by Lee West
“Yes and no. The camp was in the middle of their weekly turnover of campers. Some kids stay the entire camping season; others stay for a week or so at a time. When the chief went up there to scope it out, the camp’s numbers were fairly low because of the turnover. Over the past two weeks, some of the parents have filtered in to either stay there with their kids or take them to another location. Things have settled down out there,” said Charlie.
“Sounds like the perfect place to me. Isolated, on a lake—with outhouses. Those factors alone solve many of the problems people are facing right now,” said Mark.
“Yep. It was a good plan on the chief’s part,” said Charlie. “Plus, for most of the kids stranded up there, we represent their only line of defense against what’s going on around here.”
“A sanctuary for kids,” said Sam, looking around at his supplies. “Make sure you reload your ammo. I think we all almost shot through our entire load out back there.”
“Pretty close to it,” said Charlie.
“Yeah, it’s the least we can do for all your help,” said Jane. “When we figure out what we’re doing, we’ll have to find a way to get some of these supplies to HQ.”
“Aren’t you guys joining us at HQ? I don’t like leaving you here in the middle of New Order territory,” said Charlie.
Jane and Sam shared an uncomfortable glance. Jane knew Sam wanted to stay out of the fray, and with Lea needing a long period of rest and recovery, she tended to agree that it would be safer to keep to themselves for now. At the same time, she felt a strong need to help her colleagues push the New Order out of their towns.
She also wanted to get more information about the current situation in the rest of the country. No one seemed to know what had caused the power outage. Most people were too caught up in their own daily survival to worry about anything beyond their front doorstep. At the very least, Jane wanted to visit HQ to piece together the bigger picture. Knowing how long they could expect to be without power or federal help might determine their ultimate decision about where to go.
“We’re not sure yet, but I would like to get to HQ to figure out what’s going on outside of Evansville and Porter. From there, who knows where we’ll go,” said Jane, with a hopeful look toward Sam.
“At the very least, we should check it out. We have our own supplies and food, so our presence wouldn’t pose a burden on their supplies,” said Sam. “If we decide to stay, we could send some people back to gather everything in here. What’s the supply situation at HQ like?”
“It’s stable for now. The biggest advantage to the place is that there’s plenty of water and shelter for everyone. Plus, the camp had loads of canned foods. They’re rationing, but it’s still very livable,” said Charlie.
“I could help round out the food supply with my crossbow,” offered Mark.
“I’m sure they would love that,” said Charlie.
“Well, if we ultimately decide to head out of the area, we’ll donate a large amount of this to the effort,” said Sam. “Not like we can drag it along.”
For the first time since leaving the mountains, Jane allowed herself to feel hopeful. They’d rescued Lea and were safely tucked away in their hideout. Charlie’s description of the HQ made Jane almost believe that things would begin to straighten out. Jane leaned into the cot and nestled her head near Lea. The sound of Lea’s deep rhythmic breathing filled the space, lulling her to sleep.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Brown sat anxiously in the Porter Police Department’s communications room. He desperately needed to warn Marta about the New Order’s next move. Time was tight. The best time to go to her was shortly after midnight, when she communicated with the police, but things hadn’t settled at the station. He didn’t want to wait too much longer, or the stations on the receiving end of Marta’s transmission might shut down for the night. She could transmit warnings all night and nobody would hear them. He glanced at his watch. Another thirty minutes and he would head out of the police station. That should give the crew time to settle in for the night after the exciting discovery.
When he and Cherry had returned from their patrol, Cherry gleefully reported their find to the Boss. As predicted, the Boss went crazy. Brown guessed the Boss didn’t care about the loss of the men. He was more enraged by the fact that the cops had run an escape ring right under his nose. The Boss turned his murderous rage into an unproductive search of the entire town.
A few more citizens fell to random gunshots, bringing the New Order no closer to discovering the scope of the human-smuggling operation. All they knew at this point was that the trail started parallel to one of Porter’s main roads at the edge of town, like Cherry suspected. The guy with the big gun safe had been the cops’ first point of contact on the trail. There would be more houses along the trail. The Boss was sure of it.
The Boss had the men walk the trail north as far as daylight would allow, which was when they discovered that the pig’s cabin was far too close to the trail to be a coincidence. The guy with the big gun safe had been the first stop on the way out of town. Of course, Brown already knew all of this. He’d put it together as soon as he discovered Marta’s midnight transmission.
Once night fell and the search ended, Brown knew it was just a matter of time before the men reached other houses along the trail. He needed to warn the police to prepare for the New Order’s invasion and safeguard the people on the trail. The Boss had ordered his men to kill anyone they found along the trail, civilian or police.
Glancing at his watch again, Brown decided to bump up the timeline for his visit to Marta’s house. He had done it before around this time without incident, and it did sound a little quieter in the hallways. Taking one last glance over his shoulder into the dark station, Brown felt confident that he would be able to leave the station unnoticed.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” sneered Cherry, from inside the dark building.
Brown rambled off a quick excuse. “I need to take a shit. You want to watch?”
