the lizard. An arrow sank deep into its eye socket, and it rolled back to the ground.
Camila helped Sam to his feet, and they half-carried Lucy up the wall. Blood gushed from her upper thigh. Shane and Jason reached down and helped her up onto the wall, then to the other side. All five of them crawled down to the grass below. Jason and Shane had to carry Lucy, and the group hastened up the dirt road with all the speed they could muster. It wasn't fast enough.
Two giant lizards scrambled onto the road in front of them. Sam was still stunned, and without a weapon. Camila only had a knife, and Jason and Shane were carrying Lucy.
The lizards were fast upon them, giving the group no time to react. The hell hounds bared their fangs and made an attack run. Camila held her knife in front of her, but it wouldn't be enough.
In that inst
ant, a shot rang out, and then another. The two lizards slumped dead to the ground. Their bodies skidded forward from the force of their running assault, but they were dead. Someone had shot them both in the head.
Jason and Shane looked over to see a pre-teen boy positioned in the tall weeds about twenty feet away. He was holding a revolver out in front of him with both hands. It seemed amazing that a young kid this small could even shoot a revolver, let alone aim it and hit something.
“Son of a bitch,” Jason whispered again.
Chapter 13
Lucy's leg was painted red with blood, even after they tied a piece of Shane's shirt around it. The wound forced them to carry her gently, which meant: slowly. Shane felt like they were snails inching their way up the road, with a pack of wolves on their trail. They would need to speed up soon and cover more ground.
At least Sam was fully awake now and back to himself. He and Jason took the guns and guarded their long march back to the jeep while Shane and Camila helped to move Lucy. And of course, there was Mark – the boy who had saved them.
Mark was Lucy's son. He was not afraid to carry a gun or shoot. As a matter of fact, he didn't seem afraid of anything at all. Sam admired the kid. In any disaster, most people wallow in pity and fear, while a rare few rise and stand up. This kid was one of the rare few.
They got off the road, and moved through the thick brush along the west side. This made the going even slower, but they feared a Grinner posse might be on the road at any moment.
“It's at least another mile,” said Jason. “And those men are gonna rev up their trucks and come after us sometime tonight.”
“I know,” said Sam. He knew, but their options were few.
Shane tried to sound more positive. “The creatures are keeping them pretty busy. They might not come for us tonight.”
“That Dexter,” Camila said, “he has a drawer full of fingers. Cut from hands of other people. I've seen it.” She shuddered. “He's coming for us. You can bet on it.”
“If we stay off the road, we can hide when we see them,” said Sam.
“Mom, are you okay?” Mark asked in a reedy voice. He looked up at her with wide, hopeful eyes.
“I'm okay, baby,” Lucy lied. She needed a drink more than ever.
“Are you angry at me?” He asked.
“Honey, no. Angry? No. Why?”
“Because I didn't go with Lily. You told us to run away, but I didn't. I made her go alone.”
“Oh honey, it's alright,” Lucy said. She was out of breath, and struggled with the words. “You did good, baby. Real good.”
Sam thought Mark looked sad, but not just because his mother was hurt and his sister was lost. He looked like he wore that sadness often. Left behind while she partied after her shows? Sam wondered. Always drinking, always drunk? This wouldn't be the first rich and famous mother to let down her kids, Sam supposed.
“You did great.” Sam put his arm on the boy's shoulder and walked next to him. “You saved us.”
“Yeah,” Mark said with some pride.
The kid wore a Pittsburgh Pirates t-shirt and a thin jacket. His jeans were dirty and torn at one knee, and there appeared to be a deck of cards in his back pocket. One of his sneakers seemed to be perpetually untied. He would stop every hour or so to tie it, but somehow it was magically loose again an hour later. The boy reminded Sam of himself when he and his brother went hiking and fishing in much younger days. Sam liked Mark a lot. Hell, who wouldn't love a kid who can aim and shoot dragons like that?
“Which way did your sister walk?” Shane asked.
“Up this road. Same as us,” Mark told him. His voice cracked, but not from emotion; it was from total fatigue. “But I don't know how far. I don't know where.”
“We'll find her,” Shane assured him. “After we get back to our camp, we'll help your mom, and then go look for Lily.”
“Okay.”
“You'll like our camp,” Sam said. “It's a castle, and a fortress. It has lots of warm beds. And it's safe.”
“There's no place safe,” the youth corrected him, looking down at the road. “Not anymore.”
“We'll make it safe,” Shane said. “Trust me. The boogeymen can't get into our castle. No friggin' way.”
“I'm not worried about the boogeyman.”
“Well...” Shane didn't know how to respond to that. “Well, we'll make it safe from everything else.”
Mark looked up and said, “Okay,” but didn't sound convinced.
Jason had jogged ahead, and now came running back. “Just over this ridge, I can see the town. Not far to go. But the jeep is at the other end, remember.”
