by Jack Hunt
“I could really use a shower, a bath. Hot. Real hot,” Billy muttered.
“Steve, you think you can have some of the folks heat up some pots of water? We’ll try and get these two warmed up with some tea.”
“I guess that will do,” Billy said.
There was little we could do about our situation except stay close to the fire.
“Either of you guys hurt?”
I shook my head no and began taking off my jacket and pulling off my pants to try and get dry. Our clothing was so caked up in mud and forest debris that it stuck to our body and pulled at our leg hairs. Hank went off to see if he could help Abigail while we warmed ourselves beside the fire. Had it not been for our time in the wilderness with Murphy and Dan, I truly think we would have gone insane. They had told us the best way to overcome our addiction to comfort was to strip ourselves of it. Dan suggested sleeping with only one sheet on the bed. He said monks did that so they could get up and meditate early in the morning. If they had too many covers they would be too warm and it would make it that much harder. That’s why they only ever gave us the basics. The brain wants to fight back against discomfort. It resists change, and will mess with a person’s head, but if you stick it out, eventually it will come to terms that it’s not going to get whatever it craves and then it adapts to the new situation. The craving for comfort ends, and you enter a new level, Dan would say.
We had asked him multiple times what this new level was. Billy would joke and say it was a new level of enlightenment. That everything he was teaching us was hippie shit or stuff that had been passed on to him by some macho drill instructor but that wasn’t the case. Dan had learned it from those he’d crossed paths with over the years. Listening to him was like receiving small nuggets of wisdom.
Hank soon returned and told us that they were doing everything they could to save Corey.
“You are lucky to have survived.”
“If it wasn’t for Corey, perhaps we wouldn’t have. He drove at the soldiers, giving us time to get away.”
“You ran?” Luke hobbled over.
“We thought he was coming with us.”
“And what about the truck?” Luke asked.
“They took the supplies.”
He snorted. “I told you, you should have taken me.”
“Like you would have done any better,” Billy said.
“I wouldn’t have lost the supplies.”
“Give it a rest, Luke,” I said. Now whether it was because we looked like we had been to hell and back, or maybe he couldn’t be bothered to argue but he never said another word. He took a seat and warmed himself beside the fire. Hank went over and poured some hot water into two metal cups, tossed a tea bag in each and brought it over.
“Here, get your lips around this. Listen, it doesn’t matter about the truck. We managed to salvage more than what we initially saw.”
“Weapons?”
He nodded. “Better than what we currently have.”
I rolled my neck around on my shoulders as I nursed the cup.
“We still need to know more about the town. How to get in without being noticed, how many guards they have, where the prisoners are being held. This isn’t going to be a walk in the park, you know,” Billy said.
“Maybe we don’t need them to get in, we just need to draw them out. Divide and conquer, my friend,” Hank said.
“You sound like Murphy.”
Hank gazed into the fire and I could see he was lost in thought.
“I’m sorry about Reynolds, I know he was a good friend of yours.”
“Did he die fast?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. I squinted at Billy who looked as though he was going to say something. Probably something about how stupid Reynolds was to stand out in the open but he never said anything. The cold had eaten away what fight remained in us. My hands and body trembled. “We didn’t even see them coming.”
“Bastards. We’ve lost so many good people.”
“They’ll pay, we just need to do this the right way.” A friend of Hank’s who went by the name of Christopher placed his hand on Hank’s shoulder.
“Who was he to you?” I noted that Hank was taking this a lot harder than what I imagined he would have. It was difficult to lose those around us. I thought of the people back in Mount Pleasant that lost their lives fighting beside us. It was sad but I wasn’t close to them.
“He was my brother.”
I stopped drinking and studied his face. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I.”
“Hank, I will take a few of the guys later to retrieve his body so we can give him a proper funeral,” Christopher said.
Hank nodded despondently. Christopher called over three guys and informed them. It wouldn’t take them long cutting through the forest and the chances of the Commander’s men returning to the same site were slim. They would have been preparing for an attack now that they knew that the other truck had been taken.
I glanced over to the vehicle. Its cargo door was open. On the ground were several green metal containers. Over the following hours we ate, drank and changed into clean clothes provided by Hank. There had been some gunfire in the past hour in the forest but a couple of the men had returned to say it was just six of the Commander’s men. We figured they had been sent out on a reconnaissance mission to see what our people were up to and to see if we were the ones that had taken the truck and not someone else. They never made it close enough to find out. Now that our group had AK45s and AR’s their ability to hold them back was that much easier. But it wouldn’t last. According to Hank, their attempts at getting close to the camp were becoming a daily event.
“You okay?” I asked.
He leaned over and whispered into my ear. “We believe that there is someone among us that is one of the Commander’s men.”
I frowned. “How so?”
“Our previous attempts before meeting you guys have all been stopped. There was no way they could know we were coming unless there was someone in the camp who worked for the Commander.”
