by Payne, T. L.
"All they needed was a little encouragement," Lugnut said.
Zach looked in the side mirror. A little girl, maybe five years old, waved from the sidewalk. Zach saw Roger's huge forearm extend and toss an MRE at the little girl's feet. Her mother bent down and picked it up. The gratitude on the woman's face was overwhelming.
Zach wondered how any of the residents were going to make it. They were starving. There was no food in town. Soon, they would have to leave the city to find food or die. Zach recalled the statistics he'd read in his dad's books—ninety percent of the population would die from disease, violence, or starvation in the first few months. It seemed unreal. But it was real. It was very real.
As red-and-yellow light of dawn spread across the sky, Zach and his group drove back toward the prison. Rank and Zach rode in the cab, while Jacob, Lugnut, and Roger watched their six from the open door in the back of the truck.
At the top of a ridge near the prison, Zach saw smoke in the distance. He worried it could be a forest fire. A forest fire was a huge concern when you lived in the Mark Twain National Forest. He nudged Rank.
"Look."
Chapter 31
South Central Correctional
Event + 24 Days
Maddie's mouth opened wide into a yawn as the sun appeared over the horizon. She'd spent the last two hours worrying about her brother and the others, who had set off to take back their supplies from the dirty dictator, Edgar Guffey.
Her emotions bounced back and forth between fear for Zach and the others, and anticipation and joy that she would soon see Emma again. Maddie still couldn’t believe that Larry's group had made it all the way from Peoria, Illinois. She was anxious to hear the tale of how they, too, had escaped the wrath of DHS.
Maddie looked down from the southwest tower. Jaxon was making his second trip around the perimeter in the last thirty minutes. Dustin, his fellow Soldier, was in the southeast tower watching for any movement in the yard of the lumber mill next door.
Maddie thought she heard a vehicle and opened the south-facing window. She listened intently, hoping and praying that it was Zach and the rest of their group. They should’ve been back hours ago. She'd expected them back long before now. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.
Jaxon heard it too. He turned, ran over, and concealed himself behind the tower. It was still dark enough that she could see the vehicle's headlights from a distance. She gripped her rifle tight as she pointed it out the window of the guard tower.
When she saw the big, white, box truck, she ran for the stairwell. She took the steps two at a time and jumped hard onto the ground.
"It's them!" She yelled.
"Wait, Maddie. It could be that other group. They could have taken the truck," Jaxon said, catching her by the arm and nearly pulling her off her feet.
In her excitement, she hadn't thought of that. She pulled the stock of the rifle to her cheek and followed the truck's movement in her scope. It wasn't until it pulled into the drive that she was sure it was them. She wanted to jump up and down like a kid waiting for the ice cream truck. She broke out into uncontrollable laughter. Jaxon turned and stared at her.
As the truck grew closer, Maddie ran out toward the road. Rank pulled up beside her and Maddie gasped.
"Zach!"
Dried blood was caked all over his face. His hair was matted with it.
"I'm fine. Just a little gash. It bled like a …"
"Where's Jacob?" Maddie asked, cutting him off.
"In the back—with Lugnut and Roger."
Maddie let out the breath she'd held and ran a hand across her forehead.
"What the hell happened here?" Rank asked, stepping down from the truck and walking around to the front.
Maddie heard boots hit the ground, and Lugnut appeared from around the back, followed by Roger, and finally Jacob.
Maddie whispered, "Thank God."
"What happened? Is it over—with Guffey?" she asked.
"Yep. What the hell happened here?" Lugnut said, joining Rank at the front of the truck.
Both of them stared at the prison yard filled with bodies and the burned outbuildings that once housed six hundred inmates.
"Someone on the inside fired off a few rounds then set the buildings on fire, forcing all the inmates onto the yard. The prisoners charged the gates and attempted to scale the fences," Jaxon explained.
"Did any…"
"We were waiting for daylight to start looking for escapees. It was too dangerous in the dark," Jaxon continued.
"Some made it as far as the fence that sets the boundary between the prison and the lumber mill. We can't be sure how many made it before we caught up with them," Maddie said, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb.
Maddie heard the engine of Larry's pickup start, then a moment later, he and Ryan stopped in front of the box truck.
"Larry? What the hell, man? Did you bring this shit with you, dude?" Lugnut said, approaching Larry.
They hugged and Larry shook hands with Rank before Ryan introduced him to Jacob. Larry poked his head into the box truck.
"Looks like you're going to have one hell of a shiner," Larry said, pointing to Zach's swollen eye.
Maddie looked to the east. The sun was rising. Soon there would be sufficient light to start assessing the situation inside the fence.
“Let's fan out and search for convicts. I need to get home. I want to see Emma.”
Lugnut was limping. Rank looked like he'd fought five rounds with Mike Tyson.
