by Alex Gunwick
Meat sizzled on barbecues. The smell of cooking food taunted him. It would be far too easy to hop over the fence and take whatever they were cooking. He hated to acknowledge the part of him that could imagine stealing from other people. To take food from an office desk was one thing, to take it directly from a hungry person was another.
By the time the world returned to normal, what atrocities might he commit? Would he ever give in to his darker instincts? He wouldn’t go around murdering people unless provoked. But if they stood between him and food for his family, would morality take flight? He hoped to God he’d never have to find out.
A road crossing appeared in the distance. Sometimes the tracks burrowed under the roads, sometimes over them. This time the tracks disappeared into a long tunnel. He palmed his SIG. As he approached the tunnel, he passed a pile of two by four boards. Rusting nails poked up, some were covered with a glossy, reddish-brown substance. He moved closer.
Blood.
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He glanced at both sides of the embankment as he continued walking. Both appeared clear, but something didn’t feel right. The whole setup would make the perfect choke point. He considered backtracking. Going through the houses would be risky, but at least he’d have places to run and hide.
Before he could make up his mind, the screech of metal against metal sent chills down his spine. He spun toward the sound.
Three men wearing red bandanas strolled out of the tunnel. One carried a metal fence post. Another held a brick. The third hoisted a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire over his shoulder.
Luke raised his SIG but before he could get off a single shot, a bullet whizzed by his head. He dropped to a squat before turning and running. Taking fire from both sides, he didn’t see the raised wooden plank until it was too late. The toe of his boot caught on it, pitching him face first onto the tracks. He rolled up and ran right into the solid wall of a sweaty body.
Luke’s belly imploded with gut-wrenching pain. Propelled back by the force of the thug’s punch, Luke flew through the air, landing with a sickening crunch. He gasped for breath, rolling onto his knees while attempting to dodge more blows. The assailant’s boot struck his ribs with a glancing blow.
Taking advantage of the thug’s momentary loss of balance, Luke swung his leg out, kicking the man in the front of his kneecap, and sending him hurling forward. The thug couldn’t reposition himself in time to avoid landing on his elbow. A satisfying crack followed by a blood-curdling scream sliced through the relative silence.
As Luke struggled to his feet, a second thug raised the metal fence post over his head. He rushed Luke. Everything slowed, as if time itself were too afraid to continue at a normal rate. Luke stumbled over the train tracks, narrowly missing the blow.
Sparks flew when the metal post slammed into a railroad track. Luke crouched low and reached for his gun. It was gone. Shit!
He spotted it lying in the center of the tracks. The second he laid eyes on it, his assailant followed his gaze. For a split second no one moved. Then they both lunged for it.
Luke’s fingers brushed the edge of the grip, but before he could grab it, the thug landed on top of him. Luke grunted under the pressure. An elbow to the thug’s face solved that problem. The man fell away with a yell.
As Luke crawled to grab the gun, a second man joined the fight. Armed with a brick, the guy swung it toward Luke’s hand. Luke pulled back just in time. The brick crashed against the magazine release, forcing the magazine to eject. Luke reached for the magazine. With only one round in the chamber, even if the other guys got the gun, they’d only be able to take a single shot. Not ideal odds, but better than nothing.
He grabbed the magazine and rolled to one side. The thug stomped on Luke’s right calf. He snarled with rage and jumped up onto his good leg. The muscle in his calf convulsed, nearly bringing him down. He roared and charged. The thug grabbed the gun and pointed it at Luke. He squeezed the trigger.
Out of the corner of his eye, something flashed by with a monstrous scream. A man swung a two by four through the air. It smashed into the thug’s face, delivering a lethal blow. Blood spewed out of his mouth to spray everything within a three-foot radius. The thug crumbled to the ground. The light went from his eyes, as if someone had flicked a kill switch to end his life.
Luke sat up and wiped sweat and blood from his eyes.
“You good?” Boyd asked as he offered him a hand.
“Yeah.”
“There’s three more. I hope you’re a good shot.”
Behind him, rapid footsteps crashed through gravel. Luke grabbed the gun. He slammed the magazine home, turned, cocked the hammer, and then fired at the remaining men. He put a bullet between the first attacker’s eyes. The thug tumbled forward, face planting against the outer edge of one railroad track.
The guy with the metal fence post gripped it like a javelin and hurled it through the air. Luke easily dodged it. He hit him slightly low and wide, taking his eye out with the kill shot.
“Where are the shooters?” Luke asked.
“Running away.”
“Fucking cowards.” Luke hit the magazine release and slammed a new magazine in.
“How much ammo do you have?”
“Seven, plus one left in the first mag.” Luke pulled back the slide to load a round. “Where the hell did you come from?”
“I was following you.”
“I didn’t see you on the tracks.”
“Up there.” Boyd pointed at the wall separating the tracks from the houses. “Figured I could keep an eye on you.”
“I could have handled it.”
“Four to one with more coming?” Boyd laughed. “Let me guess, you’re one of those bad-asses who never needs help from anyone. Am I right?”
