by Hunt, Jack
Gibby waded out of the river, his legs sloshing water onto the stony shore. No sooner was he on dry land than he let out a yell and charged Holden, throwing a fist that caught him on the chin. He went down and Gibby continued on like a pinball now coming at Corey. Corey ducked his jab and shoved him. All the while Markowitz thought the whole event was hilarious. He was cracking up laughing, staying out of the way as Gibby swung and jabbed at anyone close to him.
It was Tyler that put him down in the end. He clotheslined him with his left forearm and then placed his knee against his shoulder. Gibby struggled beneath his weight but it was useless. Tyler had him in such a way that made it almost impossible for him to get out. “All right, all right,” Markowitz said coming over laughing. “I’ll take it from here.”
Tyler released his knee and backed up.
“Hey buddy, it’s Markowitz. Remember?”
Gibby squinted and then Markowitz offered a hand. Gibby grabbed it and as he came up, he swung and caught him on the jaw taking him down. “Next time. You’re going in!” He then turned his attention to the rest of the group. “What the fuck are all you staring at?” He cracked his head from side to side. Gibby was blonde, and had an average build. He was the youngest in their platoon but a damn fine soldier. A good-looking kid who had witnessed some seriously fucked-up things over in the Middle East. The worst of it came at the hands of insurgents who managed to lure him away from their platoon. For six days they tortured him to give up information about his platoon but he never once buckled. Had it not been for some helpful intel from an insurgent there was no doubt in their mind he would have died at their hands. Instead, he survived. He later recounted how they had taped his eyes and mouth shut, starved and tortured him with electric wires. They also taped shit-filled diapers around his face, hung him by his neck until he lost consciousness and then woke him up only to flog his naked body with a strip of rubber. All the while keeping him in a blacked-out room where they told him he wouldn’t leave until he was dead.
Corey could still see the look on his face as Marines burst in, killing his captors and finding his emaciated and battered body lying in a pool of his own urine and feces. They actually thought he was dead. Markowitz had been the one who had flown him by medical helicopter to a nearby base where he was nursed back to health.
Long after, he still showed crisscrossed scars across his back, thighs and chest from his beatings, and burn marks from being shocked. But it wasn’t the physical aftermath that haunted him, it was the memories. The military soon discharged him and his journey back to feeling human again began. After Markowitz left the military, they formed a close bond and had it not been for his influence in his life, Corey was sure Gibby would have committed suicide.
15
“Sit down, you’re annoying the hell out of me,” Andy said as Ferris paced. Several hours inside that cramped cell was starting to wear thin his patience. No one had given them food or water, and the accommodation was less than desirable. Every few minutes Ferris would try to shake the bars, filled with indignation.
“I’m an officer of the law. Let me out of here!”
“You can yell all you want. Your title means nothing to him.”
That was when Ferris turned the tables.
“We’re in this position because of you!” Ferris yelled.
“Oh yeah, I convinced you to follow me. Please, take some responsibility for your own decisions.” Andy rolled his eyes as he lay back on a hard bench with his hands behind his head. He glanced over at Edison who was leaning against his bars. “I still can’t believe you thought I could help.”
“I figured you were friends. Perhaps you could get through to him.”
“We were friends. That was a long time ago.”
“Yeah, well he’s gone off the deep end. He’s not the man we once knew.”
“Tell me about it,” Andy replied.
They heard the clunk of metal and two guards walked down the narrow pathway that led up to their cells. Ferris shot over to the bars gripping them tightly. “Finally. At last. I have a good mind to take you all in.”
“That’s really going to help,” Andy said.
They unlocked their jail cell and Ferris went to walk out when they pushed him back in. “Not you. Him,” they said pointing to Andy. “Jude wants to see you.”
“Are you serious?” Ferris bellowed. “Get the hell out of my way.”
