Days of Want Series (Book 4): Uprising

by Payne, T. L.

  Maddie knit her brow.

  “The trustees are supposed to hand out the food and supplies, then?”

  Jacob shrugged.

  “They’re supposed to.”

  "We all know that isn’t going to happen. The weaker inmates don’t stand a chance," Lugnut said.

  “There's nothing we can do about that. I just hope the governor sends transport for the inmates soon," Jacob said.

  The citizen prison guards coming off shift looked like they’d been sentenced to a day of hard labor. Each of them walked with their heads down as they passed Maddie, Jacob, and Lugnut on their way inside their new living quarters. Their replacements stared wide-eyed at them as they passed.

  "James, can I have a minute?" Jacob asked.

  A man in his mid-thirties, with long hair and a beard, raised his head, nodded, and slowly walked over.

  "How was it on your side of the prison?" Jacob asked. "Did anyone challenge your authority? Did they come near the fence?"

  "No. No one came anywhere near the fence. A few came outside the buildings and milled around the basketball courts. They stared at us for a while, but no one approached the fence," the man said.

  "Good. Anyone on your shift say anything negative about the shoot-to-kill order?"

  "No. Pretty much everyone on our side was relieved."

  "Thanks, James. I hear the chow ain't half bad this morning," Jacob said.

  "More powdered eggs. Yum," the man said as he walked toward the building.

  "I assigned shift managers. They will walk the fence line during their shift, answer questions, and relieve anyone who needs to leave their post for any reason," Jacob said.

  "Good idea," Maddie said.

  "What about the people in the towers?" Lugnut asked.

  "My best shooters. I trust them. I need to go through the roster of the newcomers and see if any of them have experience."

  "Another issue came up in Houston overnight," Maddie said.

  "What now?"

  "The family of that female deputy, the one who was killed by Brittany Jewell, is stirring the pot against guarding the prison."

  "That figures. I was surprised Judge Farley didn’t have them put in jail after the lynching. What’s the judge going to do about it?" Jacob asked.

  "He ordered them all locked up," Lugnut said.

  "Good. The last thing we need is that family coming around here stirring up trouble. It’s volatile enough around here without that."

  "I agree," Maddie said.

  Maddie and Lugnut walked the fence-line with the new shift manager. The fifty-something man seemed a little too eager to do his job. He smiled when Lugnut asked him if he was prepared to shoot inmates who approached the fence.

  Maddie leaned over close to Lugnut.

  "I think I need to speak with Jacob about reassigning this dude. He might be a little too trigger happy for this job."

  Lugnut nodded.

  Their first full day of guarding the prison went smoothly. None of the inmates approached the fence, and they witnessed no trouble inside the prison yard. As the day went on, more and more of the inmates ventured outside, but they didn't seem interested in starting anything with their new guards.

  Maddie was surprised when Rank and Roger appeared riding Zack's motorcycle. They were able to convince Jacob to go inside and get some sleep after he’d been awake for over thirty-six hours.

  "We will stay here and make sure things go smoothly. You and Lugnut head on back to the cabin and rest up. You can come relieve us in the morning," Rank said.

  Lugnut turned to Maddie.

  "That sounds like a plan. Let's hit it, Maddie."

  Maddie started to protest, but Rank grabbed her by the hand and led her to the Humvee.

  "You need to rest when you can. This could go on for days or weeks," Rank said as he opened the driver's side door.

  Maddie reluctantly got into the Humvee. As she and Lugnut headed back to the cabin, Lugnut scanned the sides of the road and the trees lining the highway as they made their way back. When they pulled back into Ron's drive, Maddie let out the breath she’d held. She was dog tired. There were likely a million things that needed to be done around Ron's house and the cabin, but she just didn't have it in her. The headache she'd been dealing with that morning had only grown more intense, and now, her whole body ached.

  Beth greeted her on the walkway to Ron's porch. After throwing her arms around her daughter, Beth felt Maddie's forehead.

  "You are burning up. How do you feel?" Beth asked.

  "Oh, Mom," Maddie groaned.

