by Payne, T. L.
Martin bent over and grabbed a small metal trash can from the corner.
"I'll empty the piss bucket and have someone bring you another."
Zach scrunched his face.
"I know man. I know," Martin said as he reached for the door handle.
When he opened the door, Zach heard men yelling. He looked up and a group of men were waving their fists in the air while two men rolled around on the ground.
"Should we do something?" Zach asked.
"Nope. Not unless you want to go in and break it up. Or else shoot 'em," Martin said as he shut the door behind him.
For a moment, Zach felt sorry for the men living in those conditions. Then he remembered the heinous crimes they had committed that had put them there. Each one of the men, even the one having his brain stomped out in the yard at the moment, had committed unspeakably violent crimes to land them behind that razor wire. These were the worst of the worst. Still, they were human beings, which did make it hard to witness such violence.
Damn governor. Hurry up and get those busses rolling out of here.
Chapter 15
The Langston Cabin
Evening Shade, Missouri
Event + 23 Days
Two whole days in bed and Maddie still felt exhausted. After her mother declared her fever-free, Maddie was allowed to join the land of the living. She sat at the table, waiting patiently as her mom scrambled eggs and slid them onto her plate. She dug into them and shoved them into her mouth like a starved animal.
Maddie watched her mother wiping down the counter and thought how strange it was not to see Harmony hovering over the stove. Harmony was still in bed, sick as a dog.
"These are great," she said with her mouth full.
"If you want more, we have plenty. The chickens should be slowing down their egg production soon, so we'll enjoy them while they last," Beth said as she wiped out the pan.
"We need to make sure to flip the light on in their coops for a few hours every evening. They'll keep laying. Not as many but some," Maddie said, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.
"Really. I didn't know that."
“That's what Ron said. He was going to help me build a proper coop for the chicks he gave us. He even gave me a small solar panel to power the light."
The memory pricked her heart. At times, she found it hard to believe he was gone. She stared down at her empty plate.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Ron. You know that wasn't…"
"I don't want to talk about that, Mom," Maddie said, standing and heading for the door.
After grabbing her pack and rifle from the mudroom, Maddie turned back to her mother.
"Thanks for breakfast, Mom, and—well, everything."
Beth blew her a kiss as she went out the door.
Ryan, Dawn, and Krista were gathered around the picnic-table-turned-gun-cleaning-station. Ryan had graduated to using a cane and was walking around the table, pointing to various parts of the weapons that the ladies were cleaning. Maddie recalled receiving similar instruction from him when she was about ten years old.
Although she was now fever-free, Maddie still had a cough and felt weak after two days in bed. As she approached the group, Maddie launched into a coughing fit. Everyone turned when they heard her. Dawn reached her first, followed by Krista.
"You shouldn't be out here. It's too soon," Dawn said.
"Here, take a seat," Dawn said, pushing Maddie into an Adirondack chair.
"I'm fine," Maddie said, shooting to her feet. "I just have a little cough."
"You should drink some honey-ginger tea," Krista said as she walked over.
"That's right," Dawn said. Her eyes lit up, and a broad smile spread across her face. "You sit there. I'll go make you some."
"That's ok. I have cough drops in my pack. I need to go and check on Zach and Roger at the checkpoints on the road. I imagine they could use a break."
"They ain't there," Krista said.
"What? Who is?" Maddie said, her voice shrill.
"Jason," Dawn said.
Maddie blinked and shook her head. She couldn't believe her ears. She turned to Ryan.
"I still can't cross the creek or climb the deer stand," Ryan said.
"I know that. But where are Zack and Roger? And what about Maria?"
"They all went to the prison," Ryan said.
"Zach? Mom let Zach go?"
"Not exactly," Dawn said.
Maddie whipped around. "He went without permission?"
"He more told than asked. He was polite about it. He said he had to do what he felt was right."
"And Mom let him go? No. She wouldn't."