He tried to press forward but was met by a wooden baton to the gut. Ferris let out a groan, doubled over and dropped to his knees. Andy stood over him and shook his head before following the two guards out. He glanced at Edison and gave a nod before heading out into the bright afternoon. They led him a good two hundred yards east, through a section of trees and back into the main living area. Andy scoffed as he saw where they were taking him. It was the original bunker they built, the one he’d created for himself. Jude was now using it.
Led into the earth-covered dome he saw Jude waiting for him in the living room area. He was standing with his hands behind his back.
“Sir,” one of the guards said. Jude turned.
“Very good.” He gave a nod. The guard cut Andy’s binds and then stepped outside. Andy looked around.
“I should have figured you would take this as your own. You have a hard time keeping your hands off another person’s property, don’t you, Jude?”
“She wasn’t your property.”
“Maybe not, but she sure as hell wasn’t yours.”
Andy looked around while Jude went over to a liquor cabinet to pour a drink. He returned with two glasses and handed one to Andy. He contemplated tossing it in his face but opted against. As he took it, he said, “I’d say I like what you’ve done with the place…but it looks like shit,” hoping to piss him off.
Instead, Jude smiled and walked over to a luxurious sofa where he took a seat, wrapping one arm around the top edge and crossing his legs. He rested the glass on his leg and turned it slightly with his hand. “Take a seat.”
“I’ll stand.”
“Suit yourself.” Jude took a large gulp of his drink.
There was a moment of silence as Andy scanned the room. On the mantelpiece he spotted something. Jude’s eyes darted to it and he smiled as if enjoying his reaction. Andy walked over and squinted. It was a photo of Jude and Dianna, his arm wrapped around her, taken when she was still pregnant. Andy shook his head slowly. “All these years and you still can’t let it go. I wonder, Jude, how does your new wife feel about that?”
“Dianna was my friend, as were you.”
“Really? How is it then I don’t see any of you and me?”
Jude didn’t respond to that but shifted the conversation away. That was always his way. When things got hard, he would try to make light of the tough issues and focus on the ones that made him look like he cared. “There are bigger things afoot here, Andy. You and I knew this day would come. Hell, we were like prophets, spreading the word, trying to prepare the nation and here we are at the crossroads. The question is what choice will you make?”
“I’ve already made my choice. I want my sons and I’m out of here.”
“Out of here? And go where, Andy? To your cabin?” He smiled. “Oh, you didn’t think I knew about that addition? I think you’ll find there is a lot I know about you, about your relationship with Dianna.” He took another swig. “And let’s not forget Tyler. Wow, now that young man is just full of stories.” He looked up at Andy. “What were you hoping to achieve, huh?”
“Achieve? Okay, let’s talk about that, shall we?” Andy said making his way around and standing across from him. “Edison’s wife, Rosalie. Really?”
“That was an unfortunate mistake.”
“A mistake? Is that how you justify killing a man’s wife? Someone who stood by us when we built this place from the ground up?” Jude didn’t respond so Andy continued. “I’m curious, how did you justify fucking my wife?”
“Oh, I think you and I know that she stopped being your
wife long before she came to me.”
“Came to you? Bullshit. You moved in on her. You knew I wasn’t around and you used that to your advantage. You saw a vulnerable woman. You saw something you couldn’t have and that just pissed you off, didn’t it?”
Jude turned his glass on his leg and a smile appeared. “And here’s you telling me I can’t let go?” He stared intently at him. “Tell me, Andy, do you honestly think she wanted to be with you? Do you think she chose to stay because of her great love for you? Is that what you think? Or was it because of Corey?”
Andy pursed his lips. He could see Jude trying to push his buttons but it wasn’t going to work.
“What are you playing at?”
“Playing at?”
“Is this some kind of retribution for keeping Tyler from you?”
“I think you know me better than that.”
“No, no I don’t think I do,” Andy said. “The Jude I knew wouldn’t have moved in on his best friend’s wife. The Jude I knew wouldn’t have killed a woman. What happened to you?”