  Beth leaned back and looked into Maddie's eyes.

  "To bed with you. You are sick. You need to rest."

  Maddie rolled her eyes. Her mother was always so dramatic. She had a headache. She’d had a stressful day, that's all—nothing a nap wouldn't fix.

  Her nap didn't fix it. Maddie woke up in the night, drenched in sweat and coughing. Her throat hurt, and so did every joint in her body.

  "I think you have the flu," Beth said as she removed the thermometer from Maddie's mouth.

  "The flu? I don't have time for the flu," Maddie croaked.

  It hurt to swallow. Maddie tried to sit up, but her head was killing her.

  "Here, take these," Beth said, placing white pills in the palm of Maddie's hand and handing her a glass of water.

  “Mom, I can't swallow these," Maddie whined as she placed them in her mouth.

  "We need to quarantine you, I'm afraid," Beth said as she washed her hands in a bowl of water on the dresser.

  "Why? Am I that bad?"

  "You are contagious. We cannot afford for everyone to come down with the flu. I've given you Tamiflu. You should be feeling better in a couple of days."

  "A couple of days?"

  "Sorry. It just takes time and rest."

  Maddie pulled the covers up around her neck.

  "Are you still cold?" Beth asked.

  "I'm freezing."

  Beth pulled a quilt from the closet and spread it out over the stack of blankets already covering Maddie.

  "I'll put another log on the fire. I'm going to leave the bedroom door open so the heat can get in, but stay in here. Don't try to get up on your own. I'll be in the kitchen. Just call out if you need anything," Beth said as she walked out into the hallway.

  Maddie sighed and snuggled under the blankets. She had to admit, as awful as her head and body ached, it felt good to have her mom taking care of her like when she was a little girl. Sleep. The only thing she could do was sleep.

  "I'll take a nap and then go check on Jacob this afternoon," Maddie said through a yawn.

  Chapter 12

  The Farm

  Evening Shade, Missouri

  Event + 22 Days

  The eastern boundary of Ron's land bordered the river. A forestry trail ran the length of the northern edge of the property. Zach had spent the morning walking the fence-line searching for a missing cow. Beth was afraid that it had gone off to give birth somewhere in the woods.

  Zach had just crossed a wet-weather creek when he spotted movement up the hill. He dropped to his knee, shouldered his rifle, and peered through the scope. He had no more than placed his cheek to the stock when a bullet slammed into the tree ten feet from his head, followed by the rifle report.

  Zach scrambled to conceal himself behind a fallen log. A second bullet kicked up dirt just behind him.

  "Shit!" Zach said out loud.

  Zach unbuckled the straps on his pack and dropped it to the ground next to him. After fumbling with the zipper on one of the front pouches, Zach retrieved a telescoping mirror and extended it to its full length. On his stomach behind the log that concealed him from the shooter, he raised and lowered the mirror, searching for the location of the shooter.

  After several tries, Zach spotted two men standing by a tree about four hundred yards to his west.

  Dumbasses are wearing white in the woods.

  Zach searched for a rock or log that he
could throw to distract them. Feeling around, he found a stone the size of his hand. He rolled onto his knees but kept his head down. Zach pulled his rifle in and placed the butt against his shoulder. With his left hand, he pitched the rock as far as he could to his right.

  It worked. Both men turned in that direction long enough for Zach to pop up and get off a round. Just not long enough for him to aim for accuracy. The shot was wide. They'd likely not fall for it a second time. Zach needed a new strategy.

  He reached into his pack and pulled out several M-80 firecrackers. He felt around and found the lighter and lit the fuses. He tossed those to his left. They fell for it, and Zach popped up, aimed and fired at the men hitting one man in the shoulder. The man screamed and grabbed his chest. As he fell to the ground, the second man turned to tend to his companion.

  His mistake.

  Zach fired again and missed the second man. He put his crosshairs on the man's chest as he turned and squeezed the trigger. The man brought his rifle up and returned fire before Zach could see if he'd hit his mark. Zach hit the ground, once more concealed by the huge, fallen tree.

