by Akart, Bobby
Moment of truth. Had these windows even been opened in the last century? They were made of heavy wood with lead glass panes. There were no locks on them, only carved handles at the top and bottom. With one final glance over his shoulder, he slowly pushed the window open, hoping that there were no loud squeaks or cracking noises.
Smooth as silk, he thought to himself as he hoisted himself through the window and into the dark environs at the back of the building. With a smooth, deliberate motion, he closed the window.
Seconds later, he disappeared into the darkness of the Haven.
Chapter Thirty-One
The Haven
“Okay, okay! Listen up!” Ryan tried to gain control over the frenzied mob that had descended upon the Armageddon Hospital. Echo and Charlotte had talked on the front porch of the hospital for a little over thirty minutes before they returned inside to warm up. At first, Charlotte thought her eyes betrayed her as she noticed the gurney was empty except for a pile of blankets. Echo immediately drew his weapon and moved through the building, thinking that the patient was hidden away in a closet or Angela’s office. That was when Charlotte noticed one of the back windows was not quite closed.
Echo raised the alarm by contacting the main gate’s security team, who then alerted Alpha, Ryan, and followed a contact list as part of their protocols. Within fifteen minutes thereafter, security at the main gate was increased, and Alpha had assembled his top lieutenants at the hospital, along with Ryan.
“Here’s what we’ve got,” Ryan began. “This man is in his late thirties or early forties. He’s white, six feet tall, maybe two hundred pounds, with sandy-blond hair that’s on the shaggy side. As far as we know, he’s only got on a pair of khakis and gray boot socks. It’s likely he’s wrapped in a gray blanket to stay warm.”
“How did this happen?” asked one of the male residents.
“It doesn’t matter and we don’t point fingers of blame here,” Ryan quickly replied.
“What about our families?” asked another man.
Ryan raised his hands to calm down their concerns. “We have planned for this situation. As we speak, Blair is reaching out to all of you with kids, either directly via two-way radio or by sending someone to your homes. Our procedures require the children to be brought to Haven House, where we’ll have beefed-up security. Blair and others will tend to their needs. While we search at night, only those of you who are experienced hunters will be used. If the manhunt extends into the daytime, then everyone with a set of eyes will be teamed up to hunt this guy down.”
A female resident raised her hand. “What do we do if we find him? I vote that a bullet solves the problem.”
“Yeah!”
“Me too!”
Ryan tried to gain control of the crowd once again. He reiterated their procedure in the event of an intruder. “We deal with problems as they are thrown at us, and the first order of business is to find this guy. Find him, hold him, and contact us by radio. Now, Alpha is going to organize us so that we can conduct our search in a grid pattern.”
“Listen up.” Alpha’s voice boomed for all to hear. “Before I divide you into teams, let me give you some basics on hunting this guy down in the woods. First of all, it’s gonna be dark for several more hours. We’re hunting a frightened animal with nothing to lose. He doesn’t know his way around the Haven, and he will likely follow established roads and trails to look for our perimeter.”
“Is he armed?” asked one of the men.
“No, at least not yet,” replied Alpha. “Our armory is locked up like Fort Knox, and all of you should’ve followed our instructions on securing your weapons. The only way he gets a gun is if he gets the jump on one of you. That’s why we’re going to travel in teams, using a buddy system.
“As you patrol the grounds, stay slightly separated but no farther apart than what your flashlight can illuminate. Use your lights, people. Don’t play cowboy and think you’re gonna sneak up on this guy. He’s more likely to see you before you see him. Also, assume nothing. If you believe a briar patch is too sticky to hide in, think again. Animals use plant material as protection; this guy will too.”
Ryan stepped forward. “As you guys know, I preach situational awareness all the time. If there ever was a time for focused awareness, it’s now. Think of it as driving on ice and snow. Keep both hands on the wheel and have your attention totally focused on your surroundings. Do not take your eyes off the task at hand. Trust me, maintaining this level of concentration throughout the night will be tiring and stressful, but you cannot let your guard down. If you do, he will get one of your weapons, and that creates a whole nother set of dangers for us all.”
