“How do I load it?”
It was easier than I remembered, and I thought I might be able to do it myself the next time I got the opportunity.
“Good. Locked and loaded,” he said. “I’ll climb up, then you hand it to me.”
He didn’t go to the trellis at the rear of the two-story section as I expected, instead going to the low hanging roof of the single story. He jumped up and grabbed the gutter with hand and hook and then pulled himself onto the roof in two quick movements. I didn’t waste any time and handed up the launcher.
“You’ve only got one shot; make it a good one.”
He just grinned and disappeared from view. I sprinted back around to Brock just in time to see the personnel carrier begin to inch forward. I raised my pistol and yelled, “Fire!” to Brock. We started shooting and I saw men across the way ducking as the vehicle stopped. Gunfire erupted from their side and we were forced to duck for cover, but not before I saw the turret on the personnel carrier spinning in our direction. Someone had replaced the dead operator. My stomach dropped.
I heard a loud whump from above, just as the heavy machine gun began to spit metal death our way. Brock and I hit the ground as bits of plaster and debris from the motel began to rain down upon us. The burst of enemy force was over as quickly as it had begun and the sound of an explosion and agonized screaming from the other side told us Luke hadn’t missed. I dared to take a peek.
His aim had been perfect. The cabin of the vehicle was on fire and the turret was askew, now pointing at the sky. Small arms gunfire sounded, and I heard three heavy footsteps from above and then a thud on the ground behind the motel. Luke joined us a few seconds later, limping slightly. He still had the rocket launcher and had retrieved the case which he had braced under his arm. He awkwardly dropped to the ground next to me.
“Nice work. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll walk it off.”
“Cease fire! You’re just wasting ammo, you stupid fucks!” came a yell from across the river.
I looked at Luke. “Should we light up the water?”
“Yeah. If that stand of trees goes up, it will force them back. I bet they’ll give up and try and to find another way across. Should I shoot another rocket in for good measure?”
“Yeah, but let’s light it up first. Brock,” I said, “it’s time to do your thing before they regroup. I’ll cover you.”
“Okay!”
Brock stood up with the flare gun and aimed at the water to the side of the bridge. I held my breath. I’m not sure exactly what I expected as he took his shot, but the flare skipping off the water twice and flying into the top of the trees where it became lodged and fizzed away harmlessly was not one of them.
“Fuck,” said Brock in a low voice.
I felt a sense of resignation. We couldn’t expect everything to go our way, could we?
“That was our only flare; we should get moving.”
“Help me get this loaded first,” said Luke.
“Okay. But don’t use it yet. They’ll be after us quicker than we anticipated now and we might need it further down the road.”
I took the launcher from him and plucked the heavy rocket out of its foam cushioning in the case on the ground.
“No! Brock!” Luke called.
I jerked my head around in time to see the other boy running across the bridge in a crouch. I rammed the rocket into its housing and put it on the ground as I turned to watch Brock. We couldn’t do anything but watch now. He ran straight up to the still-flaming barricade and shielded his face as he reached into the heat.
“Just come back, dude,” Luke whispered, as the younger boy pulled his hand away empty a couple of times, the heat unbearable. He persevered though and on his fourth attempt pulled out a foot-long lump of wood, flaming at one end.
Without wasting a second, he ran to the side of the bridge and tossed it over. What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Even as the flaming stick of wood flew end over end towards the water, Brock turned back to us with a triumphant smile on his face ... and then the top of his head exploded in a spray of red, the sound of the shot echoing loudly around us. As our friend crumpled to the ground, the kerosene on the water ignited and the flames swept towards the other bank.
“No!” Luke yelled, beginning to scramble to his feet.
I grabbed his arm, preventing him from running to help Brock, who was clearly beyond our help. We struggled for a moment and over Luke’s shoulder and past the flaming barricade, my eyes fell on Ash. He stood, staring straight at me, the muzzle of the rifle he had killed Brock with still smoking as the flames ran towards him. He was far enough away that I couldn’t really make out his feature, but in my mind’s eye I could see the hateful smile on his face.
He ducked away as the trees and brush near him burst into flame. I lost sight of him in the commotion and smoke. The screams from the other side were satisfying, but small solace given what we had just witnessed. I released Luke. We were both in shock, but there was no time to waste.
“Come on,” I said gently. “We have to go.”
He bent over and picked up the rocket launcher and allowed me to pull him away. We jogged back to the Hummer. I had one last look at the bridge as I climbed into the driver’s seat. The barrier was still burning, although much lower than it had been. The fire in the trees was spreading and, through the smoke, I couldn’t make out what was happening. We just had to hope our plan had worked and the Marauders would turn around to find another way across.
I started the Hummer, jammed it into drive, and floored the accelerator.