"He didn't give her a choice. He made a convincing argument and when she still didn't agree, he kissed her on the cheek and left anyway."
"Oh, he’s in so much trouble."
Maddie was steaming. Zach was only fifteen, and he thought he was grown and didn't need to listen to anyone.
"How long have they been gone?” Maddie asked.
"About an hour," Dawn said.
Maddie pivoted and stomped off toward the barn.
"Where are you going?" Ryan called after her.
"To bring my brother home. That place is a powder keg ready to blow. He has no business there."
"You can't go alone. What about the Jewells?" Dawn asked, running up to her.
"I thought Lugnut and Rank went looking for them. Are they still out there looking?" Maddie asked as she walked.
"They are looking for more of the group that took a shot at Zach yesterday."
Maddie stopped in her tracks and turned.
"What? Someone took a shot at Zach? Where? At the road?"
"No."
Maddie turned toward Ryan. "What the hell happened around here while I was down sick?"
Maddie fumed as Ryan filled her in on the two guys who had shot at Zach and the tensions at the prison.
"And my brother felt it was more important to go running off to the prison than to guard his home and family? What the hell was he thinking of leaving Jason the only one guarding the place?"
"I'm headed to the road. I just stopped to ask Ryan to trade out my scope. I banged this one on the tree yesterday, and I'm not sure about it now," Dawn said.
Maddie hadn’t had a chance to spend much time with Dawn and wasn’t sure of her experience with weapons. From what her mom had told her though, Dawn was one tough lady. The way she’d taken out the cult leader and helped Beth escape their compound, Maddie thought she could probably handle a turn at guard duty.
"Lugnut and Rank didn't find any sign of any more shooters this morning. Their camp is deserted."
Maddie was torn. Should she go retrieve her brother then help guard the prison or go guard the road?
"You should stay here, Maddie," Ryan said, reading her mind. "Zach has Maria and Roger."
Maddie spun around and headed toward the road.
"Dawn, take the barn loft. I'll go watch the road."
"Are you sure? You aren't a hundred percent yet, and that cough." Dawn stopped and looked at Ryan.
Maddie stopped, dropped her pack, and dug around for her cough drops. As she did, another coughing fit sent her digging for the tube to her water bladder. Dawn rushed over and helped her locate the dangling tube.
"See. Take the loft, Maddie. I may not be the best shot yet, but I can do this," Dawn said, rubbing Maddie's back.
Maddie gasped trying to breathe between coughs. Her throat was on fire and her stomach felt like she'd done hundreds of sit-ups. After several sips of water and a potent cough drop, the coughing stopped. Maddie looked to the trail leading through the woods to the road. She was exhausted with the little she'd already walked.
"I'll be in the barn," Maddie said as she turned around.
"Ugh, I hate the barn loft. Too many wasps and spiders," she said under her breath as she slumped off to the barn.
Chapter 16
The Langston Cabin
Evening Shade,
Missouri
Event + 23 Days
Ryan had been working to build up some of their perimeter defense and early warning systems. He'd tried to put everyone on this task who wasn’t on some other duty, but things kept coming up.
Ryan wanted every bit of area within the tree line around the entire property covered by trip-wire-activated .22 cal. Forge Alarms, modified to accept regular .22 or .22 long rounds, since no one had a stockpile of blank rounds that the mechanisms were designed to accept. When this type of trap is triggered, it causes a circuit to close as a piece of popsicle stick is pulled from between the grip of an aluminum foil-lined clothes pin. When the clothes pin closes, a Christmas tree bulb, powered by a battery, lights up. At night, they would receive both an audible and a visual location of the threat.
Ryan also had planned to use four-inch pieces of garden hose with four, sixteen-penny nails poked through each of them at 90-degree angles to the hose and to each other. Once fabricated, they would be tossed on the ground in probable areas of approach within the wood line.