“Ryan’s right,” added Alpha. “Eyes open and senses keenly aware of your surroundings. Also, do not shoot until you’re one hundred percent certain that you need to. This leads me to the earlier question that was asked about what to do when you find him.”
Alpha paused and glanced over at Ryan. “I want this sucker alive. I’m beginning to wonder what brought them to the Haven in the first place. Just a few minutes alone with the guy will give me all the answers I need. Now, let’s split into groups and get started.”
Blair had arrived for a moment to speak with Ryan. “I’ve got everyone secured, with help from the Sheltons, Cortlands, and Rankins to cover security.”
Ryan pulled her to the side as Alpha issued his orders. “Do you want me to assign Delta to the house for extra protection?”
“Nah,” replied Blair, who patted the AR-15 slung over her shoulder. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”
Ryan was genuinely concerned for her safety. “I like Tom and Cort, and Tyler, too. But I’d feel better if I had an ex-LEO like Delta—”
“Ryan, stop it. I’ve got this. In fact, I’m sending Tyler and Angela back to the hospital to keep an eye on the other guy. Did you think of the fact that the escaped man will come back for his partner? Also, one of ours might get hurt while searching for him. You need your medical team ready, not holed up at the house with a bunch of kids.”
Ryan exhaled. “You’re right. It’s just that I feel responsible for all of these people, and in a way, I wish I’d let these guys fall into the river or allowed Alpha to just shoot ’em like he wanted to.”
“Yeah, on both counts. Now we’ve got a mess on our hands. Listen, you’ve got a huge heart, and that’s admirable in the real world. Things have changed now. The rules are being tossed aside, and our survival will be dictated by circumstances that may require killing people. Or, at the very least, not going out of our way to save them. That’s neither here nor there. I’ve gotta get back.”
Blair kissed her husband on the cheek and jumped onto her Kawasaki Prairie. Before she pulled away, she added one more thing. “Ryan, also, don’t forget. These two may have friends who will come lookin’ for them. What’s happening outside our walls is just as important as finding the guy inside them.”
For hours, ten teams of two scoured the two hundred wooded acres of the Haven in search of the escaped prisoner. False alarms were common as frightened residents radioed in to Blair that they thought they heard or saw something near their cabin, only to find out it was members of the search teams.
As dawn approached, a lead brought them to the north end of the Haven in an area near the location where Ethan had scaled the wall when he stole the car from the adjacent farm. A shed containing farm, landscape, and logging equipment had been ransacked. Echo, who knew the contents well, said a machete was missing as well as a battery-operated Coleman lantern.
At first, Alpha ordered the search teams to remain in their designated sectors. He and Hayden, who’d been acting as rovers, raced to the equipment shed to meet with Echo.
“Well, now he’s armed,” said Hayden as she surveyed the wrecked contents of the shed. “You wanna change your order from capture to shoot to wound?”
“Not just yet, but we might have him cornered in the north sector. There are a lot of trees up here,
some of which overhang the wall. After the kid ran off the other day, it was on my list of things to do, but the weather hasn’t allowed us to put a crew together to cut them down.”
The two paused their conversation as Ryan arrived in the Ranger. He jumped out of the cab and jogged up to the shed. “I’ve got our two infrared drones heading up this way. I told the operators to look for single heat signals rather than pairs. As day breaks, I’ll increase the number of drone search teams.”
“Makes sense,” said Alpha. “Ryan, the guy probably has a machete. If he sneaks up on one of our people …” Alpha’s voice trailed off. He didn’t need to say more.
“I know you wanted to interrogate the guy, but I’m pissed, and some of our frightened residents are turning angry.”
“Can I issue a shoot order?” asked Alpha.
“Only if he resists,” replied Ryan, who reached into his right pocket and retrieved a blue latex glove. He put it on his left hand and then pulled out a revolver from his left pocket, holding the weapon by two fingers. “Make sure he’s dead and then I’ll put this in his hand.”
