Lone Survivor (Book 3): All That Escapes

by Hunt, Jack

  That made him laugh. “No, kid. Unfortunately that boat has sailed.”

  He took a large hit on his cigar and watched Eddie light his. Eddie started coughing hard. “Wow, those are powerful.”

  “How old are you two?”

  “Seventeen. I turn eighteen in a few months,” Eddie said.

  “You ever thought of joining the military?” Ray asked. He was always on the lookout for new blood. Before the blackout there were dozens of core members in Waldo County, and many chapters found in thirteen of Maine’s sixteen counties. The actual number of militia spread across the different counties varied from year to year. There had been at one point up to 3,500 of them but in this neck of the woods there were only a few hundred. Not all of them were as committed as his group, that’s why he only had around thirty men.

  Max looked back at him. “Why?”

  “Curious. We could always use another two scouts.”

  “Fuck that. And get shot?” Eddie said.

  “For someone that walks around with an army jacket on, you certainly act like a bitch,” Ray said. That made Max laugh.

  Eddie frowned, pursing his lips. “I was just playing you. You think those were real tears? Man, you are gullible.”

  Ray laughed.

  “How does someone join?” Max asked.

  Ray blew out smoke from the corner of his mouth. “Well we usually expect a member to own a rifle with a hundred rounds of ammunition, a backpack with specific gear in it, practice winter camping, know some survival techniques, and…” He started laughing. “Look, we have some formality to go through but I think with you two we could bypass all of that. You know how to shoot a gun?”

  “I do,” Max said. He looked at Eddie.

  “Well obviously. Geesh,” Eddie said. taking a large swig of his beer and not looking him in the eye. Cleary he hadn’t, but the emo kid — there was potential there.

  5

  Think fast. Beth’s heart drummed hard at the sound of a door slamming, and voices echoing in the house. Even if the key to the truck was among the set and she managed to get the vehicle started, the men’s truck was blocking the exit. She only had two options: leave by way of the garage door or enter the house and… well, face them. Beth kept a firm grip on Grizzly. “Quiet, boy,” she said trying to focus.

  “I’m telling you we should have shot him when we had the chance.”

  “And where would that have got us?” another voice replied. “No, we need them as much as they need us. We play this out for as long as we can. Alliances are important, Ned.”

  “Bo, I’m not saying they aren’t but these trades don’t seem fair.”

  Beth wondered if she just waited in the garage whether they would leave again. The sound of a portable stove kicking in, and one of them asking the other if he wanted coffee, made it clear they weren’t going anywhere. She couldn’t take Grizzly out there. His nails tapping on the wooden floor would be a clear giveaway. She had no other choice than to face them. “Wait here. Okay? I’ll be back,” she said to Grizzly. He let out a soft whine and she glared at him. Sometimes that was all it took for him to understand. He sat down while she approached the door and eased it open. Don’t creak. Don’t creak. She peered down the corridor. A large bearded man walked past the doorway of the kitchen. She pulled back. Damn it. Turning to Grizzly, she brought a finger up to her lips.

  Again she looked.

  It was all clear.

  Pulling her handgun from its holster she stepped out and closed the door behind her. Slowly she inched her way toward the kitchen. Her pulse was racing. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears.

  “Horsemeat for ammunition. I think it’s worth more. I think we should be getting far more. That was our last horse. We should have held on to it.”

  “Ned, you don’t get it. Ammunition is a rare commodity right now. People are going through it like wildfire. We can hunt for our food but we can’t beat a person to death with a horse.”

  “You can trample them.”

  Both of them laughed. “Here, take your coffee and shut up.”

  “Ah, service with a smile.”

  Beth rounded the corner to find one of the men seated at a small table in the kitchen with his back turned to her, and the other one leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee close to his lips. They were both rugged in appearance and wearing ratty-looking jeans, work boots and plaid shirts. “Don’t move,” she said.

  “I wasn’t planning on it. Coffee?” the one guy standing beside the counter asked gesturing to a French press.

