“The Imam never work in the dark. Allah sees all, and will share with us what is important, when it is important to do so. Trust in your faith, Harish, it will not disappoint.”
Harish paused briefly as he leaned his weight against the wall. “I saw the wreckage in town tonight.”
Ahmed was not pleased. “You walked into the downtown? What is wrong with you, Harish? Are you trying to give yourself away? We’re staying in this squalor for a reason. We don’t need to have people notice the strange foreigners with dark skin walking the streets in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Did anyone see you?”
“Everyone in this city is wrapped up in their own misery. They’re all caught up in the destruction we caused. I could walk through the streets naked with a chicken on my head, and no one would remember me.”
“This is not the time for your humor, Harish. We need to go over the details of the coming days to be sure they’re fresh in our minds. The shock of today’s events will last for only a short time. Eventually the infidels will be doubly on their guard. We need to stay on schedule and move quickly.”
“Yes, of course we will,” Harish said. “First thing in the morning.” He left Ahmed alone, still talking, as he walked up the stairs to sleep off the nightmares of the day. He hoped, that the nightmares would drown out the secrets he was compelled to keep.
Chapter 27 ~ Hitting Close To Home
Maggie sat at the coffee table with both hands around her coffee mug. Holding the mug kept her hands warm and stopped them from shaking. They’d been shaking all morning, ever since the neighbors came by with the news of the attacks. Maggie wasn’t the type to let things bother her. She had her five minute rule, where she allowed herself five minutes to feel down and horrible when things went wrong. After that, it was back to the real world. Life was too short to let all the negative things drag you down. Something she’d learned from her mother, or more specifically a trait she disliked in her mother. As much as she loved her mom, the prolonged negative rants weren’t something Maggie wanted in her life.
This was different though. How do you process all that destruction in five minutes? At a time like this, she had to admit there was pure evil in the world. Why would someone do that? The community was already in trouble even before the CME hit. Many people were just getting by, and some not at all. Some just gave up and moved. Maggie had always liked small towns. Small towns were the kinds of places people came back to … came home to. Sure, she moved to the big city for a while after college like a lot of her friends, but eventually she came home. That’s what small towns were … home. She tried humming the melody to the ‘Where Everyone Knows Your Name’ song and smiled to herself. Haven’t watched that show for years, she thought, but there’s a lesson to be learned there.
Jake came into the kitchen through the back door. He noticed her iron grip on the coffee mug and rubbed his hand along her back on his way to pour his own coffee.
“Where’s Dawson and the kids? I thought they were coming over,” Jake asked.
Maggie looked up. “Not sure, I’d kind of lost track of time there for a minute. Maybe he’s explaining to the kids what’s going on.”
“That’s probably not a good idea. I should go over and get them. We need to get moving on this little tour if we really have to do it. I’m going into town to help with the cleanup. The more people, the sooner we can get it done.”
“Don’t be so hard on Dawson now. He’s got a lot of things to deal with already, and this is just going to make things worse. He and Chase seemed to be finally patching things up between them.”
“Glad to hear it. And the drinking?”
“I don’t know,” Maggie said. “Nothing that I’ve seen since the CME hit. Maybe one good thing will come out of this horror, and he’ll be too busy to mess up.”
“Were the kids on the bus this morning when the school blew?” Jake had a hard time believing he was even asking that question.
“No, thank God for small blessings. Veronica was supposed to be on the second bus run, and I don’t think Chase was going at all. He doesn’t think there’s any point in going to school when the power’s out, and Dawson decided that wasn’t a battle worth fighting.”
“Hmm, maybe there’s hope for him as a parent yet.”
“Now, Jake, there’s no need for—”
A knock on the door announced Dawson and the kids on the back porch.
“No need for what?” Dawson said as Jake let them in. “Sorry, I wasn’t eavesdropping, just couldn’t help overhearing.”
As if she knew exactly what Maggie needed, Veronica went straight for Maggie, giving her a big bear hug. Maggie smiled, letting go of her coffee mug to reciprocate.
