Wipeout | Book 3 | Empty Vault

by Richards, E. S.

  At the mention of Poughkeepsie both boys suddenly perked up, looking at one another and getting noticeably excited.

  “Can we get back in?”

  “Has the bridge been fixed?”

  Austin looked at Samuel and raised his eyebrows, pleased to be getting somewhere with their young companions. “No, the bridge is still busted,” he replied, “but there’s more than one way into the city. Is that where you’re from? Are your families there?”

  After a briefly crestfallen look, the elder of the two boys nodded. “Our mom and dad are still there,” he paused and sniffed, “we snuck out to get some food and then the explosions happened. By the time we got back to the bridge everyone was gone and we couldn’t get back across.”

  “Oh jeez,” Samuel exhaled. “They blew up the bridge and you got stuck over on this side?”

  The boys nodded, their faces giving away just how traumatic the experience had been. Samuel and Austin wondered how long ago the bridge had been destroyed, how long the two boys had been on their own for. It looked like a long time, but it was difficult to tell. They had clearly been holed up in the donut store for some time, empty boxes scattered around them on the floor.

  “We’ll figure out a way to get you back to your mom and dad,” Austin announced, his voice filled with confidence and determination. “My family are in Poughkeepsie as well. We’ll all get back there together.”

  “Really mister? Do you mean that?”

  “I do,” Austin nodded. “Don’t worry boys, we’ll work it all out.”

  “Can we get your names now?” Samuel asked with a little chuckle as the two boys hugged one another, thrilled at Austin’s declaration that they would be able to get them home. “How long have you been out here for? How long ago did the bridge get blown up?”

  “I’m Noah,” the youngest announced.

  “And I’m Mason,” the older one continued. “I think it’s been about a week.”

  “Wow,” Austin was stunned by what he was witnessing, impressed that both the boys were in such good shape after being on their own for so long. It made him long for Bowie more than anything in the world, seeing his little boy’s face in both Noah and Mason’s. “Have you been in here the whole time?”

  Mason nodded. “We came here before what happened to get donuts for everyone. It was going to be a surprise.”

  “It was mom’s birthday,” Noah added, remembering why they had left Poughkeepsie. “It was going to be a special treat.”

  As he finished speaking, his bottom lip started to quiver, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Austin couldn’t bear to see it, holding his hand out to the little boy and encouraging him to crawl out from underneath the counter, sitting on the floor properly so he could give him a hug and wrap him in his arms.

  “It’s okay,” Austin whispered to the little boy, Mason quickly joining his brother and leaning against Austin as well. “You don’t have to talk about it. It doesn’t matter anymore. We’re going to get you both out of here and back to your parents, you can celebrate your mom’s birthday then, okay?”

  Both boys nodded quietly against Austin’s body, the man comforting them as he would’ve done for his own son. Samuel watched with a smile, seeing how natural the actions came to Austin. You could tell immediately that he was a father, knowing how to hold the boys and just what to say to make them feel better. He cradled them in his arms and rocked them softly, letting them absorb the comfort and safety that he brought with him. After this much time on their own, any adult figure was a symbol of security for Mason and Noah and they embraced Austin like he was a member of their family already, relaxing into him and letting themselves feel protected and secure for the first time in many days.

  “I can’t believe they blew the bridge up with their kids on the other side of it,” Samuel whispered to Austin a little over half an hour later. Noah had fallen asleep with his head in Austin’s lap and Mason had just excused himself to go to the bathroom, giving the two men a few minutes to talk. “That’s mental.”

  “They can’t have known,” Austin replied, defending the parents of the two boys’ to an extent. “There’s no way their mom and dad would’ve let it happen if they knew their children weren’t safely at home.”

  “Are you sure?” Samuel questioned, remembering what Austin had told him about the sort of people who lived in Poughkeepsie. “Didn’t you say they’d be willing to go to extreme measures to keep their city safe?”

  “Yeah but not this extreme, not to the point of kicking a couple of kids out on their own.”

  “Mm,” Samuel didn’t sound convinced. “Either way, I think we need to be careful. I’m not sure what we’re going to be up against to try and get into the city, but I don’t think the people inside are going to make it easy for us.”

  “They won’t.”

  Samuel and Austin both snapped their heads in the direction of the bathrooms, seeing Mason standing there with his hands stuffed in his pockets. It was obvious the teenager had heard some of their conversation, but neither Samuel nor Austin was sure exactly how much. They looked at Mason with apologetic expressions, not wanting to have worried the boy with their concerns.

  “It’s okay,” Mason continued, “I get it. Everyone from home has gone crazy, my Uncle Jeff and his friends were the ones who started it. They want the town all to themselves.”

  “How do you mean?” Austin asked, sensing an opportunity to get some information from Mason. If the young boy was willing to talk, then they should listen and absorb as much detail as possible, they had no way of telling what exactly would be the difference between them getting into Poughkeepsie and remaining stuck outside.

