by Hunt, Jack
“Um, I’m pretty sure I was the one who stuck my neck out on the line and helped us obtain the bikes. So if you want to blame someone, blame yourself!”
“Guys,” Maggie said trying to intervene. “This isn’t helping the situation. Anyway, I think we should stop for the night. It’s got to be at least ten o’clock and my leg is killing me.”
“I told you, you should have let me stitch it up.”
“Elliot, you want to stop blaming people?” Jesse said coming to Maggie’s defense.
Elliot backed up with his hands in the air. “I knew I should have just left you all.”
Jesse chuckled. “Ooh, is that where we are at now? It’s our fault you got a flat tire?”
Elliot ignored him and walked away. “We are less than twenty-one hours away from Lake Placid. I’m not stopping the night here.”
“Okay, then how do you suppose we get there? Think logically about this, Elliot. We are tired. We have been on the road for the last four hours. Maggie is still bleeding. Damon is tired and now we are one bike short. Now had you not lost your temper and thrown the damn thing at the wall, perhaps we might have been able to find a home that had a bike kit.”
“Who gives a fuck!”
Jesse could tell he was seething but taking it out on them wasn’t doing any good.
“You’re in a hurry to get back. I get that. But let’s face the facts. You haven’t been back in twelve months. If they have survived that long without you, I think your wife can cope another twenty-four hours without you.”
Elliot glared at him and walked a short distance away.
Maggie put her arm on Jesse’s shoulder. “Leave him. He just needs to cool off.”
“You’re telling me,” Damon said kicking up some loose rocks from the dirt.
It was strange to see the streets empty, and vehicles clogging up every inch of the road. Some of the doors were open. Baggage was strewn across the road. There were several on fire.
“Where do you think everyone is?” Maggie asked.
He scanned the street and there wasn’t anyone to be seen. He figured in a small town, they might have implemented a curfew but in which case, where were the cops to enforce it?
“Stay here.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back.”
Jesse got off his bike and leaned it up against an antique store window. He jogged on down Church Street and took a left onto main street. Farther down he could see a fire burning and make out what appeared to be a blockade. Someone had pushed into place multiple vehicles but there was no one there. That was odd. He returned to the group as he didn’t feel good about it.
“What did you see?” Maggie asked.
“I’ve got a bad vibe about this place. We should keep moving. Where’s Elliot?”
“He just headed down First Street, said something about checking out some vehicles.”
“Wait here, I’ll go get him.”
Jesse headed off jogging down Church Street and took a right onto First. He scanned the homes in the darkness. He could see light beyond some of the windows. The sound of generators churning away could be heard, in fact it was the only sound that could be heard.
“Elliot?” he called out checking each driveway as he passed them.
No response.
He didn’t walk far down that road as it came to a dead end. Assuming he’d gone east instead of west, he turned to head back when without warning a bullet whizzed by his head. Had it been a fraction of an inch closer, it would have taken his head off. Instead it struck a window across the road and shattered it. Before he even had a chance to register where it came from, another tore up the ground ahead of him.
Instinctively he scrambled, zigzagging in the darkness across the road to the home closest and then ducking down behind a rusted-out sedan. Several more shots were fired tearing up the side of the vehicle. He got down on his belly, pulled his Glock and looked under the vehicle. In the darkness he could see the silhouette of two figures walking slowly across the road. Shit, his mind went into overdrive. There was no way he could get back to where Damon and Maggie were without being seen, so he cast a glance over his shoulder towards the house. There were no lights on but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t inside. Bringing his attention back to the men, he aimed and squeezed the trigger twice, then without even waiting to see which way they ran, he got up and at a crouch sprinted towards the side of the house. He pulled the storm door open and slammed his foot into the door, but it didn’t budge.
Another round echoed and whizzed by him, the second bullet struck the storm door and he knew if he didn’t get the hell out of there, he was going to die. He scrambled around the back of the house and fired at the window causing the whole thing to shatter. He jumped up onto the porch and carefully eased himself into the home. Inside it smelled musty. He’d entered the living room. The place was in a complete state. Nothing more than a few pieces of furniture, a TV, and the rest was covered in old newspapers and bowls of half-eaten food, along with microwave dinners. He heard voices outside, so he exited the living room slowly and cast a glance up and down the hallway. He wasn’t sure where to go. Up, down or just wait for the men to follow. Who the hell were they? Why the hell were they shooting at him? And better question where were the damn cops when you needed them?
* * *
Damon was lying on the ground enjoying a moment of peace and quiet when he heard the gunfire. At first Maggie thought it was fireworks, then when it happened again she knew. He scrambled to his feet, pulled his gun and both Damon and Maggie made their way down to First Street. With it being night, they couldn’t see a damn thing.
“Listen, stay here, keep your head down, I’m gonna go and see.”
Her pulse was racing as she looked for where she could take cover. There was nothing. It was just an open exposed area. No trees, or bushes.
