No Safe Place

by Christine Kersey

  “We need to approach with caution. From a direction no one would expect. Scope out who’s there and see what’s happening.”

  Okay. That made sense. Still, Matt ground his teeth together. If his family was in danger, every second counted.

  Derrick got out of the truck, a pair of binoculars in hand. Then Dylan stepped onto the ground. Matt scrutinized his son. He didn’t want to put him in harm’s way. Should he have him wait in the truck? Or would that expose him to some unknown risk that Matt hadn’t even considered? Better to have him come along where Matt could keep an eye on him. They would stay to the trees in the neighboring orchard. With any luck, whoever was at Frank and Sarah’s house would never know they were under surveillance.

  Matt gestured to the fence. “There’s barbed wire. Do you have anything we can throw over it?”

  Nodding, Derrick dug around in the bed of the truck, pulling out a couple of towels they’d taken from one of the houses they’d scavenged. Derrick folded them lengthwise, then laid them across the barbed wire before carefully climbing over. Matt and Dylan followed, managing to get over the fence without injury. Matt picked up the towels, curling them around his shoulders for later use—the entire property was surrounded by barbed wire fencing.

  Letting Derrick take point, Matt motioned for Dylan to follow before taking up the rear. They made their way deep into the orchard so as to be less visible from Frank and Sarah’s property. The almond trees were well on their way to full blossoms, giving them fairly decent cover.

  Keeping his ears tuned for any sound that didn’t belong, Matt continually glanced toward the house while making sure he didn’t walk into a tree or trip over anything on the ground.

  They’d gone less than a hundred yards when Derrick held his fist up as he stopped in place, then he crouched. Matt was about to press a hand on Dylan’s shoulder to make sure he crouched too, but when Dylan did it without urging, Matt smiled and hunkered down. Only then did Matt turn his focus to what had caught Derrick’s attention.

  Not fifty feet away, a man with a semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder was walking the perimeter of the farm’s property as if he were on watch. A man they’d never seen before.

  Alarmed, Matt looked at Derrick. Derrick shifted his eyes to Matt, his expression conveying the same questions sliding through Matt’s mind—Who was this guy? Where were their people? What was going on?

  They stayed in place until the man had passed. Once he was a good distance away and his back was to them, Derrick nodded. The three of them stood and crept forward.

  The man on patrol disappeared around the side of the house. The trio took advantage of his absence, dashing through the orchard to a better vantage point.

  “This’ll work,” Derrick muttered as he knelt on the dirt and lifted the binoculars to his eyes, the lenses pointed to the windows across the back of the house. He stared for several moments, then silently handed the binocs to Matt, who had knelt as well.

  Matt pressed them to his eyes, staring at the scene inside the house, searching for his family. Not everyone from their group was visible, but there was Jessica. She was sitting on the couch beside Emily and Sarah, her expression showing a mix of concern and concentration, like she was listening very closely to whatever the speaker was saying. Matt’s eyes tracked to the person Jessica was listening to, but his back was to the window.

  The others within view looked calm. That was reassuring. He handed the binocs to Dylan, then turned to Derrick. “What do you think? Should we go inside?”

  “No. We don’t know who these guys are or what they want. I don’t want to reveal our existence. Jeff and Chris know that when we see those trucks we’ll back off and recon rather than come inside. If asked, they won’t admit we exist.” He grinned. “Let’s not turn them into liars.”

  Though Matt would have preferred to be by his wife’s side, what Derrick said made sense. He nodded.

  Derrick took the binocs from Dylan. “Unless things go south, we stay here until they leave.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jessica

  Jessica wished Matt was there. Not only was she worried about his safety while he was away, but with these men showing up for who knew what purpose, she was very nervous. They claimed they were from the state government, but something about their demeanor reminded her of the neighborhood cooperative they’d escaped. It didn’t help that the moment these guys had arrived they’d taken everyone’s guns with the promise that they could have them back once they left.

  Jeff had nearly shot one of the men until another man had held a gun to Sarah’s head. Only then had Jeff and the others given up their weapons, although the tension had been sky high and remained so.

  Jessica was still unclear how the men had gotten onto the property in the first place, although she suspected they’d driven in when whoever was on watch had been on the opposite side of the fairly large property, basically sneaking in. She was certain Jeff and Chris had already realized that having only one person on watch would not be enough. Especially when the gate was open as it had been since Matt, Dylan, and Derrick were out scavenging.

  Four men had come. One was standing in front of them. Taller than average and with an athletic build, he wore a ball cap on his head along with jeans and a t-shirt. He also wore a gun in a shoulder holster. Another man—armed, of course—stood nearby. That man faced them like he wanted to keep an eye on them, like he would stop them if they tried to leave. Like he wouldn’t mind shooting someone. A third man was walking the property—Jessica had seen him stroll past twice now. A fourth man had come inside initially, but in the shuffle of gathering everyone, he’d vanished. Jessica figured he was searching the house while the other two kept them occupied. But as far as she knew, Frank and Sarah didn’t have any kind of stash for the men to steal. Still, it was disturbing to have strangers freely roaming the house and property like they had full rights to be there.

