Pandemic: The Beginning (Pandemic Book One)

by Christine Kersey

“Dad!” Dylan shouted as he burst into the room, his eyes like saucers. “A bunch of men are coming down our street.”

  Matt dashed to the bedroom window. Jessica was right on his heels. They looked out their second story window, which overlooked the front of their house.

  “Crap,” Matt muttered while Jessica gasped. “I count six men.”

  Jessica did a quick count. “Me too.”

  “They’re coming to our house!” Dylan squeaked out.

  Terror wound its way up Jessica’s throat. What were these men prepared to do?

  Chapter 36

  Matt

  Matt watched the men marching across his manicured lawn and toward the front door. To his dismay, Chris was among them.

  He thought of the way they’d barricaded the doors. All of a sudden it felt incredibly insufficient.

  Hustling down the stairs, he felt adrenaline dumping into his bloodstream.

  “What should we do?” Dylan asked.

  Matt stopped where he was, then motioned toward the back door. “Help me move the barricade.”

  “Why?”

  “I need you to get Derrick.”

  Panic filled Dylan’s eyes. “What?”

  Trying not to let Dylan’s panic capture him, Matt pulled the dining room table away from the door. “Help me, son.”

  Dylan did. “You want me to go out there? Alone?”

  The door was clear. Matt nodded. “You’ll be fine. Hop the fence to the neighbor’s yard. The men will never see you.” He slid the door open. “Go! Now!”

  Dylan’s eyebrows bunched as he looked at his dad, then a look of resolve swept over his face. “Carl would do it.” At that, Dylan raced out the door. Matt watched until Dylan had cleared the back fence, then he locked the door and rebuilt the barricade.

  Smiling at Dylan’s Walking Dead reference, when Jessica called his name, he spun to look at her. Her eyes were frantic. “What’s going on? Where did Dylan go?”

  “To get Derrick.”

  Jessica stared at him a moment, then her shoulders sagged. “Okay.”

  Pounding, loud and insistent, sounded on the front door.

  Matt’s heart beat just as hard. He desperately hoped Derrick was home.

  “Open up,” a voice demanded, “or we’ll break your door down.”

  Cleo went into a frenzy, barking with wild abandon as she danced in front of the door.

  Matt looked at Kayla and Brooke. He could tell they were trying to be brave, and as much as he appreciated their support, he didn’t want them to get hurt. He motioned for them to go upstairs. “Go. Hide.”

  Brooke turned to flee, but Kayla stood her ground. “No. We need to stick together.”

  Brooke looked from Kayla to Matt to the front door, her auburn ponytail swinging. Finally, she went to Kayla’s side. “Kayla’s right.” Her eyes were wide with fear. “What should we do?”

  He only had his .45 and the 9mm he’d given Jessica. Well, he had his rifle, but he wasn’t about to hand that to either one of the girls. Not until they had experience using it. He briefly considered giving Kayla his .45, but she had no experience with it either. No, the best option was for him to keep his weapon and for her and Brooke to use something else.

  The pounding sounded again with yelling following. “This is your last chance.”

  “Get my baseball bat,” he said to Kayla, then he strode to the front door and shouted, “If you break down my door I’ll blow your freaking head off!”

  A brief pause, then, “You’re not the only one who’s armed, Matt. We’ve got at least six guns pointed at your house.”

  Alarmed, Matt tensed.

  Jessica touched his arm. “Maybe we should open the door.”

  He looked at her sharply. “You want to let them in?”

  She shook her head. “Of course not. But if we don’t open the door, they’ll break it down. We don’t want a gunfight.”

  What she said made sense, and maybe it was his pride making him want to tell the men on his porch to shove it, but the thought of giving in and opening the door rankled.

  “Last chance, Matt,” a man yelled through the door.

  Pressure built in Matt’s head. He had to make a decision—possibly a life or death decision.

  “I got a bat,” Kayla said from beside him.

  He looked at the trusting face of his sixteen-year-old daughter. A bat was no match for half a dozen guns.

