Have Hope: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (The Pulse Book 1)

by Hayden James

  William felt horrible recounting the incident when his twin girls were taken. Even more so since he’s a security guard and former military. It was eating him up inside that he should have known better. “Yeah, while they were taking the girls. They already knocked me out. But Natasha heard them say what she remembered was Christopher Columbus. I figured these guys were headed toward Columbus. But I’m not sure.”

  “You’re probably right,” replied Gary. “Good thing Natasha remembered and linked it to something she learned in school.”

  Vince interjected, “So it sounds like they were driving. What kind of vehicle do they have?”

  “It’s a yellow VW camper van. That part makes them hard to find unless they abandoned it and stole something else,” replied William.

  “Well, the good thing that there are not a lot of working vehicles,” replied Gary. “Not much to steal at the moment.”

  “Let’s ride around town until we see the yellow bus,” suggested Vince. “Our grandma lives in Columbus, so Gary and I know the streets fairly well from when we would come up to visit her.”

  Gary went over to Rachel to try to calm her down. He bent down to where she was sitting on the ground and said softly, “Rachel, we have a plan. I need you to be strong. Since these guys are driving a vehicle that is inconspicuously colored, we have a good chance of finding them. Your babies need you.”

  With those words, Rachel mustered up all o the strength she had. She felt physically weak and nauseated from hearing that her twin girls were abducted and who knows what they were enduring right now. However, she was able to gather her strength, and she got back on her bicycle.

  William got back on his bike and was about to pull out of the parking lot towing the bike trailer with Regis and Natasha inside when he fell completely over, tipping the bike trailer on its side.

  “Oh, no!” Rachel shouted.

  Gary and Vince rushed over to William who was unconscious. They both flew into firefighter mode as they straightened William’s spine out and after getting him from underneath the bicycle. They also got Natasha and Regis out of the bike trailer and put it back on its two wheels.

  “What’s wrong?” Rachel asked, after parking her bicycle and coming over to where Vince and Gary were checking William’s vitals.

  “His pulse seems to be fine,” replied Gary. “I think he’s still experiencing the effects from the concussion. From what he said, it sounded like they pistol-whipped him.”

  “Oh, dear!” Rachel responded.

  William started coming out of his unconscious state as he looked around. “What happened?” he asked.

  “You fell unconscious,” answered Vince. “That’s normal when you experience a severe concussion, which it sounds like you did.”

  “That could be why I felt like I’ve been needing to vomit. I thought I was just under duress from having Maddy and Addy taken on my watch,” replied William.

  “Let’s walk and find you someplace to stay out of the sun,” Vince said. Vince and Gary helped William up, and they traveled together to find a shelter for William to rest.

  After walking a block, they found a safe building that was unlocked that he could hunker down in.

  Anxiety filled Rachel as she struggled to even stop to deal with this knowing her dear girls were with strangers who could be doing unimaginable things to them. She said, ‘Will, why don’t you stay here in this parking lot. You can watch Natasha and Regis. This could be our home base while Gary, Vince, and I are out finding these creeps.”

  William, who sat in one of the chairs in the lobby of the building replied, “You guys need me. I can help. I need to find my girls. I don’t leave any man behind. Never.”

  Rachel answered, “Hon, you can’t go. We will need you soon. Just do as Gary and Vince say, they’re firefighters.”

  Gary advised, “Do not lay down. Try to stay sitting up at all times.” Then he turned to Natasha, “If your dad seems to be dosing off, I need you to keep him awake. It’s very important. Keep talking to him.”

  Gary then turned to Vince, “I’m worried that he might have a fracture in his skull and a brain bleed.”

  Vince replied, “That’s possible. We just need him to stay conscious.”

  “Right. We don’t have a moment to spare. We need to find the girls and get back to William as soon as possible,” Gary summarized.

  Rachel said, “I’m sure Will is fine. I think it’s just a bad concussion.” She turned to Will and said, “Rest and hunker down here, babe. We are going to need your strength, later on, to get our girls back.”

