by Warren Ray
Winters rushed around the bed to check on him before looking up at the girl. “You alright?”
She didn’t respond.
“Do you know Finley and Laney?”
She stared at him with blank eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not gonna to hurt ya, alright? But, I need to get out of here and help Finley and Laney. Do you know them?”
She gave a slight nod.
“They just honked that horn, and I need to go to them, so grab your clothes and let’s go.”
Winters raced to the window and couldn’t make out who was at the car, but it was at least one man. He turned back to the girl, who was still too frightened to move.
“Hey, what’s your name?” asked Winters, trying to calm his voice down.
“Collette,” she finally answered.
She was about the same height and build as Laney but with less muscles. Her skin was pale white and glowed in the darkness. It was in contrast to her black short spiky hair, which was matted down in some places from tonight's sexual encounter. She had both ears pierced in several different places and a piercing on the side of her nose finished off the look. And, like the other girls, she had a butterflies tattooed on the side of her left leg and another on the bottom of her wrist.
“Collette, well how do you like that, my name is Cole. Now, do you want to stay here while I go help Finley and Laney?”
She didn’t answer and Winters decided to leave her. “I’ll be back.”
He scooped the dead man’s pistol up off the carpet and turned to leave. He got out in the hallway and heard Collette call out.
“Please wait.”
She left the bedroom with her clothes bunched up in her arms. Winters didn’t have the time to coddle her and started down the steps. He needed to get to Finley and Laney who he prayed weren’t in too much danger, but since the gunfire had gone off in the house, he didn’t hold out much hope.
He pulled down the goggles as he rushed through the kitchen to leave out the back door. He didn’t have to look to know Collette was right behind him. He’d have to evaluate the situation before deciding what to do with her.
He rounded the back of the house and looked across the lawn. A man who was a foot taller than Laney held a gun to her head. He had his arm wrapped around her and seemed to be waiting for help. Winters scanned the area looking for Finley and was frustrated when he couldn’t find her.
Winters felt Collette move around him to look down the street. She stared for a few moments before moving back.
“Do you know who that is?” asked Winters, knowing it was difficult to see through the darkness.
Collette nodded. “It’s probably Jasper. Mickey said he wanted to come over.”
“To see you?”
She nodded.
“Anyone else?
“I don’t think so, but maybe.”
“Are you really Cole Winters?”
“I am.”
“You killed that Sherman guy?”
“Him and a few more tonight.”
“Why?” she asked perplexed.
“Because someone has to.”
She looked for his eyes behind the goggles. “Thank you. I…I didn’t like doing this, but I was hungry.”
“I know, honey. It’s okay, but it ends tonight.”
“Finley and Laney are helping then?”
“Yes, and I’m afraid I’ve put them in danger.”
She looked towards the street and then back at Winters. “Can I help?”
“How old are you?”
“I’m eighteen.”
Winters considered her offer and what she could do to help. He didn’t have many options and not knowing where Finley was made them even less so. Did another man hold her as a hostage? Even if he came up from behind, there was no guarantee he could find Finley before being spotted. The best thing he could hope for was to draw them out and then an idea struck him.
“Would you be willing to do a little acting?”
Collette let out a loud scoff. “It’s what I’ve been doing.”
Winters told her what he wanted her to do before they both hustled back inside the house. She dropped her clothes on the floor and ran upstairs to gather her props for the show. She bounced back down the stairs, opened the front door, took in several deep breaths and ran outside screaming in her a high-pitched shrill voice.
Chapter 24
Winters moved to the big picture window to watch Collette act in the role of her life. The pale skinned spiky haired girl had freaked out at first but had calmed down upon learning who Winters was and what her friends were doing.
“Help, me! Help! He’s dying, I need help! Someone help!”
Winters watched the girl stumble across the lawn crying and then falling to the ground in hysterics. She’s pretty darn good, thought Winters. He looked back toward Jasper who had Laney in his clutches. He hesitated a few moments before looking behind him. Winters looked in that direction figuring someone was waiting in the weeds holding onto Finley. Collette kept up the charade screaming at the top of her lungs.
A flashlight flicked on and a beam of light streamed on Collette, who had smeared blood on her arms to finish off the deception. With her pale while skin, she practically glowed in the dark and with the flashlight beam on her, she was like a beacon.
Jasper started pushing Laney toward the house, and Winters had to step away from the window when the beam flashed across it. Jasper let go of Laney as he reached the screaming Collette keeping the light pointed at her.
“What’s going on?” yelled Jasper.
“He’s…” said Collette choking on her words. “He’s dead.”
“Whose dead. Mickey?”
“No, but he’s shot and he’s bleeding.”
“Who, damn it, who shot him.”
“Some guy named Winters.”
“Are you sure?”
Collette nodded. “Hurry, Mickey’s bleeding.”
“But that guy’s dead though, right?”
“Yes…yes, Mickey shot him dead.”