He finished his drink and placed it on the table in front of him before reaching for a box and opening the lid. Inside were Cuban cigars. He offered one to Andy but he declined. Jude took one out and clipped off the end, placed the cigar between his lips and rolled it as he lit. A few hard pulls on it and it glowed to life. He blew gray smoke out the corner of his mouth, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on Andy as he leaned back in his seat.
“You know, I’m glad we can have this talk. I was surprised at the way you reacted when it all went down. You simply walked away. You didn’t attack me. You didn’t even ask why, you just walked.” Andy dropped his chin. “Even now you can’t ask me, can you?”
Andy shot back a reply, “I already knew. I didn’t need to ask. You were jealous.”
“Jealous. Oh that’s beautiful.”
“Face it, Jude. I got the girl. I had the ideas. I was the one called upon to give talks throughout the country while you sat back supervising and watching Dianna, just waiting for the right time to move in.”
“Man, you really are full of yourself. Just like Tyler said. If you honestly believe I gave a damn about what you had, you have deceived yourself. Man. That’s some crazy, whacked-out shit.” He blew out more pungent smoke. “I saw the way you treated her like she was undesirable, an annoyance, and yet you had gold in your hands but you couldn’t see that. That’s because all that mattered to you was that next speaking gig, that next workshop, that next great idea. Well, here’s a great idea. Don’t forget the ones you leave behind because one day they’ll overtake you and strip you of all you had.”
Andy smiled and scanned the room before letting his eyes fall upon him. “Is that what you’re doing, Jude? Stripping the towns of what they have?”
He chuckled and cocked his head to one side. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Of course you don’t. Just like when I asked you if you felt anything for Dianna a month before I found you in the sack with her. What was your response?” Andy screwed his eyes shut and said, “That’s right. ‘Andy, why would I do that to my closest friend?’”
He stared blankly at Andy. “You’re reaching.”
“Am I?” he paused. “Morning Star.”
Jude snorted, then laughed. “You think I’m Morning Star?” When Andy didn’t respond, he broke into a full belly laugh. “Oh, that is priceless. You believe I’m behind the raids on the towns. That I would brand people in some sadistic manner to show some kind of allegiance to me? Is that right? Man, the years have been unkind to you, my friend.” He tapped the side of his temple. “You know there is therapy for instability.”
“Perhaps you should try it,” Andy shot back.
Jude rose to his feet and Andy thought he was going to strike him as he got really close with a stern look on his face. Instead, he brushed past and refilled his drink. With his back turned to Andy he continued talking. “You are not seeing the bigger picture, Andy. You never did. I will admit you had some great ideas, you were visionary, ahead of your time some might say. I admired that in you. But your biggest mistake was thinking too small. It was always about this place, preparing, workshops and teaching but when it came down to it, you just weren’t ready to pull the trigger.”
“And you were?”
“Look around you, Andy. What do you see?”
“Weakness.”
Jude turned, a flash of anger on his face.
“That’s the Jude I remember,” Andy said.
Aware that he was baiting him, Jude smiled and walked back to his seat. “One month and already we are thriving. How long do you think you will survive out there?”
“I taught you everything.”
“Not everything,” Jude replied. “Only a fool walks away from what he’s built and leaves it in the hands of another. What do you have to show for it? Nothing. How does that feel, Andy?”
“Is that why you brought me here, to gloat?”
“No. Strangely enough, it was to extend an invitation.” He closed the distance between them until Andy could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Join us.”
“Why? Huh? Why would you want me? Hell, why would you think I would want to be around you?”
“Because you want to be around Tyler. That’s why you’re here, right?” He turned and walked over to the photo on the mantel. “It’s what she would have wanted.”
“You have no idea what she wanted.”
