by Connor Mccoy
Trang walked up to Jacob. Jacob turned his head to listen to the man. “I have an idea,” he said, “if you’re prepared to hear it.”
Greg munched on the chicken on the plate. He enjoyed the taste. He would have enjoyed this meal a lot more if he wasn’t surrounded by armed men and bound to the chair by ropes, with only his arms free to eat.
I’m just glad I don’t have to pee, he thought.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Jamie and Ford. The two boys were looking at him from the door to the hall. The sight of their young faces made Greg smile. He would have said something to them if he did not feel Josephine’s stare boring into him. The woman sat opposite him, with her gun in her hand.
Finally, Greg felt enough courage to make a quip. “Do you sleep with that gun?”
“She’s a lady’s best friend,” she said.
Greg licked his lips. “I was thinking of showing Ford how to shoot someday,” he said.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure someone back at Fall Crossing will help him with that. I’ll make sure of it,” Josephine said.
After taking another bite, Greg said, “Is it too much to believe that I actually care about those boys, about Krysta?”
Josephine raised her chin. “There’s a lot to be said for your execution. Would you like to know what your buddies did tonight? They murdered a teenager and staked him to a tree. But please, tell me that Krysta and the boys will be safe with them.”
A tremor ran through Greg’s face. “I…I didn’t know Cramer was going to do that. He sent that woman, but I didn’t know.”
“A woman did it?” Josephine leaned forward. “Was it that woman Jacob said he saw talking to Cramer?”
“Yeah.” Greg was about to stab his fork into the chicken again but stopped. His appetite rapidly was fading. “I…I’m sorry.”
Josephine sat back in her chair. “Now you get why I’d never let Krysta and her boys end up in Cramer’s hands? So, you’d better make sure you don’t end up on the wrong end of my gun ever again. Because I will not hesitate to end you if you ever try making Krysta and her beautiful boys go to Cramer again.”
Jacob had gathered Domino, Brandon and Jubilee inside his and Domino’s bedroom. He felt this discussion was for them alone. It was likely the most important talk of their lives. Brandon and Jubilee sat on the bed while he laid out what was going to happen tomorrow and their plan for it. The news distressed the two children, but they refrained from breaking down.
“Trang thinks if this works, we’ll have a chance to escape. But it also means our lives are going to change. This…” Jacob fidgeted. “This will be our last night here. I wish it wasn’t, but we don’t have any choice.”
Domino sat down beside the two kids. Brandon bowed his head while Jubilee kicked her legs back and forth. “So what do we do? I mean, what can we take?” Jubilee asked, as if afraid to hear the answer. “I know I can’t take my punching bag.” She briefly laughed.
“Take what’s important,” Jacob said. “Take what you want to have, what you want to remember. Pictures, toys, stuff like that.” He smiled. “Mrs. Kennan will help. It’s nighttime, so we’re going to take advantage of it. We’re communicating our plan to the other survivors. There’s a lot of stuff we can’t take, but there’s plenty we can, and they’ll help us move it all tonight.”
“Are we going to help you fight?” Brandon asked.
“No. No, this plan doesn’t need you. Worry about saving what you can. Whatever you can to help you build a new life,” Jacob said.
Brandon shrank back. “Okay.”
Domino fished her arms around both of her children. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. It’s going to be a little touch and go, but we’ll all make it. We’re going to be like the pioneers.” She chuckled. “Setting out for a new home.”
Jubilee sighed. “It just doesn’t seem fair.”
“No, no, it doesn’t.” Jacob sat down on the bed next to her. “I thought maybe we wouldn’t have to go this far, that we were safe here. But the fact is, we need a community to help us. Josephine has agreed to take us in. It won’t be the same, but we can make a new home.”
Jubilee leaned into him. Jacob embraced the teen while Domino hugged Brandon.
Chapter Sixteen
Courtney wandered down the hall. She liked to think she didn’t care about the news that Jacob Avery just had told her. It was not as if her life here would last. She was used to moving on to a new home.
