“We need spike strips,” Rafe said.
“Two sets, I think,” Alex added.
“One in front of the lead vehicle and if any vehicles try to pass it. And one at the end, so they can’t reverse,” Max said, catching on to the plan.
“Any highway patrol car or office is going to have those. If they weren’t scavenged already,” Rafe said.
“You mean you don’t already have those in your pocket, brother?” Max asked.
“Actually, little sister, I have a few sets back home. But we are clearly not going all the way back there.”
Max let out a little laugh and then got quiet as Alex jumped out of the truck.
“Going to let Margaret know what we’re doing, so she doesn’t get confused that we didn’t return. Then we go find what we need,” she said.
Rafe pulled out the maps he had, trying to find any markings for police. He couldn’t seem to find what he was looking for, so he tossed them on the dash. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for Alex, anxious to get moving. When Alex climbed into the front seat, she didn’t have a seatbelt on before Rafe began to drive.
They decided they needed to chance going into the small city. They would have some sort of police station. They just needed to find it. Most of the time places like that had signs indicating where they were and they just hoped they found that. It wasn’t like the Duncans to go into a plan blind, but their choices were limited.
The city came into view not long after they drove out of their chosen neighborhood. The main street was completely clogged with carnage, and Rafe pulled into a strip mall parking lot to avoid as much of it as he could. When he pulled onto a smaller road to circle around, a small crowd of infected stumbled from the next street, drawn by the vehicle's sound.
Rafe turned to avoid the group. They weren’t there to clear the city of the undead. After winding around the blocked areas, they turned to pull back on the main road. Max looked back toward the main road and something caught her attention.
“Stop!” She cried.
Rafe slammed on the breaks, without question and looked back at Max. She pointed back. Both Rafe and Alex looked through the back window and they all studied what caught Max’s gaze. Police lights could be seen in the middle of one of the accidents, a car trapped by others that seemed to have crashed into it.
“We should check it,” Max said.
“Those infected could find their way over here,” Alex said.
“Then we need to be quick,” Rafe said. He threw the truck in reverse and went back until he was almost touching bumpers with the first accident.
The three of them piled out of the truck, weapons at the ready. The smell of roadkill hit Max’s nose and she coughed once. The looks on Alex and Rafe’s faces said they also smelled it. They began to wind through the vehicles. They came to a complete blockage and Max jumped on the hood of a sedan. A banging from inside stopped her from climbing over. She crouched low and saw what was causing the noise. An infected was inside, the windows all up. But the movement of the Duncans had incited it into a frenzy.
Max was confident the infected wasn’t a threat to them so she dismissed it and continued her climb. Rafe and Alex followed closely, and they hopped from the sedan to the next small car that was crashed into it. This one was empty, though the windows had been busted and dried blood splattered the inside of the windshield.
They were two accidents from the police vehicle when Rafe’s curse stopped Max. He had been walking by an open window and an infected’s arm suddenly appeared, reaching for him. The body was crushed between two cars and Max had passed it, thinking it was dead. However, the chance at a meal had awoken it from whatever dormant phase it was in.
Rafe didn’t hesitate to end it before joining his sisters again.
“Did it get you?” Alex asked.
“No,” he replied.
“Then why are you yelling?” Max asked. Rafe didn’t answer, and Max had to cover her mouth as she laughed.
“It scared you, didn’t it?” She asked.
“No,” Rafe said, glaring at his sister.
“Aww, poor Rafey got scared of the infected that couldn’t even move,” Max taunted.
“It did not,” Rafe replied, reaching to punch Max in the arm. She danced back to avoid the blow.
“Lord, save me from bratty younger siblings,” Alex lamented to the sky.
“Nope. You’re stuck with us,” Max said, in a sing song voice.
“Keep going, big mouth” Rafe said, pointing toward the police cruiser.
They arrived at their goal without another incident. Luckily, the police car was empty. Though a quick glance inside Max confirmed the weapons were all taken. She pictured the cop getting into the accident but getting out to keep fighting whatever was trying to eat people. She wanted to imagine the cop went down in some blaze of glory, though she knew he likely was eaten and turned into an infected shortly after it all started.
Rafe opened the driver’s side door from the inside and looked around until he found a lever to pop the trunk. The cop had clearly taken whatever extra weapons he found there because there was little left. But Rafe popped open a black box and showed his sisters.
“Score. One set down,” he said.
They were able to get back to Rafe’s truck without any additional problems. Just as Max climbed in, she heard a commotion from behind them. The group of infected they had attracted had entered the main street area. However, they were in the middle of the accidents and began trying to fight through cars to get to the Duncans. When they bounced off vehicles, they would spin and try a different direction, only finding another dead end. A few found a way to squeeze through the first barrier and began to work on the next one.
“Time to go,” Max called.
“Yup, I see them. Maybe we’ll find another cruiser nearby, so we can head back. I’m not sure we want to keep searching for a station,” Rafe said.
They drove down the small city main street slowly. Many of the businesses were blackened shells, windows shattered, the insides black skeletons of their former glory. Some of the buildings were brick and stood strong against whatever assault came their way. But the goods inside didn’t fare as well.
