by Ray Wench
“See if she's awake and if we can move her.”
Ward stepped back on board and bent down to Lynn. She stirred and answered whatever Ward had asked. He slid an arm behind her head and guided her to a sitting position. Lynn sat massaging her temples. After a moment she extended a hand and Ward pulled her erect. She wobbled and leaned into him for support.
Tara squatted and called down to her. “Lynn, can you walk?”
Lynn seemed startled by the voice. She grabbed Ward and held on, before turning her head to view Tara. “I can walk, but my head hurts.”
“Let's get you ashore to assess the situation. We can go from there.”
They got her to the dock and between the two of them managed to get Lynn to the helicopter and sat her on the ground. Tara found a towel inside the helicopter and pressed it against Lynn's wound. She took the towel from Tara and lay down. Ward went back to collect the others. He led the wounded to one area and the rest to the helicopter. Several of the group administered to the injured.
Lynn forced herself to sit up and scan the faces of the survivors. With one boat just docking, she said, “Does anyone know how many boats we lost?”
Everyone began talking at once. The noise made her head pound harder. She winced and Tara stepped forward. “Hey! Hey! Quiet down. We had eight boats out there, not counting Elijah's. I need the captains of those boats and only the captains to speak.”
After a roll call, they discovered three crews had sustained serious injuries. Three were dead, four more wounded.
“Did anyone pick up Eddie?” Lynn asked.
No one spoke. She deflated. “He could still be in the water. We have to look for him.” She fought to control her emotions.
“We'll take the copter back up for a look as soon as we decide what we're doing,” Tara said.
A buzz of voices drew their attention. The group parted and Mark stepped through.
“Mark!” Lynn said, all control lost. Tears erupted from her eyes. “Oh, God, Mark.” She tried to stand, but unable to. He bent to her and wrapped his arms around her. They clung together for several long moments before he attempted to pull back, but she refused to release him.
Mark looked over her shoulder and said to Tara. “My daughter?”
“She's in the bird. She's unconscious, but we can't tell any more than that.”
Lynn pushed him away. “Go. Go to her.” She wiped at her eyes. Mark planted a kiss on her forehead, stood and followed Tara. Bobby and Mel were inside, checking for obvious wounds.
“Dad!” Bobby shouted and flung himself into his father's arms. The two embraced. “I'm so glad you're ...” he paused, “ … all right.”
Mark smiled. “Ditto.” He looked at Becca. “What's the story on your sister?”
“Not sure. I think her left arm is broken. I can't find any signs of a head injury, like a bump or depression, but she might have spinal damage.”
The statement rocked Mark back on his heels. Tara stepped forward. “My recommendation is to air lift the wounded back to the compound where the doctor can check them out. The sooner the better.”
Mark nodded. “Yes, that's a good idea. Would you see to it and get going?”
“Right away.”
“Hey!” a stern voice called.
Mark turned to face Stevens. “What about Corporal Levine? The man who jumped to save you?”
Mark blew out a breath and shook his head. “He didn't make it. He got shot when we jumped overboard. I don't know if he was alive when we hit the water, but by the time I got pulled out and we got to him, he was gone. I'm sorry. He was a brave man. I wouldn't be here now if not for him.”
“Got that right.”
Mark wanted to avoid a scene and possible fight with the man. He was obviously mourning the loss of his comrade. “I'm sorry,” Mark repeated. “His body is in the boat. Didn't want to leave him in the water.”
Stevens nodded and walked away. Mark went back to Lynn.
Fifty-One
The helicopter lifted off with Becca, Lynn, Stevens, Mel and four others with bullet wounds crammed on board. The remaining members loaded into vehicles for the return trip home.
Mark approached Elijah and company. He extended his hand and the other man shook it. His body sagged with exhaustion and sorrow. They'd lost five people in the battle and their loss weighed heavy on the man.
“Thank you for your help. I'm sorry it came at such a cost.”
“I could've stayed hidden and not offered to help. If I did, those people would be alive. It's a decision I'll have to live with. To do nothing though, would've been to turn our back on humankind and allow those that prefer chaos and slavery to freedom and civilization to gain a stronger foothold. The only bright side is the return of one of our captured members. Doreen had been a prisoner for several months. Unfortunately, my wife is still aboard. The boy as well. I fear they are lost to us at this point.”
Mark didn't know what to say, if any words could ever help. He let the silence grow before he said, “What will you do now? I'm sure the captain of that freighter will not allow the attack to go unpunished. He won't find us, but you'll always be in danger.”
“I've thought about that. We discussed moving. We just don't know where.”
“You're welcome to come with us. You can set up your own community, but you'll have friends close by. It might prove beneficial to both groups.”
Elijah eyed him. “You'll allow us to live as we choose?”
“Of course. Live where you want, how you want. We have more than enough fresh vegetables and game is still abundant enough, for the time being, to have meat. If you're not happy you can always move on.”
“Hey,” Ward shouted. “We should get moving. They must have seen the helicopter take off. There's about twenty boats heading our way.”
“Whatever you're going to do, it better be now. Jump in some of those extra vehicles and follow us.”
