by Alex Gunwick
“—an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of our holy divinity. Come forth so you may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of our Creator, for which you also suffer.”
The speaker stood on a sedan-sized boulder. He extended his arms out to the small gathering as if he were a conductor before an orchestra. Or more likely, a puppet master who pulled the strings of his followers. The gathered throng ate up every word. Some nodded as the preacher continued his spiel.
“It is God’s will to rain hellfire down on those who have afflicted you. When our divine decree is revealed from heaven,” the man raised his arms to the sky and shook his fists as if in fury, “we, His mighty angels, will bring vengeance to those who don’t know our Creator. And those who don’t obey the good news of our holy divinity? They will pay the ultimate penalty.” The preacher’s eyes narrowed into slits. His voice boomed. “Eternal destruction will come to anyone who refuses the face of the Lord. From the glory of His might, we will become his earthly warriors.”
“Amen.” The men shouted their approval. Some of them thrust their guns toward the heavens.
“My good brothers,” the preacher’s thin, rat-like face twisted into a sneer, “our beloved leader is gone. Slain by the hands of a heretical cow and her ungainly offspring. Are we to suffer these heathens to live?”
A raucous cry of “no” echoed up out of the glade as the men grew even more frenetic in their appeal to the heavens. Luke knew exactly who the preacher was referring to—Luke’s wife and kids.
“Remember, it is by the grace of our divine Creator that we have survived the fires of nuclear apocalypse.” The preacher jabbed a finger down at the men gathered about his boulder. “Do not seek to place yourselves before Him as our enemies have done. Down that path lies the destruction of your immortal soul. We are the chosen. We will claim this land and all its resources for His holy kingdom. His will be done.”
The men raised their arms into the air and shouted with glee. “His will be done.”
Luke had seen enough. As he carefully snuck away from the glade, he took note of the small cabin’s location. He had to tell the others about this. They were all in great danger.
3
Three days earlier …
Derek leaned against the rough stones of the cabin’s fireplace. He crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to Luke’s report on the cult meeting. Apparently, Luke had stumbled upon them by pure luck. Until now, they hadn’t known for sure if the cult had regrouped. It was clear they had and that they’d continue to be a threat.
“… so that’s what we’re dealing with now,” Luke finished.
“I’m sorry.” Liz pursed her lips and glanced at each person with a worried frown. “If I hadn’t killed their leader, they wouldn’t be out for revenge.”
“Please don’t apologize for killing a terrible man, dear.” Sandy patted her on the shoulder. “If I’d had that son of a bitch in my sights, I’d have pulled the trigger for sure.”
“For the love of God.” Edwin scowled at his wife of thirty years.
Sandy shrugged. “Well, I would.”
“I would, too.” Kyle slapped a fist into his palm. His eyes shimmered with the mischief of a thirteen-year-old. “I’d stick a grenade up each and every one of their—”
“That’s enough,” Liz snapped.
Kyle grumbled a bit before falling into sullen silence.
“As much as I hate to admit it, my son might be right.” Luke rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He stared at something far away. “The cult remains a constant threat to all of us. We’re going to have to do something about it. End this for good.”
Liz turned to her husband. Mild disdain furrowed her brow. “I can’t believe after all the violence visited upon this family, you want to go out and start another fight.”
“Yeah.” Sierra shifted her attention from her notebook to her father. “Live and let live, right? We don’t bother them, and maybe they won’t bother us.”
Derek held his tongue, though he wanted to berate the foolish teenager for her ignorance. Fortunately, Luke did it for him.
“After all you’ve been through, and all that nearly happened to you, I can’t believe you want to give these people the benefit of the doubt.”
Liz laid a restraining hand on his forearm. “We don’t know if the new preacher’s just trying to bring his people together, or if he’s actually trying to incite a mob to attack us again. Winter will be here soon. They’ll be too busy trying to survive. There’s a good chance they won’t mess with us.”
