by Hunt, Jack
“So today’s the big day. Erika gets to go home. You two live nearby?”
“Us? Um. We don’t live together.”
“But you’ve been here every day for the last month. I figured you were together.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Ah, like that.”
He nodded. Nate noticed there wasn’t a ring on her finger.
“You dating?”
Helen chuckled. “Why, you asking?”
He got tongue-tied as he tried to backtrack, not wanting her to get the wrong end of the stick. “I’m joking,” she replied. “You have a good woman in there.”
“Yeah, I suppose I do,” he replied as he used his elbow to hold open the door into Erika’s room. Erika was sitting up in bed, her eyes were bright and she was eager to get out. For a long while it had been touch and go. After the incident, he’d spent the first week in a hospital bed himself having nurses care for his gnarly wound. He now sported one hell of an ugly scar on his hand. Erika was beside herself when he recounted the story.
Danny, the young teenager that had come to his aid, had stuck around until he was well enough to go home. While being treated by the hospital, Nate had told him about the Fords, his journey from Las Vegas to Whitefish and how if he wanted to survive the coming days, how he might want to join his group. He’d said he’d think about it. That was two weeks ago. Nate hadn’t seen him since. He figured he’d left town, decided against joining or been killed.
With no internet running, no newspapers or even local radio, the only way to get news was by getting out, word of mouth or via a newsletter. A family in Whitefish had turned to circulating a newsletter in the form of an old-style, typed letter. There wasn’t much to it, just basic town news, a quick update on the remaining resources available through the emergency operation center, a word of encouragement from the mayor, the date and time of the weekly town hall meeting, requests for volunteers in specific areas and a short gag to lighten the mood. Still, it was helpful and over the past month, Nate had soaked it up. He was surprised to see how much the community of Whitefish had rallied together to help each other. It made him believe that good people still existed.
“Erika. How are you, my dear?” Helen said as she laid her clothes at the foot of her bed. Nate walked over and handed her the coffee.
“I’ll let you know when I’m out of here,” she replied.
“Ah, we’re gonna miss yah. Anything I can do for you?”
“You’ve done enough. Thanks, Helen.”
Helen turned and eyed Nate, giving him a smile before leaving. Erika’s eyes darted between them just before the door closed. Nate said nothing but sat on the window ledge and sipped his coffee, while occasionally glancing out. He looked down at Bailey’s bowl and wondered how the dog was doing. Erika missed her like crazy. She’d remained at her bedside for most of her stay until Tyler convinced her to go with him. Until that point nurses had been very accommodating and had taken to bringing her treats when they did their rounds.
“What was that?” Erika asked.
“What was what?”
“The way you looked at her.”
“What way?”
“I’m sure I caught a wink.”
“There was no wink.”
She started laughing. “I’m joking. Though I think Helen has a thing for you.”
“She does not.”
“Trust me. I’m a woman. I know the looks,” she said before taking a sip of her drink.
“There are looks?”
“Of course. A whole arsenal of them. Surely, you knew that.”
He cleared his throat and backtracked. “Well. Of course.”
“Yeah right.” She laughed. “Ah, I can’t wait to get out of here. Any sign of Danny?”
“Hasn’t been by.”
“Too bad. I liked the kid.”
Nate sat quietly, turning his head and staring out the window. “You know, I was thinking you were right. Probably best we don’t mention this to Tyler. Us, I mean.”
Her eyebrow shot up as she peered over her cup. “What caused that change?”
“Well, who knows how things will go?”
Erika cocked her head. “Something you want to tell me?”
He shook his head and pulled a face.
“Hasn’t got anything to do with Helen, has it?”
He laughed. “Come on. Enough with that. Look, I just think Tyler has enough on his plate with his mother and all.”
“Mother?”
Nate closed his eyes. He realized he’d let the cat out of the bag. Tyler had confided in him and gave him strict instructions not to tell anyone, not until he had figured out if it was truly her. Some part of him still couldn’t believe it.
Nate tried to backtrack. “Did I say mother? I meant father.”
Erika narrowed her gaze.
“You’re giving me one of those looks, aren’t you?”
“Yep. You’re not a good liar, Nate. Come on, what’s the story?” He sighed and brought her up to speed, telling her not to say anything. For a few seconds she sat there with a shocked look on her face. “Holy cow. His mother is Morning Star?”
“I don’t think that’s the bit that surprised him.”
“Well of course not but still. Damn, I thought my family was messed up.”
“Look, don’t say anything. It’s not really any of our business. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Because I can’t be trusted?”
“No. Of course not. I just…” he trailed off. “I’m gonna step out and give you some time to dress. I’ll swing back in five minutes, okay?”
