by Payne, T. L.
"Let me wash up a bit, and I'll take you over there."
Maddie and Jacob led the way on horseback as Ryan and John followed on the side-by-side.
"Take the next drive on your right there," John called out.
Maddie could barely see the turn. The drive was narrow and overgrown. All she could see from the road was a mix of pine and oak trees. She hesitated, but Jacob proceeded down the drive. Against her better judgment, she nudged Bluejeans and caught up with him.
In a small clearing was a tiny cabin under a huge steel antenna tower. Two rows of solar panels were mounted on the ground in the front yard of the cabin. John jumped out of the side-by-side and ran up beside Maddie. He placed a hand on Bluejeans neck and yelled," You decent, Quincy? You got a lady visitor. Go puts some pants on."
A moment later, a short, balding man in old, dirty overalls stuck his head out of the cabin door.
"What the hell are you yelling about, big John?" Quincy said as he smoothed his unruly white hair back with both hands.
"You got visitors."
"I see that. I ain't blind," he said.
His voice was gruff, but Maddie was used to that. She'd met lots of people out this way while visiting neighbors with her dad. Some would come off hard and rough but were big teddy bears after they got to know you. She hoped Quincy was one such person.
"This here is Greg Langston's little girl. And this here is Greg's friend, Ryan Masters," John said.
"Who's that fella with ‘em?"
"This is Jacob Rawlings from over at Houston. His family just moved out here by us."
Maddie wondered why he failed to mention that Jacob was the new Texas County sheriff.
"I hear that Houston is in chaos ever since Judge Farley died. Well, you guys can come on in, I guess."
"What can I do you for?" Quincy asked after everyone had stuffed themselves inside his tiny front room. Ryan, Jacob, and John stood, as there was nowhere to sit. Quincy motioned for Maddie to take a seat in the room’s only chair. The room looked a lot like Earl Knapp's radio room had. Two fans blew air toward a wall of radio equipment, stacked floor-to-ceiling. A bank of four large computer monitors suggested that Quincy used to use the internet. But it was the radio in the corner that had Maddie's interest.
"Ryan and I have friends in Peoria, Illinois. When we last saw them, they were in the middle of a stand-off with DHS and FEMA over the Port of Peoria with its supplies on its barges and in warehouses. I was hoping you might have heard something about them," Maddie said as Quincy overturned a crate and took a seat beside her.
Quincy looked back at Ryan before responding.
"They bugged out a week ago, is what I heard. The governor of Illinois ordered all the National Guard units to seize control of the port. They fought it out for several days before a group of them escaped downriver."
Maddie sat up straight and leaned forward.
"Do you know which group? Who specifically escaped?"
"Said some of the county council members and a group out of LaRose," Quincy said, poking a plug of chewing tobacco between his cheek and tongue.
Maddie turned to Ryan.
"That's Larry's group."
"Do you know where they fled to?" Ryan asked.
"Not sure about the group from LaRose, but those county officials were in Jeff City, appealing for our governor to send troops up to Illinois to help folks fight."
Maddie's breaths came in quick bursts. She began to feel dizzy.
"You okay, kid. You're looking pale," John said.
Quincy left the room and returned with a plastic glass filled with water. Maddie gulped it down and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
Ryan walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"My God, Ryan. We have to find out about Emma."
"Is there any way to contact those folks to see if they can tell us where the LaRose Group is?"
John looked to the ceiling and pursed his lips.
"The LaRose group," he said as if saying it out loud would help him recall some forgotten detail. "Isn't that the Eden group? Larry something-or-other was the leader, right?"
"Yes," Maddie said as she shot to her feet.
"Eden Group? I heard from someone just the other day. He was sent down this way. What did you say your name was again?" Quincy asked.
"Masters, Ryan Masters."
Quincy appeared deep in thought. Maddie wanted to shake the information out of the man, but she bit her lip. She clenched her fists tight against her legs.