“But when would they have arrived?”
“I don’t know everyone here, Sam. When we first escaped we went to Stockdale and over a period of a month recruited others who were willing to fight. It wouldn’t have taken much to drop off one of their guys in plain clothes. It’s not like we could check their ID. They would just say their ID was with their belongings. Lots of homes have been destroyed in Stockdale. Many were destitute. We couldn’t turn them away.”
I gazed around the camp at the numerous people working away. Eyes shifted our way and I had to wonder who it was.
“It’s what I would have done.”
I tapped my finger against my chin. “Maybe that’s it. Maybe we don’t need to breach the town immediately. We just need to get a man on the inside, someone who can get information to us. Someone who is willing to risk getting caught.”
My eyes drifted over to Luke. I might have suggested him. He was mad enough to do it, but with the wound to his leg, and having already been seen, he would be of no use.
“We still have the military fatigues, yes?”
Hank nodded.
“I’ll do it then.” I paused. “I’ll go in.”
“You can’t.”
“The age is seventeen to forty-two to be in the Army Reserves. I know, I was going to join.”
Hank looked at me skeptically. He tossed a piece of wood into the fire and glowing embers danced in the air above us as tongues of red and orange flickered. I could tell he had his reservations but without knowing more about their setup, we were screwed.
Someone had to do it.
CHAPTER 26 - SHAW
I had seen them take in Murphy. I was finishing up loading another post into the ground with the help of three others when they dragged Murphy over to the isolation hut. I could tell he was out cold as his head was down and there was no strength to his limbs.
“Hey!” I called out to the two men. “What have you done
to him?”
“Mind your business or we’ll toss you in one.”
I watched them dump him on the ground while another opened the corrugated metal shelter that was used to deal with the unruly. They tossed him like a rag doll and then closed the door. Those shelters were no bigger than five by five foot.
“Get back to work,” a soldier pushed me and in my frustration I turned, grabbed his arm and twisted it. The sound of guns being cocked and yelling ensued as they threatened to put a bullet in me if I didn’t let the soldier go.
“I want to speak to the Commander.”
“Let him go,” they hollered at me.
“Not until I speak with him.”
One of them got on the radio. I could see him muttering into it. A minute later he signaled for the others to lower their weapons.
“He’ll see you. Come on.”
I hesitated for a second or two, unsure if he was just bluffing to get me to release my grip. When I tossed the guy to the ground he immediately pulled his knife but didn’t get near me as another soldier grabbed him.
“Enough!”
“You are dead, bitch.”
His gaze bore into me and I knew that I had pissed off the wrong person. Another soldier led me away and as I passed by the hut that Murphy was in, I called out his name. There was no answer. The soldier kept a firm grip on me even though I protested.
“Is this necessary? It’s not like I can escape.”
When I was brought before the Commander he was just finishing up talking to a soldier. His back was turned. On the wall was a map of the United States. He was pointing to locations in the Idaho region. Hearing us come in he glanced over his shoulder.
“That will be all for now.”
“Yes sir.”
He motioned to the other soldiers in the room to leave. “But sir, after…”
“Do as I say.”
Four of them left leaving me alone with him. He came around his desk and leaned against it.
“I was told you created a bit of disturbance out there.””
“Nothing he didn’t deserve.”
“You wanted to see me?”
“What you are doing is inhumane. There are soldiers out there beating on people simply because they are too tired to work. Also, what did Murphy do?”
“That’s right, both of you were brought in together. Tell me, how did you survive out there? What town did you come from?”
He peppered me with questions but I remained silent.
“If you don’t wish to talk I can have you returned to work. Though I imagine you would prefer to have a cold drink and chat with me for a while, would you not?”
“How long is he going to be in confinement?”
“My son wants him dead for what he did.”
“Which was?”
“He attacked me.”
“After all the shit you have put this town through, is it any surprise? Who gave you the authority to do what you are doing?”
The Commander smiled and walked around me touching parts of my uniform. “Officer Shaw. What’s your first name?”
“Does it matter?”
He came to a halt in front of me and narrowed his eyes.
I hesitated then spoke, “Kate.”
“Kate Shaw. I like it. Well, Kate Shaw, it doesn’t matter who has given me authority. I could tell you it came from the president himself but you wouldn’t believe me. So why bother? Does it really matter? There is no one coming to oversee this town, or how you think you are being mistreated. As I told your friend, I gather Murphy is your friend and not your lover?”
He paused for a second studying my face before his lip curled up.
“Um, interesting. Perhaps I’m going about this the wrong way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I could use a man like Murphy. He has the skillset, drive and courage that my soldiers need. As much as I appreciate what my son has done, he’s no leader. But Lt. Murphy, now there’s a guy with balls. But here’s the thing. He has taken a disliking to me and what I am trying to do, so that’s where you will come in. He’ll listen to you.”
