Against All Odds (Book 1): As We Fall

by Hunt, Jack

  “I was thirsty,” Lisa said.

  Mason interjected. “That was meant for all of us.”

  “Well stop off at the next store.”

  Sam shook his head. “Says the woman who just gave me an earful for wanting to stock up on a few extra supplies.”

  “That store was full of crazies,” she said.

  “And you think any other store is going to be different?” Mason added.

  They rode in silence observing the downfall of society. Groups of people stood at the edge of the road thumbing a ride but they had no room and they agreed that it was best not to stop unless necessary. Avoiding I-90 but running parallel to it allowed them to stay on track. Sam rode shotgun giving Mason directions. He flattened out a map on his lap and had mapped out a couple routes using a pen. In the back Anna chatted with Chase, while Lisa thumbed through some large academic book she’d brought along. Every so often, Mason would glance over his shoulder. Sam knew he was biting at the bit to say something that would cause another argument so he tried to keep his mind occupied.

  “Did you travel much?” Sam asked.

  “Outside of the country?” Mason replied.

  “Yeah, or around the USA.”

  “We used to, didn’t we, Lisa?” She never replied. “We headed to the Grand Canyon, Chicago and I once went to L.A. for a conference but that’s about it. Our lives have been too busy. I bet you’ve seen a few places though.”

  Sam nodded. “Yeah, a fair few.”

  “What was that like?”

  “Different country, same bullshit. Though I did see some beautiful sunrises.”

  “No, I mean being a SEAL. What made you want to get into that?”

  “Truthfully, I didn’t have my eyes set on joining the Special Forces. I just wanted to join the Navy and see some of the world. A friend of mine decided to go for it and he asked me if I wanted to go with him. I guess I bought into his sales pitch and gave it a go.”

  “So you both got in?”

  “Well that’s the thing. He didn’t make it. He fractured his leg in Hell Week so they rolled him back to the next class. Second time around he rang the bell and quit. Last I heard he was a high-ranking naval officer, so things didn’t work out too bad in the end.”

  “But you made it in.”

  “By the skin of my teeth. Believe me, it wasn’t a walk in the park. It’s more of a mental game than a physical one. I just refused to give up. Fortunately I didn’t have any major injuries just some shin splits and gnarly rashes.”

  “So is it true that you guys are like supermen?”

  Sam laughed. He noticed out the corner of his eye that Anna was looking at him. “No, we have our weaknesses, faults and make our own share of mistakes. We’re very much human. If there is anything good that can be said about us, it’s we just know how to operate as a team. If I’m alive today it’s because the guy beside me was covering my ass. If I managed to achieve something someone else didn’t, it’s because my teammate was urging me on. Most of the guys who make it as SEALS aren’t physically the strongest, they are just mentally strong, and have a won’t give up attitude. I shoot a gun like any other person, I bleed like any other and...” he trailed off glancing at Anna out the corner of his eye. He was about to continue when Mason slammed on the brakes.

  Up ahead, thick black tire tracks curved across the road, and in the ditch was a truck. It wasn’t the accident that made them stop as much as the fact that its occupants looked as if they’d been dragged out of their vehicle and executed on the road. The driver was still in the car slumped over the steering wheel, two were outside in a fetal position, and one was a young guy, who looked to be no older than fifteen. It appeared as if he’d tried to make a run for it and had managed to get about thirty feet away before he was shot in the back.

  Chase leaned forward between the seats and stared. “What the hell?”

  The trunk was open, and luggage, a cooler and multiple bags were strewn across the road as if someone had been rooting through it all.

  “They obviously didn’t need the vehicle,” Mason said before looking nervously over his shoulder. Sam noticed there were two rounds through the windshield indicating that they’d been ambushed. No doubt they took out the driver causing the vehicle to swerve off the road.

  “What should we do?” Lisa asked in a panicked voice.

  Sam replied, “We go on.”

  “Go on? They could be up ahead.”

  “For all we know we passed them on the way here,” Sam said.

  “Or they could be up ahead,” Lisa said again.

  “We don’t have much choice. This is the only road that keeps us parallel to I-90, and besides we don’t know what direction they went.”

  “They killed four people. They could do it again,” she said.

  Sam turned to Mason. “Where did you put the guns?”

  “In the rear.”

  Sam hopped out and went around and retrieved the Glock from its case, he palmed in a magazine and loaded a round into the chamber. He then took the rifle and loaded it before scanning the surrounding perimeter and handing it to Mason. Mason placed it between the seats and they drove on, each of them concerned about what lay ahead. It was one thing to see a downed airplane and body parts, another to see an attack on innocents but it was to be expected as people got desperate. Cash only got people so far. While there was still food in stores, many of them had closed up to avoid dealing with fights. The ones that stayed open were only inviting trouble. It wouldn’t take long before people began looting homes and taking matters into their own hands even if that meant killing others.

  “Animals,” Lisa said.

  “It’s called survival,” Sam said. “No different than in the wild.”

  “But we are only two days into this and people are already murdering others?”

