Dark Road (Book 6): Reckoning

by Miller, Bruno

  Turning back to face the intruders once more, Ben was just in time to see the first man, whom Jack had shot, somehow rising to his knees. Steadying himself on the ground with one hand, he had his pistol drawn and aimed at the second floor of the house with his other. Time seemed to move in slow motion for the next few moments, and Ben couldn’t get a shot off quickly enough.

  BANG.

  The man squeezed off a shot before falling back onto his knees and holding his gut. Then he looked in Ben’s direction and began to raise his pistol again. But it was no use. Ben already had a bead on him and was halfway through his trigger pull. The KSG gave a stout kick as the slug launched from the barrel and found its target.

  The man jerked back as the slug tore into his chest and knocked him over. Knees still bent, he lay completely still in an unnatural position. Ben wasn’t taking any chances and sprinted to the bodies as he pumped another shell into the chamber.

  “Stay there,” Ben yelled to Joel while keeping his eye on the men. He gave both bodies a push with his foot when he reached them. The man with the pistol tipped over and rolled limply onto his side. The 12-gauge slug had torn a large hole in his back upon exit, and Ben was forced to step back in order to avoid the ever-expanding pool of blood around the body.

  The guy Joel had shot remained motionless when Ben prodded him with the sole of his boot. Joel’s two shots to the chest had finished him off, and Ben was impressed with the grouping and accuracy of Joel’s shooting, especially considering the adrenaline that was surely coursing through the boy’s veins.

  Satisfied that these two no longer posed a threat, Ben glanced around to make sure there were no others waiting in the wings. He was proud of Joel for stepping up and taking action, but he was mad that Jack had jumped the gun and potentially put everyone in danger with his spur-of-the-moment shooting. What was Jack thinking? He knew Ben and Joel were outside and that they would handle it. Ben was also a little angry with himself for not acting sooner; he never should have waited so long or let it get this far.

  Ben glanced up at the second-floor windows, but there was no one there. He turned his attention to Joel, who had lowered his pistol by now but remained where he had taken the shots.

  “Are you okay?” Ben called out as he ran to Joel’s side. “Joel?” Ben raised his voice.

  After a few seconds, Joel looked at him. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine.”

  He didn’t look fine, and Ben could tell he was in shock.

  “I… I had to shoot him. He was going to kill you.” Joel shuddered and returned to staring at the body on the ground.

  “You did the right thing.” Ben put his hand on Joel’s shoulder and squeezed, but Joel remained fixated on the bodies and stood there, emotionless. He needed to move his son away from here and then dispose of the bodies.

  “Why don’t you go check on everybody upstairs?” Ben suggested in the calmest voice he could manage. Joel holstered his gun and started for the steps without saying a word or breaking eye contact with the bodies. But before he could reach the deck, the rear door of the house flung open, and Allie stepped out with a concerned look on her face.

  “Jack’s been shot!” she yelled. Joel looked back at Ben, and then the two of them ran for the door.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ben’s mind raced as he followed Allie and Joel into the house and up the stairs. Why couldn’t Jack have stayed hidden like he asked? He was about to take the guys out. If Jack had just waited a little longer, they wouldn’t be in this position. As they crested the top of the stairs, Ben could see the others gathered on the floor in the rear-facing bedroom.

  “What happened?” Ben asked.

  “Jack got hit. We were hiding in the closet. He told us to wait in there.” Sandy was on the floor next to Jack and had a towel pressed against his waist. Bradley and Emma were nearby and both in tears as they watched their grandfather bleed out in front of their eyes. The towel Sandy was using to stop the bleeding was already soaked through. Both Gunner and Sam paced the room nervously. The dogs knew something was wrong, and Sam whined and grumbled as she stopped to sniff around the wound. Gunner kept his distance and continued to circle the room like he was looking for something.

