Kris looked around at the state of the others near them. Everyone looked miserable. Kids wiped at their noses, and their lips trembled. Adults blew into their frozen hands and stomped their feet to stay warm. Two men stood by, watching. Neither had a cart or a travois or a child in their arms.
Everyone watched her. They waited for her to lead them. Where was her husband or Arland? Even Laurie would be better at this than her. Her heart raced as her body warmed with anxiety. She drew in a deep breath and blew it out. Then she met the eyes around her.
“In less than a mile, we have a cache being dug to store some items that have become too heavy or to make room for our children in the carts or on the travois. We will be able to come back for these, but right now we have to get there.”
Many around her nodded and murmured positive sounds, but still no one came forward to help Marie.
“If we want to survive, we have to work like a team. That is one thing that really impressed me when I first came to your camp. You worked as a unit. A team pulls together when times are tough. They help shoulder the load of their teammates when they’re struggling. Right now, your teammate Marie needs help. What do you say? Are we going to pull together like the community I know New Forest Glen is? Because that’s the only way we will all make it.” Kris watched the group, finally letting her eyes fall on the men near her.
The two men looked around and then at each other. They shook out their hands, and one took Marie’s cart and the other offered to take her young son. Then the entire line started moving and talking. Several people took on more load to relieve those that had been struggling.
“Now this is the Forest Glen I know! Let’s get home!” Kris walked back to her spot in the lead with cheers following her. Her pack felt lighter when she shouldered it back on. Her hands didn’t feel near as sore as she lifted the cart once again.
Hannah smiled at her. “Nice work. Looks like Blake isn’t the only one with a silver tongue.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but it worked. I don’t know for how long, and we have a long way to trek, so let’s take advantage of it.” Kris started in the direction they traveled, noticing at once that barely an indent was left of Tucker’s footprints. A chill ran through her once again.
There were many ways to get to their meeting point. What if their paths didn’t cross? Fear left her chest prickling. Mercy must have felt it, too, for she started whimpering. The further they traveled. the more unhappy she became.
Kris did her best to soothe Mercy with her voice. Singing soft lullabies, whispering comforting words, anything she could think of to calm her. Stopping was not an option. The group had stayed right with her, and she knew slowing their momentum would mean the chance of it never returning.
Yet, Tucker’s prints had fully disappeared now. Kris pushed on slowly looking for other signs of his passing such as broken twigs or snowless branches. Her fear mounted into full blown panic as Mercy’s scream shrilled the air. Birds burst from trees, something that didn’t happen in a snowstorm. Their cacophony mixed in the Mercy’s wailing.
Kris almost stopped, putting her cart down so she could see what had Mercy up in arms. She never had been a screamer before. Then, as Mercy sucked in a breath for another round, she heard a faint sound whipping toward her on the wind
Mercy must have heard it too, for she sucked in her trembling lip and cocked her head. The bird ruckus died down just as the sound began again.
A whistle.
Three times and pause and three times more. Tucker!
Kris bent her head to brush her lips on her daughter, who now smiled and babbled as if she had never been upset. The whistle came from the right, so Kris pushed on through the brush, clearing a path through the snow for those behind her.
The whistling became louder and louder until, at last, the sweet sound of her child called her.
“Mom! We’re over here!” Tucker ran toward her, a grin brightening the situation. “I heard little sister scream. She missed me. So I whistled so she knew I was here.”
Kris wrapped her son and daughter in her arms and bit her lip so she didn’t cry. Once again her children had saved them. “What would I do without you two?” She kissed them both and stood back up.
“You don’t have to worry about that, Mommy. We’ll always be here.”
Kris’s heart warmed. Then she lifted the cart once more. “So, show me this cache that you two dug.”
She didn’t expect much because it was only Tyler and Tucker armed with a small camping shovel battling frozen ground.
Tyler stood near a rock pile, his face lighting into a wide smile when he saw Hannah behind Kris. Then he looked at her.
“We found something to help.” He pointed at the rock formation. “Now, this won’t work for food that little critters would munch, but it will for other things. We have closed off all entrances so only a field mouse could work its way in.” He motioned for her to follow, and he pointed to a large hole. “Plus a smaller cache for food.”
“Tyler and I make a good team,” Tucker said proudly.
“Yeah we do, Buddy.”
“I’m impressed.” Kris watched behind her as the line of people started to gather. “Anyone else want a go at this?” she asked those closest to her.
“It’s all you, Kris.” Hannah said with a smile. “You’re great.”
Kris rolled her eyes and stepped on a rock near her so she could see everyone.
“This is the cache. The food goes in the pit in the ground, and the other items in the large one in the rock pile. It will only be for a few days until we reach our destination and can send others back for it.”
The thought of finding this again made her search for landmarks.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Tyler and I already found the landmarks.”
“Good work, Sweetie.”
She turned back to the gathered group. “Don’t take too long in deciding what to keep and what to leave. The important thing to remember here is that you are making room for your younger children to have help on this long journey.”
Right then a shot echoed through the woods. It was distant and devastating. She watched the expressions of all the women who had men with her husband. She imagined that her face held the same mask of horror and hope combined.
