by Jack Hunt
“Is that a bad thing?”
He turned to her and ran a hand around her cheek. He pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear and pulled her in close. “There are too many people for me to think about. When it was just us, that was hard enough.”
“But you’ve come a long way. You have fewer nightmares at night, and even less panic attacks in the day.”
“Yeah but you heard Damon. Where he goes, I go.” He shook his head. “I never wanted to create a following, Rayna. I just wanted to get home to you and the kids. That was it. They just happened to be there at the same time.”
“Perhaps they were there for a reason. Maybe all of this has occurred for a reason. We don’t know. We don’t see the bigger picture.”
He grimaced. “I just don’t want to let any more people down.”
“It was Maggie’s idea to come here. You’re not letting anyone down. You simply agreed to tag along,” she said.
He laughed. “Oh that’s how you see it.” They dropped down to the ground and laid there. Rayna placed her head on his chest and they looked out across the water. She tapped his chest with her fingers.
“Give people some credit. They aren’t mindless slaves. If they wanted to leave they would. Take Clive for instance — he put his foot down, and Gary, who’s probably halfway to some FEMA camp by now. They all understood the pros and cons of traveling here. The rest of them, they just want to be with us. Why? I have no idea but maybe because in some way we’re a lot like family.”
“Yeah, a dysfunctional one,” Elliot said before chuckling. He raked his fingers through her hair and let the warm rays of the sun bathe his face. Rayna twisted over onto her belly and looked at him.
“Maybe we should leave the next step to the others then. Let them decide what they want to do. We could create our own camp in the forest or move to one of the closest towns. The beauty of this EMP is that we can go wherever we want. If we don’t like it here we can pick up tomorrow and head west, or go south and find a boat and sail.”
Elliot chewed over what she said.
“That’s it.”
“What is?” she asked.
“Why don’t we find a boat and sail? We can go south to Mexico or Argentina. We don’t have to stay here in this hellhole of a situation. There are other countries that weren’t hit.” She stared back at him.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Well think about it. Sure we can set up camp here or move to one of the towns or stay on the road but we are going to keep encountering desperate people. Hell, even if we found a group that wasn’t bent on torturing and killing people, others would come and attack and the fighting would just keep going. I’m tired of fighting, Rayna. I’m tired of living hand-to-mouth when there is a bigger world out there.”
“We can’t just sail to some other country. They have rules, laws, red tape.”
“We can if we are seeking asylum. Happens all the time. We roll up, they’ll hear our accents and instantly open their doors out of sympathy.”
“In Mexico?”
“Okay, maybe not Mexico but my point is we can go wherever we like. Heck, we don’t even have to leave the United States, we could just travel around the perimeter or go down to Jamaica until this shit storm is over.”
“You think it’s ever going to be over?”
“What happened to my optimist?”
She laughed and nuzzled her head into his chest. They laid there for close to an hour enjoying the privacy and much-deserved break from the group. After being cooped up in a truck and on the road for five days, even the smallest break felt good.
“I’ve been thinking about Gary. You know, what we told him about Jill. I think we should tell him the whole story.”
“Why? We’ve already discussed this. It’s only going to cause additional problems we don’t need. In his mind Jill died trying to protect you. All we left out was the part about you trying to help a woman and Jill wanting you to leave it. How’s that going to help?”
“It was my fault, Elliot.”
“No it wasn’t. You can’t put all that on you. This whole event has caused us to make decisions. We don’t know the outcome of anything we do until it’s done. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. We’ve learned from our choices. Some have cost us, but most have made us stronger.”
She sighed. “Still. I think he should know.”
Elliot took a deep breath. “Well if you must then let’s hope to God he handles it well.”
“There is one other thing.”
She looked at him then diverted her eyes. “I didn’t tell you everything that happened in that apartment.”
Elliot shook his head. “You don’t need to.”
“But…”
“Rayna. Like I said, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Let’s leave it at that.”
He knew what she was going to say. Drugged, stripped of her clothes, it didn’t take much of an imagination to figure out why two tweakers had handed her over. Elliot didn’t want the details anymore. It would have only pained him.
“Come on, we should get back. They’ll be wondering where we’ve got to.”
They rose and brushed off the dirt and wrapped their arms around each other and made their way back through the thick woods.
“Wouldn’t you miss all this?” Rayna asked. “I mean if we live on the water.”
“Oh yeah, I’d miss the constant threats on our life, the shitty food and bugs biting my skin,” he said with a grin on his face. On the way back they discussed all manner of things related to their relationship. Since the EMP everything had been moving at 200 miles an hour not giving them enough time to catch their breath.
Elliot pushed back some of the heavy branches so she could make her way through. Rayna cracked a joke as they came out into the clearing to find no one there.
“Lily?” Rayna called out.
“Damon,” Elliot said.
At first they figured that perhaps they’d gone for a stroll in the woods as the campground looked exactly the same way as they’d left it. The fire in the pit was still burning, their bags were untouched which would usually indicate they hadn’t been forced to leave. However, as the minutes passed, a sinking feeling started to form in the pit of Elliot’s stomach. A flash of memory from the conversation with Mack.
