by Hunt, Jack
“Those kids out there. This was probably their father.”
Beth looked back at him. “Yeah, well…” She turned around and walked off. Landon sat there looking down at the man for a minute or two before scooping up his AR-15 and fishing through his clothes for additional ammo or anything that could be of use to them. He wandered back into the office and looked out the window at the two teens. Silence gave them their answer. The girl got up and attempted to run towards the building but was soon pulled back by the older brother. She wailed as the boy tried to get her to listen to him. He looked at Landon and then led her away. Landon swallowed hard and sank into the office chair. He scooped up the beer he’d set down and drained it in one go. After, he clenched his jaw and tossed the can at the wall. What the hell were they becoming? Why did this all have to happen? It wasn’t like he was afraid to kill someone but did it always have to end that way?
“Landon. You coming?” Beth’s voice echoed.
And what of Beth? Eighteen and she’d already got blood on her hands. It was easy to kill, harder to deal with it after. He got up and walked out and found her collecting their belongings from the truck. “We can’t stay here now,” she said. “We’ll keep going.”
She said it in a way as if he was to blame. Maybe he was. Maybe he should have known better than to walk into a store alone. Perhaps he was meant to make decisions that survivalists would approve of, but that wasn’t real. No one could determine what would happen next. He shrugged into his backpack and cradled the AR-15 as they hiked out of there and over the bridge. They continued on until they picked up the Appalachian Trail again a few miles away.
Back in the woods they hiked for several miles before Dakota couldn’t go any further and they decided to camp for the night in Housatonic Meadows State Park. At least this time they were in the middle of nowhere, far from any town. They set up a tent far from the trail to avoid being spotted and made sure not to start a fire.
Landon chose to stay awake, as did Beth even though he told her to get some sleep.
Sitting on a log staring into the night, he could hear the birds of the forest, and small animals scuttling through leaves. He looked over at Beth and he could see she was just biting at the bit to speak with him. Her mouth opened and closed and then she huffed.
“You killed those men without hesitation. So why do you have a problem with what I did back there?”
He shrugged. “Maybe because I’m a father. And maybe I didn’t want it to end in more bloodshed.”
“You think I want that?”
“I don’t know what you want, Beth.”
“I want to survive.”
“Don’t you think that man did too?”
“I gave him a chance, he refused to listen.”
“You shot him in the back of the head. He was unarmed.”
She squinted at him. “What if I hadn’t been around? What do you think they would have done to you? Or Grizzly?” She waited for an answer but he never gave one. “I did what I had to do, just as I did on that mountain.”
“Yeah, and you haven’t talked about that.”
“Why do I need to?”
“Because eighteen-year-olds don’t just wake up and start killing people. That shit affects the mind.”
“Does it? You know how old I was when I killed a deer?”
He shrugged.
“Eight. Eight years old.” She stared back at him. “I never understood at the time but later you come to realize it’s what has to happen.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it? Don’t you think that animals deserve to survive? Who deserves it more? Us or them?”
Landon tossed a small twig and got up. “You’re missing the point.”
“Am I? Then tell me. Go on. Tell me why that man deserved to live?”
“Tell me why he deserved to die,” he shot back at her.
“Because he was trying to take my life. But more importantly, he could have taken yours. And I won’t let that happen.”
“I’m not your father, Beth.”
The words came out before he realized how they would impact her. She studied him for a second or two and got up and walked off into the forest. “Beth. Beth. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I…” Landon sighed, squeezed his eyes shut and ran a hand over his tired face.
18
Sam burst through the rear door of the inn with Carl in his shadow. “Where is he?” he bellowed scanning the living room and entering the kitchen. Sara stepped out of the dining area to see what all the commotion was about. Without waiting for a reply, Sam double-timed it up the steps.
“Sam. Sam. What’s the matter?” she asked.
Sam could hear Carl saying something to her as he made a beeline for Max’s room at the end of the corridor. Upon entering the room, he found Max shrugging on a backpack, and another kid climbing out the window. Before he could get out, Sam latched onto him and dragged his ass back in, tossing him on the floor.
“Whoa man, take a chill pill.”
“What the hell were you two playing at?” he yelled.
Sara entered the room, hands outstretched, trying to make sense of the situation and keep everyone calm. “Would someone tell me what happened?”
Without taking his eyes off Max, Sam responded. “Your son is what happened.”
“Look man, I don’t have time for this,” Max said heading for the window.
Sam grabbed his arm. “I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere.”
“Get off me, man. You’re not a cop anymore.”
“No but if I was, I would drag your ass down to the station. You just killed an innocent man tonight.”
“Innocent. That’s a good one,” Eddie said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Max shot back.
“I know it was you, Max. Don’t bullshit me. I saw your face with my own eyes.”
Sara got between them. “You need to back up, right now,” she said stabbing her finger into Sam’s chest. “Right now!” Her mother instinct had kicked in full tilt.
Sam took a few steps back and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I cannot believe you would be so stupid. So fucking stupid to do what you did.”