~5~
Conversation around Blake ceased as Dillion came into close proximity. He had just reached camp. Blake pushed off the tree he had been leaning on and swung his guns over his shoulder.
“What’s the plan?” Arland asked. “Are we headed to join the group when Dillon arrives or...?”
“We have to make sure they don’t follow us,” David said. “Right?”
Blake had been toying with that idea the whole time. On one hand he wanted to disappear so their footprint would be covered in the snow that continued to heavily fall. On the other hand, if they found the trail before their tracks were covered, and they decided to follow...there would be casualties. He thought of the people likely bringing up the rear of the group, the older population and the ones with younger kids like David’s family.
“If we go now, our tracks will be covered,” Mitchel said, readying himself to leave.
“That will all depend on how close behind Dillon they are.” Blake shielded his eyes from the dropping flakes of snow as he watched the man coming toward them.
Dillon was close enough now that he could see them and slowed his pace. Through the curtain of snow, Blake could see the smile on his face.
“I made it,” Dillon said right before a blast from the ridge flashed.
“Get down!’ Blake yelled.
Dillon fell to the ground, but the snow around him slowly turned red. He lifted his head to look at Blake, his eyes wide and fearful. Blake motioned to stay down and still.
“Watch the ridge. Look for any movement, glint, flash, or something dark that stands out against the snow,” Blake told the others where they hid behind the trees.
He scanned the ridge from where h
e thought the gunshot came from. Nothing moved. Nothing glinted.
“What do we do?” David whispered. “Dillon is bleeding out.”
From where the blood pooled, it looked like Dillon had been hit in the leg. Hopefully, the bullet had missed the main artery. If not, then they wouldn’t have time to save him. It didn’t make a difference to Blake how risky it would be. He would get Dillon out of there, one way or the other.
“Keep your surveillance.” Blake kept his voice even.
“We need to get Dillon,” another said and started moving in that direction.
“No! Get behind cover!”
It was too late. Another blast sounded as the guy stepped out of the edge of the forest. The bullet hit the tree next to Blake, sending bits of bark burning his cheek.
“Agh,” the guy dropped and scrambled back to the tree.
“You were told to stay put,” David spat out. “Blake, you were hit!”
Blake didn’t take his eyes off from where he saw the flash. As foolhardy as the guy’s move was, it gave him the ability to locate the sniper. He reached up where his cheek burned and held his hand in front of him without taking his eyes off the sniper’s location. His fingers were sticky with blood, but not a large amount.
“Just shrapnel from the tree. It’s fine.”
“How are we going to get Dillon? Every time we move that guy goes at it again,” Arland asked.
Blake narrowed his eyes. He knew the rifle he had wouldn’t cover the distance to the sniper, even if he had his military grade scope on it. The sniper must have a high-powered rifle. The only chance would be getting closer or shooting rapid fire toward him and hope to distract him long enough to get Dillon out of there. Blake mentally marked the spot where the sniper hid.
“How many snipers does Meyers have?” Blake asked Butler.
“Just the one now.” Butler smiled a humorless smile.
“You didn’t have your rifle earlier?” Blake asked, wishing they had fire power to match.
“Nah, he only gives it to us when he has devised a plan.”
Blake narrowed his eyes, but if Meyers were a distrusting fellow, and it seemed as he was, he probably wouldn’t pass out artillery until he absolutely had to.
“And what do you think this devised plan of his would look like here?”
“You really going to believe what this turncoat says?” one of the men said.
Butler stared hard at the man. “I see how this could look to you. When faced with life and death situations you have to make choices you otherwise would never consider. There is something deeper, though, bred into a soldier that has served. One of which is the fact that I would never give bad intel to a superior officer.”
“We aren’t serving right now, Butler,” Blake said, biting the inside of his cheeks while he tried to make a decision.
“Aren’t we? We are trying to save the last of humanity.” Butler’s intense gaze was leveled at him.
“Point taken. Now, we are running out of time. Dillon needs medical care, and an army of marauders is heading our way.” Blake urged him on.
“Yes, sorry. They will have all the entry points scouted. Their first unit will break off in groups and fill in from each one. The sniper will pick off deserters or aggressives.”
Arland watched everything, seeming to calculating each word. “So, that sniper won’t be moving until our camp is full of marauders.”
Butler nodded.
“We have to leave...Dillon would understand.” One of the guys looked frantically down the trail and back to the ridge.
“They’ll torture him for information on our destination.” Butler lowered his eyes, and Blake knew he lived in memories.
“He doesn’t know where we are going. No one really does besides Blake,” the guy countered.
Arland looked at Blake. “We aren’t leaving Dillon.”
“No, we’re not.” Blake said through clenched teeth. “We don’t have time for me to scout around until I am close enough to get a good shot at the sniper.”
“I’ll provide the distraction.” Butler stood tall, a grim determination in his eyes.
“Yes, you will.” Blake said. “You all will.”
With a warning expression, he handed Butler his rifle.
“Sir?”
