Gateway to Chaos (Book 2): Seeking Refuge

by Payne, T. L.

  “We’re not bringing them here. We’re going to have them wait behind the office building where we held the kid. Alicia said that Barrett Station Road runs south from here for several miles. We hotwire the Suburban, speed over to Barrett Station Road, pick everyone up, and haul ass south away from here.”

  Brandon smiled and nodded. “Let’s go get everyone and get the hell out of this town.”

  Chapter 29

  Home Town Realty

  Manchester, Missouri

  February 23rd

  Scott stopped before emerging onto Barrett Station Road. He held his arm out and halted Brandon. He tilted his head and listened. Scott glanced at Brandon.

  “I don’t hear anything.”

  “Me either. You think they're all dead?” Brandon asked.

  “We aren’t that lucky,” Scott said as he stepped out onto the street.

  Scott and Brandon walked backward in the footprints in the snow that they’d made earlier. By doing so, he hoped that Suit’s men would think they belonged to one of his group. It was difficult and time-consuming, but he didn't want to lead them back to JJ and the others. Not when they were so close to making it out of the city.

  When they got to the parking lot beside the office building, they took off running as fast as they could. Scott tried to stay in the tracks that were already there. It made running easier. Some of the drifts were nearly knee-high in places. His boots weren’t made for that much snow. As it was, he had snow inside the top of his work boots.

  As soon as their latest hideout came into view, Scott knew something was wrong. Half a dozen people stood in front of the one-story brick building. None of them were members of his group.

  Scott stuck his arm out and caught Brandon by the collar. He pulled him sideways and back against a nearby building. Scott put a finger to his lips to indicate for Brandon to be silent.

  Leaning forward, Scott tried to count how many there were. He couldn’t see the entire parking lot. There could be dozens for all he knew. He leaned back and listened.

  “Of course we’d help if we could, but we have no weapons. What can we do against well-armed people?” Raine asked.

  She didn’t sound overly alarmed. She definitely knew them.

  “It must be some of Abbey’s folks,” Brandon said.

  Scott nodded.

  “Should we go on over there?” Brandon asked.

  “Let’s give it a minute and see if they leave. If they become hostile, we can surprise them,” Scott said.

  Scott waited for several minutes. When the group didn’t leave, he decided he needed to find out what was going on. They needed to get going, and they couldn’t do that with the group hanging around. He’d need to resolve whatever issue they’d come to discuss and send them on their way. First, he needed to know what Raine and the others had told them. If they had told them about the SUV, his plan was to misdirect them in case Suit’s men questioned them.

  “I’m going to walk directly over there. I’ll keep them distracted while you make your way around the other side of the building. Stay out of sight. You be ready, in case we need the element of surprise,” Scott said.

  “Okay. Be careful,” Brandon said.

  Scott placed his hand inside his pocket. His hand gripped the pistol, finger on the trigger. He walked quickly across the parking lot between the two buildings without attempting to be quiet. He wanted all eyes on him.

  “Hey,” he yelled. “What’s up?”

  Everyone turned to face him. He picked up the pace and kept advancing on them.

  “Hey, Scott,” Raine said. “Abbey’s group got caught in the crossfire between Suit’s men and some other group.”

  “The ones from the grocery?” Scott asked, moving closer.

  “No. Some group we’ve never seen around here. We’re thinking it could be one of the gangs that the Sam’s Club group has been trading with,” Steve said.

  Scott growled under his breath. That jerk screwed up his first attempt to get the SUV and now, here he was again.

  “What’s that got to do with us?” Scott replied, trying hard to not let his anger show.

  “We need your help. With Rob shot and Rachelle determined to stay by his side, we're down two people. We need your help to get our folks to safety.”

  Scott didn’t have time for this. He didn’t want to sound heartless—they had children and elderly in there—but he needed to be hotwiring the Suburban and getting on the road.

  The look on Raine’s face told him she was torn. Not good. He needed everyone on the same page.

  “We have to help get those kids out of there, Scott,” JJ said, walking up behind him.

