by Mathews,Mark
It was Jenny who spoke, and she sounded much wiser than her ten years. It earned her another bone-crushing hug from Garrett, and he had to hide his face in her hair because his eyes were starting to mist. Brooke stood there, waiting for her sister, but edging closer to her dad. He took the hint and let Jenny go to give her the same hug. He was surprised to feel the same intensity coming from her. Could they mend their relationship? He hoped so, but right now he had to go save his son. The girls disappeared into the truck, and Alice peeled out of the parking lot. He hoped she at least had waited for them to put on their seatbelts. When she got like this, she was a loose cannon, and that meant she put others in danger because she didn’t think. He said a silent prayer to whomever was listening to keep his family and his loved ones safe.
“Alright, Nat, let’s get going. I hope we’re the ones who find Seth, because God help whomever crosses Alice right now.”
Nat snorted with laughter, and it made Garrett smile. It was easy to smile when someone else already was doing it, but for Garrett lately it had been hard to feel any happiness at all. Ever since Alice and Seth had been taken the first time, he almost felt dead inside. Nat was looking at him expectantly, and he realized that he’d missed something. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Nat’s face lit up with eagerness.
“I said, can I drive?” Now Garrett really did laugh. It was a genuine laugh, too. He hadn’t realized it had been months since he’d had a real humorous laugh, but now he was amending that. He ruffled Nat’s hair affectionately.
“I’m afraid that I’m going to have to say no to that, buddy. Just because I don’t know if we’re going to encounter trouble, and I think I do a better job of defensive driving.”
That was true, and the real reason that he’d said no, but he wanted to treat Nat like an adult for all intents and purposes. The two of them climbed into the truck and Garrett started it up. He kept the lights off as they pulled out of the parking lot at a much slower pace than Alice had. She’d headed down the road toward the farmhouse that he originally had wanted her and Nat to take Seth, so that meant he had to head in the opposite direction.
Kayleigh sat with Wren, holding her hand. She wasn’t sure whether Wren even could tell she was there, but she was going to do her best to help the other woman get through this. A gnawing feeling in her gut told her that Wren wasn’t going to make it, though, and that made her tear up. Wren had been such a help to her and Nat, getting their relationship going again after she’d shot her husband. She hoped one day she could repay Wren for her kindness and her instant friendship in these hard times. However, she only could do that if Wren made it through. She started shaking, and Kayleigh gently picked up Wren under her arms, and headed back into the little bit of factory that hadn’t been blown to smithereens. There really wasn’t much left at the front of the factory, but it would at least be enough to help hide them and give them some shelter. Kayleigh was dripping with sweat, but she did her best not to jar or jolt the other woman. If Wren was going to make it through this injury, it would be because she rested and didn’t sustain any more injuries. Kayleigh found a blanket that had been slightly charred in the blast, then tucked Wren into it. After a few minutes, Wren stopped shivering. She was in a fitful sleep, and part of Kayleigh wanted to wake her up every few minutes to make sure she was still alive. But she knew that rest was the body’s way of repairing itself, so she left her alone.
Kayleigh went back to the door and looked in both directions. She couldn’t see any sign of either truck, even though she strained her eyes to look through the darkness. Sighing heavily, she closed the door again and dragged a ruined metal file cabinet in front of it. That way, she’d have a bit of a warning if anyone tried getting in. She went and sat down with Wren again, gently feeling her forehead. It was hot and sticky with sweat. She wiped her hand on her pants and looked up at the bit of night sky that she could see through the broken ceiling. She hoped she was wrong about whether Wren was going to make it through, and she sat down in the silence, listening for anything unusual. How she heard anything at all was a miracle to her, because she hardly could hear anything over the loud thumping of her heart.
