by Hunt, Jack
“Go see if it’s open.”
“No, you come with me.”
“And trust these assholes? Go,” he said.
Erika shook her head. “Nate. No. If I go, so do you.”
“Oh, isn’t this heartwarming,” Denise said keeping her eyes fixed on Nate.
“Shut up,” Nate said before cutting Erika a sideways glance. “Go and see.”
She nodded and dashed off down the corridor, leaving him behind. She hadn’t forgotten where the exit was but if they had locked it, as soon as Nate let Zara go, they would have a war on their hands. Erika rushed into the cramped steel room and looked up the ladder. She exhaled with relief. It was open.
“Nate. Let’s go. We’re good.”
She took a few steps towards the open door and waved him towards her.
Nate nodded and backed up with Zara. “Well, I would say this has been a blast but that wouldn’t exactly be true. You are some seriously fucked-up individuals,” Nate said. “My advice, get some therapy.” Right then he shoved Zara at them and made a mad dash towards Erika. What he didn’t see was Denise going for a button on the wall.
“Nate!” Erika yelled raising her rifle but it was too late.
Denise had triggered the door to the room to automatically close. As it sealed closed, the clunk echoed loudly and Nate slammed into the door on the other side.
Erika rushed forward on the other side to see if there was a way to open it, but the handle wouldn’t work. Through a thick pane of reinforced glass Nate stared at her and mouthed the word “Go!”
She staggered back, a moment of hesitation before scaling up the steel ladder to freedom. So terrified of her captors, she couldn’t think of anything as her hands clasped the steel and climbed. She fully expected them to enter and shoot her or for someone to be waiting topside. In a flash she was at the mouth of the opening to the bunker and entered a kitchen. Her eyes roamed for an exit from the kitchen. As soon as she spotted the door, she fumbled with the lock before swinging the door open. Her heart was pounding. The desire to be away was so strong that she sprinted into the thick woodland without even thinking about direction.
Erika fled through the woods stumbling over tree roots and brush. The darkness was almost total as the canopy of leaves blocked out what little light came from above. She hadn’t even looked up. All she could see was small specks of light, the illumination of stars filtering through.
Outside a light rain soaked the ground, and immediately began to drench her clothes. She only stopped to take a breath when the searing pain of her legs wouldn’t allow her to take another step. It was then that she thought of Nate.
Oh my God, I’ve left you there.
She looked back into the darkness but had no idea where the cabin was even if she wanted to return. Still clutching the rifle, Erika leaned up against a pine tree and tears streaked her cheeks. How had she ended up here? Only a week ago she was living life to the fullest, a hotel manager for one of the largest chains in the world, a bank account that she rarely had to think about, and… She sighed. “A life that was empty,” she said reminding herself of the reality. All the prestige that came from running a hotel, having parents that were known throughout the world and being able to purchase what she wanted mattered very little when human connection was the one thing she lacked. I need to go back. I can’t leave him there.
Go! Nate’s plea echoed in her mind
Wheezing and trying to control her breathing she set her face like a flint and pressed on, praying to God that she didn’t break a leg before she found a road, the town or someone to help.
17
Andy Ford was outraged. Two officers had taken him by force after he refused to go and see Mayor Ted Hudgens. “I have rights, you know!” They ignored him as they drove him from the hospital to city hall. It also didn’t help that they were using his utility vehicle to take him there. “I never gave permission for you to use this.”
“Your son did,” an officer said. “Maybe you could learn a thing or two from him.”
“I’ll be having words with the mayor and your chief. Trust me on that.”
“I bet you will.”
He’d become so irate when they requested he go with them that they had to handcuff him. Sitting in the back of the utility truck he gritted his teeth unable to believe this was happening. He shouldn’t have come into town. There was no good to be found in sticking around. Had Corey not got injured they wouldn’t have seen him again. He glanced out the window as they drove past what remained of the town. Large areas had been turned to ash in the fire. It would forever be known as the worst fire in Whitefish history. Still, he’d warned them. Given them enough notification to prepare themselves but would they listen? Nope. They mocked him. Treated him no better than Noah in the Bible. Had it not been for the fact that he owned an outdoor store that many locals and tourists relied on for supplies, he was sure his reputation would have been far worse. In his mind he wasn’t any more insane than a person who was getting insurance on a home or car. It was a matter of preparing for the worst even if it never came. The problem was he’d seen the writing on the wall. He’d watched the way the previous high standards had dropped as the country was flooded with immigrants. Surely 9/11 should have been a wakeup call? But no, the same crap was happening all over the nation. And what was worse, if anyone spoke out against it, they were labelled as racist but the results spoke for themselves. The country had been teetering on the edge of the abyss and it was only a matter of time before it went over, and it finally had. Now people were running around like chickens with their heads lopped off. What do we do? When is the power coming back on? How will we survive? Well, it’s a little too late for that, Andy thought.