  Ben took over for her and grabbed the towel, then moved it aside quickly to assess the damage. It looked pretty bad. Based on the pieces of glass embedded in Jack’s gut, he must have been standing close to the window. He quickly moved the wet towel back over the wound as the blood continued to pump out at an alarming rate. Ben rolled Jack onto his side slightly, and his worst fears were confirmed by the blood spot on the carpet. The bullet had gone all the way through and had done a lot of damage in the process.

  “Go get me more towels…and some water,” Ben barked. He looked at Jack, who had his eyes closed and was barely breathing. He knew the water and towels were a waste of time considering the amount of blood he had already lost. Even if Jack was in good health, he would have trouble coming back from this.

  “Come on, guys. Go get some towels and water,” Sandy repeated. Ben wondered if Sandy actually thought there was a chance to save Jack or if she just wanted to spare the kids like he did. Joel had tears in his eyes now, along with Allie and the kids. They all began to reluctantly do as they were told, but Ben didn’t have the heart to send them away on a useless errand and have their grandfather pass without them at his side.

  “Stay.” Ben looked at them as they stopped at the bedroom door and shook his head slowly. He had one hand on the towel and was holding Jack’s wrist with the other. His pulse had slowed significantly, and Ben knew it was only a matter of minutes, if that. There was nothing they could do for him except stay by his side.

  The kids hurried back over and knelt by their grandfather. Sandy moved back and made way for Emma, who took her place at his side and grabbed her grandfather’s hand. Jack’s fingers closed around hers as she squeezed lightly. Gunner stopped his nervous pacing and settled down in the corner of the room, as far away as possible, while Sam took a position by Jack’s head and lay quietly with his head resting on her front paws.

  “We’re here, Grandpa. We’re all here,” Emma said softly. Ben felt Jack grab his arm and tighten his grip to pull Ben close. He leaned down close to Jack and listened intently.

  “Take care of them, Ben,” Jack muttered and let out a deep breath before his hand fell away. Ben checked for a pulse, but there was none. Jack was gone.

  “Grandpa… Grandpa!” Emma shook his arm. “Is he…” She sobbed loudly and was unable to get the rest of her words out.

  Ben nodded.

  Bradley hugged his sister as they both cried. Ben leaned back on his knees and wiped a tear from his eye. He forced himself up and took a seat on the bed as he stared at Jack in total disbelief. He knew Jack’s time was limited because of the cancer, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept what just happened. Less than an hour ago, they were talking in his bedroom.

  A sense of guilt washed over Ben like a wave crashing on the beach. He had been so upset with Jack for taking the early shot and, even before that, making him keep his secret about his health from the kids. And now here he was, lying dead on the bedroom floor. None of that mattered anymore. Ben felt foolish and petty for wasting time worrying about what were now trivial things.

  He looked at his younger two as they made their way to him and threw themselves onto him and the bed. He wrapped them in his arms and held them tightly for a while before Bradley pulled away to look back at his grandfather. Ben looked over at Joel and saw that he had his face buried in Allie’s shoulder. She was holding him tightly. Sandy looked over at Ben and wiped her eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  All Ben could manage was another nod as he watched the children come to terms with what had happened. It was a lot to take in, especially for Bradley and Emma, who had been living with Jack, but Ben was worried. He wanted to get back outside and make sure the two guys were alone. He felt vulnerable with all of them up on t
he second floor. This was the perfect opportunity for someone to take advantage of them.

  The kids started to regain their composure and gather around Jack’s body. Sandy moved in close behind Emma and Bradley, putting her arms on each of their shoulders. Ben was surprised to see them both lean into her and accept her embrace so readily. But Sandy was a kind-hearted person, and it showed in how she had befriended them all since their arrival at Jack’s place. The kids had quickly warmed up to her and Allie, and Ben was especially grateful for that right now. He was glad she and Allie were here. This would be a lot harder to deal with if it was just him and the kids. No doubt they would’ve preferred their mother by their side, but Sandy was as good of a substitute as he could hope for right now.

  Ben felt comfortable leaving them with Sandy, but not before he yanked a comforter off the bed and covered Jack up to his neck. He wanted to give the kids a chance to say their goodbyes, but there was no need to leave his wounds exposed.

