The Break Free Series Box Set [Books 1-3]

by Fitch, E. M.

  There was no real reason to feel so apprehensive. They were no longer prisoners in that room; they were free to move about as they pleased. So it really shouldn't be a problem for them to be walking through the place at night. No one had forbidden it.

  And yet...

  Kaylee's muscles were taunt as she followed Jack into the kitchen, her eyes darting quickly to the shadow encased corners. She stepped softly and slowly, following Jack's lead, into the glossy room, every surface shining silver in the filtered moonlight. They crossed quietly, the only noise from the soft tread of their boots on the tile.

  The night air was cool and fresh, a light breeze blew through the back door as they opened it. She let Jack tug her into the courtyard, entering it for the first time. Directly in front of the them was a squat little building that Kaylee knew housed the chickens, that she had seen from the kitchen sink while doing the dishes. There was no fencing around it and she could see immediately why. None was needed. The entire area was already fenced in. Chain link, eight feet high and topped with razor wire, fenced in the area that held the chicken coop and the out buildings that the residents of The Mill used for sleeping. The area was no bigger than a football field, completely secured up against the three story brick wall that sided The Mill's back end.

  A quick survey and Kaylee noted that the only way out of the fenced area was a gate that would open to the concrete stretch of the dam. Even with the moonlight, she couldn't see into the gloom at the other side of the dam. She knew there were buildings, she'd seen them from their room the night before. And hadn't someone mentioned at dinner that Marsden and Cynthia holed up over there during the day? Kaylee had a quick mental flash of the two of them involved in some sort of romantic tryst and almost giggled at the thought.

  "Are we headed over the dam?" she whispered, pulling herself closer to Jack as he made his way carefully across the yard. She saw him nod.

  "I searched through the main room after dinner," he answered, his voice soft. "The front door was soldered shut and the basement door is kept locked. Marsden probably doesn't trust many people with the van. This is the only exit from the main building that's left open."

  Once across the yard, Kaylee could see the other side of the dam more clearly. It was fenced there too, just like it was outside the kitchen. The fence butted up closely with the edge of trees that Jack and Kaylee had last seen Quinton's signal flashing from. It made sense to head in that direction to try and make contact. The gate was in front of them, only a few feet, when Kaylee noticed. A thin strip of metal wire sent a gleam of moonlight up at her when she looked down. It stretched the length of the fence, about a foot from it and no more than a foot high off the ground. It wrapped, at intervals, around pegs that had been hammered into the ground. She pulled back on Jack's fingers just as he reached for the gate clasp.

  "Wait," she whispered, her tone urgent. "Look at that."

  He followed her pointing finger, looking back at her inquisitively. "For the chickens," she said, explaining. "So they don't get too close to the fence. Do you suppose it's electric? Like in the woods?"

  It wasn't your standard electric fence, obviously. The group had made it clear that they spent much of their free time unloading bodies off the wired fence they had running the large perimeter of The Mill. But you could electrify anything metal, if you wanted too. And what if the infected got closer? Had they prepared for that too? They slept in relatively open positions, considering the infected were most dangerous at dawn. Chain link fences were good, but nothing against a horde. Electrified chain link would be much safer.

  Jack frowned into the darkness. "Marsden never mentioned," he muttered, but he trailed off into silence. He dropped her hand and moved his ear closer to the fence, listening. He drew away, shaking his head. And then a muttered expletive sounded in the dark. He turned to her, scowling.

  "Doesn't matter much anyway, does it?" he asked, gesturing to the gate. She hadn't noticed it before, but now she saw the shiny padlock securing the gate closed.

  "Should we check the perimeter? Just in case there's-"

  "There's not," Jack interrupted, turning back towards the kitchen. "I checked before. This is the only way out."

  "So we are prisoners," Kaylee murmured. Jack didn't need to answer, it was clear enough. Maybe the others in The Mill didn't think of them that way, but locking the gate like this, after Marsden knew that Jack wanted to check with Quinton, was a deliberate message. The Mill was his and he wasn't going to let anyone forget it.