Finally, he wanted three large holes dug—re-dug, actually. Two were along the wood line, one to the north and one to the south of the cabin, and a new one would be located near the trail to Ron’s place. In the bottom of each hole, they would sink long sticks, sharpened on both ends, into the ground. The holes would be covered with a loose grid of long, thin sticks or branches, then covered with leaves. Anyone in the group could lead someone chasing them into a trap because the holes were situated in areas bounded by trees, rock ledges, or steep banks that would act as funnels, guiding the bad guys right into the holes.
It would be a lot of work to re-dig and set up the holes, but it would be even more work to set up the four boxes of trip-wired activated alarms. And after all that, the really hard part was all of the tweaking and maintenance involved in ensuring the traps would function—and continue to function—through bad weather and over time. Resets would also be required when deer, instead of bad guys, tripped the trip wires. All those things would have greatly secured the cabin and helped them all feel safer, but they’d have to wait until they weren’t all pulled away guarding the prison.
From her perch in the barn, Maddie surveyed the clearing around the cabin.
“We're going to the farmhouse to feed the animals," Beth called up to the loft.
"I should come with you. After the trouble Zach had, we can't be too cautious," Maddie said before launching into another coughing fit.
"Can you walk that far?" Beth asked.
"I can ride Bluejeans," Maddie said.
“Krista, would you mind standing watch in the barn loft while Mom and I run to the farm to feed the animals?” Maddie called down.
“Sure!” Krista said, running toward the barn.
Maddie didn’t know why Bluejeans was in their barn and not at Ron's with the rest of the horses, but she was grateful. She wasn't sure she had the energy to hike today.
"Fine. I'm going to feed the fish while you saddle him," Beth called back.
"Fish? You brought Ron's aquaponics set up over?"
"Yeah. Harmony helped me set up the tanks yesterday before she got sick. Ryan said he'd help me connect the tubes to the grow-beds and hook up the solar pumps today."
"Awesome. What about the breeder tanks Ron had in his basement?"
"We still have to move those over to our basement and hook up the lights and heaters. I feel more confident about caring for those in the smaller tanks than I do the ones in the three-hundred-gallon tanks."
"You used the rainwater collection totes?"
"I did. In an aquaponics system, water is circulated from the fish tank through the plant beds and back to the tank, so you use less water. I'm going to add two more rain collection tanks for the plants that don't grow well with their feet wet."
"I'll be down in a second. I'd like to see the system before we go over to Ron's."
"Be careful climbing down. Jason said that there's one rung of the ladder that's loose. He was planning to replace it today, but he had to take a watch shift. It's getting hard to maintain this place and the farmhouse with everyone gone or pulling guard duties," Beth sighed.
Maddie thought about what her mom had said as she saddled Bluejeans. If they didn't take time to prepare for winter, they might not make it through, especially if something were to happen to their buried supplies. They could make it on the twenty-two barrels they had left, but not unless they started cutting back.
"I need to talk to Harmony about meal size. The guys are going to hate me," Maddie told Bluejeans as she stroked his long gray mane.
Maddie tried but failed to stifle another coughing fit. Her chest still felt tight and full of fluid. She had coughed so much that her stomach was sore. Maddie walked Bluejeans out of the barn and tied his reins to the hitching post before walking around to the greenhouse. The door was open. The inside smelled earthy and sweet. She was impressed with how much her mom and Harmony had accomplished in such a short time and with so many other things to do.
Long, rectangular containers filled with pea gravel sat on blocks along one side, and the tops had been cut off of two of the three-hundred-gallon totes her dad had connected to the barn roof for rainwater collection. The overflow valve was now attached to a pipe and a pump. Inside were about a dozen fish. The tops of the totes were upturned and filled with some sort of rock. Two-inch tall plants were growing in them. Her mother had done well. It looked nicer than what Ron had set up.
"What are you feeding them?" Maddie asked.
“Duckweed, water fern, and worms," Beth said, tossing a scoop into the tanks.
Maddie leaned over and looked into a plastic bucket. Red wiggly worms squirmed on top of black soil.
"You ready?" Beth asked, shaking dirt from her hands.