  “Criminals have always existed. The only reason you don’t see them going on a rampage is because of law enforcement and vigilant members of the public but with the roads blocked, no communication and few vehicles on the road, it’s like getting a free seat at an all you can eat buffet,” Sam said.

  “But it’s broad daylight.”

  He shook his head. It was going to take some folks a while to wrap their heads around what others were capable of when given the opportunity but that was also to be expected. People were naïve. They lived in a bubble of ignorance. It was a world that relied on governments to protect, feed and cater to their every whim and desire. They weren’t comfortable in the uncomfortable and had little situational awareness.

  As a team leader in raids and hostage rescue, Sam had to be aware of multiple teams moving in different directions when they entered a building, and people on different floors. He had to make sure that when they were engaging targets, none of the team members were in adjacent rooms when bullets started flying. All it would take was one stray bullet and it could be game over. No, he had to know what was going on inside, outside and coordinating air assets and artillery so they could suppress enemies that were moving in on them. Sure, he trained for this but it was surprising how many people didn’t pay attention to where they were or what was happening around them. The fact was a lack of attention meant increased risk. It was the reason why so many people became victims, and the reason why those people were lying in the road back there.

  It was as simple as watching individuals nearby, looking for odd behavior or anything that looked out of place, making sure there were two exits, paying attention to places that could be used as cover in a gunfight and determining if anyone was following. It wasn’t rocket science, and people didn’t need months of training to pick it up. They just had to keep their eyes peeled for trouble.

  They made it through Westborough without incident and continued on into North Grafton, sticking to the roads less traveled.

  “Worcester is coming up. We should stop and get some water.”

  “Don’t go into the main town, keep to the outskirts,” Sam said. “Look for a gas sta
tion or a hotel. Chances are they’ll have closed the pumps but the station might have supplies, and most folks won’t be thinking about visiting hotels. Those kitchens should be loaded.”

  Another twenty minutes of driving and they spotted a place called Mike’s Service Station. It was right across from another gas station with a 7-Eleven. Both had multiple signs up that said the pumps were no longer in operation and there was no gas. Mason swerved the truck into Mike’s Station and kept the vehicle running. Sam turned in his seat. “Stay here, lock the doors, if things go south, get the hell out of here, you understand?”

  Chase nodded.

  Mason and Sam got out and closed the doors and approached the abandoned gas station. There wasn’t much to the place. It was a low-slung building that was white with a blue trim at the top, and a two-car garage for state inspections. Sam noticed a cage advertising propane tanks but they were all gone. No doubt, people had been smart enough to consider alternative ways of cooking food while the power was out. Sam jogged over to the window and glanced in. It was dusty, so he had to rub a hand over the glass. The refrigerator inside was empty. Not a single bottle of pop, or water.

  “If it comes to the worst, we’ll collect it from one of the rivers or streams in the area and boil it,” Sam said.

  “You want to try the 7-Eleven?” Mason asked.

  “Not yet. Who knows what this guy has in the stock room.”

  “I’m pretty sure if they had anything the owner has probably taken it.”

  “Only one way to find out,” Sam said rearing back his fist and using the butt of the gun to smash the glass on the door. With no power, no alarm went off. He tapped out the remaining fragments of glass and leaned in to unlock the door. Mason was looking around expecting someone to show up. Sam glanced back at the truck and could see them peering out. “Let’s make this quick,” he said. Glass crunched beneath his boots as he made his way to the rear door. Inside, all the shelves were still loaded with candy bars and chewing gum, and there was a lock on the small shutters that covered cigarettes. Mason made a beeline for that and used his rifle to bust off the lock while Sam went out back.

  “Anything?” Mason called out.

  “Not a damn thing.”

  “Told you.”

  “Well it was worth checking.”

  When he emerged, he found Mason stuffing his pockets with as many packs of Marlboro Lights as he could carry. He was chewing on gum and looked like a kid in a candy store. “I know, it’s a sickness,” Mason said. Sam looked out the window to make sure the others were still okay. He scooped up some motor oil, and then went behind the counter to find the key to the washroom. It was gone from the hook.

  “I’m stepping out to take a piss. You okay here?” Sam asked.

  “Just fine.” Mason had taken out a black bag from a box on the shelf and was filling it with what remained on the shelves. “I figure some of this candy can come in handy.”

  Sam stopped at the door and tapped his knuckles against it. “Oh hey, don’t forget to grab that bottle of Clorox bleach. Half a teaspoon of that in five gallons of water will purify it.”

  He headed out and glanced over at the truck and gave them the thumbs-up while he went around to the toilet. He noticed that the door was already ajar and the key that was missing from behind the counter was stuck in the lock. He used the tip of his boot to push the door open while holding out his weapon. It creaked open and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had visions of someone hanging from the rafters, or sprawled out over the toilet with a bullet to the back of the head. Sam went in, relieved himself and then stepped out. Mason was back at the truck loading what he had into the rear when he heard a vehicle approaching.

  Moving quickly to the truck, he told everyone to get down and shut off the truck. While he still felt that the country was reasonably safe because most folks would expect the power to come up in the first forty-eight hours, after what they’d witnessed on the highway, he wasn’t taking any chances.