But you’re going with them, she thought. It’s not like you’re being shuffled to a new caretaker or something like that. No matter where they would go, Jacob and Domino promised that Courtney could stay with them. If we get out of here alive. The Skylar survivors walking back and forth in the hallway reminded her that danger was close, and tomorrow it would strike. Jacob and Domino had enlisted the help of the Skylar survivors to pack up their stuff -- possessions, supplies, food and ammunition -- and take it with them on their journey.
Finally, Courtney couldn’t stand the constant foot traffic. She wanted to find refuge somewhere, anywhere, to get away from it all. She ducked into the nearest room she could find—Jubilee’s bedroom.
The teenager was inside, packing up stuff in a duffel bag. Two stuffed garbage bags laid at the foot of her bed, which was stripped of its sheets. All the pictures were taken down from the walls. Several dresser drawers laid open, empty of all clothing.
Jubilee was huffing. She was in a hurry. She was so absorbed in her work that she didn’t notice Courtney entering the room.
“Hey,” Courtney said.
Jubilee turned her head. “Oh, hey.” She backed up, revealing an open backpack. Her MMA boxing gloves and a Cutie Bruiser doll were inside. These were among her most precious possessions. No surprise that she would want to carry them on her back.
“It’s a little crazy around here.” Courtney tried to chuckle, but it didn’t come out right. It was hard to find any humor in this situation. “I, uh, finished packing a while ago. I don’t really have much, just a few things I had with me when Sykes dropped me off here.”
Jubilee yawned. She had been working through the night. No one would get any sleep tonight. They had to be done before sunrise.
“I guess this must suck for you,” Courtney said. “Now you gotta run like some fugitive.”
Jubilee fished her hand inside one of her gloves. “It’s okay. I guess this was going to happen someday.” She punched the air weakly. “I just wish it didn’t have to happen now.”
“Yeah, why not next year or next decade?” Now Courtney could muster a laugh. “I think it sucks, too. I like your house. Your family’s kinda cool. Your brother is…” Courtney shook her head. “…creative.” She rubbed her hand. “I can do without the stupid wasps and sometimes the livestock stinks. Oh, what’s going to happen to the animals?”
“The Skylar men are taking the ones we can move. The rest, we’re going to set free,” Jubilee said.
“Too bad we don’t have more time, or we could have cooked the rest for a big meal.” Courtney chuckled. “I’m sorry, that was terrible.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jubilee said. “That’s what farm animals are for. Ever been to a farm with pigs?”
“Okay, stop. I think I know what you mean,” Courtney said as she braced her hand to her head. She didn’t want to think about how pigs end up as bacon on someone’s plate.
Jubilee yawned again. “Hey, I don’t really have anything to do. You want me to help you move your stuff?”
“Oh, that would be awesome.” Jubilee’s expression brightened. “There’s an empty bag by the dresser. Could you stuff the rest of my clothes from the dresser? Some of it doesn’t fit me anymore, but Dad thinks some of the kids in the forest might be able to use them.”
“Sure.” Courtney quickly got to work.
Jacob and Domino took a look at Greg, who was seated on the sofa, surrounded by three armed men. Josephine orbited the Averys, as if afraid of their answer. “
So, what are you going to do with him?” she asked.
“This place is about to become ground zero,” Jacob said. “We have to move him out of here.”
“But you’re not going to give him a gun, right?” Josephine asked.
“I can hear you.” Greg turned his head so he could look at them from the best possible angle. “Look, I want to protect Krysta and the boys. Let me try.”
“No way,” Josephine retorted.
“I don’t want Cramer to get them. That’s the truth. If you guys can take them back to Fall Crossing, that’s fine.” Greg bowed his head. “I just don’t want anything to happen to them because of me. I’ve been following after them all this time with Cramer’s men. I brought them here. Let me try to fix this.”