  Mason looked slightly perturbed by the question, glancing down at the floor nervously as he seemed to try and figure out how to answer. It was a strange position for the boy to find himself in, old enough to understand what was happening to the world and be affected by it, but still young enough that he wanted his mother or someone to look after him and tell him what to do. It couldn’t have been easy for him looking after his younger brother and the effect of it all was showing. If anything, it just spurred Austin on with even more determination to get into Poughkeepsie. Now it wasn’t just his own son whose life could possibly depend on it.

  “It’s okay,” Austin spoke softly, “you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to. We’re just trying to figure out the best way to get you both back home safely. We want to make sure we’re prepared for everything.”

  Mason nodded, understanding what Austin was implying and plucking up the courage to talk. “I didn’t hear much of what Uncle Jeff was talking about,” he started, “but I remember him saying they were going to defend the roads. He said the bridge would look after itself, but that they would have to defend the roads.”

  Samuel looked at Austin and raised his eyebrows. “What do you think that means?”

  “I think,” Austin paused, “that it means there’s not going to be anyone watching the bridge.”

  Samuel nodded slowly, understanding what Austin was suggesting. “So, you think that might actually be the easiest way to get across? It didn’t look passable at all last night?”

  “There might be a way over,” Austin remarked, thinking back to the bridge and how it had fallen into the water. “It’s probably worth a try if what Mason is saying is correct.”

  “I’m pretty sure it is,” Mason replied, keen to help out now that a plan was being hatched. “That’s what I remember.”

  “Alright then, it’s decided,” Austin nodded, shifting slightly where he sat on the floor and accidentally waking Noah up who yawned and looked at each person in turn.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We’re going back to the bridge, Noah,” Mason told his brother before Austin or Samuel could speak up. “We’re going home.”

  Chapter 4

  “Do mom and dad know we’re coming this time?” Noah asked as he got tangled up amongst everyone’s legs, Austin and Sam
uel repacking their rucksacks and preparing to go back to the bridge. “Will they be waiting for us?”

  “They don’t know that we’re coming, Noah,” Mason explained to his younger brother. “We need to go and check if we can get across. But we have to be secret about it, like a spy mission.”

  “A mission? Like we play at school?”

  “Yeah, exactly,” Mason encouraged his brother. “We’re not allowed to get caught.”

  “Okay,” Noah nodded enthusiastically. “I can do that.”

  Looking down at the two boys, Austin smiled. He had always wondered whether he and Dante should think about adopting another child so that Bowie had a little brother or sister. It would be nice to expand their family once all of the madness was over, buy a bigger place further out of the city and settle down some more. Austin wanted to give Bowie all the advantages he hadn’t had himself growing up, a privileged life, but one that he respected and valued too.

  Those plans would all have to be on hold for some time now, but looking at the siblings preparing to leave the store, Austin couldn’t help but feel hopeful for his future in some way. Mason and Noah were so lucky to have each other, their bond undeniably strong and rightfully so. To have lasted on their own away from their home for so long at such a young age was an impressive feat; Austin could tell the boys were special and knew they would mostly look after themselves so long as they had someone to guide them.

  “You both ready then?” He asked with a smile, tugging his rucksack onto his shoulders and checking Samuel was packed up as well. “Is the coast clear?”

  “All clear,” Noah reported back, the little boy stood by the glass window at the front of the store, his hands cupped around his eyes like binoculars.

  “Let’s move out then,” Austin declared, passing Noah and resting his hand on his shoulder for a second before pulling open the door and striding outside. Both the boys followed, with Samuel bringing up the rear and ensuring they had left nothing behind. Their plan was to travel back to the bridge on foot; it would create less noise than the quads and was easier than sorting them out again with fuel from the gas station. They hadn’t even made it there to check if they could refuel, but if they didn’t need to and could cross the bridge today then there was no requirement for the quads anymore. They would simply leave them behind the motel for the time being and if they ever needed them again, hopefully they would still be there.

  Of the group that left Dunkin Donuts and started pacing back towards the tree line, Samuel was the most skeptical about their plan. He could see Austin wanted it to work, both for his own son and for the two boys now in their custody, but Samuel worried he hadn’t thought things through enough.

  From what he could remember of the bridge, it was utterly destroyed. There were no remnants of it that someone could possibly edge across and climb up the other side, no remaining support beams or calmer parts of the river. He hoped that Austin had seen something that he hadn’t, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that their journey was being made more on the grounds of wishful thinking rather than any concrete evidence. He only hoped that it didn’t dampen everyone’s spirits further if they couldn’t get across – now that they had Mason and Noah to look after, Samuel felt like the pressure had been ramped up several notches.

  “Watch your footing guys, take it easy!”

  Navigating the woodland was easier said than done with two excitable children involved. While the roads were deathly silent, both Austin and Samuel agreed they’d rather keep out of view from the main road just in case, sticking to walking a few feet inside the tree line and out of sight. But with roots sticking up out of the ground and long grass that came up to Noah’s waist, it brought added complications with it.

  Both men were yet to forget their run in with the wild bear on the way to Poughkeepsie as well, keeping their eyes and ears alert to their surroundings as they hiked back toward the bridge. By the time they got back to the area where they’d camped the night before, they were ready for a short break to recuperate themselves. The afternoon was wearing on and both men knew they needed to have figured out their plan before darkness fell; they had perhaps three more hours until the sun set behind the distant mountain skyline.