“It was more than what you two assholes were doing,” Eddie chimed in.
Max elbowed him to get him to shut up.
“What is he talking about, Max?”
“I don’t know.”
“Oh come on. Drop the act.” Sam jabbed his finger at them. “You and your buddy showed up at the dock, shot Keith Banning and took that Humvee for a joyride.”
“Keith Banning is dead?” Sara asked.
Sam nodded. “Yeah, and…”
Before he could continue any further, Carl appeared in the doorway looking out of breath. “Sam, he’s here and he’s not alone.”
He ran a hand over his face. “Shit.”
Sara threw up her hands looking perplexed. “Okay. Look, can someone tell me what is happening here?”
“There’s no time. We need to get them out of here and fast.”
He strode over to the window and saw flashlights and several men dressed in military fatigues surrounding the perimeter. “Shit, it’s too late.” He grabbed Max and thrust him towards the door. “Let’s get them up in the attic.”
“Sam.”
Before he could explain, they heard screaming downstairs and men ordering people to get on the ground. Sam told Carl to prevent them from coming up while he got the two kids out of the way. “Where’s the opening to the attic?” he said, his eyes roving the ceiling. Sara pointed to her room.
“It’s accessible through our closet.”
She led the way and they hurried into her room and used a chair to get the two of them into the attic. “Stay there. No matter what you hear. Don’t come out,” Sam said closing the closet door and heading towards the stairs with Sara. Before they’d made it to the top, Mick Bennington appeared.
“Where is he, Sam?”
“Don’t fuck with me. That boy murdered one of our own.” Mick brushed past him and with a nod of the head started having his men search the rooms. “Look, you can make this easy or hard. Tell me where Max is?”
His gaze bounced to Sara. She shrugged. “He went out tonight with a friend.”
“Oh I know he was with a friend. I don’t know who that other kid was but I will find them. So where are they?”
“You know, you have no right coming here,” Sara said. “Where’s your warrant?”
“Lady, shut the fuck up,” he said walking past her. “Right now you are not in charge. And I don’t need a warrant. I am working under the authority of FEMA and the U.S. military.”
“More like you are one of their bitches,” Carl said coming up the stairs. “This will only end badly if you continue down this path so go easy on her, Mick.”
“Down this path?” Mick said turning towards him. “This path was created by her son. Do you see us killing anyone? No. Do you see us taking anyone’s weapons? No. And yet you expect me to take it easy? Fuck you. Fuck her. And anyone else who tries to stop us from finding them.”
“Hey!” Sam said stepping up to him. “Watch it.”
Mick looked him up and down with a smile on his face. “Your time of having authority is over, deputy,” he said emphasizing the word deputy. “Step aside or I will forcibly have you removed and arrested.”
Downstairs Sam could hear Tess crying. He glanced over the staircase and saw her on the floor with her hands zip tied. The older ones, Janice, Arlo and Rita, were shown some kindness and had their faces pressed against a wall. It was strange to see locals he knew dressed in military fatigues. They were regular folk, hunters, fishermen, but mostly friends of Mick.
“Any luck?” Mick asked.
“Nope.”
Mick smiled as his gaze bounced to them.
“We saw them come this way after they dumped the Humvee in the bay.” Mick stepped up to Sam, getting within breathing distance. He could smell alcohol on his breath. “That’s right. They not only killed, and stole a Humvee but they destroyed thousands of dollars’ worth of government property. So I’m only going to ask this one more time before I arrest all of you. Where is he?”
“We don’t know,” Sam replied. “Maybe he had second thoughts on coming home.”
Mick blew out his cheeks. “All right. Have it your way.” He whirled a finger in the air. “Take them in.” Suddenly multiple men came at them.
“On what basis?” Sam asked.
“On the basis that you are obstructing justice.”
“Hey. Get your hands off me,” Sara said struggling before being pushed against a wall and having her wrists zip tied.
Mick stood back and enjoyed watching as his crew forced them down the stairs and out the door. He turned to Holden. “You checked the other structures?”
He nodded. “What about the attic?”
Both men looked up, their eyes roving the ceiling searching for an opening. Over the next few minutes they went room to room searching for an opening. There had to be one. He knew in older houses it might not be in the same place so they continued until Holden called out to him. “Mick, I’ve found it.”
Mick hurried into the bedroom to find Holden stepping up on a chair and lifting up a panel in the ceiling. It might have seemed like a strange place for an attic for those that were familiar with seeing access doors above the landing, but in his time in Castine, he’d seen a number of homes with access points in the sides of walls, as well as in bedroom closets. Holden hauled himself up and turned on a flashlight and shone it around.
“Anything?” Mick asked from down below.
“Nope. Just boxes.”
“Check them.”
He waited expecting Holden to find them but after a few minutes he emerged shaking his head. “They’re not there.”
“Well, perhaps they were telling the truth. Too bad,” he said heading out of the room. He figured it was only a matter of time before Max showed his face and when he did they would be there to grab him. He was looking forward to a public hanging. It would send a clear message to anyone else who would try to oppose him.
