by Payne, T. L.
She had a point. Having someone with law enforcement training would be an asset. But would it hurt them in their effort to find food if they needed to? He might not be too willing to take things without paying. Will studied him for a moment. It was worth the risk. “Sure, we can give you a ride to Silsbee.”
Fifteen
Will
Day Seven
Will managed to get Monte and Tanner alone to talk about their plans. It hadn’t been discussed, but since they were both from Louisiana, Will had assumed they’d be traveling with them to get back home. Their presence on the trip would make him more comfortable. They seemed to know how to handle themselves in challenging situations. Monte appeared to have some sort of formal training, maybe military, and having them come along increased their odds of making it to Savanah’s.
“I’m from around Lake Charles, and Tanner is a bit east of there. We’d like to tag along. We sure weren’t looking forward to walking all that way,” Monte told him.
“The ranger is going. He knows some back roads and can get us around the towns that we need to avoid. He’ll be getting off at a place called Silsbee. He said it isn’t too far from the Louisiana border. I know my way once we get across the river.”
“It appears we have a sound plan. With that route, though, we aren’t going to make it by dark. I prefer rolling into unfamiliar places when I can see far ahead.”
“I was hoping to drive straight through. The more time we spend out on the road, the more likely we’ll encounter trouble.” Will didn’t want to go into detail, but he wanted to put as much distance between them and Houston as possible.
“I’d suggest waiting, but it’s your ride, so I’ll do whatever you decide,” Monte said.
“I think there’s enough daylight to get you there by dark,” the ranger said. He held his hand out to shake hands with Monte.
“So, you really a Texas Ranger? You know all that martial arts shit like Walker Texas Ranger?” Tanner asked as he approached.
The ranger turned. Tanner was at least a head taller than him. “I know a little, but I’m no Chuck Norris.”
“Well, let’s hope we don’t need to karate chop anybody then, Walker,” Tanner said as he climbed onto the tailgate and slid back against the cab of the truck.
Monte extended his hand to the ranger. “Glad to be riding with you, Walker, and don’t worry. Tanner can handle himself in hand-to-hand combat if it comes to that.”
If the nickname offended the lawman, he didn’t show it. Maybe he got that a lot. It had been a popular television show back in the day—one of Will’s grandfather’s favorites. He’d been a huge Chuck Norris fan.
They shook hands, and Monte joined Tanner in the rear of the vehicle. Will climbed into the driver’s seat and adjusted the mirrors. He was a little taller than Gus. Isabella and Cayden were in the back seat while the ranger rode shotgun in the passenger seat. Will was pleased that the goodbyes were quick. Jaz and Gus stood in the doorway and waved as the group pulled away from the curb and drove off. Will glanced into the rearview mirror. A single tear spilled over Isabella’s eyelid and down her cheek. Will hadn’t thought she and Jaz were that close, but he must have been wrong.
“We could go back and get him,” Cayden said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Will hadn’t noticed that she hadn’t brought Otis. He’d been preoccupied with planning their route.
“No. He’s better off there. It’s too far for him to travel,” Isabella said.
“Are you sure?” Will asked. “I don’t mind turning around.”
She shook her head. “I…” She choked back a sob. “I’m worried if we get carjacked like back in Houston that I wouldn’t be able to get his carrier out in time. I couldn’t bear to think of what some crazy person might do to him.”
The memory of their carjacking was traumatic for them all. It had been the scariest moment of his life, watching that criminal drive off with his Jeep with his son still in the vehicle. He could understand her fear. It was a selfless thing to leave her beloved Otis behind and he admired her for being able to make that sacrifice for the feline.
“I’m sure that Jaz’s mother will take great care of him. She’s a special lady. I wish you could have met her. She’s nothing like her brother,” Walker said.
“I know he’ll be fine there. Someday soon, he’ll be a loving companion to Jaz’s baby.” She sniffed and wiped her tears.
Isabella was quiet as they drove back through town and Will kept glancing back to check on her. She’d lost so much already. Leaving her cat behind seemed like a cruel blow.
“Take that left there before the roadblock.” Walker pointed as they approached the intersection where the Liberty Police Department had their checkpoint.
The road wound around, avoiding the Walmart store and the population of Liberty gathered there, eventually coming out near Highway 90 and the little Creole community of Ames, Texas. Walker gave them the history of the town as they turned east on the outskirts of the city. Will hadn’t known that such a large community of Creoles lived outside of Louisiana. He was lost in the conversation as they passed three elderly African American men standing outside an old white-clad church. The men waved as the pickup passed them. Walker returned their greeting.
“How long have you been a Texas Ranger?” Cayden asked.
“About fifteen years. I joined after I left the army.”
“So you were a soldier too?”
“For a while.”
“Did you ever kill anyone?”
Will cringed. He was about to scold him when Walker answered. “That’s what the army trained me to do. Doesn’t mean I enjoyed it.”
“My dad and Isabella had to kill people.”
Walker’s head pivoted toward Isabella.
“We were involved in some trouble back in Houston. It was self-defense, I swear,” Isabella said.
Walker said nothing.