  The men had only been there long enough to gather Jessica and the rest of her group in one place. For what purpose, she had no idea.

  She glanced at Jeff. His arms were crossed over his chest, his lips were flat, and his eyes were snapping with fury.

  “Now that everyone’s here,” the man who stood in front of them said, “let’s get started. My name’s Owen.” He broke out into a smile. “No need to look so nervous. We’re simply here on government business.”

  “What kind of government business?” Jeff’s voice boomed out.

  Owen’s gaze went to Jeff, his smile growing. “With so many people dying from the bird flu, we need to take a census to see who is still among us.”

  Jeff’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

  Owen’s smile faltered. Maybe he wasn’t used to people questioning his request. After all, what harm was there in taking a census? Unless it gave the government information that could be used against its citizens.

  “To provide services, of course,” Owen said smoothly, like he’d rehearsed that line.

  “What kinds of services?” Chris asked. His tone was markedly friendlier than Jeff’s. Were he and Jeff playing good cop bad cop?

  Owen shifted his eyes to Chris, his shoulders relaxing like he didn’t feel any hostility from Chris like he had from Jeff. “Many people are starving. If food is needed, the government wants to know.”

  Jessica’s heart skipped a beat. This was reminiscent of the neighborhood cooperative. “Are you going to provide food? And if you do, what do you want in return?”

  All eyes swiveled to her.

  “We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Owen said, which alarmed Jessica. His non-answer made her wonder if he was sincere about his purposes. Was he really even from the government? Then again, did it matter? Society had collapsed. As far as she was concerned, they were on their own. Yet, if he really was from the government, maybe he could provide help. They were low on food.

  “Now,” Owen said as his gaze swept over the group, “I see thirteen people. Is that everyone who lives he
re?”

  Jessica’s thoughts shot to Matt, Dylan, and Derrick. Should they admit the three of them lived there too but were gone at the moment?

  “That’s everyone,” Jeff said before anyone else could speak.

  Okay. Jeff thought they shouldn’t tell them the truth. That was fine with her. The less these people knew about them the better. Jessica looked at Kayla and Brooke, who both looked uncertain about the lie. She stared at them until they met her gaze. After a moment of meeting her eyes, they both looked at the floor, apparently getting the message to not say anything about their father and brother and Derrick.

  Owen scrutinized each person to see if anyone would disagree with Jeff. When no one did, he took a small notepad and pencil out of his back pocket and wrote on it. “All right.” He looked up at them. “What are your food needs?”

  “We’re good,” Jeff said, again before anyone else could speak.

  Owen stared at him like that wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. Just then, the missing man appeared. He strode into the room and said something to Owen that Jessica couldn’t hear. Owen nodded. The man left the room and a few moments later Jessica saw him approaching the man who’d been patrolling.

  Jeff stood, which startled everyone, including the armed man standing in the corner who reached for the gun at his hip. Thankfully, he just rested his hand on the butt of his gun.

  “What do you people really want?” Jeff asked.

  Owen tilted his head as his eyebrows bunched. “What do you mean? We care about the citizens of California. We’ve lost way too many people already and don’t want to lose any more. Especially if there’s something we can do to prevent it.”

  He seemed sincere, but Jessica had her doubts.

  “As you can see,” Jeff said, “we’re doing fine.” He held his arm toward the front door. “Thanks for stopping by.”

  Owen ignored Jeff and looked at Frank and Sarah. “This is your home. What are your thoughts?”

  Jeff was left standing there. He dropped his arm to his side and looked at Frank.

  Frank sat up straighter and cleared his throat. “What are you doing about those Emperors?”

  Frowning, Owen shook his head. “We’ve heard about them and know they’ve caused a bit of trouble in this area.”

  “They’re stealing from people and kidnapping children. What are you going to do about it?”

  Owen’s forehead creased. “Kidnapping children? That sounds a bit far-fetched.”

  Frank got to his feet, his expression fierce. “It’s not far-fetched at all. Two of my neighbor’s grandkids were kidnapped just the other night.”

  Owen nodded like he was considering the terribleness of the crime. “I’ll be sure and report it to my superiors.”

  Making a scoffing sound, Frank sat back on his recliner. “You’re useless.”

  Owen’s mouth fell open as if he were offended. “Our job is simply to gather information.”

  What worried Jessica was the type of information they were gathering and what they would do with it.

  When no one else spoke, Owen looked at the guard who’d been standing quietly in the corner and gestured with his head toward the front door, then Owen turned and smiled at the assembled group. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

  Moments later they were gone.

  “Like we had a choice,” Jeff growled as he made a beeline for the kitchen where the men had set everyone’s weapons, grabbing his gun and holstering it.

  Chapter Twelve

  Matt

  The second the truck and SUV were gone, Matt hustled to the fence, laid the towel across the barbed wire on top, and climbed over. Hardly waiting for Dylan and Derrick, he raced to the back porch, yanking the door open the moment he reached it.

  As he stepped inside, his eyes went right to Jessica. To his great relief, she was fine, as were Brooke and Kayla.

  Jessica leapt to her feet and rushed toward him. “Matt!”

  As he embraced her, Dylan came through the door.

