After Today (The After Series Book 1)

by Jacqueline Hayley

  Mackenzie turned helplessly to Rachel, who said, “It’s okay, I’ll go with her. She’ll come around.”

  Rachel gave Mackenzie a quick hug before following Chloe out of the house.

  No one from the recon team had returned.

  After confirming that Jake wasn’t at his own home, Mackenzie had gone straight to Jim Boston’s house where she’d found his wife, Caroline.

  “He should’ve been home hours ago,” Caroline worried, wiping down the kitchen counter while simultaneously feeding a toddler. “Tabitha has already been here. Rob didn’t come home either. As far as we know, none of them have come back yet.”

  “So no one’s heard anything?” Mackenzie asked.

  “Not that I know of. I was just about to head to town hall to see if there’s been any radio contact.” Caroline wiped down her son’s face and lifted him from the high chair, setting him lightly on the floor. “I just need to get the kids sorted.”

  After instructing her reluctant teenage daughter on her babysitting duties, Caroline set off on foot with Mackenzie toward town hall.

  “We need to find some bicycles,” Mackenzie said, stretching out stiff legs. Her muscles were still protesting the unaccustomed exercise and, although healing, the blisters on her feet were sore. “All this walking isn’t good for my health.”

  “The sports store isn’t in the Safe Zone, but we could ask Townsend if he’d send a truck out and bring some bicycles back in,” agreed Caroline. “Jim was talking about organizing some groups to head into the Evac Area to get supplies. And just to check things out. We’ll need to clean out fridges and round up pets. And there’ll probably be bodies that have to be removed and buried.”

  Mackenzie shuddered. As essential as it was to gather supplies, Jake had told her about the stench from the dead body in Quinn’s neighbor’s house. It was awful to think about how many houses hid similar gruesome discoveries.

  Lapsing into silence, they walked on, dodging overflowing residential rubbish bins littering the curb sides. Mackenzie wrinkled her nose. The fetid scent of decay was cloying and her stomach lurched, reminding her she hadn’t eaten breakfast. Her stomach heavy with dread, she hadn’t been able to face the thought of food.

  Anxiously, Mac tapped her fingers against her thighs as she walked. Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay.

  They were within sight of town hall when they saw an SUV speed up from the opposite direction. The vehicle came to a stop and several men jumped out, striding into the building.

  “That’s the recon team!” Caroline exclaimed, breaking into a run.

  Forgetting her aching limbs, Mackenzie raced after her.

  Please let it be him. Please let it be him.

  Her chanting thoughts accompanied the thud of her feet as she ran through the wide doors of the town hall, out of breath. Caroline was already throwing herself at Jim and Mackenzie searched desperately for Jake. Thinking she may have run straight past him she swung in a frantic circle, once. Twice.

  He wasn’t there.

  “Where is he?” she gasped.

  Townsend emerged from a corridor followed by several councilors, heading straight to the returned men.

  “What happened to regular radio communication?” he barked. “Did you get the tanker?”

  “Gavin’s taken it around to the back enclosure,” Jim answered, rubbing at weary eyes. “Our radio got dropped and won’t work, and when the group split they took the other one. Have you heard from them?”

  “We haven’t heard from anyone!” Townsend was getting red in the face. “Who gave you permission to split the group?”

  “You don’t dictate our every decision,” Jim growled, standing toe to toe with Townsend. “This was my mission, and I made the call. I don’t give a damn if you have a problem with that. Medication is going to become a priority, so they went to see what they could get from the drugstore.”

  “And now we’ve lost three capable men, an SUV, and the weapons they had on them!” Townsend fumed, refusing to back down. “I’m the mayor, and I call the shots.”

  “This is a democracy, damn it!” yelled Jim, his hands balling into fists. “We didn’t just risk our lives for you, we did it for this community.”

  Townsend took a deliberate step back, a cold smile flashing across his features. “You don’t seem to have noticed, but this community stopped being a democracy days ago. We’re in a state of emergency and you better believe I hold the power.”

