The guy froze, neither letting the gun slide back into the holster or pulling it out more.
“You’re not as fast as you think you are.” Harper narrowed her eyes. “Drop the damn guns and get out—”
Bang.
A tiny hole appeared in the man’s forehead, gore spraying out the back of his skull.
He teetered on his feet, eyes crossed, then fell over backward, arms splayed out to either side.
“Nice shot,” said Logan.
“Thanks.” Lennie clicked the safety of his M4 on. “Wastin’ time jaw jackin’ with the likes of that.”
Harper sighed. At least I didn’t kill that guy. He might have surrendered. Yeah, right. And my parents are going to come back from the dead. A little guilt gnawed at her, but she didn’t have too much trouble setting it aside. Like everyone else, those Lawless had been normal people ten months ago. Maybe. True, they might’ve been incarcerated felons. Still, wherever they’d come from, they’d made a choice to be thugs. A choice she and everyone else in Evergreen refused to make.
The Wild West had outlaws. This isn’t that strange. Just proves we’ve gone back in time. Harper looked back at the group of people and waved for them to follow.
“Think we’ll live to see law and order again?” whispered Harper.
Logan chuckled. “That show’s always a rerun.”
She sighed. “No, dork. I meant actual law.”
“I know.” He put an arm around her. “But I love the way you smile.”
Slightly blushing, she flicked the Mossberg’s safety on. If we are the law and order, the world’s kinda in trouble. “Oh, hey… shells.” She searched the guy who had the pump action and found eleven 12-gauge buckshot shells in his various pockets, which she transferred to her hip bag.
Carl took the camo AR-15 for the time being while Abe grabbed the pump shotgun. The handguns went to Miguel and Jen.
Harper stared down at the two dead guys. What’s one more freckle?
32
Growing Up
Roughly eleven hours after leaving Kriley Pond, Harper reached Route 74.
The promise of being home in time to have dinner with her family reinvigorated her. She sped up, walking a little too fast for the injured to keep up, so forced herself to resume the pace she’d been keeping all day. It didn’t take long at all for the bus barrier to come into view up ahead.
Harper slung the shotgun over her shoulder and waved both hands, then took her air horn from its holder and sounded two short pips, a non-emergency request for help. Hopefully, whoever happened to be on sentry duty at the moment would interpret that more as a ‘here we come’ than an alarm.
One short pip came back, an acknowledgement.
“The hell is that noise?” asked Carl.
“We don’t have radios, so we use signal codes from these things.” She waved the horn at him and put it away. “Now, the people pointing sniper rifles down the road know we’re friendly.”
Carl gave a nervous chuckle.
“Okay…” Harper spun to walk backward again. “Everyone, please follow me. We’re going to the medical center first. Obviously, anyone who is hurt will get looked at first. Like I explained this morning, the doctors only need to check people over for contagious diseases and stuff like fleas or lice before they give the okay to join the town.”
Some people murmured, but no one voiced any complaints.
Walter and Anne-Marie arrived at the bus alongside Cliff, Roy, and Darnell about the same time as Harper did. Cliff strode right up to her with a ‘nice job’ expression, but his hug nearly squeezed all the air out of her lungs. The other militia escorted the new arrivals to the med center.
He was worried… “Sorry, Dad.”
“You did good. Gave me a scare, but ya did good.” He chuckled.
“How’s Maddie?”
Cliff tilted his hand in a so-so gesture. “Didn’t eat much last night. Didn’t sleep much either. Been groggy all day. She didn’t freak out either, so… not too far away from normal.”
“Ugh.” Harper looked down. “I feel bad for doing that to her.”
“She knows why you did it. Looks like those people really needed a hand, too. Gah!” Cliff eyed Lennie. “Get that man a hamburger, stat.”
“He’s not one of the—oh…” Harper chuckled.
Lennie flipped him off, laughing.
Logan handed the AR-15 to Walter and held up his bandaged arm. “Thanks for the loan. Need to hit the med center.” He kissed Harper. “Be right back.”
“Ahem.” Cliff coughed, but he sounded more like he made fun of the stereotypical overprotective dad than genuinely objected.
“I can’t wait until we can get a little time together.” Logan stared into her eyes.
“You and me both.” She kissed him again, then gave him a little shove. “Go get that boo boo checked out.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her, winked, and jogged off toward the medical center.
