After the EMP- The Chaos Trilogy

by Harley Tate

  Pain lanced her shoulder as Colt opened the wound and Dani squeezed her eyes shut against the tears. How Colt sat there while she poked and prodded him, she had no idea. All she could think about was ripping the tweezers from his hand and hurling them across the room.

  He poked something he shouldn’t have and all the air inside her lungs wheezed out in shock. A halo of black encircled the room. Ringing eclipsed Colt’s steady breathing.

  “Don’t pass out on me. I’m almost done.”

  Dani ground her teeth and dug her thumbnail into her palm.

  “Breathe. Even if it’s shallow. In and out.” Colt hunched closer. “I’ve got the bullet.”

  Dani concentrated on her breath. Her lungs sounded like a worn-out pair of Nikes with a hole in the sole, squeaking in and out. Colt grunted in satisfaction and sat up. In his hand a bloody pair of tweezers gripped a little metal slug, deformed from slamming into her flesh.

  “That’s it?” It seemed so small and pathetic.

  “Yep. Deadly little sucker if it hits you right.”

  She fell back on the couch. “Now you have to stitch me up, right?”

  He nodded. “Afraid so. The antibiotics will take care of the infection, so closing the wound is the best thing.”

  Dani steeled herself. “Do it.”

  Colt swabbed the skin around the wound before ripping open a suture kit. Euclid Avenue Veterinary was stamped across the front.

  “You’re using vet supplies?”

  He shrugged. “Why not? They’re just as good as human stuff. Probably more durable since dogs can be real jerks about stitches. Melody has a whole trauma kit in the kitchen. Doug said she used to carry it in the car in case she found a stray that needed help.”

  Colt pulled out the needle and thread and smiled. “Besides, it sure beats a strip of duct tape or some dental floss.”

  Dani nodded. He was right. “Thanks again for going to all this trouble.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze. “You’re welcome. Now brace yourself. This will hurt.”

  Colt was good on his word: the stitches hurt almost as bad as the tweezers look-and-find. But when he finished with a good cleanup and a fresh bandage, Dani could finally think. The pain ebbed to a consistent ache and she could handle it without fainting.

  A clean shirt sat on the edge of the couch and Dani picked it up before testing out her legs. She wobbled, but didn’t fall.

  “You sure you can walk?”

  She nodded. “I’m going to change.”

  Colt pointed. “The bathroom’s just past the stairs.”

  Dani thanked him and found the little room a minute later. She locked the door and faced herself in the mirror. Blood covered her ruined sweatshirt, smudged her face, and brought back memories of a Halloween party when she lived with Gran.

  All the kids came dressed in costume. Dani had been a ghost. Just a sheet with some eyes cut in it, but she’d had a blast, eating candy, dancing to silly music. One boy had gone all out: face makeup and effects to look like a zombie. Not too dissimilar to how Dani appeared now.

  She bit down on her cheek as she tugged off her clothes. Gran had been the only family she could count on. But now she had Colt. She cleaned the blood off her face and smiled. The world might have gone crazy, but she would be okay. Together they would make it.

  Knuckles rapped on the door and Dani jumped. “Get your clothes on quick. Harvey spotted a patrol.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  COLT

  Harper Residence

  Eugene, Oregon

  9:00 p.m.

  Dani hustled out of the bathroom wearing one of Melody’s T-shirts and a panicked expression. Colt ushered her over to the kitchen table where Doug, Harvey, and Will gathered.

  Harvey scrubbed at his face where a beard now began to grow. Finding his neighbor murdered and his wife missing took a toll on the man. He nodded at Colt. “They were coming from the south, no attempt to hide or play coy. Three Humvees, one with a turret.”

  Colt stared at the map Harvey brought with him from his house. “We have to assume they’re coming back to finish the job. Either someone tipped them off to our presence or—”

  “Melody and Gloria talked.” Doug pinched the back of his neck as he stared at the little lines zigzagging all over the map. “If they tortured my sister—”

  Colt held up a hand. “We’ll deal with it. But right now, we need to focus on not being captured or killed.” He tapped his finger on the intersection three blocks away. “What’s up this way?”