  Expecting Jim’s reaction, Jefferies and another two councilors moved forward with their guns raised. “How about you rethink that attitude of yours and hand over your weapons?” Jefferies suggested, waving his rifle at the four returned men. “We don’t want to have to make an example of you.”

  “Make an example of what?” cried Caroline, stepping closer to Jim. When he tried to block her in an attempt at protection, she pushed his arm aside. “Of townspeople having an opinion? For having the courage to brave what’s happening out there to bring us back supplies?”

  She was met with silence.

  “Oh, for god’s sake, this is ridiculous!” Caroline focused on Jefferies. “Last month you were friendly as could be selling us a car, and now you’re pointing a gun at me?”

  “Get that AR-15 out of my wife’s face,” Jim growled.

  “This all goes away if you hand over your weapons,” Townsend said.

  “And if we don’t?”

  “Then we take them forcibly and you’ll be removed from the town.”

  Gavin had entered from the rear of the building in time to overhear Townsend’s threat and moved forward with his weapon held out in surrender.

  “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t have a problem,” he called. He laid his gun on the floor and backed away, eyes darting between Jim and Townsend. “Come on, man, what are you doing? Whatever it is, it’s not worth being thrown out over.”

  Heart racing, Mackenzie held her breath as Caroline laid a hand on her husband’s arm. The couple exchanged a look before Jim nodded his head once, unshouldering his rifle and placing it on the floor. The other men from the raid followed suit.

  “That was the right decision, son.” Townsend watched smugly as the councilors removed the weapons.

  “Fuck you,” Jim snarled, spinning on his heel to leave.

  “Hold up. We still need to debrief,” commanded Townsend.

  Jim didn’t acknowledge him, continuing his retreat.

  “Jim! What happened?” Mackenzie called.

  He halted at the door to the town hall and turned, seeing her for the first time. “That asshole needs taking down a peg or two.” He seethed. “How dare he threaten to throw me out of my own town?”

  Although visibly shaken, Caroline tried to calm him, leading them all to a table with bench seats beneath an enormous sycamore tree.

  The other men from the raid—Henry and Trent—joined them.

  “Can you believe they de-armed us?” Henry spat. “We need to call a town meeting and vote in a new leader. Either that, or shoot the bastard.”

  Mackenzie flinched at the unbridled fury. She understood what had just happened was hugely significant to the future of their community. But right now, all she wanted was news about Jake.

  As the men continued to spill their anger, she waited for a break so she could ask her questions. When none came, she knew she’d have to make herself heard.

  But could she? This town held no respect for her father and had never cared either way for his daughter. Added to that, she hadn’t lived here in years. Did she have the strength to speak up enough to be listened to?

  Heart thumping, she realized she did. If she’d learned anything since this began, it was that she had an inner strength. And if anything was going to make her realize it, it was her feelings for Jake.

  “Hold up a minute!” she said, attempting to get their attention.

  Trent threw a glance in her direction before continuing in his tirade.

 
The sense of smallness, of hopelessness, threatened to swamp her.

  “Stop!” She pushed in front of Trent and jabbed a finger at Henry’s chest. “Quit your bitching and think. Where’s Gavin? Someone needs to move that fuel tanker. It’s not Townsend’s, and we can use it as leverage.

  “And before you call a town meeting, you need to pull together a core group of people you trust and put together a strategy. A plan. You have to offer the community an alternative. But before that,”—she paused and took in a deep breath through her nose—“you need to tell me what the hell happened to the rest of the recon group.”

  Conscious of the sudden attention, Mackenzie wrapped her arms around her middle to hide the shaking of her hands. She was a little stunned at the force and confidence of her outburst.

  “Fuck. Yeah, I forgot about that for a moment.” Henry sighed and sat heavily on the bench seat.

  “Trent, find where Gavin left the keys and move that tanker. Take it to the lane behind my house until we think of a better spot,” Jim instructed.

  “I’m not following orders from a chick,” Trent answered, eyebrows pulled down sullenly. “I say we go back in there and throw Townsend out.”