"I seem to recall someone from that group looking for someone named Masters, now that I think about it."
Maddie's eyes lit up.
"Do you know where they are now?" Ryan asked, taking hold of Maddie's fist and uncurling her fingers.
"Said he was sending someone this way to look you up. That was maybe two days ago,” Quincy said.
"You think they are still near a radio? Could you get a transmission to them?" Maddie asked.
"I could try," Quincy said, taking a seat in front of the microphone.
He turned dials and spoke into the mic. The voice that spoke through the radio confirmed that members of Larry's group were in Missouri. They had joined others from Illinois at refugee centers set up by the Red Cross. The man could not specifically confirm that Emma was with them but did confirm that the group contained many children.
"And one absolutely hilarious old, tug-boat driver. That old guy has some stories to tell," the voice on the radio said.
Ryan and Maddie smiled at each other.
"Fred," they both said at the same time.
Chapter 24
Trail to the farm
Evening Shade, Missouri
Event + 23 Days
Beth and Dawn walked behind the two teenagers. Listening to them talk, you wouldn't know that less than a month ago their biggest worries were whether they would get an "A" on their next test or which boy they liked.
"They've both matured so much in such a short time," Dawn said, almost reading Beth's thoughts.
"I know. So have Maddie and Zach. They all seemed to have adjusted to this new way of life. Better than I have, for sure," Beth said.
The sound of a branch snapping behind her caused Beth to spin around and raise her rifle to her shoulder, as she scrambled for cover behind a nearby tree.
"Girls, get down," Dawn yelled, rushing to conceal herself behind the trunk of a tree on the opposite side of the trail.
Beth scanned the woods and waited for someone to appear. A second later, she heard the rustling of leaves. It was growing louder, like the person wasn't aware that they sounded like a herd of elephants coming through the woods. Dawn saw it first.
"Beth," she said, pointing to where a wet weather creek bed crossed the trail.
Beth stepped back onto the trail.
"What the hell?"
Beth and Dawn stared down at the prehistoric-looking creature. The armadillo walked up the trail with its long nose to the ground. Dawn bit her lip and giggled as the thing scurried across her shoe.
Beth shook her head and turned back toward the farmhouse.
"It's okay, girls. It was only an armadillo," Beth said, waving for them to continue their hike to the farm.
Just before they reached Slabtown Road, Beth jogged ahead of the girls, leaving Dawn to cover the rear. They performed their usual scan of the area and the farm they could see from the road. Beth motioned for them to cross the road. The driveway was flanked on both sides by open fields. Beth felt exposed without sufficient cover or concealment to duck behind.
After clearing the barn and the house, Beth and the girls went about their chores. Dawn stood watch at the open barn door as Harmony and Krista milked the goats and their one milk cow. Beth went around to the side of the barn to gather the eggs. She slowly opened the door to the first nesting box. She was grateful that Ron had thought to build the hens’ nesting boxes on the back wall of the coop with individual doors so that you didn't have to go inside the coop t
o gather eggs.
When she opened the second-to-last door, she squealed and jumped back. Dawn and Krista ran around the side of the barn and stopped beside her.
"Damn. He's a big one," Dawn said as they all stood staring down at the large, black chicken snake.
"He's eating an egg. What do we do?" Krista asked.
Beth put her index finger to her forehead. She recalled a conversation about that once. Rat snakes had been the reason Ron had built the nesting boxes on the outside. He was afraid of snakes.
"In the barn, there should be a bucket of golf balls. I recall him saying he put those in the nesting boxes to get rid of snakes."
"How would a golf ball get rid of snakes?"
"I have no idea. But we should put the whole bucket in there and hope it works," Beth said as she backed away from the coop.
Dawn pulled her knife from its sheath and used it to ease the door closed, leaving the snake to finish its lunch. Beth handed the egg basket to Krista.
"Dawn, would you mind helping pitch hay to…?" Beth had begun to ask.
