Survival Rules Series (Book 3): Rules of Darkness

by Hunt, Jack

  “Listen up. Use weapons only if required. Knives only. We get this done, we are home free.” The sound of an ATV rumbling in got Corey’s nerves on edge.

  They heard voices, several outside, Allie’s was among them. “We’ll give you a hand bringing it out,” she said.

  “No. You stay here.”

  A storm door creaked open and heavy footsteps walked in. Corey peered out the bathroom door as three men made a beeline for the storage area where boxes were stacked. “Grab those.” One by one they lugged them out, all the while not realizing they were doing the hard work for them. As they came in to collect the last load, one of them must have spotted Markowitz, as he lunged forward driving his knife into the man’s chest.

  In an instant, all hell broke loose.

  22

  A dull light stabbed Nate’s eyes as he awoke with the worst headache ever. It came with double vision, which confused and disoriented him. As his sight cleared and he remembered where he was, a shot of cold fear went through him.

  Mariah. Beer and staggering into the bathroom. The dead family in the bathtub. The world spinning. Crashing into the table. How long had he been unconscious? Where was he? He could hear music playing lightly in the background. It took a few more seconds to recognize he was in the dining room at the head of the table. It was prepared with cutlery, a plate in front of him, a teapot, cups and another setup at the far end. At the center was a flickering candle. The drapes to his right were pulled back and he could see into the backyard.

  Nate tried to move but couldn’t.

  He looked down and saw the rope. His wrists were tied to the chair as were his ankles. What the fuck? Why had she done this? He squirmed in the chair but it was useless. She’d made sure that he wasn’t going anywhere. He tried to rock it back but there was little room between him and the wall. It was as if someone had shoved the table up close to prevent him from trying anything. Nate listened for signs of Mariah, expecting her to enter. Surely she wouldn’t tie him up and just leave him here?

  “Hello?”

  No response. No one came. Well at least he was alone. Maybe there was a way he could get out of this. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a band of pain around his head. He’d woken up with hangovers many times but nothing like this. She’d spiked his drink with something strong. I’ve got to get out of here, he thought as he tried rocking to the side. Before he could build some momentum, he heard a door open, and someone entered humming.

  Mariah. She was back.

  She appeared in the doorway wearing a pretty dress with her hair pulled back in a bun. Nothing about her screamed lunatic but that was who he was looking at. She had to be unstable to do this. “Oh, you’re awake. I was just out picking some flowers. Aren’t these beautiful?” She carried in a white vase of purple wildflowers and set them at the center of the table near the candle. She leaned forward and smelled them, beaming with delight.

  “Why are you doing this?” Nate asked.

  “We’re going to have breakfast, silly.”

  He tugged at his restraints. “This,” he said gritting his teeth.

  She didn’t give an answer but left the room, returning minutes later with a bowl that was filled with fruit. She took his plate. “I hope you like oranges. It was all I could find in a can. They taste delicious.”

  “Mariah!” Nate bellowed tugging again to make it clear that she still hadn’t answered him. The smiled disappeared from her face and she scowled at him.

  “Now don’t be rude. No one likes a rude guest.”

  “Untie these ropes now!”

  “No. No. We need to have breakfast. You know it’s considered one of the most important meals of the day. My mother once said…”

  “Mariah.”

  She snapped. One second she was rattling off something to do with her past, the next Mariah grabbed a fork and jammed it into the top of his left hand. Nate screamed in agony.

  “Now look what you’ve made me do!” she yelled at him.

  Blood streamed out and down his hand pooling between his fingers.

  She left it there, sticking upwards so that every tiny movement of his hand caused him further agony.

  “You batshit crazy bitch!” he bellowed back.