Ten, maybe twenty minutes passed before Max moved. There was silence in the house. Max shifted a large panel of wood out of the way and crawled out from the cramped space, reentering the main part of the attic. “For a moment there I thought we were made,” Eddie said. “Lucky your dad built this.”
“He didn’t. I did.”
Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Ah, a place to jerk off in silence. Nicely done.”
“Oh my God.” Max rolled his eyes. “No, I meant I found it. Someone else built this. Previous owner perhaps. It had a dusty old mattress inside, dolls and a bunch of creepy magazines. No idea why it was built and I don’t know really want to know.”
“So your parents knew about it?”
“No. Why would I tell them? It was a great place to jerk off in silence,” Max said, tossing his words back at him before chuckling. Eddie smirked and hit him on the arm. They quietly made their way down to a small air vent that provided a view of the side of the home. It was too dark out to see if anyone was out there but they couldn’t see any flashlights.
“You think they’re gone?” Eddie asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Max said, making his way over to the attic door. He hesitated to lift it but when he did, he stuck his head down and listened. Nothing. No voices. No footsteps. It was possible they were waiting downstairs but he didn’t plan on going down. If they could just get to his room and grab his bag, they could head out the window. “Don’t make a noise,” he said lowering himself. Eddie followed.
They stopped walking at the sound of a creak. Max was used to the different sounds that the old house made — groaning water pipes, creaking stairs and wood expanding in hot and wet weather — but that didn’t mean he was going to rush to his room. He gave it a minute or two until he was sure no one was there before slowly creeping along the hallway to his room. The second Eddie was inside, he closed the door and they shrugged into their backpacks and headed out the window. A warm breeze blew against his face and the smell of the ocean attacked his senses. Instead of shimmying down to the edge of the roof and dropping to the ground, he climbed up the steep incline to look over the ridge and see if he could make out anyone at the front of the house.
No one.
No vehicles.
No lights.
They were gone. At least he hoped they were.
Carefully they made their way down to the ground then headed for the stable to collect a horse. Max pulled back the door and looked inside but the horses were all gone. “Bastards took them. Shit.”
“What did you expect? We took the Humvee.” Eddie chuckled. “Anyway, where are we heading?”
He bit down on his lower lip and looked off towards the trees. “To see Ray.”
“But you heard what he said.”
“I don’t give a shit what he said. Right now he’s the only one that can help us.”
They would have to hike it to Dyce Head. It was less than half a mile away. A short ten-minute walk, five if they jogged it. Aware that Mick’s crew were still in the area searching for them, they cut through Witherle Woods and went south parallel to Dyce Head Road.
Even though they were careful not to be seen, staying far back from the road, there were a few times they had to duck behind trees as they saw several of Mick’s guys on horseback patrolling the roads and shining their flashlights into the woods. It was all a matter of timing. They waited for their moment and burst out of the forest, crossed the road and worked their way down to the shore. The waves were choppy, splashing against the rocks. A seagull soared overhead squawking. Max retrieved his old fishing boat from its concealed location and under the cover of night they dragged it into the water and hopped in. Eddie took one of the oars and he took the other and they started rowing across the bay to Nautilus Island.
It was close to ten at night when they saw the dock, and were illuminated by blinding light. “Identify yourself.”
“It’s me. Max Gray. I need to speak to Ray. It’s important.”
“You’re not allowed here. Go home, kid.”
“You don’t understand. They’ve taken in my family, Sam, all of them. I shot one tonight, and dumped their Humvee in the bay.”
He heard one of them chuckle. “Hold tight.” They watched from a distance as the guy got on a two-way radio. A few seconds later the guy waved them in. “You’re good. Come on in.” Both of them rowed hard the final stretch of the way. As soon as they had their feet on dry land, they hurried up to the house.
Ray was in the middle of a meeting with six others around a table. They were drinking bourbon and smoking cigars when one of his guys led them in. “Ah, Max Gray and his ridiculous sidekick.”
“Ridiculous? Fuck you, man,” Eddie said.
That only made the men at the table laugh.
“So. I hear you’ve been causing a storm over on the island. Shot someone. Dumped a Humvee. Tell me more,” Ray said leaning back in his seat, intrigued by the tale. Max brought him up to speed. By the time he was done, all of them at the table were no longer smiling. They cast serious glances at one another.
“Arresting American citizens. I knew it would come to this.”
“Are you going to help?” Max asked.
“No, kid.”
“What?”
“We don’t have time for that. We’re fighting our own war.”
He turned in his seat and went back to pouring himself a glass of bourbon. Max couldn’t believe it. He stared at them.
“Pussies. You know I thought you guys were something else when I heard what you did in Belfast but now I can see you’re just a bunch of army wannabes. A cowardly group of assholes.”
“Hey! Watch your mouth.”
“Why? You’re too busy to do anything about it, anyway.”
Ray got up and charged at him but Max held his ground expecting him to lash out. He didn’t. Ray stared in his eyes and smiled. “Cocky sonofabitch. You remind me of me, doesn’t he, Pete?”
