by Hunt, Jack
He was in the kitchen holding up a plank of wood and striking a nail when they entered. A turn of the head and he could tell Benjamin wasn’t pleased to see him.
“Sam send you?”
“Nope.”
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Sue said stepping out of the modern kitchen which was now in shambles. The table looked unaffected but the granite countertop had the corners smashed, and the glass-front cupboards were all shattered.
Benjamin got down from a stepladder, set the hammer on the counter and wiped his hands with a red rag from his back pocket. He was wearing a dark shirt, and stone-washed jeans. “So? What do you want?”
“To talk.”
“If it’s about the militia. You can forget about it.”
“No, it’s not. But it is about the town.”
He scoffed as he crossed the room and filled a glass with water. He didn’t offer any to Landon but gulped it down then wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “You know, Landon, my wife and I have lived in this town all our lives and we used to think highly of the people who lived here until the blackout. That really showed us what people were made of. Sick. Depraved. Selfish individuals. All people care about is themselves. Their survival. Their guns. Their food. Their rights. Forget everyone else. Unless of course it benefits them.” He set his glass down. “I had a bad feeling about the militia the very first day they showed up here. Nothing good comes from a group like that.”
“They helped.”
“Helped. Look around you. Does this look like help?”
Landon scanned the room. “They weren’t responsible for this, Benjamin.”
“Of course they were,” he barked, tossing his rag and heading back over to the hammer. “How can you be so naïve?” It put Landon’s nerves on edge. In that moment he couldn’t help but think of Billy and how unstable he was. “Surely you must have seen the news or picked up a paper from time to time. Militia all across the United States are antigovernment and are only helpful to those who support their cause. If they get one sniff that someone is against them they lash out. Just as they did here.” He climbed back up the steps and continued banging a nail into the wood. The noise echoed loudly. Every bang caused Landon to screw up his face as he tried to get a clear thought.
“Benjamin. Benjamin!” he hollered until he stopped banging. “I’m telling you the truth. You’re angry. I get that. So am I. My home has been torn apart because of Bennington and FEMA. But if you’re looking for someone to blame, it’s him not Ray.”
He lifted a hand. “Seriously, Landon. Listen to yourself. He’s even got you to suck down the militia Kool-Aid. What you forget was I was there that night. I saw them.”
“Did you? Good. Then you can point out which soldiers did this.”
“What?”
“You don’t believe me, or Sam, or Ray. But what about yourself? Would you or your wife recognize who did this if you saw their face again?”
“Of course.”
“No you wouldn’t, Benjamin,” Sue said coming into the room. She looked at Landon. “He was dragged away. It was dark. I was the only one who got a good look at the soldier who did this.”
Seeing he was liable to get more sense out of Sue than her husband he walked over to her. “So if you saw him. Would you recognize him?”
“Oh without a doubt.”
“Come with me.”
“What?” Sue replied.
“Yeah, what are you talking about, Landon?” Ben said stepping down from the ladder.
“I want to show you the soldiers that are with Bennington. You can point out the one that was responsible.”
“It’s too late for that.”
Landon shook his head. “My family has been driven out of Castine. The militia are gone. Sam is gone and it won’t be long before you will be. Trust me on that.” He began to bring them up to speed on what occurred the previous night and how he was arrested then released. “You want stability? Then we need to fight for that, not back down. Now we can’t do it alone. We need everyone on board.”
Ben jabbed the hammer at him. “Look. I already told you. It was Ray’s crew. I’m not going with you. And I want you to leave now,” Benjamin said. Landon sighed as Ben returned to his work. He walked out of the room feeling defeated. Sue led him to the door.
“Sue.”
“I want to believe you but…” She looked back over her shoulder.
“Please. If I’m wrong, then I will accept that but I’m asking you as a friend of Sara. Come with me. See for yourself and then tell me.”
“Benjamin won’t like it.”