“Self-defense,” muttered Hayden. “Nice touch.”
“I saw it on a TV show,” said Ryan with a smile. “Under most circumstances, it might not fly, but during the apocalypse, it makes for an open-and-shut case.”
Hayden nodded. “Agreed.”
“Good. You two go find this guy and raise me on the radio as soon as you can. I’ll be back at Haven Barn, ready to react as needed.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Haven
Alpha and Hayden welcomed the sun’s warmth as they worked their way along the wooded banks of the Henry River. This part of the Haven contained the most underbrush and uncertain terrain. Alpha, who knew every inch of the property, and Hayden, who was the security team’s most experienced hunter, were a perfect pair to flush out the escapee.
“I’ve got a footprint,” announced Hayden as she immediately crouched to the ground and readied her AR-10. Alpha slid in behind her and joined her on one knee. She pointed to it with her left hand and then immediately regripped the rifle.
Alpha had learned the art of tracking another human being in the military when he trained for jungle warfare. Whether he was searching for someone who was lost, backtracking himself after getting turned around, or chasing after a hostile, the art of tracking was part science, part survival instinct, and all about observing the details of your surroundings.
“He stepped into a track trap,” whispered Alpha under his breath. “In the darkness, and in a panicked state, the guy didn’t think to avoid these areas of damp surfaces. Look up ahead, there’s another one sunk into the moss.”
Hayden had adopted tracking techniques of her own when hunting deer. Wild pigs were easier to track in East Tennessee, where she spent most of her childhood hunting. Hogs tended to leave a big mess as they traveled. Between their heavy hooves and constant desire to forage for food, it was readily apparent which way a hog had moved through the woods.
Deer were more difficult. They were capable of long strides and were relatively light on their feet. She was able to discern a buck’s intentions by following his tracks. They acted very much like an office worker driving home from work. They typically took a straight shot to their destination and then a sudden turn off the trail, like a motorist pulling into his driveway. The prints of the deer would become closer together and then suddenly veer off to one side or the other.
Hayden would also look for signs that the buck stopped to nibble a few buds or maybe pawed for beechnuts. That was when she’d study the terrain, looking for a spot to have a better view of the woods. This gave her an increased opportunity to shoot her prey.
“He’s most likely discovered the wall and knows that he can’t scale its ten-foot height,” said Hayden. “I’m thinking he wants to follow the riverbank until he’s cleared the end of the structure.”
Alpha laughed and pointed ahead as he led the way. “He’ll be in for a surprise, won’t he?”
“Yeah, a lot worse than what he faced in the water yesterday.”
“Come on,” said Alpha as he led the way, setting a quicker pace now that they had tracks and daylight to assist them.
After several minutes, Alpha raised his fist and came to an abrupt stop. “He’s been through here and it wasn’t that long ago. Check out this spiderweb.”
Alpha directed Hayden’s attention to a broken spiderweb that hadn’t been rebuilt. He’d been trained to check for aerial spoor, the clues or scent of the animal, or man, he was tracking. In this case, with the cooler weather, a spider would’ve begun to rebuild its web within an hour to an hour and a half. This web remained destroyed.
Snap!
Alpha turned and pointed to his right ear. Hayden nodded and pointed ahead, encouraging Alpha to lead the way.
With their rifles held at low ready, the barrels of the weapons pointed toward the ground in front of them, they followed the narrow path toward the point where the Haven’s wall met the Henry River.
Arrggh!
The man was groaning in pain, and Alpha smelled blood, figuratively speaking. He picked up the pace and Hayden scrambled to keep up. Thirty seconds later, they entered a clearing and found the partially dressed man lying on his back, writhing in pain.
Hayden dashed past Alpha and circled behind the man, quickly surveilling the area to ensure they were alone. With his weapon pointed at the man’s chest, Alpha moved closer to investigate.