Josephine opened her mouth, but Jacob cut in. “We’re moving Krysta and the boys to the forest soon. The cover of night should be enough. We’ve also passed around a lot of ammo, so she’ll be well protected. We’re going to move you to the forest as well. If you want to help us, then you need to cooperate. We can’t have any loose cannons in our group. Do as we say, and I’m sure we’ll come out of this on top.”
Before anyone could continue the conversation, Trang emerged from the hall. “Most of the rigging is ready, but I still need a path from the den to the attic.”
“I’ll come help.” Jacob looked at the nearest window. It was still dark. Jacob dreaded the coming of the light. “Doms, escort Greg to the back door. The men waiting there will take Greg to the forest.”
Alex stirred. The others must be rustling. He raised his head, lifting his body off the dirt patch he had slept on. He barely noticed the roach crawling on his pant leg. When he stood up, the insect fell off and fled.
He reflected on how he had changed. He barely had had such a chance. Everything had transpired so quickly that self-reflection was not an option. He realized that just a few months ago, he never would have been able to sleep so comfortably in the outdoors. He wondered if he would forget what it felt like to be that man, to be the social worker who used to serve this community.
His hand brushed against his gun. Yes, he had changed. He had killed in the past few weeks and had not felt a tinge of remorse or discomfort. The man he imagined in his mind’s eye, the man he used to be, was disappearing.
And here I am, trying to mold Greg into a clone of the new me.
Speaking of Greg, just where did he go? The last Alex had seen of him was last night when he and Greg reported to Cramer. Usually, Alex and Greg would have some words before Alex headed off to sleep, but Alex had yet to see Greg so far this morning.
Alex heard footsteps. Cramer was approaching. Alex straightened up. Cramer generally did not approach Alex directly.
“Hey,” Cramer said, “where’s Greg?”
“He’s not in camp?” Alex asked.
Cramer advanced on Alex a step. “Nobody’s seen him. Did he have any reason to run off on us?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Not unless he decided to go after Krysta on his own,” Alex replied.
“Huh. So he’s either shown initiative or cowardice. For his sake, he better have taken out your sister,” Cramer said.
Alex wanted to change the subject. “Are we preparing to take the farm?”
“After we eat. I want a full belly before I spill the belly of the homesteader.” Cramer licked his lip. “Say, you’re not fond of that homesteader, right? I think you’ve got a grudge against him?”
Alex firmed up his jaw. “You could say that.”
“I could say that? What’s the deal? You want his head, or don’t you? I don’t like that slick talk. I thought I rid you of it.”
Alex drew his gun. “Yeah, I got a problem with him. I spent years working on guys like him. I always looked at types like him as backward barbarians who could use some enlightenment. Instead, I’m the one who got enlightened.”
Alex turned and shot a branch off a tree. “I hate him for being right. I want to repay that many, many times.”
Jacob glanced around the living room. It felt like a bunker from an old war movie. Two of Domino’s volunteers, Simon and a young man named Roderick, each took points at one of the windows, looking out through telescopes or binoculars. The wall was stripped of all pictures, though the furniture remained, too big for the Skylar refugees to move. Jacob was fine with that. All the essentials and anything that mattered successfully had been removed.
Trang had instructed them to bore small holes in the windows to allow them to slip through scoping devices and their rifles when it was time to fend off Cramer’s men. That way, they would not have to open their windows and thus provide easy targets for Cramer’s shooters.
Trang walked with Jacob. Both men were armed with the most powerful rifles Jacob had on hand. “Thank God you are so well prepared,” Trang said. The man laughed in spite of the circles under his eyes. They all were running on fatigue after having been busy all night. The dire nature of the coming battle would keep them alert, or so Jacob hoped.
“Thank God you had so many good ideas.” Jacob nodded at Simon as he passed the middle-aged man. “You don’t think Cramer’s going to spring any surprises on us?”
