by Hunt, Jack
Tyler scanned the valley to the south, while new fires lit up the town before him.
He was heading south on Highway 93 when he realized he was being followed. Tyler caught sight of the lone figure on horseback from a distance just after passing Martin Camp Road, a little before Lupfer. At first he thought the cloaked figure was just traveling the same route as him, as 93 was a main vein that had once been a main road for anything north of Whitefish, but when he veered off towards Stillwater Bar he noticed the rider had come to a standstill. Of course they dismounted and pretended they were letting their horse graze but it was clearly just a means of waiting it out to see what he would do. Convinced they were following, he traveled a few more miles south before making a decision to leave the road and head into the nearby forest. As soon as he was out of sight, he slid off the horse, tied it to a tree, told Bailey to stay, and then Tyler climbed up. Gripping his Glock tightly he waited.
Sure enough, a few minutes later the hooded figure followed the same trail off the road into the forest. They had made it within twenty yards of Bailey when she started barking. The rider pressed on while looking around the gloomy forest. Tyler waited until the horse was directly beneath the tree, before he launched himself out of coverage and collided with the rider. It was so sudden and unexpected they didn’t know what or who had hit them until they crashed to the ground. The rider’s horse reared up and galloped away while Tyler wrestled with the hooded figure.
He managed to loop his arm around the rider’s neck and yank hard. The person began choking and clawed at his arm to pull it away but he had the upper hand.
“Why are you following me?”
No response.
Within seconds he pressed the barrel of the Glock against the stranger’s head and repeated the question.
“I’m here to speak with you,” said a desperate female voice. Tyler frowned, pushed his Glock into the holster and tore back the hood. Long dark hair unraveled and he found himself looking at a woman who couldn’t have been more than a year or two younger than him. She had an oval face with green eyes. As they rose to their feet and brushed off the grime and leaves, she continued. “My name is Allie. Allie Miller. I’m from the camp.”
“Jude’s?”
She nodded before looking around nervously.
“Look, I don’t have much time before they realize I’m missing. I just wanted to tell you that…” she trailed off as if second-guessing whether or not she should tell him or as if someone could be listening. “Don’t trust him. Jude, I mean. No matter what he tells you.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“What you saw there today is not what it seems. It’s different.”
Tyler frowned. “Oh it’s different, that’s for sure.”
“Dangerous I mean.”
He locked eyes with her and there was a long pause before he said, “You’re the second person who’s told me that. So…?”
There was a rustle of leaves, and what sounded like twigs breaking. Allie looked off into the darkness. “Listen, I thought I could talk to you here but he has eyes everywhere. We’ll have to meet another time,” she said before letting out a whistle.
Allie turned.
Tyler grabbed her by the arm. “What? Wait…”
“There’s no time. It’s too risky.”
Her horse returned, emerging out of the forest. Allie hurried over to it and mounted it with all the proficiency of someone who had rode for years. “I’ll be in contact.”
“How will I find you?”
“I’ll find you,” she said, yanking on the reins and digging her heels in. “Let’s go.” She gave one last look at him, smiled and took off into the night. Tyler stood there dumbfounded. Who was she? Why had she gone out of her way to reach him? And what did she know that he didn’t? His chin dropped and then he saw some loose material on the ground. He crouched and scooped up a scarf. “Hey, Allie, wait…” he yelled but his words were lost in the wind. Tyler brought it up to his face. It had a scent to it, a sweet aroma that was intoxicating. He clutched it in his hand as Bailey trotted over and rubbed her head against his leg. Tyler looked off into the dark, his head full of questions. “I know, girl. It’s time to move.”
In frenzied haste, Erika sprinted through the dense woods with no idea of where she was going. The only thing keeping her moving was the thought of being recaptured. Every snap of a twig, rustle of leaves or dark shadow sent her heart into her throat. Was it them? Her thighs ached, her clothes stuck to her skin from the rain and her throat burned from running. Wild with urgency, she leaped over fallen tree trunks, and avoided large gnarly roots that rose out of the ground like frozen snakes.
If I can just make it to a road, a home, anyone, maybe, just maybe I can get help.
The scream of anger that burst forth from Denise was almost inhuman.
“You idiots! How did you let them get the better of you?”
Gus and Jesse had already rushed over and taken Nate down. Gus had his knee pressed against his shoulder to pin him to the ground while Denise jabbed her finger at her daughter. Although Nate feared for his life, it would have been lying to say that he hadn’t got a great deal of satisfaction out of knowing that Erika had escaped.
“I thought he was injured,” Zara said turning on Jesse. “Anyway, it’s Jesse’s fault, he was getting too friendly with her.”
“What? She’s lying, Ma.”
“Both of you shut up.”
Denise came stomping over and dropped to a knee near Nate’s face. She pressed a pistol up against his head. “I have a good mind to kill you right now. Raise a gun at me? After I fed you? That’s how you repay me?” She spoke in a cold manner giving him a sense that she wasn’t joking.
“You and your family are batshit crazy,” Nate croaked. “Do you honestly think Corey would give you anything in exchange for us? He barely knows us.”
