Alive (Sundown Series Book 3)

by Courtney Konstantin

  Easton Reynolds, a quite capable sixteen-year-old, had served as Alex’s backup on a number of occasions. However, all Alex could think of was keeping him safe. She had lost the teenagers once and it almost broke her to pieces. She couldn’t do that again. She had pulled Easton to the side to hash out the argument with him privately. He had been furious with Alex for suggesting he stay behind. But she had been calm and clear with her needs and how she felt about it. She needed him on the compound, protecting Billie, Henry, and Jack. She knew she could trust him.

  His largest issue was with Marcus being allowed to go, while he wasn’t. Easton took offense to the attention Marcus showed Alex. While Alex didn’t give the man much time, he still tried to converse with her privately or be overly friendly. Alex found the idea of love or flirting to be overly ridiculous at the end of the world, so she did what she figured was best. She ignored him. However, she couldn’t ignore the fact that he was a fantastic shot and would be an extra set of hands in the group. Alex also knew that even if she left him behind, he wouldn’t follow direction and would probably get himself killed wandering out on his own.

  Dusk had given away to night and the sisters started their way to the house with a lantern. As they neared, the door burst open and Griffin came hurdling out.

  “What is it?” Alex called out immediately.

  “Soldiers, at the perimeter!” Griffin called back.

  “Where are the kids?!”

  “Coming down to go to the bunker! Candace and Margaret have them,” Griffin said, as he ran by heading to the Bronco.

  Alex looked at Max’s pale face in the lantern light. Her eyes were cloudy with apprehension. Alex grabbed her sister and shook her a little to get her attention. She knew the old Max, the fearless, strong woman, was still inside the scared person in front of her.

  “We have a plan for this, remember? They are not going to take you, Max. Do you hear me?” Alex said, her voice calmer than she actually felt.

  Max nodded and ran off to follow Griffin. Alex watched her for a moment before the kids came running out of the house following Candace, with Margaret on their heels. Alex handed off her lantern to Candace, so she had two in the bunker and quickly kissed her kids before sending them to hide. She then turned and faced the direction of the gate. Resolve pumped through her veins. These were the men that came for her brother. These were the men that tortured her sister. These men wouldn’t last the night.

  At the RV, her protector and savior from Las Vegas weeks before, Alex started to climb the ladder on the back. On the top of the machine, she pulled out the high-power rifle they had stored there. She checked, though she knew it was loaded for this exact reason. Making sure the ammo was within reach, she laid down on her stomach to adjust the night vision scope they had fitted to the rifle. Looking through the lens she saw everything was green but brighter than it would have been with a flashlight.

  There she waited, for any sign of movement. On runs into town, Alex had seen evidence of the soldiers coming and going. A few of the living she found talked about the men who came but didn’t help anyone. Without confirmation, Alex still knew those men were looking for her siblings. And at some point, they would come back to where they searched first, the compound.

  Through the scope, she could see where Cliff and Marcus had run to the wall and waited with guns. There was no knowing for sure where the soldiers would come from. Safest would be from the gate side because of the road and lack of infected wandering in that area. But to be sure Griffin and Max would be watching the back wall for movement as well.

  “Alex,” a whispered voice came from the ladder.

  “Come on up,” she whispered back.

  Easton crawled across the roof to her, bringing an additional hunting rifle that had belonged to her father. Easton didn’t know how to shoot, though he asked Alex daily to teach him. Currently, he was more use to her on top of the RV, reloading for her as she needed it. She was the eyes for everyone on the compound. Easton also had a pair of night vision goggles that the kids had found in the long grass in the back of the compound. They had been just another piece of evidence of what had happened to Rafe before the family arrived.

  With the night vision goggles to his eyes, Easton moved his position to check all the walls of the compound. Alex kept her gaze toward the front, waiting to see if the teen saw anything out of the ordinary.

  “Movement at the gate,” Alex said suddenly, as she saw soldiers pass next to the gated area where she could see through.

  Easton, following the plan, flashed a light toward Marcus and Cliff twice. Once would have said not at their wall, two meant they were close. Easton then turned and gave Griffin and Max one flash. Then the boy settled next to Alex watching through his goggles.

  “What are they waiting for?” He asked.

  “To see if anyone is here or awake. They’ll see the RV and know something is different from their last visit. It might be enough for them to investigate. We just wait and see.”

  Alex wished she was inside where she could watch the monitors. However, it was better to just be prepared for when the soldiers breached so they could take them out. If the soldiers were together as one, it would be harder to handle if they could at all. Alex’s plan was as the soldiers tried to come over the fence, she took them out one by one. If they could avoid any hand to hand fight that was her goal.

  Suddenly, a head showed above the rock wall. Alex waited, breathing slowly to keep herself calm. Was he just checking things out? Or was he coming over? She needed to know before she let off a shot. If they checked from the wall and then left, it would save them all from having to kill living people. Easton’s breathing seemed to speed up as a second head and shoulders showed on the wall. They stayed still for a moment, before disappearing back down.