Jasper turned around and switched the flashlight off and on three times. From across the street, a man started dragging Finley out of the bushes. Winters let out a breath of relief knowing his instincts had served him well.
“You both stay here,” ordered Jasper.
Laney fell to the ground and wrapped her arms around Collette. Winters rushed over and hid behind the door where he pulled out his knife. His heart began to race as the door squeaked open. He gripped his knife tighter as Jasper walked in. “Just one more foot,” thought Winters as he angled the blade of his knife. Jasper had just put his foot on the first step of the staircase when Winters wrapped his arm around the taller man’s mouth and shoved the knife into the side of his gut. Jasper’s knees buckled and Winters slid the blade across his throat. Air hissed out as he dragged him into the living room behind a couch. He then looked back out of the picture window. The second man was just now reaching the girls with Finley in tow.
Winters took a couple of deep breaths to slow down his rapid heart rate as he waited for the other man to come inside. Finley dropped to the grass and the three girls wrapped their arms around each other. Winters began to lose patience when his prey hesitated to enter the house. The man had a pistol in his right hand and still seemed to be on edge.
“Lyle, get in there,” yelled Finley.
“Shut up, Wannabe.”
“Can’t you see Mickey’s hurt?”
“I said shut up.”
Winters decided not to wait any longer and dashed through the backdoor. This guy was nervous and the last thing Winters needed was for him to grab one of the girls again. With the night-vision goggles on he had the advantage, so he snuck around the side of the house. He took a quick look around before turning the corner holding his pistol. The man didn’t notice Winters as he lined up a shot and squeezed the trigger. The man’s head exploded in chunks and the girls screamed in unison before crawling away from the fallen
body.
“You girls okay?”
“Cole!” screamed Finley, who jumped up and wrapped her arms around him. Laney immediately followed her.
Winters gave them both a tight squeeze.
“We thought you were dead,” squealed Finley.
“Thank God you’re alright,” said Laney.
Winters looked at Collette. “Nice acting job.”
“I poured my heart into it,” said Collette.
“Listen, girls, we need to get going.”
Collette hustled inside to get her clothes while Finley ran to get the car. Winters bent down and grabbed the dead man’s Springfield 1911 TRP pistol. “Nice gun.”
“Jasper’s got my gun,” said Laney.
“Want this one?” asked Winters handing her the pistol.
Laney handled it. “It’s too big for me.”
Winters took it back. “I’ll get that other one.”
He sprinted inside and yelled for Collette while retrieving the Sig .380 pistol. He bent down and found it inside Jasper’s pocket.
“Collette, where are you?”
“I’m in here.”
Winters entered the kitchen where Collette was using a wet towel to wipe the blood off her arms. She wore a black t-shirt that had the word “Princess” printed across it making Winters laugh.
“What?” asked Collette.
“Your shirt.”
“But, I am a Princess.”
“I won’t argue with you, but can this princess hurry.”
“Almost done,” she said, wiping the final smear of blood off her arm.
Winters tapped his watch with the Sig and Collette responded with a curt nod before throwing the wet towel on the floor. Winters followed her outside to find Finley in the driver’s seat and decided to let her drive. Collette hopped in the back with Laney, and Winters got in up front and handed Laney the Sig.
“Get us out of here.”
Finley couldn’t contain her glee and spun the car around on the front lawn bouncing the car off the curb onto the street. She put the headlights on and zipped down the road out of the neighborhood.
“Where to?” she asked.
“Somewhere empty.”
“Know just the place.”
Winters turned around in his seat. “So, what happened?”
“Man, they came out of nowhere,” said Finley. “They were walking here and saw Derek’s car. Then the gunshot went off just as they were asking us, like, why we were in his car.”
“Yeah, they freaked out,” said Laney.
“I tried telling them that Derek was, like, next door picking up some weed,” said Finley, “but man, when that gun went off, they dragged us out of the car. I kept telling them Derek was next door.”
“But then two more shots went off, and that’s when they really freaked out,” said Laney. “They were, like, expecting Derek to come out and help, but when he didn’t they separated us.”
“Yeah, to use us as protection, the big pussies,” said Finley.
“Oh, but when you came out, Collette,” laughed Laney. “You were, like, all screaming your head off, and Jasper, didn’t know what was up. But when he saw your pale white ass, man he couldn’t get to you fast enough.” Laney continued laughing for a few moments before catching her breath. “That pervert kept his flashlight right on those perky titties of yours and man were they shining in the dark.”
“They were so bright,” yelled Finley, “that I could see them from the bushes where Lyle was holding me.”
“And you were so good screaming your head off, even I thought Cole was dead,” said Laney.
“My school plays finally came in handy,” declared Collette.
“Your first starring role,” laughed Finley.
Winters turned back around and was starting to get a headache listening to these three girls chatter non-stop. It was bad before, but now there were three of them, and they talked in high-pitched excited tones. Of course, they deserved to celebrate having done what they just did. Add in the fact they they would no longer have to prostitute themselves to keep their families from starving.
