Killswitch Chronicles- The Complete Anthology

by G. R. Carter

  The younger Tucker nodded. Tommy Morton had been his best friend growing up. They remained close until the day Tommy was killed in the Sandbox. “Yeah, Red is a good man. I know he’s out there. Figure he’s in the thick of it, knowin’ how serious he takes his job.”

  The three were silent for just a moment, each lost in the thought of themselves trapped in the dark surrounded by two thousand angry inmates.

  “It’s bad news. I wish we could help in some way. But I still don’t see why that brings you fellas all the way over here in the dark,” Sy said.

  “We think some’a them animals got out of the cage,” the elder Tucker told him. “There was an explosion at the prison. Lights went out. There’s been gunfire, too. Folks heard automatic weapons outside in the yard.”

  “Holy…” Sy stuttered.

  “Dang right,” Dillon Tucker said. “Imagine if just a fraction gets into town. Pitch-black, can’t see nothin’. Man, that’s gonna be bad.”

  “We need to tell Sheriff Moore,” Sy said.

  Tucker shook his head. “Already been to see him. He’s got one deputy in town, that’s all. The other one is out at the Kaplan place, trying to figure out if they had something to do with the explosion. Witnesses talked about a couple old trucks and some jeeps being around there just before it went up.”

  Sy nodded. “Sounds like the Kaplans, all right. Wouldn’t want to be that deputy out there snoopin’ around their place at night.”

  He patted the side of the truck. “I sure do thank you for coming out to warn us, fellas. I don’t guess inmates would make it out this far. But I guess we can’t be too careful.”

  Old Man Tucker’s voice growled in anger. “You think we just drove over here to warn you, Bradshaw? You’re thicker than I thought you were, and that’s sayin’ something, believe me. I come to fetch you and as many trigger-pullers as we can muster to head for town. Sheriff Moore’s outnumbered. There’s kids in town. Women too. We got to get into town and make sure none of those creatures get to 'em.”

  Sy felt guilty at first for not thinking about that, then angry at what Tucker had said. “You mean like a posse?” he asked. “Tucker, these guys stayin’ here tonight have never shot at anything more than a deer. And several of them never even done that. You’re talkin’ about arming them and sending them into a pitch-black town to search for escaped killers?”

  “Dammit, boy, ain’t you been listening? Your people are under attack. Folks you went to school with, go to church with. There’s women and children in there, boy. Don’t you know what those demons will do to them?” Tucker growled.

  Sy refused to let himself picture what would happen, but he knew Tucker was right. He could no more leave those folks in Mt. Sterling to face this danger alone than he could if the lodge itself was under attack. “Okay, Tuck. You’re right. I wasn’t thinkin’ straight. I’ll get as many together as I can and we’ll be right back down.”

  The truck’s engine fired back up. “We can’t wait. I got half a dozen men in the back of the truck already. We’ll meet you down by the municipal building. Some of the Kaplans are downtown, protecting their Brown Boar tavern. Hate to do it, but we oughta link up with them. Hurry as much as you can.”

  Sy stepped down off the running boards and Tucker whipped the truck into the driveway. He slammed on the brakes, threw it into reverse and made a perfect three-point pullout. The gears whined as they synchronized, then all that was left was the sound of the engine, some dust, and one taillight in the distance.

  The noise faded, replaced by Sy’s four-wheeler’s engine. He kicked it in gear and pushed the throttle, picking up speed. The night air felt good on his face, and he didn’t mind the occasional bug that smacked against his skin. His mind raced. He had a lodge full of people, and now that burden would fall directly on Kara. He tried to think of what he would say to the crowd assembled at the lodge. He did a quick mental inventory of his weaponry, who was staying at the lodge tonight and how to match them up with the right piece.

  There were plenty of people still up and moving around the lodge grounds when he came rolling in. He turned the key and killed the engine, letting the machine roll silently to a stop in front of the double-width staircase leading up to the grand entrance of the lodge. He jumped off in one motion, perfected from a thousand such dismounts. Two steps at a time, he bounded up to find Kara while the butt of his rifle thumped him in the leg each time. He switched shoulders as he walked through the double doors and into the Great Room.

