Gateway to Chaos (Book 2): Seeking Refuge

by Payne, T. L.

  “Why don’t Brandon and I climb out and take a look around,” Lucy said, pulling her rifle to her chest.

  Scott nodded. “All right. Just stay low and be careful.”

  Brandon and Lucy slid out of the middle row seat on the left side of the Suburban. They crouched low and made their way to the front of the vehicle. Brandon ran and dropped down beside the black Tahoe SUV blocking the road. He motioned for Lucy to follow him. The two disappeared around the front of the vehicle.

  A moment later, they returned and climbed back inside the Suburban.

  “I don’t know, man. It looks sketchy as hell, but no one is around that we could see,” Brandon said.

  “It does look like someone was staked out in the ditch on the other side of the vehicles. There’s water bottles, cigarette butts, and this,” Lucy said, holding out something that appeared to be a driver’s license.

  When all the color drained from JJ’s face, Raine knew something was up. JJ took the plastic identification card and stared at it.

  “JJ,” Scott said. “What is it?”

  JJ handed the card to Scott and leaned her head back against the headrest.

  “Shit!” Scott said. He turned the card over and handed it back to JJ

  “What is it?” Sheena asked.

  “A border crossing card,” Scott said over his shoulder.

  “Border crossing card. As in our border?” Sheena asked.

  Scott nodded.

  “What’s it mean?” Lucy asked. “It obviously has some significance to you, JJ.”

  “It means that the cartel hasn’t given up on finding me. At least as of a day or so ago,” JJ said way too matter-of-factly for Raine’s liking.

  “Whoa. Wait a minute. You have drug cartel after you? Why?” Lucy asked.

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you, but first, let’s get those vehicles out of the way and get out of here.”

  After pushing the vehicles out of their way, Scott drove much faster than before, putting distance between them and the cartel’s abandoned ambush spot. Raine had her eyes glued to the road ahead looking for signs that they’d moved further down. The SUV fishtailed as Scott pushed it around a curve just a little too fast. He managed to keep it on the road, but just barely.

  They were forced to park at the end of the driveway leading to the Wards’ farm. The weight of the heavy snow had caused a tree to fall across the lane.

  “How about everyone wait here? JJ and I will go check it out and make sure no one is inside,” Scott said.

  “I think someone should go with us and wait outside, just in case we need backup,” JJ said.

  Raine immediately volunteered. She hated waiting. Sitting in the Suburban not being able to see what was happening at the house was too much for her already-frayed nerves. Besides, she was anxious to get a look at their new home.

  A white, two-story farmhouse with a green metal roof sat at the end of a long, tree-lined drive. A big, red barn and several smaller outbuildings lay just behind it around a circle drive. When they reached a green pipe gate, Scott said, “Wait here behind this tree.”

  Raine slid in behind the tree and watched Scott and JJ approach the home from the side. At the front of the house, a set of concrete steps led to a dark green door. While JJ waited at the corner of the house, Scott eased up onto the steps. A moment later, JJ followed Scott inside. Raine pulled the rifle up to her cheek and scanned the open areas around the home through her scope. She caught movement near the barn and studied it more closely. When it walked into the opening, she let out the breath she’d held. The small goat jumped up on a wooden crate and stared back at her.

  Raine heard a noise coming from the house and turned. Scott and JJ were exiting the home. They appeared relaxed. Raine felt the tension in her shoulders relax some.

  “It’s clear. We can get the others,” Scott said.

  Words could not describe how Raine felt as she extended her hands above the wood stove. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to be warm.

  “Your tea, madam,” Antonio said, handing her a steaming cup of tea. As she took the first sip of the warm liquid, she closed her eyes and felt the warmth slide down her throat and into her stomach. A single tear slid down her cheek. Everything that just weeks ago she’d taken for granted—warm shelter, food, water, safety—had been found again. The Wards’ home was small for their group, but they’d make it work. Tom, Gage, and Brandon had claimed the attic. Antonio’s leg wasn’t up to climbing stairs, so he chose the sofa in the living room. Sheena and DeAndre selected the master bedroom, leaving Lucy and Raine to bunk together in the guest room. Raine had never shared a room with anyone. Although she’d often snuck in and slept with her big brother, David, when she was little. She’d thought he’d always be there to protect her, but he wasn’t. As she watched DeAndre hopping his toy soldier across the kitchen table, she thought about how alone she’d felt after David died. As bad as this situation was, and it was bad, she hadn’t felt alone since she’d left her apartment.

  Scott wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and slid on his coat.

  “You leaving now?” DeAndre asked, jumping from his chair and wrapping his tiny arms around Scott’s legs.