  Pushing a smile onto his lips, he said, “Turns out a bat won’t cut it.” He swallowed over the knot in his throat. “You and Brooke go upstairs. Stay up there until I tell you to come down.”

  The fear must have been plain on his face, because Kayla nodded, then grabbed Brooke by the hand and the two of them dashed up the stairs.

  A deafening Boom! sounded. The door rattled in its frame.

  “They’re breaking it down!” Jessica screamed.

  Matt remembered how easily Derrick had broken down Tony’s door. Maybe it would be better to face this head on.

  “Stop!” he yelled. “I’ll open it.” He turned to Jessica, who stood five feet behind him. He waved her to the side. “Stay out of their line of fire.”

  Her eyes widened. “Do you think they’ll shoot?”

  They’d killed Tony. Who knew what they were capable of? Not wanting to give her an answer, he waved her to the side, then pulled out his .45. Keeping it by his leg, he unlocked the deadbolt, then turned the knob.

  Chapter 37

  Matt

  He opened the door slowly, his gaze going to Russ, who stood front and center. Chris was right behind him.

  Cleo stood next to Matt, trying her best to shove through the door. He didn’t want her to get hurt so he only opened the door about six inches

  Matt focused on Russ. “You’re not coming in.” His tone was filled with disdain.

  Russ frowned like Matt was a wayward child who needed to be taught a lesson. “You gotta cooperate, bro. We don’t want this going south and I don’t think you do either.”

  That was true. Even so, there was no way in hell he would let Russ into his house. He would shoot the man first.

  Matt looked at Chris. He’d seen the way Chris had been torn about being part of the co-op, remembered that Chris had said he’d only agreed to head security as a way to feed his family. Maybe Matt should have made a side deal with Chris to help him and his family out. Then again, his own food supply wasn’t unlimited.

  Then he got an idea. He looked at Russ. “Chris can come in. Only Chris.”

  Chris’s eyebrows shot up.

  Russ stared at him. “Fine.” He turned to Chris. “You know what to do.”

  Chris nodded. Someone from behind Chris handed him a small box.

  Russ moved aside and Chris stepped forward.

  Cleo’s deep barking intensified. Chris looked meaningfully at Cleo before lifting his gaze to Matt.

  Matt held Cleo’s collar. “It’s all right, girl.” She settled down and Matt stepped back enough to allow Chris to enter. The moment Chris cleared the threshold, Matt closed and locked the door.

  “What happens now?” Matt asked, glad Russ had agreed to let Chris come in alone. He didn’t want anyone coming in, but he could at least stomach letting Chris in.

  Chris grimaced. “Now you show me your food supply and I take some of it.”

  Even though Matt and his family had hidden the vast majority of their food, the idea that an outsider could force his way in, rummage through their personal items, then take what he wanted ripped a deep streak of resentment right through him. But what could he do? Six armed men were at his house, and by all appearances they would take what they wanted by force. Were a few cans of green beans worth dying over?

  Trying not to grit his teeth, Matt said, “You can look in the pantry.”

  With an expression of discomfort, Chris nodded. “Show me where that is.”

  Matt felt himself tensing up.

  “This way,” Jessica said, saving him from having to say
something he might regret.

  Matt watched Jessica lead the way into the kitchen. He followed Chris, watching with clenched fists as Chris carefully looked over what they had. Chris took out several cans of food, including chili and vegetables, placing them in the box which he’d set on the counter. He added a packet of crackers to the pile, then turned to them with a tight smile, “Do you have any food in your basement?”

  Pressure was building in Matt’s head. He thought he might explode. This time he couldn’t stop his teeth from clenching as he spoke. “You’ve taken enough.”

  Shaking his head, Chris sighed. “The rule is to take twenty percent of all food stores.”

  Blood rushed to Matt’s face. “Twenty percent!? Do you want to take one of my kids for slave labor too?”

  Chris’s face reddened as his jaw tightened. “Just show me your basement.”

  More grateful than ever that they’d hidden most of their food, he had to slowly breathe in and out, in and out.