  “More neighborhood.” Harvey ran his finger down the street and paused at a blob of green. “This is a park. It’s not big, but it has quite a few trees. Some decent cover at night.”

  “Only if they aren’t using night vision.”

  Dani glanced up at Colt. “If they are?”

  “Then we’re screwed. They can see us two hundred yards away.”

  “Shit.” Doug leaned back and crossed his arms. “So we can’t use the dark to get out?”

  “It won’t matter if we’re dressed in all black and keeping to the shadows, current NVGs are almost as good as daylight.” He turned his attention back to the map. “Our best option is to find another place to hide. Somewhere they won’t be able to find us.”

  “Like a basement?”

  “Or an attic. A neighbor’s house they’ve already cleared. If we can get inside quickly and quietly, we should be able to hunker down and wait them out.” He pointed at the map. “A street or two away would be ideal.”

  Doug spoke up. “Lucas lives over here.” He pointed at a street much closer to campus. A mile away, at least. “He would take us in.”

  “It’s too far.”

  “But it’s closer to the University. We’ll be in a better position to rescue Melody and Gloria.”

  Colt glanced at Dani. “We aren’t well enough to travel that far.”

  “Yes, I am. I can make it.” She pinned him with those big, unflinching eyes of hers and Colt softened. Such a tough kid. He needed to protect her, not force her to run through the streets of Eugene with the army on their tail. “We need to figure out what they’re planning. We can’t just rush out of here and head straight for the lion’s den. For all we know they’re hoping we do exactly that.”

  Colt reached for his binoculars and handed them to Will. “Can you set up on Melody’s porch upstairs and watch the street? They won’t be as good as night vision, but your eyes should adjust quickly to the dark.”

  Will nodded and rushed up the stairs, binoculars in hand.

  Colt stared at the map in an attempt to memorize the streets and the best ways to make it to Lucas Shaw’s apartment. After satisfying himself, he clicked off the small lantern and plunged the first floor into darkness. “Now we wait and watch. As soon as we figure out what they’re up to, we can decide.”

  It didn’t take more than a minute for Will to come rushing down the stairs. Even in the dark, Colt could make out the whites around his irises. “We have to go, now!”

  “Why?”

  “They aren’t canvassing door-to-door. They’ve got a torch. I think they’re going to light something on fire.”

  Colt grabbed the binoculars from Will and rushed to the front window. He brought them up to his eyes and focused on the end of the street. A dark plume of smoke rose up at the edge of his vision, sparks of color visible at the edge of the horizon. Damn it.

  He put the binoculars down and turned to face everyone. “They’re trying to smoke us out.” So much for hunkering down in one place and riding out the neighborhood search. “Guess they didn’t like not finding us at home.”

  “What are we going to do?” Will’s voice cracked on the last word, but he stood firm at the edge of the table. Poor kid would have to grow up fast. Dani had already learned the hard truth about life before Colt met her, but Will… He’d been lucky.

  Doug offered a suggestion. “What if we split up? Two groups, one goes toward campus, one goes away.”
<
br />   “We’ll be too thin. There aren’t enough of us who can shoot and aren’t injured. Dani and I aren’t one hundred percent. Will hasn’t learned. We have no means of communication.” Colt scratched his head. “I say we leave, but all together.”

  Harvey shook his head. “We can’t just run. They’ll burn my house. Gloria’s garden. It’ll all go. I can’t let that happen. The garden was everything to Gloria.”

  Dani spoke up. “She doesn’t care about the garden, not the way you think.”

  Harvey started, shoulders bunching up as he came close to shouting at Dani. Colt held up a hand. “Let her finish.”

  “When we were shelling peas, we talked about it. She told me life was all about facing challenges and putting in the effort. That you couldn’t just sit back and watch life happen to you.” Dani swallowed and kept going. “When I asked if she’d leave everything behind, she said yes. She would want us to do the same thing.”