Luke glared, but didn’t respond.
“You could at least thank me,” Boyd said.
“Thanks.”
“So seeing as I saved your life and all, can I come with you now?”
“You’re like a dog with a bone.”
“Damn right. Did I mention I’m determined as shit to get home?” Boyd asked in a joking tone.
“You didn’t have to. I get it. Look, I’m not slowing my pace for you.”
“I’ve been able to keep up so far.”
“Right. But don’t expect me to slow down or take care of you.”
“Okay, Dad.”
“You’re kind of a dick,” Luke said.
“Gotta stir the pot once in a while. I like to keep people on their toes. So what’s the plan?”
“Less talking, more walking.”
“Works for me. But I’m thinking we should avoid the tunnel. The housing tract isn’t too bad. I haven’t run into many people. Saw a lot of burned-out houses up there.”
“Lead the way,” Luke said.
As much as he wanted to stay on his own, he couldn’t ignore Boyd. The man had saved his life. He was annoying as shit, but not a bad guy.
Two hours later, Luke wanted to gag him. Boyd talked nonstop about anything and everything.
“…And so then I look at the blackjack dealer and I’m like—‘Hit me!’ You know what she does?”
“No,” Luke said dryly.
“She says to me, ‘Baby, I’d love to slap you right across that filthy mouth of yours, but the eye in the sky’s watching and I need my job.’ Hottest damn thing I ever heard.”
“You’re married.”
“And I love my wife. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like to check out the merchandise, but it doesn’t mean I’m buying. Speaking of buying stuff, I could go for some food. I finished off my last bag of chips this morning and my stomach’s growling like a grizzly bear momma in spring.”
“What?” Luke stopped walking.
“You know, bear moms get all protective of their cubs. Like to claw your face off if you’re not careful.”
“I actually know what you mean,” Luke said.
“No shit. Bear get you good on
e time?”
“Yeah. After the bombs dropped I had to hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Ran into a grizzly somewhere between LA and the Cajon Pass.”
“She take a swipe at you?”
“Clawed me.” Luke lifted his shirt to show Boyd the still-healing marks on his back. “But I got away.”
“Sounds like a hell of a story. Why don’t we find some food and cop a squat for a bit?”
“Okay.”
Although Luke wanted to keep walking nonstop, they needed to rest. His water was running low and Boyd had run out over an hour ago. They’d made it through several neighborhoods unharmed. The afternoon heat wasn’t nearly as high as he’d expected it to be, but people seemed to have retreated into their homes anyway.
“Where should we look?” Boyd asked.
“All the obvious places will have been picked over by now. Grocery stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, all of those places would be wiped clean already. See that office building up there?” He pointed in the distance. “That’s probably packed with food people forgot about.”
“Good idea. I used to stash food in my desk. Usually nonperishable stuff too.”
“Most people keep a little stash on hand. We’ll probably find a lot of junk food.”
“Hell, any food at this point works for me. I’ve had a headache for the last three hours,” Boyd said.
“You’re probably dehydrated too. We’ll refuel. Take a break. And then get back on the road.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They reached the entrance to the office building thirty minutes later. The front windows had been smashed out. Glass crunched and cracked as they carefully navigated the mess.
“Well, shit,” Boyd said.
“It might not be as bad as you think. I’m sure riots broke out when people realized the power wasn’t coming back on. Maybe they weren’t smart enough to search for food.”
“I don’t know. It’s pretty dark in there.”
“We could keep going and try to find another building,” Luke said.
“I didn’t see any in the area.”
“Me neither. Let’s check it out. If we hear anything, we get the hell out ASAP, got it?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
As they headed into the darkness, Luke pulled the SIG from his pocket. This was probably a terrible idea, but they needed more food and water. They could try to keep moving south, but they might not get another opportunity for several miles. It was unlikely that a gang would want to take over an office building, but it didn’t stop the nagging sensation that they weren’t alone.
7
The next morning, Liz arrived home from her usual patrol to find Harvey and Edwin sitting on the front porch. She smiled and waved. When she reached the steps, she stopped and leaned a hip against the railing.
“You’re up early,” Liz said.
“Early to bed, early to rise,” Edwin said.
“The early bird gets the worm,” Harvey said.
The men laughed at their corny sayings.
“We talked to the others and figured out how to rearrange the patrol shifts. We’re doing six, four-hour shifts. There are sixteen of us total, so we’re putting two people on each shift. We’re rotating days off, so each day, four people have the day off. We blocked it out so that everyone in the same family has the same days off. You can decide how you want to divvy up the actual hours amongst you and the kids,” Harvey said.
“We get days off?”
“Yes.”
“I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself.”
“We’re thinking of starting a community garden. We’re not going to assign shifts unless it really gets going. Most of us had seed packets lying around, so we’ve planted some winter vegetables. It will be a test run this year, and if the garden produces well enough, we’ll do a full-scale planting in the spring,” Harvey said.
“Spring…” She shook her head. On one hand, she was glad they were planning ahead, but on the other, she hoped the power outage wouldn’t last that long.
