BEYOND THE GRID BOX SET: The Complete Beyond The Grid series (book 1-4)

by Connor Mccoy

  Chapter Twelve

  Josephine, standing in the grass with the back porch behind her, mentally replayed Jacob Avery’s conversation to her just before he separated from her to rejoin Sheryl and Domino. Jacob needed to iron out some things with his wife and sister about his experience with the survivors in the forest as well as discuss Greg’s arrival. Josephine should see how Krysta and the boys were doing and reassure them that, for the moment, things were okay, until Jacob was free to talk to Josephine again.

  She wondered what Jacob, Domino and Sheryl could be talking about. They clearly wanted some privacy. She was apt to give it to them, though she wondered what it meant for her and Krysta’s family.

  One thing’s for sure, we can’t stay here. Somehow, they would have to give Greg the slip, but judging from how many of Cramer’s men were hiding just across the road, that would be easier said than done.

  Krysta sat at the table on the porch, watching Brandon chatting up a storm with Ford and Jamie, with Courtney and Arnie seated on the concrete on the porch, acting as interested observers. Though Krysta smiled and occasionally jumped in with a word to the boys, Josephine knew that she was rattled by encountering Greg again.

  She wished she could say something more to comfort her, but Krysta seemed to be happy playing with the boys. So, breaking that spell was not in the cards as far as Josephine was concerned. Besides, she was sharing an important duty with Jubilee. The two of them were checking out the forest with telescopes. Josephine was fine with them getting some air on the porch, but she still vowed to watch the area around them like a hawk, now that she knew Cramer’s forces were in the vicinity.

  Ford pointed to Arnie. “I’ve decided. You are going to be my combat carrier.”

  Arnie pointed to himself. “Combat…carrier?”

  “Yep. You are going to carry me on your shoulders to help the protector guard Mom and my little brother.” Ford climbed on top of the table. “You have muscles of iron, you have a head of steel, and your hands can bend human flesh in half! You will be perfect!”

  “What? No way!” Brandon spread his arms out in front of Arnie. “He’s…he’s mine! I mean, he’s staying here!”

  Courtney, folding her arms, shot Brandon a big grin.

  “What?” Brandon asked.

  “You’re jealous,” she said.

  Brandon’s mouth hung open. “Eh…what?”

  “Someone’s afraid someone’s going to make off with his giant,” Courtney said, laughing.

  Brandon’s face turned red. “I…I am not!”

  Arnie shook his head. “But, I want to stay here.”

  “You are staying here!” Brandon pointed to the porch concrete. “Damn straight!”

  “Brandon!” Jubilee snapped, “You’re using PG-rated words.”

  “Don’t worry, Brandon. I’m sure Ford is just pretending.” Josephine exchanged a smile with Krysta.

  Jubilee, turning toward Josephine, chuckled. “He won’t admit it, but he does like having Arnie around. He’s kind of like an older brother and a younger brother put together into one.”

  Josephine studied the man as he interacted with Brandon and Ford. “He sure is a unique guy.”

  Jubilee laughed. “I just thought how funny it would be if Mr. Cowell had seen him in our house. He probably would have gone bonkers.” She caught Josephine’s face and turned around. “Oh, oh, that’s right, he’s your brother. Sorry. I just heard about it, but I forgot.”

  “It’s fine.” Josephine smiled. “You look like somebody who’s run into my brother before.”

  The pair returned to their lookout duties, but Josephine could not shake her curiosity. “How did it go with Alex? Was he, you know, a pain to deal with? Did he ever overstep a line? You can tell me anything? Trust me, I’m not going to be offended. I know how Alex was at times.”

  Jubilee exhaled slowly, perhaps gathering her thoughts. “He was kind of friendly the first time I met him. I mean, he smiled more. He reminded me of my first doctor. He was checking out the Jamisons. They were friends of my dad. The Jamisons listed us as a reference, so he came to talk to us.” Jubilee sighed. “Then he started getting nosey.”

  “He learned your mom was homeschooling you, huh?”

  Jubilee rolled her eyes. “Yeah.”