  Scott whipped around. Not her too. His mission to get the Suburban just kept getting sidetracked. He needed to be on the road. Scott pictured Lily, cowering in the corner of a home improvement store. He’d want someone to care about her. He glanced over to Steve and clenched his hands into fists. He wanted someone to blame for all this mess. He wanted to beat someone to a bloody pulp, but Steve didn’t release an EMP over the country. He was as much a victim in this as Scott and Lily were. If it weren’t for there being kids and elderly people trapped in that building, his decision would be easy.

  “I’ll go. I’ll help you,” Lucy said from the doorway. Scott turned. Now he had a new choice to make. Go save a bunch of kids or leave without a member of his group.

  “Me too,” Raine said.

  JJ stepped forward. “I’ll go, too,”

  Scott hung his head. The decision was made. He set his jaw and glared at Steve. He took a step toward the man and drew in a deep breath. Scott let it out and said, “All right then. If we do this, I’m in charge. Not you. Your dumb-ass move over at the Sam’s Club cost me my ride out of this hellhole.”

  “No way, man…” Steve started to say.

  “Shut up, Steve. We need them. You don’t got a kid in there. I do,” a man in an Army jacket said.

  “You’re gonna trust this asshole over me, Jeff?”

  “Right now? Yes,” Jeff said.

  Before following Steve and Jeff back to the Home Depot, Scott wanted Brandon to escort the rest of their group back to the office complex where they’d held the kid. He instructed them to be ready. His plan was to rescue the Home Depot group, rush back to the garage where the Suburban was parked, hotwire the vehicle, pick up his group, and haul ass south on Barrett Station Road.

  “Keep watch for me. When you see the Suburban, haul ass up that hill and get loaded in as fast as possible. We may only have seconds,” Scott said.

  “We’ll be ready.” Brandon looked over to JJ, Raine, and Lucy. “You sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

  Scott turned his head and looked at the women. “We’ve got this. You get the rest of our group up that hill to the SUV as soon as I get there. That’s your mission.”

  Brandon nodded.

  Scott turned toward the road. “Let’s go get this done. I’m ready to get the hell out of this town.”

  From the tree line, Scott could see two bodies on the ground near the entrance to the store on the opposite end of the parking lot from the Home Depot. The two men had been totally unprepared for the weather with sneakers, jeans, and hoodies as their only protection from the elements. They certainly hadn’t walked there. Scott scanned the parking lot for tire tracks but saw none. Dressed like that, they would’ve had to have driven there, but where was their vehicle? His mind raced with new possibilities about alternative transportation at play. Scott stood and motioned for the others to follow him. He led them along the woods to the back of the building. When they reached it, Scott still couldn’t see any of the doors into the home improvement store.

  Steve stepped forward out of the brush. A bullet slammed into the tree next to his head, and Scott dove for cover behind a large oak tree just as a second bullet ripped through the man’s right shoulder.

  “Get down!” Scott yelled. JJ dropped to her knees and crawled over to him. Lucy ran back into
the woods and jumped over a fallen log. Scott couldn’t see Raine.

  Steve was down. Jeff stood five feet from him with a small tree his only cover. The other members of Steve and Jeff’s group were hiding behind bushes and trees. Jeff looked over his shoulder at Steve then to the rifle at his side.

  Scott whispered, “Don’t. Don’t do it.”

  Jeff looked up. Tears filled his eyes. “Steve’s a jerk, but he’s my only brother.”

  “We’ll get him to the doc. Just hold on one minute. Let me draw them away. Okay?”

  Jeff nodded. “Hurry. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

  Scott turned to JJ. “You move back ten feet into the woods. I’m going to move to that tree there. Get Lucy and Raine. Move deeper into the brush and head west to the tree line just behind the garden center. I’ll keep them distracted while you move. We're going to draw their attention away and you all help get the others out. I’ll meet you back at the office complex.”

  “But we need to get him out of here,” JJ said, pointing to Steve.

  “We can’t. They’ll pick us off one by one as we try. We have to draw them away first. We’ll have to engage them in the front parking lot and allow the others to escape into the woods.”