  The whole space bristled with energy. It was the good kind of chaos. The sweet pandemonium of Christmastime at the grandparents’, when all of the cousins were in town and every inch of the living room floor would be covered with blankets and kids. Kara of course was right in the middle of it all, smiling and handing out needed supplies. One of the lodge staff was with her, holding a box of goodies and passing them to anyone looking for a snack. She looked up and noticed Sy’s face; she acknowledged it with a simple nod. Kara turned to the staff member standing next to her and said something, then turned back to wave Sy to the kitchen entrance.

  He recognized nearly everyone packed onto the Great Room floor, and as he walked by he said hi, smiling and joking with anyone he could. A sense of conflict welled inside him. He was mad at Tucker for implying he might be doing wrong staying here to help at the lodge. After all, he’d opened his home to anyone wishing to stay. That was more than Tucker had been willing to do.

  He grabbed an apple off of the kitchen counter when he walked in, rubbed it on his coat, then took a bite. Several hours had passed since his last meal, and his rumbling stomach reminded him that wasn’t standard operating procedure. He explained everything Tucker told him about what was happening at the prison, about the danger to the town. His heart hurt as Kara’s eyes watered. She mouthed the word “Peter,” then wiped her eyes with a drying towel hanging from the sink.

  She regained her composure, took a deep breath and simply asked, “So what’s the plan?”

  Her brother stared at her for a moment, surprised at her reaction. “You thinkin’ we oughta do something?”

  The look on her face told him he’d said something stupid. “Of course we should, Sy. We can’t just let something like that happen to our neighbors.”

  “We got a whole lodge full of neighbors right now,” he said, hurt once more at the implication he didn’t want to help.

  She conceded the point, looking out the kitchen window at people milling around a fire in the big stone ring that contained it. “What if they come here?”

  “The prisoners?”

  She nodded, still watching out the window. “After they’re done in town, they’ll be looking for more.”

  “I don’t know, Sis. Heck, most folks raised in that town have trouble finding us out here. I can’t imagine them prisoners could,” he replied.

  Kara wasn’t convinced by his tone. “We’ve got pamphlets up at every store and restaurant left in town. Plus, who knows what folks might say just to…” She didn’t finish, frozen by the evil image that popped into her mind. “We’re wasting time. We need to get a group put together to go help Tucker.”

  Sy was shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe the state police, or the National Guard, or somebody won’t be here to help. I’m sure Sheriff Moore got ahold of a government official. Regular folks shouldn’t have to do this sorta thing.”

  “Wake up, Sy!” Kara yelled at her brother. The big man startled at his sister’s tone. “There’s no one coming to help tonight! Maybe in the morning, or the afternoon, or who knows when? But not tonight! Good God, I would have thought you’d figure that out by now. You think the government’s coming to help us if the cities are in trouble? We’re just about last on their list when times are good!”

  Sy’s temper flared. “You all are acting like it’s the end of the world out there! The freakin’ power’s been off for just a couple days. Ain’t like it’s the end of civilization as we know it. This is America,
for cryin’ out loud. There’s laws to stuff!”

  Kara’s face was stern. “Ben warned me that people wouldn’t be able to accept it when the day finally came…” she said, to herself as much as him. “Listen, Sy, I tell you what. You stay here and look after the guests. I’m going to raise whoever I can out of the group and head into town to help Tucker, okay?”

  “Ah, dammit, Sis,” Sy said as he slammed his hat on the stainless steel countertop. The metal buckle on the adjustable band struck the steel in a loud smack. He put the cap back on and stomped out of the kitchen.