“No need for Jake to start his next big crazy project,” Maggie answered Dawson’s question with a fib. “There’s enough work to be done around town today without him starting some crazy cock-eyed invention.” Still holding onto Veronica, Maggie mouthed the words silently to Dawson: Does she know? Dawson shook his head no, with closed eyes. The look on Chase’s face told Maggie that he knew. He appeared more solemn and sullen than your average teenage boy.
“So, are you excited to see Jake’s play fort this morning?” Maggie asked Veronica, holding her at arm’s length.
“I’ve never been to a real fort before.” Veronica grinned, shaking her head emphatically up and down. “Chase told me there are lots of secret rooms, and dungeons, and places to play hide and seek. That’s my favorite game, you know? I’m really good at it.” Veronica pulled at the buttons on Maggie’s sweater. “I don’t really know what a dungeon is, but Chase says they’re a lot of fun. Have you been to the dungeons?”
“Why no, I haven’t. It sounds really exciting,” Maggie answered. “I didn’t even know there were dungeons at the fort.” She looked at Jake and asked, half serious, “Are there dungeons at the fort, Jake? You never said anything about there being dungeons there. Is this another one of those things you’ve been meaning to tell me about?”
Jake hesitated for a moment, then caught a glimpse of Veronica’s excited face. “Of course there are dungeons there,” he said, kneeling and looking Veronica in the eyes. “Every little princess needs a dungeon to keep her pet dragon in. Where else would the prince come to rescue her from if she didn’t have a dungeon?”
“This princess doesn’t need to be rescued.” Veronica replied quite adamantly. “I can take care of myself, and I don’t want any stinky old prince coming into my dungeon anyways. Not unless I invite him.”
Dawson shook his head, Maggie smiled, Chase rolled his eyes, and Jake found himself caught at a loss for words.
“Oh, oh! Daddy, I forgot Bear. He’s still in my bed, and he really, really wanted to see the fort. Can you go get him?”
Dawson caught Jake looking at his watch.
“We really need to get going, hon, can we just let Bear see the fort another time?”
“Actually,” Maggie interrupted, turning to Chase, “could you take your sister back and get Bear? We wanted to talk with your dad about something anyways.”
“Sure, whatever,” Chase answered. He held the back door open. “Let’s go, kid, we’ll find Bear.”
* * *
Maggie watched Veronica skip up the laneway to her house, while Chase dragged his feet behind.
“How’s he taking it? Chase, I mean,” Maggie asked, looking out the window. “He seems quieter than usual.”
“I don’t know, it’s hard to tell with him sometimes. I’m not even sure how I’m dealing with it. I only told him because I figured it was better coming from me than from someone else.”
“And was it?” Jake said.
“I think so. We had a good talk the other day just after the CME hit. We seem to be making some headway, but it’s hard. There’s still a lot of tension. I know I have a long way to go.”
“You most certainly do,” Jake agreed. Maggie looked at him with eyes that said go easy.
“We found some common ground
. Something that he’s interested in, like you suggested, Maggie. Thanks for that. I got talking to him about this game that he really likes to play. Or used to like playing, since obviously he can’t do that now.” Dawson paused and shook his head. “It’s odd the things kids like. It was some end of the world sort of thing, where you had to scavenge and fight these zombie-like things. Pretty depressing-looking stuff. He says he likes it because he gets to recreate the world the way he wants it to be.”
“We all try to do that, don’t we?” Jake said. “We’re all trying to build things and fix things, and get people to believe what we believe. Countries and corporations do it too. I suppose that’s part of the reason we’re in this mess now. Maybe not the CME thing, but these terrorist attacks feel like someone trying to make some big changes. Whoever is responsible clearly doesn’t believe what we believe.”
“Or,” Maggie started, as she moved from the window, “they’re tired of others telling them what to believe.”
“There are better ways to get your point across,” Jake said. “They’re animals. Immoral, barbaric animals. Destruction never brings anything but heartache. Cowards hide in the shadows and push buttons; it takes a real man to stand up and voice his opinion. That’s where real change starts.”
