by Payne, T. L.
A moment later, Lugnut looked up and said, "Your mom isn't with them."
Zach walked over and stood next to him.
"What? How can you tell?"
"Your mom wears boots. None of the other girls wear those. These here. That is Harmony. This is Krista," Lugnut said, pointing to the smallest set of footprints. "And these are Dawn's."
"Can you tell how many people took them?" Zach asked, bending over and staring at the jumble of tracks left behind in the dirt.
"Four. Two are likely women or kids. See this?" Lugnut pointed to a set of small prints separate from the others.
Zach nodded.
They looked like they were made by a kid, to him. There hadn't been any children at the farm since the last rain, for sure. It had to have been someone with the people who took the girls.
"But where is Mom?"
Lugnut sidestepped the footprints in front of the barn and walked around the side, then around the back to the chicken coop.
"There. Those are your mom's prints," Lugnut said, pointing to boot prints in the dirt behind the chicken coop.
Lugnut followed the path of the prints to the back of the barn. When Zach saw Lugnut stiffen, he froze.
"What? What do you see?"
"She struggled with someone."
Lugnut turned and began walking back toward the front of the chicken coop, then on to the pipe gate of the hog pen. He climbed over the gate and followed the tracks as they zig-zagged across the field.
"Good girl, Beth," Lugnut whispered.
"What?" Zach asked, anxious for any news about the fate of his mother.
"See there? And there? She knew not to run in a straight line."
They reached the barbed wire fence, and Lugnut climbed over. He walked back and forth, then south along the fence.
"Shit. Beth. Damn it. Why didn't you just stay put?"
"What? Where is she?" Zach asked, his voice shrill.
"She went after them," Lugnut answered, pointing across the field to the place Zach had seen the man taking Harmony.
Zach turned and ran as fast as he could across the uneven field. His right boot landed in the middle of a cow patty, but he didn't care. He reached the path the man had taken Harmony and looked back to see if Lugnut was following. He wasn't. He was bent over inspecting something on the ground.
"Are you coming?"
"She turned and went that way," Lugnut pointed toward the creek just on the other side of the field.
"Let's go then," Zach said as he headed that direction.
Lugnut, being closer, reached the fence line first and had already jumped over. He unclipped the radio from his belt as Zach climbed over the fence.
“Roger, this is Lugnut. Over."
Lugnut turned and started down a small hill.
“Lugnut, this is Roger. Over," Zach heard from Lugnut's radio.
"Beth isn't with them. She's heading west along the creek. Over," Lugnut said into the radio.
Lugnut stopped and bent over. He inspected some leaves on the ground before continuing.
"Roger that. It looks like they took the girls north to the creek, then turned and headed west. They are trying to cover their tracks, but they don't know what they're doing. Over," Roger said.
"What is your location? Over." Lugnut asked.
"About a quarter-mile west of the barn. I should be hitting the forestry trail any minute. They likely already have. If they have vehicles stashed there…"
Zach could hear the sound of engines start as Roger spoke it.
"Shit," Lugnut said, before keying the mic.
“Maria, this is Lugnut. Over."
“Lugnut, this is Maria. Over."
"Get to Slabtown Road. Grab the four-wheeler and meet me at the forestry road behind the farm. Over."
"Roger."
"Where's Beth?” Jason’s voice came from the radio.
Lugnut turned to Zach and pointed in the direction of the farm.
"Zach, run and get the Humvee. Pick up Maria and follow down this trail. Roger is going to keep going and catch up with your mom. I'll go to follow their trail."
Zach hurdled himself over the fence and yelled, "Okay," over his shoulder as he landed on the other side.
He ran across the field as fast as he could. By the time he reached the Humvee, he was gasping for air. He threw his bag and rifle into the back of the hummer and jumped into the driver's seat, then backed out and tore down the driveway. He made a wide circle around the one remaining four-wheeler in the road where they'd left it. He hoped Maria had been the one to take the other, and that Lugnut was hot on the kidnappers' trail by now.