  Pulling away, Matt asked Jessica, “What’d they want?”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “You saw them?”

  He laughed. “Yeah. Why do you think I came in right after they left?”

  She smiled, her eyes tight. “Right, right.”

  He turned to Dylan. “Where’s Derrick?”

  “Getting the truck.”

  Good. They’d collected a lot of valuable items—including food. Best to get it unloaded and put away as soon as possible.

  Jessica stood in front of him, her forehead furrowed. “They said they were from the state government.”

  That explained why things had been calm. If it had been the Emperors, he was sure it would have been a much different story. He glanced toward the family room where everyone was gathered. Some people were still sitting and some were standing, but nearly everyone was talking.

  Jeff walked over to Matt and Jessica, his eyebrows tugging together. “Where’s Derrick?”

  Matt explained.

  Nodding, Jeff said, “We need to talk.” He led the way to the front door, opened it, and stepped onto the wide porch. Matt and Jessica followed. Moments later, Chris and Emily joined them.

  “Let’s wait for Derrick,” Jeff said as he looked toward the gravel road. He turned to Matt. “Did you have much luck?”

  Forcing away thoughts of the people they’d buried, Matt nodded with a grim smile. “Yep. Found some food and other things.”

  Derrick’s truck rumbled up the road, stopping in front of the garage. The five of them went to meet him.

  Derrick got out and faced them. “Glad to see everyone’s still healthy.” He stared at Jeff. “And that no one got shot.”

  Jeff frowned. “I nearly shot the idiot who just left but one of his men threatened to shoot Sarah. That’s when they took our guns. Temporarily.”

  That sent a zing of alarm charging through Matt. Those men had meant business. And they weren’t stupid. “Jessica said they were from the government. What did they want?”

  Jeff crossed his arms. “Claimed to be taking a census. Said they wanted to make sure everyone had enough food.”

  Matt nodded at the truck. “There’s food out there to be found.”

  Jeff chuckled. “That’s what I figured, which is why I told them we were good.” He grinned. “I also told them that everyone in that room was all the people we had.”

  Matt glanced at Derrick, who smiled like he was saying What did I tell you?

  “But that one guy searched the house,” Jessica said. “Maybe they’re going to come back when we least expect it and take whatever they want.” She chewed on her lip. “Sound familiar?”

  Matt flashed back to the neighborhood cooperative back home, understanding Jessica’s concern. If those men were anything like those bullies had been, they would have a fight ahead of them. And they didn’t even know where the men had come from. “How’d they get on the property? I mean, did we let them in?” This was something he’d been thinking about ever since they’d gotten back from their scavenging run and had found the vehicles at the house.

  “I was wondering the same thing,” Derrick said.

  Jeff frowned deeply. “The gate was open, which was a mistake. We need to keep it closed and locked at all times. Even if someone’s out on a run. And the property’s spread out. We need to have more than one person on watch to make sure the front and back are always covered.” He scowled. “They came in through the front gate when I was around back.”

  “Look,” Derrick said, “we made a mistake, but we won’t make the same one twice.”

  Jeff chuckled. “No. We’ll make all new ones.”

  That brought a round of laughter, which eased the tense mood.

  “What should we do about them?” Emily asked, bringing their thoughts back to the men who’d arrived uninvited.

  “Not a whole lot we can do,” Jeff said. “We don’t know where they’re based. We don’t even know it they’re legit from the government.�
� He shook his head and sighed audibly. “All we can do is see if they make contact again.” He grimaced. “And be ready for them if they do.”

  “Oh, they will,” Chris said as his gaze swept the property. “At least two of their men searched the place. No doubt they found things they’d like to take.” He looked back at the group. “They’d probably like to take our weapons too. Then we would become easy pickings.”

  Matt hoped Chris was wrong. Maybe they really were just taking a census so they could help. But he feared his optimism was misplaced. “What if we block the road? You know, get a box truck or something.”

  “Great idea,” Derrick said. “I remember seeing one today.” He chuckled. “I think I even remember where it was.” He paused. “But first, let’s get this food unloaded.”

  With help from nearly everyone, it didn’t take long to bring their spoils inside.

  “How far did you travel to find this?” Sarah asked Matt as he helped her sort the items into categories.

  “Not far. Maybe five miles.”

  Her face brightened. “I’m glad some folks stocked their pantries.” Then her positive expression began to fade.

  Matt knew what she was thinking. For their group to benefit, someone else had to suffer. He thought of the unpleasant things he’d seen on the run. Mentally shaking the images away, he smiled at Sarah. “I’m sure those that bought it would be glad to know it’s helping others survive.”

  Still somber, Sarah nodded as she continued putting the food away.

  When they were done, Matt went with Derrick to the place where Derrick remembered seeing a box truck. It was parked haphazardly on the side of the road, and as a bonus, the keys had been left on the console between the seats. The back of the truck was empty though.

  Matt drove the box truck back to the farm while Derrick drove his truck. Once back, Matt positioned the box truck behind the closed and locked gate in such a way that no one would be able to drive up the road to the farm’s property. People could approach on foot—nothing they could do to prevent that. But blocking the road would certainly slow down any uninvited visitors.