"Yep. I'll be right behind you," Maddie said, following Beth out of the greenhouse.
"You sure you don't want to climb up and ride with me?" Maddie asked as she rode up beside Beth.
Beth looked at the horse then up to Maddie.
"Nope. I'm good. I need the exercise."
"You're going to have to get back on a horse eventually, Mom."
"You're probably right. But not today. I'm not in that big of a hurry. It's a nice day for a walk."
Beth picked daisies from the side of the trail as they walked. Neither spoke as they enjoyed their jaunt through the woods. Except for the horse, it reminded Maddie of the summers they'd spent picking berries and finding wild edibles in the woods. She looked down at her mother. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail. She wore a holster on her hip, a rifle hung across her chest, and a tactical knife was attached to her belt.
Just like old times.
"Do you really think the governor will get all the prisoners moved out of Licking?" Beth asked, breaking the silence.
"I think he will. He has to."
Beth stopped and stared up at Maddie.
"What happens after?"
"After the inmates are gone? I guess everyone goes home and prepares for winter."
Beth turned and continued walking. A moment later, she asked, "What about Jacob?"
"What about him?"
"What will he do, after the prison is evacuated?"
Maddie looked away. She didn't want her mother seeing her roll her eyes.
"I don't know. I suppose he will return to Houston and do his job." Maddie said.
"Will you two still see each other?" Beth asked.
"If you mean like dating?” Maddie chuffed. “Those days are over. Besides, where would we even go on a date now?”
Beth held her hand up for Maddie to stop. Maddie pulled on the reins, and Bluejeans stopped in front of Beth.
"Life still goes on. People will still fall in love, get married, and have children. They always have and you..."
A crack of a branch behind them startled Maddie. She turned in the saddle to look in the direction of the sound just in time to make out a male form between the two trees.
She swung her head around and yelled, "Mom, run!"
Turning and grabbing her rifle at the same time threw her off balance, but Bluejeans, being the kind horse he was, shifted, and she somehow managed to stay on. Pulling the rifle to her cheek, she scanned the area where she'd seen the movement. Nothing. But someone had been there—she was sure of it.
"Jason. Ryan. Anybody. There is an intruder on the trail to the farmhouse. Over," Maddie called into her radio.
After a long silence, the radio crackled to life, and she heard Rank's voice.
"Roger that, Maddie. How many intruders? Over."
"I only see one. He slipped back into the woods when I spotted him. We are heading on to Ron's. Over."
"Roger that. One or more intruders on the trail to Ron's. Will investigate and meet you at the farm. Out."
“Roger. Out,” Maddie said into the radio.
Dropping the rifle and allowing it to dangle on its sling, Maddie nudged Bluejeans with her heel and they quickly caught up with her mother at the driveway to the farmhouse. Her mom sure could run. She had been a marathon runner before plates and screws in a broken ankle made running too painful.
"What is it?" Beth asked, not slowing down to wait for a reply.
"A man—in the woods behind us. He slipped back into the undergrowth when I turned. He could've shot us if he'd wanted," Maddie said as she reached Beth.
Maddie quickly dismounted and dropped down beside her mom.
"Mom, get on. I'll walk beside you. Bluejeans is really sweet. It'll be much faster."
Beth hesitated.
"Mom, get on," Maddie said, cupping her hands to give Beth a boost up.
Beth slung her rifle around to her back, placed her hand on Maddie shoulder, and her left foot into Maddie's hand. Bluejeans stood perfectly still as Beth grabbed the saddle horn and threw her leg over.
“Okay, boy. Let's not do anything crazy. Okay?" Beth said as she leaned down and stroked his mane.
"Hold on," Maddie said as she grabbed the reins.
Maddie ran beside the horse as they headed up the long driveway. She stopped at the corner of the big, white farmhouse that Ron had loved so much. After helping Beth off the horse, Maddie pulled her rifle up to scan the woods that lined Slabtown Road.