About ten minutes from the barricade of cars, Rose pulled off to the side of the road. She happened upon a dirt-pull off that wasn’t heavily forested around it. Rose drove her Humvee into the pull-off, off the side onto the grass, and up into the woods. Rose was able to pull in about three car lengths before she encountered a tree that she couldn't get around or over and called that deep enough. Using her headlights to illuminate the area, Rose gathered brush and tree limbs and set about covering the Humvee and the path it’d made as much as possible. Rose figured that it’d likely be seen on close inspection, but would probably be missed if you were just driving or walking by.
Rose shut off the headlights of the Humvee and gathered what supplies she’d need to scout the town. Rose slung her AR-15 over her shoulder and around her back, put several magazines of ammunition in the pockets of her pants, put on her holsters, grabbed both handguns and holstered them, and grabbed her flashlight. Rose was ready to go, but thinking better of it, took a minute to change her clothes. Rose had been wearing her “range uniform” for days. It stunk of sweat and blood and she needed a fresh outfit. Plus, the nights were getting colder and Rose had no idea how long she’d be gone. Rose took out a new breathable undershirt and a black sweatshirt from her backpack, pulled both over her head, and then put on a new pair of pants with cargo pockets after peeling off the old pants. Rose then rearmed herself and refilled her pockets with ammo. Locking up the Humvee, she hid the key under a back tire before setting off on foot toward Paimpol. The walk back to the town was much easier than her hike to Estcourt Station had been. Rose had decided to use the road this time so she could stay quiet and use the darkness to her advantage. This night felt different from the previous night. It was still quiet but there wasn’t a sense of fear and urgency hanging over her as she walked alone. Something had changed in her at that base. Rose was no longer afraid of death. She respected it, but at the same time, she was determined to avoid it at all costs. Rose felt empowered by this and was growing more confident in her ability to survive.
It took Rose about a half hour to cover the distance back to the barricade as she was extra cautious not to make a sound. As she approached the mass of cars, she unslung her rifle and held it ready. The barricade appeared as abandoned and unmoving as it had been when she’d first happened upon it. However, Rose decided to err on the side of caution and didn't approach it. Instead she crept off into the woods and slowly made her way around it.
The darkness was thick and dense in the woods, but there was an almost full moon which cast a dim gloom over the wilderness and helped her see slightly. Rose was extra cautious to not make a sound and avoid as many twigs cracking under her feet as possible. Rose had crept just about even with the barricade when she noticed a small pile of brush just ahead of her that seemed to be out of place. Rose crept up to the small pile and knelt down to examine it. Rose didn't want to light up the whole forest by turning on her flashlight so she took out her cell phone and illuminated the screen. The battery was nearly dead and Rose was half-surprised it was still working at this point. Rose held the illuminated phone close to the pile, then lightly blew away the leaves. Underneath the leaves was what appeared to be a mine. Rose didn't have much experience with mines, but figured this is what it had to be. Attached to the top was a wire. In the dim light, Rose could see the wire went off in the direction of the barricade and Rose could faintly make out several more piles between her and the closest car in the pile blocking the road. Hazarding detection, Rose took out her flashlight and briefly shined it in the direction the wire continued on away from the barricade. Rose could see piles extending out for some distance in a straight line. Someone had built the barricade and the string of mines as a apparent first line of defense for the town. Rose carefully crept over the line of mines and slowly made her way past the barricade being mindful for more covered piles. She could see the road through the treeline she was creeping through and it appeared to be deserted.