  William replied, “Yes dear. I can watch Regis and Natasha. I’ll keep them safe.”

  “The three of us back riding together again,” stated Gary as he got his bike.

  “The fearsome threesome,” joked Rachel.

  The three exited the building after leaving William. The threesome was back again, riding. They decided to work street by street looking for the yellow VW camper van. That would represent their best lead. Since they were headed to Columbus, it would be unlikely that they would still be in the van, but there was a possibility.

  Turning street by street was daunting, but they kept their eyes looking for where the men might have hidden the VW van in the backyards of the neighborhood houses. Especially since the VW van was bright yellow, they’d most likely try to conceal it, unless they did not think that William would come after them.

  Gary advised, “Let’s work out the way toward the outskirts of town first. Then we’ll work our way toward the center of town.”

  “Good idea,” replied Vince.

  The three rode street by street working their way north, heading to the outskirts of town. The neighborhoods seemed more sparse and the land that the homes were built on was much larger the farther they went out of town.

  As the three turned for what seemed to be the hundredth corner to go down yet another street, Gary stopped his back instantly. “Guys, I see it. Stop and get over to the side of the road,” advised Gary. The three moved over to the side of the road, keeping quiet and conspicuous. Gary pointed halfway down the road, “Look down there at Bert’s Beer Hall. Look what’s in the back parking lot behind the chain-linked gate.”

  Both Vince and Rachel followed Gary’s directions and looked for the sign that read Bert’s, Beer Hall. There, Rachel saw it. She gasped, “Oh my goodness! There it is!” She put her hand over her mouth not to make too loud of a noise. Since the street was empty, her voice would carry farther than she would intend.

  Vince whispered, “The good thing is that none of these men know what we look like and that we are after them. We can use that to our advantage. Rachel, walk by the bar and see if you can see anything in the windows. Even though they don’t expect any trouble from you, try not to let them see you. Blend into the surroundings. Look unassuming.”

  Rachel got off her bike and engaged the kickstand. She nonchalantly walked down the street, head toward the ground and walking as if she had somewhere to go. When she passed by the bar, she lifted her head to see if she could see anything through the windows.

  As she walked by, her body surged with rage at what she saw. She knew she could not do anything about it, so she made it seem like she went down the wrong street and headed back in the direction of where Gary and Vince were waiting down at the corner of the street.

  When she returned to the brothers, she hyperventilated as she tried to describe what she saw.

  “Calm down,” Vince said as he rubbed her back. “Deep breaths. You have to tell us what you saw.”

  He was right. She had expected that if she was able to see anything; it wasn’t going to be pleasant. However, seeing her babies in that condition was not for the faint of heart. She would have to keep it together for her daughter’s sake. Her breathing calmed and she could verbalize what she saw, “I saw Maddy and Addy tied together with bandanas gagging their mouths. There were a large group of men inside. They seemed to be drinking and talking. Oh, no! What are the
y going to do to my babies?”

  “Shhh!,” Gary whispered while he put his finger to his mouth, reminding Rachel to keep her voice down and to keep it together.

  Vince advised, “We are going to wait until nightfall before we make our move. We want to conceal ourselves when we sneak up on them. That is our best shot.”

  Gary added, “If they keep drinking at this pace, they will not be much of a match for us. Let’s allow them to do us a favor and to get inebriated. Let’s get back to William and let him know that we found Ron and his twins. Let’s let him know of our plan for tonight.”

  The three rode off. Rachel found it near impossible to leave her babies. However, she knew Gary and Vince’s plan had a better chance of getting her girls back than if she barged into the bar right now. Patience was going to keep her daughters alive, despite how painful it was.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Liam Conner

  Nashville, TN

  12:08 AM

  “Do you think we are far away enough from them now?” Prue asked. The night was pitch black, and it was late and unsafe for Liam and Prue to be out roaming the streets by themselves.