Zach made the turn onto the forestry road a little too fast and almost skidded off into the ditch. Maria stood in the middle of the road, waving her arms over her head. Zach pulled up beside her and stopped.
Maria pulled on the driver's side handle and opened the door.
"Hurry, Zach," she said, motioning for him to get out.
He climbed out, and she jumped in behind the wheel. He stood there staring at her.
"Zach. Get in. Hurry up," Maria barked.
Zach ran around to the passenger side, and Maria took off before he'd even shut the door.
They raced down the narrow dirt road and slipped around a tight curve. There, in the middle of the road, was Roger and his mom. Zach let out a sigh of relief as Roger and Beth stopped and turned to look at the Humvee.
Maria pulled up beside them, and Roger and Beth got in.
Maria followed the tracks left by a truck and an ATV. The road was rutted and washed out in places. Zach held on to avoid being tossed around the front of the Humvee as it bumped along.
“There,” Beth yelled, pointing to a fork in the road.
Maria took the turn.
About a mile down the narrow, one-lane dirt trail, they spotted the ATV parked in the middle of the road. Lugnut wasn't on it.
Maria pulled in behind it and stopped the Humvee leaving the engine idling.
Roger stepped out and keyed his radio.
“Lugnut, this is Roger. Over."
“Roger, this is Lugnut. Over."
"We are at the wheeler. Where are you? Over."
"They turned on a trail about a quarter of a mile from the ATV. The one on the left. I'm about half a mile from that turn-off. Over," Lugnut said.
"Roger that. We have Beth and are heading your way. Over."
Roger, Maria, Zach, and Beth drove to the trail on the left, then hiked the half-mile to where Lugnut was staked out and watching a group of people through the trees.
"How many are there?" Roger asked as he crouched down beside Lugnut near a large fallen tree.
Zach, Maria, and Beth crouched down behind another. Each with their rifles up, scanning the surrounding forest.
"I've seen eight so far. Five men, two women, and a small girl," Lugnut replied.
"Have you seen the girls?" Beth whispered.
"They have them in a tent in the center of the camp over there," Lugnut said, pointing.
Zach scanned the area where Lugnut pointed. Below them, in a clearing, was a small camp with four or five tents. Laundry hung from ropes strung between trees, and it looked as if something was cooking over a campfire. Standing in front of the opening to the tent in the middle of the area was a tall, heavyset, older man—not the one who had been in Zach’s crosshairs back at the farm.
Zach scanned the camp, looking for the other man. To his left, crouching over what looked like a half-butchered deer, was the man he'd seen.
"When the hell did they have time for hunting?" Zach asked no one in particular.
"What's the plan?" Maria asked, crawling over and crouching beside Roger.
"I would really like to know for sure if all three girls are in that tent, and who else is in there with them," Lugnut said.
"I agree, but the longer we wait, the more time they have to harm them," Beth said scrambling over and kneeling beside Lugnut.
"I don't think
they will hurt them. At least not yet," Roger said.
"Why not? Why take them if they didn't have bad intentions?" Beth asked.
"Zach and I ran into one of their group when we visited the guy with the gasifier. I interrogated him, and he said they were interested in using them to trade."
"Trade for what?" Beth asked. "Food? Weapons? What do they want?"
"Jacob. And that asshole, Guffey," Roger said, lowering the rifle scope from his eye to face her. "They want revenge for the lynching of their kin."
"What? And they think we'd just hand them over. Why do they think we could deliver Guffey? We have no connection to him and his gang, there in Houston."
"No. But Jacob does," Zach said, sliding in beside his mom.
"None of this makes any sense. Why us? Why not go directly after Guffey, or Jacob for that matter?"
"The kid we talked to said they thought we could convince Jacob to turn Guffey over to them—or force him to if necessary."
"That is crazy," Beth said.
"Well, I don't believe they are thinking straight. It seems that the parents of the kids who were lynched are the ones leading this three-ringed circus. According to the kid, they won't listen to anyone. They are set on revenge, even if it gets them all killed."