Chapter Eleven
It felt like the night was crushing them. Silence enveloped them as they drove. Garrett barely was paying attention to what was going on around him because his mind was back at the factory with Wren. He was fully aware of the fact that Wren could be gone by the time they got back, and there would be nothing he could do about it. That thought stabbed deep into his heart. He had feelings for her, that much he knew. He was falling in love with her, and that was true, too. But he still was a little up in the air about whether he should be with Wren or Alice. Alice had told him he could be with Wren, and he had believed her at the time. Now, he wasn’t so sure. A rabbit ran out across the road, and he slammed on the brakes. It was a good thing that he and Nat had their seat belts on. It jerked him out of his reverie about Wren, but the pain in his heart didn’t go away.
Nat was thinking about his own problems when Garrett slammed on the brakes, and it sort of woke him up, but the thoughts didn’t go away. Guilt ate at his very core. Nat couldn’t believe he’d let Alice and Seth down like that. He’d been a coward. What if he got to be a father at some point in his life? What if he acted the same way? His child deserved better than that. Seth had deserved better than that, too. That poor little baby had depended on him to protect him from the evil in the world, and Nat had failed. He’d given Seth to Austin to save his own skin, and guilt was heaped on top of more guilt for not only letting down the baby, but also Alice and Garrett. He could feel his mother’s accusing eyes on him, even though she never said a word to him about it. He knew his mother, and she was disappointed in him. She didn’t have to say it, he just knew. It felt like someone had punched him in the gut, and now he was curling up around the wound.
“Are you okay?”
Nat was vaguely aware that Garrett was talking to him. He snapped himself out of his daze. He tried composing his face into one that looked like he was just tired, rather than trying to tear himself apart on the inside.
“Um, yeah. I’m good.”
His voice sounded wooden, hollow. It made Garrett look at him with a sidelong glance. Damn it. He’d failed. The look that Garrett was giving him right now made him aware that he hadn’t been able to pull it off after all. Or Garrett just was really good at reading people. It was one of the two, or maybe even both, but Nat couldn’t change the fact now that he’d failed at hiding his true feelings.
“What’s going on?”
That was a loaded question, and not one that Nat wanted to talk about. Telling Garrett how guilty he felt and how awful a person he was for giving Seth to Austin only was going to make Garrett hate him more, and he didn’t want that from his newfound father figure.
“I’m just mad at myself for not doing more.”
Garrett knew exactly what Nat meant. It was showing on the boy’s face. As much as he wanted to be mad and blame Nat for losing the baby, he also knew that a teenage boy couldn’t stand up to Austin. It wasn’t really Nat’s fault. He had been outnumbered, Austin had weapons, and there was really nothing Nat could have done.
“It’s not your fault, Nat. Austin had men and weapons, there was nothing you could have done.”
Garrett’s words were like a balm to the wound in Nat’s middle, but he didn’t know if he quite believed them. He wanted to, of course, because it meant that Garrett had forgiven him, but he wasn’t sure yet if he could.
Alice was driving, and she was in a world of her own. Her daughters were sitting in their respective seats, staring out of the windows into the gloom for any sign of Austin or his men. She spared them a quick glance. Resentment bubbled up inside her as she remembered how they both had comforted Garrett about the whole Wren situation. She didn’t know if she wanted Wren to die or not, but she certainly wasn’t going to comfort Garrett when it
came to her. She’d thought she’d been fine with the two of them being together, but now she was thinking more and more about being with Garrett again. It would make them a family again, with a couple of extra people. Nat could be with Brooke, since she’d noticed the two of them getting closer and closer every day, and that would bring in Kayleigh. Max had left. Ben was gone. The only person left who she didn’t want in the family was Wren. And that problem might be taken care of already. Thoughts of Seth pushed their way into her mind.
She really didn’t think Austin would hurt his own son, but maybe one of the other guys he was with would. She tried to ignore the horrible pictures that were popping up in her mind, uninvited, but it was difficult. She wouldn’t put it past Austin to keep Seth from her as a punishment for what he saw as the worst betrayal she could have inflicted on him. A lonely tear slid down her cheek thinking about whether she ever would see her son again, but luckily it was on the side of her face that the girls couldn’t see. As far as they knew, she was calm, cool, and collected, with nothing being able to rattle her. Alice suddenly made up her mind. Austin would go back to town. She turned the truck around, heading back the way she’d come. She was determined to find her son.