“It seems you had some difficulties,” said Walter. “What happened out there?”
Anne-Marie surveyed the people trailing by to see the doctors. “Fourteen. That shouldn’t be a problem.”
Harper explained the events of the trip. In the midst of her describing their initial run-in with Lawless, Madison’s distant shout of, “Haaaaaaaaarp!” caused her to trail off and stare down the road. Her little sister sprinted up Route 74, followed by a much slower Jonathan and Lorelei. Becca, Eva, Mila, and Christopher dashed along behind them.
“Brace for impact,” said Cliff.
Madison crashed into a hug, neither crying, nor screaming, nor able to speak. She merely clung with all her strength. Jonathan and Lorelei both hugged her like normal people, letting go after a moment. For the remainder of the time Harper relayed the details of the trip, Madison held on for dear life. Having the kids in earshot, she downplayed the dangerous parts, referring to them in terms like ‘encountered some crazy people and it involved gunfire.’
“And,” said Harper. “Jen Oliver is a nurse. She’s the mother of the boy who came here looking for help.”
“Nice.” Anne-Marie smiled. “Always wonderful to have more medical people around. Just wish we had more actual medicine, but…”
“You can fill us in on the minutiae tomorrow.” Walter waved in a ‘go on home’ sort of way. “Looks like you need some rest after all that walking.”
Harper exhaled. “Yeah. Thinking I might even take a bath even though it’s only been a couple days since the last one. Feeling a bit funky.”
“Hey…” Logan jogged over. “New bandage. Some cream, and a few pills. Good as new.”
“That was fast.” Harper whistled. “Some of those people had a lot of shrapnel wounds.”
“Ruby took care of me since I didn’t need much. Just a bandage.” Logan shrugged. “Told you it’s not a big deal. Scratch really.”
Madison finally released her hold. Her eyes had gone red, but she didn’t cry. “Can I be a little bit mad at you for scaring me?”
“Sure, Termite. But only if I can be a little bit guilty for scaring you.”
“Deal.” Madison slouched, exhaling hard. “It’s good you helped people, but don’t forget I need help, too. At least for a little while more.”
Harper pulled her into another hug. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say sorry. I’m being needy.”
“Heh.” Harper chuckled. “If after everything we went through, ‘needy’ is your worst issue, that’s awesome.”
“Can we go to the pool tomorrow?” asked Madison.
“Sure. Might as well enjoy it while we can.”
The kids all gasped in horror.
“Is it gonna dry up?” Lorelei bit her lip.
“Not exactly. There’s only so many chemicals in the garage there. Eventually, they won’t be able to keep the water clean and it could turn into stagnant muck.”
“Eww.” Madison stuck her tongue out, then gave a sad sigh. “W
hy does everything have to die? Even pools.”
Harper walked toward home, Cliff and the kids surrounding her. “I dunno. Just the way things are. We have to enjoy stuff before we lose it.”
“Life, death, rebirth, all just a big, weird circle no one understands.” Cliff swept a hand across in front of him.
“Enjoy stuff?” Madison looked up at her. “Is that why you and Logan had sex?”
Harper sputtered, unable to come up with words.
“Uhh.” Logan coughed.
“Who said we did anything like that?” stammered Harper.
“Lies.” Madison shook her head.
Harper indicated Logan with both hands like a game show hostess revealing a prize. “Usually, Termite, girl talk happens when the guy being talked about isn’t right next to us.”
“Mm-hmm.” Madison leaned around her to look at Logan. “Pretty sure you guys did, but if you didn’t, she definitely wants to.”
“Gah!” Harper grabbed and tickled her.
Madison squealed into laughter. “Stop!”
“Gotta enjoy having a little sister before she grows up.” Cackling, Harper tickled Madison until she squirmed away and ran down Hilltop Drive.
She handed the Mossberg to Cliff… then chased her. “This isn’t over yet, Termite!”
33
Little Nightmare
After dinner, Harper took a bath.
Despite her nightgown being awkwardly close to transparent, she adored the lightness of wearing it after two whole days stuck out in the sun in the same clothes. The jeans, shirt, and underpants from that trip, she tossed right in the ‘must be washed’ pile after briefly considering starting a ‘must be burned’ pile. Madison, after her initial mega-hug, surprised her by not turning into an unstable ball of emotional energy. She did hover close, and they stayed up a bit late playing a board game since the electricity happened to be in a good mood and the lights worked.