  “I think so. There’s no way they could have trailed us if they went back to their house to get reinforcements,” replied Liam. When Liam and Prue made it out of the gas station and watched the Bubbas ran off, then they ran in the opposite direction.

  “I can’t run anymore,” relented Prue in between gasps of air.

  Wanting to make sure she was all right, Liam suggested, “Let’s take a break on this lawn. I don’t think they could have caught up with us.” Both Prue and Liam sit on the lawn of what appeared to be a vacant home a few neighborhoods down from where they had the encounter with the Bubbas.

  Prue was still trying to catch her breath while she sat. Liam kept an eye on her, making sure she was OK. He’d hate for anything bad to happen to her. The two rested and allowed their bodies to calm down, still anxious from what had occurred.

  Their deep breaths subsided and their heart rates returned to normal as they sat on the lawn, not saying a word to each other for several minutes. As soon as Liam was about to relax and let his guard down, he heard something from the distance.

  “Hear that?” Liam whispered to Prue.

  “I do. What do you think it is?” Prue asked.

  “Sounds like motors of some sort of vehicle. Sounds like there is more than one. I don’t like the sound of this. I can hear them coming in our direction. I have a bad feeling,” replied Liam. Liam looked at the house where they were sitting. “This house looks vacant. Let’s duck in here. I do not want to be around when these guys come around.”

  Liam jumped to his feet and dragged Prue’s arm, helping her up and leading her to the house. “Oh, good. It’s unlocked,” said Prue as she saw the knob turn and the door gave way when Liam tried it.

  “Quick, get in. Let’s crouch in front of the window so we can see who is riding these vehicles,” suggested Liam. Both him and Prue went inside the house and ducked in front of the window to watch who would be driving by.

  Moments went by, and the sound of the motors grew louder and louder. Chew picked up his head out of the backpack dog carrier on Prue’s back to see what the commotion was about. As they heard the vehicle coming down the street, the motors were so loud that it echoed throughout the entire street and reverberated in their eardrums. “Gosh, that’s loud,” muttered Prue as she held her palms up to her ears to cover them.

  Both of them watched to see who would be riding down the street. “Oh, my word!” Liam said. Prue could barely hear him over the sounds of the motors. The house vibrated from the noise. They saw the four Bubbas, riding on vintage motorcycles. The biggest Bubba rode an American Bobber, where another rode a scrambler, a cruiser, and a dirt bike.

  “Oh, no!” Prue whispered after they passed by, the sound lessening the further down the road they got. “Do you think they were out looking for us?”

  “I’m not sure, but given that they took off to their house in that neighborhood like four bats out of Hell, I’d imagine that they were looking for us,” explained Liam. Liam paused for a second, “I know we cannot outrun them on foot.”

  “Yeah, that seems unlikely,” affirmed Prue.

  As Liam and Prue felt as though they were an immediate danger, the danger was lurking right behind them. “Hands where I can see them,” a stern voice stated from behind them. Then they heard the man pump a shotgun. Both Liam and Prue raised their hands and kept silent. “Now, turn around!” the stern voice said.

  Both Prue and Liam turned around in the living room of the house that they once thought was abandoned. Their gazes were met with a frail, thin-old man with a shotgun pointed at Liam. “You two have two seconds to get out of this house before I start firing rounds at you,” barked the old man.

  Liam and Prue were well aware that they could not go back out on the street without a confrontation from the Bubbas, that would ultimately come to their untimely demise. The safety of this house was their best bet. However, the aggressive old man was making things difficult for them.

  “Sir, if you don’t mind, I’d like to explain,” started Liam, his hands raised at his elbows as he attempted to explain the situation and to bargain with the man.

  The old man seemed agitated by Liam’s disobedience to his commands. “Shut up! And get out!” shouted the old man.

  Knowing that they would not survive if they were forced to leave the confines of the house, Prue burst into tears. As she held her arms up, so uncontrollably sobbed.

  “What’s wrong pretty dear?” the old man relented. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” This was an about-face from the confrontation that they were just having. The old man put down his gun.