Derek couldn’t remain silent any longer. He pushed away from the wall and cleared his throat until he had everyone’s attention. “I agree with Luke. We need to deal with this. There are only so many resources on this mountain, and we’re in direct competition with the cult for them. If we let them overfish the water and overhunt the forest there’ll be nothing left for us. As far as I’m concerned, it’s kill or be killed at this point.”
Luke nodded. “We can’t expect peace from them. The Children of the Bomb will kill anyone in their way. They’ll consider it the fulfillment of their divine right. The only thing that’ll deter them is bloodshed. We have to strike them before they attack us.”
“Of course, the two military guys want to start a war.” Sierra rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you tired of fighting? You should be.”
“Yes, I’m tired of fighting.” Luke sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been fighting since the bombs dropped. I can still hear the screams of the men I sent to Hell. But if I have to send a few more there to keep this family safe, then that’s what I’ll to do.”
“No,” Liz said.
Luke’s gaze snapped over to his wife. He opened his mouth to protest, but she ignored him.
“We can’t subject our family to more violence,” Liz said.
“What if the cult comes to our cabin? What should we do then?” Luke demanded.
“Then we fight.” Liz made a fist. “I’m not afraid to get violent when it’s necessary. But we shouldn’t go looking for trouble. In my experience, you’ll always find it. And we don’t know if they were talking about us. They could be targeting some other family. We’re not the only group on this mountain.”
Luke’s jaw worked silently as he chewed on her logic. He was pretty damn sure the cult’s new leader was talking about Liz and the kids, but she was right. They didn’t know for sure. Starting another war with them would only serve to strain their resources further. And they might be wasting bullets for nothing.
“All right, Liz. We’ll wait. I just hope we don’t regret this decision,” Luke said.
That seemed to end the meeting. Everyone exchanged silent glances, and then Edwin stood. “Well, me and the missus best get back to our cabin before dark. It’s going to get damn cold tonight. Come on, honey.”
Sandy took his hand. “We’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Everyone gradually dispersed, leaving Derek alone by the fireplace. He considered the situation. Luke was the only person taking the threat seriously. However, Derek also respected Liz. He could empathize with her desire to keep her family away from danger. Derek knew loss all too well.
His thoughts turned to the real reason he’d come up the mountain. Back when he’d served in the military, he’d heard about something that might ensure their survival, but he wasn’t sure if it was still on the mountain. He couldn’t tell anyone about it until he knew if it still existed. He didn’t want to get their hopes up. However, if he could find it, it would go a long way in helping them stay alive in a world without rule of law. The thing he sought was hidden somewhere in the woods. But where?
Derek grabbed his travel pack and his cheap but sturdy semi-automatic rifle. He decided he would go into the woods and search for it until he found it, or he wound up dead. Because if he didn’t locate it, they were all doomed. They wouldn’t survive a nuclear winter without it. No one wanted to face the truth except for him. He needed to do this. Their future depended on it.
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For now, he would keep it a secret. Locating it wouldn’t be easy, but if he could find it, he could leverage it to gain more status within the group. Hell, they’d probably make him their leader. But he didn’t give a damn about status. He was only looking to survive, just like everyone else.
He exited the cabin and closed the door, making as little sound as possible. He couldn’t afford to be followed. Even if he found it, he wasn’t planning on revealing its location. The others would stay dependent on him as long as they didn’t discover the source of their newfound wealth. Keeping the location secret would keep him alive.
Derek figured he’d be able to hear most people who might stalk him, but Luke had trained his family to use stealth to move through the forest. That little punk Kyle could practically disappear if he held still long enough. Sierra would be easy to spot. Liz was much better than her daughter but still identifiable. Luke was the only one who would be a real problem. He and Derek possessed the same level of survival training. Luke could track him if Derek wasn’t careful. He had to stay alert, not just for the members of Luke’s family, but for the cult members, too. Everyone would kill to get their hands on what he was determined to find.