“I think you know that’s not true,” Jude replied looking at him. “Did you know that the reason she stayed with you was because of me?” He paused, looking at Andy and allowing his words to sink in. “That’s right. She told you it was her decision. That she turned her back on me. That she somehow talked me into accepting that she loved you and if I wanted what was best for her that I would let her go, but that’s what she wanted you to believe. It was easier that way. The truth was she came to me and was ready to leave you. She had her bags packed, Corey in the truck and was ready to turn her back on you, but it was me who persuaded her that it was wrong. That what had happened between me and her should have never happened. I told her I didn’t want her. That’s why she came back to you. That’s why she stayed.”
Andy clapped his hands giving him an applause. “Bravo. How self-sacrificing.”
“It’s true,” Jude replied.
“You expect me to believe you would turn your back on your own son?”
“At that time, I didn’t know she was pregnant. I found that out later. By that point her resentment for me had grown. She used Tyler like a knife, twisting into my back, using it as a way to get back at me. So call it what you will, Andy. The reason she stayed was because of me.” He breathed in deeply. “But that is neither here nor there. Water under the bridge. The question is now, whose side are you on? Will you join me, join Tyler?”
“Is that why you saved Corey, to try and win him over?”
Jude smiled. “That wasn’t done for him. I did that for you.”
16
It was nightfall by the time they ditched the truck many miles from the clearing near O’Brien Mountain. They would have to hike the rest of the way through the Kootenai National Forest just northwest of Libby. Holden and Tyler finished up concealing the truck with branches and camouflage netting while Corey handed out bulletproof vests, weapons, ammo and tactical comms equipment. They’d dropped off Allie back in Olney while they surveyed the camp. She knew there was supposed to be a delivery of wild game to the camp the next morning, and that most if not all of the raiders would be out looting, leaving the camp vulnerable to attack.
“No one told me we would be hauling ass through the forest,” Bennington griped as he trudged on, his prosthetic leg getting tangled up in thick underbrush.
“Stop bellyaching,” Holden said. “We’ve been in far worse. At least you can breathe here.”
He was referring to the heat in the Middle East. Even though it was a dry heat, there were days it felt like the sun w
as burning them alive. Sometimes it got so damn hot in Baghdad with temperatures soaring up to 102 degrees, it felt like they were in a sauna. The crazy part was that wasn’t officially summer. Loaded down with heavy body armor and a uniform, you could easily add another 10 degrees to the heat. Heat exhaustion was very prevalent, especially if a soldier didn’t stay hydrated and drank too many caffeine drinks. Corey could remember the commanders making sure the convoy had a cooler full of ice with water and Gatorade to keep everyone’s electrolytes high. They would monitor the group and anyone complaining of headaches, dizziness or nausea was quickly dealt with. The only upside was anywhere they went in Iraq there was water. He always remembered his commander telling him them that if they thought they were drinking enough, they weren’t. Dehydration had a way of sneaking up on a person.
“You remember the first time they sent us to Kuwait?” Markowitz said. “And they had us stay there for a couple of days to get used to the heat?”
“Oh yeah,” Corey muttered. He smiled but it soon faded as he glanced at Gibby who had been silent for most of the trip. His PTSD worried him. There was no telling how he could react if they came under attack, but Markowitz said he was confident he’d be fine. Prior to the blackout, he said, he’d taken him down to the firing range to get used to the sound of guns going off again. But that wasn’t what concerned Corey. It was the flashbacks. The torture. All he’d endured at the hands of insurgents. No amount of bombs going off over your head, or bullets snapping nearby could deal with that level of trauma. It had to be worked through with a professional, meds and therapy and by the sounds of it he was only on meds.
“You good, Gibby?” Corey asked, just checking in with him.
He eyed him but didn’t reply. Meanwhile the others continued to shoot the breeze as Tyler led them through the same route Allie had taken him. Bennington pulled out a canister of water and downed it.
“Hey kid. We getting closer?” Bennington asked.
“You’re kidding, right?” Tyler asked cradling his rifle and looking back at him.