“Maybe we should stop there?” Alex said, pointing to a company that boasted sales of bulk water supplies. The windows were broken, but it wasn’t burnt to hell like some of the others.
Rafe nodded and pulled into the parking lot. The lot was empty of vehicles, but there were signs of people passing through. Trash littered the area. A bloody shirt was hanging from a pole in the parking lot. Max eyed it thoughtfully, wondering what the story was with its placement there. Max opened her door once Rafe had backed the truck up to the storefront.
The three Duncans cautiously approached the broken windows. Rafe tapped the metal frame, listening for any movement. When no sounds came from the store, they ducked in, careful to not catch themselves on jagged pieces of glass that were still stuck in the window frame.
The business had been ransacked, but it was hard to tell what people were actually looking for. Desk drawers were pulled out and the contents were strewn across the floor. Chairs were overturned and cubicle walls were knocked down. However, when they made their way to the back, the back room was locked. Rafe pulled his kit from his back pocket and kneeled down to look at the lock.
“Why make such a mess?” Alex mused.
“I’m not sure anyone cares about trashing anything, anymore,” Max replied.
“Maybe they were looking for cash. Not that it would do them any good now,” Alex said.
“Could have happened early on, when things like gas were still being sold?” Max guessed.
“A lot of scenarios we could come up with.” Alex replied.
The click of the lock had them turning back to the door with Rafe. He knocked on the door first and waited. No banging or telling sounds came from the room. Rafe carefully cracked open the door and listened. Max sniffed, not abl
e to smell anything that would indicate the dead. Rafe looked back and nodded, and both sisters readied themselves.
The three rushed into the door with flashlights raised. As soon as they entered, they spread out near the door, searching the corners they could see. Rafe let out a low whistle as they took in the boxes that were stacked in the room. The room was lit by a dim skylight above and the light illuminated cases of water stacked against two walls. Five-gallon bottles lined the opposite wall. The middle was full of boxes that looked like sales material.
Max grinned at Alex, knowing this find would take some of the stress off of them. Rafe propped open the storage room door. They quickly decided that one person would always stay with the truck, while the other two brought out the waters. They couldn’t risk someone finding and stealing what they needed.
Alex stayed with the truck first, while Max and Rafe carried cases of water out. While they loaded, Alex went back in and came out with a jug over her shoulder. Max loaded the bottle, while Rafe went back in. Max waited with the truck until Alex and Rafe returned again. And so the rotation continued until the truck bed was stacked two deep of cases of water. The back seat was full of five-gallon jugs and the last two had to fit in the front seat area or Max had nowhere to sit.
They were all squeezed back in the truck with the water, looking at each other comically.
“I’m not sure we should keep driving around. We need to take this back to the group,” Rafe finally said.
“Agreed,” Alex replied.
“I think I can just make a spike strip at the house. I just need a hose, nails, and a hammer,” Max added.
“Will it do the job?” Alex asked.
“Jeez, I appreciate your confidence, big sister,” Max replied dryly.
“Max…” Alex said.
“Ok, ok. Look, I think we use the cop one at the front. The homemade one can go at the back. Hopefully, they don’t go backward. If they do, yes, I think it will work,” Max replied.
Alex nodded agreement. Max had an idea in her head, and she was fairly confident in her skills of chaos. And getting the water back where they could keep it safe was most important. Rafe had to drive slowly to be sure the water cases in the back didn’t shift. Also, Max was at risk of being crushed by the tower of jugs they had created in the backseat.
At the exit of the parking lot, Rafe drummed his fingers on the steering wheel while he studied a map.
“We need to go back a different way, avoid the main drag. That group of infected could catch up to us,” Rafe said when Alex asked why he had stopped.
“There’s only one road that leads into the neighborhood,” Max commented.
“Thanks, Max. I can seem to still read a map,” Rafe replied.
Max flopped back in the seat and instantly regretted it as the water jugs squeaked against one another as they shifted. She put her hands up defensively until she was sure they were going to stay put. Alex smothered a laugh that Max still caught and as the characteristic younger sister, Max stuck out her tongue.
“I don’t want to hang out with you anymore. You’re mean to me,” Max whined.
“Lord, how old are we now?” Alex asked.
Rafe didn’t join the banter as he seemed to have found where he wanted to go. He turned them away from the way they had come. After a few blocks, he circled around into another neighborhood before turning back toward their home base. The drive definitely took longer on the return, but they did seem to avoid the trouble of a large group of infected.
Max studied the neighborhoods as they drove there. So much chaos and destruction could be seen everywhere. A war had been waged on the streets of these small neighborhoods, and the living hadn’t had a chance. It gave her a pit in her stomach when she saw large splashes of blood in one driveway, a child’s car seat not far away. She hoped whoever had the child had been able to run.
When they pulled up to their two houses, Cliff and Smith were outside with the garage open. They were stacking supplies inside and stopped when they saw the load the Duncans brought back. Cliff even had a smile on his face, which was very uncommon for him. They immediately got to work stacking the waters in Max’s truck in the garage. That way, if they had to leave quickly most of it was already ready to go.