Despite his alertness, he didn’t notice the lean figure following him into the forest.
Sierra sighed as she sat on her bed, staring at her phone’s black screen. Just a few short weeks ago, the device was a window into an entire world of possibility. If she was hungry, the nicest restaurant in town could be located with a few taps of her finger. If she was lonely, a couple of swipes and she might find a hot guy to spend some time with. And if she wanted to hear the latest top ten songs, they would be readily available on her music app. Now the phone was a useless chunk of metal, glass, and plastic.
Stuck on the mountain, there was nothing to do. She was completely cut off from everything that had ever been important to her. Friends, social media, college culture. All gone because of those stupid nukes.
How could they do this to her? More than likely, a bunch of politicians had started this war. They’d ruined her life. It wasn’t fair. She was missing out on her chance to be young and free. All because some old white men had decided to blow each other up for silly reasons.
Unlike her father, Sierra was never much of a patriot. As long as she could do what she wanted and have a good time, she was happy. She wasn’t filled with righteous anger towards the enemies of America. Instead, most of her anger was directed at her parents. They were both clever people. Why did they have to make her life miserable in this ridiculous cabin? Sierra wasn’t a fan of “roughing it.” She wanted her creature comforts, her cell phone to work, and electricity. She wanted her life back.
She could never understand why people like the Wrights believed living on the mountain was so damn beautiful. Well, the Wrights were old, so they liked stuff like nature and sitting around staring at the clouds. So did her parents. Why, oh why, couldn’t she have been born into a rich family? Rich people didn’t go hide in the woods. They had guards and electricity, and they didn’t have to go out on patrol every other day.
Fortunately, she wasn’t totally stuck with her parents. There were other families around. And … there was Derek.
The ridiculously hot guy had saved her life several times. Derek was sexy as hell and smart. Well, maybe not that smart. She’d practically thrown herself at him several times, but he hadn’t responded. He was either oblivious or not interested. He was too smart to be oblivious, but she had a hard time accepting that he wasn’t interested. Guys never walked away from her. She was too pretty. She worked hard to keep her body tight and firm, but he didn’t seem to notice.
What an idiot. They could be passing the endless hours doing all kinds of naughty things in the woods together. Instead, she was stuck here, bored out of her freaking mind.
She turned to stare out the bedroom window at the fading sunlight when she spotted Derek sneaking away from the cabin. He took cautious steps and kept glancing back at the building. He was up to something.
Partially from boredom and partially because she was miffed at his lack of interest in her, Sierra made the split-second decision to follow him. Derek was a man of mystery. Whenever he spoke about his past, he only gave vague details. Sierra wanted to know his story. Maybe then she’d be able to figure out why he didn’t like her back. There had to be a reason.
Come on, Derek. I’m hot, you’re hot, we’re hot. So why not?
She crept out of the cabin. He was almost out of sight when she made it to the edge of the woods. She hurried after him, careful to watch where she stepped as Dad had shown her.
Her lips twisted into a wry grin. What do you know? The old man was useful for something, after all. She’d become a much better tracker in the last few days, which would be helpful tonight. Derek was up to something for sure; otherwise, he wouldn’t be sneaking out.
Keeping up with Derek’s brisk pace without stepping on twigs was hard work. She debated turning around and heading back to the cabin, but this was still far more interesting than anything going on back there.
She lost her focus for a moment and accidentally stepped on a rotted, fallen tree limb. A loud crack punctured the air. Derek stopped. He spun toward her, scanning for the source of the sound through the scope on his rifle.
She ducked behind a thick oak and held perfectly still, afraid to even breathe. As the seconds passed, her lungs started to burn. She couldn’t release a breath now without sucking in a huge one, which would make a ton of noise. He’d probably shoot her. There’s no way he’d be able to tell it was her in the darkness. Shit! She was going to die if she didn’t call out to him.
As she opened her mouth to suck in a breath, he lowered the scope. He frowned, then turned his back on her and continued deeper into the forest.
