by Victor Zugg
Sam pulled to a stop and clicked the engine off. The sound of running water immediately became evident.
“The Little River is right over there,” Sam said, as he pointed through Charlie’s window. “This road pretty much tracks the river all the way down to Lynn Camp Falls, a couple of miles.”
“We could use a chain saw back here, starting right now,” Charlie said.
“Fresh out of chain saws,” Sam said. “We’ll need to scout a path around.”
Sam opened his door, scanned the ground in all directions, and carefully stepped out.
“I’ll give you a hand,” Charlie said, as he reached for the door handle.
“That’s okay,” Sam said, “it will only take a minute.”
Sam picked up a bare branch and used it to sweep the foliage in front of him as he stepped. He glanced around and then walked off to the left, into the brush, gauging whether the Hummer could push through around the larger trees and rocks. After mapping out a route in his head, he returned to the Hummer and slid back in the seat. He wiped sweat from his forehead with a sleeve and then started the engine.
“Shouldn’t be a problem this way,” he said, as he shifted the truck into gear, wrenched the wheel to the left, and lightly pressed the fuel pedal.
The Hummer chugged through the dense brush, rounded the end of the pine log, and then returned to the road.
The farther Sam drove into the woods, the less he liked the idea of living this far in the wilderness. Images of barely passable terrain, rain, snow, floods, mud, mosquitoes, ticks, bears, and snakes clicked through his mind, one by one, as he tried to reconcile the risks of living in a cave versus defending the cabin.
Sam drove the truck around, over, and through the various obstacles at less than a walking pace for another twenty minutes, and then stopped at a rocky stream.
“A branch of the Little River?” Charlie asked.
“Yep,” Sam said. “I don’t remember this being here.”
“Not very wide, or deep,” Juan said. “The rocks aren’t very big. The truck should go through.”
Sam glanced back at Juan. “You realize if we break something, or get stuck, we’re screwed.”
Juan slid back in his seat and crossed his arms.
“I think he’s right,” Charlie said. “This little stream shouldn’t be a problem.”
Sam opened his door and stepped out. “I need to take a closer look.” He shuffled to the water’s edge, stepped up on a medium sized rock, and scanned the stream. Juan was right. The water wasn’t deep, and the rocks were not big enough to stop the Hummer. Still, if they got stuck, Sam did not relish the thought of walking back through the tangled mass of greenery. But he couldn’t turn back now, not after coming this far, especially with Charlie and Juan watching his every move. Sam massaged the back of his neck with one hand. He wiped the sweat from his face with both sleeves and then returned to the Hummer.
Sam put the truck in gear and eased forward. The large tires rolled over the rocks and through the water with ease, until they reached the opposite bank and started up the slight incline. All four wheels spun in the mud for a moment, but then caught and pulled the truck up to solid ground.
They continued to creep along for another half hour until Sam pulled to a stop at the sound of rushing water.
“The falls are over there,” Sam said, as he pointed toward the sound. “Watch for snakes.”
Juan nodded, bounded out the back door, and scampered to the water’s edge.
Sam and Charlie got out and followed, stepping up next to Juan.
“Beautiful,” Charlie said.
“It is,” Sam said. “But I wonder how long it would stay beautiful if we actually had to stay here.”
Charlie pursed his lips and nodded. “Where’s this cave of yours?”
Sam motioned for Charlie and Juan to follow as he turned and stepped off to the east. He led them over a rise, through a gully, and then up a slight incline to the top, where the land was relatively flat for thirty yards or so.
Sam pointed to a dark hole in the side of a rock face. “Over there.”
“People have lived here,” Charlie said, as he pointed to the remains of a rock chimney to one side of the clearing.
“This was a logging camp, way back,” Sam said. “Not much left now.”
“Let’s check out the cave,” Juan said, as he scurried in that direction.
Sam and Charlie followed.
Sam kept his eyes to the ground. “Watch your step, those damn snakes really blend in.”