  Not liking that reply she grabbed the knife in one hand and his throat in the other and squeezed tightly. “Don’t make me pluck your eyes out,” she said seething, spit forming at the corners of her lips. “Now are you going to behave?” She squeezed his throat tighter until he started choking. Nate couldn’t believe this was happening to him. He never imagined that the person he came to help would turn out to be a psycho. He nodded and she released her bear grip. Instantly her scowl disappeared and she went back to scooping fruit onto his plate. “Looks like we are in for some bad weather so we won’t be able to go out today.” She scooped some fruit onto her plate and placed it at the other end and took a seat. Nate glared at her. She took a few bites, smiled and then frowned before placing her fork down. “Oh, I’m sorry. How rude of me.” She got up and dragged a chair over and removed the bloody fork from his hand and wiped it with a napkin before stabbing some fruit and bringing it to his mouth. Nate pursed his lips and turned his head.

  “Come on now. You need to eat.”

  When he wouldn’t open, she slammed an open hand on the table causing everything to bounce and clatter. “EAT IT!” she shouted before returning to a gentle voice. “Or I’m going to…”

  Nate opened his mouth and she shoveled the fruit in. “That’s it. Very good.”

  He chewed a few times and just when she thought he was going to swallow he spat it in her face. Her head jerked back in surprise before a scowl formed. He expected her to react violently but she didn’t. She slowly lowered the fork in her hand, took a napkin and wiped her face before rising and leaving the room.

  He snorted, a sense of satisfaction washing over him. It didn’t last.

  He listened. The sound of cutlery, then cupboards banging. “Ah, there it is,” she said before returning to the room holding a crème brûlée torch. She crossed the room with a blank expression and grabbed his bloody wrist. “Can’t have that wound getting an infection. Now can we?”

  “Get off me. Nah, nah, come on. Don’t be stupid. No. No! NO!” he yelled getting louder as she brought it up and hit the red button on the back. A tightly formed blue flame shot out, hissing. Mariah brought it down on his hand and singed his flesh until he passed out from the pain.

  A detonation of pure adrenaline jolted Corey into action. Reacting fast, he burst out of the bathroom and threw the blade in his hand at the raider closest to him. It spun multiple times before plunging deep into his back. His legs buckled and he collapsed, still alive. Holden took out the third by slashing his throat from behind.

  Corey pounced on his guy, pressing his face into the ground and using the knife multiple times to end him.

  The young man that was part of the crew that came with Allie turned to flee but was blocked at the door by Gibby. “Don’t kill him,” Allie yelled. “He’s with me. He’s just a teen.” The scared boy looked at Gibby’s blade that was inches away from his neck.

  “Gibby,” Corey said trying to break him from the trancelike state he was in. His hand was shaking. “Gibby, put it down. It’s okay.” He scrambled over to the boy and got between them, pushing the teen back towards Allie and telling her to keep a hold on him. “It’s all right, man.” And just like that Gibby snapped out of it. It was as if he was frozen in time and was somewhere else in his mind.

  Corey shot a glance at Markowitz. He was wiping his knife on the dead man at his feet. “What? He saw me.”

  There was no time to dispute that.

  “Just get the last box and let’s get out of here.”

  While his guys finished loading up the trailer and getting beneath the tarp in preparation to leave, Corey had a word with Allie inside the cabin. The boy she was with stared at the bodies around him, a look of shock, horror perhaps as if witnessing death f
or the first time. “Tyler has your sister. We are nearly home free. Can we trust him?” he asked looking at the boy.

  She nodded.

  “Is there anything that I need to know before we leave?”

  She shook her head.

  “You sure?” he asked. They were taking a big risk. There was a chance that the raiders would stop them on the way out to check the load, but he asked Allie and she told him that it was fine. The load-ups were done by raiders to avoid them taking more than they should. Still, it made him feel uneasy. Once underneath that tarp, they wouldn’t be able to do shit until she stopped on the outskirts of the camp.

  “How many were in the crew?”

  “Four others.”

