by Harley Tate
Madison did as he asked, lighting both wicks before sending the bombs flying into the house. They both landed with little thuds and even more smoke filled the first floor. It swept up the staircase, billowed around the ceiling and flooded the kitchen.
In no time, they heard shouts and coughing.
“Is it lethal?”
Peyton shook his head. “No. But it can make your throat burn and your eyes water. I just hope they think the house is on fire and come running out.”
Madison hoped the same, but as the minutes ticked by, her optimism faded. The men weren’t coming out.
Her mother took a deep breath and let it out through her mouth. “Looks like we’ll have to go in after them.”
She turned to Madison. “I love you, honey.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
Madison watched her mom climb in through the broken window with Peyton on her heels. Brianna followed behind him. From the distance, she couldn’t see her father, but she knew he would keep watch from his perch, ready to shoot anyone who came outside.
With a deep breath, Madison eased her leg over the window sill and stepped into the house. Smoke still clouded the air, but with every second more and more dissipated into nothing.
The house was one of those newer, long and narrow types, with a craftsman front and two floors. The kitchen opened to the living and dining rooms and Madison’s mother eased past the couch, gun trained on the space behind.
She shook her head. Empty.
In seconds they cleared the first floor. That left the upstairs. If it was anything like the house next door, Madison knew four bedrooms and just as many bathrooms waited. Without smoke to shield their entrance, clearing it would be difficult.
Add in the low ammunition and Madison had to force her feet forward. Peyton and her mom took the lead, climbing the stairs one after the other, pausing at every opportunity. As soon as they reached the top landing, Peyton motioned Brianna and Madison forward.
He took up position at the corner of the hall to act as sentry and last line of defense. If anyone tried to escape, Peyton would shoot them.
Madison glanced up at Peyton as she passed. They had been through so much together in such a short time. She was thankful he came with her to Sacramento and now Chico and beyond. It would be lonely in this new world without him.
The light from the moon outside barely made it into the hall and Madison squinted to see. Ten steps ahead, her mother twisted the door handle on the first room. She pushed the door open, using it as a shield as she held her shotgun at the ready. Brianna followed right behind.
Madison headed toward the open master bedroom. It was her room to clear. With the light from the wide-open windows, she could see enough to tackle this room on her own. That had been the plan from the beginning. But it still shot a bolt of fear through her heart.
She could turn back and wait, but what if someone in there was hatching a plan? What if they made it past her and down the hall? Her mother and Brianna would be exposed and it would be her fault. No, Madison chose this part of the mission. She would see it through.
As she crept inside, she eased around a queen bed. It sat up high and memories of horror movies with the bad guy hiding underneath filled her mind. Madison kept to the shadows.
Her heart thudded, loud and fast, and her ears rang in the stillness. Where are they? She couldn’t believe they would hide like rats and not come out and face them. After their big show at the farm and the attitude she witnessed the day before, they should be chomping at the bit to come do her in.
She raised her gun and advanced.
The second she stepped past the bed, she realized her mistake. The open double door didn’t hit the wall as she’d assumed, but blocked the entrance to the bathroom instead. Plenty of space for someone to hide.
She spun around too late. The man hit her in the shoulder in an attempt to knock her gun free, but Madison had pulled it in tight to her chest as she entered the room. Her father had taught that a few days before. Always keep hold of your weapon.
He came at her again, fists flailing, and Madison backed up. Her breath came in jagged gasps and she fired, not really aiming, just pointing and shooting and trying not to panic. The shot went wide.
The man came at her again and she stumbled into the bed, banging her hip against the carved-wood footboard. A fist landed square on her midsection, knuckles slamming into her muscles and cracking ribs. All the air whooshed from her lungs.
She couldn’t breathe.
The gun wobbled in her shaky hands as she pointed and fired again. The man stumbled, the white of his shirt blooming where the bullet hit his shoulder. Madison fired again.
He fell to his knees. Madison thought about Tucker and Drew and Wanda. When that first man broke into their house, she couldn’t kill him. That was the job for police and judges and juries. The justice system.
Not a nineteen-year-old with a gun in her hand.
But standing there, watching this stranger grip his chest as blood pumped from his heart to coat his fingers, she understood. Her father was right. She was the same girl as two weeks ago. She still believed in right and wrong. Service and humility. Perseverance and courage.
But now there were no police. No lawyers. No jails.
Bad people didn’t get locked up and fed three meals a day with enough free time to learn a foreign language and get a degree. The people who killed Mandy at the radio station and Wanda back home and this man who caused the deaths of Tucker and Drew…
They couldn’t be the leaders of this new American frontier.
A series of shots rang out from down the hall as the man in front of her slumped to the ground, his face landing hard on the beige carpet. A trickle of blood seeped from his lips, staining the twisted fibers beneath him, and Madison stared at him as his eyes turned vacant and hollow.
She watched him die.
At last, she turned away and searched the rest of the room, confirming that it stood empty. As she stood in front of the dead man thinking it all over, Peyton busted into the room.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded, eyes never leaving the man in front of her. “You?”