The truck swerved outside city hall and they strong-armed him out of the back. He fought them every step of the way. He wasn’t going to make their job any easier. Besides, they needed to wake up. “Honestly, you guys have families, don’t you?” He waited for a response but got nothing. “I admire your desire to help the town but the lights aren’t coming back on so for your family’s sake I would abandon your post and start thinking about how you’re going to survive.”
They didn’t engage with him.
One of the officers opened the door to the main entrance and the other led him in.
While the school was being used for the EOC to house supplies, city hall had set up operations to deal with day-to-day complaints. Andy felt humiliated as the cops led him past a table where two women were creating flyers for the next city hall meeting. They looked at him like he was a common criminal. That only angered him more. Thrust down a corridor, he was led to the mayor’s office. An officer knocked and then opened the door. A wall of cigar smoke hit them as he was led inside.
“Here he is, sir.”
“What the hell is this, Ted?” Andy asked as they uncuffed him and shut the door behind him. “You in the habit of arresting people without reason? Huh? Is that what has become of this town?” Ted sat behind his mahogany desk with a deadpan expression on his face. Chief Bruce sat off to the right with a cigar in his mouth, a look of concern in his eyes.
“You know I could sue you both.”
“My apologies, Andy. I thought you would come along peacefully.”
“That would require me to agree and I don’t agree. So, can I leave?”
“Take a seat, Andy,” Chief Bruce said motioning to a chair.
Andy scowled at him. He never liked the man. Always throwing his weight around. He’d preferred the previous chief. At least he understood the meaning of being prepared. Jack Sullivan had even attended a few of his workshops. But this fool? He was a first-class idiot.
“And if I don’t?”
“Suit yourself,” Chief Bruce said. “I just thought you would want to be seated when I told you.”
“Told me what?”
Chief Bruce looked at the mayor for a second before he removed his hat and stubbed out his cigar. He leaned forward, clasping his hat as if h
e was about to drop some heavy speech on him. “There was an incident up at your son’s home. Officers of ours came under attack and they were all killed barring one — Officer Dean Ferris of Flathead County Sheriff’s Department. He was injured but managed to escape.”
“And this is my problem because?”
Chief Bruce cleared his throat and sighed. “Ella is dead, Andy.”
He chuckled for a second and then screwed up his eyes and shook his head. “No, you must have got it wrong. She’s up at my cabin.”
“I identified her myself. It’s Ella.”
“No. I gave her strict instructions not to leave.”
“Ferris told us that she came into town to see Corey but had swung by the house. After our officers arrived a group ambushed them. He tried to get her out but she was shot.”
Andy staggered a little, and Bruce went to help but he waved him off. Instead, he took a seat. “No. No.” He wouldn’t believe it. She had no reason to head into town. She didn’t even know about Corey. He’d kept that incident from her because he didn’t want to cause her stress with the baby and all. He sighed and closed his eyes. The baby.
“She was pregnant. Please tell me that the baby—”
“I’m sorry.”
Andy brought a hand up to the bridge of his nose and squeezed it tightly feeling a headache coming on. What was he going to tell Corey? He’d seen how excited he was to be having a kid. He’d seen the way Ella had been a good influence on his life. How was this going to affect him? Change him? He himself knew what it was like to lose someone close. It would devastate him. Dianna had been his anchor through life’s storms. She had guided him through the highs and lows. Losing her had set him on a downward spiral. Made the world seem darker than it was. He knew it had affected him as a father, as a friend, as a resident of Whitefish. He drank more. Argued more. And if he was honest with himself, was harder on his kids. Chief Bruce came over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If there is anything I can do, just let me know.”
Andy nodded.
Then Ted chimed in. “We didn’t want to break the news to Corey. We thought it was best to speak to you and let you decide what you wanted to do.”
Andy nodded. “Where is her body?”
“All the dead were transported to the local morgue.”
“I want to collect her body,”
“Of course.”
“And I want my truck back,” he said.
Ted cleared his throat. “You know we can’t do that. We need it. I’m sure you understand.”
“You did not get permission.”
“Your son gave it. And under the circumstances, we don’t need your permission.”
Andy lifted his eyes and stared at Ted. Ted gulped. He’d had a few run-ins with Andy before and they hadn’t ended well. “Chief?” Ted asked, hoping for his support.
“Listen, Andy. This isn’t the time to get into an argument about the use of a truck. Collect Ella. Speak to your son and decide what you’re going to do.”
“I’ve already decided,” he said. “You are not to tell my son about this. No one is to say a word. No sympathy given. No condolences.”
Chief Bruce frowned. “But…”
“None.”
“Hold on a minute, Andy. You’re going to tell him, right?”
“We will talk,” Andy said. “But what I say is my business. Do you understand?”
“It’s important you tell him the truth, Andy,” the chief said.
“I will tell him whatever the hell I choose to. That is none of your business. And I would advise you to keep it that way. The fact that your officers didn’t do their job has lawsuit written all over it.”
“That’s unfair.”
