by Payne, T. L.
“It’s just insurgents right now,” Cayden said.
“Insurgents?” Monte asked, his face appearing in Will’s open window.
Tanner suddenly arrived next to Isabella’s door, startling her. Her hand flew to her throat. “What insurgents? Chinese?” he asked.
“Yeah. My dad and Isabella had to fight them yesterday.”
Will lowered his head and rubbed his brow. “We needed to see if they’ve blocked the Crosby Freeway,” Will said, reaching for the door handle.
Monte stepped back. “What? You’re just going to march over there and ask them?”
“Yes. It would be nice to know before we get too far up the ramp. It might be hard to get turned back around.”
“I’ll go with you,” Tanner said.
“I don’t know—”
“I want to find out for myself what’s going on.”
“They’re not going to tell you anything,” Will said.
“I know how to ask nicely.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Will?” Isabella asked.
“We’ll be right back.” Will handed his pistol to Isabella. “Hold this for me. I don’t want to give them a reason to shoot.” He turned to Tanner and pointed to his weapon. “You might want to leave that here.”
Tanner hesitated and then nodded. “Good idea. We don’t want to give them the wrong impression.”
Will and Tanner walked slowly toward the roadblock with their hands held out to their sides, making it clear they had no weapons and weren’t a threat. The soldiers didn’t see it that way, however.
“Stop right there. Turn around and go back the way you came.”
Will stopped. Tanner didn’t.
“Hey, we’re just trying to get to Liberty. We were hoping the Crosby Freeway was open.”
“I said stop,” a soldier barked.
Tanner slowed but didn’t stop advancing. Will could barely see the soldiers behind their vehicles, but he was sure they had weapons trained on them.
“Tanner, you’re going to get us shot,” Will said.
“Can you just tell us if we’re going to have an issue taking the Crosby up to Liberty? Did you clear the lanes, and are we going to get shot by insurgents—stuff like that?” Tanner said.
“Tanner, you shouldn’t have mentioned insurgents. Now they're going to have to question us.”
“Turn around and put your hands on your heads,” the soldier demanded.
Will and Tanner complied, turning to face the truck. Will couldn’t see inside, but he was sure that Cayden and Isabella would be freaking out about them. A moment later, they had rifles pointed at them and soldiers wanting answers. Will hated being right.
“What do you know about insurgents?” one of the soldiers asked. He was the older of the four. He reminded Will of Hollingsworth. He had a confidence and professionalism about him.
“Will told us that he was involved in a firefight with them back at Ellington. That’s all I know,” Tanner said. “I have no first-hand knowledge. I just met this group a couple of hours ago.”
The soldier turned his attention to Will. “Ellington?” he asked, his eyes lasering in on Will. His scrutiny was intense, and Will wanted to look away.
“It’s a long story. I don’t have any new information for you. We haven’t seen anything since we were dropped off at my friend’s apartment yesterday.”
“What were you doing at Ellington?”
“Um…” Will didn’t want to get into trouble. No one had told him that he wasn’t allowed to talk about what he knew. It just seemed right not to divulge details that at least should be classified. “I’m not sure I’m supposed to say. I was there with a CIA analyst and an FBI agent.”
“Are you with intelligence?” the soldier asked.
“No!” Will said sharply. “My son and our friend were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, is all. You can ask Lieutenant Sharp. He can vouch that we were interviewed and released.”
“Lieutenant Sharp?”
“Yes,” Will said.
“Where did you say you were headed?’ the soldier asked.
“Up a little past Liberty. We were hoping that you had cleared a lane on the Crosby Freeway.”
“We did, but I’d advise against travel right now. You should turn around and go back home.”
“We need to get out of the city. My friends back there in the truck have family in Liberty.” Will gazed over his shoulder. “There isn’t anything left for us back there.”
The soldier glanced toward the roadblock and then back to Will. “We aren’t going to stop you, but you’re better off hunkered down somewhere for the time being.”
Will heard the sound of several heavy vehicles. It sounded like the convoy had on the day they were first picked up by the military.
“Reynolds, they’re coming,” a soldier called from behind one of the Bradleys.
“You need to clear the area. Now!” The soldiers turned and ran back toward the roadblock.
“Who’s coming?” Tanner asked. “Is it insurgents?”
“We have to go,” Will said, turning toward the truck.
“This is deep shit,” Tanner said as they sprinted back.
“We need to haul ass out of this city. I am not getting stuck in a war zone,” Will said.
They'd been caught in the middle of enough of it already. They were civilians, and he had a kid. As they approached the driver’s side of the pickup, Will shouted, “We have to get the hell out of here. Now!” He yanked open the truck’s door and jumped in.
“What did they say?” Isabella asked.
He ignored her question as he glanced back to make sure Tanner had made it. “Drive, Gus!”
“Will? What did they say?”
“They said we’d better go. I heard troops coming this way,” Will said.
“That’s what that noise is?” Gus asked.
“Yeah, and a lot of them.”
“Are they ours?” Jaz asked.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see anything.”