“I’m going with you.”
“No. It’s too dangerous.”
“Well I’m not staying here.”
Damon gritted his teeth and nodded. “Stay low.”
They slipped around the corner and made their way down the residential street until they reached a large bush outside someone’s home. They ducked down and assessed the situation. In the distance they could see the silhouettes of three men fanning out. Damon turned to Maggie. “You know how to shoot a gun?”
“No.”
“It’s simple.”
He quickly showed her how to load, unload, chamber a round and hold the gun. While it seemed simple enough, the thought of firing at anyone scared the shit out of her, even more than being fired at. She didn’t want to kill anyone.
“Whatever you do, don’t point that thing at me. Okay?”
She nodded.
They moved in silence, stepping over a small white fence that only came up to waist height. They slipped through someone’s backyard, around a large round pool, then took cover by a red barn.
“Hold this position. I’m going to get closer but I need you to cover me, you understand? Anyone fires at me, you know what to do.”
“Know what to do? I have no idea,” she replied.
He just shook his head and rushed out into the darkness leaving her sitting there. The sound of more bullets whizzing by, tearing up the front of a house across the road, made her drop to her stomach and take cover. She gripped the gun tightly and frantically took in her surroundings. Under her breath she began praying. Please let me live. Please let me get through this.
* * *
Elliot was on his knees, blood trickling out the corner of his mouth while the stranger’s gun was pushed up against the back of his skull. He’d been going from house to house when he came across a Jeep that he was certain dated back to the mid-seventies. It had been souped up, and they had changed out the wheels and pimped out the inside with leather seating and top-of-the-line audio equipment. He’d smashed the window and was in the process of hotwiring just like Damon had shown him when he heard a g
un cock. Four guys dragged him out and began beating the shit out of him in the middle of the driveway.
If it hadn’t been for Jesse calling out, he was sure they would have killed him.
Now three of them were out there hunting Jesse down while he was on his knees just waiting for this guy to get distracted so he could lash out. It hadn’t been the first time he’d received a beating. With both hands resting on the ground and spitting blood, his mind drifted back to Iraq.
His platoon had been in the town of Rutbah when they came under attack. He and a buddy got separated from the group and took cover inside a home and came under heavy fire. After running out of ammo they’d been overwhelmed and dragged out, tossed into a vehicle and driven a short distance into the desert where they were thrown out and beaten with thick sticks.
Had the rest of his platoon not found them, they would have died out there and been thrown into an unmarked hole in the desert. Even now as the guy stuck the gun against his skull and told him not to move, his mind was reliving the past.
He could hear the insurgents screaming at them. He could feel each blow and see the look of pain on his buddy’s face. Rage welled up in him, his eyes focused on the man as he moved around trying to see what his pals were up to. Every now and again he would call out the name Steven and then tell Elliot that he’d fucked up.
Oh he knew he had fucked up but the only thing on his mind was getting home. That was all that mattered. He just wished he’d heard them approach while he was tucked under the steering wheel.
Elliot spat one more time, then reached down to his ankle for the blade he kept taped against his leg. They hadn’t thought to check him as they probably were planning on putting a bullet in his head after the beating. That was a mistake. His fingers wrapped around the knife and in one smooth motion he twisted, knocked the guy’s gun hand out the way and slashed him across the thigh with the blade. The gun went off, but it was too late. Within seconds it was over. Elliot was operating on pure adrenaline as he jammed that knife into the man’s gut and ended his life in the middle of that driveway.
He spat on the dead man’s face before getting up.
Not wasting a second he scooped up the Glock and hurried to help Jesse.
Chapter 27
The officer Gary sent that night wasn’t planning on staying. He did a quick perimeter search, took a statement and then moved on to the next house that had been burgled. It had been almost forty-eight hours since the power outage and already society was coming apart at the seams. It was subtle but beginning exactly as Elliot had said it would. Things would get worse from here on out, so Rayna was doing everything she could to protect herself and the kids.
“Why do we have to go inside there?” Evan asked.
“It won’t be for long,” Rayna answered.
“But we won’t be able to breathe.”
“Of course you will,” she said ushering Lily down the steep steps inside the shelter. All the while she had one hand on the rifle and was eyeing the tree line around her property.
“Now Lily, I’m going to need you to reach up for Kong when I lower him down.” That was one thing the manufacturers hadn’t given thought to when they designed these shelters — pets. Sure, it was easy to carry down a small cat or dog but Kong was close to ninety pounds, and there was no way in hell she was going to be able to lift him and they weren’t going to leave him outside. So what she had done was wrap a sheet around his body to create a makeshift harness and she was going to lower him down and Lily and Evan would make sure he didn’t bang into the sides.
It wasn’t an easy task as Kong just thought it was a big game and he started to tug on the sheet, dragging her into a tug-of-war match in the back yard. If her neighbors had seen her, they would have thought she was insane.