“The Boss said everyone needs to be ready to roll out of here before sunrise. He wants us up that trail and on the cops before they drink their first cup of coffee. You’d better make it quick or they’ll be looking for your sorry ass, too,” said Cherry.
“I can always take a dump inside the station,” said Brown as he left the station.
“No, thanks,” said Cherry before nodding toward the back door to the station.
Brown moved quickly, trying not to raise Cherry’s suspicions. Cherry followed Brown to the back door, holding it open as he moved behind the dumpster to the designated “shit pile.” Fucking asshole—he’s actually watching to make sure I go back to the pile?
“You want to come over here and watch?” he yelled.
Cherry glanced around, looking slightly embarrassed. A few moments later, the door eased shut, his shadow disappearing. Brown couldn’t wait to be done with these idiots. He squatted for several seconds, holding his breath from the stench, before dashing out of sight.
The trip to Marta’s house would have to be faster than he had previously planned. As soon as he cleared the sightline of the station, Brown ran to Marta’s house at a dead sprint. Experience with the route allowed him to run in the dark. He no longer had to think about the best way to get there without being seen. Knocking on her door, with urgency, Brown waited for Marta to let him in.
~ ~ ~
Marta sat in her dark living room, trying to pass the time. She intended to wait an hour past midnight to touch base with Doris. The two had become friends through their nightly talks. Although their talks were quick and cryptic, the sound of another woman’s voice soothed Marta. Loneliness, fear and boredom were a lethal combination for her. She relied upon the nightly ritual of communicating as her rock of sanity.
A soft but insistent knocking on the front door startled Marta. She slowly approached the door, wary of opening it. If a New Order man decided to pay her a midnight visit, she really had no
way to defend herself. The image in the peephole was too dark to ascertain the man’s identity. Wringing her hands, Marta debated her options. It really didn’t matter. If they wanted to get in badly enough, she couldn’t stop them.
“Marta, it’s me, Brown. Let me in. I know you’re there.”
Marta opened the door. “What are you doing here? Is everything alright?”
Brown pushed past her into her house and closed the door softly behind him.
“No. Everything is not all right. The New Order found the trail. I’ve been waiting to get to you all day. They hiked it north this afternoon, but didn’t get much further than the cop’s house on the outskirts of town. The Boss is sending a massive search party to hike the trail tomorrow, right before sunrise. The men have orders to kill everyone they come across. Everyone,” Brown said breathlessly.
“Wait a minute? What trail?” asked Marta.
Marta didn’t necessarily trust Brown. He said he wanted to help the cops, but he also received food, water and booze from the New Order. For someone who supposedly hated the New Order, Brown seemed awfully comfortable with them. She had no idea if he could actually be trusted, or if he merely played both sides to his advantage. In either case, she would not reveal the existence or location of the trail. Brown could be tricking her in order to discover more than they already knew.
“What do you mean what trail? You know exactly what I’m talking about. The trail the cops have been using to get out of town. The New Order found it,” Brown said quickly.
“I wasn’t told about a trail,” said Marta, straining to conceal her panic.
“Bullshit. There is a trail, and it runs roughly along Parker Road, heading north. It’s an old horse trail. I don’t have time for this shit. I risked my life to get over here and warn you. You need to tell the cops to get out, or their blood is on your hands, not mine,” said Brown. “I need to get back before they figure out I’m gone. Tensions are really high at the station.”
Brown left without further comment, leaving a stunned Marta standing alone in her living room. He had correctly identified the location of the trail. There were numerous trails in the area, but none that ran due north, parallel to Parker Road.
Marta ran to the attic, her older bones taking two steps at a time. She needed to warn Doris, fast. They’d be at her place by mid-morning if they moved quickly enough. Poor Doris sat alone and defenseless in her house on the trail. Turning on the radio, Marta adjusted the dials to eliminate the static.
“Hello? Doris? You there?”
“Hello? Doris? Come in!” Marta could barely contain her panic.
In the heat of the moment, she’d completely forgotten to follow the right communications protocol.
“Doris! Come in, please?”
Marta panicked that Doris would not be on the radio tonight. Maybe she went to bed early? Or other runners were there? Or maybe Brown lied and this is some sort of trap? An ice-cold shiver ran through her. She put the radio down and lifted her hand to turn it off, feeling the sharp edges of panic prickling her body. Were the New Order men listening? Did Brown trick her into using the radio? Shit!
“Marta, it’s Doris. Are you okay? Over,” said Doris.
Marta paused, carefully choosing her words. If Brown’s plea had been a trick and the New Order was listening to her broadcast, she was as good as dead—but she wasn’t going to give away any information that might make Doris’s situation worse.
“Doris, listen to me very carefully. You need to get out of your house immediately. They found the trail—you’re not safe at the house.”
“Holy—uh, I mean—copy that. How long do I have? It’s after midnight. I can’t leave in the pitch dark. What should I do?” said Doris, the pitch of her voice increasing.
“They will be running in your direction before first light, but they might be listening to this broadcast. You need to get out of there tonight,” said Marta.
