Rise of the Locusts

by Mark Goodwin

  “We ain’t got no organ to play no sappy music, so if’n you want to dedicate your life to the Lord Jesus, you just come on up here.”

  Kate felt a strong sense of conviction in the pit of her stomach. It was as if Pritchard had written this whole thing just for her. She looked with surprise to see Terry standing. With tears streaming down his face, he marched to the front and stood near the tree trunk. Sam followed him and put his arm around his father.

  “Aunt Kate?” Vicky had tears in her eyes also.

  Kate held Vicky’s hand and they walked down front. Nearly all in attendance left their seats to stand before the old man.

  Pritchard’s eyes were filled with surprise. “Ahhh, to tell y’all the truth, I didn’t figure on none of youns comin’ down. Guess I was countin’ on my own strength and not the Spirit of the Lord. Well, anyhow, I ain’t got nothin’ prepared for you to say, so best just get on with tellin’ Him whatever it is on your mind.”

  Kate bowed her head and poured out her heart to God in silent prayer. Others around her whispered their prayers.

  After it was over, Kate went up to Mr. Pritchard. “Looks like you’re a preacher after all.”

  He still looked shocked at the outcome. “Had to be the most convoluted thing I ever said. I can’t take no credit for it. That was all the Lord’s doin’.”

  CHAPTER 25

  As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

  Proverbs 26:11

  Kate’s feeling of joy and enthusiasm came in for a hard landing no sooner than she returned home from the service. She watched Tina nudge Boyd, signaling for him to put out his cigarette. Kate marched up the stairs of the porch to where her brother and his girlfriend were sitting on the swing. “I see you found the stash.”

  “Oh, hey, Sis. What makes you say that?”

  Kate looked at the yard behind Boyd. “The smoking cigarette on the ground and the fact that you’re slurring your words. Sounds like you’re half in the bag.”

  His eyes looked tired. “In all fairness, it was my stash to begin with.”

  Kate felt her blood beginning to boil, her jaw clenched.

  Terry ascended the porch steps behind her. “Come on, let’s get lunch going.”

  She exhaled and made a great mental effort to let go of the building rage. “Okay.”

  An hour later, Kate, Terry, and the kids sat around the quaint wooden table. Vicky asked, “Aunt Kate, can I borrow your Bible tonight? I’ve never read it and I feel like I should, like I want to.”

  “Sure. We can share it.”

  “Me, too, Aunt Kate?” Sam asked. “Maybe I can read it in the morning.”

  Terry said, “Dad’s old Bible is around here somewhere. I’ll dig it out after lunch. We’re going to need more than one Bible for the house, it seems.”

  Kate pushed her plate to the side. “Did you meet any of the neighbors?” She glanced at her brother.

  Terry had a pleasant expression on his face. “We did. Sam and I met Don and Mary Crisp. They’re retired, moved up here from Orlando. We also met the Russos. Jack and Kelly. They have a daughter, Rainey, she just turned sixteen.”

  “The little brunette that was sitting to our right?” Kate asked.

  “Yeah,” replied Terry.

  “She’s cute, don’t you think?” Kate looked at Sam.

  He just shrugged and looked away.

  Kate turned to Vicky. “Did you meet any of the neighbors?”

  She beamed. “Maybe.”

  “No way! You hit on that kid?” Sam accused.

  Vicky’s brows snapped together. “I did not hit on him! For your information, he introduced himself to me! Then he introduced me to his parents, and his mom invited me to stop by one day this week. They’re very nice people.”

  “Oh really?” Terry veiled his interrogation as dinner conversation. “What are his parents’ names?”

  “Scott and Amanda—McDowell, I think.”

  “Victoria McDowell,” Sam teased. “It’s not that different from Victoria McCarthy. You wouldn’t even have to change homeroom in school.”

  “Shut up, Sam!” Vicky turned to her father. “Do you think we’ll ever go back to school?”

  Terry seemed so preoccupied by day-to-day survival that he didn’t know how to answer. “Um… yeah.” He gave an affirming nod. “Eventually. But it could be a while before things get back to normal.”

  “Mom’s gone. It’ll never be normal.” Sam crossed his hands and looked down at the table.

  Terry got up from his chair and stood by his son. “I know, but we’ll get through this.”

  Kate looked at Vicky who was biting her lip as if to hold back the tears. She stood and held her arms open for her niece. Vicky got up and embraced her, burying her face in Kate’s shoulder.

  Kate hoped that Sam was wrong. She hoped normal would return someday.

  Late Sunday night, Terry pushed Kate’s door open. “I’m going to turn in. Are you good to go until 4:00 AM?”

  “Yeah. Are the kids asleep?”

  “Sam is. Vicky is still reading your Bible.”

  Kate asked, “Did you say anything to the neighbors about a block watch?”

  Terry sighed. “I didn’t want to throw that out there on the first conversation. I want to feel them out first, try to get a sense of where they’re at in terms of accepting reality. Edith Ramsey is a prime example that people are all over the chart when it comes to understanding what’s really going on.”

  Kate looked out the window into the cool night air. “That sounds wise.”