  Jessica placed her hand on Matt’s arm. “I’ll show him. You stay here.”

  Filled with rage, Matt didn’t respond.

  Five minutes later Chris and Jessica emerged from the basement. Chris held half a dozen cans of food. He went to the kitchen counter and set them in the box, then he picked up the box and turned to Matt. “I’m sorry about this.” A look of indecision came over him. “I’m not going to ask if you have food anywhere else.”

  Matt gazed at him. Did Chris suspect they had more and he was purposefully ignoring that? Feeling his rage dissipating a hair, Matt didn’t reply. Instead, he walked to the front door. Chris took the hint and followed. Matt opened the door. Chris went out and handed the box to Russ, who looked over the goods inside. When a smug grin formed on Russ’s lips, Matt’s rage reignited and it took all of his self-control not to wipe the expression right off of Russ’s face.

  “Thank you for your donation,” Russ said with a smirk.

  Livid, Matt’s nostrils flared. “I assume our family will be covered by your security and medical services now.”

  Russ’s eyebrows went up as he made a scoffing sound. “‘Fraid not, Matthew. This just covers payment for Dr. Larsen’s services.”

  He couldn’t believe the audacity of these people. First, they demanded that Matt pay them for services that should have been handled between Matt and Dr. Larsen, then they threatened to break his door down and made it clear they would shoot him, and when he let them in, they took whatever they wanted. And now they said the “payment” only covered the stitches Dr. Larsen gave Kayla and nothing else?

  Blood boiling, rage erupting, Matt couldn’t take it any longer. He’d had enough. He stepped onto the porch and lunged for the box of food. Russ yanked it away.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Russ asked.

  Matt stood inches from him. “Taking back what’s mine.”

  Russ shook his head. “Nope. This is no longer yours. It now belongs to the cooperative.”

  Feeling like his head was about to blast right off of his shoulders, Matt didn’t even think before he drew his .45, pointing it in Russ’s face. “Wrong. Now, set it down and walk away.”

  Russ just laughed. That’s when Matt realized that the other five men were pointing their guns at him.

  “Looks like you’re outgunned, Matthew.”

  “Think again,” a deep voice said from behind the men arrayed on Matt’s porch.

  All eyes swiveled in the direction of the voice, including Matt’s. A thrill of relief swept over him as a grin curved his lips.

  Derrick, Jeff, Emily, and Dylan stood behind the men, all of them pointing guns at the intruders. Derrick and Jeff held two guns each, one in each hand. With Matt’s gun pointed at Russ, that was a total of seven guns pointed at the men from the cooperative.

  Russ looked at Matt, slight panic filling his eyes. With the box held in his hands, he was the only person not armed.

  “Tell your men to drop their weapons,” Matt said calmly, although his fury was still burning bright.

  Russ’s eyes widened. “You’re taking our guns?”

  Matt grinned. This was so sweet. “Looks that way.” Using his chin, he gestured to the box of food. “Put that down too.”

  Russ’s face turned bright red, but he loudly said over his shoulder, “You heard the man.”

  The five men set their guns down.

  “Step back,” Derrick said, giving the men room to walk past him.

  Russ looked at Matt, muttering, “You’re gonna regret this.”

  Matt had no doubt that this was the start of a war, but it was too late to turn back now. They had to take a stand.

  Not responding to Russ’s threat, Matt chin-gestured to the box of food. “Put it down.”

  A muscle worked in Russ’s jaw, but he set the box down.

  “Arms up,” Matt said.

  Russ complied.

  Keeping his gun fixed on Russ, Matt took Russ’s gun out of his waistband. “Join your buddies.”

  Russ glared at Matt. “You and your family won’t be in this neighborhood for long.” Then he turned and stormed away.

  Matt watched the six men make their way across the grass and down the sidewalk. Once they were out of sight, Matt breathed a sigh of relief, but it was a short breath because he knew this was only the beginning of their troubles.

  Chapter 38

  Jessica

  Jessica’s heart was still pounding. What if Derrick and the others hadn’t shown up when they had? What if a gunfight had ensued? Dylan would have been in the middle of it.