“Okay. I can do that. I think I know where to go,” said Doris.
“Don’t tell me where you’re going,” said Marta. “Just get out of there.”
“I understand,” said Doris, with a shaky voice. “Take care of yourself.”
“Never mind me. I’ll be fine,” said Marta. “I’m signing off. Good luck.”
Marta’s hand trembled as she turned off the radio. She expected the door to her house to come crashing in at any moment. When several minutes passed in complete silence, she began to believe Brown. She still didn’t trust him, but if this had been a setup, those animals would have kicked her door in by now. There was nothing to be gained by letting her live.
Her message had essentially shut down the trail and her lifeline to the outside world. The police wouldn’t contact her again, based on her report to Doris. She’d done the right thing letting Doris know that the New Order might be listening, but it meant she was completely on her own. The only thing she could do at this point was hope that Brown told the truth. The alternative scenario terrified her. They would torture her for information she didn’t have. Charlie had purposefully compartmentalized the information for everyone’s safety. All she could do now was wait—and pray.
~ ~ ~
Brown sat across town, in the dark communications room, listening to Marta and Doris chatting about the New Order’s discovery. His plan worked like a charm. Hopefully he’d earned enough goodwill with this act to buy himself a pardon when law and order returned to Porter and the surrounding areas.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Charlie heaved his overloaded backpack onto his shoulders and took another sip of water.
“You about ready, Mark?” asked Charlie.
“Whenever you are.”
“We’ll need to check the surrounding area before we open the door. You never know if anyone has joined us,” said Sam.
“I wondered how you might do that,” said Mark. “Be an awful surprise to find someone staring at you on the other side.”
“Not being able to observe our surroundings is a huge disadvantage to the storage unit idea. I have a small wireless camera on one of the shelves that I can install at some point. Just need to figure out a way to discreetly wire and power the thing. I hadn’t worked all that out yet,” said Sam.
“What do we do in the meantime?” said Charlie.
“Hold on. I need to move the clamps,” said Sam.
Sam moved the clamps about four inches up the track and then refastened them. Grabbing a small, telescoping inspection mirror that he had hung from one of the walls, Sam lay flat on the ground.
“Okay, lift it as slowly and quietly as possible until you reach the blocks,” directed Sam.
Mark and Charlie eased the heavy metal door up a few inches until it reached the blocks and the door would not budge any further. Once the door stopped, Sam slid a small wooden brick under the edge of the door to keep it wedged open.
“You can let it go,” whispered Sam.
The two men let go of the door, the wood brick holding it up.
“You really thought of everything,” whispered Charlie.
“Thinking of survival scenarios has sort of taken over my free time,” said Sam.
“Sort of?” said Jane.
“Guilty as charged.”
Sam slid the mirror under the opened door and turned it to look down the entire length of the storage facility in both directions.
“How does it look?” asked Charlie, kneeling next to Sam.
“Like nothing changed from last night,” said Sam, pulling the mirror inside. “Give me a second to remove the clamps so we can open the door.”
Once the clamps were removed, Mark and Charlie rolled the door halfway open and stepped out into the cool morning air. Charlie took a deep breath of fresh air. It felt good to be outside.
“Be careful out there,” said Sam.
“We’ll see you in a few days at HQ. We need to give Lea some time to rest before we head out,” said Jane.
“No problem. We’ll be there. Are y
ou sure you’re good with the directions I gave you?” said Charlie.
“We should be fine. I have a rough idea where the camp is, and your map will fill in the details,” said Sam.
“Good luck, guys,” said Mark.
“You too!” said Jane.
Charlie and Mark had reached the fence before they heard the storage locker door clink back into place. The metallic sound carried across the silent night far more than he would have expected. He had half a mind to go back and tell Sam. If anyone had been walking the fence line near the woods, they would have heard enough to pique their interest. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the time to spare. They’d taken longer than anticipated at the locker, and he needed to get to Scott’s house before Mike did anything rash.
Mark peeled back the chain-link fence, allowing Charlie to pass through. Once on the other side, they worked to get the fence back in place. A New Order truck passed in the distance. Fearing for the worst, Charlie wondered if the night would be longer than he originally anticipated. He thumbed the safety of his rifle back into the fire position and walked into the night.
~ ~ ~
Jane and Sam sat quietly next to each other on a thick wool blanket while Lea quietly dozed. Sam leaned into her, pulling her close to him. Jane felt good in Sam’s arms. She loved these quiet moments together. Despite their situation, Jane felt safe and loved. They had their daughter, plenty of supplies and most importantly—each other. The rest would fall into place soon enough.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Sam.
“I’m thinking about how lucky we are that you did all of this,” said Jane.
“To be honest, I never thought I’d hear you say that. At times I began to think maybe things were getting out of control. Kind of cringing whenever the bank statements arrived. Now I’m really glad I never stopped planning,” said Sam.
“Me too. I figured you knew what you were doing, so I never raised an eyebrow,” said Jane. “When do you think Lea will be ready to move?”