  She stood by herself for a moment. A brief self-congratulation for getting her way was quickly replaced by the dread of what she’d done. Her brother was now headed into a very dangerous situation, one she’d caused him to do against his better judgment. She started to walk out to stop him when she heard him announce in the Great Room, “Listen up, please. I need all men to meet me in the tractor shed as soon as possible.” He walked out the entrance doors and stood on the porch, repeating the same announcement. She watched out the kitchen windows through tears as he took one long stride after another, calling out the meeting, as he made his way out to the tractor shed now serving as the men’s quarters.

  Going to help was the right thing to do, she knew that to be the truth. But good people got hurt doing the right thing sometimes. She prayed this wouldn’t be one of those times.

  *****

  “I don’t give two craps about what all your townies are doing, Kara. I paid for these rooms, I deserve at least one for Trey and me to sleep in.” JR Casey stood in the middle of Ridgeview Lodge’s largest suite, the one his father referred to as the Presidential. “We’re not sleeping out in that rat-infested barn of yours!”

  Kara Bradshaw had a bit of a temper. She could yell, and sometimes swear, with the most foul-mouthed of the men who visited Ridgeview Lodge. But when she got mad—really, really mad—her tone got very measured and quiet.

  Right now she stood with her arms crossed, simply staring at what she currently considered a pathetic excuse for a man.

  “First of all,” she said coolly, staring JR Casey directly in the eye, “you didn’t pay for these rooms. Your dad did.” She’d struck a hard opening blow. Everyone who knew JR Casey even just a little was aware of how he felt about living in his father’s shadow. Even dead, Ben Casey was somehow still in charge.

  “Second, it’s not a rat-infested barn. There’s lights, a concrete floor, heat. None of the other men are complaining about staying out there.”

  “None of the rest are paying to be here. They’re lucky to have anywhere with a roof,” JR fired back. “And don’t give me the crap about Dad paying for the rooms. I’m a part of that company, too. In fact, I’m going to own that company as soon as the will gets read.”

  He gave her a little grin—not the happy type, the one that told her he had a card to play. “In fact, I’d think you’d be a little nice to someone who decides how company dollars are spent. There’s plenty of hunting lodges for us to have our retreats at each year.” He nodded and smiled. “In fact, I hear Wisconsin is pretty nice. Maybe a little closer to home, too.”

  It was Kara’s turn to give her own sarcastic smile. “I don’t care if you ever show up here again, JR. Of course, if you didn’t, you’d be wasting your money; Ben signed a twenty-year contract with me when you all were here last year. Guarantees our fee every year, whether you show up here or not.”

  JR turned bright red. “We’ll see what happens to this lodge when my lawyers get through with you. Contracts and fees will be the least of your worries. Think more along the lines of wrongful death lawsuits,” he snarled through gritted teeth.

  Kara’s mouth dropped open for just a moment, then her jaw set again. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “The hell I wouldn’t. In fact I’m going to make that first on my list when I get home,” he said, smiling again like a cat with the canary.

  “Your father would never want you to do that to us.”

  “Quit acting like you know my father so well,” JR said. “Jeez, he stays at this stupid lodge once a year. You act like he’s some friend of yours.”

  “You’d be surprised how often we spoke,” she said. “Ben always took an interest in this place, in Sy and me. The whole staff, too. And especially Max.”

  “He felt sorry for you, maybe. Max without a decent male role model—”

  Kara smacked him across the face. She was strong woman, and anger doubled the power of her blow. When JR’s face came back around, there was a little blood around the split in his lower lip.

  “Now you’ve got assault and battery to add to your list, you little witch,” he said. “I should put you down on the ground right now…teach you some manners.”

  Kara took a half-step back, weight on her back foot. Her hands clenched loosely and went to waist height, just like she’d been taught in her self-defense class. Another insistence from Ben Casey, that seemed silly at the time, but now she thanked him for looking out for her one more time.

  JR looked at her stance and laughed. “Going all Karate Kid on me, huh? That supposed to scare me?”

  She took a deep breath. Her mind told her to try to defuse the situation, to keep the peace no matter the cost. But in the end, she was a Bradshaw. There was only so much she should have to take from a man like this. “I figure since you were scared to go into town with the rest of the men, you’d probably fear me, too.”

