by Hunt, Jack
Instead of fighting him on it, Corey agreed and while Ferris was checking on another cabin, Corey wandered down to the water’s edge with a pair of night vision binoculars. He figured in a lake this size, the plane and its debris couldn’t have been entirely submerged so he began scanning the surface, looking for the tip of a wing, luggage or flotation devices, anything to give him an indication of where they would have to dive once they’d arrested or killed those they were following.
A green hue engulfed his field of vision as he gazed out.
He adjusted the diopter and then the focusing ring as his eyes caught sight of an object in the distance. He rotated the ring until the object became clearer.
It was a boat manned by one person, and carrying five others. Was it them? Again, he made an adjustment but it was hard to tell in the low light. Then again, who would be crossing the lake at this hour? They weren’t heading for Apgar but the other side of the lake. Was it possible? No. He shook his head and lowered the binoculars. Corey glanced at Ferris as he came out of a cabin, barking his orders for them to move on to the next property. Then he looked again through the binoculars. If he used the truck he could probably make it around to the other side by the time they reached the shore. If it was them, they would have no other choice than to surrender. Stuck in a boat, exposed in the open, it would be madness to fight back. Corey gritted his teeth knowing what he had in mind would land him in hot water but the alternative could be worse. He had to find out. Vern and Terry had just come out of a cabin adjacent to him when he hurried over and told them to head up to the truck.
“But Ferris wants us to check in on the homes across the way.”
Corey walked past them motioning towards the truck with a finger. “Change of plan, guys.”
“What?” Terry asked.
He didn’t tell them any more than that. As soon as they were out of Ferris’ view, they hopped into the truck and he fired it up and did a U-turn in the road, heading back up around the northeast side of the lake. As the truck picked up speed, Vern and Terry gave him a concerned expression. “You want to fill us in on what is going on?”
“I think I’ve spotted them.”
“Okay good, then let’s tell Ferris and let them handle it.”
“I’m afraid it’s down to us, guys.”
“Hang on a second, Corey. You expect us to go up against eight or more armed inmates without backup?”
“Six.”
“Six what?”
“Inmates. At least if that’s them.”
Terry frowned. “You don’t even know?” He waited for a response but Corey didn’t give one. Terry let out an exasperated sigh. “Ferris will blow his top. Turn the vehicle around. Take us back.”
“No time,” Corey said turning off his headlights. If it wasn’t for the shine of the moon, he would have had a hard time seeing the edge of the road. Vern started to get nervous.
“Corey, he’s right. We need to go back.”
He was no longer listening to them. His eyes were scanning the forest as the truck roared down the road. He knew he would have to ditch it a fair distance from where they might come ashore, otherwise they would hear them coming and right now the only thing they had going for them was the element of surprise.
Terry slammed his hand on the dashboard. “Have you heard a word we have said?”
Corey nodded but kept scanning.
“Pull over.”
“In a minute.”
“Now!”
“Terry. I like you. I really do. But if you two don’t man up and grow a pair, it won’t be just six inmates you will have to worry about, it will be an entire town. What is coming down the pipeline is far worse than what is rowing across this lake. Stop thinking of yourself for once, and think about Noah. Think about his family. Think about all the other families that might die if we don’t stop these assholes.” He paused. “Can you do that?”
There was silence. He knew they were pondering it.
Suddenly his father came over the radio.
“Come in, Corey.”
He scooped it up and pressed the button. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“It’s too hot. Too many cops out.”
“Where are you?”
“I made it to West Glacier but had to pull to the side of the road. I’m heading for the cabin instead. I’ll meet you there.”
“I told you you’d be wasting your time.”
“They still got my truck?”
“You still got mine?” he tossed back.
He waited for a response but his father didn’t answer so Corey finished with, “Don’t wait up. I still have to collect Ella and…” he trailed off looking at Terry. “I have one last thing left to do.” With that he signed off.
Corey accelerated and the trees whipped by his peripheral vision. Judging by the lay of the land and glancing at the water between the trees, he could just make out where he was. Yanking the wheel to the left, he veered to a standstill, killed the engine and jumped out. Reaching into the back of the truck bed, he glanced at Noah before scooping up an AR-15 rifle. He made sure he had enough ammo before walking back to the driver’s side and looking at them inside the warmth of the truck. “It’s decision time, boys. Pick a side.”
With that said he didn’t stick around for an answer. Corey turned and sprinted towards the dense tree line in preparation for war.
27
It had only been a few days since the EMP and already people were killing one another. Maybe not on the scale his father predicted, but it had begun. Tyler had climbed up to the slanted roof of the home and was using night vision binoculars to get a better lay of the land. His thoughts went to Erika. There was such a stark difference between her parents and his and yet in some ways they had both taught them how to survive but for Erika it was all about keeping her head above the water in the corporate world. She said her father didn’t know how to use a gun, his weapons of choice were money, a pen and high-paid lawyers. He didn’t have much need beyond that.
Tyler heard a shuffle behind him and turned thinking it was Erika, but it was Nate.
“How’s the view up here?”
“A few fires burning in town but it’s nothing compared to Vegas.”