  Jack stood for a minute longer, staring past the gate and the dam and towards the black swaying line of the tree tops against a midnight sky. He sighed before he turned, his fingers locking around Kaylee's elbow and steering her back to the door. Before they took more than two steps, Jack's fingers tightened.

  "Wouldn't touch that fence if I were you." His voice was soft yet clear, carrying through the yard like a sharp gust of wind. Marsden rolled from behind one of the small sheds. Kaylee could just make out his eyes, glinting at them. The ends of his wiry hair looked dipped in silver, shining in the moonlight. On Jack, the silvery light softened him, added a glow to his presence. But with Marsden, with the broken, choppy way his hair fell and spiked, it leant a wild, animalistic look. He was almost unreal, standing there hunched in the moonlight, a gnome or troll from the old fairy tales.

  "It's locked anyway," Jack answered. "Though you knew that."

  Marsden nodded. "It's electric too. Can't be too careful these days."

  "You knew I was going to try to see Quinton tonight," Jack said. He was straightforward and direct. Marsden nodded.

  "I don't open that gate at night, not for anybody. If he wants to talk to you, he can come in and ask."

  "And if I leave to see him?" Jack asked.

  "Boy, if you leave my Mill, then it's the same rules apply to you as apply to anybody," Marsden answered, swelling up at the end and pulling his shoulders back as straight as he could. "Leave when you want; but once you leave, you don't come back."

  He turned and limped away, silent as the night, a passing shadow. Jack's jaw was grit in frustration and his hand dart to the handle of his gun.

  "We can't trust him," Jack murmured, once the door to the kitchen swung shut.

  "Agreed. But there's more of us than there are of them," Kaylee whispered back, hating that her mind went there, to the us versus them, but unable to deny the thoughts as they came either. "What does he have to gain from antagonizing us?"

  Jack shook his head, frowning.

  ~

  "What if you snuck out, after dinner, made it past the fence before he locks up?" Anna asked, her voice low. Her fingers kept busy at the fishing line she was untangling as Jack wrapped the newly free line unto a reel. Jack's teeth sunk gently onto his lower lip, his expression thoughtful.

  "No good," Bill muttered, nudging the box of rusted, tangled hooks and line weights with the tip of his boot. He squat down next to Kaylee, his shadow blocking the early morning sun. "If you get locked out, they won't let you back in. Not unless you made them. We'd start a war."

  "Might be worth it," Jack said, his eyes darting through the chain link to the shining water beyond the dam before returning to the pole he was stringing. "It's a good set up."

  "No," Kaylee hissed. "We are not starting a war. War means people get hurt."

  "We should try not to make it come to that," Anna agreed. She blew an errant curl from her eyes as her fingers busied with the line.

  Paul and Mario were already sitting on the edge of the dam, Kaylee could see them from where she was crouched. She, along with the others, offered to help set up extra fishing poles to catch lunch. Nick was excited for fishing, something he could remember enjoying before the infection spread, and he was already perched on the dam, probably handing out free advice. Mario was ignoring him completely, which wouldn't have been difficult, not being able to speak English; but Paul was caught completely, nodding along politely enough.

  Jack and Kayl
ee hadn't been able to explain to everyone what had happened last night. Kaylee had slipped quietly back into bed, watching Jack cross to the window to signal Quinton. It didn't take long for him to get a response and Kaylee wondered if maybe Quinton wasn't all that surprised that Jack hadn't been able to meet him again.

  They were woken in the morning by Cynthia, though not directly. The sun had been barely up before she was heard yelling. Most of it was indistinct, there was some banging too. It wouldn't have surprised Kaylee if she was doing it on purpose to make the newcomers feel more unwelcome. It was only moments later that she was banging on their door.

  "You aren't staying for free!" she had shouted, her meaty fist pounding on the door. "Breakfast needs making."