  Josephine scratched her neck. “Alex never thought much of homeschooling. That’s his first trigger. He thinks it’s a way that people can feed their kids a bunch of weird stuff without being accountable to the public.”

  “He’s seen our textbooks. He knows what Mom taught us.” Jubilee groaned. “I don’t get why he had such a problem with us.”

  Josephine chuckled. “It might have been my fault.”

  Jubilee frowned. “What?”

  “Well, I loved the outdoors when I was a kid. Alex didn’t. But I was also very weird as a kid. Alex didn’t like weird. I calmed down by the time I turned sixteen, but I think Alex got it in his head that a more rustic life was going to make you a little off. Some of his friends in college fanned those flames.”

  “Sounds like you had a wild ride with him,” Jubilee said.

  “It was…interesting.” Josephine straightened up. “So, you and Alex, you had your problems, right? I mean, serious problems.”

  “He was the reason we ran off the farm the day the EMP got us.” Jubilee rubbed her right shoulder. “We just would have left for the hospital the regular way, but then he parked on the front driveway. So, we just took off through the back.”

  Josephine cackled. She couldn’t stop for a minute, and it took great effort to talk. “I just can picture people trying to escape from Alex like that. I would imagine it would have been so desperate at times.”

  Once Josephine settled down, she ventured another question. “What happened after? I know Alex went to Trapp. That’s the town your Doc Sam was in, right? He didn’t talk a lot about what went on there. Your mom sounded like she wanted to rip Alex’s head off. What did he do?”

  She listened as Jubilee explained.

  Jacob shut the door to his bedroom without making a sound. Only Domino and Sheryl were present. “Okay, we’re free to talk about our present catastrophe,” he said, keeping his tone as moderate as he could.

  “You really want to keep Josephine out of this?” Sheryl asked. “She knows Alex. She knows Cramer. She can help us.”

  “She’s also Alex’s sister,” Domino said. “We didn’t know that this morning, did we? So, that makes her maybe a little suspect.”

  “It’s not as if we would have thought to ask her.” Sheryl spread her arms. “Hey, Josephine, would you like to tell us if you have any siblings that we might be on bad terms with?”

  Jacob chuckled. “Sheryl’s right. It’s not like we could have expected Josephine to just come out with that info. I think we get why she’s been a little cagey about Krysta and her kids. They’ve been stalked by Greg, who’s got the power of Cramer’s men behind him. I guess she wouldn’t know from day to day whether Greg was lurking just a few steps behind her.”

  “So, what do we do?” Sheryl asked. “If they stay here…”

  “They can’t stay here,” Domino cut in. “We’ve done all we can for them. Josephine was right earlier. They need to take off, find someplace to hide, get away from Cramer.”

  “But we can’t just throw them out,” Sheryl said.

  “Cramer’s men are right on our doorstep,” Jacob said. “I don’t think it’s very likely Josephine can get Krysta and the boys far without Cramer’s men catching them.” Jacob was surprised that Domino would be that quick to suggest putting their houseguests out of the house. Was there something nagging at her, something beyond the shock of their current situation?

  “Besides, I don’t think Cramer’s men are going to leave us alone, even if we’re not giving Krysta’s family shelter any longer.” Jacob’s eyes met Domino’s, but she turned away quickly. “They won’t be able to resist the crops we have here. They’ve already sacked towns. One little farm would b
e child’s play to them.”

  “Hey!” Sheryl snapped her fingers. “The refugees. We’ll ask them to help us. You said they were armed, too. Maybe Cramer and his goons will think twice if they know we’ve got backup.”

  Jacob cringed at the thought of asking those poor people to come out and stand against the same marauders who had chased them out of their own town. It was almost unthinkable. Yet, a second clash might be inevitable. Cramer’s men probably knew the survivors were close by and likely would ambush them if they tried to escape. But what could he offer them? He could not take them all into his home, but if he allowed them to set up tents on his land, and work the fields, perhaps they would feel as though they had a home worth defending and would elect to fight.

  How many men and women does Cramer have? Maybe he won’t chance it if he sees us all together in force. It’s worth a shot.