“Don’t make me regret this,” Blake said, and then took off his pack and all the other bulky items. “Do you all see that dwarfed tree hanging off the bank on the southwest side of the ridge?”
“The one next to the dead pine?” Butler asked.
“That’s one the one. The sniper is hunkered down in there. On my signal, you all fire steadily at that location.”
“What are you going to do, Blake?” Arland asked, his face going white.
“I’m going to bring Dillon home.”
“Shouldn’t someone else do it? What if you’re hit? We won’t be able to find the location without you,” Arland countered.
“Does anyone else know how to heft a full-size man to your shoulder? Kris has the map. She and Tucker have studied it and will be able to get you there, but I don’t plan on leaving them...or any of you.” Blake landed a hand on Arland’s shoulder. “Just fire like crazy, and I’ll be back before you know it.”
Blake leveled his gaze on each member until they all shouldered a tree and aimed toward the dwarfed tree. He blew out his breath a few times, calculated the distance to Dillon and readied himself.
“Now!” he yelled as he ran toward the Dillon. No shots hit him or even the ground where he ran, and before he knew it he was next to Dillon and hefting him onto his shoulder.
He heard the crack of the sniper rifle just as he neared the tree line. A moment later he felt the burn in his calf. It didn’t stop him, though, and he made it to safety before landing on his knees and unceremoniously dropping Dillon into the snow.
His calf burned as if fire consumed him, but he had been shot before. This only felt like a graze. He searched Dillon, finding blood oozing out of a wound on his upper outside thigh. Not an artery.
“Thank you,” Dillon groaned out as he tried to sit up.
“Sit back. I need to fix this.” Blake pushed him back into the snow even though the man shivered.
He tore the pants around the wound to get a better view and then turned the leg to find the exit wound.
“No exit wound,” Butler whispered while leaning over him.
Blake shook his head. “We need to get that bullet out.”
“Uh, I hope not now because they’re here.” David backed up from the tree he had stood behind.
Blake turned to see the people filing down into the camp. His body tensed as he turned back toward his man lying in the snow. He undid the belt around Dillon’s waist and cinched it above his wound.
Dillon gasped but did not scream out.
“We’re going to get this out, but we need to get you out of here first. Can you do that?” Blake asked the pale young man who nodded. “Good. David. Mitchel. You each take an arm and get him to Laurie. Tell Kris to keep going until the first stopping point. We’ll catch up.”
Blake worked his leg, making sure what he said wouldn’t be a lie. His calf protested, but it still functioned. That was all he needed.
“What about the rest of us?” the guy who had jumped out of cover said.
“They’ll follow the line of blood if they find it.” Blake watched as the men pushed into the camp and began searching the dwellings. “We have to give them time.”
“We’ll go as fast as we can,” David said as he pulled Dillon up to his feet and shoved a shoulder under one arm and Mitchel supported the other.
Dillon groaned, but worked hard to keep up with the fast pace David set.
Blake saw that the community’s tracks were almost filled in, but a group that size would leave a mark a lot longer than a single person or two. He squinted up at the sky, seeing only the snow that fell down around them. Fall faster, he prayed.
~*~
Only one sh
ot could mean anything, but more than likely it wouldn’t mean the death of her husband. By the time the second shot reached them, it woke her from the spell. Everyone stood frozen, fear filling their faces. She had to improvise and act fast.
“That’s our signal. It’s time to pick up our pace. Even if it means dumping stuff, do so. Get those children too young to run into the carts and on the travois. We need to move!”
She watched the people scurry about their duties, getting kids into carts and on travois and urging older ones to move faster. She needed to lead, but who would take up the rear to make sure everyone kept up?
Laurie laid a hand on her shoulder. “Lead. I’ll take the rear.”
“You know, sometimes I think you can read my mind,” Kris said to her friend as she squeezed her hand.
“You and I just think a lot alike, my friend. Now go.”
“Work as a team. Help those you can!” Kris called as she looked out for the markers that Blake had taught her. “This way.”
“That’s my thought, too, Mom.” Tucker nodded, full of serious intensity. He lifted the cart handles that Hannah had brought there for them and started off to break the snow.
“Tucker, I can—” Hannah started.
Kris touched her shoulder and shook her head. “Let him for the time he can. It won’t be long until breaking the trail becomes too much, and he needs to be relieved.”
Hannah nodded, but she chewed on her lower lip. Tyler moved in and around the people, helping them offload supplies and load up children. With one last look, they followed in behind Tucker.
They had only made it a couple hundred yards when the forest echoed in a volley of rapid-fire in the distance.
Panic could be heard in the community’s voices and some soft sobs. Some kids called their daddies, and some women screamed. The terror of the marauders at her home ripped through Kris. Tucker had stopped, eyes wide but unseeing. He closed them, and when he opened them again, he looked directly at her.
“He makes it.” Tucker’s voice held assurance that gave her strength.
“Do not let fear consume you!” She called to the people. “We don’t know what that fire means. What we do know is that our men are out there giving us the chance to survive. Let’s honor them by doing so, and hold hope in our hearts that they all return to us.”
Grant Us Mercy (Book 5): Grant Us Mercy Page 4