Desperate Times

by Nicholas Antinozzi

  “I’m here,” whispered Alex. “Nice welcoming committee. Do they shoot at everyone who rides in here?”

  “We’re okay,” said Jon. “But we’ve got to let them know that it’s us. They weren’t expecting us to come riding up on Harleys.”

  “I don’t think that matters anymore,” answered Jimmy angrily. “There’s a towel hanging in the tree out there. You know what that means.”

  “Son of a bitch,” muttered Burt.

  “Sister Margaret,” hissed Jimmy. “We’ve got to find the others; they’re in here, somewhere. Joe and Amanda are driving the truck back toward the highway. I told them where to go.”

  “I can’t see three feet in front of my face,” said Jon. “Finding them tonight isn’t going to be easy.”

  “We’ll find them,” said Jimmy. “We have to.”

  “Okay,” said Burt. “We’ll give it a shot. Where’s the truck, Jimmy? How far back are they?”

  “Maybe a mile. There’s a little road cut into the woods that leads into a small field. I told Joe to pull in there.”

  “Good,” replied Burt. “Alex, take the road and find them. Run. We’ll give you a signal when we come find you. You’ll know it’s us. We’ve got people in here, and we’ve got to find them. Wait for us and protect that truck. You got me?”

  “Yeah,” said Alex. “I got you. We’ll be there. You said a mile back? Which side?”

  “This side,” said Jimmy.

  “Okay. I’ll see you guys there. Good luck.”

  “Thanks,” said Burt. “Get moving.”

  The pine forest was as dark as a closed casket. The only thing Jimmy knew was that this was an old planted forest. The pines stood lined up like soldiers in the night. If they were careful, they could move through them without too much trouble. “Let’s go,” he said. “Follow me.”

  They followed Jimmy deeper into the blackness of the woods. To their right, they could hear the excited chatter of muffled voices. Jimmy gritted his teeth, knowing that those were the people who had banished Ken and Patty—the very people who had invited them inside in the first place. He wasn’t going to let them get away with it. He was sure that Jon and Burt would feel the same way.

  Slowly his eyes adjusted to what little light there was, and he began to make out the dark shapes of the trees. They walked single file, Jon following Jimmy, Burt bringing up the tail. Jimmy had no idea of where he was going. He only knew that they had to keep walking. They had to find the others, even if it took all night. He trudged on, wondering who had tied the towel to the tree and how many of them had made it out of the camp. Was Julie with them? Was she well enough to walk out of there? What about Dr. Benson? Would they have let him simply walk away? They had wounded people among them. Jimmy didn’t think they’d have let him go. What about Paula and her family or Cindy and Rita? His mind wrestled with these questions with every footstep he took in the soft pine needles. He held his gun at the ready his finger poised to release his fury.

  “Where the hell are they?” whispered Jon. “We should’ve found them by now.”

  “They’re in here,” said Burt, “somewhere.”

  They continued to walk; five minutes passed, then ten. Still there was no sign of any of the others. Jimmy began to worry. What if they’d been hunted down after they’d tied the towel to the tree? Maybe the Guard had shown up? He was playing out this scenario in his mind when he caught a whiff of wood smoke.

  “Hey, do you smell that?” he asked, turning to Jon.

  “I do,” he replied.

  “Keep moving,” said Burt. “They can’t be far now.”

  The pines ended here, and they entered an area of the forest that was filled with old birch and scrub brush. Jimmy slung his rifle over his shoulder, and they began to crash through thorny bushes that clung to them like tentacles. Ahead Jimmy could make out the glow of a small fire. He began to move faster, oblivious to the thorns that were clawing at his clothes and bare skin. Jon and Burt followed through the brush with their arms bleeding and raw. Jimmy could make out shapes sitting next to the fire. He began to jog.

  “Son of a bitch,” muttered Burt.

  “Shit!” cried Jon.

  The brush was at it’s thickest at the edge of the woods, and they were suddenly out in the open.

  “Look,” said Jon. “There’s the truck.”

  Jimmy turned his head and could see the front end of the Mack. It was parked less than one hundred feet from where they stood. He looked back to the shapes around the fire where somebody was running to meet them. It was Alex.