He looked up and saw where the tree branch had snapped from the trunk. “I guess this is one branch we won’t need to cut down.”
“Help me.” The man was barely able to speak, as the breath had been knocked out of him.
“Screw you, pal,” said Alpha as he kicked the man’s legs apart and felt his pants for weapons.
“There’s the machete,” said Hayden, nodding toward the base of the tree. Then she glanced back over her shoulder toward the river. “I guess he decided not to fight his way through the razor wire.”
Ryan and Alpha had installed concertina wire stretching from the end of the block and brick wall into the Henry River, where it was affixed to an old fence post. Priced at only a hundred dollars per roll on Amazon, it had become one of their most used security tools. Any unsuspecting intruder would try to wade around the wall through the water, only to be sliced up by the razor-sharp wire.
“That’s a shame. He’d really be torn up. Much worse than what I’m about to do to him.” Alpha shouldered his rifle and reached for the man’s arm to pull him upright. “Time to talk, buddy. No more foolin’ around.”
Alpha drew his fist back and was about to land the first blow to the man’s face when the sound of a drone hovering overhead stopped him. He looked up, and within seconds, another drone appeared.
“Crap! And to think those things were my idea.”
“Alpha, this is Ryan. Over.”
Alpha pushed the man back onto the wet ground and hissed, “Don’t move.”
“Are you gonna answer him?” asked Hayden.
Alpha looked into the sky and shook his head. “I don’t think I have a choice. If I beat the crap out of this guy, Ryan’ll be pissed. Blair, on the other hand, will give me an award.”
“I like her,” said Hayden. “Tough as nails, which is exactly what we need right now.”
“Ryan’s tough, too. He’s just less impulsive than I am. Probably better that way.”
Alpha reached for his radio and looked up toward the drones. He waved to make sure they could see their recaptured prisoner.
Ryan’s voice came across the radio. “I see. Good job, y’all. I’m on my way and I’ll send Tyler with the medical cart.”
“Roger that,” said Alpha, who placed the radio back into his utility belt. He grabbed the man by the arms and hoisted him off the ground. “On your feet.”
Hayden shouldered her rifle and quickly cuffed the man, giving the Safariland zip-tie handcuffs an extra-snug fit, much to the ch
agrin of the recaptured prisoner.
“Let’s go,” said Alpha with a gruff as he dragged the man along the path at the base of the wall. The drones had departed and Alpha grinned slightly as he gave the man a shove, causing him to plant his face on the rough cinder-block wall.
“Nooo!” The man begged for mercy as blood streamed down his forehead from a gash. “I just wanna go home.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you do,” snarled Alpha, who gave the guy another shove against the wall. This time, the man turned slightly to avoid hitting his face, but crashed into it with his back, which had been injured by the fall.
“I hear four-wheelers,” warned Hayden, subtly suggesting to Alpha to stop the extracurricular brutality.
“Yeah, thanks.” Alpha helped the man up and led him into a larger clearing where the main trail opened up at the Haven’s northern perimeter.
Tyler was the first to arrive on the scene. He noticed the man’s bloody face first. “Whoa, what happened to him?”
Alpha was curt in his response. “Resisting arrest.”
Tyler furrowed his brow and pointed toward his medical cart. “Bring him over here and I’ll patch him up.”
“Nope. I want his buddy to see what he looks like first. He needs to know escaping is not a good idea.”
“But—” Tyler began to protest.
“Not gonna happen. He’s caused us enough trouble. I should’ve shot him like I wanted to.”
Ryan arrived in his Ranger and jumped out before it came to a complete stop. “What happened to—?” He didn’t complete the question, the look of recognition on his face indicating that he’d answered his own question.
“We got our man,” said Hayden, attempting to take the heat off Alpha and reminding everyone that the manhunt was over.
Ryan sighed and pointed toward the medical cart. “Put him in the back and strap him to the rails. Alpha, stay with Tyler and make sure this guy’s properly secured. Hayden, I’ll need you to come—”