Wipeout | Book 3 | Empty Vault
Page 16
Moments later as they bumped into the shore, Mason and Noah were both there, laid on their stomachs in the grass and trying to grab hold of the boat wherever they could to try and help keep it in place. Samuel’s heart thumped in his chest as he got the nod from Austin, his friend telling him to get to shore first while he held the boat steady this time. He almost didn’t want to leave Austin behind in the row boat, but he knew it would only be for a second and that his friend would be right behind him this time.
Navigating around Austin’s frame, Samuel teetered at the edge of the tiny vessel for a second before leaping to the river bank and landing in a heap next to Noah. The second his thoughts caught up with his actions he was scrambling around, looking back to where Austin was now about to leap from the boat. Copying the two young boys, Samuel thrust his arms over the river bank and gripped the side of the boat, holding it still as Austin jumped and finally joined them all on the right side of the river.
“Austin!”
Noah was the first one to react, letting go of the boat and throwing himself onto Austin to give him a huge hug. Mason quickly did the same and without a second thought, Samuel let the boat go free as well, the tiny vessel that had saved their group drifting away down the Hudson. He felt a second of remorse before Austin’s hand came down on his shoulder and he turned to look at his friend. Then, without a second of hesitation, the two men embraced where they sat, holding onto one another for several moments as they rejoiced in the fact they were together again.
“Thank you,” Austin spoke as he let go, putting an arm around Noah again instead who lingered by his side. “Thank you for not leaving me behind.”
Samuel grinned and shook his head, overcome with emotion for a brief second. This wasn’t something he had felt very often in his life, but as he looked at Austin, he quickly came to realize that he already regarded the man as family. He would happily risk his life for the man in front of him and he knew Austin would do the same – in fact, they both had, on several occasions.
“I could never,” Samuel replied. “It just wouldn’t be the same without you.”
The four of them eventually untangled their limbs and stood up, walking the short distance back to the jetty where Samuel’s rucksack waited for them. Ready to go once more, they continued walking, happy to be together again and finding the moment almost peaceful as the sun reached its highest place in the sky and shone down on them, shining off the water to make the river look tranquil and still.
Eventually they started to notice buildings in the distance and it became clear that Poughkeepsie was practically just around the next corner. Everyone reacted to the realization in the same way, straightening up and becoming more suspicious of everything around them. Both Samuel and Austin knew that this was the risky point; they were approaching a city that didn’t want to be approached and would do anything to keep newcomers away. The four of them were pretty exposed as they were forced to climb up from the river bank and walk along the side of the road, the bush becoming too thick by the water and the ground growing muddy.
“Everyone try and keep your heads down,” Austin warned as they approached the outskirts of the city, abandoned buildings beginning to line the road. “I imagine the people who were out here either fled or moved closer into the city when the collapse happened, but you never know.”
“You think there could be people living out here still?” Samuel asked, narrowing his eyes and looking through windows as they passed by, searching for any sign of life or indication that people had been there recently.
“It’s possible,” Austin replied. “It depends what kind of people they were.”
Mason and Noah kept quiet and walked in between the two men, Austin leading and Samuel bringing up the rear. He checked that they were both safe nearly every thirty seconds, wary of bringing the boys into a potential place of danger, his instinct to protect them still top of his mind. The buildings may all be abandoned, but there was the unmistakable set up of a road block in the distance ahead of them. Austin and Samuel had both expected it – after what had happened to them at the bridge, it came as no surprise that the residents of Poughkeepsie had blockaded their roadways as well.
“Do you still have the binoculars?” Samuel asked as they sheltered in a doorway, out of sight from the road to refresh themselves and try to formulate a plan of action. “How does it look?”
Austin nodded and rummaged around in his rucksack for a second, pulling out the binoculars and edging back around the side of the doorway so he could check out the road block. After a second, he let out a low whistle, impressed with what the people of Poughkeepsie had set up.
“They’ve really gone to town on this one,” he remarked, passing the binoculars to Samuel. “Check it out.”
Samuel did and was both stunned and crestfallen at what he saw. It wasn’t just one road block that was set out ahead of them, but about four or five all spaced out and constructed from different materials. There were standard road blockades, a pile up of vehicles and broken rubble, a wire fence with some nasty looking spikes protruding out of the top and then further obstacles to navigate around as the road continued into the city. There was also what looked like the groundwork to a watch tower, partially constructed behind the second barricade. And lastly, most frighteningly of all, six men sat outside around a table playing cards. They didn’t look immediately threatening, but the guns that were propped up against the collapsible table made it clear they weren’t there to welcome visitors in with open arms.
“Right,” Samuel sighed as he turned back to the rest of the group, truly stumped at what they were going to do next. “I’m not sure how we’re going to get through this one.”
“Me neither,” Austin shook his head, intensely disappointed by what was set out in front of them. Mason and Noah didn’t ask any questions, but it was clear that they understood what was happening. It was so cruel that they were once again so close to Poughkeepsie and yet there didn’t seem to be any way of getting inside.
Samuel leaned back against a wall and tried to think. There had to be some way of getting through, something they could do in order to break into the city. As soul-destroying as it was for him to get this close and find such a problem, he knew it had to be a thousand times worse for Austin, Mason and Noah. Their families were on the other side of the blockade and all they were trying to do was get back to them.
As he looked at his three companions in turn, Samuel understood that even though they were facing what looked like an impassable obstacle, very little had changed. The odds had never been in their favor from the start and yet they had managed to overcome so much and come so far, all in the face of adversity and with very little planning or preparation. Things didn’t look good for them right now but he knew if they took their time and thought it all through, there would be a way to get all four of them safely into Poughkeepsie and back to their families. After everything that had happened, he wasn’t going to give up hope and he wasn’t going to back down. One way or another, they were crossing that blockade and getting into that city, he just had to figure out how.
Wipeout Book 4
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