  “Son of a bitch,” Burt said again, rubbing his bleeding forearms.

  “What took you guys so long?” asked Alex. “I’ve been here for over half an hour.”

  “I guess we should’ve taken the road,” said Jimmy.

  “You think?” asked Jon.

  Jimmy shook his head and ran toward the campfire. He could now make out Ken’s face, and there was Patty next to him. They both stood, Patty waving at him as if she hadn’t seen him in years. Cindy and Rita were sitting there, and they also rose to their feet. Jimmy could see Stan and Mary Peterson; Carl was sitting next to them. He was now running as fast as his legs would carry him. He continued to scan the faces. There was Joe and Amanda Hill standing together, twenty feet away from the little campfire. Jimmy began to slow down to a jog and finally into a walk.

  Where were Paula and Julie? Dr. Benson was also absent from the group. What had happened to them?

  Patty ran to meet him, and she hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry Jimmy,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”

  Jimmy felt a stabbing pain in his heart. He’d felt it before; it was his old friend Grief.

  Twenty -Nine

  President Roosevelt blamed unscrupulous money lenders and a generation of self-seekers for the economic problems of his day.

  “They’re alive, Jimmy,” Patty whispered into his ear. “Hang onto that. They’re all still alive.”

  Jimmy felt as if his feet were frozen to the ground. He stood there, clinging to Patty like a lost child. “How come they didn’t come with you?” he finally managed to ask.

  “I don’t really know,” answered Patty in a voice that was still quavering. “They came in with guns. I didn’t know any of them. They let us grab a few of our things and marched us all down to the gate. That bitch was down there waiting for us. Oh, dear God, please excuse my language.”

  “She is a bitch,” said Jimmy, ice running through his veins. “No need to apologize. Go on.”

  “She said that we were a poison to their group and that the Rapture would pass them by if they allowed us to stay. She called us murderers and worse. Much worse. I thought Ken was going to have a heart attack. I thought I might have one myself. That’s our home, Jimmy. They threw us out of our own home. Ted tried to get out with Paula and Julie, but they stopped them on the porch. They wouldn’t let them leave. We begged them to let the girls go; we really did. The Petersons are really taking this hard. We don’t know what to do. Where can we go? We’ve got to get inside there and save them; we need to get in there and take back what’s ours! I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that crazy woman live in my house. I’ll fight, by God. I swear I will.”

  Jimmy stepped away and wiped the tears from his eyes. Burt and Jon were standing behind him and had obviously heard what Patty had just said.

  “Why keep the girls?” asked Jon.

  “I have my suspicions,” said Burt, coldly. “We’ll get them out of there. I don’t care how many of them there are. They’re not taking over your home, not if I have anything to say about it.”

  Jimmy walked up to the fire with his mind racing. Cindy ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Jimmy,” she said. “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know. I can tell you this much, we’re not letting them get away with this.”

  “She’s got them all brainwashed. Dad’s like a zombie. He follows her everywhere. I’m scared; it’s lik
e Jonestown over there.”

  “Don’t say that,” whispered Jimmy into her ear. “Okay? We’ll come up with something. You’ll see. Now, I’ve got to talk to Paula’s parents. Give me a minute.”

  “Go to them. They’re pretty messed up. I’ll be by the fire.”

  Jimmy looked over at the Petersons. They sat huddled together, Mary weeping softly into Stanley’s shoulder. Carl was behind them trying to console her. Stanley was staring vacantly into the burning embers of the fire. Jimmy took a deep breath and walked over to them. He sat down in front of them, patting Mary on the knee.

  “You should’ve been there,” hissed Carl, his face glowing red in the firelight.

  “You’re right,” said Jimmy. “I should’ve been.”

  “What can we do?” asked Stanley, his expression as blank as a clean sheet of paper. “We’ve lost her again. I can’t believe it.”

  Jimmy tried not to read too deeply into his comment. Yet it’d hit home.

  Mary Peterson was suddenly racked with sobs. She clung to Stanley, her head shaking violently as she cried.