A couple hundred yards beyond the barricade, Rose came to a stop next to a large tree. She was getting close to the town now and could see some lights in the distance. It was too far to make out what the light was coming from, but it was there nonetheless. Rose was about to leave the tree and creep back toward the road when she saw movement coming toward her. It appeared to be two people walking side by side in the center of the road. One was smoking a cigarette as Rose could see the end light up from time to time as they got closer. Rose could also hear them talking, but what they were saying was lost over the distance. Rose stood perfectly still and watched the two as they approached. The one smoking appeared to be a man wearing a baseball cap. Next to him appeared to be a woman with a long ponytail coming from the back of her head. Both appeared to not be in any hurry so it didn't appear they knew Rose was there. It was likely just a routine patrol. That gave Rose pause. “If members of the town are patrolling, that means that they haven’t been overrun” Rose mused as she watched the two pass. The two were just passing her now and headed on toward the barricade. In the dim light, Rose guessed that both were probably no older than 20. The girl laughed softly and elbowed the boy. “Stop it!” she said in a way that Rose thought she probably meant the exact opposite. Rose felt the weight of her rifle in her hands and considered shooting both, but being this close to town and the night being so quiet, people in town would likely be alerted. Better for Rose to just sneak in, get her gas, and sneak out. Then she could leave this place behind and continue on, the town being none the wiser.
Once the couple had gotten far enough away, Rose continued to creep through the woods. Moving closer to the road but still inside the woodline, Rose was able to move slightly faster. Before long, she was right outside the closest buildings in town. The lights Rose had seen were coming from large spotlights set up in front of another large barricade of burned cars. Rose could see numerous guards at the base of the cars, in bunkers along the top of the barricade, and numerous people beyond it. Rose moved deeper into the woods in an effort to circumvent the barricade like the way she did with the last one. She was careful about more mines, but didn’t find any. Rose continued into the woods 200 yards to the side of the barricade, parallel to the town. She figured this would be far enough away from the guards at the barricade that she could now start to make her way into the town. Rose turned and started to make her way towards the town, mindful not to make any sounds.
Rose had only gone about ten steps when she heard the distinctive crunch of a twig breaking under someone’s foot. Rose froze concentrating on where the sound had come from. She didn’t hear anything which told her that the other person realized their mistake as well. Rose continued to stand frozen in an effort to outwait the other person in the woods. A tense minute went by before Rose heard the soft shuffling of someone trying to move very quietly nearby. Based on the rhythm of the steps, Rose could tell he or she was coming right toward her from in front of her and off to her right. Rose very carefully sidestepped behind the closest tree and waited. They were getting into pre-dawn hours now and while it was by no means bright out, it was lighter than it’d been before and would only continue to get lighter. Rose would only be able to avoid detection for another hour or so at the most before having to give up and either move on or try again the next night. Before that, though, Rose would have to deal with the other person in the woods.
Rose could tell the person was getting a lot closer and he or she would be coming upon the tree she was behind momentarily. Rose carefully and silently unslung her rifle from her shoulder, held it in both hands, and then drew her arms back across her chest toward her right shoulder. In theory, when the other person came by her, she’d knock them out with the butt of the rifle, head into town, get her gas and get out. Rose held her breath as the other person steadily got closer. She couldn’t tell if the person was making less of an effort to be quiet or that she was so focused on the person’s movements that it just sounded louder to her. Tense and ready to strike, the person seemed almost close
enough for her to touch. Just before the person was within striking distance, the footsteps stopped. A rush of adrenaline shot through Rose’s veins. Had she been spotted? Not waiting to find out the answer, Rose tensed her legs and prepared to strike out instead of waiting.
Rose focused on the last place she’d heard the other person-and then heard movement to her right. Rose turned her head, but too late. Another person had crept up behind her, completely silent using their partner as a distraction. The last thing Rose remembered before the man’s fist connected with her jaw were the night vision goggles on his face.
Chapter 11
Rose awakened in a haze. She had no idea where she was but she knew she wasn’t in the woods any more. From what Rose could tell, she was in a basement of a house. There were several windows that were letting in late-day sun, but they were typical basement windows, tiny. Or at least she thought it was late-day sun. Late day or early morning, one of the two. Either way, it’d been some time that she’d been unconscious. Remembering the glimpse of the man who’d knocked her out and his night vision goggles, she felt foolish. What better way to patrol the woods at night then with night vision? And if these people were military, they’d have easy access to them.