  Not a second later an entire body hoisted on top of the wall. From Alex’s vantage point she knew he couldn’t see her on the RV roof, but if he looked down and to the side, he would find Cliff pointing a shotgun at him and Marcus with a 9mm. Alex centered her shot and with a squeeze of her finger, the soldier fell back off of the fence, dead before he hit the forest floor. The report of the rifle was quiet, a silencer helping, but the sound echoed slightly. Alex knew that the soldiers would know the shot was fired.

  A flurry of movement at the gate told Alex they weren’t going to turn around and give up. Suddenly two more bodies showed up on the wall, both with guns raised trying to find a target. Alex easily took out one and she saw Marcus step back to shoot up and knock the second back.

  “That’s three,” Easton breathed.

  “I’m sure there are quite a few more,” Alex whispered back.

  “Won’t they give up a fight they can’t win?”

  “They don’t know they can’t win it at this point. Check the other walls, will you?”

  Alex had a bad feeling about the whole raid. Why weren’t there more trying to enter at once? Why would they just let their men die? Easton moved around the top of the RV carefully and quickly found out why the situation didn’t seem normal.

  “Alex, two coming through the field on our right!” Easton exclaimed in a whisper.

  “Shit,” Alex mumbled, as she adjusted her position.

  She easily found the two soldiers in her sight and realized they were stalking toward Cliff and Marcus. The men were unsuspecting looking above them, relying on Alex and Easton to give them any signals they needed. Alex didn’t have a hard time with moving targets and she easily shot them both in the bodies. Marcus turned quickly realizing she was shooting somewhere else. Alex saw him tell Cliff something before running toward the fallen soldiers.

  “Five,” Easton said, keeping count.

  Sickness rose in Alex’s throat. Nothing in her was prepared for killing living people. Realizing her family was in danger pushed her to do the necessary things. She knew from Max’s torture that this government faction would go to great lengths to get what they wanted. And they wanted her brother. She readjust
ed her position, fitting the gun against her a little tighter. They wouldn’t find Rafe before she did. And she knew once they were together, they would be stronger.

  Moments passed by. Easton continued to survey the walls with his night vision goggles. Alex moved from wall to wall, pointing the rifle in each direction to make sure they weren’t missing anyone. She could see Cliff and Marcus moving along the wall carefully, checking for any breaches. After nothing moved for another ten minutes, Alex started to get stiff and the night air was starting to seep through her clothes.

  “East, climb down and check the monitors. See if you can see anyone still out there or if any alarms are still tripped,” Alex said.

  Without question, the teen climbed carefully off the RV roof. He ran low, as Alex instructed him, and ducked into the house. Alex continued her sweep with the scope as she waited for his signal. She wasn’t sure this group of soldiers would give up, even after five of theirs were down for the count. She watched as Marcus and Cliff went back to the two dead bodies inside the compound. They took all of the useable items off of the bodies, knowing anything could come in handy later.

  “Alex!” Easton called from the ground.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m not seeing anything on the monitors now. The sensors are all clear.”

  “Signal everyone and let them know. I’ll stay up here just a few moments longer.”

  The walkie next to Alex crackled to life as Easton’s voice came across with an all-clear message. Everyone knew if they broke radio silence they were fairly sure things were safe. Since Max had arrived with the information she had, they had made plans, backup plans, and plans to back up those in the event someone came searching for Rafe or Max again. Max had been fairly certain Major Callahan would not be letting go of what he wanted so easily. He would come for Max, even if it was just to kill her with his own hands.

  With all of the adults gathered at the foot of the RV, Alex made one more pass with the scope, seeing nothing. She climbed down to join them. Max immediately hugged her, comforting her after having to use her skills in such a way. Alex appreciated her sister for trying to be warm and consoling, even when it didn’t come naturally to her.

  “They probably didn’t have many more than the five you killed. When they sent out groups from the safe zone it was usually only seven to eight men assigned at a time. Two or three can’t take this compound. They would know that,” Griffin said.

  “Which means they will come with more next time,” Max chimed in.

  “That only means you are right. We need to find Rafe soon. We need him and whatever this Callahan wants from him within the compound so we can fight this together,” Alex said.

  Max looked expectantly at Alex. The look of someone that had been taught to follow her older sister’s guidance if anything should happen. Mitch Duncan was always unconventional. He often questioned Alex’s dedication to his lessons. Yet, he still gave her the leadership of the family after him. He always said it mattered that she was the oldest and she was wise and compassionate. Her father had trusted her mind and heart to make the right choices. Alex struggled when those choices could put her family in danger.

  “We leave tomorrow, first light,” Alex finally said.

  That night, Alex tossed and turned. Billie and Henry insisted on sleeping in her room, Henry in her double bed with her and Billie on an air mattress. Alex tried hard to keep quiet, not wanting to disturb the sleep of her children. She tried to make plans in her head of how they would go to find Rafe. First, she wanted to go into Kalispell. It was the nearest large town and she believed it would be the best place to find out information if they could find the living. She had avoided going there when possible because there were too many infected. However now, she would have enough back up that they could handle things.