Then Jason saw something and froze. He held up his hand to motion for everyone else to stop. He made a “stay quiet” gesture with a finger to his lips, and pointed to the grass across the road. A cougar, close to five feet long, crouched in the grass. It prowled sideways along the edge of the road.
“That's a damn big cat,” Shane whispered.
Up in these mountains, wild cats were common. But this one was bigger than most. Its eyes glowed in the darkness, reflecting the moonlight. With a low growl it acknowledged the group of humans, and continued pawing forward. It studied the them closely, but took no aggressive action. After a moment, the big cat slunk into the taller grass and disappeared in the opposite direction.
“That was cool,” Mark said under his breath.
“You like cats?” Sam asked. “We have a cat, back at the castle.”
“Like that one?”
“No. It's smaller.”
“Cool.”
They continued into the night. Eventually they entered Fayetteville again, this time avoiding the main street. They skulked through the alleys and made their way toward the jeep. Lucy was very weak, so they sat her down on the ground in the alley between Casey's diner and the Bait Shop. The group rested while Sam and Shane ran to get the jeep.
Twenty minutes later, Sam came back alone.
“Problem,” he said. “Those pricks took out two of the spark plugs. We need to find replacements.”
Jason exhaled a tired sigh. “Town like this, there must be a mechanics shop. How about that motorbike tour place.”
“Come on,” Sam said, but Mark jumped up and started to follow. “Hey, little man, you stay here and guard the women. Can you?”
Mark looked at him with defiance. “Of course I can.” He held his gun firmly with both hands. “I'm not afraid.”
Sam squeezed the kid's shoulder. “I know, buddy.”
He and Jason ran up and down the street looking for car parts. They hit the jackpot: a gas station not far away. Sam identified the two spark plugs they needed, grabbed them and ran back to the jeep. Shane was still scanning the drugstore for car accessories and supplies.
“Got them!” Sam tossed the plugs to his brother.
“I'll get the jeep running.” Shane kept his voice down. “You two start filling bags again with supplies. We need antibiotics for Lucy, and anything else you can find. Medicine, food, anything. And hurry. When I get the jeep started, we need to pick up the others and head for the lodge. The faster, the better.”
It was just after the spark plugs were installed and the hood shut, that he heard the low hum of an engine coming down the street. He looked up and saw two sets of headlights: a truck and a car.
He ran into the pharmacy, where the guys had already filled two bags with medicine.
“Guess who's back?” He pointed to the back door. “They'll look for us near our jeep, so we need to move further down.”
The guys took the back alley until they hit a dead end. The only way from here was up. They scaled a flimsy metal fire escape to the roof of a three-story brick building. It was the town's bank, permit office, and mayor's office, all in one.
From the rooftop, they were able to see the truck and car drifting through the streets. The vehicles stopped every few yards while the men inside the cars examined the buildings and alleys with flashlights.
The truck and car engines idled in low gear, but few of the men spoke. A couple words floated here and there in low tones, but the boys couldn't make out the words.
The men spent extra time around the jeep and the front of the pharmacy. After some debate, now in louder voices, they decided to leave two men to watch the jeep.
“Their camp won't be far,” a voice said. “We'll find it. Not many places to hole up in these parts. Not for wussies like them.”
Two men jumped from the pickup, and then the truck and car moved on out of town... up the road, where they would ultimately reach the Peak Castle Lodge. The two men who had remained behind – both with assault rifles – started to patrol the area around the jeep. It didn't take long for them to get bored.
Sam whispered, “We have to get rid of those two. Then get to the lodge before those freaks do.”
“I'm on it,” said Shane. He produced an arrow and notched it in the bow. He drew back hard and aimed down at the man closest to them.
Jason said, “Wait, that one's going into the bar. Wait till he's gone.”
The moment the man entered the building and the door slammed behind him, Shane let his arrow fly. It plunged deep into the other man's chest, right through his heart, and the Grinner dropped to the ground. His hand clutched the arrow for a few seconds, then went limp. His dead eyes stared straight up at them.
The second man came out of the bar with two beers. He started to toss one to his friend, then halted in mid throw – his comrade's dead body was a yard away. The man dropped the beers and took his rifle in both hands.
Shane let another arrow fly, and it struck the man's chest, right on target. But this time it had no effect. The arrow had landed in a bullet-proof vest. It hung there a moment, before the man snapped it off with ease. He looked up at the boys on the roof and fired his rifle. His aim was bad; the bullet grazed the edge of the rooftop. Chips of wood splintered into the air.
The three boys stepped back out of the rifle's line of sight, and Shane reloaded.
Jason had an idea. “If he keeps making noise like that, a lizard is bound to show up and take him down. Then we can deal with the creature from up here. I'm sure it won't have a vest.”