  “I need to go check outside and make sure it’s secure. We don’t know if those guys were alone or working with a group.”

  Joel pulled away from Allie and stood up straight as Ben headed out of the room. He took a big breath. “I can help.”

  Ben stopped and looked at his son. He debated whether he wanted Joel to be a part of moving the bodies but decided it probably didn’t matter at this point.

  “You can stay here with your brother and sister if you want,” Ben suggested. “I can handle it on my own.”

  Emma looked up. “We’re fine, Dad. You might need Joel out there.”

  Ben wondered if they had seen what happened in the back yard, but he wasn’t about to ask her if she had seen her brother shoot a man. As Ben looked around the room, he realized then and there that his kids were growing up fast. In Joel’s case, he was already grown. Not so much in age but in experience and innocence lost. There was no going back, and no matter what the future held, they would never be the same again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “All right, come on. We’ll be right back.” Ben looked around at everyone in the room before heading downstairs with Joel close behind. He wanted to say something to Joel, to impart some words of wisdom or comfort about the shooting and about his grandfather, but he drew a blank. Nothing that popped into his head sounded right, and he didn’t want to risk treating Joel like a kid. What do you say to a teenager who just killed a man in self-defense and lost his grandfather within the span of a few minutes?

  Ben stopped halfway through the kitchen and turned to face Joel.

  “Thanks for saving my butt out there earlier.” Ben put his hand on Joel’s shoulder and squeezed. “You don’t have to do this, you know, help me move the bodies.”

  “I know, but I want to. Besides, there might be more of them out there.” For a moment, Joel paused and gazed out the kitchen window with a faraway look in his eye. “I got your back, Dad.” Joel hugged him quickly and wiped his eyes one more time before pulling out his Glock.

  “I know you do.” Ben shot Joel a crooked smile and headed for the back door. As bad as the situation was, Ben had never been prouder of his son than he was in this moment. In his eyes, there was no denying that Joel was no longer a teenager. It wasn’t the first time Joel had been forced to kill, and it most likely wouldn’t be his last. Joel was a man now, and Ben vowed then and there to treat him like nothing less. He would always do everything in his power to protect his son, but it was time to let him come into his own.

  Ben wasn’t sure if the two guys in the Chevy were alone, but he wasn’t taking any chances. And even if it was just the two of them, the shooting might have attracted some unwanted attention. If it had been earlier in the day, Ben might have considered hastily loading the trucks and getting out of there within the hour. But it was too late for that, and by the time they finished, there would only be a few hours of travel time before dark. It also felt a lot like running, and that didn’t sit well with him, either.

  They would stick to the plan and leave in the morning. They needed to pack quickly and efficiently, but he didn’t want to rush through it and risk forgetting something crucial. It wouldn’t take that long to finish gearing up the trucks tonight, and if it cooled down a little, they could get it all done in a couple of hours.

  In addition to preparing the trucks for the long trip ahead, they were now faced with an additional task, one Ben wasn’t looking forward to: what to do with Jack’s body. He hated to even think about it, but it had to be done. They would give Jack a proper burial under the old magnolia tree. That was what Jack wanted, and it was the least they could do for him.

  Digging the grave would be backbreaking work in the dry, hard ground, but it needed to happen, especially for the kids. They needed a clean start to the trip, and this would hopefully give them some measure of closure. The journey would be hard enough without carrying the burden of guilt and the thought of Jack wrapped up in a blanket and lying in the bedroom. Morale would already be at an all-time low, and Ben wanted to give them the best chance possible to make it home.

  He and Joel made their way onto the back deck, and Ben scanned the surrounding fields for any signs of movement. They held still for a while and listened for any sounds, but there was nothing other than the occasional breeze rustling rows of dead soybeans.

  Ben noticed a slight change in the temperature. The sun was beginning to creep westward, and several darker clouds had formed in the sky since the last time he was outside. The shade they provided gave welcome relief from the relentless sunlight they’d grown accustomed to.