"Gosh. Family loyalties sure run deep in these parts," Maria said, shaking her head.
"None of this answers the question as to what we’re going to do to get those girls back," Beth said, her voice quivering.
Lugnut turned and looked at her. He pursed his lips and looked to the sky, obviously deep in thought. Everyone waited.
"We need to get them to show us the girls. You know—proof of life shit," Lugnut said.
He turned back to his rifle scope before continuing.
"We only need to know which tent they are in. After dark, I’ll go in and bring them out." Lugnut said.
"How are we going to get them to do that?" Zach asked.
"We go over there and ask nicely," Roger said as he stood.
They all moved closer to the camp as Roger ran from tree to tree. A moment later, Roger's arm wrapped around the neck of the sentry. As he held the teenaged boy, he whispered something in the kid's ear.
"Momma. Daddy. They're here," the kid yelled, before Roger put his huge hand over the boy's mouth.
Zach looked through his scope and could see everyone grabbing weapons and crouching behind whatever cover they could find.
"You in the camp. Now I have two of your boys. How many of them are you willing to sacrifice here today to satisfy your need for revenge," Roger called out.
A middle-aged woman stepped out of the middle tent — a rifle lying across her arms. Zach gasped. Blood soaked the front of her grimy white shirt. Her hair was disheveled and dirty. Her wrinkled face was hard and expressionless.
"You got my boys. But I got three of your girls. Looks to me like we have ourselves a Mexican standoff."
"Maybe. So why don't you just let our girls go, and we'll release your boys and we'll call it a day."
"Ain't going down like that, Soldier boy. It ain't gonna be that easy. I want that Rawlings boy and his pal, Guffey. I want them brought here to me, and then I’ll let your girls go."
Roger tightened his grip on the boy, and he cried out.
"Don't you hurt my boys. You do, and I swear…"
The women disappeared inside the tent. A moment later, Harmony appeared in the doorway. She exited followed by Dawn, and finally Krista. The women grabbed Krista by the hair and pressed the muzzle of her shotgun against Krista's temple. When she did, Dawn lowered her shoulder and rammed the woman hard in the back, knocking the woman sideways.
As Dawn and the woman struggled for control of the gun, Krista took off running toward the woods, but away from Zach and his group.
The older man ran over to assist the woman in her battle for control of Dawn and the weapon. Zach saw him go down at the same time he heard the sound from Lugnut's rifle. Maria took down the man closest to Dawn. Harmony just stood there with her mouth open wide.
“Run, Harmony," Zach screamed as he stood and sprinted toward her.
He fired at the two men who pursued her—only dropping one. A shot from behind him took out the other. Zach didn't take the time to look back to see who was following him.
Zach met Harmony at the edge of the clearing. She flung herself into his arms as he brought his rifle up to return fire at a teenaged girl who was running toward them—a knife raised over her head. The crazed look on her face gave Zach the shivers. He hesitated. A shot rang out behind him, and he turned away. He didn't want to see this pretty young girl's face as she died. Beth stepped in front of him.
"Get Harmony back to the Humvee, Zach," she yelled as she fired into the camp.
Zach grabbed Harmony by the shoulders.
"Are you hurt? Can you run?"
"Yes. I'm okay. But what about Dawn and Krista?" Harmony asked, looking back over her shoulder.
"The others will get them. Stay with me. I'll get you out of here."
She didn't move. She turned and stared down at the camp.
"Harmony," Zach yelled, as he turned.
He saw what had her attention.
Dawn lie crumpled on the ground outside the tent. The older woman's body lie across her torso. Dawn's eyes stared off as if she were deep in thought, but she wasn't. She no longer had thoughts. She was gone.
"Zach! Get Harmony to the Humvee," Roger yelled as he reloaded his AR.
Zach grabbed Harmony's hand and gently pulled her to his chest.
"I'm sorry. We have to go," he whispered in her ear.
He could feel her nodding against his shoulder. He released her and gently tugged her toward the trail.