The one thing Winters had discover was none of them liked what they were doing and had jumped at the chance to help put an end to it. What amazed him was how much the human spirit was capable of enduring in order to survive. He’d seen different levels of it among the Shadow Patriots, but these girls were beyond anything he had seen before. They were kids and still had a pureness that allowed them to remain upbeat despite their ordeal. He liked the way they used the butterfly tattoos as a way to show hope and unity. It was a great symbol to remind each other of their resolve to endure their ordeal.
He leaned his head back thinking about what had led him here. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that somehow Cara had brought him here. He remembered that she liked butterflies as a kid and would catch them with her net. She’d put them in a jar to observe them for only a little while before letting them go free. The memory sent a shiver up Winters’ spine. Until today, he’d been struggling with her death and was on the verge of giving up. Coming home to Sabine and discovering what was going on here had strengthened his own resolve, and now he knew what he was supposed to do. The weight on his shoulders was becoming lighter and that was easing his sorrow.
Chapter 25
On The Road To Sarnia Ontario
The black SUV, with a full tank of gas, plowed through the dark night as Bassett drove Scar, Burns, Nordell, and Hadley to Port Huron, Michigan. Strapped on top of the large Suburban was a canoe. After much discussion, they decided to drive north and paddle across the St. Clair River into Sarnia, Ontario. It was a longer distance to travel to, but it was ideal for what they wanted to do. They would have liked to gone into Dearborn and cross the Detroit River, but the Canadians patrolled the area. There was bad blood between the Americans and the folks in Windsor because gangs from Detroit had been raiding the Canadian side of the river and blood had been spilled. Because of that, Windsor was no longer friendly to Americans. There hadn’t been as much trouble, further north and the environment was still friendly, which made their decision easier. They needed to cross into a densely populated area since they would be without transportation, and Sarnia was the closest city that fit the bill. With the short distance across the river, they’d be able to make several trips to load the Suburban.
Scar had put considerable thought into whom to take, and despite Nordell’s mea culpa; he still didn’t trust him enough to leave him alone with the remaining personnel. Hadley, the young Texan, would stay with the Suburban to make sure they didn’t lose their ride back, or if anything did happen, he would be able to go get help. Scar had left Meeks and Badger in charge of organizing groups to replenish their fuel reserves. They would raid the Jiji’s vehicles for gas, which was fresher than the gas found in other abandoned vehicles.
The whole trip would take a couple of days because they could only cross at night, and there wouldn’t be any stores open until the morning. Once they had supplies, they would have to wait for darkness to transport them back across the river. Scar was a little nervous about their ability to purchase the amount of supplies they needed, but consoled himself with the thought that everything they did get would put them in better shape than they were now.
Scar found himself dozing off during the two-hour trip. The last 48 hours had been long and arduous. Between trying to stop a lynch mob, participating in a firefight, and dealing with stressed out personnel, he hadn’t gotten much sleep. In his former life, as a business owner, he was used to being stressed and his new role was similar because he still had a lot of different personalities to deal with and problems to solve.
Bassett pulled into the outskirts of Port Huron, and Burns directed him down to Griswold and Third Street. It was the location of an abandoned YMCA, and the building sat right by the river. The area was desolate enough to conceal the SUV and stealthily enough launch the canoe after crossing a field.
K
eeping the headlights off, they drove slowly through the streets looking for any signs of life. They weren’t sure of the presence of patrols or if there were any cops stationed there. Before leaving Jackson, they had talked to some of their men who were familiar with the area and were told most of the people had moved south or across the river into Canada as refugees.
Basset spotted a garage on Griswold adjacent to the Y and stopped the SUV.
“This looks good,” Bassett said, putting the car in park.
Both he and Burns stepped out and scanned the area before approaching the small building. Burns jimmied the passage door and vanished inside to open the garage door.
Scar got out and stretched his legs. He looked around with a pair of night-vision goggles on and then heard the door opening. He watched as Bassett backed the Suburban inside and closed the door.
“Let's recon the area,” ordered Scar. “Hadley, stay here and keep watch.”
They took off in pairs and for the next thirty minutes, scouted the area looking for any sign of trouble. Not finding any, they unloaded the canoe and headed down to the river. Upon reaching the shore, they admired the lights from across the river flickering on the horizon.
“I’ll bet there’s a hotel over there,” said Burns.
“A hot shower would be nice,” said Bassett.
Scar looked at his watch to see it was only midnight. They had hours to kill before they could go grocery shopping. It would also give them a place to stay until it got dark. “I’d be up for a hot shower.”
Bassett shook Hadley’s hand and told him to keep his head down.
They hopped into the canoe and started paddling across the river. The closer they got to Canada the more at ease Scar felt with the idea. They’d have access to a phone and could call General Standish or Colonel Brocket. They had plenty of cash, as Mayor Simpson had been able to pool a large amount of American and Canadian money. Scar also carried a couple of Canadian Maple Leaf gold pieces just in case.