28
We didn’t speak as I drove. There was nothing to say. I was dreading catching up to Paul and Joe’s group which happened sooner than I was really ready for. Then again, no amount of time would make me feel better about the news I had to deliver. They stopped and turned around as we sped up behind them, slowly moving to the side of the road to let us through. Paul and Joe waved happily as we pulled up. I felt sick in my gut, but knew I had to just get it done. Joe deserved it.
We stepped out of the vehicle. They both appeared to sense something was wrong when they saw our faces. Joe immediately looked past us for his brother.
“Where’s Brock?”
I put my hand on his arm and he shook it off taking a step towards the Hummer.
“Brock?!”
“I’m sorry, Joe, he didn’t make it,” I said quietly.
The others in their group looked away awkwardly as Joe looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. He stayed that way for a long time. I had expected rage, or tears, or both. Not this. Luke and I looked at each other and he shrugged.
I had just made up my mind to go to Joe when he lowered his head and, with his eyes still closed, asked, “What happened?”
We told him. He didn’t move the whole time. When we were finished, he opened his eyes and turned to face us.
“Okay. We should get moving, don’t you think?”
Joe refused my offer to ride in the Hummer. He had pushed his bike from the bridge, wanting to conserve fuel.
“I want to go back and make sure they haven’t crossed the bridge.”
I weighed up his request for a moment. It would help to know for sure if we had managed to turn back Ash and his Marauders, but we both knew the real reason for his request. I didn’t want him going back to find Brock’s body, but I also knew if he had his mind set on it, there was no way I could stop him.
“Okay, sounds like a good idea. How are you for fuel?”
“Not good.”
The Hummer we were in was almost empty, too.
“Grab the jerry can from the back and fill it up.”
After he left, Paul and I insisted Luke drive the Hummer until the fuel ran dry. He argued his leg was fine, even though he was still limping a little, but eventually agreed when it was clear we wouldn’t budge.
I came to regret that decision. He was a hard taskmaster and set a pace we could barely keep up with,
calling out drill sergeant-like insults whenever our pace slowed. To their credit, our whole group kept up the hectic pace.
Just under an hour later, we could see the large group led by Beau that had set ahead earlier. I jogged up to the Hummer.
“We should make one last push to catch up to Beau,” I said to Luke through his open window.
“You sure, dude?” he asked, grinning and leaning back in his seat with his one hand behind his head. “You look beat.”
“Wise ass! I am beat, but I could outrun you.”
It was then I heard the sound of a bike coming up behind us.
“Pull up for a sec. I think that’s Joe.”
It was. He stopped beside us and pulled off his helmet. I noticed the blood on his chest and arm immediately, recognizing just as quickly it wasn’t his. I spoke before Luke could say anything.
“Did they cross?”
“No,” he said, in a flat voice. “The fire had died down to embers by the time I got there, but they’d gone.”
“Good,” said Luke. “They’ve turned around. That should give us time to get to Manchester before them.”
I was happy our plan had worked, but the haunted look in Joe’s eyes reminded me it had come at a cost. I came up with an idea to keep him busy.
“I want you to ride on ahead to Manchester and confirm the buses got there okay. Let them know we’re safe and then hightail it back to update us.”
He nodded and set out at once.
“Good move, dude. It’ll take his mind off ... things.”
“Yeah, I hope so.”
We caught up with Beau’s group not long after. We updated him on what had happened and then we all pushed on. Only a mile further on, in a spot where the trees were thick and close on both sides of the road, the Hummer ran out of fuel.
“Oh well, there goes my ride,” said Luke.
We left it by the side of the road after distributing the supplies it had been carrying amongst volunteers.
Everyone was milling around, and I was just about to give the order to move out when a voice from behind called out, “What’s that?”
I looked in the same direction everyone else turned. I didn’t understand what I was seeing at first. A rounded, greyish object swung in the light breeze. I took a few steps and then my eyes widened.
A skull.
It looked like it had been there a while. Even more disturbing was the fact it was a child’s skull.
“Oh my God, there’s another one,” a girl said, a frightened tone to her voice.
She was right. It was another one, this time on the opposite side of the road. A little bigger and a little whiter, but clearly another kid’s skull. Murmurs started to break out in the crowd and I decided we had better move. Turning back was not an option.
“Okay, let’s keep our eyes on the road and move out!” I yelled.
Luke, without me having to ask, walked up and down alongside the crowd as they began to push forward. In his best drill sergeant’s voice, he began to get the group into something resembling a column.
As we walked along, the tension seemed to become heavier. It wasn’t just the unnatural shroud of darkness from the tall trees hugging the road. It wasn’t just the other skulls I had spotted and chosen not to point out to anyone. It was also the silence. The silence from my people. I had become accustomed to the quiet buzz of the crowd as we had journeyed from the Valley and its absence only added to the already disturbing vibe of that stretch of road.
A girl’s scream shattered the unnatural silence a minute later. I jumped, the hair on the back of my neck standing up, turning this way and that. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary and it wasn’t until I followed the direction of her trembling arm, pointing into the trees, I saw what had terrified her.