Dawson got up to look out the window towards his place.
“They coming back yet?” Maggie asked.
“Not yet. Sorry, Jake, I know you’re in a hurry,” Dawson said. “I’ll go see if I can find what’s keeping them.”
“Actually,” Jake said, “we’re both in a hurry. You’re coming with me to help with the cleanup in town.” Dawson started to say something, but Jake cut him off. “It’s not up for debate. Consider it part of your penance. Maggie offered to stay with the kids while we go. They can hang out in the dungeons as Veronica likes to call them.”
“You really do have dungeons under that place?” Dawson said as he started out the back door.
“Oh, you’d be surprised the things I have in that place.” Maggie just rolled her eyes. “They’ll be plenty safe in there till we get back. Hopefully the authorities will manage to figure out and apprehend whoever is responsible before then.”
Just as Dawson stepped outside, a sniper’s rifle buried a bullet in the door frame behind him. He instinctively hit the deck and rolled to cover behind the railing. Inside the house, Jake and Maggie looked at each other, their eyes both asking the same question.
“Was that a gunshot?” Maggie asked. They both looked to the back door, but couldn’t see anyone. “Dawson!”
Another shot sounded, and the window shattered, shards of glass clinking into the sink over dirty dishes. Maggie and Jake quickly found each other on the floor with their backs against the cupboards.
“Dawson!’ Jake called as he peered around the cupboards, scanning the back porch. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
“I’m here,” Dawson answered. “Don’t come out. I’m OK. I’m not hit, and I’ve got cover.”
“What the hell is going on out there?” Maggie called.
Dawson didn’t answer right away. “I can’t tell exactly where the shots are coming from. Out in the wooded area beyond the cottage somewhere.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Maggie said to Jake. “Why would someone be shooting at us?
“No idea,” Jake answered.
“You better not be hiding something from me, Jake Banner.” Maggie’s eyes were dead serious.
Jake looked incredulously at Maggie. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? What would I know about some crazy taking pot shots at us from the woods?”
“What exactly is in that damn cottage? There must be something in there that’s valuable enough for someone to start shooting at us.”
“C’mon, Maggie, you know everything that’s out there. You’ve been in the place plenty of times.”
“Dungeons? What’s in the dungeons?”
Jake didn’t answer right away as he peered around the cupboards. Maggie hit him in the shoulder.
“Don’t you ignore my questions, Jake. What’s this about dungeons?”
“That’s just kids making up stories.” He looked her in the eyes. “Someone must have found out about all the supplies stored in there. People are getting nervous. All these attacks today have made people desperate.”
“How could anyone know what’s in there? You only told your prepper group, and they’ve got their own stashes. They wouldn’t come after ours. Right? You said you had everyone on board, that they all had enough food and water to ride out something like this.”
“I did.” Jake agreed, nodding his head. “They do. I saw their setups. You’ve seen ours too. It must be someone outside the group.” Jake pointed with his thumb outside towards Dawson, and raised his eyebrows.
“No. No,” Maggie repeated. “Dawson wouldn’t tell anyone about what he knows. He’s not even sure what’s out there. Who would he tell?”
Jake shook his head. “Who knows who he gets talking to when he’s out on a bender? He probably can’t even remember who he talked to. Some girl, probably, who told her boyfriend about this crazy drunk guy that hit on her last week in a bar. Now those two are getting worried they won’t have enough food and water, and then all the shit goes down today. The girl’s probably shooting at us from some tree, while her boyfriend pillages the cottage.”
“That makes no sense. Why not just break in during the middle of the night, when we’re all sleeping?”
“Who knows? They’re probably all hopped up on dope, and thought it might be fun to play Bonnie and Clyde.”
Dawson tried looking over the railing, and another shot hit the roof posts. He ducked down and called inside. “I’ve got to get to the kids. If they come outside while all this is going on they could get …”
Maggie and Jake looked at each other. “We need to do something,” Maggie said. “We can’t just sit here waiting.”
