by Alex Gunwick
The preacher’s laugh verged on hysterical.
“Behold,” he bellowed while pointing at Luke. “The one who does what is sinful is of the Devil because the Devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Creator appeared was to destroy the Devil’s work.”
“Let’s see if scripture makes you bulletproof.” Luke sighted down the barrel, lining up his shot right between the preacher’s eyes.
Suddenly, he heard a pair of clicks behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. Two men, both armed with automatic rifles, leveled their guns at him.
The preacher dove under a thick table. Two other men in the room grabbed rifles. There was a total of five men in the room, plus two in the doorway. Luke was caught in a triangle of deadly weapons. He glanced from man to man. Which one would shoot first?
Derek eliminated as many targets as possible outside, while Liz killed anyone who walked into the hallway where they had hunkered down. His ammo was severely depleted. He only had a few rounds left in the rifle and two spare mags for the Browning. Of the explosives he’d brought along, only one grenade remained.
A minute passed. Nothing moved. Derek scanned the grounds outside the window but couldn’t see any more cultists. Had they actually killed everyone outside?
“Do you think there are more out there?” Liz whispered.
“No idea.”
“I want to go find Luke. The lights are still on. If he ran into trouble …”
“I don’t want to leave us unprotected from the men outside. We should stay here. Luke can take care of himself.”
“No. I want to go find him.”
“Liz, if you leave, I can’t come with you. We’d be open to fire from anyone still outside.”
“Then stay. Take out anyone else who comes your way.”
“Don’t make me regret letting you leave,” he muttered.
“You don’t have a choice.” Liz smirked. “Hold down the fort. If I can’t find Luke, I’ll come back in five minutes.”
“And if you’re not back by then?”
“If I’m not … save yourself. Go back to the bunker and protect my son. Between you, Kyle, and the Wrights, you will have enough to last the winter.”
“I’m not leaving you and Luke behind. It’s not my way.”
“I’ll be back in five.”
“Be careful.”
She nodded before crouching down and running past the window. When there wasn’t any additional gunfire, Derek stood to one side and peeked outside. Still, nothing moved. Maybe they’d killed everyone outside. But there were still men inside. He debated leaving to catch up to Liz, but he didn’t want to leave them vulnerable to attack if anyone was hiding outside.
Liz was gone two minutes when Derek spotted movement in the trees. He sighted through his rifle but couldn’t make out what was coming toward him. Because he was low on ammo, his timing had to be perfect. His finger hovered over the trigger. Just a little closer.
Derek jerked back when he realized who it was. What the fuck!
Kyle raced out from behind the trees and ran toward the window.
“Son of a bitch!” Derek raised his rifle and frantically scanned for enemies.
Kyle jumped through the open window, landing next to Derek.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Derek growled.
“I waited until all the gunshots stopped. I had to come help you.”
“Did you even bring a weapon?”
“My knife!” Kyle thrust it out, narrowly missing Derek’s chest.
“Goddammit.”
“Where’s my mom and dad?” Kyle asked.
“Somewhere else in the compound. Your dad went first. He was looking for the generator to kill the lights. When he didn’t come back, your mom insisted on going to look for him. I tried to get her to stay with me.”
“She won’t do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
“Isn’t that the damn truth,” Derek grumbled.
“There’s no one else alive outside,” Kyle said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I was out there while you were shooting at people. Everyone’s dead.”
“You didn’t see anyone run into the forest?”
“Nope.” Kyle shook his head. “That was badass the way you killed—”
“Focus!” Derek grabbed the kid’s shoulders. “Are you one hundred percent sure no one else is out there?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go find your parents. Stay on my six.”
“Right behind you. Got it!” Kyle grinned.
Derek scowled as he turned and walked down the hall where Luke and Liz had disappeared. He reached the end, checked both ways, then continued deeper into the compound.
Pounding footsteps sounded from the next hall. Derek braced himself and fired as soon as the man turned the corner. The guy went down with a heavy thud.
A second assailant appeared in the doorway. Derek sent him to meet his maker with a shot direct to the heart. Pop pop. He had double taps for everyone.
He moved quickly into the next hall, sweeping for targets. It was empty. He spotted a staircase toward the end of the hall. A man skipped down it. Derek pointed and pulled the trigger. It clicked, but nothing happened.
“Shit!”
Derek knew he didn’t have time to slap in another mag, so he drew his knife and charged. He slammed the knife into the guy’s meaty paunch. In the same instant, the guy drew a pistol and swung it toward him. Derek used his free hand to clamp down on the cultist’s forearm. He struggled to hold the man’s deadly pistol at bay.
Kyle lunged forward, stabbing the man in the throat. Blood gushed. The man dropped his weapon and grabbed for his throat. Blood spurted between his fingers. He stumbled back, slamming into the stairs.
“We have to go back.” Derek grabbed Kyle’s shirt and yanked him back down the corridor. He ran as fast as he could with the kid in tow.
Someone burst out of an open door, grabbing Derek from the side and slamming him into the opposite wall.
Kyle screamed and ran forward with his knife. The cultist kicked back, sending Kyle reeling.