“Unfair is that my son’s fiancé and unborn child are dead and I’m going to have to break the news. Unfair is that you took my truck without my permission. Unfair is…”
“I get it. Okay,” the chief replied putting out a hand and taking a seat.
Andy sighed. “You can keep the truck for now under one condition. You don’t say anything to my son. He’s not to know.”
“He’ll want to know. Don’t you think?”
“When he’s ready. He’s not in any state of mind right now to deal with this.” Andy rolled his head around, and just like that he snapped out of grief and shifted his focus back to the matter at hand. “Now what of these people who killed her? Where are they?”
“They’re inmates. At least that’s what Officer Ferris said. The last sighting of them was on the east side of Whitefish. They could be anywhere by now. We have our officers searching but without a means of identifying them we are at a loss.”
“Surely your man Ferris saw them?”
“He did, and he’s provided us with as much information as he can but he was injured. He’s at the hospital right now.”
“Injury? As in?” Andy probed for more.
“As in a wound to the leg. He’s lucky he made it out alive.”
“Oh, yeah, real lucky. How does one man escape when all the others died?”
They stared blankly back at him as if confused.
“How many men do you have at the hospital?” He asked.
“Two. Why?”
Andy rose from his seat and gripped the handle on the door. “We need to move now.”
“What?”
Without saying another word, Andy flung the door open and raced out, yelling for the two officers who’d brought him to follow.
Corey lay still looking out the window by his bed. His mind was distracted by the gray smoke rising over Whitefish, and thoughts of the inmates. How could he have been so stupid to not update Ferris on what had happened? The truth was after killing them he was more focused on getting back, making sure Ella was safe than anything else. How was he supposed to know there were more of them? He reached over and picked up a small radio his father had brought him. He turned it on and went through the stations trying to see if there was anyone broadcasting. Nothing came back but static. He set it down and tossed back the covers on his bed and swung his legs out. He was tired of lying down. Sure, his shoulder was still hurting but his legs were working perfectly fine. Corey adjusted the sling on his arm, and made sure his bandage was in place before he shuffled into the bathroom and took a leak. Next he headed for the main door and glanced outside. It was quiet in the hallway. An officer came by every fifteen minutes like clockwork and checked in on him just to make sure he was doing okay, however, he hadn’t been by on the last round. Corey glanced at the clock and shook his head. He was probably having a smoke break. Needing to stretch his legs he strolled down the hallway. He looked in a few of the rooms where others were in their beds. A few patients nodded at him, and an older woman waved. Some of them he recognized from town — people he’d spoken to — one was a teacher who had taken his father’s workshops.
He turned the corner and headed for a common room where he’d seen patients.
After ten minutes of walking around, chatting to some of the other patients, he began making his way back the other way around, that was when he glanced inside a room and saw him. “Ferris?” Corey’s face screwed up as he pushed through the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Corey,” he muttered, a look of shock on his face, his eyes darting to the window.
He looked as if he’d taken one hell of a beating. His lips were split, swollen and there was extreme bruising around his eyes.
“What happened?”
A tear streaked his cheek. “You need to get out.”
“What?”
“They didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
He swallowed hard and looked towards the window. Sweat formed on his brow as if he’d been out of bed and had done laps.
“They’re here, Corey. I couldn’t…”
Corey’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s here. I’m sorry, man. I had no other choice. He would have killed me.”
/>
“Ferris. What have you done?”
“You need to leave. You need to go now.”
Corey backed up to the door and turned and glanced out to check the hallway — barring a nurse going into a room there was no one there. He looked back at Ferris but he didn’t know if he was being serious or was delirious from the drugs they’d pumped into him. After being shot he’d been given morphine and it really had done a number on his head.
“There’s no one out here.”
Ferris struggled to sit upright. “Go. Now!”
Corey backed out thinking that Ferris was losing his mind. He closed the door behind him. What the hell had happened? Anything could have taken place. The town was in a mess. After the blaze he imagined residents may have been outraged. He ambled back towards his room using the east side of the hospital. As he got closer to the end of the hallway, he could hear an angry voice.
“Where is he?”
The voice was familiar. Corey frowned as he came around the bend into the corridor that led down to his room. That was when he locked eyes on four men coming out of his room. He stopped walking and his stomach sank. A second later a fifth man exited, he turned his head and his gaze fell upon him. It was him — Gabriel.
His heart began pounding.
In a flash, Corey turned and exploded into a sprint.
Gabriel shouted something but Corey didn’t catch it as he was moving too fast. With nothing on his feet, and wearing only a blue hospital gown and a pair of underwear, he burst through a door into the stairwell and took the steps, two at a time.
18
Dangerous? More like deranged. Tyler was mulling over what had happened. Like who in their right mind would pretend to cut someones tongue out? Better still, why would anyone agree? And for what? So Jude could figure out how much damage his father had inflicted on him? What kind of warped mind led a person to do such a thing? Whatever answers and help he hoped to get from Jude, he could forget that.