Juan stepped up to the dark hole, but didn’t go in. He looked back at Sam. “Are there any bats in here?”
“Probably,” Sam said. “Bat populations have been in decline, but there are still plenty of them around.”
Juan took a few steps inside the mouth. “Pretty dark in here,” he said. “How far back does it go?”
“Forty feet or so,” Sam said. “Then it narrows. Small animals could get through, but not a person.”
“Doesn’t sound all that ideal,” Charlie said. “Anything could be living back there.”
Sam nodded. “Well, we could close off that area with rocks, and just occupy the front cavern.”
“Let’s light a fire in here so we can see,” Juan said.
“Since we’re here,” Charlie said.
Sam, Charlie, and Juan gathered sticks and twigs, and placed them in a heap in the middle of the cavern, on bare rock. Sam pulled a lighter from his pocket and got the fire going with a bit of dry grass. Soon flames were up to Sam’s belt and light gray smoke rose, gathered at the top of the cavern, and then seeped out the mouth.
Light from the fire lit up the back rock wall. Shadows danced on the rock surfaces around the room. Sam looked around at the detritus left by previous human visitors. There were a few beer bottles and cans, a mostly rotted T-shirt, and a rusted ax head with a broken handle.
Suddenly, the massive flutter of bats’ wings filled the room. An instant later, hundreds, if not thousands, of the creatures poured from the narrow opening at the rear of the cave and swarmed out the cave’s mouth.
Sam, Charlie, and Juan ducked low to allow the bats a free avenue of escape. A few seconds later, the fluttering dwindled to nothing as the last of the bats flew out the mouth.
“Like I said,” Sam said, as he stood up straight, “the place is full of bats.”
“Will they come back?” Juan asked.
“Yep, once we leave and the fire is out, they’ll be back just before dawn tomorrow,” Sam said.
“Do you really think we could live in this place?” Juan asked.
“Like I said, we’d need to close off that opening in the rear, maybe build some kind of cover for the mouth,” Sam said, “but yeah, we could live here. It wouldn’t be as nice as the cabin, but it would work in a pinch.”
The three of them spread out for a closer look at the nooks and crannies.
Sam walked to the narrow opening in the rear and began shifting rocks. “Since we’re here and the bats are not, let’s go ahead and plug this hole. It will only take a few minutes. We’ll need some rocks from outside.”
Charlie looked at Juan and shrugged.
***
“I just wish there was some way to set up a warning system of some sort,” Chet said, as he emptied the shovel full of dirt onto the berm around the foxhole. Standing in the two foot deep hole, he stepped on the shovel for another load.
Tiff handed Chet a bottle of water. “Even if we had trip flares, the deer would set them off. The same with some kind of noise maker, we’d be up every five minutes.”
“I guess,” Chet said, as he leaned against the shovel handle and looked up at Tiff. He downed the entire bottle of water and threw the empty on the ground.
He then stepped out of the hole and scanned the work they had done. “With both of us digging, we should have all three holes dug pretty quickly.” He stood in front of the hole and peered at the tree line north of the cabin. “I th
ink we should clear the brush back another fifty yards.”
“I can work on that,” Tiff said. “Unless you’re tired of digging.”
“Nah, I’ll dig some more,” Chet said. “Only this, and two more holes to dig.” He jumped back in the hole and took hold of the shovel handle as Tiff bent down and picked up an axe and a machete.
Chet froze and turned his attention to the sound of barely perceptible pops in the far off distance. “Do you hear that?”
Tiff stopped. “What?”
Chet cupped his hands behind his ears. “Popping…toward Townsend.”
Tiff faced north and put one hand behind an ear. “I hear it. Is that gunfire?”
Chet stepped from the foxhole and joined Tiff. “Has to be. And it’s coming from Townsend.”
“That can’t be good,” Tiff said. “Should we check it out?”
Chet glanced at Juan’s pickup truck parked in front of the cabin. He looked to the sky. “Got to be approaching four o’clock. Sam should be back anytime.”