They moved a few of the five-gallon jugs to the back cooking area for Margaret. She was overjoyed and instructed Smith to get the solar shower set up as well. The man nodded and ran off to get the supplies. They were all ready to get somewhat clean. Max had been tempted to jump into the cold Pacific just to feel refreshed. Handi Wipes helped, but they couldn’t clean everything.
Max stopped at the supplies Cliff and Smith had brought into the garage. There were a lot of canned goods, which was a good addition to their food stores. What caught Max’s attention the most was the fresh vegetables in a paper bag. She was rifling through the contents when Smith came in with his arms full of the solar shower parts.
“We found a garden. Cool, right? It was pretty overgrown, probably leftover from last year or something. But we picked everything edible,” he said.
“This is fantastic. Was it far? Maybe we could work on it, while we’re here?” Max asked.
“Cliff said the same thing. He weeded it while we were there. Not sure if it will produce more, but the tomatoes were pretty overwhelming,” Smith replied.
“Maybe Margaret can make some sort of tomato soup. We could all use the vitamins,” Max said.
Margaret agreed completely when Max brought her the idea. The older woman’s eyes lit up at the sight of all the fresh vegetables in the bag. Max left her to work her magic. Things were falling into place with the supplies and it felt good to feel on solid ground. Max had her own plans to complete.
In the garage, Max was happy to find a box of large nails and a hammer. Looking around the outside of the house, she found a long green hose hooked up to the outside spout. After unhooking it, she took it back to the garage. One side of the garage had a small work bench, perfect for hammering nails.
She found a pair of heavy-duty shears and cut off both ends of the hose to make it easier to work with. Starting at one end, she carefully hammered the nail through the two tough layers of hose. She alternated nails pointing each direction on the hose, what would be forward, back and straight up. Whoever laid it would need to make sure it was right side up, but no matter which way the tires were going, they should catch the nails.
By the time the entire hose was full of nails, Max had only hit her hand twice and cut herself once. She counted that as a win for her own self-preservation. She laid out the hose and was inspecting her work when Alex joined her. They both studied each of the nails, to ensure they were wedged tightly into the hose.
Once satisfied, Max leaned against the bumper of her truck. Alex nodded and joined her.
“Nice work. That’s more sturdy than I was picturing,” Alex said.
“Yeah. I think it’ll do the job. Laying it out won’t be as easy as the cop one. But gotta work with what we got,” Max replied.
“Where did you learn to do that? Did Dad teach you?”
“Nope. YouTube,” Max laughed. Alex joined her.
“I’m not going to ask what made you look on YouTube for spike strips,” Alex said.
“Well, there was this one neighbor who used to drive like a moron at my apartment complex. If I thought I could have gotten away with it, I would have done it.”
Alex laughed again and gave Max a side hug.
“You never disappoint, little sister,” Alex said.
“I do try. I’m here for your entertainment. Pretty sure that’s why our parents had me,” Max replied.
“Thank god for that,” Alex said, standing up. “Margaret said a fresh soup would be ready for an early dinner. She’s also unwrapping the last of her homemade bread to celebrate the new place, I guess. Don’t be late. I’m not saving you any.”
“I’ll be there soon. Need to find Griffin and Jack,” Max replied.
She found fat
her and daughter sitting on the dock, exactly where she figured they would be. Max wondered how long they had been out there. Griffin was sitting in a chair, his crutches leaned against it, rifle across his lap. Jack’s feet hung over the edge of the dock, but her legs weren’t quite long enough to reach the water.
“Don’t fall in, kiddo, pretty sure there are lots of sharks around here,” Max called when she got close.
“Mom, the water is so nice to watch! When did you get back?”
“Have you guys been down here this whole time?” Max asked Griffin.
“It’s been a few hours, I think,” Griffin replied, smiling up at her.
Max leaned down and gave him a quick kiss before joining Jack. Max’s boots almost submerged into the water, so she crossed her legs Indian style. She stared out over the blue gray water. Their view was blocked by fog that seemed to just sit a mile or so off the coast. But it was peaceful sitting there, no boats or vehicle noises to break the sounds of the water lapping against the dock.
She relaxed for a few minutes before insisting they head up to the early dinner. Max let Jack run ahead. Her hair bounced all over the place and Max knew combing it later was going to be hell. Griffin started crutching up the dock and Max walked closely behind, picturing a crutch slipping and Griffin going into the ocean. When they reached the deck, Max let out a breath, but didn’t let Griffin know she was worried.
Margaret was in the middle of instructing Cliff, Smith, and Rafe to put together all the outdoor tables. Everyone was bundled up in their warmest clothes, and Margaret insisted on dinner with some fresh air. No one was going to argue with her. Everyone else bustled around grabbing chairs and bringing a case of water out so everyone could have a bottle with dinner.
Once they all sat down, Alex was at the head of the table with Billie and Henry on either side of her. Liam sat with Easton and Candace down one side of the first table. Rafe, Charlie, and Aiden were across from them. Max, Jack, and Griffin sat at a circle table off to one side, with Margaret, Issac, Cliff, and Smith around another. They were as close together as they could be for such a large group.
Sundown Series | Book 5 | Vengeance Page 28