  Harvey blinked in rapid succession and eased into a chair. “That sounds like Gloria. Always looking forward, never back.” He cradled his forehead in his hand. “I’m the one who has trouble letting go.”

  Colt gave the older man a solid pat on the back. “You’re not the only one. But Dani’s right. We need to move. Staying here only increases the risk.”

  “Hand me the binoculars. I’ll check it out from the backyard. I built a berm back there for the pit toilet. It’s got enough of a rise to see over the fence.” Doug hustled out into the yard.

  A breeze blew in the open door and brought a whiff of smoke along with it. If they could smell it already, the blaze was large and unpredictable.

  Doug rushed back in, pale and disbelieving as he focused on Harvey. “Your house is on fire.”

  Harvey hung his head.

  “But not only yours. It looks like the army is out for vengeance. They’re lighting every house on the street. People are in the road. My friends. Neighbors. Some of them I haven’t seen in weeks. I thought they were gone.”

  Colt nodded. “What’s the army doing with them?”

  Doug shook his head. “Nothing. Ignoring them, mainly.”

  “How much time do we have?”

  “Minutes.” Doug glanced back at the yard. “They’re a few houses down, but it won’t be long. If we’re leaving, we need to go. Now.”

  “Then let’s do it.” Colt barked out orders. “Everyone grab some gear. Dani, hand out the rifles. Will, get Lottie in that traveling bag of Melody’s. Doug, sling that trauma bag on your shoulder. I packed a bag full of water, so I’ll get that.”

  “What about me?” Harvey stood on shaky legs.

  “You take the binoculars. We need you to tell us where to go.”

  In a matter of minutes, they were ready. Dani held a rifle in her good arm, Colt stood at the back door with a pack and his Sig, and the rest of the team followed behind. He motioned to go and Harvey took the lead, sneaking out the back and into the side yard.

  They worked in a pattern, zigzagging around bushes and fences and away from the fire. When they reached the intersection Colt had pointed out on the map earlier, they paused to regroup. The house on the corner offered near perfect protection with a gangly, vine-covered fence. Everyone except Colt crouched behind it.

  He took the binoculars and eased as close to the street as he dared. Doug was right. Neighbors in nightgowns and boxer shorts stood in the street, pointing and hugging each other. Fires leapt and danced across the roofs of at least four houses. Soon, it wouldn’t matter whether the army lit more fires or not; the flames would spread. The whole neighborhood might burn.

  They had to move. Somewhere the army would never expect to look for them. Somewhere they could set up camp and regroup before attempting a rescue mission. Colt hurried back to the group and found Doug in the shadows. “Can you get us to Lucas Shaw’s apartment?”

  Doug nodded.

  “Then lead the way. It’s as good a place as any.”

  Doug headed around the back of the house and out to the cross-street. Dani and Will followed, but Harvey hung back. Colt crept up to his side. “Is there a problem?”

  The older man frowned. “Gloria and I lived in that house for forty years.” He wiped at his eyes. “We raised our son there. Birthdays. Christmas. So many memories. Now there won’t be anything left but ashes.”

  Colt wrapped an arm around Harvey’s shoulder and squeezed. “But you’re still alive to remember. And so is your grandson and your wife. We’ll get her back, Harvey. But only if we run.”

  Harvey nodded and turned away from his life. Colt ushered him along and the pair caught up with Doug and the children.

  The rag-tag crew hustled away from Bellemeade Way, dodging bushes and fences and one abandoned play set after another. When they were five blocks from the street and the smell of smoke barely reached their noses, Doug slowed.

  “It’s a straight shot now right toward campus. If we get separated, Lucas is the brown three-story walk-up at the corner of Pope and Sinclair. Top floor.”

  Everyone nodded. They had to make it. They had no choice.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  MELODY

  University of Oregon Campus

  Eugene, Oregon

  9:00 p.m.

  Melody backed into the corner. The second the soldier shoved her into the room, she knew her day had gone from bad to horrible in an instant. They weren’t going to lock her in a hole. They weren’t going to forget about her in some dark, windowless room where she could sing to herself and count down the hours until someone rescued her.