“Yes. Your mom and Brianna took care of the other man. The house is clear.”
“Good.” Madison reached out and fished through the man’s pockets, searching for anything of value. A pair of keys, a lighter, and a small silver horseshoe. She ran her fingers over the horseshoe’s edges as she stood up. Luck might have served the man well before the power grid failed, but now, no amount of luck would see someone through.
Peyton reached for her, wrapping his arms around her until she winced.
“Watch the ribs.”
“Sorry.” He reached up and stroked her hair, starting at the top of her head and easing down to her shoulders before starting over. “When that shot went off, I thought maybe…”
Madison pulled back and searched Peyton’s face. The sound of fear in his voice brought doubt crashing in. “We did the right thing, didn’t we? Coming here and killing these men?”
His eyebrows dipped low, but Peyton nodded. “They took our truck and all of our gas. They killed two of our own. If we didn’t stop them, they would do it to someone else. Besides, now we can go back to the farm and see if we can track down any animals.”
Madison nodded and pulled away.
“Are you two all right?” Her mom stepped into the room, a smear of blood on her cheek.
“Yes.” Peyton turned to face her. “Nice shooting in there, Mrs. Sloane.”
“Thanks. If you’re capable of helping, there’s two bedrooms still to clear.”
Peyton stepped away from Madison with a last squeeze of her arm.
As he left the room, her mother looked her over. “You sure you’re okay?”
Madison nodded. “I will be.”
“Good. Because I need you to help with Brianna.”
Madison’s eyes widened in alarm. “Is she?”
; Her mom turned and motioned for her to follow. “Just come with me.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
TRACY
316 Rosemont Avenue, Chico, CA
11:00 p.m.
Tracy hoisted the last dead man’s legs up in the air while Peyton carried him under the arms. They took the stairs one at a time with a pause on each one, until they reached the second floor. With one more push, they made it to the master bedroom.
His body landed in a heap on top of the others and Tracy gripped her thighs as she sucked in a lungful of air. “Remind me next time we go on a killing spree to pick some lightweights.”
“Not funny.”
She wheezed in and out. “I’m not kidding.”
Peyton walked past her and out to the second-floor landing. After a moment, Tracy joined him, shutting the doors to the bedroom on her way. The men they killed didn’t deserve a burial, but Tracy couldn’t leave them to rot all over the yard. It had been hard work hauling them up the stairs, but it was the right thing to do.
She glanced at Peyton. “You all right?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “To be honest, I don’t know. I’ve never… This is the first time I…”
Tracy nodded. “I understand.”
“Does it get any easier?” He looked down at her with wild, unfocused eyes. She wished they could rewind the last few days and make all of this a bad dream. But it wasn’t. They stood at the top of the stairs in a stranger’s house with six dead men locked in a room behind them. That was their new reality.
She wiped the sweat off her brow with the hem of her shirt. “Are you talking about killing a person? Does that get any easier?”
Peyton nodded.
“I hope not. If it does, then we’ve got bigger problems.” Tracy tried to smile, but it came out in more of a grimace. “We didn’t do this tonight because we enjoyed it, Peyton. We did it because we had to. They took our truck, our gas, some of our supplies. Without those things, we couldn’t bring any of the plants to Brianna’s cabin in Truckee.” She paused and took a deep breath. “The Jetta doesn’t have a windshield and it’s covered in Drew’s blood.”
“We could have found another car.”
“Even if we did, what’s to say these men wouldn’t come looking for us? They had to know they killed Tucker and Drew and they saw Walter get shot. They might have thought we were easy targets now.”
She ran a hand through her hair and pushed the sweaty strands off her face. “If they didn’t come after us, they could have hurt someone else. The next people who stopped at the farm might not escape at all.”
Peyton shook his head with a frown. “But who says we’re the right people to make that call? Why do we get to make that choice?”
Tracy grappled with the same issues. “We made the choice to attack them. We didn’t know what the end result would be.”
“So that makes it right?’
“No.” She exhaled and waited until Peyton looked her in the eye. “But we need to find our moral footing in this new world. There are no judges or juries. No police to arrest someone who’s broken the law or remind people why they shouldn’t do it in the first place.”
“I don’t think that gives us the freedom to kill other people whenever it suits us.”
“I agree. But we need to be prepared to make the tough choices. Walter could have killed Steve, but he didn’t. Madison could have killed Bill or any number of people back home. All we can do is make the best call in the moment.”
“How do you do that?”
Tracy shrugged. She didn’t know the answer to that question. “I can’t tell you how to do it. All I can say is that I ask myself, if this person stays alive, will my life be in danger? Will someone I love die? Could this person find me and hurt me? If the answer is yes, then…”
“Tonight happens.”
She nodded. They could talk the issue in circles, but it wouldn’t make the answer any more clear. “Come help me load up on supplies. There’s a ton of stuff downstairs.”