It was a boy, standing in the shadows of the trees, watching us. He looked about my age, tall and well-built, dressed in nothing but a pair of grimy shorts, holding what looked to be a homemade spear. He was dirty, with leaves and twigs in his hair; the whites of his eyes contrasted sharply against the filth on his face. Luke was suddenly beside me. He had retrieved from the Hummer and held in his hands the axe confiscated from the killer back in the Valley.
“There are more. Lots more on both sides,” he whispered. “I don’t think they have guns.”
I scanned the tree line. I began to see even more, both boys and girls, some in the trees on branches, others in and around, half-hidden in the shadows. The air became thick with tension and I heard murmurs of alarm from our people as they began to realize how many there were. I turned slowly and saw just as many in the trees lining the other side of the road.
The armed people in my group began to raise their weapons. There was a harsh shout from the one we had spotted first, “Spears!”
To a man, the tree people raised their spears.
“Lower your guns!” I yelled, putting my arms out to either side. “Luke, take a couple of steps forward and lower your axe to the ground. Nice and slow.”
I saw the tall boy who had yelled, clearly their leader, watching us intently. I knew the next few seconds were crucial. While we outgunned them, they had us surrounded. I didn’t want this chance encounter to turn into a battle in which we would be certain to suffer casualties. Besides, I got the feeling if they wanted a fight, they could have easily ambushed us before we’d even seen them.
Luke placed his axe on the ground and stepped back with his arms out to each side.
“You sure about this, dude?” he asked from the side of his mouth.
“Nope.”
The rest of our people lowered their weapons and those faces I could see from my position were tense. I looked back at the boy who appeared to be their leader, held up my gun, then knelt and put it on the ground in front of me.
The boy nodded and whistled sharply through his fingers. The spears of the people in the trees lowered.
“Can we talk?” I called to him.
For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t respond, but then he nodded and stepped out from beneath the trees. I walked up to him in measured steps. We both stopped, facing each other a few feet apart, him barefoot in the long grass at the side of the road, me on road, which had begun to be claimed by the same grass.
“I’m Isaac,” I said, smiling.
Up close, he was pretty scary. His features were hard and weathered, and his frame, while spare, was ropy with lean muscle. His eyes were intelligent, but veiled. Given his appearance, I half expected him to grunt at me and was surprised when I heard his soft voice.
“I’m Jonah.”
“Hey, Jonah. I just wanted to say we are just passing through; we’re not looking for a fight.”
“Good. Neither are we.”
An awkward silence followed. I guess neither of us knew what to say. When we did speak again, it was at the same time.
“Where are —”
“Where do —”
We both laughed.
“Sorry,” I said. “You go.”
“I was going to ask where you’re going.”
“Manchester,” I said. “It’s south of here. Our place got attacked.”
“By who?”
“A group called the Marauders. Do you know them?”
He shook his head.
“What about you?” I asked. “Where is your ... place?”
He swept his arm around him. “You’re in it.”
“You live in the forest?”
He nodded.
“That must be tough.”
“It’s not so bad. Winters can be tough, but we have good shelters.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Four winters.”
I nodded. Clearly, they were a hardy group. I couldn’t see any of us surviving a winter in the forest, but I guess one could achieve anything if push came to shove.
“What’s with the skulls? They freaked some of my people out.”
“That’s why no one bothers us,” he smiled.
I nodded. Smart. Talk of a school bus reminded me of our destination and the people who would be waiting for us. I hoped they had arrived safely.
“Have you thought about finding somewhere ... like a town or a city?”
“No, we’re happy like this. Nobody bothers us and if there is trouble, we can always hide.”
Luke called, from behind us, “It’s about 1:00 P.M. That only leaves us with about seven hours of daylight.”
I stuck out my hand to Jonah and we shook hands.
“Nice meeting you.”
“Same, good luck getting to Manchester.”
I started to turn away, but the feeling I could trust this stranger was strong and I paused.
“You should come to Manchester. I mean, not now. But you should talk to your people. We plan to make Manchester a home and it would be more comfortable for you. All of you.”
“Maybe,” he shrugged and then whistled again and ran into the trees. Within a few seconds, there was no sign any of them had been there.
“Well, that was weird,” said Luke. “What did he say?”
“Let’s get moving. I’ll tell you on the way.”
29
The next four hours passed slowly. Tedious is the word I would use, and I welcomed the interruption when Luke tapped me on the shoulder.
“We need to stop and rest, dude. We still have a good fifteen miles to go. These guys are out on their feet.”
I was loathe to stop, but knew it was necessary. “Okay. We’ll make it a good rest, give them half an hour, and let them eat what’s left of the supplies.”
I ate an apple as we passed food around and randomly wondered if I would ever taste a banana, my favorite fruit from the Before days, again. When we finished distributing the supplies, I took in our surroundings.
Fight Like Hell [America Falls Series | Books 1-6] Page 64