  “Okay boys,” Austin captured the attention of Mason and Noah. “This is where we need to be really quiet. I’m going to sneak out to the bridge and I need both of you to stay here with Samuel, okay? I won’t be long, but I just need to check the area out first before we can all try and get across.”

  Looking up at Samuel, Austin gave him a slight nod and half a smile. He was sure his friend could handle looking after the two boys alone for a second. As both Mason and Noah agreed, Austin focused on his task rather than his companions. He needed to get right up close to the bridge and assess whether there was some way the four of them could get across it, but first he wanted to make sure no one was watching. Leaving Samuel and the boys behind and moving closer – though remaining hidden by the trees – he pulled his binoculars from his rucksack, lay down on his stomach and pressed them to his eyes.

  The bridge had previously been made up of three lanes for vehicles, plus two pedestrian walkways on either side. Metal support beams had lined either side of the road creating a barrier between the cars and the people, zig-zagging through the skyline like an out of control aircraft. To bring a structure like that down had to be a carefully planned out operation, charges needed to be planted at the correct places all the way along and they needed to go off in exact sequence. Whoever had planned this had done it to the letter. They had clearly had plenty of time to think about what they were doing.

  That didn’t give Austin much confidence. They were going to be dealing with some passionate people when and if they found a way into Poughkeepsie and not the sort of passion that left a proud smile on someone’s face. Austin wondered just how many preppers lived inside the small city, their numbers had amassed over the years and it was now what Poughkeepsie was mainly known for. It was a haven for those who believed the end of the world was just around the corner and that they needed to be ready for it.

  Unfortunately for Austin and his companions though, that meant they were faced with an extremely difficult task. How did you fight a group of people at something they’d been preparing for their entire lives, when the challenge had only been thrust upon you a matter of days earlier?

  The answer wasn’t something he had, but Austin knew they had to try. Lowering his binoculars after confirming that there was absolutely no one watching the bridge – a lookout clearly not valued as an important enough role – Austin reviewed the wreckage below. There was certainly no clear path across the fallen tarmac and broken metal, but there was potentially a way to maneuver amongst them if they planned the route carefully. One thing was for certain: it wasn’t as hopeless a task as he and Samuel had believed it to be when they first came across the bridge. There was a possibility they could make it across and that was enough for Austin. Hope was undoubtedly the most powerful asset in his arsenal right now.

  “Well?” Samuel asked when Austin returned to the clearing. “What do you think?”

  “There’s no one watching,” Austin replied, “and it looks like we might be able to find a way across. The rubble is everywhere. It won’t be easy, but we can certainly try.”

  Mason and Noah whooped at Austin’s announcement, excited to try and cross the river and make it back to their family. Samuel was less enthusiastic, but he knew Austin wouldn’t suggest anything that would put them in danger and was hopeful of success.

  “Alright then,” Samuel grinned. “Let’s do this.”

  “Mason! Be careful!” The smile was wiped from Samuel’s face not long after as the four of them scaled the wet bank of the Hudson river, trying to make it down to an area where it looked like they may be able to start crossing. The trees thinned out near the water’s edge and several large rocks lay thick with moss and jagged shells. Slipping on one of them could result in serious injury and with two l
ittle boys, plus the rucksack throwing him off balance Samuel was starting to think this was a very bad idea.

  “Come on,” Austin encouraged, desperate to make it over the river and reunite with his own son. “This way looks best.”

  “Woah! Jeez, this is slippery.” Samuel stumbled almost as soon as he placed his first foot onto the rock, heading in the direction of a fallen metal pilon that poked out of the water at an angle. “Are you sure about this? Is that thing even secure?”

  “Yeah, come on,” Austin encouraged, desperate to keep them moving now that they were on the right track. He put his right foot on the metal pilon and felt it shift slightly in the water, but it held mostly solid. “See,” he shouted back over his shoulder, “it’s fine. Come on!”

  “I’m not sure about this. Noah! Here, take my hand,” Samuel faltered where he stood, reaching out and trying to secure the young boy who looked scared and apprehensive as Austin inched further and further away from the shoreline ahead of them. Just as Samuel was about to call out to his friend again and try to convince him to turn back, something pinged off a rock just to the side of him and let off a loud cracking sound.

  “What was that?”

  “We’re under fire!” Mason screamed almost immediately, hopping around where he stood and trying to make it back to the grassy river bank.

  Samuel laughed at the preposterous idea just as another crack erupted ahead of him, something else flying into a bit of the broken bridge and pinging bits of shrapnel up into the air. In an instant his opinion on what Mason had just said changed and Samuel looked up at his friend, questioning whether someone was actually firing at them.

  “I thought you said there wasn’t anyone watching?”

  “I didn’t think there was!” Austin shouted back, fumbling in the side pocket of his rucksack for his binoculars and slowly raising them to his face while he struggled to regain balance on the wobbling pilon he stood on. Squinting through the glass he surveyed the opposite river bank and tried to determine whether anyone was shooting at them as more pellets or bullets or whatever they were continued to rain down around them.