Elijah issued orders and the group hustled into cars. Mark turned to his son. “Bobby, ride with them in case they get separated.” He tossed him Lynn's radio.
Bobby slid out of the SUV and ran toward the first car in Elijah's convoy. Ward's Jeep drove to the rear of the line to cover their retreat. Mark slid into the lead car with Lincoln at the wheel and the small army moved out. They made it to the main road and accelerated west.
Not a mile down the road, the radio chirped at him. Bobby spoke, “Dad, Elijah wants to go to his camp to gather their belongings.”
“Negative. We need to all stay together.”
“He's rather insistent about it. In fact, we're turning off now.”
Mark turned his body to see out the back window. The last four vehicles turned off the road.
“Bobby, get that old fool to get back on the road, now.”
“Dad, some of their people are still at the camp. Including Kendra.”
“Shit!” He motioned for the driver to pull over. “Bobby, we'll wait here, but he has to hurry.”
“He promises to be as fast as possible and says you don't have to wait if you want to get down the road.”
If it weren’t for Bobby being with them, that’s exactly what he'd do. “We'll wait … for now.”
The remote location of the camp meant they could not drive all the way there. That left a little more than a half mile hike through the woods. Bobby frowned, knowing the trip would take much longer than Elijah had said.
Darlene walked next to him. “Thank you for doing this for us.”
“Yeah,” Bobby said, unable to hide his annoyance.
“I know you're angry, but this is important to our people and my father. It's all we have left of our loved ones. Can you understand that?”
Bobby softened a bit. “Yes, I understand that. At any other time I'd be all for this, but with killers chasing us, I'm worried about getting trapped.”
“I promise we'll hurry.”
At the camp, the members dispersed in many directions. In a flurry of activity they g
athered what they wanted, packed up the camp's meager food stores and were back on the path to the vehicles within fifteen minutes.
Darlene jogged up next to Bobby, a large, overstuffed backpack attached to her. It bore so much weight she had to lean forward to keep balanced. Bobby almost offered to carry it for her. Almost. They trudged on until they reached the cars. Once loaded, Bobby contacted his father. “We're on the way back.”
“Okay, we're pulling out. We'll keep the speed down a bit so you can catch up.”
Back at the main road, Bobby got out of the car and directed binoculars down the road. No sign of pursuit.
“Let's roll,” he said. Elijah fed gas and the car leaped forward. Darlene sat in the back with Kendra and the woman rescued from the ship, Doreen.
They drove at high speed for nearly twenty minutes. The steady thrumming of the engine and the tires on the pavement soon lulled the exhausted passengers to sleep. A sudden change in the rhythm woke Bobby with a start. He sat up and looked around. “What's going on?”
“Look,” Elijah said.
To the left, set back from the road was what had once been a medical facility attached to the Cleveland Clinic group. The two-story brick building occupied a large parcel of land. A fence had been erected around the facility with a gate and guard tower protecting the driveway. The property was set so far back from the road he'd never noticed it before. What drew Elijah's and his attention was the ambulance entering the premises.
Two armed guards stood outside watching the emergency vehicle drive past. The gate was already in motion, closing to prevent further access.
“Doreen,” Elijah said, “isn't that where you used to work?”
“Yeah. But it was shut down after the event. There was no one alive.”
Bobby's curiosity piqued. “What did you do there?”
“It's a combination hospital and urgent care facility. I worked admissions.”
“Something's sure going on there now,” Darlene said.
Elijah said, “I wonder if it's medical or just another group setting up camp.”
“We could go up and find out,” Bobby said.
At that moment, the guards took notice of their interest. They lowered their weapons and pointed them at the convoy. Two more armed men came out of the guardhouse, taking up positions next to the first two. One of the first guards raised a finger and wagged it back and forth, shaking his head. A clear signal that they were not invited to enter.
“We should move on,” Bobby said. “We can't afford to get caught between them and our pursuers.”
Elijah fed gas and they drove away. Almost to herself, Doreen said, “I wonder if it has anything to do with the research facility in the basement?”
Bobby turned and studied the woman. “Research?”
“We didn't know too much about what they did. There was always speculation, that because they were so secretive, it was something dangerous, but you know how people talk about the unknown.”
Bobby looked out of the rear window at the receding building, marking the location and thinking it might be something to check out in the future. At the very least, he would mention it to Doc. It might be nothing. Most likely it was some group laying claim to the building and letting everyone know it was theirs. It wasn't the first time they'd come across groups that had done the same thing. But what was the ambulance for? If you were trying to keep your presence a secret, driving around in an ambulance was not the best way to do it.
Bobby mulled over several possibilities, but he always returned to one. What if they were responsible for releasing whatever had killed the majority of the population? That might explain their need for such an elevated level of security. If people found out their loved ones died because of something that group had done, there'd be riots and an armed assault.
The ambulance was intriguing though. Why use an ambulance? To carry supplies? Sure, that made sense. Why else? Bobby was tired. He leaned back and closed his eyes. Maybe they were transporting sick people. It was a hospital too, not just a research facility. Research.
He spun in his seat to look through the rear window. He'd make a point of coming back to discover exactly what they were protecting.
