by Lukens, Mark
“We take her out through the tunnels, but we blindfold her,” Josh said.
“We should just kill her. I’ll do it. She’ll never see it coming. She won’t feel a thing.”
Ray’s stomach clenched and turned. He felt suddenly nauseous, like the food he’d eaten hours ago was going to come back up. Luke talked about killing someone like he was talking about crushing a cockroach under his shoe. Ray understood that Luke used to kill for a living for some Mafia family, but he was starting to get the idea that Luke had enjoyed his job, that killing was as basic to him as breathing, that other lives had no meaning for him. He was starting to believe he was dealing with a true psychopath.
“Maybe we should vote on it,” Josh said.
“Vote with her standing right there in front of us?” Ray said.
“No. We leave her in another room.”
“She shouldn’t be left alone,” Luke warned.
“Well, maybe we could lock her in a room. Like a jail cell. Maybe tie her hands and blindfold her if we have to.”
God, this was getting crazy. But Ray knew Luke was right—this wasn’t a normal civilized world anymore with rules and laws to follow. But he didn’t want to become a complete animal; he didn’t want to become like the Dark Angels, or even the rippers.
“Look, we don’t have enough evidence to kill her or banish her,” Ray said. “Maybe detaining her for a little while—humanely—and then questioning her more is the right answer.”
Josh beamed with pride, obviously excited that his idea was being considered. But Luke didn’t look happy about Ray’s decision. He obviously wanted to go with the easy answer, whether it was the right or wrong thing to do.
A scattering of gunfire sounded from outside. Bullets pelted the front of the cabin.
“We need to see what they’re doing out there,” Josh said.
“We need to go out there and pick them off,” Luke said.
“Yeah,” Ray said to Josh. “Luke’s right.” He felt that if Luke was outside killing the Dark Angels, then maybe his thirst for blood would be quenched. But would that thirst ever be quenched?
Luke took off to the windows at the front of the cabin.
Ray and Josh went back into the kitchen just as Rose rushed out of the bedroom with Emma and Mike right behind her. Mike still had the kitchen knife in his hand. He looked scared.
“What’s going on?” Ray asked.
Josh seemed to know immediately that something was wrong with Emma. He ran up to her, ignoring Rose as she bolted for the living room.
“It’s coming,” Emma said in a breathless voice, like the air had left her lungs. Her mouth was drawn down into a frown. “It’s coming to kill us.”
Luke yelled from the living room, already running back from the windows. “Get down into the basement!”
Ray grabbed Rose as she tried to run past him into the living room. Luke bolted right past them.
Josh already had the basement door open, getting Mike and Emma inside the landing and down the stairs.
“Dad, come on!” Mike yelled from the basement stairs.
Rose wrenched out of Ray’s grasp, throwing a wild punch at him.
“Let her go!” Luke yelled at Ray. “Run!”
For one second Ray thought Luke was going to shoot Rose right then and there, that he wanted him to let her go so he could have a clear shot. But then Luke ducked inside the basement door.
Rose panicked as she ran away from Ray, running past the couch toward the front door. “No!” she yelled at the front door. “Wait for me! You promised!”
At that moment Ray knew that Luke and Josh had been right—Rose was a mole, she was a spy for the Dark Angels. Whether she had joined them after the slaughter at her camp or she’d always been with them didn’t matter—she was definitely with them now. And at that second everything exploded. Ray was knocked off his feet from the shock wave, the world around him suddenly engulfed in flames.
CHAPTER 46
Emma
Emma had known something terrible was coming. It had been like a flash of light in her mind’s eye exploding in the darkness that was her world. She’d almost seen the flash and felt the danger too late. But then again, maybe it had been too late . . . too late for Ray.
Somehow Rose had known what was coming before Emma had. She had run out of the bedroom without warning, suddenly frantic about getting out of the cabin. Maybe Rose could tell that something catastrophic had been about to happen. But Emma had heard her as she ran to the front door, fighting with Ray along the way. That moment of trying to stop Rose, trying to save her, that’s what had gotten Ray stuck up there.
Luke hadn’t had time to explain what was coming, he had just yelled at everyone to get down into the basement. But something had frightened him that badly.
Josh had wasted no time getting her and Mike into the basement, leaving the door open for Luke and Ray.
Where was Ray now?
The world above the basement had exploded. The basement stairs had trembled as they ran down to the basement floor. She swore the stairs were going to shake apart and spill all of them down into the rubble. She heard a roaring above them, felt the immediate heat, the sound of a massive crackling fire.
Oh God, Ray was still up there. Trapped in that fire, maybe trapped under a fallen wall, pinned by a giant burning log.
She felt Josh’s hands on her. “Come on,” Josh said. “We need to get into the bunker.”
Emma knew Mike was beside her, helping her. His hand was in hers, and then he squeezed her hand. “The lights are all out,” he said.
“Solar panels got destroyed in the blast,” Josh said. “Here.”
She realized that Josh had probably just handed Mike his flashlight, giving them a little shaft of light to see by down here in this pitch-black darkness.
“Where’s Ray?” Emma said, stopping suddenly. She knew they needed to get to the bunker, but she needed to know what had happened to Ray.
