Greta’s eyes widened even farther. “You really have lost it, haven’t you?” A resolute frown came over her face. “I’m going to fetch my things. If you want to shoot, then shoot.” Without another word, she turned around and marched off in the direction of the lodge.
Chris raised his pistol and pointed it at her retreating figure. “Come back here!” he yelled at her furiously. “I’m serious, I’ll shoot!”
Before anyone could react, from behind Chris several shots rang out in quick succession. Chris spun around to see a tall figure twenty yards away, bearing down on him. It was Ralph, coming from the direction of his trailer in the far corner of the field, his rifle raised to his shoulder.
“Fuckhead, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he called out in a deep growl.
Following close behind him were Clete and Maya. Clete carried his rifle while Maya held a pistol in her grip. As they approached, people scattered in all directions, moving out of the line of fire.
“Hey, this is none of your business,” Chris said angrily as the trio came to a halt ten feet away. “You’re not part of this group.”
“You point a gun at a woman like that, I’m making it my business,” Ralph told him curtly. He stared at Eddy, Mark, and James, who stood nervously, trying to figure out what to do. “Put those pistols away or I’ll riddle you full of holes.”
“In fact, best thing is you boys drop them on the ground right now,” Maya said calmly. “That way nobody gets hurt.”
Clete had moved several feet away from Ralph to provide a separate field of fire at the three men.
Eddy looked over uncertainly at Chris. “What do you want us to do?”
“Now!” Ralph roared.
Shaking his head in frustration, Chris leaned over and dropped the Steyr on the ground, followed immediately by Eddy, Mark, and James, who all appeared relieved to do so.
Gun in hand, Maya walked over to them and collected the weapons.
Cody glanced over toward the driveway to see that Greta had reached it. A moment later, she disappeared from sight behind a row of bushes. He had to admire her stubborn pluckiness and wondered if she knew just how lucky she’d been.
Walter nodded his head in appreciation at Ralph, then faced Chris, “Were you really going to shoot Greta in the back?” he asked incredulously.
Chris made no reply. He appeared stunned by the events of the past few minutes, and how they’d all transpired against him. Cody too was dazed. Everything had happened so quickly, it was hard to take in.
“Given the right circumstance, it doesn’t take long for men to show their true natures, does it?” Walter said, shaking his head. “Strip away the veil of civilization, and there they stand for all to see. There’s the good, there’s the bad…” he paused, staring over at Ralph, “and there’s the ugly.”
Maya smiled gently. “While they might look downright scary, sometimes the ugly can surprise you.”
“True,” Walter replied. He stared at the trio. “With all the confusion, you three mightn’t know exactly what’s going on here. There’s been a parting of ways at this camp. If I was a politician, I’d chalk it up to irreconcilable differences, or something like that.”
“No kidding,” Ralph said.
Walter smiled. “Anyway, the upshot is that five of us are leaving right now. You three are welcome to join us.”
“Where will you go?” Clete asked. “If you plan on leaving the Cohutta, count us out. Like I told you, this is my old stomping ground. Don’t make sense for us to go anyplace else.”
“We’ll be staying in the area,” Walter told him. “Come over to my trailer and I’ll show you exactly where on the map. Then you can decide if you want to come with us. I, for one, would certainly like that.”
“Me too,” Cody said enthusiastically, Emma and Pete joining him almost in unison. They all looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Maya broke out into a smile too. “Thank you. I think we’d like that. Looks like we’ve got a new community forming. How exciting!”
EXCERPT FROM EASTWOOD:
THE NO DIRECTION HOME SERIES BOOK TWO
On a residential backstreet in Old Fort, Tennessee, the next town south of Ocoee, Mason Bonner and Russ Willis sat in the front garden of a large corner house. Though the lawn was in need of mowing, the garden still looked good. Bright orange anemones and magnolias lined either side of the center walkway leading to the front porch, and in one corner was a paved courtyard where the two men sat at an expensive-looking patio table.
Give it another month, this will have all turned to jungle, Mason thought to himself idly. Just like the rest of the world.
Over the past couple of days he’d worked hard preparing for the move, stocking up on as much food, guns, ammunition, gasoline, and medical supplies as he could. Once he left the city, there would be no going back. That morning, he and his crew had made the two-hour trip from Knoxville in a combination of motorhomes, campervans, and trailers.