“I think they’re ours. I believe I saw Abrams tanks.”
Before Gus could get the truck into gear, a thunderous explosion up ahead was followed by a cloud of smoke. A second later, Will heard what sounded like a jet. His heart dropped into his stomach. It was an airstrike. Enemy aircraft were over Houston. They’d hit the convoy advancing to reinforce Ellington and secure the ports. Was it only a matter of time before Houston fell to the opposition forces? Were they too late?
“What’s happening?” Jaz screamed.
“We have to get out of here!” Isabella shouted.
Gus sped up the on-ramp to the Crosby Freeway. He maneuvered into the cleared center lanes of the overpass above Interstate 10 as Will twisted, rising in his seat, trying to look back to see if he could tell if it was the United States military or something else. “Do you see them, Tanner?” He was practically standing in the truck’s bed. At first, all Will could see was smoke.
“Damn!” Tanner said.
Monte got to his feet, blocking Will’s view west. Gus stopped the truck, and Will opened his door to get out. His mouth dropped open. Military vehicles lined the interstate as far as the eye could see. The aircraft had struck the convoy close to the interchange, and the column had stopped.
“We shouldn’t be here. We need to get as far away from them as possible,” Will said.
Gus punched the gas and sped away. Will turned to see if Tanner and Monte were still back there. They were and were holding onto the stack of crates and suitcases with all their might.
“Were they heading east?” Gus asked. “Why are they headed east?” Fear laced his voice.
The military was headed east. Was that what the soldiers were warning them about? They needed to get ahead of that convoy if that was the case. Otherwise, they’d become trapped in the middle of the battle.
“They were being attacked by planes,” Isabella said. “How are they going to stop an invasion now?”
Will reached across Cayden and took her hand. He leaned over and whispered, “Stephens said they were in contact with our ships. That has to mean they are close. They’ll come. It will be all right.”
“If they were out there, why didn’t they stop that plane before it got here?”
Will didn’t have any answers for her. He had no idea how crippled their armed forces were or if they could repel an invasion, but he wanted to avoid a panic. They had to stay focused on getting the hell out of Houston before an all-out war started.
“They’re coming, Isabella. We have the best military on the planet. They know what they’re doing. We have to trust them to do their jobs while we get the hell out of their way.”
“Did those soldiers say if the Crosby was cleared all the way?” Gus asked.
“I think so,” Will replied, though honestly, he couldn’t recall that part of their conversation. His mind had fixed itself on the soldier’s warning and the tone in which he’d said it. He’d wanted to warn them, but it was like he couldn’t say more. It didn’t really matter. There was no way Will was turning back now. He’d much rather keep moving toward their destination and hope they’d be able to avoid any trouble ahead.
As they approached an overpass, Will leaned forward, hoping to catch a glimpse south toward Channelview and the Houston Ship Channel. He wasn’t sure whether he’d be capable of seeing anything from that position.
“Will,” Isabella said, pointing to her right.
Thick black smoke rose into the air.
“The ports?” Cayden asked.
“Could be. Might be the fuel tank farms or even the pipelines,” Will said.
Gus slowed, and they all stared off in that direction.
“Listen!” Cayden said. “You hear that?”
In their new world, void of man-made sounds, it stood out. Will tilted his head slightly and listened to the whine of an engine—a jet engine.
Nine
Will
Day Seven
“It’s one of ours!” Tanner shouted. The whole truck bounced as he jumped up and down in the back. “It’s one of ours! Now those Mfers are in trouble.”
“Are you sure?” Will asked, craning to see the aircraft for himself.
“I’m positive. My dad dragged me to every air show and exhibition for the last three decades. That’s a B-52H Stratofortress.”
Will hoped he was right, that it was a US aircraft. If not, what hope was there for Houston?
“We shouldn’t stick around and find out,” Jaz said. “It’s just not safe near the city.”
If they weren’t able to repel an invasion, it wouldn’t be safe anywhere. Will hated the thought of falling under Communist Chinese control. He’d always assumed with half the country owning guns, it would be foolish for another country to try to invade the United States but under the current circumstances, people were just trying to survive. If they showed up with food and humanitarian supplies, how many US citizens would just lay down their arms and give up? Will glanced over at Cayden. Could he resist if his son was starving to death?
Will took one last look south toward the ship channel. It could be the final time he saw Houston as a free state. It was then that he began thinking that maybe his sister’s place in Louisiana may not be far enough away to not be drawn into the fight. It was foolish to think that enemy invaders would stop at the Texas state line. He’d need to prepare himself for what may come. He prayed he had time to recover from his injuries and arm himself before facing any more battles.
Everyone grew quiet as they drove east toward Liberty. Will became lost in thought, trying to console himself with how good it would be when they reached Calcasieu Parish. At least then, they could take the time to recover and assess the situation. All he, Cayden, and Isabella had been doing ever since the lights went out was reacting and surviving. There hadn’t been the opportunity to consider their future. All he really knew was that this could not be it. This couldn’t be what took America down. She was much too resilient for this to be the end. He was staring off into space when Jaz shouted, startling him.