  The men cursed at Zach and fired indiscriminately. When the shooting stopped, Zach listened for any sound to indicate the movement of the men.

  He heard nothing.

  He waited a few minutes before risking raising his head to see what the men were doing. He fished around on the ground and located the mirror. It was shattered. He'd stepped on it in his rush to take the shot. Slowly, he placed his rifle on the top of the log.

  No one fired at him.

  He raised his head above the log—just barely—and looked through the scope.

  He saw nothing.

  He moved the rifle to the right and scanned the woods.

  Nothing.

  He scanned to the left, and still nothing. He sat up and looked around.

  They were gone.

  He strapped on his pack, shouldered his rifle, and proceeded slowly to the spot where he'd last seen the men. On the ground was a pool of blood. To the right of the crimson stain were drag marks. One of the men was dragging the other.

  They can't make it far.

  Zach debated whether he should pursue the men or go back and get help. He knew these woods. He'd hunted and hiked them with Ron and his dad. It would be easy to get pulled into an ambush if he pursued alone. How far can they get?

  I have time to get help.

  Zach adjusted the straps on his pack and set out back to the cabin. He held his rifle at the ready, scanning the woods as he moved south. When he reached the clearing, he ran across the pasture until he reached Ron's barn. There, he hopped on his motorcycle, letting his rifle hang across his chest on its sling.

  "What's going on, Zach? Was that you shooting?" Beth asked, running around the side of the barn.

  "Get back in the house, Mom. Lock the doors," Zach called as he drove off down the driveway, across Slabtown Road, and onto the now well-worn trail that led to the cabin.

  At the walkway leading from their barn to the cabin, Zach braked hard, bringing the bike to a stop, mere feet from where Ryan sat. Ryan looked up wide-eyed from the book he was reading.

  "What the hell, Zach?" Ryan asked as Zach slammed his boot down, hard, on the kickstand and ran toward the door.

  "Sorry, Ryan," Zach called over his shoulder.

  Zach threw open the screen door and ran down the hall to the men's bunk room. When the bedroom door slammed against the wall, Rank and Lugnut both jumped to their feet. Having only just made it back from the prison and settled in for some overdue rack time, neither of them were pleased to see Zach.

  "Hurry. Get dressed. We have trouble over at Ron's place," Zach said, trying to catch his breath.

  "What? What's going on?" Rank said, sliding his feet into his boots.

  Zach put his hand up to his face and pinched his nose.

  "Zach, what’s the trouble?" Lugnut asked, impatient.

  Zach took a step back into the hall and tried not to breathe as he told them about the shooters in the woods. Rank slung his pack over his shoulder, grabbed his rifle, and pushed past Zach. As Rank ran down the short hall toward the back door, Lugnut and Zach followed him.

  "Where are you going? What's happening?" Harmony asked from the living room.

  Krista stuck her head out of the door to the women's bunk room, then joined Harmony in the living room.

  "Keep your packs on and grab your rifles. Stay away from the windows. We have trouble at Ron's. No one goes outside. Got it?" Lugnut barked from the kitchen.

  "Okay, but…"

  Zach didn't hear the rest as he shut the door behind him.

  Rank picked up the shooters’ trail of blood from the location in which Zach said he'd had the shoot-out. The three of them followed the path to a set of tire tracks. The shooters had jumped on ATV's and headed west on the forestry trail.

  Back at the site of the ambush, Lugnut walked around until he located another trail. This one led south through the woods. Lugnut bent over and picked up a cigarette butt from under a large oak tree. He looked up, then back at Zack. The next thing Zack knew, Lugnut was climbing the tree.

  "They can see the driveway. They know when we are coming and going," Lugnut said as he jumped from the branch he sat on.

  "Go back to the cabin. Let Roger and Maria know to be on alert out there on the road. Let them know that Rank and I won't be able to relieve them from watch until we track these bastards down. We have to find out where they are staying," Lugnut said as he pulled a tin of face paint from his pack.

  Zach looked back as he crossed the pasture to see Rank and Lugnut applying the face paint. They were going into stealth mode.