“He doesn’t have to know. I’ll meet you at the far end of the road. You can tell him you’re just stepping out to collect a few supplies.”
Sue stared back at him and grimaced.
Landon told her he would wait ten minutes. If she didn’t show, he would understand. With that said he turned and walked back down the pathway in front of their home and out the gate.
Everyone in the town was on edge.
No one knew who to trust or believe.
To think he could convince them was ridiculous.
After making it to the location, he sank down next to a large oak at the edge of the road and waited, watching the hand on his wristwatch. Ten minutes rolled by. He waited five more minutes before getting up to leave. He should have known better than to expect her to show. As he made his way back onto the road to walk home, he heard his name called. “Landon!”
Turning he found Sue hurrying up the road to meet him. She was wearing a blue windbreaker, jeans and white tennis shoes. Her hair was tied back in a bun. A smile formed.
As soon as she caught up, she took a second to get a breather by placing her hands on her knees and bending over. “You better be right about this.”
18
The fist connected with his jaw sending him reeling back. Max landed hard, dust and grit getting in his mouth. He spat it out and gasped, his stomach roiling in pain. A circle of teens cheered like self-entitled Romans in a colosseum eager to watch two gladiators slug it out for their pleasure.
Eddie hurried over, bent down and placed a hand on his arm. “Ah man, I’m sorry.”
“Hey! You can’t be doing that. Finish him off!” Caine yelled before laughing and slapping one of his pals beside him. As a form of punishment for attempting to escape, Caine had the bright idea to pit Max against Eddie. The rules were simple: Whoever is left standing gets to live. At first both of them refused, telling him he was out of his mind and that he could screw himself. That act of defiance was met with brutality as Caine had three of his guys pound on Eddie until Max agreed. Caine was too smart for his own good.
On the ground, Max looked up and saw Lindsay.
He still couldn’t believe she had set him up. There he was thinking she was actually interested when all she wanted was to get him to spill the beans on where more guns could be found. Now she looked as if she had second thoughts. A few times he saw her speak with Caine as if attempting to get him to stop the fight, but Caine simply waved her off and joined the others in cheering them on. Bets were placed but instead of money they were wagering cigarettes, weed and alcohol. Some small kid with a limp was in charge of it.
“If you don’t finish him—”
Before he could tell Eddie what would happen to him, Max reared back his foot and smashed it into Eddie’s shin then flipped over and took his other leg out from beneath him. He landed hard, air expelled from his lungs as Max scrambled over and landed on top of him. Getting close to Eddie’s face while pounding his ribs with a fist, he told Eddie to play along and shove him toward Caine. “What? No.”
“Just do it, Eddie. You want out of here?”
Another sharp jab to the gut. “Ugh, do you have to hit me so hard?”
“Has to be realistic,” Max said. “Now shove me off.”
Eddie used his legs to flip Max over him. He landed hard a few feet from Caine. The crowd backed up to give them room. Max ha
d already seen what he was going for, if he could just get close enough to grab it. There was only one way out of this situation and that was to cut the head off the snake, and he was more than prepared to do that now they’d come this far.
Groaning on the ground, Eddie came at him and did a soccer kick to his gut sending him rolling toward the crowd. They backed up again but with the forest surrounding them there was only so much room. The next time Eddie came at him, he caught his foot and twisted it and then dived on top of his back and started raining fists down on him then pressing his face into the dirt. “Dude, I can’t breathe.”
“Get up. Last time.”
He couldn’t speak too loudly otherwise those around them would hear.