"Dawn," Harmony said softly.
Chapter 26
The Farm
Evening Shade, Missouri
Event + 23 Days
Maddie knew when she turned in the driveway to the farmhouse that something was wrong. One of the ATVs was parked by the door of the barn. An old quilt was draped over the trailer hitched to it. As they approached, Maddie could see that nearly everyone was standing near the barn. In Zach's hand was a shovel.
Maddie nudged Bluejeans forward. Jacob followed on Spirit. Ryan stopped at the entrance to the trail that led to the cabin.
"Something's wrong, Ryan," Maddie said.
A moment later, she heard the side-by-side rumble up behind them.
They all stopped behind the ATV. Ryan shut off the engine to the Chuck Wagon and approached Beth, who was nearest to them.
"What happened?" Ryan asked.
"The Jewells hit the farm and took the girls hostage," Lugnut said, walking over and standing beside Beth.
Beth looked down at the lump under the quilt. Tears streamed down her face.
Maddie looked around to those gathered in a desperate attempt the determine who was under that quilt.
An intense wave of relief washed over her at the sight of her brother's sweaty, dirty face. She glanced from person to person trying to determine who was missing.
"Dawn saved my life," Krista said, sobbing as she stepped from behind Maria.
Relief, then guilt washed over Maddie. She hadn't known Dawn long, but she liked her. Although she didn't have survival skills, she'd been tough and determined to learn and survive. Maddie thought Dawn had what it took to survive. But obviously, mental strength and determination hadn't been enough.
"That was the second time she had risked her life putting others first," Beth said, turning and putting her arms around Krista.
"Did you get them all?" Ryan asked, stepping forward.
"We think so. We are going to keep a watch on their camp and see if they had scouts or hunters out. I don't want to be watching over my shoulder for any more of those motherfuckers," Rank said. "I'm going back to guard the cabin. I'll send Jason over. I'm sure he is chewing nails worrying about how you're doing."
"Thank you, Rank," Beth said, placing a hand on his s
houlder.
"Yeah, thank you for coming for us," Harmony said.
"I just wish I'd gotten there sooner," Rank said as he walked past her.
Harmony burst into tears and buried her head in Zach's chest.
"How did they…?" Ryan was in the middle of asking when the sound of a motorcycle interrupted his thought.
Everyone pulled their rifles up to the ready position and headed for concealment as the rider approached. The thing about living in the country—and especially in an apocalypse without manmade noises—was that sound traveled long distances.
Maddie shifted uncomfortably as she crouched behind the big, back tire of the green-and-yellow tractor where she and Jacob had gone for cover. Roger, Lugnut, and Zack ran to the end of the driveway and had concealed themselves on either side behind bushes.
As the noise of the motor grew closer, Roger and Lugnut stepped into the road—their rifles pointed at someone Maddie couldn't see.
"Turn it off," Roger yelled at the driver.
The engine turned off.
A second later, Roger was escorting a teenaged boy up the drive. His greasy, long, brown hair stuck out of his helmet. The face shield had been pulled up and Maddie could tell the kid was petrified. Jacob rose and stepped out, away from the tractor.
"Russ? Is that you?" Jacob asked as he approached the kid.
"Jacob," the kid croaked before breaking into a sob.
"He's fine guys. He's my cousin," Jacob said, walking over and placing an arm around the boy.
"Daddy sent me. They need you back at the prison. Everything's gone to shit," the kid said, looking up at Jason.
Maddie jumped to her feet.
"What's happened?" she asked as she hurried over to join Jacob.
"Guffey and his crew stormed in and demanded all the remaining food and supplies."
Maddie's stomach clenched. Her mind raced through all the possible scenarios.
"Are the prisoners still secure behind the fence?" Maddie asked, taking the kid by the shoulders.
His brown eyes grew wide, and he turned to Jacob. Jacob placed a gentle hand on Maddie's arm.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, kid," Maddie said, taking a step back.
"That Todd dude had to threaten to shoot them all if they didn't leave."