  Now, with breakfast done and Andrew and Emma helping Rose to finish up the morning cleaning, Jack had finally been able to explain what happened last night. True to what the others had already told them, Cynthia had headed across the dam right after breakfast. Marsden hadn't joined her though, and even now, he was still perched by the kitchen door, leaning into the brick of the wall, his rifle resting on his one braced knee. He was out of earshot, but he kept them in his line of sight.

  Danny ducked his head out of the kitchen door, muttering something to Marsden. Kaylee saw the latter nod before turning to spit on the ground.

  "We still have to talk to Quinton," Jack said.

  They all turned as the chickens screeched. Maggie shouted as the birds scattered. "Danny, no!"

  She was scowling, as much as Maggie seemed able to scowl, more a look of hurt and indignation. Danny just smirked as the chickens squawked. He was walking right through them, maybe over them, leaving a cloud of feathers in his wake.

  "You," he said, pointing at Bill and completely ignoring Maggie behind him, "you're on fence duty with me today. Let's go."

  "I can-" Jack started but Danny cut him off.

  "Marsden says him," he said bluntly, turning and ignoring any protest from Jack.

  "Bill's still hurt," Anna interjected quickly. "I better come along, just in case."

  Danny shrugged, not turning back to acknowledge any of them. She grimaced at the rest as she got up to follow.

  "If I see Quinton, what do you want me to tell him?" Bill asked in an undertone, rising from his crouched position and wiping his hands on his jeans. Jack frowned.

  "Tell him to wait it out a few more days."

  Bill nodded before following Anna and Danny.

  ~

  The day passed pleasantly enough, though Kayee couldn't shake the feeling of confinement. Just knowing the gate was electrified left her uneasy, her skin crawling every time she looked through it. Marsden turned it off when asked, when Paul or Mario or even her Dad wanted to spend the afternoon fishing, even when Maggie left to dump the garbage from breakfast and lunch. He turned if off without a question. And she should have felt safer with it on, she knew that. Obviously if a horde came through, somehow made it past the lines that Danny, Anna, and Bill were clearing, the electric fence pretty much guaranteed safety. But it was the knowledge that only Marsden could switch it off, that's what really bothered her.

  Kaylee had asked Rose about it, her voice soft as they were setting up lunch, a stew that Rose concocted with minced venison and onions. They still had some fresh vegetables growing, managed only in the improvised greenhouse that Rose confided they had built somewhere in the surrounding meadow. Apparently the soil directly around The Mill wasn't good enough for anything but a few raised garden beds.

  "The fence?" She asked conversationally. "Yes, the old crow." She sniffed as Kaylee grinned. Marsden was making his way through the kitchen now, ignoring both as he stomped through. Paul had asked to take Andrew and Emma to the other garden beds, after they had offered to weed and tend to them.

  Whether through spoken plan or not, none of the group had been left alone. If Emma got up and walked out of an area, her Dad or Andrew were quick to follow. Kaylee had a constant shadow of Jack. Bill and Anna hadn't been seen since the morning, but again, they were together.

  "He thinks he's so clever," Rose continued, not even bothering to lower her voice. "He's the only one who can shut off the fence, the only one who knows how to run the turbines. He doesn't even let any of us other folks downstairs into the basement to mess with the generators or equipment. No one except Danny. And let's face it, Danny is just not the brightest. You could hand that boy instructions in clear English on how to keep this place running and he'd still not get it. Mario would understand better than he would."

  "You're being mean," Maggie reproached from her perch at the nearest table. Jack sat with her, cleaning and slicing the pile of wild mushrooms that had been collected. Cynthia had dropped them off earlier. The outer fences must have their own electric switch, allowing her to exit as she pleased from the fenced area across the dam. Either that or she radioed Marsden somehow. "He keeps his secrets close, who doesn't?"

  "The rest of us don't have secrets to keep close," Rose snorted. "We can all see how to wrangle those chicks, and my cooking isn't so much of a secret as a God given talent." Maggie rolled her eyes over a grin and Rose smirked.

  "He's given us shelter and lots of safety," Maggie continued, obviously pressing her point. "That's all I'm saying."