  JJ frowned. “Where are they going to go from there?”

  Scott shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  JJ drew in a deep breath, puffed out her cheeks, then let the air out slowly. “All right. Let’s do this.” JJ moved to the log where Scott had last seen Lucy. A second later, Lucy stood and followed JJ. Raine stepped out from behind a cedar tree and joined them. She held her pipe wrench out in front of her like a sword.

  Scott removed his hat, rubbed his stubbled chin, and ran his fingers through his greasy hair. Something just didn’t add up. Why was a gunman staked out at Abbey’s door? What had Steve gotten them all into? There was something going on here that Steve hadn’t told them. But the reality was still the same. Their people were in danger, and his group had committed to help.

  This was just plain crazy. They had two pistols, but only five rounds between them. Raine had only a pipe wrench and JJ, her tactical knife. They were no match for an obviously trained shooter with a rifle. He had no way of knowing how many more there were. They could be inside.

  What have I gotten myself into this time?

  Scott waited until he could no longer see JJ, Raine, and Lucy before bending down, feeling around in the snow, and picking up a stick. It was too flimsy. He felt around again and located a palm-sized rock. “Jeff. I’m going to throw this and hit that dumpster. When I do, I want you to grab Steve’s rifle and run to me. All right?”

  Jeff stared at him wide-eyed.

  “Jeff. I need that rifle to distract the shooter so you can get your brother inside to the doctor. Can you do this?”

  Jeff looked down at the rifle then back to Scott. He nodded.

  “Okay. I’m going to count to three when I hit the dumpster, and that is when you go for it.”

  The color drained from Jeff’s face. He looked at his brother.

  “All right. One. Two. Three,” Scott whispered. He turned, raised his arm, and threw the rock as hard as he could toward the dumpster. It struck with a loud bang. A second later, the gunman fired in that direction. Jeff grabbed the rifle as instructed, tripped over his brother’s body, and sprawled face-first in the snow. Scott jumped out from behind the tree, shooting in the direction the gunman was firing from. Scott emptied his pistol and dropped it to the ground. It disappeared into the snow. Scott grabbed Jeff by the forearm and scooped up the rifle. As he tugged on Jeff with his left hand, he brought the rifle up and fired a two-round burst before ducking back into the tree line. Rounds whizzed by, gouging chunks of wood from nearby trees.

  “Get down!” Scott yelled and shoved Jeff to the ground behind a tree.

  Scott pulled on the charging handle of the AR-15 and let it go, making sure that a round was in the chamber. Pop! Pop! Pop! This time, the gunfire was coming from the opposite direction. There were two shooters now. They were screwed.

  “Jeff. We have to move,” Scott said, bringing the rifle to his shoulder.

  “But my brother,” Jeff said.

  Scott nudged him with the toe of his boot.

  “There’s two shooters now. We can’t stay here. If we do, we die.”

  Jeff didn’t budge.

  “Jeff. We have to go. If we have any chance to save your child inside, we have to draw these men away from here. I need your help. The women have moved to the end of the building near the nursery. After we draw them away, they’re going to run inside and get everyone out. I need you to help me. Can you do that?”

  Jeff stared at his brother and nodded.

  “Okay. We're going to move back some and then low crawl that way,” Scott said, pointing back the way they’d come.

  Scott placed the rifle sling around his neck and slung the rifle to his back. He knelt and lay flat on his stomach. He motioned for Jeff to join him. Scott used his arms and feet to propel himself forward, inching along the ground, trying to not drag his stomach and get snow inside his pants. The last thing he needed was a frozen crotch. When they neared the end of the parking lot, Scott stood and moved into the tree line toward the front of the building. When he and Jeff reached the adjacent strip mall, Scott ran to the corner. From his concealed position, Scott fired a round into the air and waited.

  A second later, he spotted a man in a dark hoodie creeping around the side of the Home Depot.

  “Shoot him,” Jeff said.

  Scott said nothing. He followed the man’s movements through the rifle’s scope.

  “Why aren’t you shooting him?”