She never stopped giving him that look. Now he was paranoid. What did it mean? Was she pissed? Annoyed? Was he gonna get the silent treatment for the next few days? He was beginning to think his relationship with her wasn’t worth all the drama. Nate stepped out and closed the door behind him. In the corridor nurses were going about their duties. He saw Helen attending to one elderly person in another room. She smiled, and he gave a short wave before heading down to the lower level. Officer Rutland was manning the front desk with a new security guy. There seemed to be a new face every few days. He was making his way down the hallway towards him when he heard a commotion. It was out of view, around the corner at the far end, but by the look on Rutland’s face, and his hands going up, he knew it was trouble. Nate pulled a Glock that Tyler had given him from his waistband and then backed up. Rutland turned his head towards the corridor where Nate was the only one coming down and he shook his head as if to indicate to get out of there. Nate took the hint and darted into the stairwell. There he stood with the door partially open, peering out. It didn’t take long to see who was causing the commotion. A sudden influx of soldiers bearing arms came into view. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Nate didn’t hesitate. He darted up the stairs taking them two at a time. He burst into Erika’s room just as she was finished getting dressed and was picking up Nate’s backpack and sliding her arms through it. “Get your shoes. We gotta get out of here.”
“What?”
“Armed soldiers. Let’s go.”
“What the hell? Slow down a minute, Nate. Are we talking US military?”
“If it is, they are taking this hospital by force.”
“What?”
He rushed to the window and looked out, his mouth going dry by the second. Down below were numerous military armored vehicles. “They don’t look like ours.”
“Foreign?”
“Erika. Enough questions. We need to shift ass.”
They dashed out of the room, turned right and were about to head to the far end of the hospital, to a window that opened out to a ledge and a delivery truck far below that had been there since the power grid went down, when soldiers emerged from the stairwell. Erika grabbed Nate and pulled him back inside. Yelling followed by gunfire erupted in the corridor as someone tried to protest. Thinking quickly, Erika rushed to the window and opened it. A huge gust of wind blew in taking
Nate’s breath away. Paperwork left on the side table blew into the air, some sheets went out the window falling like confetti. Nate looked out and shook his head. “Are you out of your mind?”
“You have a better idea?”
“Yeah, choose another way out and not fall to our deaths.”
Erika glanced over her shoulder at the sound of approaching soldiers.
“Decide now.”
Nate gritted his teeth and growled as he climbed out and swallowed his fear. He hated heights. Unlike some other windows in the hospital, there was no second level jutting out that they could jump down to. Instead, they climbed out and balanced precariously on a thin concrete ledge. He carefully shuffled across to a space between windows. Erika was behind him. She slid the window back into place using the tip of her boot before moving towards him. Wind blew Nate’s jacket around and nearly forced them off the edge. He stared out across the town, not daring to look down. The only thing preventing him from becoming one with the pavement below was the tips of his fingers and the balls of his feet. “I’m starting to think you’re bad luck,” he said to her.
“Ditto,” she replied.
He wasn’t sure how long they remained outside that window but it seemed like forever. His fingers were cramping up and he was beginning to think he couldn’t hold on any longer when Erika told him to shift her way. They inched their way around the brick and mortar building, slow and steady, until they managed to make it to a thick pipe that went up to the roof. Erika scaled it first like a monkey with him on her tail. As soon as he was over the lip, Nate crashed against the roof, looking up into the sky and breathing heavily.
“Why do these things keep happening? I’m beginning to think this town is cursed.”
Erika wasn’t listening. She was up and moving at a crouch towards the edge of the building that overlooked the parking lot. Nate rolled and scrambled to his feet, joining her a few seconds later.
“That sure as hell isn’t the National Guard,” she muttered.
“No shit.”
Without another word she hurried across to the north side, removing Nate’s backpack as she went. Inside she pulled a set of binoculars out and when she made it to the edge she scoped out the landscape. North Valley Hospital was quite the distance from the heart of Whitefish but with high-powered binoculars at least a portion of the south end could be seen. “What the hell?” She handed them to Nate, and he took a look. He observed tan military vehicles on the streets, foot soldiers running alongside them and from what he could tell people being dragged from their homes.
They crouched there for the better part of ten minutes scoping out the situation. Beyond the obvious concern for safety, seeing soldiers force civilians to roll stalled vehicles across the main roads into the town as though they were preparing to block all access was troubling. It meant they planned on staying. “We’ve got to get out of here. Warn Andy and the others.”
“Maybe they already know,” Erika said. She continued looking through the binos.
“Look, we can’t stay on this roof. Who knows how long it will take before they come up to search, or set up some kind of observation lookout?” Nate said looking off towards a steel doorway. The roof of the hospital was massive, and from the moment he’d got up there he’d already spotted two entry points. It wasn’t a matter of if soldiers would come up, it was only when. Erika bit down on her lower lip and nodded in agreement.
“Then again, chances are they won’t come up immediately. They’ll be occupied with clearing each of the rooms. We should stay here until it gets dark then make our way out,” Nate said. Erika nodded but had nothing to add to it. It wasn’t like they had many options. “And of all the times this could happen. I’m famished.”
Erika reached into his bag and pulled out an apple.
“You took that?”
“They gave it to me. You want it or not?”
He didn’t hesitate. While Nate tucked into it, Erika made her way to all sides of the building to get a better lay of the land and determine the best way out once night fell. They might have blocked off the roads but the woodland to the east was a clear shot.