  Torn between gratitude to Derrick and his friends for showing up just in time and anger that Derrick had put a gun in Dylan’s hands, Jessica stood behind Matt and listened as Matt thanked Derrick and his friends for coming. They gathered the guns the men had left, then Matt introduced Jessica to Derrick’s friends.

  “Hi,” Jessica said, stepping back to allow everyone to come inside. As Dylan walked past her wearing a huge grin, she narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Hi, Mom,” he said.

  “Give that gun back to Derrick,” she said in reply. “Then go get the girls and let them know it’s safe to come down.”

  Disappointment washed over his face, but he gave Derrick the gun he’d been holding, then went up the stairs.

  Jessica went into the family room where the group was assembling. Cleo lay on the floor at Matt’s feet. The men set the guns on the coffee table.

  “These will definitely help,” Matt said, then he looked at Derrick and Jeff. “How do you want to divide them up?”

  “How many do you need?” Derrick asked.

  Matt glanced at Jessica before turning back to Derrick. “At least three.”

  “Take four,” Derrick said as he pushed them toward Matt. “Jeff and I will take the other two.”

  Not sure if she liked the idea of more guns in the house, Jessica was also torn. If they’d had more guns initially—one for each person in their family—they wouldn’t have been so outnumbered by the men of the co-op. Of course, she and the kids had zero experience firing guns whereas the men of the co-op surely had experience. Still, having extra firearms would be a good start.

  “Thank you,” she said to Derrick as she sat beside Matt. “That will help.”

  Matt looked at her in surprise. She slipped her hand into his. They had to be on the same page. If they weren’t a team, their entire family would suffer.

  Dylan and the girls joined them.

  “What happened, Mom?” Kayla asked.

  She and Matt recounted the frightening events. Kayla and Brooke listened with shocked faces.

  “What do you think those guys will do now?” Kayla asked.

  Jessica wondered the same thing.

  Derrick shook his head. “No doubt they’ll retaliate. And since they know how much food you have, you can bet your last can of chili that they want every bit of it.”

  That wasn’t what Jessica wanted to hear, although he was only confi
rming what she already knew. She thought about Russ’s parting words. “They said we won’t be in the neighborhood for long.”

  Matt gently squeezed her hand. “They don’t get to decide who belongs here.”

  That may have been true, but in the world they lived in now, a group like the co-op’s could make it impossible for their family to stay.

  “We have to be ready for anything,” Jeff said.

  “You’ll help us?” Jessica asked, thrilled to know they wouldn’t be alone.

  Emily nodded with a smile.

  Jeff chuckled. “We’re the ones who flanked them. We’re in it just as much as you are now.”

  Matt turned to Derrick. “Any ideas on what we should do to prepare?”

  Everyone was quiet as they considered options, all the while Jessica’s heart raced. The men of the co-op had to be furious over what had happened. No doubt they would be thrilled if the Bronson family left—as well as Derrick and Jeff and Emily.

  “I have a plan,” Derrick said. Everyone looked to him. “Are the houses on either side of yours occupied?”

  Matt looked at Jessica. She shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I doubt it. I, uh, I haven’t seen anyone around for over a week.”

  “What about the houses across the street?”

  “Same thing there,” Matt said.

  Nodding, Derrick said, “Perfect. We’ll scope out the surrounding houses and choose the ones with the best vantage point of your house. Then,” he looked at Matt and Jessica, “you’ll take your family and temporarily move into a neighbor’s house.”

  Though she wanted to protest, she decided to hear him out.

  “I’ll stay in a different house,” he continued, “and Jeff and Emily will stay in another. That way you’ll be out of the target house and we’ll all be in a good position when they strike. That’s when we’ll strike first.”

  She liked it. Go on offense.

  Then she frowned. She couldn’t believe what she was thinking. The men they were planning on going on offense against were people who were in her neighborhood. Now they were enemies? Then she considered history. During the Civil War many neighbors had joined ranks, but others had fought against each other.