  “We are being hunted by the Bubbas,” explained Liam.

  “The boys that were just riding around on their motorcycles?” asked the old man who seemed to know who they were. Prue kept sobbing while Liam diffused the situation.

  “Yeah, those are them. We had a confrontation with them at a gas station around an hour ago,” explained Liam. Prue sobbed still. All the pressure from today and from the disaster had gotten to her. After she was certain she was safe inside this house, only to have a shotgun pointed at her was too much for her to take.

  “Those boys aren’t going to hurt you. They live a couple of blocks over. They like to ride those noisy motorcycles at all hours of the day and night all over the neighborhood. Other than doing petty thefts around the neighborhood and at the local stores, they wouldn’t hurt anyone. I suspect that they are into dealing drugs as well,” the old man informed Liam and Prue.

  Prue calmed down and was able to finally speak. She said, “They threatened our lives a few moments ago. We had to duck into here so they wouldn’t kill us.”

  “Well, no wonder you’re frightened. Guys, come on inside. Would you like some food? My name is Mr. Patterson. What are yours?” Mr. Patterson said to both Prue and Liam as he waved them over to his dining room. As Mr. Patterson moved closer to Liam and Prue, he was half the size of Liam in stature, a tiny old man. “I did not understand you guys had gone through all of this, believe me.” Mr. Patterson felt bad for adding to Liam and Prue’s strain. As Liam and Prue passed Mr. Patterson on their way to the dining room, Chewy stuck his head out of the pack and gave a slight growl. “What is that in your backpack little lady?”

  Prue answered, “Oh, that’s Chewy. He’s a little ornery before you get to know him.”

  Liam interrupted, “My name is Liam, and this is Prue. We both are fairly new to Nashville.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Liam and Prue. Come on over to the dining table and make yourself a home. These chairs are comfortable, nice big leather ones. I have some rice and beans that I’m cooking on a fire that I have in the back. What does the little dog eat? I think I might have some canned meat for him,” said Mr. Patterson.

  Mr. Patterson went to his backyard to bring in the pots of rice and beans. Liam and
Prue took a seat at the dining table, sinking into the plush, brown leather chairs. Prue took Chewy out of the backpack to allow him to stretch out and run around a little.

  Mr. Patterson brought the pots back in and he seasoned them with spices. He found a can of all chicken white meat for Chewy. He gave the little dog the meat on a plate. “Go one you two, take as much as you want. I have food for over a year stashed in my garage,” explained Mr. Patterson.

  Despite Mr. Patterson’s large stockpile, Liam didn’t want to take any of his food. “Mr. Patterson, we can’t take any of your food. Who knows how long this thing will last. We just can’t,” argued Liam. “We appreciate the offer very much, however.”

  Mr. Patterson replied, “Of course you can. It’s been a long time since I have had anyone over since Beth died. It’s my pleasure to have you two over. Who would have thought that I would have such a beauty sitting at my table?” Mr. Patterson looked at Prue, making her blush.

  “Why don’t you guys go help yourselves to the beans and rice,” Mr. Patterson reminded Liam and Prue, negating their qualms regarding taking his food.

  “We can’t,” interrupted Liam.

  “I insist,” replied Mr. Patterson. “Please, allow me to have the pleasure of hosting you two. It would mean a great deal to me.” Mr. Patterson looked down with tears in his eyes. “It would mean more to me than you two would ever realize,” he said.

  “All right,” relented Liam. “Let us give you some of our food in exchange. It’s the least we can do.”

  “That’s fine,” replied Mr. Patterson. Liam went to his pack and handed him several packages of freeze-dried food. “And on that note, guys, go help yourselves.”

  Prue and Liam took the plates that were set out by the pots of food and help themselves with large portions. It was the first hot food they had since the disaster struck. Mr. Patterson served himself and joined Prue and Liam at the table. Chewy feasted on the chicken from his plate, growling as he ate with enjoyment.