  “We going to have a problem?” He was referring to when she would fake a flat tire and stop. That would be their signal to emerge from under the tarp and take the three trailers. He knew they were armed, everyone from Jude’s camp was.

  “Where is my sister?”

  “As I told you. You’ll see her soon.”

  Corey glanced out just in time to see Bennington slip under the tarp. Unconvinced that Allie had a handle on the boy, he approached him, still holding the bloody knife he’d killed the raider with. “What’s your name?”

  “Sully.”

  “Well Sully. You see this,” he said holding the knife out. “I won’t hesitate to use it if you say anything, or give anyone any indication we are under that tarp. You hear me?”

  He swallowed and nodded.

  “Do what she says. Deviate from it and today is going to end badly for you. Do I make myself clear?” He nodded but Corey was still unconvinced. “Yes or no?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “You’re scaring him,” Allie said putting herself between them. Corey studied both of them for a few seconds more before he nudged them out. He cast a glance back at the fallen men and exited, climbing underneath the tarp, out of sight. The heavy sound of rain tapping against the tarp made it hard to hear what Allie was saying to the boy before the ATV roared to life and they felt a jolt as it took off transporting them to the north side to join the others. As daylight filtered in, Corey looked at Markowitz. He watched him adjust his grip on his rifle. Water trickled off his face. Humidity and wet clothes sticking to their skin made the short ride a misery. The ATV came to a halt and the engine turned off allowing him to eavesdrop on the conversation Allie was having.

  “Thomas, do you have news?” She asked.

  “We do. Tell Jude that Morning Star has approved his request. It will be set up for two days from now. As the final light of day casts a shadow over the foothills. Have him come alone. He will be taken to the cabin up on the ridge. He knows where it is. If there is anyone else who follows, it will be called off and he won’t be given another opportunity.” He heard the sound of boots in sludge as if Thomas had got closer to her. “And remember, we have eyes everywhere.”

  “Understood.”

  The ATV rumbled to life and Corey jerked forward as it pulled away. The short trip away from Camp O’Brien was a bumpy ride. They had to cling to the boxes to prevent themselves from bouncing out. Allie was the first in the line of three ATVs hauling trailers out. They had no idea when she would pull off, only that it when it happened, she would release the hooks on the tarp and they would burst out and take the remaining four at gunpoint. It was agreed they wouldn’t be killed, only captured along with Allie to make sure suspicion didn’t fall on her. She would later say that she had no idea they were there, drawing attention away and giving her a solid alibi. A day later Allie would join her sister in Whitefish and leave behind Camp Olney for good. It was straightforward. Simple even.

  As they traveled along the trail back to the road, they heard the sound of an army of ATVs approaching. It was the raiders returning from the night of pillaging towns in the county. Their off-road vehicles shot by them not stopping. Minutes from now they would hear the sound of explosions as charges were detonated remotely by Bennington and Camp O’Brien and all its inhabitants would be buried under debris.

  Tyler, Madison and Bennington would then head to the rendezvous point.

  By evening they would be chugging back beers, and celebrating putting an end to one of the largest threats facing Flathead County.

  Another twenty minutes of riding and then he felt the ATV swerve to the edge of the road. The engine shut off and Allie yelled that she had a flat. Behind them they heard her crew slow down. Out the corner of his eye, Corey saw Allie’s boots beneath the tarp as she came up and unhooked the tarp on one side before going around and doing the same. In that instant all four of them burst upwards, rifles on the ready.

  What occurred next was not what they planned.

  Instead of finding themselves staring at four shocked and scared people, they heard the sound of guns cocking and saw rifles and handguns aimed at them. Surrounding them on all four sides were at least twenty horses, all of them ridden by Jude’s men.

  Corey turned slowly as they commanded them to lower their weapons.

  There was hesitation but they weren’t fools. They knew when they were outnumbered. Seated high up on a dark black horse was Jude. He leaned forward staring directly at Corey. “I’m shocked. Really, I am. After what I did for you, Corey.”