“Under what authority are you operating?” I repeated myself.
He scoffed. “You and your need to know. You really think that any of these men care about who has green lit our operation? All they care about is having someone lead them, feed them and give them a reason not to put a gun to their head.”
“Canada, the UK, other countries will assist and what then? You will be tried for your crimes. Are you ready for that?”
He wandered over to his bar and poured two drinks.
“No one is coming. I just told you that. You really don’t realize the amount of damage that has occurred out there or the lives that have been lost. This hasn’t just affected the United States, it has the affected the world. Think about it.”
He came back over and handed me a drink. I took it and against my better judgment downed it. He almost seemed intrigued by the fact that I hadn’t tossed it back in his face.
“Would you like to take a seat? Perhaps I can clarify a few things, maybe you can explain the areas you see this community needs help with.”
I shifted from one foot to the next. “You are asking me?”
“As much as you think this is dictatorship, dictatorship only goes so far. Look how Caesar fared. His own men turned on him in the end. No, if this is to work, I need someone who can be a voice for the people out there. I like you. You have guts. Coming in here, telling me how it is. Come, let me show you something.”
Curious to know more about this man and what he had planned I followed his lead and walked over to the map on the wall.
“Here is Hayden. You see these four towns that surround us. In time, we are also going to establish what we have here, there. Everything we need to survive can be found in this region. Crops will be planted, harvested, lives will be led very much the way they did before the grid went down. In time people will come to see that this is a place where they can thrive.”
“What, as slaves?”
He sucked air in between his teeth and glanced at me. “I know it’s difficult seeing them out there working away but at this stage we have to enforce a few to do the work that is required, otherwise no one will do it. My men of course can’t because they are too busy protecting this place and bringing in new resources. Which by the way brings me to a question. A convoy of trucks belonging to us came under attack by a group nearby. We are familiar with them. They reside in the forest. Eventually we will take them out but I am keen to know if you knew them? My men said you came from another camp. But as we have seen on our way up through the state, people are trying to work together towards the same goal. So… do you know them?”
“No. You killed all our people. Or have you forgotten?”
“Right. That was unfortunate but I’m told my men gave them ample chance to hand over their weapons and come quietly.”
“Ample? They killed kids.”
“Armed. And they weren’t exactly kids. They were nearly adults.”
“Kids, regardless.”
He walked back to the bar and made another drink and returned, handing it to me. I declined but he insisted.
“Relax, I’m not the enemy.”
I clenched my jaw and thought about attempting to do what Murphy had done. Instead, I downed the bourbon and felt it burn my throat.
“It’s good, isn’t it?”
I didn’t reply.
As he continued to explain what he was hoping to build in the area, I began to feel my sight blurring. I stumbled a little and he caught me. “Steady there. Perhaps you aren’t used to the liquor.”
The world around me slowly began to spin and I felt as though my legs were about to collapse. I stumbled again, this time grasping the table.
“What did you give me?”
I was now seeing multiple versions of him before me. A smug grin spread on his face as he approached and swept my hair out of my face.
I pushed him. “Get back.”
It felt as though the ground was shifting back and forth. I heard his laugh, and saw the room shift sideways before I landed hard on the ground and let out a groan. Darkness took hold as I went unconscious.
CHAPTER 27
I had slipped back into the army fatigues and was preparing myself mentally to head into the camp when Ally came in. She stood at the door of the A-frame hut.
“Is it right? Are you going in?”
I nodded. She came over and turned me around. “That’s suicide.”
“He hasn’t seen me, Ally.”
“And his men?”
“It was too dark. We couldn’t even see their faces.”
“There must be some other way.”
I took a seat and slipped on the boots. “If we just attack it could endanger those inside the camp. Even if we could breach the checkpoint or fence they’ve built, all they would need to do is turn the weapons on those inside and it would be over. No, we need to know the layout, where they are keeping people, how they are rotating shifts and where their weaknesses are.”
“And you intend to stay in there for how long to figure that out?”
“For as long as it takes.”
I pushed my foot down into the tall leather boot.
“And if it goes wrong?”
“Don’t think about it.”
“Don’t think?”
“Ally, why does it matter? I’m trying to get your father back. Isn’t that more important than who goes?”
“Let one of them go in. Not all of them have been seen. Why does it need to be you?”
I frowned. “Again, why does it matter?”
“Maybe because I don’t want you to die. Is that enough reason?”
My lip curled up at the corner. I let out a lungful of air and studied her face. All of us looked as though we could use a hot shower. We were weathered by the elements and had become accustomed to the feel of a second skin of dirt on us. I approached her. Her eyes drifted off to the side then back to mine. My hand traced down the side of her cheek before I gripped the back of her neck and pressed my lips into hers. It didn’t last long as Hank came in.