  “Besides,” Terry added, “I didn’t want to advertise the fact that our derelict brother is the one inviting trouble into Apple Blossom Acres.”

  “Yeah, we’d be pariahs for sure.” Kate wished things were different, but they weren’t.

  “You’ve got the whistle?”

  She held the stainless-steel object up by the cord around her neck. “Sam and Vicky both have pistols. They know to bring them here if they hear me blow it.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  “Okay.” Kate gazed down at the butt of her shotgun.

  Terry paused before closing the door. “Is there something else?”

  She glanced up. “Do you think we should, like, you know—pray? I mean if we really believe what we claim, don’t you think God will hear us? Don’t you think it might help?”

  Terry came in and closed the door behind him. He knelt by her bed and folded his hands. “Do you want to, or do you want me to?”

  “You do it.” She knelt beside him.

  Terry said, “God, we thank you for your forgiveness and your mercy. I’m sorry we haven’t made much time for you and I’m sorry things had to get so bad before we felt like we needed you. But we need you now. Watch over us tonight. We know it’s a dangerous world, but we believe that you are bigger and more powerful than the terrors here. I pray especially that you’d keep my little sister, my boy, and my precious little girl safe in your arms. Amen.”

  Kate looked up. “Thanks.”

  He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll see you in a while.”

  Kate woke up to the sound of tires crunching the gravel in her driveway. “Oh no! I fell asleep. What’s happening?” She peered out the window to see a pickup truck with its lights off backing up toward the garage. Six men with long guns were in the bed of the truck. She assumed at least two more were in the cab. Instinctively, she blew the whistle as hard as she could.

  The men below bounded from the bed of the pickup and pointed their guns toward the house.

  Another man stepped out of the passenger’s seat and called out. “Two ways we can do this. The easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you open this garage door, and we load up our truck and leave.”

  Kate recognized the man as being one of the hooligans Boyd had brought to the house.

  He continued, “The hard way, well, I think that’s self-explanatory. But the short answer is that I�
�ve already left here once without taking what’s coming to me. That ain’t gonna happen again.”

  Terry came into the room. “What’s happening?”

  “Boyd’s friends, they want our stuff.” She stayed near the edge of the window.

  Sam and Vicky arrived, both holding their pistols.

  “If we give it to them, maybe they’ll just leave.” Vicky looked to her father.

  “Then we’ll starve. I’d rather get shot.” Sam leaned over to peek out the window.

  Kate looked at Terry. “Sam is right. That food in the garage is all that separates us from the people who are dying of starvation in the cities.”

  Terry pulled the curtain back to assess the situation below. “We’re outgunned and outmanned.”

  “We have to try!” Kate tucked the .38 in her waistband and grabbed a box of shotgun shells, which had been modified as per Sam’s recommendations.

  Terry’s lips were pressed tightly together. “What do you suggest?”

  Kate thought quickly. “Sam and I will go to the garage and kill anyone who tries to come in the door. Do you feel like you could pick a couple off from up here with the deer rifle?”

  Terry switched off the rifle’s safety. “I think so.”

  Kate looked at Vicky. “I need you to be strong. You watch my bedroom door. If any of them try to come up the stairs, take them out. Knowing that he won’t get ambushed from behind will allow your dad to focus on his mission. If he can take out three or four of them before they get in the house, it will even up the numbers and give us a fighting chance. Can you do that?”

  Vicky’s face was filled with terror. She swallowed hard and gave a faint nod.

  Kate kissed her on the head. “I’ve got the whistle. If I blow it, that means they’re inside the garage.”

  Kate looked at Sam. “Come on.”

  The two of them hustled down the stairs to the first floor where Tina was standing in the hall, eyes swollen and groggy. “What’s going on?”

  “Boyd’s friends are back. Stay in your room and stay out of the way.” Kate ran past her to the door which led to the basement.

  “I told you that you should have just let it play out.” Boyd stuck his head out the bedroom door.

  “Shut up, Boyd.” Kate led the way down the stairs.

  “Can I at least have a gun?” Boyd called out behind her.

  “No!” she yelled back.

  Once at the bottom of the stairs, Kate slowly opened the door to the garage. She whispered, “Stay behind me.”

  A loud mechanical sound echoed in the garage, like a mini jackhammer. Kate pointed to the blade that was cutting through the metal door. “What’s that?” she yelled over the noise of the machine.

  “Looks like a Sawzall.”

  “A what?”

  “A reciprocal saw,” Sam replied.

  A shot rang out from the other side of the door, then the sawing ceased.

  Voices of the ruffians could be heard through the garage door. Kate heard the man who’d addressed them when they first arrived. “Looks like it’s going to be the hard way. That’s fine with me!”

  His voice was followed by a volley of gunfire.

  “They’re shooting at Dad!” Sam yelled.

  “Let’s give him some cover.” Kate took aim at the point in the garage where the man had been sawing. She fired the shotgun. BOOOM! The homemade slug left a single hole in the garage door.

  Sam followed suit, firing several rounds from his .45.

  Kate pumped the shotgun and fired again and again. She had no idea if the modified target loads were fragmenting after they left the garage door, but they consistently punched one single hole through the door for each shot.