  “I think we should get together with Mrs. Kennan and the survivors,” Jacob said. “Maybe it’s time we hired a lot more hands.”

  Domino sighed. “Jay, are you sure?”

  “We probably don’t have any choice. If we can’t enlist their help…” Jacob looked to the walls that made up the bedroom. “Then there’s no way we can stay here either. We’ll have to run.”

  “Like hell,” Domino said. “After how far we’ve come, just to leave our home, turn our backsides to those monsters and let them have it?!”

  “I hate the idea as much as you do, Doms, but we’re up against it here. You saw that line coming toward us. We’d be overrun in minutes if we tried to fight. Bringing in the refugees is probably our last chance to save our farm. But if it doesn’t work, then we have to be ready for the worst.”

  Domino opened her mouth, about to say something, but she relented and turned away.

  “So, when do we talk to Mrs. Kennan and the others?” Sheryl asked.

  “Right away.” Jacob turned toward the door. “We don’t have time to waste. We don’t know when Alex, Greg, or any of them are going to make their move. If we can make an offer, now’s the time to do it.”

  Jacob slowed his approach to the back door, allowing Domino to catch up with him. “What is it?” she asked.

  “You’re not a big fan of Josephine, are you?” Jacob asked. “Does this have something to do with her and Alex?”

  “You really think she’s on our side?” Domino asked. “You heard her. She and Alex may have issues, but she’s not going to let her little brother die. What if it comes down to him or us? Who’s she going to choose?”

  “I don’t know. But she sounds like she’d go to the end of the Earth to keep Krysta and the boys safe,” Jacob said. “It’s hard to doubt that. She almost died for them.”

  Domino sighed. “Yeah, I know. But things can turn on a dime, can’t they? I mean, where family’s concerned, you just never know. You heard her before, when it looked as though I was going to plug Alex.”

  “That’s why you were so eager to send them on their way,” Jacob said. “You just didn’t want Josephine around.”

  Domino paced back and forth. “I don’t know. I thought it also would make Cramer turn away, but it doesn’t sound as though he’s going to let us be.”

  “I don’t think he is,” Jacob said. “That’s why we all may need to band together, the Skylar survivors, Josephine, all of us. This farm could be our last stand.” Jacob sighed. “And if that time comes, you and the kids, you know what you have to do.”

  “Run?” Domino’s eyes widened. “Wait! Does that mean leaving you?”

  “It’s something to think about.” Jacob tapped the side of his head. “Don’t worry. I’ve got some ideas cooking. Let’s just see how far we get with the Skylar survivors first. We’ll let Josephine and the kids know, and then we can hurry back to the forest.”

  Josephine just finished ushering in Krysta’s two boys through the door to the kitchen. “Now, you two are going to clean up before dinner!” she called after them. Josephine stood up on her tiptoes so she could see Krysta. “Hey, if you have any problems with them, I’m coming in, guns blazing!”

  Inside the kitchen, Krysta laughed. “Thanks.”

  Josephine backed away from the door, glad to make Krysta smile. She returned to the back porch, now clear of everyone except Sheryl, who was gazing out into the forest with her binoculars. Josephine crept up to Sheryl, who remained almost as still as a statue.

  “They made it in alright?” Josephine asked.

  “A few minutes ago. I can’t see any sign of them, and I don’t see anyone following them. But God knows what’s going on in there right now. I wish they would have brought me.”

  “I guess they wanted you here to help watch their kids and…” Josephine chuckled. “Me. I don’t think Domino digs me very well, if you know what I mean.”

  “Sometimes she can be a little hard to get along with. But I’m okay with her. You just need to give her time.”

  Josephine noted how Sheryl kept her gaze on the binoculars. She definitely was focused on the forest. “Hey, about Jacob, you and him, you get along?”

  “We do. I mean, we usually do. We had some years when we didn’t see eye to eye. I was a college-educated, city-going girl and he, well, this farm says it all about him.”

  “You sound a lot like me and Alex. Except Alex was sort of in your role, and I was in your brother’s,” Josephine said with a chuckle.