  “All I want is the keys to your truck.”

  “You hear that, Ned? All she wants is the keys.”

  “Guessing you’re Bo?” she said to the one by the counter.

  “That’s right. Do we know each other?”

  “No. Now the keys, please,” Beth said, her hand extended.

  “You know how many people have walked through our doors asking for the same thing and have left empty-handed? Some never left but that’s another story.”

  She wiggled her fingers. “Keys.”

  “You won’t get far. Trust me. We might not get you but the roads out there are hostile, especially for a pretty girl like you. Now if you need to get somewhere, maybe we can come to some arrangement.”

  “Just give me the fucking keys before I rearrange your face.”

  Ned snorted. “Fiery one.”

  “Yeah, I like that,” Bo said. “Tell me, what’s the urgency?”

  Beth fired a round at the floor and both of them nearly shit bricks. “Your life,” she said, then gestured again for the keys. Bo reached into his top shirt pocket and tossed them over. She caught them with her left hand. “Now both of you get on the floor.”

  They both dropped onto their bellies and Beth reached for what looked like a horse leash hanging on a hook. She tossed it to Ned. “Tie your pal up.”

  He looked at her with a frown. “You know, you don’t need to do this. Not everyone is bad.”

  “Sorry, can’t take a chance.”

  Ned hogtied Bo, and then dropped down so Beth could move in and do the same with him. “At least let us know why you need it?”

  “My friend is injured. I need to get him medical attention.”

  “Shot?”

  “Bitten by a copperhead,” she said as she tied Ned up. Strangely he didn’t put up a fight, though the gun to the back of his head, and her knee pushed into his shoulder blade, probably helped.

  “You need antivenom. Guessing you are heading for Port Jervis. That’s a good twenty-minute ride from here. I figure whoever is bitten can’t be far otherwise you wouldn’t be risking your neck to try and get medication. Let me save you the hassle. The town is in ruins. Anything that should be operational isn’t. Pharmacies and grocery stores have been looted. You’ll find yourself stepping over the dead. As for the hospital. No one is there. Now I know a guy who has what you need but that requires you trusting us. But can you do that?”

  “I just told you.”

  “Right. You can’t take chances.”

  Beth jabbed him with a finger. “How about you tell me where this guy of yours is?”

  “You won’t get to him without us. Trust me on that,” Bo said.

  She stared at him, fully aware that this could just be some elaborate story to get her to free them, but then on the other hand, if he was telling the truth she could find herself spinning wheels, getting ambushed or worse — not getting back in time to save Landon.

  “Ah, let her go,” Ned said. “She seems like a big girl who can handle herself. Dixon will love her.”

  Beth walked out of the room and got Grizzly. When she came back in, they were rolling around trying to get out of their restraints. They took one look at the dog and their eyes widened. “Here’s what I’m gonna do. I’ll take you with me,” she said to Bo. “Your pal here can stay.”

  “No. If I go, so does he. Sorry, that’s a rule we don’t break. It’s what’s kept us alive.”


  “And yet you’re both on the floor right now.”

  “But still alive,” Bo said, a grin forming. He must have seen her hesitation as he continued, “How old are you? Eighteen, nineteen?”

  “What’s it to you?” she asked.

  “I had a daughter about the same age.”

  She could tell he was trying to engage on some other level but she didn’t have time for that. “Look, I have to go. I would love to chit chat but…”

  “You have to get the antivenom. Right. Well, I wish you all the best. We could have been of help to you… and your friend.”

  Beth exited with Grizzly and loaded him into their truck. It was a 1984 Chevrolet Blazer. She inserted the key and it started without any trouble. Huh. He hadn’t lied about that. As she backed out of the driveway she couldn’t help but ponder what he’d said. If the town was in bad shape and overrun, the odds of her making it in and out without trouble were slim. Gangs, bandits, troublemakers; they’d hear the vehicle coming. And who was this Dixon? She sighed and slammed on the brakes. The truck idled at the mouth of the driveway as she stared at the house. “Damn it!” she said smacking her hand against the steering wheel.

