by N. C. Reed
“Pete!”Terry hissed, but it was already too late. The largest of the men turned to see who had entered, and then roared a challenge. Terry shot him in the head without pausing, the pistol much quieter than it normally would have been.
But not silent.
The knife claimed the next two, slashing one way, then another, decapitating a woman, and slicing a man’s throat almost to the spine. Another shot sent a third man to the floor, dead before he finished falling.
Terry was in action by then, forced by Pete’s actions to forgo any chance of subtlety. His pistol coughed twice, the sounds making him wince as he double tapped the last man in the room. His next two shots went into a woman charging him with a cleaver. She took a third shot before hitting the floor.
Pete had already dispatched the last woman. The two stood eyeing the destruction they had caused, breathing heavily. The entire action had taken less than ten seconds.
“What the hell are you thinking?” Terry hissed, grabbing Pete’s arm. “We were supposed to be looking!”
“They couldn’t be allowed to live,” Pete shook his head. “This. . .this is an abomination. We can’t allow it.”
“How the hell do you suggest we stop it?” Terry demanded, fear and anger making his words harsh. “We’re just a little outnumbered, you know.”
“We have to destroy this place,” Pete remained unmoved. “Take the boy and go. I’ll catch up.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Terry told him flatly. “We’re all leaving, together. Right now!”
Pete looked around, eyeing the small generator still running in the far corner of the auditorium. Not far away was a small gas can. He walked to it, picking up the can and sloshing it around. At least half of the five gallons it would hold. Enough, he decided.
“Pete, I said let’s go,” Terry ordered.
“Not until I erase this stain,” Pete shook his head. “We cannot allow this to remain. I told you, take the boy and go.” With that he began to slosh the gas around the large room.
Terry sighed, shaking his head in defeat.
“We’ll wait at the door.” Pete nodded, never stopping.
“Make it fast, okay,” Terry said finally, and turned to leave.
To see Toby Silvers standing in the doorway, his face a mask of revulsion.
“Toby, I told you to stay at the door,” Terry said carefully. “Toby!” That shook the boy from his trance.
“Sorry,” he stammered. “I was afraid you needed help.” With that he turned away, hurrying back to his post. Terry shook his head again. This was his fault. A total breakdown in command.
And the boy had seen the room.
“God help us,” he murmured softly, then followed Toby out. The two of them waited near the entrance, not speaking, careful to keep an eye out. Two minutes later, Pete appeared still sloshing gas. Finally he set the can down, then tipped it over. He had a rag in his hand, and now took his lighter from a pocket, and lit it. He made sure the rag was burning, then turned to Terry.
“Go!” he ordered, and then tossed the rag.
Flames erupted all through the building as the fire followed the trail of accelerate. They had cleared the door before the fire reached inside the can, igniting the remainder of the fuel, and the vapors around it with a ‘whoosh’.
“Get back to the hill!” Terry urged. They were running flat out, hoping to get out of sight before anyone appeared to investigate.
They had only barely settled into their hide when the first people began to show up.
*****
“Oh my God,” Rhonda said softly, he hand coming to her mouth. Shelly lost the battle she was having with her stomach and bolted for the hall bathroom. Ralph headed out the back door for the same reason. Rhonda lasted a minute linger, and then hit the stairs for her own bathroom.
The others sat very still. Billy hadn’t moved, nor had Jerry. The Kelvey brothers looked ashen, no doubt wondering what might have happened to people they might have know in Franklin.
“Did it burn?” Billy asked softly. “The building? Did it burn down like you wanted?” he asked Pete. His friend nodded slowly.
“Yes, their spirits are free,” he almost whispered back. “Among. . .among my people, cannibalism is the vilest of crimes. One. . .one small tribe once practiced it, many generations ago. They were ostracized, and finally hunted down. Only a few lived. We. . .we are taught from childhood to fear them. Despise them. They are unclean.”
“Sounds like a good policy,” Billy agreed. “Good job.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Terry shot back. “It alerted those. . .people. . .that someone’s around. That is not a good thing.”
“They’d have found us sooner or later, I imagine,” Billy shrugged philosophically.
“That is not the point,” Terry grated.
“I know that,” Billy nodded. “Still, I agree with Pete. That had to be done. And it just might tell them. . .people. . .they might not be the only dog on the block. Might just make’em hesitate. And that’ll give us some time to get ready.”
The others began to return then, Ralph first. He settled into his chair, looking a but green.
“Sorry about that,” he grinned weakly.
“Ain’t nothin’ the rest of us ain’t done,” Toby assured him.
Shelly and Rhonda returned just then, neither looking all that well. Rhonda poured herself, Shelly and Ralph something to drink before sitting back down.
“Is that all?” Jerry asked.
*****
As the three of them watched, men and women arrived in groups of two or three, along with a fire truck. They worked hard, but were disorganized and without training. After an hour, they gave up. The truck had long since ran out of water, and the water mains that supplied the hydrants hadn’t worked in nearly a year.
As they watched, two men and one woman met in the parking lot. From their shouted orders, it was obvious they were in charge. The woman was the same one who had taken the women and children away. The men were new to them.