“We need to plan ahead. We’re already somewhat low on food, but we have enough to get us through the end of the year.”
“I don’t even know what the date is anymore,” she said.
“Carla keeps track. She’s got a sixteen-month calendar. She’s been marking off the day every night before she goes to sleep.”
“I’m glad someone’s tracking it. I’d hate to miss the holidays.”
“We’ll plan a celebration when the time comes,” Harvey said. “We actually came over to talk with you about something else. We’ve been thinking, maybe we should recruit a few more neighbors. There are several houses much deeper into the canyon. I think they’re all rental properties, but I figure we should check them out.”
“You’re not worried about bringing strangers into the group?”
“We wouldn’t invite them right away. This would be more of a reconnaissance mission. We really don’t know what we’ll find out there, but we should take a look. The more information we have about the people around us, the easier it will be to defend our community.”
“When did you want to head out?” she asked.
“If you’re not busy, we’d like to go now.”
“I just got back from the night shift. I was hoping for a nap.” In fact, she could hardly wait to fall face-first into the bed. However, she didn’t want to rely on their judgment. She could probably trust Edwin, but she didn’t know anything about how Harvey made decisions. It would be better if she went with them. “I guess I can sleep later.”
“Great.”
“Did you bring any weapons?”
“No.”
“Do you have any?” she asked.
“I’ve got my dad’s old Colt .45 Peacemaker.”
“How much ammo do you have?”
“A few boxes full. I found them in Dad’s garage when I was cleaning out the house after he died.”
“Sorry to hear about your loss,” she said.
“It’s been over a decade. He’s in a better place now.”
“What about you?” She jerked her head toward Edwin.
“No guns. I’ve only got my two hands.”
“Could you shoot one if you had to?”
“Sure. I’ve done some range shooting. Nothing fancy, but if I aim for center mass, I’d probably land at least one shot.”
“Good enough for me. I’ve got rifles or pistols. Which do you prefer?”
“I’ll take a pistol. I’ve had more practice on those,” Edwin said.
“Let me run inside and tell the kids I’m leaving. Give me a second.”
Although she probably should have invited them inside, she didn’t want them to see all of her guns. Over the years, Luke had amassed a large collection which she’d taken with her when she’d fled their home.
After talking to the kids, she grabbed the Ruger GP100 revolver and headed for the door. Hopefully they wouldn’t need it, but better safe than sorry.
“Don’t lose this.” She handed the gun to Edwin.
“I won’t.” He took it and flicked the cylinder open. After checked it, he snapped it shut.
“Which house should we hit first?” she asked.
“The one closest to the rest of us. It’s about a half mile up the road,” Edwin said.
“I didn’t know anyone was living up there.”
“It’s a rental. I doubt we’ll find anyone there, but let’s check it anyway. If things get really bad, we’ll want to take whatever supplies we can get.”
“You’d steal from them?”
“It’s not stealing if they’re never coming back,” Edwin said.
“I guess so.”
As they trekked toward the house, she scanned the tree line for any sign of movement. For the last few days, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Although she hadn’t spotted fresh tracks, it didn’t mean the preacher’s men weren’t out there. The anticipation of another
attack kept her awake well into the day. Sometimes she wanted to strangle Sierra for bringing the preacher into their lives. She should have known better.
“Up there, on the left,” Edwin said.
“I see it.”
A small cabin sat a hundred feet back from the road. A wooden swing hung from the roof of a large wrap-around porch.
“Wait,” she said. “One of us should hang back in case something happens.”
“I’ll stay back,” Harvey said.
“I could do it too,” Edwin said.
“You already told us you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn,” Harvey said with a chuckle. “I’m a pretty good shot.”
“Let’s trade.” Liz handed him the rifle while reaching for the revolver. “Don’t shoot unless someone inside shoots first.”
“I won’t,” Harvey said.
“Let’s go.”
As Liz headed toward the front door of the cabin, her muscles tensed for action. A layer of dust and debris coated the porch steps. Fresh footprints disturbed the dirt. She pointed at them. Edwin nodded and clutched the pistol hard enough to turn his knuckles white.
Instead of knocking on the door, she headed for the closest window. Curtains blocked most of the view inside, but a sliver of living room was visible. An unoccupied couch and a coffee table sat in the center of the room. She tried to see more, but couldn’t, so she listened instead.
“I don’t hear anything, do you?” she whispered.
“Nothing.”
“Let’s try knocking. You stand over there and cover me.” She pointed to the opposite side of the porch. As Edwin moved into position, she took a breath and let it out.
She knocked once. Twice. Three times.
No footsteps or movement. Maybe it was vacant.
She pointed at the doorknob and motioned like she was going to open it. Edwin’s eyes bulged. He shook his head from side to side. She nodded vigorously to indicate she intended to follow through on her plan.
“Wait,” he whispered. “Maybe we should go around back first.”
“We face the same problem either way. If someone’s hiding in there, we’re going to be ambushed. I’d rather stay in Harvey’s line of sight.”