  “There, there,” cooed Stanley. “We will get her out of there. You’ll see, dear. We’ll find a way to rescue her. Jimmy’s going to help us.”

  “Give me a break,” said Carl, baring his perfect white teeth. “He’s the reason that she’s still inside there. We can’t count on him for anything!”

  The next thing Jimmy knew was that he had Carl flat on his back with his left hand firmly around the butler’s neck. His right fist was about to come down and smash Carl in the face. Jon was suddenly flying through the air and tackled Jimmy an before he would’ve broken Carl’s nose.

  Jimmy didn’t want to fight Jon; he didn’t want to fight anyone of his own group. They had a battle in front of them. He went slack, letting Jon pin him to the ground.

  Burt walked over. “Enough of that,” he said. “We’re in deep shit here. We can’t be fighting among ourselves. I want the two of you to shake hands right now. Do you understand me?”

  Jimmy felt like he was eight years old again. Jon let him up, and Jimmy walked over to where Carl lay on the ground. He slowly got to his feet and brushed himself off.

  “I’m sorry,” said Jimmy, holding out his hand.

  “I’m sorry, too,” said Carl, taking Jimmy’s hand and giving it a limp shake. “I love Paula like my own sister. You know that, don’t you?”

  Jimmy nodded. If he hadn’t known it before, he did now. “We’re going to beat those people. We’ll come up with a plan. Trust me, okay?”

  Carl nodded and sat back down next to the Petersons. Jon walked over and sat down next to Carl. Jimmy turned and walked toward the truck, stopping to light a cigarette. Burt and Ken followed him. They walked to the back of the Mack and stood in a small circle. Burt lit up one of the Camels that Jimmy had given him earlier.

  “Give me one of those,” said Ken.

  Jimmy shook one out of his pack. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Patty is going to kill you if she finds out.”

  “Not today she won’t,” said Ken, taking Jimmy’s lighter. He lit the cigarette, coughed and then took another drag, blowing the smoke out in a steady stream. “Ah… that tastes good. Now if we only had a bottle of brandy.”

  “That’d sure be nice,” admitted Burt. “But, we’d better keep our heads clear. Does anyone have any ideas? They’re right; we’ve got to do something fast.”

  “There’s just so many of them,” said Ken, puffing on his cigarette. “I’ve been wracking my brain, and I don’t see any way we can get Ted and the girls out of there, much less get back inside and take control from that woman. She’s lost her mind. The last thing she said to us was not to come back or they’d send us straight to hell. I didn’t have to ask her what she meant by that.”

  “They’re going to get hungry,” said Jimmy. “There’s only enough food to feed that crew for a week or two. Maybe we should just wait them out?”

  “No,” said Burt. “We’ve got to get in there. I can see why they hung onto the Doc. Why they kept the girls is what worries me. We can’t risk waiting a week or even a day. We’ve got to do something now.”

  “I agree,” said Patty, who had quietly slipped in behind them.

  Ken dropped his cigarette and tried to mash it out with his boot. It was too late. Patty had seen him. Her expression said it all.

  “Sorry, Patty. I just felt like I needed something,” Ken said sheepishly.

  “We’ll talk about that later, dear. Right now, we’re going to come up with a plan. Let’s get back to the fire and talk about what we’re going to do.”

  They returned to the fire. Ken tossed a few more pieces of birch on it, and the bark crackled and blazed. They took their places, sitting cross-legged in a circle. They all looked at each other; each seemed to be waiting for one of the others to come up with something. Their plight seemed hopeless. Jimmy stared hard at Jon. He was the Green Beret. He should know what to do.

  “All right,” said Jon after a few long minutes. “We’re going to need a diversion.”

  Unloading and reloading the truck took nearly the better part of an hour. Burt cursed himself for loading the bikers’ weapons in the front of the truck. They worked quickly and quietly, taking what they needed and reloading everything else. They ate a simple meal of beef jerky and chips, washing it down with bottles of generic soda. The meal revived them; they gathered their weapons and stood at the fire, looking like big kids about to play war.