There was no way to hear their animated conversation, but it was obvious they were pissed, and looked to be trying to blame one another for what had happened. Others around the building actively avoided them.
“I think it’s time we thought about leaving,” Pete whispered. Terry nodded.
“I was just thinking that myself. I’d say we’ve overstayed our welcome. Toby have you been getting all of this?”
“Yes, sir,” the teen nodded. “All of it.”
“Well, this will at least give us an idea of how many there are,” Terry sighed. “Okay, Pete, take point, and get us back to the Hummer.”
*****
“It took us about three hours to get back, taking it slow and working our way out. We took a roundabout way, just in case. And we sat on the truck for a while, to see if there was any action around it.”
“Once we realized it hadn’t been disturbed, we saddled up and hit the road. We stopped several times on our way out, making sure we weren’t being followed. And, here we are.”
The others sat quietly for a time, no words coming to them. Finally, George asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.
“What do we do?”
“What can we do?” Jerry asked, leaning forward, his elbows resting on the table.
“We should try and help those people,” George shrugged. “If we can.”
“I don’t see any way to do that,” Jerry replied. “I admit, it’s a bad thing, all around. But what can we do?” he repeated.
“There’s a lot of’em,” Toby put in.
“Sounds like a rough outfit, any way you slice it,” Ben Kelvey put in. “I wonder if anyone’s left that we know?”
“You can watch the video, I guess,” Toby shrugged. “See if you can recognize anyone. I’d fast forward through the stuff inside, was I you,” he added.
“How many people came to the fire?” Jon asked.
“I didn’t count, since we had the film,�
� Terry admitted. “I’d guess it was forty, at least. But that is just a guess.”
“Well, that pretty much settles it, then,” Jerry leaned back again. “I don’t see what we few can do about all that.”
“There’s got to be something we can do,” George shook his head. “And we need those people they’re keeping captive. If we can release them, they would probably help us. The men, anyway. Can’t expect those kids to. Some of the women might be able and willing though.”
“We don’t even know that the men are,” Terry argued. “What happens when we release’em, and they just go running for the hills?”
“They’d be a distraction, at least,” George offered. He looked around the table.
“Look, I know it’s a long shot. But we gotta face some facts, here. These. . .people. . .are systematically stripping everything around them. Sooner or later, they’ll come here. It’s better to fight them where they are, than wait until they’re here, where we live.”
No one disputed that assessment. In fact, most agreed. That still didn’t mean there was anything they could do about it. Or was there?
“I think we need to go about this a little different,” Billy offered finally. He hadn’t said much as the discussion traveled back and forth, other than his observations about what Pete had done.
“Such as what?” Terry asked.
“Well, it ain’t like we can rush’em, is it?” Billy asked. “There’s a bunch o’ them, and just a few o’ us. We got to go about this a little smarter.” He looked at Pete.
“You interested in goin’ back?”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
“This is a bad idea.”
Pete looked around at Terry from packing his warbag.
“You’ve said that before,” was all he said.
“And I’ll keep saying it, until you listen,” Terry shot back. “This is a crazy, no, it’s a stupid idea. I know you and Billy are friends, but this is one time you need to call him, and stop this idiocy.”
“My being his friend has got nothing to do with it,” Pete said easily. “George is right. This needs to be done. Sooner or later, we’ll have to face them. It’s better to do it there, than here.”
“It’s better to make sure they don’t find us at all!” Terry exclaimed. “We need to be working on that, not running off trying to wage war against a group that size.”
“So work on it,” Pete shrugged. “You don’t need us for that. Meanwhile, we’ll be keeping them so busy, they won’t have time to bother you.”
Disgusted, Terry shook his head and walked out. Pete watched him go, then continued packing.
*****
“I’m begging you, Billy. Don’t do this.”
Rhonda was in tears. Holding them back through force of will alone, a few were leaking out anyway.
“Rhonda, I ain’t gonna just sit here, waitin’ for them people to come and take you away like that. Nor Mary and Danny, neither. I ain’t.”
“You don’t even know that they’ll find us!” she almost wailed. “You’re just doing this because you think you have to!”
“I do have to,’ Billy replied gently. “Ain’t nobody else. And I don’t want to, ya know. If I had my way, I’d never get within ten miles o’ them people. But I don’t see another way. We can’t let them get close to us. Let alone find us. There’s too much to risk. We got all these kids here, too. That bunch is preyin’ on kids.”
“Then you should stay here and protect’em!” Rhonda shot back.
“I can’t,” Billy sighed, and sat down. “Don’t you think I ain’t done thought about that? You think I tried ever way in the world not to have to do this?”
“No, I don’t,” Rhonda snorted. “I think you see a chance to run off an do somethin’ stupid, and you’re takin’ it!” Billy’s face went slack at that.
He stood abruptly, and Rhonda took a step back instinctively.
“Is that what you think o’ me?” he asked, his voice soft.
“Billy, I. . . .” Rhonda choked off her reply.