“We’ll see about that.” She got up and shouted. “Gus, throw him back in the room and then come with me,” she said as she opened the door that led to the exit. “She can’t have got far.”
“You want us to come with you?” Jesse asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“Hell no,” she growled. “You’ve screwed up enough for one day. You both stay here and watch over him. If he even attempts to get out, shoot him.”
“But—”
“Don’t but me. I’ll deal with you two later,” Denise said before shrugging into a jacket and grabbing up an AR-15. Nate felt a wave of fear go through him as he was thrown back into the cramped room. The door slammed closed and he kicked it, cursing loudly.
Run, Erika, run, he thought as he slumped down onto the bed and wrapped his arms around his legs that he’d curled into his chest.
Erika tripped, her knee driving full force into the ground. The gun flew out of her hand. She groaned in agony, and rolled over gripping her leg. The jeans were torn and it stung to touch the skin. She squinted into the darkness, her mind whirled with questions. Where was the gun? Where the hell was she? Where were the houses? The roads? The stars? A canopy of leaves covered the sky making it seem even more dark. She scrambled to her feet, pressing on, spending a few minutes searching for the rifle but it was so dark she couldn’t see.
She berated herself inwardly.
How much of a start had she given herself? It was hard to know. She knew they wouldn’t just let her go. By now she imagined they were out looking for her, hunting her like an animal. It didn’t take long for fear to overwhelm her. “Help! Help!”
There was no reply. Not even the sound of distant traffic.
What was she thinking? No one in their right mind would be out in these dismal woods — in this weather — with the power out. She focused all her energy on running. It was only a matter of time and she’d find a house and be able to find a bicycle or some form of transportation into town.
Minutes seemed like hours as she hurried breathlessly through the forest with no sense of direction. Then, without
any sense of warning, she pushed through thick branches to reveal a steep incline that came up to a road.
Brush crunched beneath her feet as she scrambled up the incline, her fingers clawing at the wet soil. Finally!
Just as the thought passed through her mind, bright headlight beams cut into the darkness. Erika hurried, hoping to get their attention. She stumbled out into the middle of the road and began waving her arms.
She squinted into the light and the silhouette of a van came into view. That was when her hope faded, and shock and horror replaced it. It was them. Gus was at the wheel and in the passenger seat was Denise.
She was frozen to the spot for a second or two, but in an instant Erika’s flight instincts kicked in. She turned and fled, sprinting across the road and pitching sideways down the incline. Her feet went out from underneath her and she landed hard, sliding down the muddy slope on her side.
Erika wheezed, gasping for breath, after getting the wind knocked out of her.
She heard the roar of the engine as it got closer. Panic set in.
Tires screeched, and a door opened as she scrambled across the slick muddy ground and disappeared into the darkness.
Denise stood at the edge of the road and shone her flashlight beam into the forest. The light bounced off the trees and underbrush as she tried to get a bead on her.
“Erika! You won’t get far! You’re miles from town. You’ll die from the cold.” Her voice carried on the wind but there was no reply. “Come on back! You have my word that no one will harm you,” she said.
Gus came up behind her. “No one will harm her? I will strangle her to death.”
Denise slapped him on the arm. “That won’t help.” She scanned the tree line for movement but there was none.
“Do you think he was right?”
“Who?” she asked in an annoyed tone.
“The kid. Maybe Corey won’t give us anything for them.”
“People will do a lot for those they care about.”
“But he said Corey didn’t know them well.”
“Are you having second thoughts?”
Gust shifted his weight from one foot to the next. “I’m just saying that maybe they are more trouble than they are worth.”
Denise turned and looked at him. “Listen to me, you imbecile. While all the rest of Whitefish are scrambling to survive, living off the dribs and drabs determined by the city, we are going directly to the source. Everything we need and more, the Fords have. And you can be damn sure they won’t share it, trade it or give it up without good reason. Maybe holding these two assholes won’t pan out in an exchange but you can be sure they will make a good distraction.”
“Distraction?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, not wishing to explain, and then he clued in.
Gus rocked his head back. “Ah, I get it. Now that might work.”
“You’re damn right. Once we find out where his cabin is, or the bunker, I will set up a meeting with Corey under the guise of an exchange. Even if he’s not interested, he’ll show. When he’s watching the left hand, the right hand will be working its magic.”
“And the cops?”
“Gus! Don’t you worry about that. Right now we need to find this bitch.”
She shifted her attention to the forest.
“And how do you suppose we do that?”
“Did you see a gun in her hand?”
“Nope.”
“I think she dropped it. And look,” Denise pointed to the forest. “No flashlight. No way of knowing where she is. And now she knows we are on the road. She might stay clear of it which means she could be there for some time.”
“You think she might head back?” Gus asked.
“If she does it would be a stupid move.”
They turned and walked back to the idling van, the flashlight beam dancing ahead of them. When Denise made it back, she cast a glance over her shoulder, annoyed her kids had been so stupid.
“What if she makes it back to the cops?”
Denise smacked the hood of the van. “Would you stop talking about the cops.”