“Yeah, maybe I am but at least it won’t cost us our lives.”
“I wouldn’t bank on that.”
Was he behind this? Their voices became more panicked as they yelled out names. “Maggie, Jesse, Brianna?”
Elliot and Rayna darted in and out of trees scanning the area, looking for any sign of them but there was nothing. There wasn’t a sound except for the rustle of leaves and the babble of a stream nearby.
“Let’s go!” Elliot said unslinging his rifle and making sure he had enough ammo. Both of them ran through the woods back to Mack’s camp. Elliot was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check.
Everything had worked out perfectly. Mack trudged back to the camp with a smile on his face. His goal wasn’t to kill them all but to throw them off their game. He wanted to keep sending the message that people would die if Shelby didn’t leave the compound. Brent slung his rifle over his back. “Did you see the look on their faces? It was priceless.”
“At least that’s one truck they no longer can use,” Ray added.
“They’ll come for us, you know that, Mack,” Tatum said glancing at him.
“I’m banking on it. When we get back I want another thirty people on the perimeter. Things are going to get hot. And Morgan, those traps you made. Make sure they’re operational. I want to be ready when he shows up.”
“You really think he’ll come into these woods?”
“No. He won’t but the others might.”
They jogged the rest of the way back to camp with a renewed sense of confidence. It had been a long road towards getting all his ducks in a row, but he now felt they stood a chance. One of the bigge
st advantages they had was living in the forest. Unlike Shelby who had to leave the security of the walls to seek them out, they’d had months to become familiar with the woods, to plant traps and to prepare for a battle. He wanted Shelby to step into his world; he wanted to see the look on his face as his men were taken out one by one. He wanted to slowly pick away at those around him until his confidence was shaken and then and only then would he capture and punish him for what he’d done to his family.
Mack was in the middle of a discussion with Brent on implementing a strategic attack as they came back into the camp. He could hear a commotion, and a crowd had formed near the main clearing at the heart of the base.
“What’s going on?”
Before he could register, Elliot shot out from among the faces and lunged at him, clasping a hand around his throat and tackling him to the ground. “Where are they?”
It happened so fast. One second he was standing, the next laying on the ground choking. It took three of his men to pull Elliot off. Rifles were raised and shouting ensued.
“Enough!” Mack yelled as he climbed to his feet. “Lower your weapons.”
There was hesitation so he said it again even louder.
Rubbing his throat he stared at Elliot who was being restrained by Brent and Morgan.
“What did you do with them, you bastard?” Elliot asked.
Mack cleared his throat and his brow furrowed. “Who?”
“My kids, Damon, Jesse, Maggie, the rest of them. Where are they?”
“I didn’t take anyone. We just got back from attacking Shelby’s group.”
They exchanged a glare and Elliot looked as if he was at a loss for words.
“Let him go,” Mack said. They released him and he approached Elliot. “Tell me what happened.”
“You’re what happened. Did you honestly think you could torture a man and send him back without reaping the consequences of your actions?”
Mack leaned into him. “What I choose to do is my business. Now any other person who did what you just did would be dead by now. So I would advise you to choose your next words carefully.”
Elliot clenched his jaw. His hands balled. “They’re gone.”
Mack looked over to Brent. “Take a few people and go see what you can find out.”
“I’m on it.”
Brent pointed to several women and men in the crowd and they followed him out of the clearing. “Where’s Calvin?”
“He left a few hours ago,” a woman behind them said. “With one of his friends.”
“Gary,” Elliot said, filling in the blanks.
“Why?” Mack asked.
“He wants to go to a FEMA camp.”
Mack snorted. “I keep telling you people, you are playing with fire.” He looked at Elliot. “I told you if you went out by yourself it could cost you your lives. Shelby is on edge.”
“Oh, and I wonder why?” Elliot said. “Have you thought for one damn minute about anyone else here?” He turned around to face them. “Or are you only driven by your need for revenge?”
Mack shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you? Whether we do something or nothing at all, eventually Shelby’s men will find us. At least this way we do it on our terms. We bring the war to them. No waiting. Waiting gets you killed.”
“Waiting might have prevented my kids from being taken,” Elliot hollered.
“You blame me for that?” He snorted. “Where were you?”
Elliot shook his head and breathed in deeply trying to calm his nerves.
Mack looked at Rayna but didn’t follow through with another question. He could see how torn up they were. A flood of memories hit him from the day his family was taken. It didn’t take much to be back there. He could close his eyes and in seconds see their naked bodies lying in a ditch. The brutality was so savage he’d struggled to sleep for months. Even now he only lived on five hours a night. Any more than that and the guilt ate him up. He recalled the fight he’d had with his wife the night before — and the final words spoken to his daughter. The promises he’d made. The failure he felt as a father, a husband and a protector. It was what drove him on. It was what made him strike back without even a smidgen of guilt. He wanted Shelby to suffer the way he had. He wanted him to know what it felt like to be stripped of all he held dear. It was the reason why he was prepared to die if it meant killing Shelby.