Derek snapped his head forward, crushing the man’s nose. The guy yelped and grabbed his nose. Derek drove his knife back into the man’s belly.
“You okay?” Derek asked Kyle.
“Yeah.”
More boots thundered toward them.
“Get in there and hide in a closet,” Derek commanded.
“But I want to—”
“Move, soldier!”
The order got the kid moving, and he disappeared into the room just in time. The new set of combatants didn’t seem to see the kid. They were fixated on Derek.
A cultist raced toward him. Derek grabbed a pistol off one of the dead men, and he cut down three guys before the ammo ran out. He grabbed the other dead guy’s gun. There wasn’t time to check the rounds.
As more men flooded the hall, he jumped into the room. He used the doorway as cover. Firing at will, he took down a group of five before his gun clicked. He tossed it aside.
The next set of cultists didn’t carry firearms. Since there were only two of them, Derek decided to take them head-on. He swung his knife in an arc and snarled. He charged forward, slicing at the first guy. The man jumped back but not before Derek cut through the guy’s shirt.
The other guy surged forward, fists at the ready. He fake-lunged, and when Derek rushed into the guy’s space, the cultist nailed him. He took a hard blow to the temple and staggered a few steps before the first guy tripped him. Then they were on top of him, stomping and kicking and striking with their fists as if they were clubs.
Derek, bleeding and dazed, managed to grab one man’s foot. He stood up quickly, flipping the man end over end. Derek punched the fallen man in the throat. The guy gasped and writhed on the floor.
Executing a perfect back snap kick, Derek caught the other foe in the groin. The guy wailed as he grabbed at his crotch and fell to his knees.<
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With the first guy still gasping, Derek grabbed the second around the neck. He knelt over him and choked him until he was dead.
Derek turned on the first man, grabbing his ankle and dragging him closer. He punched the bastard in the face over and over until it was a bloody pulp. Derek wasn’t sure when the guy had died, but he was too fixated to stop.
Derek turned around quickly, in search of more enemies, but all he saw were broken bodies. No one moved. They were all dead.
He walked into the room and yanked the closet door open. Kyle looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Stay here. I’m going to cut the power. When it goes dark, I want you to run like hell back to the bunker.”
“What about my mom and dad?” Kyle asked.
“I’ll find them and bring them home.”
After closing the closet door, Derek stalked into the hall. He needed to find the damn generator and finish this thing.
27
Liz stepped over a dead man as she headed up a flight of stairs to the third floor. She’d passed several other men. Assuming her husband had killed them, she followed the trail of bodies.
Before walking upstairs, she’d checked the room near the bottom of it. It was a storage area with enough dried and canned goods to feed her family for an entire year. She made a mental note to go back for it after they’d dealt with the cultists.
Footsteps sounded directly over her head, and she hurried up the stairs. She didn’t see movement on the landing. As she ascended the stairs, her light frame didn’t cause much squeaking. She held her pistol held in both hands.
When she reached to top, she was confronted by a long hallway that split into a T-junction. She heard angry voices coming from the left side.
Liz inched down the hallway.
“My brethren, the good Lord has graced us with one of our foes. We shall take him downstairs and hang him outside as a sign to the others. Any man who dares to challenge us will be struck down by our holy army.”
Liz figured that had to be the preacher. Rage filled her soul. She knew the only other person who wasn’t a cult member in the room had to be Luke. Those bastards wanted to hang him. Well, they’d have to get past her first.
When the first man walked out the door, she fired. Screams sounded from inside the room. A gunshot went off. She raced to the door. Luke was grappling with one man who clung to a rifle. They fought over the weapon.
Liz shot three others, leaving two plus the preacher. The insane leader backed away from the others. The two men Luke wasn’t fighting rushed her. She shot one. Her gun clicked. She threw it at the other before swinging a fist at his face.
Pain shot up her arm, stealing her breath. The man’s head jerked to one side, but he quickly recovered.
“You’ll pay for that, bitch.”
She dodged behind a desk. The man shoved it to one side. He grabbed her and slammed her into the wall. She nearly blacked out but managed to retain consciousness. She slid down the wall, watching helplessly as her attacker turned toward Luke.
Across the room, Luke jerked the rifle out of the guy’s hands. He turned the gun on its owner and fired. The man screamed as a bullet ripped through his abdomen. He collapsed onto the floor. He grabbed his stomach, trying in vain to staunch the spurting blood.
“Luke! Look out!”
He turned and fired. The man who’d attacked Liz didn’t even have time to scream as bullets perforated his body. He dropped to the floor, body jerking about wildly even though he was quite dead.
“You okay?” Luke asked, never taking his eyes off the preacher.
Liz climbed to her feet and stumbled toward her husband. He wrapped one arm around her.
“I thought I was going to lose you.” She just wanted to hold him as close as possible, but the preacher glared at them from the corner.
“Not a chance, baby.” Luke kissed her, and it was the sweetest kiss he’d ever given her.
“You foolish heathens.” The preacher’s lips peeled back in a toothy sneer. “You think you’ve won? Even if you kill me, more will come.”