“I’m going for the hunting rifles,” Jake said. He stayed on all fours and moved quickly across the kitchen floor to the dining room. The gun vault was in the study at the front of the house.
“Hang on, Dawson,” Maggie called out. “Jake’s getting guns. Stay covered and don’t move.”
“I’ve got to get to the kids, Maggie. Veronica will be freaking out. She’ll probably come looking for me. I’ve got to get to her first.”
“You can’t get to her with a bullet in your head. Just wait. Chase is with her. He’s a smart kid, he’ll keep her inside. Jake will be back. Don’t you dare move.”
Seconds passed. Maggie could hear the wooden porch creaking. “Dawson?”
“I’m here,” he answered. Maggie could hear the tension in his voice now.
Minutes passed. No shots were fired. Jake finally came back with three rifles.
“What the hell took you so long?” Maggie asked.
“I blanked for a minute, and couldn’t remember the vault combination. It took me a couple of tries to get it.”
Maggie shook her head. “Dawson, you OK still?”
“Yes,” he called back. “I can’t wait for Jake. I’ve got to get to the kids.”
“I’m here, Dawson,” Jake said. “I’ve got rifles.”
Jake handed one rifle and a box of ammo to Maggie. Staying low, he moved across the floor. Reaching up, he opened the door just enough to slide a rifle and ammo across the porch to Dawson.
“I’m going upstairs to the back window,” Jake said. “Don’t either of you do anything till you hear me call. Dawson, I’ve got a high-powered scope on my rifle. I’ll get a sight on whoever is out there.”
Jake commando-crawled out of the kitchen with the rifle across his back, while Maggie and Dawson loaded theirs. Another shot rang out, and Maggie dropped her box of ammo, sending bullets bouncing across the floor. This time it wasn’t the shooter from the woods. The shots were close, from the back porch. Dawson fired three times into the woods before dropping behind cover, then scrambled across the porch to g
et another angle. He popped back up and fired three more shots. Jake was just at the top of the stairs when he heard Dawson’s shots.
“Maggie!” Jake called out. “Maggie, are you OK?”
Maggie froze for seconds as she watched the bullets bounce across the floor in slow motion, rolling to a stop against the floorboards. For a moment, she imagined a belt-fed machine gun firing with hundreds of spent casings bouncing around her kitchen floor. She kept thinking that she needed to pick up all the bullets before the kids came home and hurt themselves.
Jake came flying down the stairs two at a time and startled Maggie from her daze. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he asked, “Who fired those shots, Maggie? You?”
Then, Jake noticed the bullets scattered around the floor and realized Maggie’s rifle hadn’t even been loaded yet.
Maggie calmly looked at him and said, “No, they came from outside. I think it was Dawson. Are the kids OK?”
A quick visual check revealed Maggie wasn’t physically hurt; no blood. He called to Dawson but there was no answer. He tried again, still no answer. Staying low, he crawled to the door, propped it open, but saw no one. He looked back at Maggie, who was watching him intently.
“He’s gone, I think. I’m going out.”
Maggie clenched her jaw, and whispered, “Be careful.”
Jake nodded in agreement, then open the door just enough to squeeze out. Once on the porch, he scrambled quickly to cover behind the railing. Suddenly he realized that in the panic, he hadn’t loaded his weapon. He quickly pumped a dozen rounds into the chamber. He raised the scope to his eye and slowly scanned the woods for the shooter. He moved to the area around the cottage and some shrubbery that could provide cover. Nothing moved except for a few finches and a squirrel.
“Maggie, did you see what happened to Dawson?” No answer. “Maggie? Which way did Dawson go?”
Suddenly hurried steps grew louder on the gravel drive at the side of the house. Jake repositioned himself behind the barbecue and leveled the rifle in the direction of the approaching steps. Maggie started to answer, but Jake shushed her, pointing nervously to the side of the house. Dawson came running breathlessly around the corner.
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