“He’s not down here,” Josh said.
“Josh!” Luke called from the top of the basement stairs. “Get back up here.”
“It’s Ray,” Emma said, holding on to Josh’s arm for just a second, gripping it hard. “Help him.”
“I’ll help,” Mike said.
“No,” Josh told him. “I got it. Me and Luke’ll get him down here, buddy. You help Emma into the bunker.”
Emma wasn’t sure if Luke and Josh were trying to help an injured Ray down into the basement or a dying Ray, or even just trying to get his body down the stairs. She couldn’t sense Ray and that scared her. But she was rattled right now. The intense flash of warning in her mind had rattled her—she’d been feeling a building pressure for a little while, the feeling that something large and ominous was approaching. And then that light had flashed in her mind, so intense it had been painful.
“My dad . . .” Mike said.
“He’ll be okay,” Emma said, but she felt like a liar.
“It’s dark in here,” Mike said, his voice echoing slightly.
“Did Josh give you a flashlight?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe we can find some battery-powered lanterns down here. All of you will need some light down here.”
“I’m going to go look. I think I remember where they are. You going to be okay?”
“I’m fine, Mike. Go ahead and get the lanterns turned on.”
She heard Mike darting away to the metal shelves, rummaging around.
“I got some,” he said, but he kept his voice low.
Emma concentrated on other sounds from above as Mike got the lanterns turned on. She could tell the bunker was made of even stronger walls and ceilings than the cabin; the noises of the fire above and the groaning and popping wood weren’t as loud down here in the bunker. She was waiting to hear a thundering crash as the whole cabin collapsed down onto itself, filling the basement with burning wood and logs.
Come on, guys. Get down here. Get into the bunker.
She heard them coming, shuffling along the concrete floor of the basement, breathing hard. She heard them get inside the bunker. One of them closed the door that looked like a wall on the other side, the magnetic locks clicking loudly into place, creating an airtight seal to keep the smoke and some of the heat out.
“Rose,” Ray mumbled. He sounded like he’d been unconscious and was now coming awake.
“She ran for the front door,” Luke told Ray.
“What happened?” Ray asked.
“They had some kind of anti-tank weapon,” Luke said. “Like a rocket launcher or something. I saw one of the men with it in the back of the pickup, aiming it right at the cabin.”
“I guess the cabin wasn’t built to withstand that,” Ray said.
“What is?” Luke replied.
“At least it held up a little,” Josh said. “The floor held. Most of the walls. It’s still holding up.”
“For now,” Ray said and gritted his teeth, still breathing heavy.
“Even if the cabin collapses, I think we’ll be safe in here,” Josh said. “Part of this bunker is actually beyond the cabin and underground. Walls and ceiling are concrete with reinforced steel. It’ll hold.”
“A tomb,” Luke said.
“More like a vault,” Josh shot back.
Emma wasn’t sure if Josh was telling the truth or just trying to ease everyone’s minds a little.
“Ray’s hurt,” Emma said. She could tell from the sound of his breathing that he was injured.
“Dad?” Mike said.
“My leg,” Ray said. “My ankle.”
“Broken?” Emma asked.
Ray grunted in pain. She figured he was testing his weight on the injured ankle.
“I don’t think so,” Ray answered. “I think it’s sprained. It’s the one I hurt playing football years ago.”
“Mike, see if there are any wraps in one of those first-aid kits over there,” Emma said. “And your dad’s going to need something for the pain.”
“No painkillers,” Ray snapped. “Just aspirins.”
Emma wondered if that was a dig at Josh.
Mike was back in the aisles of shelves. She heard him rummaging around, opening plastic cases.
“I wish we had some ice down here,” Emma said.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Luke said. “They’re going to strike again. Maybe they’ll hit the garage and destroy the Jeep and the van. We’re going to need those vehicles to get out of here.” He paused for just a second. “I need to go out there and pick them off. At least the ones in the truck first.”
“I can’t go with you,” Ray said. “I’ll only slow you down.”
Emma swore she heard Mike breathe out a sigh of relief as he came back, rattling a bottle of pills. “I got bandages,” he said. “And some aspirin.”
“Thanks, son.”
“I’ll go with you,” Josh told Luke.
Emma’s heart skipped a beat, but she knew Josh was going to go with Luke to help; she knew she wouldn’t be able to talk him out of it.
“Okay,” Luke said.
She heard Luke opening up the gun closet, taking weapons and ammo out.
“You’ll need to barricade these doors to the tunnels down here as best you can,” Luke said.
“The doors have locks,” Ray said. “We’ll unlock them when you come back. Just let us know on the walkie.”
“We’re not coming back until all the Dark Angels are dead,” Luke said. “And only then. After that, we’re going to need to get the hell out of here. The smoke from this cabin is going to draw rippers for miles. And maybe more Dark Angels.”
“Okay,” Ray said. “Just keep your walkies with you.”
“We’ll keep them off until we need to use them,” Luke said. “But you keep yours on all the time in case we need to get a hold of you.”
Ray didn’t say anything—Emma figured he was nodding at Luke. She almost said: Can’t hear your head rattle.