Max got off Eddie and lifted his arm as if he had won. He purposely turned his back to Eddie and looked at Caine and waited. “I win,” he announced. Caine shook his head and gave a smirk. Max knew Eddie was on his feet and any second now he would…
A hand from behind thrust him full force into Caine. Max landed on Caine shoving him back, leaving Max with Caine’s knife in his hand. He swung around Caine in a flash and brought the blade up to his neck. “I will do it! Now back off!” he bellowed loudly as guns were brought up. All over the camp the sound of guns cocking could be heard. With one of Max’s arms wrapped around him, the other with a knife tight against his neck, Caine couldn’t get out of it, not without getting cut. Max fed into that fear by whispering in his ear. “You move an inch and you’ll be smiling out your neck.” He swung Caine around, using him as a human shield. “Eddie. Get his gun.”
Eddie rushed in and removed his handgun. As soon as he had that in his hands he became a different person entirely. “All right you motherfuckers, who wants to be the first to taste lead?”
Max’s brow furrowed. “Eddie.”
Eddie glanced at him. “A little too much?”
Max pulled a face. “Just a touch.” He then shifted his focus back to Caine. “Now tell them to drop their weapons.”
“Do you honestly think you’ll get out of here?”
“I dunno, I like the odds. Now tell them!” Max bellowed.
“Lower your guns.”
“Not lower. Drop them!” Max demanded. “Over there.”
All eyes were on Caine, waiting for his word. Max had a feeling if he told them to shoot they would have. It was a precarious position they were in and there was a good chance they would die but the alternative wasn’t good either. All around the camp, teens dropped their rifles, handguns and anything else that could be used as a weapon. They tossed them into a pile not far from the firepit. “That’s it. Now who’s the bitch?” Eddie said roaming in front of them like a toothless lion, all courage but lacking bite.
Max dragged Caine backwards and had him tell the others to head east away from the camp. He wanted to put as much distance as possible between them and the weapons. There were too many guns for them to carry but they could at least take a few so this whole event wouldn’t be for nothing.
Caine began chuckling. “You are so screwed.”
“Really? I’m not the one with a blade to my neck, asshole!”
As the group of teens headed off into the surrounding forest, Max had Eddie tie up Caine’s wrists and then they shoved a rag into his mouth to keep him quiet. Max then pushed him forward while keeping a firm grip on his arm.
“We’re taking him with us?” Eddie asked.
“We leave him here we won’t make it out,” Max replied. “They’ll return and hunt us down.”
“But he’ll slow us down.”
Caine said something but nothing came out but a muffled noise.
“We’ll take him as far as the shore then leave him. I’ll lead the way, you watch my six.” Eddie gathered up some of the rifles in a duffel bag he found in one of the tents and slung it over his shoulder. Next, Max and Eddie took off heading northwest back to where they’d left the boat. Trudging through the habitat of rocky trails, Eddie tried to convince Max to kill him.
“He doesn’t deserve to live.”
“Eddie. He’s an asshole. There’s no denying that but I’m not killing him.”
“Then I’ll do it,” Eddie replied.
Caine sneered and they heard some muffled reply before Max said, “Neither are you. We’re better than that.”
“It’s not about being better, Max, or payback, it’s about ensuring he doesn’t get to do this to anyone else.”
He could see Eddie’s point and in a country that was now lawless, would anyone miss this kid? Probably not. Would they get arrested? Nope. But was it right? That was debatable depending on who was asked. They continued on, moving as quickly as they could. Not far from the camp they heard the sound of gunfire.
“They’re coming.”
Both of them picked up the pace. At one point, Caine stumbled and hit the ground. Max lifted him up but he was like a deadweight. It was as if he was doing it on purpose to slow them down. In the distance they could hear hooting and hollering. His group was getting closer. Their voices sounded as if they were trying to hedge them in on both sides.
“Move. Faster!” Eddie said. Panic crept up in Max’s chest, the ever looming sense that they weren’t going to make it. The terrain was also getting harder with huge boulders, steep slopes and knotty tree roots sticking out — threatening to trip them at any moment.
His throat felt on fire from running.