Fifty-Two
The wide open spaces of the countryside filled with more houses and another memory returned to Bobby. He sat forward and looked for familiar landmarks. “Elijah, I need to make a side trip.”
The older man looked at him knitting his brows.
“Down one of these streets is a small gas station and mini carryout which didn't look like it had been touched. A fuel tanker sat in the parking lot, but we couldn't tell how much, if any, of its load was emptied. If it's full, that would be an awesome addition to our stores. Gas will get harder and harder to find as time goes on. And who knows what else we might find inside the building.”
“Do you think we have the time?” Elijah asked.
“I don't know.”
“Maybe the better question is whether what we find is worth the risk.”
Darlene grabbed the back of Bobby's seat and pulled forward. “We could send the other cars ahead and check it out ourselves.” She sounded as excited by the proposition as Bobby did.
“I think that's the street we turned on. It leads through a residential neighborhood.”
Elijah pulled over. The column followed. “Darlene, go find Mitch. He used to drive trucks. Doreen, take Kendra and go with her and switch seats with Mitch.”
Darlene jumped out of the car and went running. Doreen hesitated but followed. “Less than a minute later, a burly man with a long mangy beard came to the driver's window. “Mitch,” Elijah said, “Bobby thinks he knows where a fuel tanker is that might be full. Two questions for you: One, can you tell if it's full, and two, can you drive it if it is?”
“I can tell if it's got a load, but I'd need the keys to drive it.”
“We won't know that until we get there,” Bobby said.
“Well, let's find out.” He climbed in and Darlene ran up and jumped in the back with him.
Elijah turned. “Darlene, you should go with the others.”
“Not a chance. Just drive, Dad.”
Bobby turned to look at her. She sounded a lot like Becca. He smiled and faced the front.
Elijah motioned the others on. As the last car went by, he pulled forward and turned right into the side street, lined with brick- and aluminum-sided ranch and one-and-a-half story bungalows. Other than long grass, the area looked untouched by the devastation and break-ins that plagued the city and more populated suburbs.
“Drive all the way to the end,” directed Bobby.
They reached the end and arrows pointed both ways on a yellow sign. “I think we go left. The road curves and around the bend is the gas station.”
Elijah turned. Two blocks later, the small gas station came into view.
“Yes!” Bobby said. “And it still looks untouched.”
Elijah stopped the car and they studied the area. They saw no movement and nothing to suggest anyone had been there.
“Wait here,” said Bobby. “I'll go check it out.” He got out and closed the door quietly. Pulling a handgun, he advanced on the small building, sweeping his gaze across the grounds and beyond. He doubted anyone was lying in ambush. If someone had discovered the goldmine that was the station, they would have stripped it bare by now. Unless someone lived on the premises.
Bobby stopped behind a car parked on the side of the building and looked down the side street. The road was clear all the way to the main street. He glanced around, then, in a crouch, moved toward the building. The front of the structure had concrete block walls halfway up and glass almost to the roof. The door was glass as well. Bobby ducked below the glass wall and peeked through the door. A decomposing, insect-infested body lay near the back wall in front of a door marked restroom.
He changed position to see to either side, but shelves and counters blocked his view. He grabbed the door handle and pulled. It open
ed. He stepped forward but quickly retreated as the stench of death assaulted his nostrils. He turned and squatted, fighting the urge to vomit. Sucking in quick breaths, he pushed the nausea aside. Drawing in as much air as his lungs could hold, he entered fast, latched on to the dead man's feet and dragged him from the room. Bobby kept going until he had the body around the back of the building.
Back at the door, he exhaled in a burst and motioned Elijah forward while he caught his breath. Elijah parked in front of the door and they got out of the car.
“Are there any other bodies?” Elijah said.
“Not that I could see. The store looks untouched though. I didn't have much time to check it out, but I think there's a lot we can use.”
Darlene's eyes lit with excitement, like a child at Christmas. “Well, let's go look.” She led the way and the four of them entered the space. Bobby propped the door open to let in fresh air. Darlene squealed with delight. “Chocolate. Look at all these candy bars.” She tore one open, but the melted mess made it difficult to eat. It did not prevent her from enjoying it though.
Bobby watched as she licked the wrapper clean, then her fingers. A chocolate smear stretched across her face made Bobby laugh. He found a stack of napkins and wiped her face. Darlene backed away at first, stood still and allowed him to wipe her face. Her expressive eyes watched his face as he worked. Finished he looked into her eyes and felt a rush of heat ascend his cheeks. Her face reddened and they looked away at the same time.
“Ah, I think I got it all. You might want to wait until we can refrigerate them before trying another one.”
She giggled, “I'll try.” She started gathering the assorted bars.
“You have refrigeration at this camp?” Elijah asked.
“Yeah, we have power and quite a few amenities. It'll be a step up from where you were living.”
Elijah turned to Mitch. “Why don't you check out the tanker? See if we can move it.”
“If the keys aren't in it, they might be in the dead man's pockets,” Bobby said, without offering to retrieve them himself. Mitch left and Bobby said, “Let's find something to collect all of this with.”