At that point, Will felt the need to explain, so he filled the lawman in on how they’d met Kim and Betley and what led up to the fight with the Chinese Mafia.
“It’s like another nine eleven, but nationwide. I can’t believe our intelligence community missed a plot like this,” Walker finally said.
“Analyst Stephens said she’d been working on it for a while. I guess they were too late to stop them,” Isabella said.
“And this CIA analyst and FBI agent were at Ellington when it was hit?” Walker asked.
“We all were,” Cayden said. “Isabella was buried under the rubble when they bombed the flight museum.”
“That where you got your injuries?” he asked.
“Yes. Mostly,” Isabella said.
Walker grew quiet, likely trying to take it all in. The section of highway they were on turned rural quickly and Will was grateful to be away from people and the potential for trouble. That was until five miles later when they approached a small convenience store. In its parking lot sat an old beat-up pickup truck, a side-by-side utility vehicle, and several all-terrain vehicles. An overweight man with a bushy beard sat on one of them with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He wore a surprised expression as Will stomped on the gas to quickly get past him.
Rounding a curve in the road, Will could see that the road ended at another highway. “Quick, which way?” Will asked.
Walker pointed. “Take that left turn.”
“Left! Are you sure?” Will repeated.
“Yes. Left.”
Sixteen
Will
Day Seven
Will took the turn a little too fast and veered off the roadway slightly but managed to move back onto the highway without over-correcting and tossing Monte and Tanner out of the bed of the truck. A moment later, Monte rapped on the back glass. Will looked into the rearview mirror to see three ATVs racing up behind them. Will glanced down at the speedometer. He was doing forty-five and accelerating. They should be able to outrun them pretty quickly. He heard a shot.
“
Did he just shoot those men?” Isabella asked, turning in her seat.
Will glanced into the side mirror. All three quads had left the roadway.
“Did you shoot them?” Isabella repeated, her voice high-pitched.
“I sure as shit did. I fired at them before they could shoot my ass,” Monte said.
Isabella turned back around in a huff and crossed her arms. To Will’s surprise, Walker was quiet about the matter. Will glanced back at Cayden. He seemed unfazed by it all. That almost concerned Will more than if he’d been upset by it. He didn’t want his son so desensitized to violence.
A desolate length of road stretched out before them and Will’s thoughts drifted back to the battle at the storage unit and Kim Yang’s death right there in front of his son. Before he knew it, they were on the outskirts of another small town. The Daisetta Fire Station’s bay doors were up, and the fire engines missing. He pointed. “They must have been out on a call when the EMP hit.”
“Must have,” Cayden said.
Monte was standing in the bed of the truck facing the town. All Will could see was his legs as he leaned against the rear sliding window. He banged on the roof of the pickup. “Roadblock ahead.”
Will leaned forward to look for it.
“Take that right turn there. We’ll take the back streets and avoid it,” Walker said.
Will was amazed the lawman knew the streets of all these small towns. He was even more glad they’d run into him. They wound around and finally came out back onto the highway and continued north for several more miles before turning east again near a little place called Batson.
They were forty miles from Silsbee when they approached an old Chevy truck stopped in the middle of the road with both doors open. Will slowed to pull around it. Blood trailed from the driver’s seat onto the pavement, and the windows were all smashed. Someone had encountered trouble.
“See anyone?” Will asked him.
“No. Someone must have come by and taken them to the hospital,” Walker replied.
“Don’t look, Cayden,” Will said, expecting to see a body or two off in the ditch up ahead with that much blood.
A few miles later, as they approached the bridge, a figure appeared in the roadway in front of them. “Don’t shoot!” Isabella cried out. She slid open the rear window and repeated it.
Walker drew his pistol and held it in his lap as Will slowed the truck. He stopped twenty-five yards from a middle-aged man with his arm around a woman’s waist. Her foot was bandaged. Before Will could say anything, Isabella was out of the truck and limping toward them. Walker and Monte were right behind her. Walker had holstered his pistol. Monte, however, held his at the low ready, prepared to respond if necessary.
Will put the pickup in park and told Cayden to stay put before exiting the vehicle and approaching the couple himself.
“Let’s get her into the truck,” Isabella said. “Will, help me.” Isabella put her arm around the woman’s waist and tried to take her from the man. He looked like he was going to protest but didn’t.
“What happened?” Will asked.
Walker slid his arm around the woman from the other side. “Let me help, Isabella,” he said.
“They attacked us for no reason. They appeared out of nowhere and just beat the shit out of my truck,” the man said, gesticulating with weathered hands. He adjusted his cowboy hat and looked toward the west.
“I never even saw them. They had my door open, and I was on the ground before I knew it,” the woman said. The petite woman’s sandy blonde ponytail stuck out of the back of a ball cap.
“How many of them were there?” Walker asked as he moved the woman toward the pickup.
“Four,” the woman said.
“They were hoodlums from town. They must have gotten stranded like Glory.”
“I didn’t see anyone on the road as I drove home, Alan,” Glory said.
“They dragged us both out of the truck and tried to drive off, but I had the keys in my hand.”
“I tried to run, but I twisted my ankle. I think it’s broken.”