Rose sat up on the cot she’d been lying on and her head swam. Feeling dizzy, she let her head flop back down onto the pillow. Rose could feel that the right side of her face was swollen to the touch. She could see out of both eyes, but the right one was a little fuzzy. Looking around the basement, Rose noticed it was almost completely empty. In the far corner, there was a hot water heater and a furnace but otherwise there was nothing beside the cot she was lying on, the pillow under her head, and a wooden chair with a plate of food and a glass of water. Rose also noticed that she wasn’t handcuffed or bound in any way. As far as she could tell, she could move around the basement as she pleased. Glancing beyond the pillow on the cot, Rose saw a set of stairs that led up out of the basement, unguarded and empty.
Rose tried sitting up again and still felt dizzy, but this time cradled her head in her hands and sat resting her elbows on her knees. After a few moments, the dizziness passed and Rose slowly raised her head. The plate of food on the chair was directly in front of her. It was a bologna sandwich on white bread with a handful of pretzels. Neither the food or the water looked to be poisoned and was likely not if they’d yet to kill her while she was knocked out. Rose picked up and quickly ate the sandwich. She downed the water in three big gulps and scooped up the pretzels. Occasionally popping a pretzel into her mouth, Rose made her way around the basement from the stairs in a complete circle back to where she started. Beside the bed and the chair, there was nothing she could easily use as a weapon. She supposed that she could eventually kick off a pipe from the hot water heater to use as a club, but that would probably take a long time and be quite noisy. Chewing the last pretzel, Rose stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up to the top. There was light coming from underneath the bottom of the door but no sound that she could hear. All Rose could see were small dust motes floating through the air in the small beams of sunlight shining between the door and the floor. Grabbing the railing to the stairs, Rose began to climb to the top. As she climbed, she was sure that anyone listening would be able to hear it. The stairs weren’t old, but they were just bare wood and squeaked or groaned with each step she took. Rose reached the top of the stairs and grabbed the door handle. Turning the knob, she found that it turned easily, but the door appeared to be deadbolted. Rose shoved her shoulder into the door to force it open, but ended up just making more noise and accomplishing nothing.
“Go back down and sit on your cot,” said a gruff voice from the other side of the door.
Rose could tell the voice belonged to an older male. He had a gravelly voice with a distinct French-Canadian accent. Rose initially didn’t move and continued to stand on the top step of the stairs. After not hearing any more instructions, Rose tried shoving the door again to no avail. “Go on now, go sit on your cot. We will talk soon,” said the male voice, no urgency present.
Figuring there was no harm in obeying since she wouldn’t be escaping anyway, Rose walked back down the stairs without saying a word. Rose made one more circuit around the basement making sure she hadn’t missed anything, but the basement offered no weapons. Even the floor had been swept clean of dust and dirt. It was just her cot and the chair in the center of the basement. As Rose waited, it only got darker out confirming her suspicions it was the late afternoon when she’d awoken, not the morning. The sun had almost set by the time she heard movement upstairs. Two people were moving around and talking in French. Rose didn't speak even a little French so she had no idea what they were saying. Rose had opted to take Spanish in High School rather than French despite living so close to Quebec. She was now regretting that decision. The people talking were men and were joined a short time later by a third voice, a female voice, also in French. The three voices talked briefly before Rose heard the deadbolt slide and then door shudder as it was pulled open. Lights which had previously been off now flicked on as all three people made their way down the stairs.