  “Not this second, buddy. I’m going to go out to the barn and get some gasoline to fill up the SUV and see if I can locate some extra fuel cans first,” Scott said, picking him up and tossing him into the air.

  DeAndre squealed.

  “Can I come? I want to see the goats.”

  “I don’t know. I…”

  “I’ll take him,” Raine said. She wanted to see what they had and find out what Scott knew about the area before he left.

  “I’ll come too. I’ve never seen a goat up close,” Sheena said, grabbing her coat from the back of the chair.

  Raine, Sheena, and DeAndre were in the barn attempting to milk a goat when they heard unfamiliar voices outside the door.

  Raine slowly picked up her rifle from where she’d left it leaning against a haybale.

  “Stay here. Hide!”

  While Sheena and DeAndre moved behind the stack of bales, Raine crept toward the door.

  “You staying here causes trouble for everyone in the valley. If those guys come back…”

  “Scott and I are leaving today. The other folks have nowhere else to go. Those guys aren’t after them. They’re after me. I’ll be hundreds of miles away,” JJ said as Raine pulled open the barn door.

  “What’s going on?”

  Scott turned toward her but said nothing. JJ looked flushed. She looked to the ground then from the man to Raine.

  “Raine, this is Dean Cartwright. He lives next door. He and the Wards are old friends.”

  Raine stepped forward and extended her hand to the man. He glanced down but didn’t take it.

  “It seems the cartel has been going door to door searching for JJ. They’ve caused quite a stir, and the neighbors around here are pretty nervous. Dean doesn’t think you all should stay here.”

  Raine’s heart sank. She glanced over her shoulder to where Sheena and DeAndre were hiding. JJ was right. The rest of them had nowhere else to go. Scott was planning to drop JJ off at her folks’ place and then get on the road to Florida to find his daughter. They could walk back to Alicia’s sister’s farm, but that place wasn’t sustainable being so close to the city.

  “I guess we should call a meeting and decide what to do?” Raine said.

  Not that they really had any choice, but the vote was to stay put. They had weapons now and a little ammunition. They could somehow make the place more defendable and post guards. They could make it work. They had to. None of them had the energy to keep going. Antonio, Tom, and Gage needed time to heal at least. She and Lucy had a few injuries of their own now.

  Raine felt strongly about staying. This was their best option for surviving the apocalypse. She wasn’t going to give it up to make the neighbors feel safer. She hated to see Scott and JJ leave, though. With them, she was co
nfident that they could defend this place against anyone who came at them. But Lucy, Brandon, and Sheena had proven themselves strong thus far. Before long, Antonio, Tom, and Gage would be back in action. Spring would be coming. There would be gardens to plant and baby animals born. They would make the best of this refuge from the chaos.

  Scott returned from the barn just as the meeting broke up. Everyone was exhausted, and calling it an early night sounded like heaven to Raine. The sun was just setting. JJ stood by the door looking out at the back pasture. She pulled a flash drive from her pocket and twirled it between her fingers. She stepped back as Scott pulled the door open.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  “I think so,” JJ said.

  Thank you for purchasing Seeking Refuge: Book Two in the Gateway to Chaos series. If you enjoyed it, I’d like to hear from you and hope that you could take a moment and post an honest review on Amazon. Your support and feedback will help this author improve for future projects. Without the support of readers like yourself, self-publishing would not be possible. Don’t forget to sign up for my spam-free newsletter at tlpayne.com to be the first to know of new releases, giveaways and special offers.

  Seeking Refuge has gone through several layers of editing. If you found a typographical, grammatical, or other error which impacted your enjoyment of the book, I offer my apologies and ask that you let me know so I can fix it for future readers. To do so, CLICK HERE. In appreciation, I would like to offer you a free copy of my next book.

  PRE-ORDER your ebook copy of Seeking Justice, book three in the Gateway to Chaos series now!

  Also by T. L. Payne

  More in the Gateway to Chaos Series

  Seeking Safety

  Seeking Justice (Pre-Order Now!)

  Seeking Home (Coming soon!)

  From the Days of Want Series

  Turbulent: Days of Want, Book One

  Hunted: Days of Want, Book Two

  Turmoil: Days of Want, Book Three

  Uprising: Days of Want, Book Four

  Upheaval: Days of Want, Book Five

  About the Author

  About the Author

  T. L. Payne is the author of the bestselling Days of Want Series. T. L. lives and writes in the Mark Twain National Forest of region of Missouri. T. L. enjoys many outdoor activities including kayaking, rockhounding, metal detecting, and fishing the many rivers of the area.

  Don’t forget to sign up for T. L.’s spam-free newsletter at www.tlpayne.com to be the first to know of new releases, giveaways and special offers.

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