Peyton followed her down the steps in silence. They were on shaky moral ground. Tracy knew that. In the deepest parts of her soul, she understood tonight was about more than a calculated risk assessment.
It was about vengeance. No judge would order those men to pay for their crimes. No warden in a jail would lock them up and take away their liberty. In Tracy’s mind, it was up to people like their little group to keep and maintain some semblance of order.
But she couldn’t tell Peyton that. He needed to find his own way in this world. He needed to make his own determination as to where the line fell and whether he could cross it.
All she could do was hope that in the moment, he made the right decision.
At the foot of the stairs she stopped and turned to him, holding her arms out for a hug. The big guy bent and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled against his cheek. “Thank you for coming with us, Peyton. You’ve always been like the son I’ve never had. I’m glad you’re here.”
He squeezed a bit harder and Tracy smiled.
“Thanks, Mrs. S.” Peyton stood up and turned away before she could see his face. After a moment of throat clearing and eye rubbing, he turned back around. “So… what should we do now?”
A voice from the other room made them both turn around.
“First, you can join an old guy for a drink. Then you can help tear this house apart.”
Walter sat in the dining room with a bottle of bourbon and a handful of glasses waiting on the table.
Peyton cocked his head. “You know I’m not twenty-one, right?”
Walter waved him off. “As far as I’m concerned, that law no longer exists. Anyone who has my back in a firefight can have a little sip of liquid courage.”
Peyton half-laughed and walked over to the table before pulling out a chair. “I could have used this a few hours ago.”
Tracy smiled and joined them at the table. “Better late than never.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
MADISON
316 Rosemont Avenue, Chico, CA
11:30 p.m.
Madison stood a few feet away from Brianna, watching and waiting. Her former roommate sat curled up in a ball, holding Tucker’s favorite shirt in her hands. Every time she rocked forward, she twisted, the shirt now as tight as coiled rope.
She must have brought the scrap of fabric with her on the fight. Something to hold onto while she fought to avenge him. A talisman. Madison pinched the bridge of her nose to stop any tears. She couldn’t cry now. She needed to be Brianna’s strength.
At last, Brianna sniffed back snot and spoke. “I thought… If only I killed them all… I would be better.” She sobbed and twisted the shirt even tighter. “I thought if they were all dead, I would feel something other than this ache that won’t go away.”
With a half-cry, half-shout, she turned to look at Madison. “But it’s all still there. All the hurt and pain and everything. Why is it all still there?” She blinked her wet lashes as more tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m still just as broken.”
Madison crouched down beside Brianna and reached for her, sliding her arms around her small, shaking form and holding tight. Watching the strongest woman Madison knew fall apart tore at her insides. Seeing Brianna in so much pain, knowing it came from the loss of such a wonderful person like Tucker, it almost broke Madison, too.
But she couldn’t break down. Brianna needed her. “I don’t know why it’s all still there. I wish I did.” Madison rubbed Brianna’s back up and down while she sobbed.
After a few minutes, Madison pulled back. “But there’s one thing I do know. Tucker wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t want you to fall apart now.”
Brianna looked down at the T-shirt still twisted in her hands.
“He knew how strong you are and how tough you could be. He would want you to still be that girl who can take on six bad guys and never back down.” Madison paused. “He would want you to survive, Brianna.”
The t
ears started up again, but this time Brianna brushed them away, anger taking the place of pain. “I knew this would happen.” She stomped one boot-clad foot on the ground. “I knew that jerk would leave me. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.” As the last words came out, she broke down sobbing again, too overcome with emotions to do anything but cry.
Madison wished there was something she could do or say to help. She eased closer until their shoulders rubbed. She might not have the words to relieve any of the ache, but she could stay there. She could keep Brianna company in the dark.
They had been friends before all of this, but now Madison thought of Brianna as more of a sister. Reaching out, she took Brianna’s hand. “Whatever happens, I’m here for you. You’re as close to a sister as I’ll ever have. Whatever you need, I’ll be there. If it’s a shoulder to cry on, or someone to go shooting with, or even a sidekick on a quest for neon nail polish, I’ll be your girl.”
Brianna smiled a bit through the tears. “Thank you, Madison.”
“No, thank you. We would never have made it this far without you, Brianna. I owe you more than I can ever repay.”
Brianna wiped at her face again. “Just stay alive, okay? That’ll be payment enough.”
Madison smiled and reached for another hug.
A knock sounded on the door and Madison pulled away to see her mom standing in the doorway.
“I hate to interrupt, but your father is insisting we all gather together for a toast.”
Madison raised an eyebrow. “With what?”
“Bourbon.”
“You can’t be serious.”
Her mom leaned back and glanced down the stairs. “Oh, I’m serious. And if you don’t hurry down there and get some, I can’t guarantee Peyton and your dad will leave you any.”
Brianna wiped at her face. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”
Madison’s mom tsked at her. “You’re no such thing. All I see before me are two young women who underneath all their beauty have spines made of steel.” She cocked her head toward the stairs. “Come on, they’re waiting.”