Meanwhile, Garrett had been heading that way until he saw lights coming their way. He gently maneuvered the truck off the side of the road and he and Nat lay in wait, trying to see who it was. Garrett was surprised to see Alice’s truck cutting them off and heading toward town.
“Wasn’t that Alice?”
Garrett swallowed. Part of him was relieved that it was his ex-wife driving, because that meant they didn’t have any new enemies that they knew about. Unfortunately, her actions weren’t always the best ones, and pulling in to cut them off like that was direct proof. That worried him. If Alice couldn’t control herself or think clearly, then something was going to go wrong, and she and the girls would end up in a world of trouble. That thought made him shiver in apprehension and fear.
“Yes, that does look like them. Maybe it’s better that they go to town. They would know where he would be holed up. Let’s head back out the other way and check that farm house. It’s the closest thing to the factory, and if he or any of his men got hurt, they might just try to find a place to hole up in so they can help him.” Nat nodded, feeling like he didn’t deserve to put his two cents in. Garrett came back out of the soft little alcove he’d parked the truck in and started to go back toward the factory so he could take the turn off to the farm house.
Alice now was nearing town. She steered on autopilot to all the places she knew Austin had been. Including Garrett’s house. She knew Austin and his gang would need supplies and that they would think Garrett might have had too much to carry. Well, the gang would be surprised to find there was nothing left, they’d taken everything with them when they’d left for the factory. She did see that Garrett’s house had been vandalized, however, and she rolled her eyes. Austin always had been immature. The places that she knew he had been all were empty, and it made her heart jump into her throat. Where could he be? What if they didn’t find him? They would leave, and take Seth with them. She’d never see him again. Alice wanted to break down, but she refused to do it in front of her daughters.
Garrett drove for a little while more, but then headlights coming toward them blinded them both. Nat sat rigid, afraid of who this new threat might be. It couldn’t be Alice because she’d already passed by them, completely unaware they even had been there. Nat grabbed the bottom of his seat until the knuckles of his hands were stark white. He was holding his breath, waiting for Garrett to pull off the road, but he didn’t. Nat started looking from Garrett’s determined face to the headlights coming straight for them, and back again. Did Garrett not see the car? His face was stony, and he seemed barely to be blinking. Was he in some kind of daze? Mesmerized, maybe by the lights coming toward them? Or did he have a death wish because of Wren’s unstable condition as well as losing the little boy he already viewed as a son?
“Um, Garrett? Shouldn’t we be getting off the road?” Nat’s voice cracked as he spoke. He was embarrassed by the obvious fear in his voice, but he had to make sure Garrett knew there was a car heading toward him.
“You see that car, right?”
His voice was stronger this time, but still Garrett didn’t answer. Nat said a quick prayer that his mother would forgive him for how he’d handled the Seth situation, because they were going to die, and he couldn’t get back to apologize for his actions again. The car began slowing, then came to a stop. The headlights began to flash. Then Garrett moved. He smiled. He turned on the headlights, flashing them back. Nat was going crazy with worry, because he thought for sure they were going to die.
Garrett, however, had decided to keep driving because he had a gut feeling that this car in front of them was a friend, rather than a foe. The lights began to flash, and that was when Garrett’s suspicions were confirmed. He smiled. The lights were flashing out a message in Morse code. Garrett understood the code and gave the appropriate answer. He kept driving until he was even with the other car, then parked, turning off the lights. The other car did the same. Meanwhile, Nat was shaking like a little leaf, desperately looking around for something that he could use as a weapon. Garrett got out of the truck, and Nat decided that even without something he could use to defend himself, he needed to get out and show Garrett some support. As he rounded the corner of the truck, he stopped short. Garrett was hugging the man. That meant it definitely wasn’t Austin. It made Nat breathe a little easier.