Nate blew out his cheeks and wiped off his hands as he pitched sideways and made his way over. “Shit this is high.” He took a seat beside Tyler.
Tyler nodded and looked again through his binoculars. “I thought you were trying to sleep.”
“Trying would be the appropriate word,” he said. “I can’t. Figured I would come up here and have a smoke.” He pulled out a pack.
“Those her old man’s?”
“Yep.”
“How is she?”
“Bailey is watching over her.” Nate cupped a hand around the end of the cigarette and lit it. Gray smoke drifted into the air, along with the fresh aroma of tobacco. “She’s stopped crying. So that’s good, right?”
“Maybe.”
Grief came in waves. There were only so many tears a person could release before their body became exhausted and they fell asleep. After burying her parents, they spent the next hour fortifying the house as best they could. Not exactly easy since the panes of glass in the window frames were gone. Tyler wanted to set up a few deterrents, create an alert system and block the main entrances before they retreated to the third floor so Erika could get some shut-eye. They’d put nails into a section of drywall taken from the garage and placed it below open windows, then covered them with dark sheets. There was no point trying to block the windows because unless someone had a good eye and was expecting such a trap, Tyler figured the nail board would do the trick.
Next he set up an eyehook perimeter tripwire system on the outside of the house and ran it between the trees. There wasn’t much to it, just some wire, a clothespin, a simple flashlight bulb, a small piece of paper, a 9 volt battery, a battery holder, a plastic container, some electrical tape and eyehook screws. Some of the items he already had on him, the
rest they found in her father’s garage. Tyler didn’t want anything that used sound, though that was common and useful when camping in the woods. As Tyler and Nate were going to rotate throughout the night, one of them would see the light and that would buy them enough time to wake the other two.
“Listen, I’ve been thinking about tomorrow. I want to come with you to Whitefish, if that’s okay.”
“What about Spokane? What about your mother?”
Nate nodded and screwed up his face. Tyler shook his head. “She’s not there, is she?”
“No, she’s dead,” he said before taking another hard drag on his cigarette.
“Why didn’t you just say that back in Vegas?”
“Would you have let me tag along if I had?” He tapped some ash off onto the roof and a mild wind blew it away. Tyler turned his attention to the horizon. Low clouds drifted across the sky, and a few dark birds circled nearby.
“So, what’s your deal? You have any brothers or sisters?”
“Nope.”
“Did you really live in Colorado?”
“Yeah, that part was true.”
Tyler sighed. “Whitefish doesn’t offer much. Not like the city.”
“It’s fine. I just need a place to lay my head, and a bite to eat.”
Tyler flashed him a glance. “When we found you in the rubble. That wasn’t your apartment, was it?”
He shook his head. “The guy who bought phones off me used to meet me and a friend of mine in different places. It was one of his.” Nate took another drag on his cigarette and then flicked the rest out into the night. A few hot embers broke away and bounced. “I know I let you down back at the reservoir. It won’t happen again.”
“That’s good to hear. It will be even better when I see it.”
“I know, my words don’t mean much. But that will change.”
“Why do you want to go to Whitefish with us?”
Nate shrugged. “You know, I’ve spent twenty-nine years of my life trying to fit in. Very few people have watched my back. When Erika spoke up for me, and was willing to walk away if you didn’t let me tag along. That meant a lot. No one has ever done that. They’ve always looked out for themselves. Even my pal Zach didn’t do that and believe me he had many chances.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Nate. That might pass with her but not me.”
Nate laughed. “All right. Look, you seem to know what’s going on. By the sounds of what your old man has in place, and its location in the country, well, it just makes sense.”
“Right. Finally. An honest word. In the future do me the favor of saving what you think I want to hear, and only telling me what is true. It saves so much time.”
Nate nodded. “Point taken.”
Tyler was about to tell him that he wasn’t sure his father would be very open to either of them, including himself, when there was rustling in the bushes below, a few feet from the house. “Get down,” Tyler said, lying flat. Slowly, Tyler gripped his AR-15 and brought it up, aiming it in the direction of the sound. His pulse sped up as he waited for someone to emerge. He looked at the small bulb that was positioned just down from him. It was still off. Suddenly, the rustling stopped as a small dark mass came out. Squinting, he smiled once he saw it was a rabbit.
Nate chuckled and patted him on the back as he went to get up. “For a second there I thought—” Tyler laid an arm on him, preventing him from getting up. Off to the right, the tiny white light was lit up. Far below three dark forms burst out of the bushes heading for the house. All three were armed.
“Go. Wake up Erika,” Tyler said. “Watch over her.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“Take care of business.”
Nate moved stealthily along the top of the roof and climbed over the edge, dropping into the balcony. Tyler shifted position, brought up his rifle and took aim at one of them but then decided not to take the shot. He was heading straight for the large open window. The other two were circling around. He didn’t want to open fire from the roof as it would give away his position and right now he had the element of surprise working for him. Instead he made his way to the east side of the home to cut one of them off. He slung his rifle behind his back and used a thick drainpipe to make his way down.
When his boots hit the grass, old muscle memory took over, lessons he’d learned from his father came back to him. He brought the rifle around and dropped to a knee hiding in the shadows. He could hear whispering but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Tyler darted over to a corner of the house expecting one of them to come his way.
