by Jack Hunt
Though I tried avoiding arguments, whenever there was trouble in the house like missing cigarettes, alcohol or food, I was the one that got the blame, even if I knew it was one of their own. Each time I told them it was their kid, Bobby, they refused to believe me. Finally, when I got tired of them not believing me, I just said it was me. It was the worst mistake I ever made. I don’t know if it was because they hated me or because the father was having a bad day but he took me out back and whipped my ass until it bled. I couldn’t sit for a week. When child services finally got wind of it, they had the nerve to blame it on one of their kids.
That’s when Jerome Brighton came into the picture. He was the one that usually dealt with my case. He collected me from homes and assured me that one day I would end up with the right family. At first he was like any other social worker. He did his job, he didn’t believe me, and he always took the side of the family that I was placed with. That was until the day he made a random visit. That day, an uncle of the family was abusing me. He’d knocked on the door but the radio was playing so loud that the guy didn’t hear him. Had he thought to lock the door perhaps the abuse would have gone on longer. Instead, Jerome let himself in. When he found the man sexually abusing me, he called the cops but only after giving the guy one hell of a beating. Jerome lost his job over it but I don’t think he cared. After all the years of sending me into new homes and having parents say that I was to blame, he finally realized that perhaps what I had been telling him was true.
Before the cops arrived, I remembered his words.
“You’ve got to strike back before they do. You hear me.”
His words mirrored Luke’s.
One of the last times I saw him was when he was being escorted away by the police. I was removed from that family and placed into another that didn’t abuse me but they had to endure the aftermath of all that came before them. In many ways it didn’t make their life easy. I was a product of my upbringing. I reacted. Made choices and coped with life based on what I had been through.
I looked over to Luke who was staring into the fire.
Was he the same?
Luke had never really spoken about his family. I knew them only through having seen them around town. They were the kind of parents that attended a local church. I couldn’t begin to imagine what they must have thought about their son dressed in black. They were suburban. Good folk that held down the same job for twenty years. They had died in the chaos before we left. I had to wonder if his need to kill came from something that he had experienced as a kid. He had no sisters or brothers and few people hung out with him.
I watched him amble over to a tarp on the ground. He wrapped himself inside of it and looked back at me through the fire.
A few years later I was returned to child services. On that day I saw Jerome one final time. He no longer worked for the organization but he had dropped in to visit one of his co-workers. He smiled, then shook his head and told me that he wasn’t surprised to see me again.
I didn’t tell him that I had been burned with cigarettes at a previous foster home, or that I had run away from the one after that. Would the last one have abused me? Who knows? I didn’t stick around to find out. But then again I was only thirteen years of age back then.
I took a few final pulls on my cigarette, tossed it into the fire and then crawled into the back of the truck and covered myself with what remained of our supplies. There weren’t enough tarps or blankets to go around so I pulled my jacket up around my ears and did my best to use the branches to block the wind from nipping at my ears.
CHAPTER 9
The next morning I was startled by the noise of a gun going off. I didn’t even have time to get my bearings before I leapt up and launched myself out of the truck. It was only when I heard Billy laughing that I knew that there was no danger. I looked up to see him holding his rifle and pointing the barrel towards the sky.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I saw a rabbit. You want breakfast?”
“Holy crap. I thought we were under attack.”
“Ah man, you should have seen your face.”
Corey wasn’t as forgiving, he came barreling over and knocked Billy on the ground and began laying into him with his fists. It took two of us to pull him off.
“You need to calm down, big boy,” Billy replied.
“You are not helping matters,” Ally said trying to get between them. “What is it with you two?”
Corey pulled himself away from our grip and went over to his tarp and began rolling it up. I gazed out across an ocean of green while I stretched and worked out the kinks from my body after the frigid night. Ghostly clouds hung low in the valley like spirits moving across the land.
“One of these days he is going to get us killed,” Corey said scowling at him.
“What? I was trying to get breakfast. Next time you folks can get your own food.” Billy wandered over to the edge of the forest and picked up a dead rabbit. He returned and tossed its bloody carcass near the fire, which had gone out in the night. After, he went over to the truck, leaned in and grabbed his cigarettes.
“Which reminds me. We really need to get some more supplies. What’s in that storage container isn’t going to last long.”
Luke took the initiative to skin, gut and clean the rabbit, getting it ready for breakfast. Kiera came over with the tarp wrapped around her while I started a fire. Within a matter of minutes it was roaring hot and all of us had our hands outstretched towards it trying to thaw our cold limbs. That’s the thing about being high up in the mountains, it was warm in the day and brutally cold at night. Had we traveled farther up, there would have been snow.
Being as none of us knew if we would eat again after what we knew we were going to do today, we used a lot of the grain with the rabbit that morning to make sure that we weren’t going to be hungry until late afternoon. After breakfast we put the fire out, gathered up the tarps and loaded them in the truck.
“Anyone want to stay? Last chance.”
None of us raised our hands.
“So what’s the plan here?” Ally asked.