“Gus!” she said, pointing ahead.
“No. No. No.” Will said. “Can’t we just catch a break, please?”
“Can we go around them?” Isabella said, leaning forward in her seat.
Gus slowed the truck and stopped two hundred feet from the group of people blocking the roadway ahead of them. The group had halted and turned toward them.
“They’re blocking the only clear route, dammit,” Gus said, punching the steering wheel.
Will scanned the lane beside them. The military hadn’t cleared the lanes this far from Houston. How long had Gus been driving on the shoulder?
“What are we going to do?” Jaz asked.
Will eyed the ditch on the side of the road. Half a foot of water in it meant the ground would be soft—too soft for a loaded down pickup. They’d get stuck for sure.
“Can we back up, maybe take the feeder road,” Will said.
He hadn’t been paying attention, but if the exit wasn’t very far, they could get off the freeway, take the frontage road running along the highway, and maybe get back onto the Crosby someplace ahead of this crowd of people. From where he sat, Will couldn’t see how large the group was, but they could move faster in the truck, so they’d get ahead of them, eventually.
“Where are they all going?” Cayden asked.
“My guess, away from the city,” Gus said.
“On foot? That would really suck.”
“I agree, buddy,” Gus said, putting the truck into reverse.
Before he could even put his foot on the gas, a couple of men began running toward them. Will heard Tanner shout for them to stop. He twisted in his seat to make sure he wasn’t pointing his pistol at the pack. He wasn’t—not at the ones in front of them. A small group had moved from between the abandoned vehicles and were blocking their exit.
“Stop, Gus!” Will shouted.
A woman stepped out from behind a sedan holding the hands of two small children.
“Tanner, do not shoot them.”
Gus stopped less than twenty feet from them. They looked dirty and tired. Will wondered if they had been evacuating the city when the lights went out. If so, how had they survived out there for a week? The crowd stared back at them with blank, hopeless expressions.
“They’re coming,” Jaz said. Will turned his attention to the crowd in front of them. They were now trapped between the two groups, with the ditch being their only option.
“Please move from the roadway. We don’t have any food or anything,” Monte called to them.
They just kept coming.
“Gus, get us the hell out of here,” Jaz demanded.
“I can’t. What do you want me to do, run them over?”
“You can’t take the ditch. We’ll get stuck,” Will said.
“What other option is there?” Gus said.
“We could give them our food. Maybe they’d move out the way and let us pass?” Cayden said.
“They won’t, Cayden. They’ll take the food and then take the truck,” Will said. His kind-hearted son had so much to learn about human nature. Their sense of self-preservation won’t let them not at least try to take the only running vehicle.
“I’m going for it. It’s our only option,” Gus said, putting the truck into gear and gunning the engine.
“Hold on, guys,” Will yelled to Monte and Tanner.
As soon as the front tires left the shoulder of the road, Will knew it was not going to work. The truck tilted right and slid slightly as the back tire struggled to find traction in the soft earth. A second later, the truck lurched forward and took off across the median. Will thought he’d been proven wrong until they began the climb up to the frontage road. Mud flew into the air as the tires spun and spun, digging a deeper and deeper hole.
The engine revved as Gus stomped on the gas, but the truck wouldn’t budge.
“Stay back,” Tanner ye
lled. “I said, stay back.”
“We’re going to have to push,” Will said. “Isabella, you should drive, and the rest of us will push.”
Gus’s door flew open, and he jumped out. “Izzy, stay there. Jaz slide on over here. Don’t push on the gas until I tell you to.”
“Cayden, stick by me, son,” Will said, as he hurried out to join Gus at the rear of the truck.
Monte was already there with his hands on the bumper. Tanner was next to the passenger side, waving his pistol back and forth, attempting to keep the crowd from approaching.
They were shouting now—something about it being selfish of them not giving them a ride while others were begging for food. It was hard to hear, but he knew they couldn’t help them. He wasn’t heartless, but his responsibility was to Cayden and Isabella. He had to protect them.
Will, Cayden, Gus, and Monte pushed with all their might while Jaz floored the gas. The truck rocked back and forth, but the truck’s tires only went deeper into the mud. They were covered from head to toe in filth, and Will’s boots struggled to find traction.
“It’s hopeless,” Monte said. “There’s no way this truck is coming out without a tow truck.”
“We can help you get it out if you’ll give us a ride,” a middle-aged man dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and cowboy boots said.
“We don’t have room for all of you,” Tanner called back.
“You would if you dropped that load of stuff,” the man said. “We can help each other if we work together.” The man looked sincere.
Will counted at least fifteen people. There was no way that even if they left all their supplies behind, they’d be able to fit all of them in the pickup’s bed. A small child moved from behind the man’s legs. Will studied the group closer. They were mostly women and children. The scene reminded him of photos he’d seen of people during the dust bowl back in the 1930s. They had that same hopeless look on their faces. Could he turn his back on children? Cayden shifted his weight and stepped forward. What harm could it do to try? They didn’t look that dangerous. He saw no weapons.