The first to exit the stairs was a man, almost her age, possibly mid-twenties. He was muscular and looked to be in good shape. He had brown hair that sat in a mop on his head and brown eyes to match. He was tall, about six feet and had a fresh-looking beard, possibly his first. The second to exit the stairs was the owner of the female voice that had joined the males. This woman looked vaguely familiar and it occurred to Rose this may be the woman she’d seen on patrol the night before. She was several years younger then Rose, maybe 21 or 22 at the most. She was thin and was possibly an athlete, but not muscular like her male counterpart. She had long red hair with streaks of blonde pulled into a long ponytail off the back of her head. Her eyes were green, but darker like an olive. She had a delicate face with scattered freckles and soft cheeks that had a hint of red to them along with a small nose that seemed perfectly proportioned to her face. Rose couldn't think of any way to describe her other than absolutely gorgeous, and Rose had a hard time taking her eyes off of the woman. The male had taken up a position to Rose’s right and the woman took a position to Rose’s left. The man seemed more focused while the woman seemed more sullen and angry.
The third person to exit the stairs was the owner of the voice she’d heard earlier. This man was older, probably in his mid-fifties, and had salt and pepper hair that matched his salt and pepper beard. He had green eyes that were so dark they were almost black. His skin was the color of tanned leather and seemed to have the same texture. He was shorter then the other man and was probably only 5’7 or 5’8. The other two seemed to defer to him, and he was plainly in charge of this situation. Rose noticed subtle facial similarities between the older man and the woman and made the assumption they were related in some way.
Rose was sitting and continued to do so. The older man studied her for a few moments. “My name is Rene Simard,” said the man. “I’m the Mayor of Paimpol and leader of our defense force. You were captured within our City limits heavily armed and apparently ready to harm our citizens. Explain yourself.” His was the voice of someone you’d expect to lead the defense of a small town of survivors, gruff and gravelly with a tone that expected respect rather then asking for it. Despite his accent, Rose had no trouble understanding what he was saying.
Rose assumed that she’d likely not be on any list here, but decided to withhold her full name. “I’m Rose. I’m from Green Forks in Maine. I was making my way north to avoid the infection and ran out of gas in my truck. My plan was to sneak into your town, get some gas, and then sneak out. I was never planning on harming anyone.”
“Aaron here seems to think differently” said Rene motioning to the muscular man next to him. “Aaron tells me that you were holding your rifle like a bat waiting for one of my men to wander by when he knocked you out.”
“Well nice shot, Aaron,” said Rose unconsciously rubbing the right side of her face. “I h
ad those weapons to protect myself. If you hadn’t noticed, there are crazed infected out there. Honestly, I didn’t even know if Paimpol had been overrun when I came across it. Just seemed like a good place to find some gas and carry on.”
Rene seemed to consider that. “You made it pretty deep into our defenses before Aaron found you. Are you military?”
“No. I was a police officer in Maine. I suppose I still am but I seem to have misplaced my badge and the town I’m from really doesn’t exist anymore,” said Rose half joking and half serious.
“So I’m assuming you’re proficient with the weapons we found with you?” asked Rene.
“Yes, I suppose. I was only with Green Forks for about two years. I did get some practice on my way north unfortunately...” said Rose, trailing off.
“Shooting infected, you mean,” said Rene, his eyes burrowing into her.
“I’ve done what I needed to survive,” said Rose, not showing any hint of weakness. She was not going to be judged or beg for her life with these people.
Rene stood in front of Rose for several long seconds considering her words. He seemed to be trying to come to a decision but what that was, Rose couldn't be sure. Finally he broke his silence. “How is it that you’ve not been infected so far? You came from a city overrun with the infected, yet you sit before me. Explain this.”
Rose didn't answer immediately. There were two ways she could answer this question, but she wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, or how they may react. Surely after what she’d heard at the base, the CDC was no longer looking for a cure and probably didn't even exist anymore. Would these people react the same as the military? Would they keep her locked up until the CDC could come and scoop her up? This was Canada after all, maybe Canada’s version of the CDC wasn’t out hunting people? In the end, Rose decided to go with her gut.
Jordan Rose Duology (Book 1): Break Away Page 14