“We know there was a hostile group of soldiers about two miles down from where our camp was. Now I don’t know if they are the same men that attacked but they are the closest. That road heads into Hayden. If they are still on the road, there is a good chance that others are in the town.”
We hadn’t been into Hayden. Murphy wanted to avoid the town and only venture out when we started to get low on supplies. Even then Dan said it was best that we hunted for squirrels and rabbits. Any supplies in surrounding towns would have been scavenged by locals. The last thing Dan wanted was to attract attention and bring people back to the camp.
“And if we spot them?” Ally asked.
“Who?”
“Murphy, Shaw,” she said.
“Then we go in and get them out.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Easier said than done.”
“What about those who killed my mother?” Corey asked.
“Look, Corey. I don’t know who did it but we will find out. From there, it’s up to you to decide what you want to do.”
“But Brett. You don’t want to get payback for him?”
I hesitated before I replied. I knew what he was getting at. I’d already got an earful from Luke the night before. Luke looked as if he was curious to hear what I would say. Why did it matter to him or any of them? I wasn’t the leader of our group. Murphy was.
“I just want to get Murphy and Shaw.”
CHAPTER 10
It was quiet on the road that morning. As the truck rumbled along, no one said anything. Everyone seemed lost in thought about what lay ahead. The rules of life’s game had been drastically flipped on their head and none of us were sure how to play. We were approaching a T-junction in the distance when through the trees a truck came into view, weaving all over the road. The sound of gunfire erupted. I slammed the brakes on, unsure of how to react. We hadn’t been se
en yet. There was a large thicket of trees between the next road and us. We were about twenty yards from the T-junction going north and the truck that was slipping all over the road was heading east. Luke tapped my shoulder and indicated that I pull over to the side of the road.
Not far behind the truck was a jeep. We couldn’t make out exactly who was in it but they were definitely firing on the truck. A few seconds of chaos and then the truck swerved off the road and collided with a tree. A burst of flames and a man dropped out the driver’s side. He was crawling across the ground as the jeep came barreling up and three men jumped out bearing rifles.
“Are those the same guys we saw?” Luke asked.
“I can’t tell.”
It was hard to see from our position. There were a lot of thick trees in the way.
“Whatever they are up to, that guy is screwed.”
“Want to check it out?”
“No, turn around and let’s find another road,” Luke said.
With the window down I could hear yelling. It sounded like someone was being tortured.
“Luke.”
“Turn the truck around.”
“Screw that, I’m going to see what’s going on.”
I jumped out and started hurrying towards the trees. Behind me Billy and Corey followed. I looked back briefly and saw that Luke decided to remain. Ally jumped out and said something to him that I didn’t catch and then she caught up with us.
As we made our way through the woodland towards the road going west and east, I could see clearly who they were now. Military. Three guys dressed in green army fatigues were dragging a guy by his boots up and out of the ditch onto the road. One of them broke away from the group and returned to the jeep. When he came back he had a metal baseball bat in his hand.
“You fucking kill one of my men,” the man said before unleashing a downward beating on the man’s stomach while the other two held his hands and feet.
“Holy shit,” Billy said. “C’mon, we need to get out of here.”
He turned and started to move back towards the truck but Corey and I remained. Seeing that we weren’t leaving he came back and yanked on my jacket sleeve. “Sam, are you out of your mind? This is beyond us. Let’s go.”
I shook my head. “No. This isn’t right.”
Whether lacking good judgment or not, I couldn’t go on knowing that I could have done something. Shouldering my AR I came out of the forest, up the embankment and onto the road.
“Leave him alone.”
The guy with the bat didn’t drop it, he simply instructed us to walk away.
“This is military business. Now go on your way.”
“I don’t remember beating citizens being in the ad for Be All You Can Be.”
He swung his bat and pointed it in our direction.
“I’m going to say it again. Be on your way now, or things are going to turn ugly.”
Billy let out a laugh. “You are a dumb ass. Now I haven’t played rock, paper, scissors in a long time but I’m pretty damn sure that rifle beats baseball bat.”
I was glad to see Billy was making light of the situation after his initial reaction of wanting to hightail it out of there. I had to wonder if it was his way of dealing with fear. His shaky hands were a good giveaway.
I noticed one of the guys going for his gun slowly. His hand was getting closer.
“Um. I wouldn’t advise touching that if I was you, unless of course you want an extreme close-up of a bullet.”
The soldier pulled his hand away.
“Now go ahead, drop the bat and get on the ground with your hands behind your back.”
The man laughed. “You are making a big mistake, son.”
“I’m not your son.”
Back and forth we went with them, until they reluctantly got on the ground and followed orders.
“Corey, zip tie them.”
While Corey went to restrain one, the man they had been beating rose to his feet and staggered over. “I’ll give you a hand.”