“You listen here,” Billy kept his voice calm, and Rhonda could see that he was struggling to keep his temper in check. “I’ve done thought about this ever way I can see. There’s a simple fact, here. I can’t keep you safe here, against a mob like that. We ain’t got the people. Period.”
“A buncha no goods like’at ‘ll go through this valley like a dose o’ salts, Rhonda. Sure, we’ll kill a bunch of’em. But it won’t be near enough. We lose one o’ us for ever five o’ them we kill, still won’t be enough. All it’ll do is make it easier on ‘em to stay fed. And with what we got here, they’ll be fat and happy for a long time. What happens when they look in the barn? Huh? What happens when they find all that stuff we been hidin’?”
“It ain’t just about us, no more,” he said firmly. “Don’t you see that we can’t have no kinda life, them kids can’t have no kinda life, with this hangin’ over us? We’ll be fearful all the time, day and night. And sooner or later, we’ll let our guard down, just a little, and sure as God made little green apples, that’ll be the time they hit us.”
“How many actual fighters we got Rhonda? We got a lot o' people here, nowadays, but how many can we depend on? House full o’ young’uns, old folks, cowards like March and Williams that already failed once, ag'in just two men? When you start addin’ up real numbers, we ain’t got’em.”
Rhonda listened to him as he rattled off the facts, and despaired. He was right, damn him. They had only a handful of people who could actually fight against anyone who attacked their hideaway. They could stay hidden for a while, but he was right. Fear would be their constant companion. She dropped her head, and gave up the fight to keep her tears at bay. She literally shook with sobs.
Billy frowned, feeling responsible. But he couldn’t help what he couldn’t help. Facts was facts, and he couldn’t change them. He stepped to her, and wrapped her in his arms. She leaned against him, burying her face in his chest, and cried.
He rubbed her back gently while she did, talking softly to her about anything and nothing at the same time. He’d grown a lot in the months since the world had gone to hell. A year ago he wouldn’t have done anything. He wouldn’t have known how.
Finally her sobs subsided. She looked up at him, and he felt pain at the look in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I hadn’t shoulda said all that. It’s. . .I live with that fear ever day. Ever day I worry ‘bout somethin’ just like this. Somethin’ I can’t protect you from. Protect the kids from.”
“I ain’t but one man. I ain’t a soldier, ain’t too smart, either. I know what my limits are. Been livin’ my whole life knowin’em. Ain’t no gettin’ round the facts. But this here is somethin’ I can do. If nothin’ else, we’ll buy some time for the fellas to get the work on the road done. They do a good enough job, even somebody knows it’s there have a hard time findin’ it.”
“Please, please, promise me you’ll be careful,” she pleaded softly. “Please don’t go there and get killed, an’ leave me here all alone.”
“I promise I’ll do my best,” he replied. “And ole Pete, he’ll be lookin’ out for me. He’s right smart, and was a soldier. He won’t let nothin’ happen to me.” He smiled to show her he was confident, but the truth was, he wasn’t.
Billy didn’t have any real expectations of what was to come. He knew that he and Pete had a good chance. But that’s all it was. A good chance.
“Do you think you can stop all this for a while?” Rhonda asked him, her eyes pleading with him.
“I imagine so,” he nodded, his voice as soft as hers.
Without another word, she took his hand and led him toward the stairs.
A similar discussion was taking place not far away.
“Why are you doing this?” Shelly Silvers asked, as she and Pete sat on the porch swing at her parent’s home.
“It has to be done,” Pete told her simply. “Billy’s right. We can’t wait for them to come
to us. We just don’t have the manpower to stop them. They’ll ride through this valley and kill us all eventually, no matter how hard we fight.”
“They might not,” Shelly replied. “They might not even know we’re here.”
“But they will,” Pete assured her. “They’re being very methodical. I think if it wasn’t for your father, making sure no one was on the radio, they might have found us already. I think the people they had the other day were people who had been using their radios. Easy to track that kind of thing, if you know how.”
“You don’t know if they can do it or not,” Shelly pointed out.
“That’s true,” he nodded. “But we can’t take the chance. Or any chance, for that matter. We have to do what we can, now. Summer is campaign weather. They’re using the good weather to move, and do their damage. If we let them have free reign to do as they please, Shelly, they’ll find us. They can’t miss us.”
“Why does it have to be you?” She was trying not to whine, but she really didn’t want him to go.
“Who else is there?” he asked. “George and Terry both have kids. The Kelvey’s are needed here, and they don’t have the know how for something like this, anyway. Your father might, but he’s too old. Ralph’s a great guy, but this isn’t his thing, and he’d be the first to admit it.” He shrugged.
“Leaves me and Billy.”
“It’s not like you two don’t have anyone here, you know!” she struck back. “And Billy and Rhonda have Danny. And Mary.”
“And they’re both near grown for the times we live in now,” Pete replied calmly. “It’s not that we want to go, you know,” he pointed out. “It’s just that we’re the two best qualified to do it. There’s no way to get around that, honey.”
“Billy ain’t a soldier!” she said suddenly. “He’s not even. . . .” she broke off sharply, her face reddening. Pete frowned.