Luke pointed his pistol at the preacher. The man struggled to his feet but made no move to fight. He just glared at them and jabbed a finger in their direction.
“When judgment day comes for you, and it will come, you will rot in hellfire. Mark my words!” The preacher spread his arms wide as if standing on the pulpit and embracing his flock. “More are coming. They will find you and kill your entire—”
“I’ve had enough of this shit.” Luke pointed his pistol at the preacher, but Liz put a hand on his forearm.
“Wait.” She addressed the preacher even though he made her skin crawl. “You said more are coming. What does that mean?”
The preacher’s face split in a wide grin, showing off his discolored and uneven teeth.
“The soldiers of God will not relent. We will keep coming and coming and coming until we take this mountain from you and your heathen family. You will be crucified, left in the sun to die of exhaustion, and when you finally pass from this mortal coil, your bones shall remain like jewels glimmering on the breast of our mountain.”
“He’s lying.” Luke cursed and spat. He glared hard at the preacher and leveled his pistol again. “We took out all your men outside. We shot more inside. Before we leave this place, we’re going to clean up whatever mess you have left. No one lives this time. We won’t make that mistake again.”
The preacher lunged for them. Luke pulled the trigger, hitting the monster right in the heart. It was too easy a death for what his people had done to Sierra. But it was finally over.
The lights went out.
Luke flicked on his penlight.
“That had to be Derek,” Liz said.
“Let’s get him and sweep this place. I’m not leaving anyone standing.” He picked up a rifle off one of the dead men and tossed it to her.
She grabbed it and followed him into the dark hallway. On the way downstairs, they took out another man who’d made the mistake of poking his head out of one of the doors.
“Why haven’t we seen any women or children?” Liz asked in a hushed tone.
“Maybe they fled.”
“Are we going to go after them?”
“No. I don’t think they were here of their own free will. We can’t help them. We can’t waste the resources or the time. We need to get back into the bunker and seal it for the winter.”
Guilt ate at her heart. She wanted to save any innocent people, but how could she possibly know who was worth saving? Women could be just as evil as men.
She shook her head, putting it out of her mind. She couldn’t be concerned about them right now.
When they reached the ground floor, they heard footsteps coming toward the stairs and hid in the alcove under the stairs.
The footsteps stopped.
A sharp whistle pierced the air. Luke relaxed by her side before whistling back.
“Where are you?” Derek’s hushed whisper carried from down the hall.
“Under the staircase,” Luke said softly.
Derek joined them.
“Status?” Luke asked.
“Ground floor is clear.”
“You hurt?”
“Nothing I won’t survive,” Derek said. “You guys okay?”
“A little banged up but no worse for wear,” Luke said. “Took out the preacher.”
“Hell, yeah!” Derek clapped Luke on the back.
“I want to finish searching this place and make sure we got them all,” Luke said.
“I’m coming with you,” Liz said.
“Um …” Derek sighed. “You might want to go back to the bunker. Kyle was here.”
“What?” Liz yelled.
“Shh,” Luke said.
“What the hell was he doing here?” Liz asked.
“Hell if I know. I sent him back to the shelter,” Derek said.
Liz swore. “Okay, I’ll go make sure he made it back. Don’t leave any of the
se assholes alive.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Derek said.
“Be careful, honey.” Luke kissed her.
She stalked down the hall toward the window. She was going to kill Kyle if he wasn’t already dead.
Kyle hunkered down in the forest outside the preacher’s compound. After sporadic bursts of gunfire, the compound was silent. He’d slipped out over thirty minutes ago, but he didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing his parents.
The lights in the building turned off. He blinked hard, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness.
More gunshots split the air. He wanted desperately to go back in to help them, but he didn’t even have a gun. The guys they’d shot did, but in his haste to retreat, he’d forgotten to grab one.
“So stupid,” he muttered.
“Not as stupid as coming out here all alone, little boy.” A man’s gruff voice was Kyle’s only warning.
Before he could turn around, the old man had his hand over Kyle’s mouth. Kyle bit him as hard as he could. The man screamed.
“You little shi—”
Bam!
A bullet tore right through the guy’s mouth.
“What the—”
Kyle turned to find his furious mother bearing down on him.
“Why are you still here?” she growled as she grabbed his upper arm. “Derek said you left a while ago.”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m going to kill you when we get home.”
Kyle knew his mom didn’t mean it literally, but she was totally pissed off.
“Where’s dad?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
“Inside with Derek. They’re cleaning up what’s left of that place.”
“Did you kill everyone inside?” Kyle asked.
“Maybe. I don’t know. They’re checking.” She dragged him deeper into the forest. “Be quiet until we get back to the shelter.”
“Wait! I know a faster way.”
“What way?” she demanded.
“I found another tunnel. It’s right over there.” He pointed. “We can be back in ten minutes.”
“Show me.”
Kyle hurried ahead of her. He knew she was furious at him because she kept cursing and muttering to herself. He was going to be grounded for sure when they got back. But grounded from what? It’s not like they had a computer or a TV.