“Come on Kong, knock it off!”
He growled playfully and tugged and hopped around, his bushy tail wagging away.
“Evan, go around and grab him.”
One second she thought she had him, the next he ducked under her arms and was across the other side of the yard. In the end she had to put her gun down so she could corner him. Once she finally managed to wrap him up, he looked like an Egyptian mummy. Evan thought it was hilarious. To make sure she didn’t drop him, she tied the other end to the top of the ladder and then slowly lowered him down while bracing herself against the ground and using her feet against the rim of the opening for support.
“That’s it. Keep it coming,” Lily said.
Eventually he made it to the bottom, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Snagging up her gun she scanned the yard one more time before heading down the steps and closing the hatch above her. The steel locked into place and she no longer felt afraid. It was quite noisy inside as the generator ran the air filtration system pumping in air from the surface then filtering it and filling the inside. Rayna made sure the kids were settled for the night before she logged on to the command center console that was set up to provide her with a view of the outside. There were three concealed cameras providing her with a steady stream of surveillance footage. Because it was night what she could see on the main screen was a hazy night vision green. Satisfied and leaving it on, she went over to the ham radio and pulled out a small pad of instructions that Elliot had left behind. She turned on the ham radio and went about checking the different channels for a broadcast.
Nothing came over the speakers except for white noise.
None of the frequencies he’d provided brought any news of what was going on or what had caused the event. It could have been a flare or a nuke, and if it was nuclear, they had to worry about fallout.
Rayna sighed and turned off the unit. She checked on the kids and made sure they were sleeping before she returned to the living area and picked up the notebook Elliot had left behind. It was full of useful information on surviving an EMP but he had taken most of the guesswork out of it by building the shelter. It was packed with nonperishable items, dehydrated food, canned and jarred goods. Below the floorboards there was a wide selection of grain, salt, cereal, powdered milk, peanut butter, jam, dried fruit and vegetables and two 2,500-gallon polyethylene water tanks full of water. More than enough to last them without having to leave the shelter.
She tapped the couch and Kong jumped up, curling up beside her like a warm water bottle. She laid back and as she continued to read her eyes became heavy. Within a matter of minutes she dozed off.
***
When she awoke, Kong was no longer on the couch beside her and he was barking furiously. She glanced at the clock. It was a little after midnight, so she’d only been asleep an hour.
“Kong. Kong!” she yelled, but he wasn’t listening to her.
She got up and went over to the screen to see what he was barking at and that’s when she saw them. They were wearing ski masks, but she knew who they were just by the color of their jackets. She hurried over to Kong and pulled him back and wrapped her hand around his muzzle to keep him quiet. Lily and Evan looked up from their bunkbeds.
“What is it, Mom?”
She put a finger up to her lips and they instinctively looked up at the sound of boots on top of the hatch. They could hear talking, it was muffled and she couldn’t make out what they were saying but she didn’t need to. One loud bang, followed by another and she knew what they were trying to do.
“Evan, take Kong to the back of the shelter, get your shoes and remain in there. Rip off a few sheets from the bed and tie them together. We might have to create a harness for Kong again. Lily, I want you to focus on the surveillance cameras. Tell me where they are.” She nodded and hurried back. Rayna made sure her rifle was loaded and there was a bullet in the chamber ready to go. She aimed the rifle up and thought back to what Elliot had said.
“No one is getting in. That door is blast proof. They only way they could enter is if they use a blow torch.”
“Lily, what’s going on?”
“One of them has walked away and returned with a large bag.”
“And?”
“Hold on a minute. I don’t know, he’s disappeared again.”
“Find out where he’s gone.”
“I’m looking, Mom.”
She was panicked and overwhelmed. It was one thing to be told about these kinds of situations, another to be in one. She was terrified but if they managed to get in, it wouldn’t go well for them.
“Mom, it looks like a generator.”
Rayna kept her eyes focused on the hatch for a few more seconds before hurrying back into the living area and over to where Lily was. She took one look at the screen and her heart sank. One of them had what looked like a grinder in his hand. Golden sparks were flying in the air as he tried to take off the hinges.
“Can they get in?”
“No, we’re safe down here.”
“But…”
“It’s okay, Lily, your father knew what he was doing when he had this installed.”
If they managed to get through the primary hatch, it would bring them down into the decontamination room. From there they would need to get through the laser cut-door that separated the decontamination room from the rest of the shelter. It was designed like a door in a submarine. It had latches which closed it off and it would protect them even if someone fired at it. It would take one hell of a job to try and get through there and even then, by the time they got through, they would be out of the escape hatch which was concealed and came out a few feet inside the tree line. On the surface it wasn’t even visible. There was a system in place so that the escape hatch was buried about four inches under the ground. A quick pull of a chain and a hatch would open and sand would spill through and they could climb out.