Russ had rendezvoused with the group in downtown Cleveland, where he’d guided the convoy along the back roads to Old Fort, lessening the chance they would be spotted in the area. With such a large gang, it was best no one got wind of Mason’s arrival.
He leaned over the table, studying a local map Russ had brought with him. It was his first chance to examine the area in detail. Along with Russ’s sketch of Wasson Lodge, it gave him a better idea of what he was up against. Later that day, he would drive up and get a firsthand view for himself.
The YMCA camp was closer to the lodge than he had previously imagined. The properties were set on either side of a large headland that jutted out into Lake Ocoee, and Russ informed him that the two camps were in constant communication with each other. Once Mason took over the lodge, they would make uneasy neighbors.
That meant only one thing.
On the map, Russ had marked the positions of the two roadblocks on the Cookson Creek Road.
“How often do people come in and out of the camp?” Mason asked.
“Every day,” Russ told him. “They’re still collecting supplies, as far as I can tell.”
Mason let out a satisfied grunt. “Good.” Taking the pen out of Russ’s hand, he jabbed the ballpoint at a spot farther west where the Cookson Creek Road intersected with Sloans Gap Road. “If anyone goes to Cleveland or Chattanooga, they need to come this way, I’m guessing.”
Russ nodded. “It’s the most direct route to the 411.”
Mason made a mark across the road similar to the ones Russ had made on the Cookson Creek Road. “Somewhere here, we’re going to set up our own position. An ambush point. We’ll pick off anyone leaving the YMCA camp, see if we can’t whittle down their numbers a little.” He grinned at Russ. “I run a big crew, we need space. After we take the lodge, I plan on taking here next.”
Russ’s eyes lit up. “Whittle them down? Great idea! They never leave camp without at least three people in a vehicle, so we’ll get a few of them for sure. This afternoon I’ll scout out the best place to set up the ambush.” His eyes narrowed. “When do we take the lodge, Mason?”
“Tomorrow night. We’ll attack at four in the morning, when they least expect it.” An unpleasant smile came over Mason’s lips. “This is going to be Walter’s worst nightmare. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees us.”
Russ hesitated a moment before answering. “Uh, Mason…Walter left the lodge yesterday afternoon. He was towing his trailer, so I think he’s left for good. Pete and the young kid went with him. I recognized their pickups.”
Mason frowned. “Where the hell did they go?”
There was another hesitation. “That’s the thing. I’m not sure.”
“Why not? Didn’t you follow them?”
“Of course. Problem is, I lost them. I had to drive the long way around the roadblock so I wouldn’t get spotted. By the time I got back onto Cookson, they’d disappeared.”
Mason’s face darkened. “You couldn’t catch up with them on
your motorbike?”
Russ shook his head. “You don’t understand. I drove all the way back to the highway without coming across them. They must have headed south, not west, otherwise I’d have caught up with them for sure.” He smiled nervously. “Good news is, it means we should find them pretty quick when we want to.”
Mason stared at Russ, trying to figure out whether he was lying or not just to save his ass. “Why do you say that?”
Russ pointed back down at the map and traced a finger along the Cookson Creek Road. “South heads deeper into the Cohutta,” he explained. “There’s nothing there but forest. They must plan on staying in the area.”
Studying the map again, Mason took his point. The Cookson Road followed Lake Ocoee’s southern shore deeper into the forest. It made no sense for Walter to go that way unless he planned on staying in the area.
“All right,” he said finally. “For the moment, looks like Walter’s got a reprieve.” He scowled at Russ. “Not for long, though. He’ll be dead meat soon enough. That goes for Pete and the boy too. I’ll make them pay for what they did. Big time.”
EASTWOOD, Book 2 in the NO DIRECTION HOME series is now available at Amazon.
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FROM THE AUTHOR
I have an extra chapter titled vPx073 that explains the original cause of the vPox pandemic. It used to be the opening chapter, then I took it out as I wanted readers to get straight to the main story.
If you want to find out how Dr. Robert D. Clements, Ph.D. allowed vPox escape from a Level 4 Biohazard laboratory and changed the world forever, I’d be happy to send it to you.
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As it’s only one chapter, I’m also including OUTZONE RAIDER, a free, full-length, post-apocalyptic novel to make it a square deal.
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No Direction Home: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Series Page 18