  The what-ifs bombarded her mind.

  What if he was right?

  What if the town was overrun?

  What if she got grabbed by a large group?

  What if, what if?

  Everything told her to take a risk but was that the smart thing to do? Twenty minutes. She could reach Port Jervis in twenty minutes. She looked at the fuel gauge which was almost full. If he was wrong she could return and… What was she thinking? The clock was ticking. Every second she wasted was one step closer to Landon losing a limb, or losing his life. Beth hopped out of the truck and went back into the house. She opened the door and went over to Bo and cut his legs free but not his wrists which were still behind his back. “You’re coming with me.”

  “I told you. I don’t—”

  “So is he,” she said. She forced him outside, over to the truck and loaded him in the back near Grizzly. “Grizzly. Keep an eye on him.” The dog turned and snarled as she returned to collect Ned. He was still trying to get his hands free even as she cut his restraints and pushed him out the door. “Look, I get you don’t like me. I wouldn’t either. But I’ll be out of your hair really quick.” She thrust him into the drivers side while she rode shotgun. “Here’s how this is going to play out. You will take me to your friend. If he doesn’t exist, I will shoot you both. If you lead me into any trap, I will shoot you both. If you even attempt to overpower me, I will—”

  “Shoot us both. I think we get it,” Ned said.

  Ned spun the wheel and they roared out onto the open road heading north.

  “Where we heading?” Beth asked.

  “There is a Methodist church on the left, we have to turn onto Greenville Turnpike and keep going until Old Mountain Road, then we’ll swing a right,” Bo said. She glanced at them. Grizzly kept baring his teeth.

  “This dog of yours isn’t too friendly.”

  “He has a sense for people.”

  “Well maybe you can put in a good word for us,” Bo said.

  They kept on driving and Beth took in the familiar sight of vehicles stranded on the road, and homes that were burned. Some had windows smashed and there were a few bodies on the lawns. “You two own that horse training facility back there?” she asked.

  “Me and my brother did,” Bo replied. “What about yourself? Where are you from?”

  “North Carolina.”

  “That’s quite the distance. Were you vacationing out here when the blackout happened?”

  She wasn’t sure how much to tell them so she just lied. “Yeah. Visiting friends.”

  Bo nodded, keeping his eyes on her. It was a little off-putting. She considered herself a fairly good judge of character but with everyone on the defensive it was hard to tell who was good or bad. “So you’re heading back there?”

  “Yes.” She lied again because after the incident with Ruby she didn’t want anyone knowing where they were going. Landon had made that mistake. She wouldn’t.

  “Where’s your friend?” Ned asked.

  “Doesn’t matter,” she replied as they pulled onto Old Mountain Road. “Where now?”

  “I told you. We keep going for a few miles and there is a dirt road on the right.”

  Bo interjected. “Ned, keep an eye out for the orange sign otherwise you’ll blow past it.”

  “I know.”

  “Where does it go?” Beth asked.

  “It leads down to a junkyard.” Beth focused on the road until she saw the orange sign. They veered off and the truck bounced up and down. The potholes were huge.

  “God, I hate this road. I wish he would fill it in,” Ned said.

  “What’s your friend’s name?”

  “Horace, but you better leave the talking to me. He’s a little high-strung,” Bo replied.

  “Oh he’s high all right,” Ned said before chuckling.

  The road snaked into a dense green woodland until it came to a rusted ten-foot gate with barbed wire curled around the top. There were multiple red and white signs that read: Private Property No Trespassing and This Property Is Protected by Video Surveillance and Violators Will Be Shot. Ned eased off the gas and brought the truck to a stop. He killed the engine and Beth took the keys and got out and opened Bo’s door. She strong-armed him out and stood behind him pressing her handgun into the small of his back. “Well get him out here.”

  “It doesn’t exactly work like that.”