A shrill scream from the barn interrupted her.
"Dawn, take that corner. Krista, you're on me," Beth said.
"It's probably a snake or those damn mice again," Dawn said as she sprinted to the opposite corner of the barn.
"Maybe," Beth said.
Beth tripped and hit the back of the barn with her left shoulder as she scrambled to conceal herself at the corner opposite Dawn. From her vantage point, she could see the west side of the barn, and Dawn would be able to see the east side.
"Harmony?" Beth yelled.
No answer.
"Harmony?” Beth called louder.
Beth unclipped the radio from her belt and keyed the mic. She disregarded proper radio protocols and yelled into the radio.
"Lugnut, Rank, Maria. Get over to the farm. Something's…"
A hand reached around her face at the same time she felt the cold hard steel of a gun against her back.
She lowered her hand but didn't release the radio transmit button.
"What do you want? Where is Harmony?" Beth said in a loud enough voice she hoped the radio would pick it up.
A hand gripped hers and slid the radio out of her grasp. Her heart sank.
"Drop the rifle," a rough male voice behind her said.
She unclipped the clasp on the sling and let the AR-15 drop to the ground. She felt a hand undo the snap on her holster and the pistol being removed. As the man slid the knife free from the sheath attached to her right leg, Beth's training finally kicked in.
She landed a backward kick to the man's knee, spun around, and pushed him off balance. A second man rushed toward her. She looked down. She didn't have time to scoop up her rifle. She planted a kick to the man's skull and took off running around the chicken coop, scrambled over the pipe gate of the hog pen, and ran.
She expected bullets to whiz by her. But none came. She didn't stop to see why. She just ran, zig zagging to make herself a harder target until she reached woods on the west side of the pasture. Her ankle hurt so bad by the time she reached the tree line, she felt nauseated and dizzy. She dropped down behind a large stump and scanned the field to see if she'd been followed. She couldn't see the barn from her position. She needed to move south along the fence line to get a look at the attackers. She hadn't heard any gunfire. She assumed that was a good sign—she hoped. Rank, Lugnut, and Maria had to have heard her transmission. They'd be coming any minute. If the girls could hold on just a little while, help would come.
When she tried to stand, her ankle gave way. She wanted to scream out in pain but bit her lip instead. Beth looked around for a stick to help her up. After finding one she thought was suitable, she was just pushing herself up when she heard the sound of an engine.
Beth tried to recall if the four-wheelers were at the house. She hadn't recalled seeing them there when they'd left. As far as she knew, they were all there at the farm.
What vehicle are Lugnut and Rank using? As the sound grew louder, Beth remembered where they were.
“Zach!” Beth screamed as she jumped over the fence. Beth heard gunfire coming from the direction of the barn. Her feet just would not run fast enough.
Chapter 25
Duke, Missouri
Event + 23 Days
“Lugnut, this is Roger. Over," Roger said into his radio as he and Zach bolted toward the ATVs.
Zach heard no response.
"They are going to hit the farm. They plan to take the girls and hold them hostage as bargaining chips," Roger told Lugnut and the others listening back at the cabin.
Still no response.
The hills and valleys along the river prevented having a good radio signal.
Not knowing if anyone at the cabin or farm had heard their transmission, Zach and Roger pushed the all-terrain vehicles to the maximum speed. Roger nearly wrecked making the turn onto Slabtown Road. The four-wheeler slid from side-to-side in the dirt and gravel.
Roger stopped the ATV at the end of the driveway to Ron's farm, and Zach pulled up alongside him, shutting his engine off. They were concealed behind the forsythia bushes that lined the road in front of the farmhouse. Zach had planned to remove them for the very reason that it prevented people at the house from seeing someone stalking them from the road, but he hadn't found the time yet.
"See anything?" Zach asked as he pulled his rifle out of the sheath attached to the four-wheeler.
Roger had his eye to his monocular, scanning the front of the house.