Josh came over to Emma and held her. They kissed, a long kiss. She felt tears in her eyes. “We’ll be back in a flash,” he told her.
But she knew that wasn’t true. She was scared. She didn’t want to let go of him.
“We never got the Jeep and van loaded with supplies,” Ray said. “While you’re gone, we’ll get as much stuff together as we can to take with us.”
“Good idea,” Luke said. “All the ammo we can carry. Medical supplies. MREs. The LifeStraws and water purification tablets. All the most important stuff.”
“Got it,” Ray said. Emma detected just the trace of annoyance in Ray’s voice—he was a smart man and more than capable of deciding which supplies to take with them. “Mike will help me get the stuff together.”
“Yeah, I’ll help,” Mike said.
Emma thought of the stuff they’d had upstairs, the personal items they’d had, the things that had meant something to each of them. She knew her small tape player and earphones were up there, the Stephen King audiobooks she’d been listening to. She figured Mike’s comic books were up there. Their clothes. The things they’d had in their packs during their travels here to the cabin. But now those things were all gone, burning up in the fire raging above the concrete roof of the bunker.”
“Okay,” Luke said. “You got your pack ready?” he asked Josh.
“Everything locked and loaded,” Josh answered.
“We’re going to take the long tunnel into the woods,” Luke told Ray. “Whatever you do, don’t go into the tunnel to the garage. I’m sure they’re watching the garage.”
“Got it,” Ray said again, even more annoyed. “We weren’t planning on going into the tunnels.”
“Well, if you absolutely have to escape, use the tunnel to the shed. It might be your only hope.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Josh said.
Emma knew that Josh was trying to sound brave for her sake—for all of their sakes—but she could hear the fear in his voice.
CHAPTER 47
Luke
Luke felt the most difficult part was going to be getting out of the hatch and into the woods. Even if the Dark Angels didn’t know where the hatch was or how many tunnels there were, or where they were located, it didn’t mean that they weren’t watching from somewhere in the woods and might see them opening the hatch and crawling out.
He and Josh had walked down the tunnel. There was only enough room for them to walk single file, and Luke was in front of Josh. He led with the flashlight. He still had the same pack he’d had on earlier in the woods, his rifle slung over his shoulder, his gun with the silencer holstered under his hoodie.
Luke stopped when he reached the hatch and turned to Josh. “I’ll go out first and close the hatch. Let me look around for a few minutes, okay?”
Josh nodded. “Yeah, man.”
“Just be patient for a few minutes. I’ll come back and open the hatch.”
“Whatever you say, man.”
Luke turned to the hatch door and spun the large metal wheel, opening the door. He pushed it open slowly, the leaves and branches attached to it as cover pulling apart. He looked around and then opened the hatch all the way. The hatch was hidden in a large section of brush, so he felt he would be mostly hidden as he laid his rifle down and crawled out.
After lowering the door closed, Luke waited there for a few moments. He was at the far side of the clearing, but even from where he was he could smell the smoke and hear the crackling flames of the cabin fire. He also heard voices, one man barking orders to others, but the voices were far away, over by the line of trucks blocking the driveway.
Luke made himself wait a few more minutes, still scanning the woods all around him. He didn’t see any Dark Angels, so maybe they hadn’t completely surrounded the clearing yet. Maybe they didn’t have enough manpower for that.
Maybe they were confident that they had killed everyone in the cabin, letting their guard down a little. But then again, the men who had chased him earlier in the morning, they
might think he was still somewhere out in these woods. They couldn’t be sure he had gotten back to the cabin. Maybe the longer he and Josh waited, the more the Dark Angels would believe he had gotten back to the cabin and that he was dead now.
He moved to the edge of the brush, silent as he pushed small branches out of the way. From where he crouched he could see the four trucks in front of the driveway. There were two pickups and two military Humvees. One of the pickups had the man in back who had shot the rocket launcher.
The log cabin was still standing, but for how long? The wind sweeping across the clearing was blowing the flames toward the free-standing garage. It was only a matter of minutes before the garage caught on fire.
Luke hurried back to the hatch and opened it. Josh crawled out.
“Get two of your Molotovs ready,” Luke told him.
Josh pulled off his backpack and went to work. He had already filled the glass jars up with gasoline and cut a hole in the metal lid then placed a piece of duct tape over it. He peeled back the tape and stuffed a strip of cloth down into the hole, letting some of the cloth hang out as the “wick.”
“We’re going down into the trees over there,” Luke whispered. “We’ll stay on this side of the driveway. You hit two of the trucks with your cocktails, but not the truck blocking the driveway. I’m going to need you to get to that truck and move it out of the way.”
Josh didn’t look too happy about that idea.
“We need to move that truck away from the driveway so we can get our vehicles out,” Luke explained. “I’ll cover you.”
Josh nodded.
“Things are going to move fast, okay? You just throw those Molotovs when I tell you and then run for the truck. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“After you move the truck, you get back to the hatch. Get Ray, Emma, and Mike into the tunnel that leads to the garage. Get them to the Jeep and the van.”
“Got it,” he said again.