  “Okay,” said Jon. You all know what you have to do. Spread out and find cover down by the lake and open fire when Burt gives the signal. You’re going to have to keep it up for at least ten minutes. When you’re out of ammo, follow the shoreline and get out of there. We’ll meet back here. Remember to shoot high. We don’t want to hit anyone, not unless we have to. Keep your heads down. Jimmy and I will go over the back wall, and with any luck we’ll be out of there in a few minutes. Does everyone understand that? Stay low and shoot high.”

  “One thirty, guys,” said Burt. “Keep an eye on the time.”

  “Why?” asked Jon. “That’s your job. We’ll be ready, trust me.”

  Jimmy checked his watch. It was nearly one o’clock. His waistband was tight after having stuffed two cold handguns into his jeans. He held his M-16 in his hands and watched the others follow Burt into the darkness.

  “Are you ready?” asked Jon.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” answered Jimmy.

  “Okay, follow me. There’s got to be an easier way to get into those woods. I’ll find it.”

  “I’ll follow you,” said Jimmy. “And thanks a lot, man. I think we’ve got a good shot at making this work.”

  “Thank me later. This isn’t going to be easy,” he said, walking back toward the dark shadows of the forest.

  At the edge of the woods Jon walked parallel to the tangled bushes, looking for a better way in. Jimmy followed. Just as they reached the end of the field, Jon found what they were looking for. A four-foot path had been cut into the woods, and the ground there was rutted from ATV traffic. Jimmy wished that he’d known about that path earlier. He followed Jon into the woods, sticking to the trail. They moved quickly and quietly through the blackness, neither one of them pausing for even a second. To Jimmy the hike seemed to last an eternity.

  They reached the back of Ken’s wall and gave it a wide berth. They followed it around to Sally’s side of the property. This was where they were going to need some luck. They had to find the ladders that Bill and the others had used when they’d scaled the wall. They were banking on them being where they’d left them. Everything depended on that. Here, they hugged the wall; moving quietly down the side, Jimmy following Jon’s shadowy form. The camp was utterly silent, the night air still. The only sound Jimmy could hear was their muffled footsteps and the pounding of his heart. Up ahead loomed the top of Ken’s house. There wasn’t a light to be seen. That was good; that was another major stroke of luck.

  Jon
moved at a snail’s pace. If the ladders were still there, they should be tripping over them soon. The towering wall had created a dark shadow within the shadows, and they were nearly blind as they followed it. Jimmy’s hands were sweating and he tiptoed behind Jon silently. Suddenly Jon stopped and held his hand up. He’d found the ladders.

  Now they had to wait; through the narrow strip of pines they could just make out the tent village that had sprouted up behind Sally’s lodge. This was also good. They’d hoped that the two groups hadn’t integrated inside Ken’s compound. The pines offered just enough cover so they shouldn’t be seen climbing the wall after the shooting had started.

  Jimmy and Jon stood with their backs against the wall and waited. Jon put a finger to his lips, but that was unnecessary. Jon had driven this part into Jimmy’s head. There would be no talking, not even a whisper. Their mission was dependent on absolute silence. They had no idea how many men, if any, were stationed along the wall. All they could hope for now was that they’d all run to the front and return fire to the shoreline.

  Jimmy worried about Cindy and Rita; they had never fired a gun before. He was consoled by the fact that he’d been that way not all that long ago. He thought of their new friends who were risking their lives for complete strangers. They were good people, and Jimmy was glad to have them as part of their team. The Petersons had insisted that they could both shoot. Mary had snapped out of her sorrows as their plan began to take shape. Gone were the tears and weepy demeanor, her face had grown cold and her eyes determined. Stanley seemed to feed off of that, and he had taken an entire box full of handguns down to the shoreline. Carl had argued that he should accompany Jimmy and Jon inside the compound. Jon wouldn’t allow it, arguing that he and Jimmy knew the layout better than he did and that two was enough for the mission he’d planned. Jimmy discovered that he had a new respect for Carl. He had seemed ready to storm the place on his own, all to rescue Paula. It turned out that the Petersons were the closest thing he had to a family. He also had carried down a box of weapons and ammunition.