  When she finally did fall asleep it was fitful still. When Max poked into her room to rouse her with the sun, Alex was sure she hadn’t slept a wink. But she was ready to go, adrenaline pumping through her veins in a frenzy. She softly kissed her kids goodbye, careful to not wake them. They knew they would wake with her gone, the plans explained to them the night before. Part of her felt guilty leaving them at all. Hard choices needed to be made to bring the family together, whole and safe.

  In the cool morning air, Alex, Marcus, Max, and Griffin set out in their Bronco. The vehicle was packed with all of the supplies they would need for the trip that should take a few days according to Max. Alex was adding time by going to town first. The truck wouldn’t get them all the way to the places Max wanted to check, so they had packs ready to go for when they traveled on foot. The group was quiet and reserved despite the obvious signs of nerves.

  When they left the compound, Alex slowed to check the wall where the men she had shot had fallen. As she had suspected, the bodies and all of their equipment were gone. The living soldiers wouldn’t have left their team members to rot in the wilderness. They also wouldn’t waste valuable resources that could be salvaged from the bodies. Tire tracks could be seen where the truck they drove was pulled off into the trees, to avoid detection possibly. That told Alex they weren’t aware of the security system installed. In her mind, she thanked Rafe for being so thorough with how he protected the compound.

  Back in the vehicle the mood was still somber but seemed to crackle with energy. The drive to town was easy, luckily the roads weren’t too congested with vehicles that had crashed or been abandoned. Each empty vehicle told a story of the plague. Some had dried blood splashed across windows, letting those that passed know the infected had been there. Some looked like they had just been parked and left, leaving Alex to wonder where those people went. Did they just walk into the woods hoping for salvation? They would be mistaken unless they were ready for what living in the wild was like.

  At the edge of town, things became harder to get around. A semi had been tipped on its side, halfway into the road and half into the trees. The contents had been looted, though it wasn’t anything useful in Alex’s mind. Electronics seemed to always be the first thing on people’s minds. Without a power grid running, those things were large paperweights. She carefully maneuvered the truck between the semi and the cars that had crashed on the other side of the road. It was tight, but she had done it before and knew it was possible.

  It was like entering a ghost town when they pulled in. Alex hadn’t seen anyone alive when she had come into town alone the last time. Though she assumed there was someone alive still. They drove slowly down the first few side roads. Alex watched the houses as they passed. The general disarray was disheartening. This far into the plague she had hoped to see more people fortifying and figuring out what they needed to make it. Instead, most homes were gutted. Doors stood open, windows were broken, garages ransacked.

  “What are we even doing here, Alex?” Max asked.

  Alex had been waiting for her to speak her mind. Her fingers were a constant drum against the passenger side door. Alex knew Max was frustrated with the pace her older sister was going. But Alex was about being safe and sane, so no one else was lost during their search.

  “You never know what we could find in town. I haven’t been here in a few weeks. Rafe might have come in for supplies.”

  “Why would he come here and not home?” Max asked, voicing the same question Alex had.

  “I don’t really know. I’m guessing he was trying to keep us safe and whoever he has with him.”

  The sisters had deduced that Rafe had someone staying at the compound with him. They guessed by some of the feminine items they found that it was a woman, but they were sleeping in separate bedrooms. They weren’t sure what to make of that. Rafe had always been private with his personal life, not wanting to open himself up for the ribbing he would get from his sisters. Neither of them was aware of a female friend in his life. But if it was romantic, they had to assume they wouldn’t be in separate rooms.

  During Max’s torture, Callahan had repeatedly claimed that Rafe had something that rela
ted to the plague. Max never believed him and would never give up the locations of her siblings. However, once Alex and Max put their minds together, they realized Rafe might have someone Callahan was after. If that someone had information about the plague, Rafe could be protecting that person. As well as his sisters, by not coming home.

  “Coming into town is a waste of time. Rafe wouldn’t stay here,” Max said, expressing her dislike for their plan again.

  “I don’t think Rafe is here. I think he may have come here for supplies. Relax, Max, we will get to him eventually,” Alex replied. She saw Marcus and Griffin look at each other knowingly, already used to the sisters and their bickering.

  Alex progressed into town, driving through suburbs and near strip malls. Something shiny caught Alex’s attention and she slowed the truck to a stop in a parking lot. Max looked around, trying to figure out what Alex had stopped for. Alex herself wasn’t totally sure. She looked from the pawn shop to the pot shop, to the dry cleaner. Nothing moved. But the shine she had noticed was on the roof. And whatever reflected the sun had moved.

  “Something is up there,” Alex pointed toward the roof of the strip mall.

  “So?” Max asked, exasperated.

  “If Rafe came into town and someone is being a lookout from the roof, they may have seen him,” Alex explained. She tried to keep her voice even and patient.

  “Ok. So, what do you want to do? Invite them over for tea? We need to figure out what there is to find and get going,” Max said, as she popped open her door.

  Alex followed her sister, noting that she was always brazen. They were both armed and they looked around warily. Walking to the windows of the shops, Alex pulled a piece of paper that had been taped up. She stared into the face of her brother under the word wanted in large letters. A woman was on the flyer next to him, smiling in her photo. Her name was Charlotte according to the flyer. Alex held it toward Max as she walked up.