  “Justin is down!” called someone from outside.

  Another yelped out, “I’m hit!”

  Kate fired two more rounds, then began shoving fresh shells in the tubular magazine.

  The man called out orders, “Chris, you focus on the sniper up top, the rest of you, light up that garage. I’ve got a little surprise for them.”

  Kate looked at Sam. “Get down and reload. We need to be ready for whatever they’re coming at us with.”

  Sam took cover inside the basement door and switched magazines.

  CHAPTER 26

  I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

  Psalm 18:3-6

  Kate listened to the continuing gunfire with one hand on her shotgun and the other on her nephew’s shoulder. The shots fell silent. She looked at Sam with apprehension. The next sound was the engine of the truck revving up, then tires ripping through gravel, and finally, the loud crash of the pickup’s tailgate smashing through the garage door.

  She tugged Sam’s shirt. “Come on, back upstairs!”

  Sam stood but did not follow her directive. He began firing at the men rushing into the garage past the busted door.

  “Now, Sam!” She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Bullets whizzed by their heads.

  “I got one of them, Aunt Kate!” He reluctantly followed.

  “And they nearly killed us both.” She charged up two flights of stairs to her room where Vicky stood guarding the door.

  “Come on! Hurry!” Vicky stepped back to let them in.

  Kate slammed the door behind her. “They’re in the house.”

  “I kinda figured that.” Terry loaded more bullets into the .270. “We gotta keep fighting.” He popped up again into the open window and took another shot.

  “How many are left?” Kate asked.

  “I’ve killed two and one of them got hit from you two shooting through the garage door.”

  Sam added. “I shot one inside the garage also.”

  “I think we started with eight. We should be fairly well evened up by now.” Kate listened through the door to hear if the attackers were coming up the stairs.

  Terry again took aim through the upstairs window and fired a shot. POW! Crack, Crack, Crack! Semi-automatic rifle fire rang out from below. Terry spun around, landing face down on the wood floor.

  “Daddy!” Vicky turned him over to reveal blood staining his shirt.

  “Sam, go to my bathroom and get some towels.” Kate quickly pulled Terry’s shirt up so she could assess the wound.

  Sam soon returned with the towels. “They’re coming up the stairs.”

  Kate gave the towels to Vicky who was sobbing uncontrollably. “Keep pressure on the wound.”

  Vicky wiped her tears with the back of her hand and took the towels.

  Kate took aim down the stairs, fired at one of the men, then racked a fresh shell into the chamber. She turned to her brother who was badly wounded. “Terry, you’re going to be okay.”

  He remained on the ground. “Sam, take the rifle, son. Keep your sister and your aunt safe.”

  Sam’s eyes were filled with tears. He took the rifle. “I love you, Dad.”

  “And I love you, son.” He looked at Vicky who was holding the bloody towel against his chest. “And you’ll always be my precious little girl.”

  She wailed in anguish, “I love you, Daddy. Don’t die!”

  His voice was shallow. “You’re going to be okay. You’ve got your aunt and your brother. You’ll get through this. You’re stronger than you think.”

  Kate choked back her sorrow. She had to survive the assault.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” The voice of the man who’d been at the house with Boyd called out in a sing-song voice.

  Kate grimaced with internal torment. Perhaps if she’d let the deal go through, this wouldn’t be happening. Or, perhaps they’d have come back to rob them anyway. Regardless, there was no going back. What was done was d
one.

  Vicky yelled through the door. “Just take the food and leave.”

  “Oh, no. That deal expired when you shot my men. This is all about revenge now.” The man laughed loudly. “I guess there’s one other way we could settle this.”

  “What’s that?” Kate asked.

  “We’re a little short on female companionship back at the house, if you know what I mean. If you girls want to surrender, I’m sure we could make an exception. The fellas though, they’ve gotta go.”

  Kate fumed with anger, calculated where the voice was coming from, and fired through the door.

  Return fire echoed up the stairs. Bullets ripped through the interior walls and the door.

  Kate pulled her niece and nephew to the ground. “Get down!”

  “Aunt Kate, they have AK-47’s. Besides that, all of our extra ammo is in the garage. We can’t compete.” Sam sounded like he was ready to give up.

  Kate pulled them behind the bed and lay prone with the shotgun pointed at the door. “We have no choice, Sam. We have to keep fighting.”

  “I know. I’m just saying, maybe we should just storm down the stairs and take as many of them with us as we can.”

  “No. It’s not over until it’s over. We’re not going on any suicide mission either.” She swallowed hard.

  The man yelled out, “That wasn’t very neighborly of you, taking a shot at me like that. I’m going to give the ladies one last chance, then we’re coming in, and you’re all going to die.”

  Sam looked at his aunt. “All four of the remaining men are in the house. What if I distract them so you and Vicky can escape out the window?”

  She put her hand on his arm. “That’s very brave, Sam. But I’m going to see this thing through, no matter what.”

  Sam looked at his sister. “Vicky, do you want to try to get away?”

  She wiped the tears from her eyes, shook her head and pointed her pistol at the door.

  The man called out once more. “Ready or not!”