“I say we take a run into town,” Tiff said. “Emma can tell Sam to follow.”
“That would leave Emma and Diego here alone,” Chet said.
“Yeah, if there’s trouble in Townsend, then it could be on us within hours.”
Chet returned to the foxhole and grabbed his shovel. “We keep digging until Sam shows up.”
CHAPTER 15
Sam let off the fuel pedal as the Hummer crested the hill, just short of the turnoff for the cabin. In the distance he saw smoke rising over the tree line. His gaze hardened as he let the Hummer come to a full stop in the middle of the road.
“What is it?” Charlie asked, as he looked back around from talking to Juan.
“Dark smoke over Townsend,” Sam said. “Something’s on fire, and I don’t think it’s the forest.”
Sam stepped on the accelerator and turned into the dirt drive for the cabin. He pulled to a stop in front of the garage and stepped out of the Hummer as Chet climbed out of a foxhole. Sam, Charlie, and Juan walked over to Chet at the hole. Sam saw Tiff climb out of a second foxhole, toward the back of the cabin. The jean shorts suited her.
“I like what you’ve done with the place,” Sam said.
“We’re pretty much finished with two holes,” Chet said. “One more to go.”
“Northwest and northeast corners of the cabin,” Sam said. “These will provide good firing angles on anyone approaching from nearly any direction, except maybe from due south, behind the garage. Where do you plan to put the third?”
“Between these two,” Tiff said, as she walked up. Her skin glistened from sweat. “North is where we’ll need to focus our firepower.”
Sam nodded and then looked north, toward the tree line. “Looks like you’ve cleared out a bunch of brush. You guys have been busy.”
“Yeah, we needed to push that brush line back,” Chet said.
“We have a pretty good line of fire out to almost two hundred yards,” Tiff said.
“Are we expecting world war three?” Charlie asked.
“Maybe,” Sam said. “It doesn’t hurt to be prepared to defend this place. I’d rather live here, than that cave we just left.”
“That’s for sure,” Juan said.
“Did you find us a fall back location?” Chet asked.
“Yep, six miles or so that way,” Sam said, as he pointed south. “We can hoof it if we have to.”
“Cave?” Tiff asked.
“Yeah, large enough to house all of us if we need to run,” Sam said. Sam pointed to Charlie and Juan. “The three of us know its location, so you’ll need to keep at least one of us alive.” Sam smirked.
Chet nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“The place has bats,” Juan said.
“Bats?” Tiff asked.
“Nothing to worry about,” Sam said. “We can clear the place of bats if we end up using it.”
Tiff nodded. “Speaking of running, we heard gunfire from Townsend about forty-five minutes ago. Don’t hear it now. Either they stopped, or the wind shifted direction.”
“Yeah, and I saw smoke on the horizon in that direction as we pulled up.”
“Shouldn’t we check it out?” Tiff asked.
Sam looked around at Charlie and Juan.
At that moment, Emma and Diego stepped out of the cabin’s front door.
“What’s happening?” Emma asked.
“I got two squirrels for dinner,” Diego said. “Charlie showed me how to set traps.”
Charlie gave him a thumbs up.
“You’re becoming quite the hunter and fisherman,” Sam said, as he cupped his hand around the back of Diego’s neck. “But I think we need to scoot into town. Something’s happening there. Let’s just grab what we need and head out.”
“Who?” Tiff asked.
“You, me, and Chet,” Sam said. He turned to Juan. “Do you mind sticking here with your rifle?”
“I can do that,” Juan said.
Sam looked at Charlie.
Charlie looked at Emma, and then to Tiff. “Any chance we can talk you into staying behind?”
“We’ll be back here in a snap if we feel a threat is headed this way,” Sam said.
“I don’t think that’s what he’s worried about,” Tiff said. She looked to her dad and mom. “I’ll be fine. Somebody needs to go along to keep these two out of trouble.”
Charlie looked at Sam.