“But if she does?”
“She won’t. We’ll find her. And we don’t, the animals or wilderness will take care of her. She won’t make it out of this forest alive.”
Tears streamed down Erika’s face as she hurried with only one shoe on. Every step was more painful than the last. She had no idea where she was, her clothes were drenched, her skin torn by sharp branches slapping against her, and even though it was summer, the temperature at night had dropped considerably and she was worried she would die of hypothermia. Every few seconds she would glance over her shoulder. Where were they? Were they hunting her down? The thought of dying out there in the dismal, gloomy woods only angered her. Erika stopped to catch her breath, placing a hand against a tree and gasping for air. That was when she knew she’d have to go back. The road was the only way out, without that she would die. She swallowed her fear and scanned the forest floor for a thick branch, anything that she could wield as a weapon.
In panic she scooped up a branch, broke off the smaller twigs and gave it a whack against the tree to test how strong it was. The knock echoed loudly.
Erika gritted her teeth and turned back to where she’d come from.
Come hell or high water she was determined to survive. She raced back through the woods using what little night sight she had. The only light came from the moon. She threaded, bobbed and sidestepped her way back to the main road, all the while scanning the bushes for Denise and Gus. Her foot ached badly, and thorny undergrowth slashed at her skin making every step more painful than the last.
Get on the road, and use the mountains as guidance, she thought. She wasn’t good at navigating but since she’d arrived in Whitefish, she could recall the surrounding mountains. The familiar shape and how the valley cut down through to where the town was.
When she finally stepped onto the road and looked both ways, the van wasn’t there. A sharp pain shot up her leg from the one foot that had no shoe. Stumbling down the road she screamed as loud as she could, hoping that someone might hear her. But there was no response.
Calm. Stay calm!
She slowed and reached down to give her ankle a rub. It burned like fire but nothing was broken. The skin was bruised, and cut. She’d been fortunate that they didn’t shoot her. Pressing on she made it about another two miles using the mountains to guide her when the sound of an approaching vehicle forced her back into panic mode. As she turned to run, Erika noticed the vehicle wasn’t a van. Waving wildly, she felt hope rise in her chest as it got closer. It was an old blue truck. Inside she saw one driver but they didn’t look like they were slowing. “Hey. Hey! Help!”
Nope. They weren’t going to stop.
She had to physically jump out of the way otherwise the vehicle would have plowed her down. Crying, and in pain she shook her fist at the driver but then they stopped. Brakes squealed and once again her hope was revived.
The truck started backing up as she staggered ever so slowly towards the truck. Then when the truck was within ten yards, it stopped, a hand came out the window and a middle finger went up before it peeled away.
Bastard! she thought.
In the noise of the throaty engine she hadn’t heard another vehicle coming up the rear until it was close. Erika cast a glance over her shoulder, squinted into the bright headlights and her jaw dropped. It was them.
She spun around and fled, but it was too late.
Any chance of reaching the woods vanished when the van cut her off. Erika tried to flee in the opposite direction but they slammed into the back of her. The van’s bumper made contact so hard she was knocked off her feet and tumbled across the ground.
Brakes squealed and a door slammed shut.
Before Erika could escape, Denise was upon her, grasping her neck and shoving a gun into her face. “You look lost, my dear. Allow us to give you a ride!”
19
A round snapp
ed over Corey’s head, followed by a bellowing voice. “Don’t kill him, you idiots. I want him alive!”
Once Corey made it to the ground floor, he’d dashed towards the nearest south exit only to be cut off by another two men. They’d been the ones to open fire. A flurry of rounds peppered walls, nurses screamed and patients sought cover. Doors to rooms were slammed in his face as other patients tried to avoid getting caught in a hail of bullets. Corey overturned gurneys in the hallway and zigzagged his way towards the far end in the hopes of making it out a fire exit. That hope was soon snuffed out when more of Gabriel’s men emerged from a secondary stairwell.
He turned and sprinted across the heavily waxed floors, past the gift store, library, meditation room, and slipped around the next corner, colliding with a wall. He barely felt the pain as his adrenaline kicked in. A spike of hope flooded his being as he made it to an exit. It soon vanished as he saw a thick chain and padlock wrapped around it. He shook on the door and tried shouldering it to open it enough so he could squeeze out but it was pointless.
“There’s nowhere to go!” Gabriel bellowed. “I made a point of locking all the exits.” He grinned. “I figured a man like you might try something.” He and his men took their time walking towards him. They were in no hurry. They stepped over gurneys, and pushed trolleys out of the way.
Corey turned, his eyes locking on Gabriel. Fear and panic overtook him. He couldn’t believe it. It was like seeing a ghost. He was identical to the man he killed. His eyes darted to the stairwell door. It was at least ten feet from him and with rifles pointed at him, the odds were slim of making it. Then again, he’d heard Gabriel bellowing for them to not kill him. Was it possible that if he made a break for it they wouldn’t shoot? To the right of him attached to a cream-colored wall was a red fire extinguisher. Already his mind was beginning to put into motion the next steps he would take.