  Before Jim could retort, Caroline all but pounced on Trent. “She’s not some chick, Trent Wilson. You’ve known her all your life. And I’m telling you right now, you go blustering in there without a plan, you’ll end up shot.

  “Townsend was right in saying he has all the power, because he does. He’s armed, and he has control of our supplies and resources.” Caroline’s eyes flashed when Trent went to interrupt. “Shut the hell up and listen.”

  “What do you know about any of this? You’re a fucking stay-at-home mother.” Trent sneered. “I’m not listening to you.”

  “You’ll listen to me,” Jim growled. “Find the keys and move the tanker. They’re right, and if you lost some of that arrogance, you’d see it.”

  Mackenzie saw the defiance burning in Trent, even as he nodded curtly and strode away. She didn’t miss the venomous look he shot her, either.

  “Sit down and I’ll fill you in,” Jim said, pulling Caroline against his side. “Jake, Rob, and Lee split from us when we got to the fuel depot. We could still see their taillights when fucking Gavin dropped the radio and broke it. They were heading into town to check out the drugstore—Jake was set on finding asthma inhalers, and we decided it was a smart move to stock up on other medicines.”

  “Jake, what?” Mackenzie’s strangled voice was low, and a cold sweat broke out across her brow.

  Jake went to get asthma medication. For her.

  She hadn’t realized she was wheezing until Caroline wrapped an arm around her.

  “There’s no need to get worried just yet. We don’t know what’s held them up,” Henry offered.

  It was a hollow consolation. Everyone knew that something had to have happened, otherwise they’d have made it back to Sanford.

  “We’d planned to meet up in an hour, but they never showed,” continued Jim. “We waited until dawn and couldn’t agree whether we should look for them or get the hell home. In the end, we came back and tried the radio from here. We stopped at the checkpoint on the way into town to make contact, but got nothing.”

  “We need to try again,” Mackenzie cried.

  “We will. But we tried for an hour with no response. By then, we were tired and hungry, and headed straight here.”

  “Right then, back home for food and rest,” Caroline said, taking charge. “You too, Henry. Mackenzie, pull together anyone you trust, and we’ll meet at the distillery at one. I’ve been talking with Maggie, and it’s long overdue we started some form of resistance.”

  Lumbering to his feet, Jim pulled Caroline against his chest. “I love you, woman, you know that?”

  Mackenzie’s heart squeezed uncomfortably, their show of affection leaving her bereft. She was brittle with worry and guilt, that insidious dread weighing her down.

  And now she needed to face Chloe.

  Their mad dash through the forest had Jake’s wound gushing with blood again. With Jesse’s help, he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Don’t think about killing a man. Don’t think about the pain. Definitely don’t think about the girl.

  Jesus fuck don’t think about the girl.

  Having closed his eyes tightly in a moment of anguish, he stumbled over a fallen branch, and it was only that his arm was slung over Jesse’s shoulder that he didn’t sprawl into the leaf litter on the ground.

  “Come on, we’re almost there,” Jesse encouraged, huffing with exertion.

  There was no sign they were being chased. Not that it slowed their escape.

  Jake could’ve wept when the red-roofed house came into view. His lungs were burning and the pain in his side was beyond anything he could imagine.

  Abandoning caution as they approached, Jesse called out a hopeful greeting that was met with silence. There wasn’t so much as a twitch of the curtain in the kitchen window.

  “Think anyone’s home?” Jesse asked.

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Jake answered. “Probably smart to hide from two strange men.”

  “Wonder if they’ll appear when we start their pickup?”

  “I think we should knock. Seems the polite thing to do. And I’d kill for some water.”

  Standing at the back door, Jesse knocked, and they waited, straining to hear anything from within. Jake swiped at drops of his blood from the sidewalk with his boot. After a minute of silence, Jake tried the doorknob. Locked.

  “It’s not worth breaking in just for a glass of water. I can use that garden hose, and then let’s get the fuck out of here,” he muttered, already making his way over.

  They drank greedily, water running down their chins.

  “Want to clean up some?” Jesse asked, eyeing Jake’s blood-caked clothing.