  The man was in range. Scott figured the man was no more than one hundred and twenty-five feet from them. But he had no way of knowing if the rifle was sighted properly or when it had last been cleaned. The man stopped, crouched, and scanned the parking lot and adjacent buildings. Scott pushed Jeff back against the wall.

  “Stay back unless you want to get your head shot off,” Scott said.

  He leaned forward slightly to reacquire his target. The man was now on his feet and sprinting toward them. Scott fired two rounds. The man dropped beside an abandoned truck and returned fire, likely emptying an entire magazine. Scott waited for him to run out of ammo. When the firing stopped, Scott dropped down and fired under the truck before the man could have an opportunity to reload. He saw him crawl to the front of the vehicle. Scott took off running across the parking lot, firing into the truck to keep the man’s head down long enough for him to reach the pickup. It all went much slower in the snow. His heart was pounding, and his breaths came in gasps as he reached the bed of the truck.

  As soon as Scott stopped firing, the man stood and took off running toward a vehicle approximately twenty feet away. He was slipping and sliding as he tried to get traction in the snow.

  A shot came from the garden center end of the building and Scott jumped. He momentarily lost sight of the man in the hoodie. He scanned the tracks and found his target.

  Just before reaching a compact sedan, the man turned and raised his rifle. Scott squeezed the trigger, sending a round into the man’s torso.

  A volley of gunfire came from the direction of the garden center where JJ and the others should be by then.

  Scott took off across the parking lot without even checking to see if the man was dead.

  Please let me make it in time.

  Chapter 30

  Home Depot Home Improvement Store

  Manchester, Missouri

  February 23rd

  The weight of the pipe wrench was heavy in Raine’s hands as she made her way toward Home Depot’s garden center. Lucy led the way with her pistol out in front of her, gripped in both hands. Raine knew that with only a couple of rounds left in the weapon, Lucy would have to be an expert shot, or they’d need to be incredibly lucky. She was hoping for both.

  Raine, Lucy, and JJ crouched in the woods at the corne
r of the pavement and waited for a sign that Scott had drawn the shooters away from the back of the building. Raine kept an eye on the loading bay door. They had no way of knowing if any of the bad guys were inside and if so, how many. She hoped that if there were any, the commotion Scott created in the front would draw them outside.

  Raine was breathing through her mouth. The moist air from her lungs created a cloud in the air with each exhalation. She closed her mouth, tilted her head, and listened. A crunch in the snow behind her sent her to her feet. She whipped around a second too late to avoid the fist that struck her temple.

  Off balance and dazed, she stumbled backward. Her fall was stopped by the tree she’d been hiding behind. She felt hands in her hair and instinctually reached up. JJ grabbed the man, shoved a knife in his side, and he slumped to the ground, pulling Raine with him. JJ grabbed the man’s hands, trying to free Raine’s hair from his grasp. The pain was excruciating as clumps of hair were ripped from her scalp. With her hair free, Raine struggled to get to her feet.

  “You all right?” JJ asked as she grabbed Raine’s arm and helped her up.

  “I think…”

  JJ’s eyebrows rose, and her mouth dropped open in surprise. Raine was afraid to turn and see what had her so concerned. A loud boom to her right caused her to jump back and trip over her attacker.

  Lucy ran past, firing another shot at someone Raine couldn’t see from her position on the ground. She rolled and got to her knees, jumping to her feet just in time to see Lucy and a second man on their knees struggling for a rifle. She didn’t have time to see where JJ was. Raine ran over and slid on her knees, crashing into Lucy and the man. She grabbed hold of the man’s right arm, throwing herself back. She tugged with all her weight trying to free the rifle from his grasp before he could use it to shoot Lucy.

  Seizing the opportunity, Lucy pounded on the man’s ribcage. His thin jacket did little to cushion the blows, but the man was strong. He probably weighed one hundred and eighty to two hundred pounds. The man shifted to free his arm from Raine’s grasp. Lucy landed a blow to the man’s crotch. He doubled over and yelped, momentarily releasing his iron grip on the rifle. That was all she needed. Lucy snatched the weapon from the man and jumped to her feet.