Sam shrugged and raised his hands. “You know better than me, she does pretty much what she wants.”
“We’re wasting time,” Tiff said. “We need to go.”
“Something to munch on, some water, extra ammo,” Sam said, as he started toward the cabin.
“It will be dark soon,” Chet said. He looked toward the sky. “Clouds moving in.”
“Counting on the dark,” Sam said. “And some rain probably wouldn’t hurt either.”
***
“Remember the back way to the police department, and those woods on the east side of the school?” Sam asked Chet.
Chet nodded.
Sam glanced in the back at Tiff. “Make sure all the magazines are topped off.”
Tiff nodded with a smirk, slid back in her seat, and went to work checking magazines.
“How do you want to handle this?” Chet asked.
“Tiff, you’re our tactical expert, what do you think?” Sam asked.
“Hide the Hummer where we can find it, check out the school and the police department, play it by ear,” she said.
“Spoken like a true tactician,” Chet said.
“I hear more gunfire,” Sam said.
“Still a good ways off, the barricade you think?” Chet asked.
“Probably, but we should still check out the school and police department, that’s where all the food is stored,” Sam said.
“In other words, follow my plan,” Tiff said.
Sam glanced back. “Exactly.”
“We’re coming up to that final curve into town,” Chet said.
“Kill the blackout lights, left on Chestnut, just past the Best Western,” Sam said. “Less than a mile up. Take it slow.”
Chet flipped the lights off, which immediately immersed them in near total darkness. He slowed the Hummer a bit. “Gunfire is getting louder.”
“And more consistent,” Tiff said. “There’s definitely a gun battle.”
Sam saw the silhouette of people running, generally away from the center of town.
“Any idea if these people are good guys or bad guys?” Chet asked.
“Don’t have a clue,” Sam said. “As long as they are not shooting at us, presume they are good guys.”
Sam looked at the Best Western as they passed. “The road is right up here. Easy to miss in the dark.”
Chet turned the wheel, followed Chestnut to Domar, to Middleton. He pulled into the woods next to the school and cut the engine. Everyone sat still. Listening. Gunfire in the distance.
“Let’s check it out,” Sam said, a
s he opened his door.
Chet and Tiff followed.
Each held a rifle. Sam and Chet wore holstered sidearms.
Sam led the way through the brush until they were at the east end of the school.
Sam peered around the corner. The school, and the department beyond, appeared dark and quiet. There was an orange glow on the horizon in the direction of the barricade. “I don’t think they left anyone behind to watch these places. That glow is from the barricade.”
“Must need everyone up front,” Tiff said.
“Wonder what’s burning?” Chet asked.
Sam shook his head. He then stepped out from the corner and low-trotted to the school’s front doors.
Chet and Tiff were on his heels.
Sam pulled on the door handle. Locked. No broken glass. He looked toward the police department and took off across the parking lot. He pulled on the door handle. Locked. Chet and Tiff pulled up next to Sam.
“These buildings seem secure,” Sam said. “Let’s double time it down to the barricade.” He took off running, followed by Chet and Tiff.
At the main highway, the three of them stepped out on the asphalt, stopped, and surveyed the road ahead.
About a mile down, flames from a building licked the night sky, totally engulfing the structure. People ran about, silhouetted against the red and orange flames. Sam saw muzzle flashes around the building, and farther down, around the barricade.
“Looks like the lodge,” Chet said.
Tiff took a step forward. “You guys coming?”
They jogged down the south shoulder until they were within a hundred yards of the burning lodge. They slowed to a fast walk and continued in line formation, rifles shouldered.
“We need to find someone we recognize and find out who’s who,” Chet said.
Sam nodded and began scanning the faces of the people leaving the scene of the building, watchful of anyone that might pose a threat. Most were unarmed. Suddenly, Sam recognized a face he knew. He signaled Chet and Tiff to stop and then took a knee in the gully at the side of the road. He pointed to the side of the burning lodge. The fire provided enough light.