  After informing Ryan, Zach radioed Roger and Maria, who were on guard duty at the main road, Zach went back to Ron's farm to guard the house and tell his mother and Jason what was going on.

  “Mom, Jason,” Zach called before he opened the door.

  "What the hell is happening, Zachary?” Beth asked, lowering her rifle and stepping from the hall. “We heard gunshots.”

  "Some dumbasses shot at me back by the forestry trail. Lugnut and Rank went to track them down. We need to get you to the cabin."

  "Shot at you? Who? Are you hit? Let me look at you.”

  "No, Mom. I'm fine. Get your pack and your rifles, and let's go,” Zach said.

  Jason grabbed Beth's pack from the front closet and handed it to her. He helped her slip her arms through the straps and adjust them on her shoulders.

  "We don't have time for this, Jason," Zach said, grabbing his mother's rifle and forcing it into her hands.

  Beth gasped.

  "Maddie. We can't move Maddie."

  Zach headed down the hall to his sister's room.

  "We have to. It's not safe here."

  He threw open the door, bent down and grabbed Maddie's shoes.

  "Sis. You need to wake up. We have to go."

  "What?" Maddie asked, shielding her eyes from the light flooding into the room from the open door.

  "Here. Put your shoes on. We have to go back to the cabin."

  Maddie slid her feet into her shoes and stood.

  "Is something wrong?" she asked.

  "Shooters at the back of the property."

  "Shit. Who is it?" she asked as she picked up her rifle and looked around for her bag.

  Zach slid a hand under the strap of her pack and hoisted it over one shoulder.

  “I've got it. Now let's go,” Zach said.

  Zach stepped out on the porch with his rifle at the ready. He scanned the field in front of the house and looked up and down Slabtown Road. He stepped off the porch and made sure the walkway to the barn was clear before waving for his mother, sister, and stepfather to follow him. The four of them rushed down the driveway and across the road. Zach held an arm out at the edge of the woods and proceeded to scan the area inside the tree line for threats.

  "Okay. Let's hurry," Zach said, waving them forward.

  Z
ach radioed Ryan and let him know they were coming down the trail.

  Zach let his mother take point while he watched the rear. At the clearing to the cabin, they rushed to the corner of the barn, one-by-one.

  "Cinnamon," Beth called.

  "Latte," Ryan called back, and the trio rushed inside.

  Zach set up a watch on the front porch while Ryan stood watch at the window in the girls’ bunk room. Jason took a position in the loft of the barn. Beth took the back door while Maddie, Harmony, Krista, and Dawn waited in the basement.

  Minutes felt like hours before Zach heard Lugnut give the countersign from the woods.

  "Where's Rank?" Zach asked as Lugnut crossed the field.

  Lugnut stopped at the bottom of the front porch steps and looked up at Zach.

  "He went to fill Roger and Maria in on what we found."

  "Did you find them? Where are they staying? Is it more of those convicts?" Zach asked.

  "Let's get inside, and I'll tell you everything," Lugnut said, pointing toward the door.

  Lugnut had to help Maddie ascend the basement stairs. Beth insisted that she go lie down in the women's bunk room and she reluctantly complied. Zach grabbed extra blankets from the mudroom and stretched them out over his sister before joining the others in the kitchen.

  At the table, Lugnut filled them in on how they’d followed the shooters’ trail back to a camp about half a mile away.

  "It looks like they've been there quite a while. Trash was everywhere. There was a well-worn path between the camp and Ron's fence line. From there, the shooters could see the back of the old farmhouse and barn."

  "Oh, my," Harmony said, placing her hand over her mouth.

  "There wasn't anyone there, but we found bloody rags. Looks like they tried to stop the bleeding before loading him up and leaving. Looked like more than two people were living there. ATV tracks were coming and going all over the place. Most lead down the forestry road to the county road across from that old, white farmhouse."

  "You think they are staying there?" Zach asked.

  “That’s the Robersens. They’re good people. They wouldn't be involved in anything like this," Beth said, turning to Zach.