At Any Cost (Book 3): Bleak Horizons

by Fawkes, K. M.

  And he really did have to give her that one, because she had. That didn’t change his point, though.

  “We have to get out of town. Even if it means just going to another town and starting over. Every town around this one is picked over, so we can’t bring in any more supplies, and we’re sitting ducks when it comes to the Helen Falls gang. We have more than enough weapons to protect ourselves, but we don’t have enough men to fire the weapons we have. I still don’t think we have a choice in the matter. Did you make any progress on the plan while I was gone?”

  Alice made a beeline for the kitchen and started rifling through the drawers for the protein bars she knew Garrett sometimes kept. When she found one, she yanked it out of the drawer and took a bite.

  “Sure did,” she said around a mouthful of chocolate protein. “Kristy, old Bubba, and the kids go in the truck. Those are the ones who are either too sick, too weak, or too pregnant to manage on the bikes. Everyone else gets a bike or their own two feet. All the supplies go into the truck, obviously, and we fit in as many of the younger kids as we can. There aren’t that many of them, so we figure there will be space.”

  She took another bite and chewed before continuing. “Bubba has volunteered to drive the truck, and assuming he can manage to keep his eyes on the road, and Kristy doesn’t go into premature labor or anything like that, we’ll be on our way to a new town this evening.”

  This evening. Garrett almost sighed in relief, but stopped himself. He wasn’t going to count these particular chickens until they were well and truly hatched—in another town, and preferably one far, far away. He’d gone out and scouted the cave because he wasn’t sure they’d be able to get out of town without a fight from Steve. Or before the bikers showed up and made trouble. And he wasn’t going to let his guard down on that account quite yet.

  “Tonight is good,” he noted, rooting around in the cupboard for another protein bar. “But we’ll want to leave early enough that we don’t run the risk of being caught out in the cold. One truck isn’t going to hold all of us if the temperature drops. And I don’t exactly want to go traipsing into a new town in the middle of the night, expecting a warm welcome.”

  Alice gave him a sharp nod. “We’re aiming to leave at four p.m. The sun will be on its way down so we won’t have midday heat anymore, and we can make the walk to the nearest town before it even gets dark. Besides, Bubba, Kristy, and the kids may be able to go ahead of us and prepare any people. It’s not going to be as dramatic as you’re thinking.”

  Garrett found the bar he’d been looking for and took a big bite, barely stopping himself from groaning in delight at the promise of calories. But then he frowned.

  “If the bikers have anyone watching the town, they’ll see us parading out of it and go right to Kraken.”

  It wasn’t the first time he’d thought it. It wouldn’t be the first time he and Alice had grappled with this particular problem. It was November now, and the nighttime temperatures were enough to cause extreme discomfort for anyone caught out in the desert without some form of shelter. The days were no better; even this late in the fall, it was hot on the sand during the day. They’d thought the afternoon would be the safest time to travel, but the light brought an additional danger: visibility.

  They knew the bikers from Helen Falls were watching them. Even with their bikes disabled, they would have been able to walk to Trinity Ranch.

  “But they don’t have their bikes,” Alice reminded him. “It will take ages for any scouts to get back to Helen Falls—and even longer for them to come after us. No matter how angry they are. We’ve been through this, Garrett. They might see us. It doesn’t mean they’ll be able to do anything about it.”

  He nodded, processing the information again. It was always the same answer. Disabling the bikes had been the one good thing they’d managed to do on their trip to Helen Falls. And without transportation, the bikers were less of a danger.

  “If we can get out of here and be far enough away before they get to town…” she started.

  “They’ll never see where we’ve gone,” he finished. He took another bite of the protein bar and scowled. “It makes sense. That doesn’t mean I like it. Too many places for things to go wrong. Too many places to lose people. More people.” Looking up, he gave her a grin. “Guess that just means we’ll have to be even craftier than those bikers, if it comes down to it.”

  Craftier than the bikers. He wasn’t sure it was possible. He also knew they didn’t have a choice.

  Chapter 2

  Garrett dropped the crate he’d been carrying next to the truck, grunting as the weight left his shoulders. He’d never been a big man—never a football player or an athlete. But he’d been strong enough. Did a lot of time interning as an assistant for architects before he got his own degree, and so had spent his fair share of time carrying box after box of files, folders, and digging materials. Had helped out on building sites a time or two as well.

  None of that had prepared him for how hard he’d had to work since the EMP detonations. Those blasts had changed everything. Suddenly all electricity was gone, all the things that depended on electric connections dead and standing dormant. Water, power, vehicles… It had all disappeared, plunging them into a modern-day dark age. Literally. And though he’d been living by his wits ever since then, a large part of him had immediately started wishing he’d been one of those big, strong guys who could lift a hundred pounds like it was nothing.

  Still, he couldn’t complain about having been the one to see the bigger picture. Not really. It had gotten him and Alice and some of the others out of the prison General Green had been holding them in, at least. Gotten him voted leader of this little community, though how much good it had done the people so far was up for debate.