Before seeing them, on the other side of the house he heard a loud cry. The nails in the board had worked. That momentary distraction was all he needed. He burst out ready to dispatch the other guy as he turned away. Finger on the trigger, Tyler squeezed off two rounds into his back, then darted back into the shadows. While he had seen three emerge on the west side, he wasn’t taking any chances. He anticipated more.
Loud wailing cut into the night as one of the men obviously tried to free himself from the nails.
A quick glance either way and he slipped around the house expecting to find the second guy coming to his pal’s aid. He hadn’t. Under the glow of the moon he could see the man just inside the house, both feet were planted. He did the humane thing and put him out of his misery. A single bullet to the back of the head did the trick.
Above, he heard the sound of Bailey barking.
Where was the third?
Sweat formed on his brow and adrenaline rushed through his body as he hurried around the house staying close to the wall. That was when he spotted two more. “Shit!”
Inside, Erika awoke to the sound of a loud cry before Nate sidled up to her telling her to grab her weapon. “Bailey, quiet,” she said as Nate pried open the door and slipped out onto the landing. Gripping a Glock tight, her hand shook ever so slightly. She swallowed hard. “Stay here,” she said to Bailey as she followed Nate out. He put up a hand to caution her to stay back but Erika paid no attention. If these were the same group that had killed her parents, she wanted revenge. Rage formed in the pit of her stomach as she navigated her way along the landing towards the stairs. She could hear movement down below and she wanted to peer over but it was too risky.
Before she took a few steps down the staircase, Nate pulled her back by the arm. She tried to shake his grip but it was firm and he was persistent. “You want to go, I’m not stopping you but you get shot, that’s on you.”
“Let go of my arm.”
He released it and she continued on. All her life she’d been told what to do and prevented from heading in different directions because of the unknown. For the first time in her life she wanted to face her fears. Erika kept her back to the wall and came down the staircase, one step at a time. She’d taken four when one of them let out a creak.
A crack of a gun, a bullet zipped past her embedding in the wall.
Panic clawed at her throat and muscles, freezing her to the spot. Had it not been for the quick actions of Nate pulling her down, she would have been dead. Four more rounds peppered the wall where she’d been. They scrambled back up to the landing.
Gunfire erupted outside, a steady stream that abruptly stopped.
Just as she was rushing towards the room to take cover, she caught sight of the intruder. Light from candles in the lower room, and a band of moonlight illuminated his face. She couldn’t believe it. It was impossible.
Suddenly she heard Tyler’s voice. “Put it down!”
Stopping short of the door she walked back towards the landing banister and watched as Tyler came in at a crouch with his rifle aimed at their attacker. The sound of a rifle clattering on the floor and Tyler’s reassuring words was enough for her to make her way down, even though Nate was still cautioning her to be careful.
When she made it to the bottom of the staircase, she turned to face him.
“Spencer?”
“Erika,” he replied.
�
�You know this guy?” Tyler asked.
She nodded. “Please tell me you didn’t do it.”
“It wasn’t me. It wasn’t meant to happen. I came up to speak to your father but he wouldn’t listen.”
“So you shot the security guy on the way out? Bullshit,” Tyler said.
Erika considered what Tyler said and said, “How did you get past Trevor?”
Spencer shrugged. “Again, it wasn’t me.”
“Stop lying,” Erika said.
“I’m not.”
“You had the same look on your face when you lied to me about that bitch.” She didn’t take her eyes off her ex for even a second.
“Look, I tried to reason with your father but he wanted me off his property. Erika, they had so much and all I wanted was a generator. He had two. I just wanted to borrow it. He wouldn’t do it.”
Erika moved around the room and walked over to the man who had come in through the window but was now lying dead. She took a candle off a side table and bent down to see who it was. Before she even had the chance, Spencer said, “It’s Grant.”
Grant was his cousin. “And the others?” she asked turning her head towards him.
Spencer gritted his teeth and shot Tyler a sneer. “Friends of mine.”
“Which one did it?” She asked.
“What?”
Erika rose and calmly walked over.
“Which one killed my parents.”
“I don’t know.”
She snorted, a faint smile appeared as she cast a glance down at the ground. Then in one smooth motion before anyone could stop her, she brought up the Glock and fired two rounds at him. One struck him in the chest, the other in the shoulder. She continued squeezing the trigger even as he collapsed to the floor until she had unloaded every round in the magazine.
28
Flashbacks of Fallujah, Iraq, bombarded his mind as Corey ran at a crouch through the dark forest. Pinned down and surrounded in those dust-covered streets, visibility was often so poor he had to be careful he didn’t shoot one of his own. The battle in that war zone was intense, close and without a doubt personal. Hours of fighting often led to pinning down insurgents in crumbling homes only to have them pull a cord on their suicide vest, in an attempt to take out as many Marines as possible and end their pitiful existence as a martyr. Corey could still hear the sound of air strikes, tank fire, and armored bulldozers taking out enemy strongholds. If it wasn’t for having gone through such an experience, he wouldn’t have had the courage to face off against those coming ashore.