3
“How long do we intend to keep up this façade?” Jude asked, rolling over and watching Dianna’s naked body glide out from under the sheets. In her early fifties she still looked every bit as good as when he first met her. She crossed the log cabin in the heart of O’Brien Mountain settlement and slipped into a robe. She twisted her dark hair and pushed in a wooden hairpin to hold it in place. After folding the ties in the front, she tapped out a cigarette and lit the end, before shaking the match.
“You worry too much,” she replied, blowing smoke in the air and returning to the bed. She tossed the pack of smokes on Jude’s chest and lay beside him.
“People are asking questions. They’re beginning to doubt.”
“That’s because you failed to keep control of the originals at Camp Olney.”
“Your son.” He paused and swallowed. “I mean, our son, turned them against me.”
“Oh please. You give Tyler way too much credit. It was your shortcomings, your inability to lead that brought us to this point.”
“Inability? Forty people followed me out.”
“And how many were left behind?”
He didn’t reply. It was far more. He hated the way she could get under his skin and yet mesmerize him all at once. He’d never met another woman that could dig the knife in with one hand and caress his cheek with the other. She was a master manipulator, and yet if it wasn’t for that talent, they wouldn’t have formed Camp O’Brien, or had such an impact on the county. More importantly, her work behind the scenes, many years ago, had paved the way for the situation they were now in. He could still recall the night she dropped the idea on him. It was absurd, lofty, impossible even, but not for her. She had proven herself more resourceful than any man could, including Andy. Oh, he knew how to survive, and could talk the big game, but the truth was he didn’t have the balls to make the hard choices, or the wherewithal to create the connections that would change the future. Not many could walk away from their family for the sake of a revolution. Andy had underestimated Dianna, treated her as less than him, and for a time squashed her natural instincts, but not him. Jude saw potential. He saw another side to her. She was a natural born leader, spoke multiple languages and had an irresistible charm. Though easily perceived as cold, calculating and even cruel, she could change her demeanor on a dime, and make someone fall for her and think she was the warmest and gentlest person alive. She was a chameleon, a master of her own world, and those she came across if given the chance. Hell, he had to wonder at times if perhaps she was playing him too. “Don’t you want to see them?”
“I will, in time. For now we need to stay on track.”
“On track? The train has derailed, Dianna. We are a stone’s throw away from losing control of what remains. This whole incident has changed the dynamics.”
“It’s changed nothing. We simply adapt, adjust and overcome.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “What will you do when they find out?”
“They won’t.”
“But if they do?”
Dianna glanced at him. “I will handle it. For now—”
The door burst open and Thomas entered. He glanced at them, glared at Jude and apologized for not knocking before turning to leave.
“What is it, Thomas?” Dianna asked, rolling her eyes.
With his hand still on the door Thomas stepped back in. “Something is happening. Olney’s scouts have retreated.”
“And?”
“We’ve been under their eye for the past four weeks. Don’t you find that a little strange?”
“So? Send out a group. Find out what’s happening. Why are we even having this conversation?”
“That’s… not all.”
She waited for him to share more but he seemed a little apprehensive to speak, as if hoping Jude would step out and give them priva
cy but he wasn’t going anywhere. Dianna glanced at Jude, smiled and then beckoned Thomas into a separate room where they could speak privately.
Jude’s relationship with Thomas was rocky at best. For the longest time, Thomas had been Dianna’s right-hand man, responsible for the settlement. Upon learning of the incident at Camp Olney, he’d already been quick to make it clear that when Dianna wasn’t around, he was the one calling the shots, not Jude. He was a power whore, given to the thought that one day Dianna would show some sign of affection towards him, but her heart was elsewhere. It always had been. For as long as he had known her, she was never one for settling. Distracted and unsatisfied summed her up. She was the kind of woman that only told a person what she wanted them to know. Mysterious, even in covering up her faked death, some might have assumed he knew the truth, but he was under the impression she had died until a week after the funeral. It was as if she didn’t trust him. Maybe she didn’t. If he had known what she was planning he probably would have questioned her mental state, talked her out of it, made her think about her kids. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t tell him.
Ultimately, she planned it all. The false diagnosis from the doctors. Acting in absurd ways in order to convince Andy. And eventually the final hours, medics arriving and her disappearance. That was where Thomas came into the picture. A close friend and confidant from her previous line of work, he was key to the coverup. A man that clearly would have given his own life for just a drop of Dianna’s attention. Jude had warned her that she was toying with his heart. That it wouldn’t end well. Even admirers had their limits. Clearly, he expected her to return some form of affection but she never gave it, and she never would. He was nothing more than a dog on a leash. She’d even laughed behind his back and said, “You don’t keep a dog, and bark yourself.” The truth was her sights had always been set on overseeing the masses. And Andy, Jude, and Thomas were just stepping-stones towards that. While initially she was drawn to Andy because she saw his influence, she soon realized his limitations. He wanted nothing more than to raise a family, teach and hold seminars about survival — not her, she wanted more. More visibility. More glory. More adoration. Like a modern-day Cleopatra. She didn’t want the scraps from the table, or to live in the shadow of any man. Corey’s birth was a mistake according to her, an unplanned pregnancy and Tyler, well he was just another stumbling block in her way.