  The look on his face made her regret her decision to provoke him. He still outweighed her by thirty pounds and had the advantage of a company-sponsored workout program. Undisciplined or not, he had a good chance of hurting her.

  He took a step forward, reaching out with both hands to grab her. She'd experienced the same move several times in sparring class. Training flowed through her movements, allowing his motion to betray his balance. With the grab of a wrist and the turn of her body she flung him to the ground. It was like a drill, except the floor below was hardwood and not a padded mat. JR hit the ground with thud and a groan. The sound of pain turned to rage and he sprung back to his feet.

  She went back into ready position and shuffled backwards on the balls of her feet, trying to gain a little more distance between the two. He’s used to getting his way with women, she thought. Use that to your advantage now.

  JR’s eyes burned in desperation. He was a cornered animal looking to lash out at his tormenter. She could see him scan the room, looking for something to use as a weapon. In a split-second decision, she rushed him. She sent a kick at his knee, then jabbed with her right fist. Neither landed, but she had the initiative now. JR looked like he just wanted to get away from this crazy woman he had thought would be another pushover.

  He moved to his right, eyes locked on her next move instead of his own. With a crash, he plowed into the suite’s giant antique dresser. His shoulder hit, then his head, knocking him off balance and leaving him woozy as pictures and candles sitting on top of the dresser crashed to the floor.

  Kara’s blood was boiling, adrenaline pumping as she took another jab at his staggering form. She landed her blow this time, sending him face first into the hardwood.

  But he still didn’t stay down; he came back up with a piece of broken picture frame in his hand. His face was really bleeding now. A bloodcurdling scream rose up directly at her. She felt lost for a moment, like she was in a surreal nightmare scene from a horror movie.

  She shuffled back again, this time towards the door. She wanted to be out of the room, out amongst people, away from this creature in front of her. One-on-one, hand-to-hand was one thing. Now that JR seemed determined to use a sharp object, the fight had changed complexion.

  She turned to run out the door. Instead she was stopped by two hundred pounds of muscle standing in her way.

  “What in blue blazes is going on here!” an Australian accent demanded. Darwin King stood glaring with a murderous scowl. Glaring at JR, to be exact.

  “What are you looking at
me for!” JR screamed. “I’m the one bleeding!”

  King shook his head in disgust. “Always a bit of a disappointment, eh, JR?”

  He looked down at Kara, a softer look still tinged with disappointment. “And you, Kara. I leave for just a bit and things go all cockeyed round here. It looks like bush week out on the lawn.”

  King didn’t wait for her reply. His glare turned back to JR. “Look here, JR, your ol’ man would straight give you the boot if he saw you like this. Just a couple days on and already you’ve gone wanker on us.”

  “Quit telling me about my father!” JR shouted, rage building again. “You two didn’t know him like I did. Stop acting like you were his best friends!”

  King shook his head again, more in pity than disgust this time. “You still don’t get it, do you, JR?”

  Little Max and Trey came running into the room. Trey saw his dad and stopped dead in his tracks, like he’d come face to face with a real-life monster. Max seemed wary too, but immediately ran to his mom and hugged her.

  Kara gave the best mom smile she could. “It’s okay, boys,” she said. “Mr. Casey just had little accident. Me and Mr. King are going to help him clean it up.”

  JR didn’t agree immediately; his anger still overcame his concern for his son’s feelings. Finally he wiped some of the blood off his face and nodded. “Yeah, Trey. Your clumsy dad ran into the dresser. Pretty silly, huh?” The good-natured boy ran to his father, anxious to help in any way he could. He gave him a quick hug.

  Darwin looked to Kara again. “Say, love, why don’t you take the boys down with you to make the rounds? You got lotsa folks to look after, and these fine young men would be a big help. What do you say, boys? Can you give the queen of this castle a hand?”

  “Sure, Mr. King,” Max said.

  Trey didn’t look sure he should leave his father. JR patted his back and gave him a nod. “I need to get cleaned up, son. You go on with Max, okay?”