  TEN - TROUBLE MAKERS

  Mason and Sam ducked down behind the truck and peered out as a 4 x 4 rolled into the 7-Eleven and three men jumped out. He couldn’t make out what they were saying but they were armed. They didn’t have their guns drawn but they were holstered at the waist. He watched as they shattered a window and entered the station.

  “We should leave now,” Mason said.

  “And give them a reason to follow? That could be the same guys from back on the highway. Besides, we still don’t have any water.”

  “We’ll find it somewhere else,” Mason said.

  Sam entertained the thought of starting the engine for a second but he knew it would attract attention and right now they needed to fly under the radar as much as possible. They had no reason to engage and the last thing he wanted to do was get anyone wounded, so they waited. They didn’t have to wait long. Several vehicles drove by at a high rate of speed, the noise of engines caught their attention. All three started yelling and came out with a handful of goods. They tossed it in the bed of the truck and hopped in. Tires squealed and smoke rose behind their vehicle as they tore out of there heading in the direction they came.

  They gave it another minute before Sam told Mason to bring over the truck. He ran across the street and darted into the station, the first place he went was to the back of the store. Although there wasn’t much, there were a few packages of bottled water, enough to last them for at least a day or two if they rationed. Sam lugged out two cases. “There is one more inside, if you want to go get it,” he said to Mason.

  “I told you we should have hit 7-Eleven,” Mason said.

  “And if we had, we would have run into those men.”

  They didn’t linger, just long enough to grab up a few packages of batteries, candy, chips and beef jerky and they got the hell out of there heading in the opposite direction. “Who do you think they were?” Chase asked.

  “No idea and I hope to never find out,” Mason said before sweeping his mirrors to make sure they weren’t being followed. All of them tucked into what they had to keep their energy up as there was no telling when they would get to eat again.

  The next two hours they traveled without any sign of trouble. They passed by other vehicles, and saw people walking beside the roads. A few held up signs asking for help, food, anything that someone could spare. As hard as it was to not stop, they couldn’t.

  It was early afternoon by the time they arrived in a town called Blandford. They shot past a sign that read population 1,233 and pulled in front of Blandford Country Store and Café. The ice machine out front had been tipped over, and the windows had been boarded up with a warning sign: You enter you die!

  “Well this looks like a pleasant place to stop,” Mason said throwing the gearstick into park. Anna had made it clear that she needed to pick up some feminine hygiene products as in the rush to leave she’d forgotten.

  “You know you can use a towel. That’s how they did it back in the old days,” Chase said. She scowled at him as she got out with her father. They circled around the back of the place looking for an entry point. There were three windows above the store, and the highest one was partially open. To their right was a two-story clapboard home, and to the left a one-story house, both looked as if they were abandoned as the front doors were wide open and there were no vehicles outside.

  “You sure you can’t wait?”

  “Do you want blood on the seat?”

  “It’s not my truck,” Sam said with a smile on his face.

  “That’s not funny,” she said. “Though I would expect that coming from you.”

  “You know, Anna, it’s going to take us probably three or four days to reach Breckenridge. That’s a long way to have to deal with your attitude. Perhaps you can cut me some slack,” Sam said without looking at her. Around the side of the store there was another icebox. Sam climbed onto it and used it to boost himself up onto the lower roof, and then he turned and extended his hand. “Here, give me your hand.”

>   “I can do it myself.” Anna climbed up with all the agility of an acrobat. They made their way up and over to the open window. Music was coming from inside. The volume was low but it was clear someone was home. He put a finger to his mouth to indicate for her to stay quiet and to wait outside while he went in. Sam clambered through the window that led into a cramped bathroom.

  He quietly stepped down onto the lip of the bathtub and peered around. There was a toilet, a washbasin, and a small cabinet on the wall. There was water still in the bath though murky in color as if someone had used it multiple times. Sam peered around the open door and down the hallway. There was no movement and he couldn’t hear anyone speaking. Frank Sinatra’s music played softly downstairs. Sam closed the door, tucked his Glock into the small of his back and then began rooting through the cabinet, looking for any maxipads or tampons. Anna appeared at the window.

  “Find anything?” she whispered.

  “Nothing.”

  “Check the store downstairs.”

  He sighed, withdrawing his gun and keeping it low by his leg. He extended a hand and helped her in. “Just stay behind me.”

  “Roger that,” she said in a condescending fashion followed by a quick salute.

  Sam made his way onto the landing area and pressed his back against the wall making sure to move carefully along the corridor. Before they reached the stairs, they came to a bedroom. It had a single bed inside, a wardrobe and a bedside table that had a Bible on it.

  Further down there was a main bedroom with a four-poster bed, a rug on the floor, and fresh wildflowers on top of a dresser. There was an excessive amount of flower patterns. The curtains, the bedspread, the rug on the floor and then there were doilies all over the furniture. Sam put a hand up to indicate for Anna to follow him.

  He checked the last bedroom before contemplating heading down. The whole place had an eerie feel to it like he’d stepped inside an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Slowly but surely he made his way down the staircase keeping his firearm close to his side but facing outward just in case.