  No. It was much, much worse.

  He shook a gaudy concoction of cheap silk and lace in her direction. “I said, take it and put it on.”

  She shook her head over and over. Pushed the heap of fabric away. “No! I won’t!”

  He threw it at her and it landed in a swoosh at her feet. He unholstered a handgun and pointed it dead center on Melody’s chest. “Do it or I shoot you.”

  She stared at his beady eyes, narrowed into slits. Greasy complexion, scruffy half-beard. Rank whiff of body odor. The National Guard wasn’t keeping up with its hygiene. Melody bent and picked up the dress. “Can you turn around? Please?”

  He flicked the gun barrel up and down. “And risk you doin’ somethin’ stupid? Not a chance.” He smirked. “Ain’t like I’m not gonna see in a minute, anyway.”

  She glanced around at the room. Bed in the middle all made up with sheets and pillows. Some college girl’s frilly pink blanket used as a curtain in the window.

  Melody swallowed. “Why do this? Why go to all this trouble if you’re just going to take what you want?”

  He motioned to her clothes and Melody unbuttoned her jeans. She wiggled out of them and picked up the dress.

  “You think all this is for you?” The soldier shook his head. “Naw, this is morale, babe. Got to keep all the guys workin’ somehow, right?”

  Melody stepped into the dress, one leg at time and shimmied the red fabric up her hips. She tucked it under her shirt and zipped it halfway up the back. “So this is, what? A brothel?” She couldn’t believe she even uttered the word.

  The soldier shrugged. “It’s whatever the colonel wants it to be.”

  Colonel Jarvis. The more she learned about him, the more Melody hated the man. She unhooked her bra and hoisted the dress up to cover her chest before yanking her clothes off. She zipped up the rest of the dress and looked down.

  It had to be a prop from some production the drama department put on at the campus theater. The skirt flared out around her in layers and the boning up the side mashed her breasts up toward her neck. It was ridiculous.

  She glanced up at the soldier. “Happy now?”

  “Gettin’ there.” He lowered the gun. “Kick your clothes this way.”

  Melody did as he asked. The longer she kept him talking, the longer she could delay the inevitable. “So where are you going to get all the women?”

  He laughed as he gathered her clothes a
nd shoved them in a hamper in the corner. “Anywhere.”

  “So that’s it? You’re just going to kidnap them?”

  “It’s worked other places.”

  “But this is the United States! Prostitution is illegal!”

  “Not anymore. Now it’s every man for himself.” The soldier puffed his chest out like he was proud of it.

  Melody pushed the issue. “Why listen to Jarvis, then? Why take orders when you can get out on your own?”

  The soldier scowled and opened his mouth, but he hung there, unsure what to say. After a moment he stormed toward her. “Shut up and get on the bed.”

  Melody backed away, sliding along the wall until her hip hit the mattress. She had to get out of there. She couldn’t let this happen.

  The soldier grabbed her by the arm and she batted at him, smacking his knuckles with her palm. He jerked her forward and she stumbled in the dress, almost falling on top of him.

  He reached for her hair, but Melody shied back, ducking as he swiped at the air.

  The door to the room burst open and Melody spun, hoping for salvation. But she saw the opposite. Her eyes went wide as his name slipped out. “Captain Ferguson.”

  He smiled, broad chest puffed, shoulders wide and open. “Ms. Harper. We meet again.”

  The other soldier hoisted her closer, but the captain shook his head.

  “Back off, Private. Officers first.”

  “But the colonel said—”

  “The colonel sent me to check on your progress. I’m telling you to leave. Go set up another room. We might have more lovely ladies joining us tonight.”

  Melody’s eyes went wide. “What did you do?”

  He grinned. “I’m afraid that’s classified.” Ferguson sauntered forward while the private stalked toward the door. As soon as it shut, the captain reached for her.

  Melody stumbled back until she hit the wall. There wasn’t anywhere left to go. She reached for the bed, scrabbling for anything to hold onto. Ferguson’s hand snaked around her waist. He pulled her close.