Maddie, Jacob, and Ryan stood guard outside the fence as Lugnut, Rank, Jaxon, and Dustin climbed over the pile of bodies and entered the prison yard through the southwest gate. They nudged and rolled over bodies before making their way to the burned-out buildings. It wasn't but a few minutes before they returned, declaring that there were no survivors within the fence.
Larry and the others fanned out along the fence line with the lumber mill searching for any sign of living escapees among the piles of logs. After two hours of searching the grounds. They were sure none were hiding there. Lugnut, Rank, Roger, Jaxon, and Dustin then left to explore the lumber yard, while the rest of the group loaded the supplies from the farm back into the box truck, adding to it the things that were retrieved from Guffey and his men.
By noon, with everything loaded and Lugnut and Rank reasonably confident that no prison escapees were hiding in the vicinity, they loaded the body of Larry's son-in-law into the vehicle, and everyone headed toward the cabin.
Maddie rode in the box truck with Zach. She wanted to see for herself whether he was truly ‘fine' or not.
"I can't believe they made it here," Zach said, pointing to the truck Larry drove.
"I know. I can't believe that, in a few minutes, I’ll get to see Emma."
"And Cooper," Zach said, a big smile on his face.
Chapter 32
The Farm
Evening Shade, Missouri
Event + 24 Days
Maddie wanted to leap out of her skin when they made the turn onto Slabtown Road. Her pulse quickened. Her palms were sweaty. It had only been a few weeks since she'd left the little redhead at Larry's, but they had been the longest weeks of her life. She had wrestled over and over with the guilt of leaving her behind. She'd regretted it almost immediately.
As they approached Ron's farm, a knot formed in Maddie's stomach. When the roof of the farmhouse came into view, Maddie's face lit up with excitement.
And then she saw her. There, on the front lawn, was Emma. She and Larry's grandchildren where chasing Cooper around the yard. When Emma heard the truck, she stopped and turned. When Maddie saw her little, freckled face, her heart melted. She truly was the cutest kid Maddie had ever seen.
Emma pushed a mop of red curls from her face and stared at the truck. Their eyes locked. The corners of Emma's lips curled into an enormous grin. She took off running toward the truck. Rank stopped halfway up the drive.
It seemed like
everything went in slow motion until the minute Emma flung herself into Maddie's waiting arms. Maddie and Emma rolled around in the tall flea-and-tick-filled grass. Maddie didn't even care if they bit her. She was too caught up in her reunion with Emma—that was until Cooper jumped on them, followed by Buster.
Maddie looked up. Mugsbie was lying motionless in his usual spot on the front porch. Cooper danced around her before jumping up and licking her face.
"Ew. Gross, Coop," Maddie said as she ruffled the dog's white fur. "I missed you, too, boy.”
Emma’s laughter warmed Maddie’s heart. After what she’d just gone through, she thought it was the most wonderful sound in the world.
"We're gonna live with you, Maddie. We get to stay, right?" Emma said, looking around for Larry.
Larry hadn't gotten out of the truck yet.
Rank pulled the truck around to the barn, out of their sight, and all the other vehicles in their little convoy followed.
"Is Larry…" Emma asked her head hung low.
"No. No. Larry’s fine. He just needs to tend to some things right now,” Maddie said, wiping wayward curls from Emma’s face. “It's okay, though. You’re staying. You are all staying.”
Maddie scooped Emma up and swung her around. She placed Emma back on the ground and took both her hands. Maddie looked her over from head to toe. It was so amazing to see her again.
"I'm starving. How about you come in and tell me all about your trip while I grab some breakfast.”
Emma smiled and nodded. As they turned toward the house, Emma pushed up the sleeves of her purple sweater. The temperature had climbed into the sixties.
A little boy ran by, and Emma took off after him. The two ran off around the side of the house.
Beth greeted Maddie on the bottom steps of the front porch. After a long hug, Maddie looked at her mother. She looked as if she hadn’t slept in weeks.
“I’m so glad that nightmare with the prison is over.”
“Me too,” Maddie said.
“I’m sorry about Todd, too,” Beth said.
“We should send someone to get his family and bring them here. I don’t trust those folks at Fort Leonard Wood to take care of them,” Maddie said as she ascended the steps.
“I’ll ask Roger and Maria to do it,” Beth said, following Maddie up the steps to the porch.
“I think Maria would prefer to go with Rank,” Maddie said, and smiled.
“Really? I had no idea. Alrighty, then,” Beth said, her lips curling into a wide grin.
Emma and two little boys ran past chasing an older girl. The girl ran right into Zach and Harmony, who were huddled under a shade tree in the front yard.
“Look at the smile on his face,” Maddie said, nodding toward her brother.
Beth turned toward them and smiled.
“See Maddie, life goes on, and people carve out happiness where they can find it.”
“Oh, mom. Don’t start with that again.”
“Jacob is a fine young man,” Beth said.
“Yes, he is,” Maddie said as Jaxon, Dustin, and Rank walked past, heading down the driveway toward the cabin.
Beth raised one eyebrow as she looked back and forth between Maddie and the guys on the driveway.