  “Nah, I don’t want a wet shirt. It’s damn cold enough as it is.”

  As if to emphasize his point, a bitter gust of wind swirled orange leaves around their legs.

  “So if there’s no key, you can hot-wire the pickup, right?”

  “Learned how in the first week of my apprenticeship,” Jake confirmed.

  “Handy skill.”

  “Handy enough,” Jake said, swinging open the door to the vehicle and smiling when he saw the key chain dangling from the ignition. “Speaking of handy skills, you don’t know how to pick a lock by any chance, do you?”

  Jesse looked at him in confusion.

  “Never mind. You okay to drive?”

  Loathe to admit to the woozy swimming of his head, Jake made his way to the passenger door, absently noting the trail of blood his supporting hand was leaving on the side of the truck. Hauling himself inside, he closed the door and collapsed back into the seat. “You can follow the road signs to Sanford, right?”

  “Sure. You okay?”

  Concern was evident in Jesse’s voice, but Jake had closed his eyes. Adrenaline was leaching from his ravaged body, and he didn’t have the strength to keep them open.

  He felt the truck rumble to life, and then—nothing.

  Jesse’s hand shaking Jake’s shoulder had him jerking back to consciousness, a burst of anxiety spiking his blood. The image of the girl, her eyes pleading, flashed in his mind.

  “They don’t look friendly,” Jesse said, and slowed as they approached the blockade to Sanford, cautiously eyeing the armed men guarding it. “Sure they won’t shoot first and ask questions later?”

  “Just pull up here and let them come to us,” Jake said. “This isn’t the truck I left in, so they won’t know who it is. We’ll be fine once they realize.”

  I hope like hell they won’t shoot first and ask questions later.

  “Jake!” called Buddy, coming around to the passenger window and looking in with concern. “We’ve been trying to get you on the radio for hours. Where are Rob and Lee?” He gestured at Jesse with his rifle. “And who’s this?”

  “He’s a
friend, and he’s safe. Let us through.”

  “He has to quarantine…” Buddy wasn’t convincing in his role of authority.

  “Fuck off, Buddy. He’s safe, and I need medical help.”

  “You been shot?” Buddy asked.

  “It’s not bad. Let us through,” he repeated.

  “Rob and Lee?”

  “Dead.”

  Jake held the other man’s stare until he backed away, waving at the men at the blockade to allow them passage.

  “I’ll let Mayor Townsend know you’re back,” Buddy called out.

  Jake ignored him.

  “Where to?” Jesse asked.

  “My sister’s place.”

  “Those men at the checkpoint are radioing ahead. Don’t they expect you to report in?”

  “I need to get stitched up. And report to my girl.”

  Jesse didn’t hide his smirk. “Sure thing, boss. Point the way.”

  An involuntary jumpiness had Jake’s foot bouncing, a fierce need to see Mackenzie coursing through him. Now that they were so close, he couldn’t contain his eagerness.

  The rumble of the truck was loud in the suburban street as they coasted to a stop in front of Chloe’s driveway. Before Jesse had turned off the ignition, the front door to the house was flung open, Chloe and Mackenzie spilling out.

  Fumbling with the door handle, Jake tried to jump out to greet them, but staggered.

  “Jake! What happened?” Chloe cried, reaching him first and taking in the carnage of his clothing, her expression horrified. “Rach, where’s Rachel? We need her!”

  Without sparing his sister more than a cursory glance, his gaze landed on Mackenzie, who’d slowed her sprint toward him and was now standing back, eyes wide and unblinking. He could see the fear and uncertainty all over her face, and it killed him.

  “I’m okay,” he said, walking toward her with his hand outstretched as though she were a wild fawn that could startle and flee.

  “God, Jake…” Her trembling palm covered her mouth, and she took a faltering step backward.

  Noticing the dried blood on his outstretched hand, he looked down at himself, conceding he should’ve taken Jesse up on his suggestion to get clean before they got in the truck. He looked worse than he felt, which was saying something because he felt like shit.