“I think primal needs govern his thinking,” Trang said. “He is not a man who reads deeply into the thoughts of his enemies. No, he will come for your home. I am certain of it.”
Jacob neared the window where Roderick was taking his watch. “After this is over, what do you think about going to Trapp? We buried Hien there. If you want, we could excavate his body. Do you have a place in Middleburg that you want to bury him?”
“I appreciate the gesture. Unfortunately, I have other family that is not here, family that I lost contact with when the EMP struck. My wife is buried in Middleburg. But my…my daughter, she never will be buried with me when my time comes. So, I am content to let Hien rest where he is,” Trang replied.
Domino walked into the living room, her boots making loud thumps on the floor. With her camouflage pants and jacket, as well as the assault rifle over her shoulder, she looked primed for a battle. “The kids are away. I saw them enter the forest with Sheryl and Arnie. It’s just us.”
‘Us’ meant Jacob, Domino, Trang and the small contingent of volunteers. Just as they had planned.
“There’s still time. You could slip out,” Jacob said.
“Sorry, Jay, but we both go or neither one of us does. And I want you to keep that in mind. Your kids need you.” Domino did not add “I need you,” but Jacob understood what she meant.
“Don’t worry.” Jacob grasped Domino by the shoulders. “If this works, Cramer’s men aren’t going to have the slightest clue what we’re up to until it all blows up in their face. By then, all of us are going to be long gone.”
Cramer eyed the farm from the other side of the road. “Not too bad,” he said. Turning to Alex, he said, “From what you told me, this Avery guy’s maintained his farm pretty well. I’ve got a lot of men who want you to be right about that. For your sake, you’d better be.”
Alex did not look at any of the nearby men to see if they voiced agreement. Their supplies were beginning to wind down. Taking the Avery farm was essential to maintaining their presence here. They’d have to move on to another town if they could not secure more supplies.
The others knew that too. That need would fuel their bloodlust. The farm would be overrun in minutes.
I can’t believe Jacob Avery still would be in there, Alex thought. He’s not a fool. He knows we’re nearby. He has to be worried about his family. In a small way, Alex hoped the Averys had taken off. If he dwelled on them for too long, he would feel a little reluctant about dealing a killing blow to Jacob Avery.
Cramer took a few steps forward, enough to put him in front of his line of gunmen but not enough to step fully out of the woods. “That farm is my new castle. It’s time you guys went and got it for me.” Cramer raised his gun to the sky. “Now go!”
Chapter Seventeen
“Incoming
!” Roderick called out.
Jacob hurried to the side window near the left wall, where Roderick was stationed. Roderick stepped aside so Jacob could survey the scene through the telescope. He didn’t need to see more than the rampaging wave of armed men and women across the road to know it was “go time.” He jammed his rifle through the small hole in the window. “Everyone, now!” He squeezed his trigger.
Domino and Trang took positions and opened fire, as did Roderick and Simon. Their bullets caused the wave of gunmen to slow down, with some crouching down or others fleeing from places where they figured the bullets would hit. However, about half of them aimed and fired at the farmhouse.
The front walls rattled as they were hit. However, no shots actually penetrated into the rooms. The fortification of the windows was holding up, for now.
Alex, still on the other side of the road, watched and listened as gunfire erupted from the farmhouse. Cramer’s men responded by taking cover or returning fire. A second wave emerged from the forest. Now about fifty men were converging onto the front of the Avery property.
“I’ll be damned,” Alex whispered. “He is fighting for his home after all. I guess I should have expected that.” Clearly, Alex underestimated the man’s stubbornness. But then again, should Alex have expected any less?
As he watched Cramer’s forces press on, he wondered if Jacob Avery had a more devious plan in mind. Perhaps this fight was not what it appeared to be.
Jacob shoved the last magazine into his automatic rifle. Time was running out. Some of the shots from outside were starting to penetrate the house. A few shots zinged through into the living room. As Cramer’s force advanced, more and more would rip through the walls.