A second later, his boot caught on a tree root and he went head over heels. Caine saw his moment and plowed into Eddie, forcing him over a boulder, then kicked Max in the face before zipping left. He slalomed in and out of the trees as Max fired a few rounds. “Damn it!” he bellowed as he scrambled to his feet. His ankle was throbbing badly. Max limped down a slope to find Eddie injured but not unconscious.
“Sorry man, I lost my footing. Up you get,” Max said scooping an arm around Eddie’s and lifting him.
It wasn’t long before the snap of bullets resumed in their general direction.
“Go! Go!” Max said, pushing Eddie on.
Racing through the forest they made it out to the western side of the island. Max pitched sideways down a gravel slope nearly losing his footing again. Pain surged up from his ankle. “They’re gaining on us,” Eddie said before unloading a few rounds behind them. As they came over a rise that should have given them a clear shot of the dock and boat, his stomach caught in his throat. “Where is it?”
“What?” Eddie asked whirling around to take a look.
“This was the spot, right?”
He nodded. The boat was gone. Nothing. They hurried down to the dock to take a closer look just in case the rope had come loose and it had drifted but it hadn’t. More gunfire, this time bullets tore up the earth around them. Max darted out of view behind a boulder as did Eddie. Then, Caine yelled, “Like I said, Max. Do you honestly think you are getting out of here?”
He didn’t respond.
“What now?” Eddie muttered.
“Swim.”
“Swim? You know how far it is to Castine from here?”
“I’m not suggesting swimming there. We head for Nautilus. It’s got to be less than a mile.”
More rounds echoed, stone chipped and rained down on them.
“Come on, Max. There’s nowhere to go.”
Max stared at Eddie. “You ready?”
“Fuck it.”
“On three.”
They could hear the sound of boots. Those from the camp making their way down.
Crouched behind the boulder, out of sight, Max eyed the water. “One, two, three.” Both of them blasted away and dove into the chilly waters. The slap of cold took his breath away as he disappeared into the deep. All around, rounds snapped into the water, bubbles trailing behind each one. Any second now and one would strike him. It didn’t. He glanced to his right to see Eddie swimming hard through the murky waters.
They stayed beneath, kicking and pushing back the water with all their strength and only coming up w
hen they could no longer hold their breath. By that point they were far enough out to no longer be at risk of being shot.
Max gasped and spat water like a fish. He glanced back and squinted. Under the brightness of the sun’s light he saw Caine, and his group dotted throughout the steep rocky incline. A smile formed as he brought up a middle finger. Could Caine see it through binoculars? God, he hoped so.
Beth had zero luck finding Max. She’d spent the better part of the day searching Castine but had come up empty. After returning to the Manor and waiting for Landon to get back, she soon discovered she’d been followed. The sound of horses’ hooves alerted her to their presence. Instead of waiting, she exited through the rear of the home, darted across the clearing into the surrounding forest and observed from afar. Crouched beneath a large oak she saw them. Soldiers appeared inside, moving through the home, weapons on the ready. Bennington had put a tail on them.
Without knowing where Benjamin Willis lived, she had no other option but to head back to Nautilus Island. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction and using the cover of Witherle Woods. She hurried to the shore where she’d left the boat and rowed over to the island.
Sara and Tess had been keeping watch on the water, and had seen her dock the boat. They greeted her, eager for news. “You made it back,” Tess said as if surprised.
“Barely,” she replied, walking past her.
“Landon? Did you find him?” Sara asked.
She nodded. “He’s alive and well for the moment. They released him.”
“Released?”
Together they strode up the narrow pathway that snaked through the woodland, passed the Cape Cod style cottage and led up to the main house. “Then where is he?”
“Speaking with Benjamin Willis.”
“What? Why didn’t he come with you?” Sara asked.
She didn’t immediately reply but instead motioned to Tess. “You might want to keep an eye on the water. I did my best to shake them but I can’t be sure.” She didn’t need to explain. By their expressions, they both knew who she was referring to. “Landon didn’t want me to head back but things are too hot on the island right now. Too many soldiers.”