“How did you get away?” Isabella asked as she and Walker placed Glory into the back seat.
“We were forced to defend ourselves,” Alan said, climbing in beside his wife and placing her foot in his lap.
Will stood with his hand on the door, ready to close it. “Which way did your attackers flee?”
“They didn’t. They’re still back there in that field near my truck. They won’t be bothering anyone anymore,” Alan said.
Will’s gaze turned to Walker. He was the law officer.
“Were they armed?” Walker asked.
“With crowbars,” Alan said.
“She needs a doctor. Is there one in town?” Isabella asked.
“There’s a medical clinic but I doubt it’s open with the electric out. All we got is Doc Townsend.”
He’ll be at his ranch north of town,” Glory said. She shifted in her seat and winced in pain. “Just take me home, Alan. I’ll be all right.”
“Would you fine folks mind giving us a ride back to our ranch? It’s about ten miles north of here.”
Will poked his head into the cab of the truck, turned the key, and checked the gas gauge. They were at half a tank. The way the old truck guzzled gasoline, Will wasn’t sure they’d have enough fuel to get to Savanah’s as it was.
“I have fuel—lots of fuel. I’ll fill your tank up and send you on your way with a couple of gas cans,” Alan said.
Will couldn’t pass that offer up. It was only a few more miles out of their way, but something tugged at the back of his mind. Wasn’t that what he’d said when he’d offered to detour to take Isabella and Kim to the hospital? He surprised himself when he said yes to the man but hoped he wouldn’t regret it.
“I need to pack up camp and get my rifle,” Alan said, slowly easing out from under his wife’s foot.
“I can help,” Tanner said. Where are you camped?”
“Down by the creek.”
“How long have you been out here?” Will asked.
“Since the first day after all the technology failed.” Alan stopped and turned. “Glory had gone into town and when she didn't return, I went looking for her. We were on our way home when those thugs stopped us. After that, Glory couldn’t walk, and I’ve got bad knees so I couldn’t carry her. We’ve been waiting for someone we knew to come by. They never did.”
Alan and Tanner returned with a large army drab-colored pack with tons of tools hanging off it and an AR-15 rifle. Tanner threw them in the back of the pickup and he, Monte, Isabella, and Cayden loaded up into the bed. Alan pointed as they passed his abandoned truck. “That’s where they ambushed us.”
“What happened?” Walker asked.
“They shot my tires out as I drove by. When they shot through the side glass, I ducked, and I guess I hit the brakes because they were on us in a flash, smashing the windshield and side windows. When they pulled Glory from the truck, I went for the pistol I carry concealed and shot at the guy. He dropped her and took off running. But one of the son-of-a-bitches hit me from behind. It was lights out for a moment.”
“I was able to get my 9mm pulled and fired,” Glory said.
Alan stared out the side window. “I was struggling with one of them for the keys when I heard the shots. I released my grip on the keys and raised my pistol. The guy backed up, raised his hand, and pitched the keys into the woods. That’s when his buddy sucker-punched me from behind. I fired when I saw the guy raise the tire iron.”
Glory’s forehead wrinkled, and she looked down at her hands. “We spent ten minutes looking for the keys before deciding we’d never find them in the marsh. We didn’t want to stick around and wait for them to come back, so we started toward town.”
Alan patted Glory’s hand. “About the time we reached the bridge over the creek, we heard the ATV and went to hide, hoping they wouldn’t see us. Well, they did. This time, though, I didn’t hesitate. I took the shot an
d dumped their asses in the creek.”
“It sounds like a clear case of self-defense, but you should report it to law enforcement as soon as possible,” Walker said.
The two looked at each other for a long moment. Will could see they were worried about the legal consequences of their actions, but he wasn’t sure how the justice system would function in such chaos. He’d likely be leery of self-reporting the incident as well. He couldn’t imagine being stuck in some jail awaiting a trial that may never come.
Minutes later, they arrived outside a wooden gate crossing a gravel drive. Above it was a wrought-iron sign that read, “Rockin D Ranch.” Will could see a two-story house, an old wood barn, and a newer metal pole barn in the distance. As Alan got out and unlocked the gate, a dog barked in the distance and then raced down the drive toward them. The dog followed the truck to the house and leaped inside the back of the pickup the moment the doors opened. Alan tried to pull him away, but he jumped up and began licking Glory’s face. “Good to see you too, Rosco!”
Seventeen
Isabella
Day Seven
Alan and Glory’s two-story home was decorated in traditional farm style. A Texas flag was framed and hung over the sofa and two well-worn recliners faced a large-screen television.
Alan placed Glory down on the sofa and propped her foot on a stack of cushions. “I’ll get the medkit and put you on a clean splint.”
Isabella picked up a framed photo of the couple with two young boys—a happy family playing on the beach. Seeing the picture made her homesick. The way things were looking, it might be a very long time before she would see her family again. Once Glory was comfortable, Alan led Will and the guys out to his shop to fill the gas cans.
“That door to the left of the refrigerator is our walk-in pantry. If you look on the second shelf on the right, there should be some MREs,” Glory said.