  "Hmm," Rose said, her voice dropping now. "But at a price."

  Kaylee saw Jack's mouth open and then close again quickly when Cynthia bustled through the back door, asking for her lunch.

  They didn't see Bill or Anna until dinner. They entered the yard looking exhausted. Danny went straight to the kitchen, seating himself at the table and serving himself a plateful of food. Marsden and Cynthia were already eating.

  "How'd it go?" Kaylee asked, eyeing Anna. She shrugged, but the look that lingered in her eyes suggested her day was anything but easy.

  "It's not great, we know," came Paul's voice. Kaylee hadn't even heard him come up behind them. Mario was at his elbow. Even though his voice was soft, he gestured grandly as he spoke, Mario nodding along. "But it keeps us all safe. Better to deal with the biters once they're strung on the line, rather than in our beds."

  Mario murmured comfortingly to Anna, putting his arm around her shoulders and steering her towards dinner. They all followed in slow succession.

  "It was that bad?" Andrew murmured to his dad.

  "It wasn't good," Bill answered gruffly. "But they're right. Definitely better than the alternative. Hard work though. The bodies are heavy."

  "Any sign of-" Jack started but cut off as Bill nodded.

  "Found me when I was taking a..." he cleared his throat, glancing towards Kaylee. "Yeah, he found me. Told him what you said, he agrees. He'll keep an eye out. Signal each night though, just like you have been."

  Jack nodded in agreement.

  They wouldn't have long, that's all Kaylee knew, Jack wouldn't be able to manage much longer with Quinton on his own in the woods. It didn't make much sense, she thought. Why keep Quinton out? Even if it was unsafe sleeping so close to Marsden, wouldn't it be better to have more on their side inside the fence? But Jack and Quinton obviously didn't feel that way. And they had survived together until now.

  Dinner that evening was quiet. After the washing had been done, most of the group gathered in the great room again, but instead of television, they unplugged the electronics and sat together in small groups. Mario and Anna chatted quietly in unobtrusive Spanish. Mario gestured along for the benefit of Paul, who seemed to find it amusing that their roles had reversed. Jack pulled out a worn deck of cards and Rose joined him for a few rounds of poker, surprising him with how well she played. He offered to teach her a new game, the one he had taught to Kaylee, Emma, and Andrew that night in the firehouse. She took to it surprising well. Emma still seemed to keep her upper hand and without Kaylee playing, it was now Andrew who lost almost every time. He took it much better than he had in the past, not nearly as surly as he was weeks ago. Kaylee sat on her own for a while, watching from afar and catching
snippets of conversation as the words floated gently around her. Marsden sat apart as well, still eyeing everyone and still gripping his rifle.

  It was eerie, the way he watched them all. His eyes would flit between them, categorizing, taking inventory. His gaze was less predatory, Kaylee thought, and more greedy. It was a subtle difference. She couldn't decide if it was because he wanted so desperately to be one of them, to belong in a way that wasn't solely because he was the only one able to run the place, or because he felt that they already belonged to him. That because he lead The Mill meant the others were his property, like the bizarre electric trophies he displayed.

  His eyes dart to Kaylee and she jerked her gaze away, unnerved that she was caught staring. He didn't look away though, she could feel his eyes pinning her to the spot.

  Maybe it was a mix of both.

  She pulled herself up from the comfy leather arm chair she was sunk into, murmuring to Jack that she would be right back. She walked the length of the room, pushing open the door that led to the kitchen, the long hallway of books before her.

  She didn't read often, not as often as her sister anyway, but a book would keep her eyes away from Marsden, allow her some escapism. Maggie was in front of her, down at the other end of the hallway. She was perched on the top step of a short ladder, reaching for a volume just at the end of her grasp.

  "Need any help?" Kaylee asked, smiling. Maggie jumped a little, a nervous smile twitching into life.

  "That's okay," she answered in a small voice, her finger nudging up under the spine of the book and pulling it forward. It tipped from it's place into her waiting hands. She smiled more fully then, shyly showing Kaylee the cover.