“Who are they?” she asked.
“Soldiers,” Maddie said, a wide grin across her face.
“I can see that from their uniforms.”
Emma ran up the steps and threw her arms around Maddie’s waist.
“Your mom said we could have some bread and jam with lunch.”
“That sounds amazing, Em,” Maddie said.
As Maddie placed the last bite of her peanut butter sandwich into her mouth, Emma laid her head onto the table.
“She wore herself out running around today,” Ella said as she walked up behind Maddie.
Ella, Larry’s wife, held a Bible in her hands.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Maddie said as she stood and pushed her chair back under the table.
She left Emma sleeping at the table and followed Beth and Ella out the back door.
She found Fred, the tugboat captain, asleep in the swing out back. Maddie chuckled under her breath as she passed him.
Maddie, Beth, and Ella joined the others, who gathered around the pond behind the barn.
Following the service for Larry’s son-in-law, and while the others headed back to the house, Maddie looked down on the two freshly dug graves. One belonged to Dawn, who had been killed by the deranged Jewell family, and the other belonged to Larry’s son-in-law.
Grass had already begun to grow over Ron’s grave. Maddie bent over and placed a wilted sprig of mint on Ron’s grave. An early frost had taken out most of the flowers he had planted around the flagpole in the front lawn, so she’d pulled some mint from the garden.
Ron had liked mint tea. Lucky for him, it spread like wildfire. Her mom had sprigs drying on racks in the greenhouse. They’d have plenty for their warm tea this winter.
“I wish you could have met Larry and his family. You would have really like them. You would have adored little Emma.”
Maddie wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Cooper will be a great addition to the farm. He guarded Darlene and Ray Junior’s goats back in Illinois. Ray Junior said he had never lost one to predators with Cooper around. He’ll make a great livestock guardian for your animals.”
Maddie had lost so many friends. You’d think it would get easier.
Meal times were interesting—and loud—but filled with so much life. They were already low on food and had cut back to two meals per day. Maddie knew many people had already died of illness and starvation. The flu had killed Judge Farley and his clerk, Margaret. In all, ten elderly people and three children had died from the flu, already.
Emma rarely left Maddie’s side, but Jacob didn’t seem to mind her presence, much. Maddie had to admit that he was great with her.
“Emma, Jacob, and I have to go visit with the Robersens today. You said you’d help Ella and my mom in the greenhouse,” Maddie said.
Emma’s face grew long, and she began to pout.
Maddie took her by the hand.
“I’ll only be gone a couple of hours. We can exercise Bluejeans when I get back.”
Emma tried to resist the smile forming at the corners of her mouth.
Maddie rolled Emma’s hands over. She cocked her head to the side and looked down at the red blotches on Emma’s palms. Maddie turned Emma’s hands over and ran her palm the length of Emma’s arm.
“We need to see if mom has something for all these bug bites,” Maddie said, pointing to the red spots up and down Emma’s arm.
“They’re not itchy,” Emma said.
“Hey, mom. You should take a look at Emma. She’s been eaten-up with bug bites.”
Beth stopped in the middle of the path between the barn and the greenhouse.
“Okay. After lunch I’ll see what we have for those itchy bumps.”
“They’re not itchy,” Emma said.
“Okay, but after lunch I’ll still need to take a look at them. It might be an allergic reaction to something. You could need some Benadryl,” Beth said, holding a basket against her hip.
After lunch and a dose of Benadryl, Emma was ready for a nap. Not willing to be apart from Maddie, she protested having to lie down in one of the bedrooms, so Maddie sat with her on the sofa until Emma drifted off.
“We’re heading out now. She can have another dose of Benadryl in about three hours,” Beth said as she, Zach, and Jason headed toward the door.
Zach had made it his mission to bring aid to their close neighbors. He, Beth, and Jason had visited each one, trying to do whatever they could. Aside from handing out Tylenol and instructing the families to keep everything clean and drink plenty of fluids, there wasn't much they could do.
On what would have been the official first day of deer season, Zach had used his Darrell Dixon crossbow to bag his first deer. With everyone in the group's
blessings, he planned to distribute the fresh meat to their neighbors who were too ill or elderly to hunt. As Maddie watched her little brother load the trailer of the ATV with the butchered deer, she was caught off guard at how much he looked like her father.
"Dad would've been so proud, you know," Maddie said as she placed a hand on Zach's shoulder.
He turned and, with bloody outstretch hands, offered to give Maddie a hug.
She squealed and backed away, prompting him to chase her all around the barnyard. Maddie ran around the corner of the barn and nearly knocked her mother over.
"Save me, Mom. He's gonna eat my brains,” Maddie squealed.
Thank you for purchasing Uprising: Days of Want Series, Book Four. Look for Upheaval: Days of Want, Book Five coming soon. Don’t forget to sign up for my spam free newsletter to be the first to know of new releases, giveaways, and special offers. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
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Also By T. L. Payne