He coughed a little and stumbled over to the guy who had been beating on him. As he placed a knee on the guy’s back, I thought he was going to tie him up. Instead of reaching for the zip ties he grabbed the handgun from his belt and fired a round into his head, then rose and while I was in the middle of telling him to drop it, he fired two more, killing the other men. Then he dropped the gun and sank down onto his ass. It happened so fast, that for a good minute or two we stood there staring at him, wondering what the hell we had just witnessed. The guy now sat cross-legged and sobbing. Corey raced over and scooped up the gun before he decided that we too were a threat. Brain matter seeped from the head of a soldier. There was something strange about the way they handled the situation. No soldier would have backed down even if it meant taking a bullet. Were they even soldiers? I looked up the road, to the east and west. How many more were there?
Questions bombarded my mind.
“Where did you come from?”
At first he didn’t reply. When I asked again he pointed west but said nothing.
“Where, Hayden?”
He nodded.
Luke brought the truck up and parked it just off to one side of the road.
“Billy, see if the jeep has gasoline canisters. Corey, let’s get these men off the road, quick.”
Luke, Corey and I dragged the three dead soldiers back to their jeep, put them in the seats, threw the gear stick into neutral and then rolled it into the ditch. I tore a piece of cloth from one of their uniforms and tucked it into the gas tank hole. There was very little gasoline in the jeep. I lit the cloth and we rushed back to the road. A few seconds later it exploded and flames engulfed the vehicle.
“Why did you do that?” Corey asked.
Ally answered. “To make it look like an accident. Perhaps the others won’t come looking.”
“I think they already are.”
Billy pointed down the road. In the distance was a vehicle. It was just a speck on the horizon but it was heading our way.
CHAPTER 11
There was no time to waste. We jumped in our truck. The guy took some coaxing to get in as he had practically given up on life itself. Once inside, Luke slammed his foot against the accelerator and veered the truck back down the road we had come from. A minute later we were off road. We headed east away from Hayden for about eight miles until we came across a gas station with a diner.
I motioned ahead. “Pull up around the back.”
Gravel crunched beneath the tires as we drove beneath a portable carport. It had a thick brown tarp that went over the top. Once we got out we dragged the tarp down to hide the vehicle and then entered the diner through the back door.
It was eerily quiet inside. No music playing. No sound of cooking, chatter or cutlery clinking. On the ground was a smear of blood that went from the kitchen into the washroom. The door was closed. I signaled to the others with my hand and cautiously ventured inward. The whole place stunk like shit and piss on a hot summer’s day. I had to yank my top up over my nose to prevent myself from throwing up.
As I passed by the double kitchen doors I peered in through a circular glass window. The white tiled floor was lathered in blood. There were pots and pans all over the place, some with food in them. I moved near to where the washroom was and paused. I glanced back down the corridor one more time at the smear of blood that disappeared beneath the door. My heart was pounding against my chest. I motioned to Ally to check the front and to take Billy with her. Corey kept an eye on the outside with Kiera while Luke and I got closer to the washroom. I clenched my jaw as if expecting to be surprised. I didn’t know whether to kick the door or ease it open. I was in the middle of easing it apart when Luke slammed his foot against it. It flew inward and that’s when I caught sight of the bloody mess. As the door swung back I tossed Luke a look to let him know that I wasn’t amused. He smirked as if he had done it on purpose. If he kept this up, he’d get us killed before our time.
Keeping my to
p over the lower half of my face I entered and winced at the sight of the chef. He was bent over the toilet with his head pushed deep down inside. His pants were crumpled up around his ankles and someone had a jammed a toilet plunger right up the guy’s ass. Streaks of dried blood covered the lower half of his body and pooled around his knees. Luke stepped inside, glanced down and grimaced.
“Damn, that is a nasty way to go.”
Ally opened the door and started gagging. I’m not sure why, morbid curiosity or a sick mind, but Billy broke into a chuckle. “I’m guessing someone didn’t like their eggs.”
I shook my head in astonishment. It was hard to comprehend that anyone would have done that to another human.
We backed out of the room.
“Anyone up front?”
Ally shook her head. “Look around and see if there is anything we can use.”
While they did that I went and had a word with our guest. Outside he was standing by the truck smoking a cigarette. His hands were shaking. Now that I could see him better, he looked a state. His hair was matted, his clothes were dirty and his eyes had sunken in as though he hadn’t drunk or eaten in a while.
“You said you came from Hayden. What’s your name?”
He took a deep inhale on his cigarette and blew out grey smoke. “Keith Landers.”
“Why were those men after you?”
“Those bastards killed my daughter and wife. I escaped.”
“Escaped?”
He looked at me as if I had my head under a rock for the past couple of months.
“They have taken over the town of Hayden, set up checkpoints, a curfew has been imposed and they confiscated weapons. Some have been killed.”
“Killed?”
“Yeah. They call them dissidents. Anyone who opposes what they are trying to do is rounded up, arrested and in some cases shot. My wife and I wouldn’t give up our guns. I’m a mechanic. After the blackout, we holed up in our house and for a couple of months our town was managing to get by until they showed up. They said the U.S. Constitution had been suspended. Which meant there would be no freedom of speech, no press, no freedom of assembly and they could arrest us at any time for any reason.”