"There," Roger said, pointing toward the front of the barn.
Only the northwest corner of the old, wooden structure was visible from their position.
"You recognize them?"
"No. Must be the Jewells, though," Zach said, looking through the scope.
"Shit," Roger said.
Then Zach saw what Roger saw.
"Harmony!" Zach yelled out loud.
He pulled the rifle tighter against his shoulder, lined up his sights with the man's chest, and squeezed the trigger. He'd been breathing so hard that his shot had been wide. The man ducked and pulled Harmony back toward the doorway. He lost sight of them.
Zach jumped off the wheeler and ran up the driveway toward the barn. Roger was hot on his heels.
“Zach! Wait!” Roger yelled.
But Zach ignored him. An armed man had Harmony. Others could have his mom. He wasn't waiting for them to do God-knows-what to them. Zach screeched to a stop at the back corner of the house. His back hit the side of the house hard, as he attempted to flatten himself against the building, wanting to make himself as hard of a target as possible. Roger fell in beside him and did the same.
Zach peered around the corner.
"See anything?" Roger asked.
"No."
He listened.
Nothing. No voices. No shuffling of feet. Most of all, no crying.
Zach pulled his rifle to the ready position and sprinted to the west side of the barn.
"Zach," Roger whispered too late.
Roger ran past him and stopped at the back corner of the barn.
"Zach," Roger whispered, waving him over.
“There—in the woods," Roger said, pointing to their right.
Zach leaned around him and looked in the direction he was pointing.
A flash of yellow disappeared behind a tree.
"Harmony," Zach said.
He'd never been so glad that yellow was Harmony's favorite color. Her yellow, smiley-face T-shirt would make her easier to spot in the woods.
Roger unclipped the radio from his belt and keyed the mic.
“Lugnut, this is Roger. Over."
A moment later, Zach heard a voice come through Roger’s radio.
“Roger, this is Lugnut. Over."
He sounded as if he were running.
"One or more men at the farmhouse. They have Harmony. Have not confirmed the whereabouts of Beth or the other girls.”
“Roger that. We
are on our way to your location. Lugnut out."
"Where is Beth?" Jason asked over the radio.
"Jason. Stay where you are. Watch the cabin. More could be headed that way. We will find her," Roger said before returning the radio to his belt.
Roger made a chopping motion toward a large tree about thirty yards from the barn, and Zach sprinted to that location. He dropped down into a crouch behind the tree and prepared to cover Roger as he ran over to join him.
"Did you see my mom with them?" Zach asked.
"No. I think I saw Dawn, or maybe Krista. Someone with long, brown hair."
Zach stepped out from behind the tree and started to go after them, but Roger grabbed his shoulder.
"You wait here for Lugnut. There may be others. Your mom may still be in the barn or house. You and Lug look for Beth. I'll follow Harmony."
"Zach opened his mouth to protest, but Roger grabbed both of his shoulders. “Zach, you and Lugnut have to find your mom. If she is not here, then follow after me."
Zach didn't respond. He was trying to make sense of what was happening. Roger was right. There could be others still in the house or the barn. His mom could be injured and needing help. Or she could have been taken with Harmony. He didn't know what to do.
"Charlie Delta,” Lugnut said.
“Ice cream," Roger yelled back.
Lugnut peeked around the corner, then ran to their position in the wood line.
"Take Zach and clear the house and barn. Find Beth. I'm going after Harmony and whoever else they took."
Roger didn't wait for Lugnut's response. He ran off toward the spot they'd last seen Harmony.
Lugnut and Zach cleared the barn. Zach was grateful that they found no blood anywhere. A search of the house confirmed Beth was not there either.
Zach tightened the straps on his pack and adjusted his grip on his rifle. "
"Let's go," he said, heading for the door.
"Wait, Zach. Let me check something first," Lugnut said, heading for the back door.
Zach stood on the gravel path watching as Lugnut followed the tracks left in the dirt around the barn.