  He glanced around the garage where they’d taken to storing their vehicles and watched quietly as the people scurried around the one truck like worker ants. The crate he’d brought had been one of the last, and the people here were busy shoving supplies into the back of the truck, then taking them out and rearranging them, shuffling them into a different order, and trying again.

  One truck was barely enough to take everything they’d gathered. But it was all they had, at this point, after the other working truck had fallen prey to their mission at Helen Falls the day before. He, Greyson, Shane and Alice hadn’t had the chance to look for another vehicle when they’d hightailed it out of there. They’d been in such a rush to get out of town that they hadn’t even managed to do that responsibly, either.

  Before they’d come to find Garrett, the others had lost Bart and Riley. Unintentionally, of course, and he still thought the two teenagers had played a part in it, ducking down an alley instead of following Alice and the others like they were supposed to. That didn’t make it any easier to stomach. It didn’t make it feel any less like his fault. If he’d been with them, he would have been paying more attention. Would have made sure they were all clear on the plan.

  The thought that those kids might still be there in Helen Falls—alive and waiting for Garrett to come save them—hadn’t stopped eating at him since he’d returned, either. And the worst of it was that he knew he couldn’t do a damn thing. Even if they were still alive, he couldn’t set foot in that town again.

  Not if he hoped to get out with his own life intact.

  Going in there and getting himself killed… Well, it certainly wouldn’t help Riley and Bart, if they were still there. And it would derail everything he was fighting for when it came to taking care of the people right in front of him. No, he had to hope that those two kids were still alive, and were smart enough to find a way out of town. Maybe even get back to Trinity Ranch—or some other nearby community. He’d taught Bart an awful lot since he, Alice, and the rest of the gang had found their way into this community. Now he had to trust Bart to use what he’d learned to keep himself and Riley safe.

  “You look like you’ve been chewing on glass,” Julia said, appearing at his elbow. />
  He cast her a faint grin. “Just thinking about all the mistakes I’ve made,” he replied. “Wondering if Bart and Riley are still in Helen Falls, waiting for me to come rescue them. Telling myself one more time that it doesn’t matter if they are or not. Because I can’t go back there. Not right now.”

  The girl nodded wisely. “You’re right. On all accounts. Mistakes were made, people were lost. And it sucks. All of it.”

  Garrett cringed. “You’ve been hanging around Alice too much. Starting to sound like her,” he noted, turning back to the scene in front of him.

  It looked like Greyson and Manny had stepped in and brought some organization to the effort, because everyone was moving in a more intentional way, now. Less pulling supplies out of the truck, more shoving them in. And lots of Greyson motioning around and Manny barking out orders.

  “Alice is a smart woman,” Julia noted. “I would count myself lucky if I ever became half as strong as her.”

  Garrett reached out and squeezed her shoulder. This girl had done more to protect him and what he was doing in that prison than anyone else, and their escape had happened because she’d had his back.

  “You’re stronger than you know,” he told her quietly. “And just as stubborn as Alice. But don’t let the compliments go to your head. I’ll be at my house if anyone needs me. Got some more… planning to do.”

  It was a lie, and though he felt bad about lying to Julia, a large part of him knew that it was the right thing to do. If they were truly leaving tonight, it meant he had some things to put to rest before they went.

  And he wanted to do it alone.

  Though they were supposed to share everything in Trinity Ranch, there was one thing that Garrett had been keeping to himself. A bottle of whiskey, found on a raid just days after their arrival. He had shoved it into the farthest corner of the closet in the master bedroom he’d been sleeping in, thinking to save it for a special occasion, and when he pulled it out now, it was covered with spiderwebs and dust.

  But he bet the whiskey inside was still liquid gold—and the best tonic for the pain he was feeling in his heart. Because no matter how much he and Alice talked about it, and no matter how many times she told him he was wrong, his gut still said that he was at fault for what had happened in Helen Falls. Hell, even the things that had happened before that. He should have been able to save Fawn. Should have forced his sister to come to New Mexico and bring her husband and her son with her. Should have been there to talk Green out of shooting Raoul, rather than sitting up in that cozy office pretending he was Green’s ally.

  Should have been able to save Evie from that lonely death in the attic.

  Yes, there were reasons for all the things he’d done. And much of that had been completely out of his control. But he hadn’t been able to get any of it out of his mind—or off his heart. The weight of the responsibility was weighing him down, and now that they were talking about leaving town, everything felt as if it weighed five times as much. The thought of leaving Bart and Riley behind, giving up on them, felt like a betrayal. Like something he’d never be able to forgive himself for.

  He hadn’t stopped believing that they might be able to get out of it themselves. Hadn’t stopped thinking that Bart was a smart kid who knew his way around the desert. And those were good thoughts—outside, in the light. Here, in the darkness and alone with his own guilty conscience, they didn’t hold as much weight.

  Suddenly his mind went back to something he’d thought about before—and discounted. Something that had seemed so outrageous that he hadn’t even spoken to Alice about it to ask her opinion. Had barely dared to allow himself to speak to himself about it.