  “Did it sound that bad?” Sheryl laughed. “I do feel bad about it now. I should have been there for him, even while we lived apart. I could have come by his home more. I could have shared a lot more moments in his life.” Sheryl finally raised her head from the twin eyepieces. “I’m sure it’s not easy dealing with a brother you don’t understand.”

  Josephine crossed her arms against her chest. “No, it isn’t.”

  Sheryl rubbed her eyes. “Hey, how about I take next watch?” Josephine said, reaching for the telescope on her belt. “You’ve been out here long enough, and I’m sure the kids could use you right now. I’ll just be ‘the protector’ and keep a lookout.”

  Sheryl chuckled. “Thanks.” She turned to go inside.

  Josephine gazed through her telescope. She kept watch for a long while. Nothing stirred out there, until she caught a series of flashes from somewhere in the forest.

  A lantern flickering. Somebody was signaling from the forest. Jacob did not tell her about any signals, so it probably was not him. Wait, I remember that sequence. Five rapid flashes created from a hand bobbing to and from an orange lamp.

  Josephine broke from the porch and started rushing across the back field.

  As she approached the fence, she slowed down. If she was right, she would probably run into…

  “Jo,” a familiar voice called from above.

  Josephine looked up at a branch hanging very close to the top of the fence. Her brother Alex rested on the bough, staring down at her serenely.

  Jacob tried listening to Simon as best he could but worries about Sheryl and the kids on the farm nagged him. The middle-aged man, a paint store owner from Skylar, was one of the leaders of the survivors. His opinion carried a lot of weight and indicated what the survivors might do. However, Jacob kept mulling over whether Alex or Cramer had tracked their movements into the forest. Despite how careful Jacob and Domino had been crossing from their property into their forest, Jacob felt they could take nothing for granted.

  The light slap of Mrs. Kennan on his arm broke into his thoughts. “Huh?” he asked.

  “I said that Simon here mentioned a whole possum was growing out of your right ear,” Mrs. Kennan said.

  Jacob wasn’t sure he heard her right. “Excuse me?”

  “It’s called a joke, child. Simon said he would pass your proposal along, but he thinks the crowd probably is going along with it, even if Cramer plans to make an appearance. They’re so desperate for food now that they’ll even pull a Magnificent Seven on you if it fills their bellies, and your farm sounds more inviting than chewing off the grass here.” />
  Domino, her arms folded, tapped the side of her arm. “Magnificent Seven?”

  “It’s a movie,” Jacob explained. “It’s about a bunch of cowboys who are hired by a town to protect it from a bunch of bandits.” Turning to Simon, Jacob said, “I’m sorry for zoning out like that. It’s good news, really.”

  Simon smiled. He, like so many of the others in the forest, appeared thin, almost gaunt. “I will let my friends know. Oh, and Trang as well.” Simon smiled. “I’m sure he will be happy to hear your news.”

  Simon turned and left. Jacob, however, could not share Simon’s good mood. He was so preoccupied with the return of Alex and the presence of Cramer’s army that he had forgotten about Trang. The idea of that man on his farm was a disquieting one, even if it appeared the man had turned over a new leaf and abandoned his old ways.

  Mrs. Kennan paced around Jacob. “You are going to have more houseguests than you know what to do with,” she said.

  “I prefer to think of them as tenants.” Jacob looked around at the survivors that were within his field of vision. “And, I hate to say it, soldiers. I hope to God that Cramer thinks twice about attacking us. I stocked up on ammo at the house. In their hands, it might just be enough.”

  “That man went after whole towns. I know you’re hoping for the best, but I don’t think Cramer’s going to fret over a single farm,” Mrs. Kennan said.

  Jacob agreed with Mrs. Kennan, though he didn’t want to say it. He already was mulling over a retreat plan for him and his family. If he had to…

  Before Jacob could say anything further, a woman’s scream cut through the trees. It came from their right. “Oh my God!” the voice cried.

  Jacob and Domino broke into a run, following the sound of the voice. Other survivors in the forest also converged on the area. Mrs. Kennan trailed behind Jacob and Domino, saying, “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  In a minute, Jacob discovered the source of the scream.