She sagged with relief. Part of her screamed she should turn back. But curiosity kept her rooted in place. He was up to something for sure, and she wanted to know what it was. She gave him a few seconds to get ahead before taking a tentative step in his direction. He didn’t turn around, so she continued to follow him.
Where was he going? He appeared to be searching for something, but what? The Children of the Bomb’s new compound? Was he going to take them all on with one gun by himself? Was he that crazy?
She continued to track him, staying back as far as she could without losing sight of him. After the broken branch incident, he would occasionally stop and look around, as if he were expecting an ambush. On those occasions, Sierra flattened herself against the nearest tree. To her relief, he hadn’t spotted her.
As Derek resumed his hunt, he seemed to perk up. His pace quickened as he strode faster into the woods. He stopped to examine what looked like a tree stump, then he rose to his feet and jogged out of sight.
She hurried to catch up. When she came upon the stump, she realized it was actually a rusted iron pipe jutting out of the mountainside. It seemed out of place amongst the boulders and gently flowing streams. She’d passed through this area before but hadn’t noticed it. What was it?
Determined to find out what was going on, she hurried after Derek. As slipped silently through the trees, she hoped she hadn’t lost him. She nearly collapsed in fright when she spotted him a few hundred yards ahead.
She froze.
When he didn’t look at her, she followed his gaze. Her eyes widened when she spotted what he was staring at.
Holy crap! So this is what he was looking for. Her lips peeled back into a smile as he moved toward it. Now I know one of your secrets.
4
Three days earlier …
A rush of adrenaline shot through Derek as he stared at the steel door. It stood several hundred yards away. A thicket of snow-dusted bushes partially obscured it, but there was no mistaking it. This was it. He could feel it in the depths of his soul. Who the hell would build a compound into the side of the mountain? The US Government, that’s who.
An invigorating rush of heat spread thro
ugh his body. His mind raced with hope and anticipation. He studied the landscape. They wouldn’t have left any traps behind, but a dense blanket of snow-covered leaves would block any potential hazards from sight. The last thing he needed was to step into a tangle of rattlesnakes.
Dusk cut across the mountain. He didn’t want to turn back. He had to confirm his find, but he also couldn’t risk getting caught in the frigid night with no shelter. His clothes were warm enough for now, but the emergency blanket in his pack wouldn’t keep him comfortable for the night. It would keep him alive, but hours of shivering weren’t all that appealing.
If this place was what he thought it was, then he could conceivably stay inside. But it wouldn’t be much warmer, and he sure as hell couldn’t light a fire. It would draw too much attention. Anyone in the wood would be able to see the smoke. He couldn’t stay, so he had to take a quick peek and get the hell out of there.
Praying that he wouldn’t step on a snake, he waded through damp leaves. They clung to his boots. Mud sucked at his feet. It was slow going and harder than he’d anticipated.
He blew out a frustrated breath before summoning all his energy. He bounded forward, stumbling through the brush. Elated by his sudden progress, he redoubled his efforts. But before he’d made it halfway across the divide, he caught sight of a deep depression of leaves. A shallow.
“Shit!”
His feet went out from under him. Snow and leaves crunched and gave way. He twisted around to grasp desperately at the nearest bush. His hand caught hold of a narrow, flimsy branch, but it slipped through his fingers as he scrambled to regain his balance. A few sparse leaves tore free as he slid feet-first down the ravine.
Panic seized him as he grabbed unsuccessfully for a handhold. The drop hadn’t appeared too treacherous based on a quick glimpse, but with a coating of snow over everything, there could be any number of hazards beneath the surface.
Before he had time to further contemplate his fate, his feet jammed into the ground. He somersaulted backward. When he finally came to rest on his knees, his lungs heaved. His heart pounded as adrenaline surged through his veins. He brushed leaves out of his hair and off his jacket. The pungent odor of rot stifled his breath.