  Through the gates Beth could see a dilapidated trailer, a run-down office building and hundreds of vehicles stacked on top of one another. “Remember. You lie to me—”

  “And you shoot me. I got it. Man, this event really has got you rattled.”

  “Horace!” Bo yelled. “It’s me. Bo. You there?”

  There was no answer. No movement. With no power the video cameras didn’t move. Bo tried yelling his name again but got no response. Beth glanced back at Ned.

  “Perhaps he’s dead,” she said.

  Bo laughed. “Dead drunk, maybe, but not dead. This guy will outlive us all.”

  Bo continued to call out but after getting no response, Beth was beginning to think they were lying. She pushed Bo toward the gate and checked the lock which connected with a thick chain. She rattled it. No one was getting through that even if they had bolt cutters. Either side of the gate was a chain-link fence that went around the property.

  Just as they were about to see if there was another way in, a window on the trailer door dropped and the muzzle of a gun emerged. “Who’s that with you?”

  “A friend.”

  “Oh yeah, how about your friend step away from you?”

  “Can’t do that!” Beth yelled.

  “You asshole. Why did you bring trouble my way?”

  “She’s not trouble.”

  Beth pushed the gun harder into his back. “You sure?”

  “I’m trying to help you here,” he said in a low voice before continuing to address Horace. “Listen. All I need is some snake antivenom. For a copperhead. You’ve got that, right?”

  “Who’s hurt?”

  “Shit, Horace. Would you just open the gates?”

  “What you got to trade?”

  “You never said anything about trading,” Beth muttered.

  Bo replied. “Nothing is for free. You got anything?”

  “No.”

  “Well he isn’t going to give it away. So here’s my suggestion. You give him that bow of yours.”

  “I’m not handing that over.”

  “Then the gun.”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” Beth replied.

  “Hey look, it’s your friend’s life. The sooner you get that, the better, right?”

  Beth rolled her lower lip into her mouth and tapped her foot. She pulled him back to the truck and looked in the rear. “I’m telling you. He’s not interested
in much except weapons and…” Bo trailed off.

  “What?”

  “Well you know. He likes his women.”

  “And you had an eighteen-year-old daughter?”

  “Hey, I’m not suggesting that. I’m just saying what he likes. There isn’t much wiggle room, if you get my drift.”

  Beth stared through the fence. “Tell him I’ll give him this handgun.”

  “That’s more like it. Horace! We got a…” He turned back to her. “What is that?”

  “SIG SAUER.”

  Bo shouted out the model.

  “It got ammo?”

  Beth nodded.

  “Yep,” Bo replied.

  The door on the trailer burst open and out came this old guy wearing nothing more than a pair of pee-stained white Y-fronts, a pair of flip flops and a bathrobe. His hair was a shocking white and he had a patch covering one eye. He looked off to his left and right before hurrying towards the gate and unlocking it. “Make it quick.”

  Beth put Bo back in the truck and Ned drove them in. The old man closed the gate behind them and locked it. A feeling that she was being led like a lamb to the slaughter came over her. She parked and went to get out to find the old man peering through the window at her, his gun at the ready. “You want to tell your buddy to back up,” Beth said.

  “You want to cut me loose,” Bo said twisting in his seat. She reached over and cut his wrist restraint, and he got out.

  “What about me?” Ned asked.

  “You’re staying put,” she said as she hopped out only to have the old man nudge her towards the trailer.

  “Go on in,” Horace demanded.

  Beth hesitated.

  “You should do as he says. He gets a little agitated when people don’t listen,” Bo said.

  Beth nodded and headed into the trailer. Inside she was greeted by a funky smell of bad body odor, cigarettes and piss. It was truly awful. There was a small table covered in all manner of crap from unwashed plates to cups with coffee stains and dead flowers in a vase at the center. An old radio crackled in the background. It was like an RV but one that had been abused badly. The seating was torn up and faded, the ceiling yellow from smoke and the flooring warped with water stains. Horace shut the door behind him. He shuffled over to his table and took a spoonful of fermented cabbage and downed it before letting out a fart and scratching his ass.