  “This is between us and the raiders.”

  “Not if my informer is correct,” he said glancing off to his right. Corey followed his gaze and looked upon Allie. She lowered her head, guilt overwhelming her.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I had no other choice.”

  “Don’t be hard on her. She did it for her sister. I’m sure you understand the value of blood. To be honest, she really didn’t have any other option. It was that or…” He stopped and raised his hand to his ear. “You hear that?” he asked looking back at Corey. “Silence. Though I’m sure you were expecting something else, am I right?”

  Corey gritted his teeth. Sold out. Why would she do that? They had her sister. She was free. Something must have gone wrong, or maybe not. Perhaps Tyler didn’t know her. Maybe his men were right.

  “I knew it,” Markowitz muttered under his breath. “You bitch,” he said aloud.

  The sound of horses snorting, and their hooves adjusting in the rain-soaked mud dominated. “Your father is waiting for you,” Jude said. “All I need to know is where is Tyler?”

  What did that mean? Was his father in on this? Was he Morning Star? Corey’s eyes shifted towards the forest and Jude noticed. He jerked his head towards the lush green trees. “In there?”

  If Tyler could have heard, Corey would have shouted for him to run but he knew they were miles away inside the forest.

  “Toss your rifles,” Jude said. “It’s over.” Reluctantly, one by one they released them. Rain continued to pour, soaking through their clothes as the sound of ATVs coming from Camp O’Brien got closer.

  23

  The remote detonator hadn’t worked. Bennington tried multiple times until he cursed and tossed it at the ground. “Something’s not right.”

  Tyler stood near a tree with Madison beside him. She was taller than Allie, blond hair but with the same eye color, and was wearing tight jeans, a dark tight-fitting top and a black baseball cap.

  “Obviously,” he replied. “Maybe one of the guys rigged it wrong.”

  Bennington shook his head. “Kid, in all my years in the military we never once had it not work. No. It’s something else.” He raised his binos and scanned the terrain of the camp. “Damn it. There is no chance of getting back in. There are far too many in the camp. We need to abort the mission.”

  “Abort? Not without Corey. No, we stay with the plan. We’re meant to meet them at the rendezvous point twenty minutes from now.”

  Bennington turned and handed him the binoculars. “That was if there were no problems. Look towards the east.”

  Tyler brought them up to his eyes and squinted. On a trail heading out of the camp were ten of the twenty ATVs that had originally left. “An
d?” Tyler asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious? The mission had been compromised.”

  “They’re leaving the camp. That’s all.”

  “Shit, kid. The explosives never went off. The raiders just returned and now half the group has left. Do the math. If we leave now we stand a chance of making it back to town before we find ourselves as the hunted.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “You ever served, kid?”

  Tyler shook his head.

  “When you spend enough time in places where even angels fear to tread, you get a gut instinct for this.” He reached down and snatched up his backpack. “I’m heading out, with or without you. And before you say anything, it’s what Corey would have wanted.”

  Tyler stabbed a finger towards the earth. “I’m not leaving my brother behind.”

  “Or my sister,” Madison was quick to add.

  Bennington stopped walking and turned, his prosthetic running limb digging into the ground that had quickly turned to slush. Rain trickled off his forehead.

  “Five minutes. That’s all you get. Then I’m out.”

  Tyler nodded and they took off through the forest towards the rendezvous point.

  Nate awoke to find he was still in the same shitty situation. The ropes cut into his skin, that’s how tight they were. But Mariah wasn’t going to trust him to be loose in the house. There was a reason behind all of this. Perhaps he stood a better chance of escaping by finding out why than struggling to resist. After all he was still alive. That had to count for something. Still bound to the tall chair with his forearms held firmly against the armrests and his ankles tied to the legs of the chair, he waited for her to return from the bathroom. Mariah eyed him carefully as she took her seat, smoothing out her pants before tucking into her plate of fruit.