  “Do you think it’s going to rain?” Joel asked.

  “It sure looks like it.” Ben didn’t want to get his hopes up, but there was no denying that those were storm clouds and an ever-darkening horizon to the east. They were less than twenty miles from the Atlantic Ocean, and Ben was excited about the prospects of a system moving in from the coast. Not because they needed the rain. Everything here was already dead or dying anyway, but maybe the storm was the beginning of weather patterns returning to something close to normal. If nothing else, it would break the heat, and although he felt a bit morbid for thinking this, it would soften the ground a little.

  “It’d be nice to see some rain for a change,” Joel said. “It’s been a while.”

  “That it has. The last rain we saw was in Colorado.” Ben stopped focusing on the weather and resumed his assessment of the property.

  “Let’s take a walk around, just to be safe.” Ben held the KSG across his torso and started down the steps. He looked over at the bodies. They were still in the same awkward positions as when he last saw them. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but he was glad to see them unchanged. He noticed Joel stealing glances at the two dead men as well, but he remained silent.

  They made their way around the house first, careful to take their time and move slowly, especially across the front of the property, where they were visible from the road. Confident the front was clear, Ben led them to the north side and up the driveway, past the house, and back to the outbuilding. Once they had checked the perimeter of the garage and the fields beyond, they were confident they were alone once more.

  “Maybe it was just the two of them,” Joel said.

  “Maybe.” Ben sighed. He wasn’t about to let his guard down, and he probably wouldn’t feel good about things until they were back on the road again.

  There was no putting off what had to be done next. Thankfully, Jack’s tractor was still running, and it had a set of forks on the front end. It would have been nice if it was equipped with a bucket. That would have made digging a grave for Jack a lot easier, but Ben had no intention of providing such luxuries for the two thieves.

  He and Joel opened up the garage, and Ben found the keys in the tractor’s ignition. The old John Deere fired right up, and after taking a couple of seconds to look over the controls, Ben drove into the yard. The forks were already close together, so there was no need to adjust them, and he had no problem getti
ng under the already slightly stiff bodies with the long metal forks. In hindsight, he could have done this without Joel, but an extra set of eyes and ears while he was running the tractor and distracted was a good idea.

  With both bodies on board, he slowed the throttle and yelled over to Joel, who was watching him.

  “I’m going to take them back into the field aways. I’ll be right back. Keep an eye out here, okay?”

  Joel nodded and gave him a thumbs-up as he drove past and headed into the brown sea of soybeans. He glanced back when he was a few hundred yards away and saw that Joel was inspecting the rifle that the fat man had leaned against the building.

  Ben drove a little farther, and when he was sure the bodies would be out of sight, he pushed the lever forward and watched them slide off the forks. They tumbled over each other as they hit the ground and kicked up a small cloud of dust. Ben was tempted to call it done and cut the wheel hard to the right. He was about to turn around and drive back, but instead, he put the tractor in neutral and throttled down to a low idle. Hopping down from the seat, he landed hard on the ground. The dirt out here between the planted rows was rock-hard, and it felt like he was on pavement.

  It wouldn’t take long, but he wanted to get the pistol. The fat man had nothing on him that Ben cared about, but the other man had a pistol that might be useful, depending on the caliber. It was still in the man’s hand, and he was surprised it hadn’t fallen out on the bumpy ride out here. Ben pried the gun from his hand, which was still surprisingly flexible, and examined it. He had mixed emotions about the weapon, seeing as how it was the gun that killed Jack. But the pragmatist in him knew that it was just a gun and that it was in fact the man who had killed Jack.

  It was a dull gray Springfield 1911-style .45 semiautomatic pistol. The gun was in good condition and had been taken care of. It was a newer model, probably not more than a few years old. Part of Ben wanted it to be a piece of junk so he could strip it of ammunition and leave it to rust in the field, but it wasn’t, and they had plenty of .45-caliber ammunition, thanks to Jack. They needed to keep the gun.