Elliot dropped his chin and Mack placed a hand on his shoulder.
Clive stepped in and joined them. A look of surprise on his face, confusion even.
Mack’s eyes bounced from Elliot’s to Rayna.
“We’ll get them back. I promise.”
Chapter 9
Blindfolded. Prodded. Shoved forward like cattle, Jesse climbed out of the truck only seeing a thin sliver of the world beneath the material. They had been strong-armed away like animals. Threats were made. Accusations piled on top of them. They hadn’t heard the armed group surround them. It was fast, unexpected and then what followed was a lot of yelling to get on the ground. Wrists were zip tied, eyes were covered and then they were hauled up and led away like some kind of war criminals.
A door creaked open. The ground changed from bright daylight to darkness as he was pushed onto his knees. A door slammed.
“Maggie? You there?”
“Yeah,” she replied.
“Damon?”
“Here,” he replied.
At least that gave him some relief.
“Where the hell are we?”
“New Hope Springs,” a stranger’s voice said. He heard someone shuffling towards him then his blindfold was ripped off his head. He blinked a few times then looked up at a tall, athletic-looking fella with deep-set brown eyes. He had a number of scars on his face. “The name’s Ryan Hayes, and you are?”
“Jesse Michaels.”
He moved from Jesse to the others and one by one removed their blindfolds.
“You are all guests of Frank Shelby, his brother John and his band of assholes,” Ryan said, removing the last of the material from behind Evan’s eyes. “Now do you want to tell me how you wound up here? As this is definitely a first.”
“Oh so he’s not in the habit of kidnapping people by gunpoint. Wow. I feel special,” Damon said, looking around the place. It was a dark, dingy room with no windows. It was solid, like an internal room in a larger building. The walls were made from breezeblocks covered in cream paint and the flooring was laminate made to look like hardwood. A small amount of light coming from beneath the door allowed them to see who was before them. “Now you want to get me out of this zip tie? It’s cutting into my skin.”
“Yeah, it will do that,” Ryan said walking across the room and returning with a knife to cut the ties. Damon gave him a confused look.
“Hold on a second. You have a knife? Why haven’t you used it?”
“You all have a lot to learn. How about we save your questions for after story time? Sound good?” Ryan said sarcastically. “Now, you want to tell me who you are and how you ended up here?”
Jesse stood up and rubbed the skin around his wrists. “Where do we begin?”
“Preferably at the start.”
Damon leaned against the wall. “I’ll take this, Jesse. We came from Lake Placid after hearing the message that was being broadcast about a safe zone. Obviously false advertising but that’s neither here nor there. When we got here a few of us scoped out the compound and were about to commit the terrible mistake of entering when we were kidnapped by another group. Yeah, seems kidnapping is all the rage nowadays.” He snorted. “Note to self… plan a kidnapping. Anyway, we came to discover those people were just as mentally unstable as the good folks of New Hope Springs. Which reminds me. Is there something in the water?”
“No. Why?”
“Because everyone we’ve met so far is a serious asshole.”
Jesse rolled his eyes. “What my friend is trying to say is that were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“What cam
p were you taken to?” Ryan asked.
“Well it was…”
“Don’t tell him,” Damon said, cutting Jesse off. “We have no idea who he is or whether or not he’s in cahoots with these assholes.”
“Good point,” Jesse added.
“How about you tell us who you are and how you came to be here?” Damon asked.
Ryan brought them up to speed on how he’d arrived there with his brother and father, the raid by the Shelbys and their attempt to take them out from the inside.
“And you expect us to believe that horseshit?” Damon asked.
Ryan ran a hand over his eyes and called out to someone in the dark. “Tim. You want to help me out here?”
Another man with a thick beard emerged from the darkness. He staggered forward looking like he hadn’t slept in days. There were dark circles under sullen eyes, and the skin of his cheeks was gaunt and clinging to the bone.
“Anyone else back there?” Damon asked craning his neck past Tim.
“Just us.” He cast a glance at Ryan. “He’s telling the truth. Since they arrived they have been implementing their own set of rules that everyone has to abide by if they want to be fed. It’s nothing but forced labor.”
“So do you have the branding?” Maggie asked.
“Branding?” Their eyes darted between them.
Before Maggie could explain Damon piped up. “Man, I could kill for a cigarette. One of those bastards out there stole mine.” Damon walked over to the thick door and started banging on it with his fist.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tim said. “They don’t take too kindly to it. Believe me. I tried.”
Damon backed away. Ryan looked back at Maggie.
“Branding? What are you on about?”
“One of the people from the camp. A guy by the name of Calvin said he was branded. He said something about an inner circle and being branded with the initials TDF. Not sure what that stands for.”
“Texas Defense Force,” Ryan said shaking his head and going over to the door. “This is getting worse by the day. I need to speak to Samuel.”
“Okay, and who’s that?” Jesse asked.