  What if he was wrong about going back to Helen Falls for the kids? What if he could do it—should do it—and he’d just been giving himself an easy out in thinking that it wasn’t a possibility? What if…

  Helen Falls was a good distance from here, and it would be easier with a vehicle, yes. But it was within walking distance if he gave himself the time to do it. And he knew how to be stealthy, now. Knew how to crawl through the desert and hide so that anyone watching the town and the area would be no wiser. Knew how to get into that town. Hell, he even sort of knew the layout, now, given how long they’d spent watching it before they went in with the tanker full of water.

  “Could I?” he asked himself, just breathing out the words.

  Was it possible? He could walk to town, get in on the outskirts, and start combing the area for any place the kids might be hiding. Go through every nook and cranny, just to see if they were there. Maybe even spy on the bikers to see if they had them hidden away anywhere—or said anything about what might have happened to them. If the kids were there, he could save them. If they weren’t—if they were already dead—then at least he’d know for sure. He wouldn’t have to worry about leaving them behind anymore. Save them or put his conscience to rest. Neither seemed like a bad option.

  But he’d go alone, he decided. If he went, he’d have to do it on his own, to avoid endangering anyone else. And he’d have to figure out how to send the rest of the people from Trinity Ranch ahead without him. How to track them once they were on the road. That shouldn’t be too difficult, though. They were heading in a set direction, so he’d know where to find them if he was coming up behind them.

  It could work. It could work.

  He unscrewed the bottle and brought the mouth to his lips, tipping it up for a long, throat-searing gulp. He pulled the bottle away, gasping, but brought it back to his lips a moment later, ready for another shot.

  One more drink and he was on his feet, headed toward the makeshift memorial he’d built for his sister and her family in the backyard. He needed Kady’s advice more than he ever had. He only hoped she’d be listening tonight.

  He’d only taken three steps when the banging on the door started.

  Instead of going down the back stairs toward the kitchen, the way he’d been headed, Garrett turned to the left and rushed toward the main stairway, which led into the foyer. He took the steps three at a time, tripping and skidding as he rushed for the bottom. When he threw open the door, Alice was on the other side, her face devoid of any emotion.

  “What?” he gasped, hicupping. “Why are you banging on the door like we’re in the middle of a fire alarm?”

  She took one long look at his face, and then glanced at the bottle in his hand. When her gaze met his again, he could see that she was more upset than she’d let on, the lines around her eyes deeper, her mouth drawn tighter than normal.

  “Alice,” he said intently. “What happened?”

  “The truck is gone,” she answered. “Along with all the supplies we loaded into it.”

  Chapter 3

  Garrett didn’t even stop to put his shirt back on. He dropped the bottle of whiskey onto the table next to the door and rushed out, grabbing Alice as he went.

  “What are you talking about, it’s gone?” he snapped. “How could it just disappear like that?”

  “We were taking a break from loading it and everyone decided to go for dinner,” Alice told him, rushing to keep up with him as they hit the gate in front of his house. “When we came back, it was gone. Whoever took it has most of our supplies, because we were almost completely packed already. There are still some crates sitting in the shop, but you know Greyson—the moment he was put in charge it became military precision time.”

  “They must have had everything packed in the space of ten minutes,” Garrett grumbled. “Whoever took it had just been waiting for an opportunity.”

  “And they got it when we decided to take a break,” Alice confirmed.

  They reached the garage in record time, and Garrett swept through the side door and into the interior. There he found the entire town standing around looking dumbstruck, as if they’d just been slapped by their best friend.

  And in a way, they had. Whoever had taken the truck had left them with no transportation, and even worse, very few supplies. It was the
height of selfish and irresponsible. The worst thing any of them could have done to the rest of the community.

  Garrett’s brain screamed at the lack of loyalty, the willingness to hurt the others, but he shoved that part down into a dark hole and tried to get a handle on his temper. This was the time for logical thinking, not temper tantrums.

  Looking around, he counted the number of crates still sitting against the wall. Ten crates, and who knew what was in them. He hoped it was enough water for the town. They could find food out there in the desert if they absolutely had to. Water was a lot harder to come by.

  “Is everyone here?” he called out, speaking to no one in particular but knowing that someone would answer him.

  “Everyone but whoever took the truck,” Greyson said grimly.

  “Who was on watch?” Garrett asked.

  “We were all gathered for our last dinner here,” Greyson replied, his voice subdued. “So nobody was on watch.”

  “Right,” Garrett murmured.

  Then he started counting heads. Julia, check. Greyson, check. Manny, Alice, Steve, check. He stopped at that and tipped his head a bit. If he’d been a gambling man—he wasn’t—he would have been betting on Steve being the thief, but there he was standing next to Manny, his face torn between horror and a snide comment.

  No doubt trying to think of a way to blame this on me, Garrett realized. And good luck to him on that score. Garrett had been fighting for this departure from Trinity Ranch for days. He wouldn’t have done anything to mess it up.

  Putting his dislike of Steve to the side, he kept counting. Moments later he was through the crowd and coming to Kristy—pregnant and sweating—and her husband, Shane. And then he stopped. Those two were one of the only couples that age in town. But there had been another couple their age, and he didn’t see them.

  He scanned through the crowd again, specifically looking for a tall, lanky man who stood head and shoulders above the rest of the men, and the petite girl he’d called his wife. But they were gone.