“Long time no see. Where have you been?”
Garrett pulled back, using a friendly manner to address the man. Was he nuts? There was no one left to them that he should be this comfortable with. Was Garrett secretly trying to get rid of some of the people in the group that he thought were weak and wouldn’t make it through the winter? Nat couldn’t help but think that way, but he tried to push the thoughts from his mind. Garrett had done nothing to him but be kind and do what he should to lead this family. So why would he conspire against them?
“Looking for some place to hole up. And I found the perfect one.”
Nat stopped. It was Max. He’d come back after all. When Wren had said he was out looking for a place for them to live more long-term, he wasn’t sure if Max ever was going to come back. Whether he wanted to or not, it was a dangerous world out there now, and he didn’t think it was going to be possible for Max to come back, since he was on his own.
“What are you doing out here? I thought you were locked in a room getting better.” Max’s voice was joking, but one look at Garrett’s face wiped the smile from his own.
“Some things happened while you were gone. We got Alice and Seth back, but then we lost Seth again.” Max raised an eyebrow as if to ask what happened, but Garrett raised his hand to keep him from talking and continued.
“Ben got the lights in the factory working, but unfortunately, they came on at night. It drew a lot of bad people to the factory. I was already out of it with Nat, trying to get Alice and Seth back, like I said, which we did, when it happened. Ben got the girls in good defensive positions, and they took out most of the gang that killed Athena. Ben got caught in a firefight, though, and he went down. He had one of his crater bombs with him, and it exploded as he hit the ground. The factory is somewhat destroyed now.” Usually, when Garrett said ‘crater bomb’ he would smile because it was Ben’s own word for improvised explosive device.
“The girls were trapped on the second floor, and all the staircases were destroyed. We managed to get them out of the factory by lowering them out of an office window. Wren’s hurt bad, and I’m not sure she’s going to make it.” His voice cracked on the last sentence, and Max understood completely.
“So Ben’s gone.” Garrett nodded. He didn’t trust his voice at the moment.
“At least he can be with Athena now. You said you lost Seth again, but you didn’t tell me how.” Garrett swallowed hard, cleared his throat, and launched into the st
ory.
“We got back to the factory, and Alice and I tried to go in there to help. Nat was going to take Seth to the little farm house down the road to keep him safe. Before he could leave, however, Austin and his goons showed up. Austin hit him with the butt of his shotgun and knocked him out after he got Seth. Now Alice and the girls are headed to town looking for them and we were coming this way. Have you seen anything from down that way?” Max stood still for a moment, letting all of the information soak in.
“No. I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean the sneaky bastard isn’t still down there somewhere. I’ll go with you to help. I can be the decoy, and draw them out with my headlights. You just stay behind me with yours off, and if anything happens to me, come back me up.” He said it lightly, like it was all a big joke, but that was just Max. He was viewing this as a mission, and that meant he was in a different mental place all together.
“You got it. Thanks for helping, Max. We’d be lost without you.”
That much was true. There was no way they’d be able to get the family back together, then look for a place, and find a good one, before the winter set in. Their manpower was dwindling, and a lot of resources and energy were being used to get these bits and pieces of the family back together. That might have been Austin’s plan after all. Whatever was going through Austin’s deranged mind, Garrett wasn’t going to let anything happen to anyone he cared about, no matter what methods Austin employed to get them to turn on each other.
Chapter Twelve
Wren drifted in and out of consciousness. Pain wracked her body, but she also felt a coldness in her bones that made her think she was not going to be long for this world. It felt like hundreds of needles were stabbing her, until the skin grew attached to them, then pulled out, one by one, reopening every tiny wound. It was not a sensation she’d ever felt before, and that meant something to her, because she was no stranger to pain. She couldn’t believe she could feel this way and still survive.