The next morning, Harper dragged herself out of bed and changed out of her nightgown. Today, she opted for jean shorts. Lorelei went straight out the bedroom door in her nightie while Madison put on a plain white dress.
Jonathan knelt on one of the kitchen chairs, still in the shorts he slept in, munching on cereal. Cliff, fully dressed and outfitted for patrol, munched on toast and jam. Carrie set a bowl of cereal down for Lorelei, then looked at Harper while shifting her eyes back and forth between the toaster and the box of Cheerios.
Apparently, they had milk again. Of course, it had come from live cows. As far as she knew, someone did their best to pasteurize it… but drinking it still felt weird with the actual cows so close.
“Toast, please.” Harper slid into a chair.
Madison sat in her spot. “Cereal, please.”
A mild debate ignited between Madison and Jonathan about a vegetarian having no problem with milk. Madison argued that the animal didn’t die or even suffer pain to generate the milk, so it didn’t bother her.
In the midst of breakfast, the back door opened. Mila walked in, her loose black top and capris pants covered in dirt. More dirt covered her face, hair, hands, and bare feet—to the point she left tracks on the kitchen floor.
“What the heck?” Harper chuckled at her. “Did you dig a tunnel down here from your house?”
Mila paused by the corner of the table between Cliff and Harper. “You guys gotta see this. Serious stuff.”
“Serious?” asked Cliff.
“Yep. Consider me a kid telling the cops they saw a crime.”
Cliff shot Harper an ‘uh oh’ look. “Okay. Let’s see what you got.”
“Sec. Need shoes.” Harper ran to the bedroom to grab her sneakers and the shotgun.
“I got things here.” Carrie smiled. “What the heck day is it? Do the kids need to go to the farm?”
“No, it’s Saturday,” said Jonathan, munching on cereal.
“Nice. Everyone gets to relax today.” Carrie sighed at the fridge. “I really do miss orange juice.”
“Lead on, kiddo.” Cliff gestured at Mila.
She headed out the front door, crossed the yard to Hilltop Drive, and went up Route 74 to the farm. A few workers there gave Mila odd looks. Some told her she didn’t need to be there on a Saturday. She smiled at them and kept going out past the western edge of the farm into the hills.
“Looks like she’s heading for the spot where I think a fight happened,” said Cliff.
“Maybe.” Mila kept walking.
“How did you get so dirty?”
“Hiding in the dirt.” She pointed. “It’s right over here.”
“Yeah, this is the same spot.” Cliff raised an eyebrow. “Did you dig that?”
Harper, not being as tall as him, had to take a few steps closer before she noticed a rectangular hole in the ground. “That’s too small for a body.”
“No. I didn’t dig this.” Mila stopped at the edge. “I saw some guy sneaking around last night, so I followed him. He came here and met another man. The two of them dug a green box out of the ground.”
Cliff crouched by the hole. “It’s about the size of a footlocker.”
“Where did they go after that?” asked Harper.
“They carried the box to a house. I followed them there, too.”
“Seriously?” Cliff stood. “They didn’t see you?”
Mila grinned. “I’m sneaky.”
“Did they say anything?” Cliff wandered in a circle, studying the ground.
“Yeah. They didn’t want anyone finding the box or what’s in it. One man said it’s worth a fortune, but the other man said money doesn’t matter. Then they argued the rest of the way to the house about fortune not meaning literal money.” Mila rolled her eyes. “Lorelei could have followed them and they wouldn’t have noticed her.”
“Heh.” Cliff chuckled. “She’s not exactly big and clumsy.”
“No, but the girl does not stop talking.” Mila shook her head.
“Let’s check this out. Which house did they go to?” asked Cliff.
Mila headed south. “I’ll show you.”
They followed her, cutting across the southwest corner of the farm. She went over a soccer field behind the Rocky Mountain Academy and south along the outer edge of the residential area where many of the single farm workers lived. After passing six houses, she headed left into the development and approached the seventh house more or less in that row. The place looked large and expensive, the sort of home that would have been awesome for a family with four or five kids.
“In there.” Mila pointed.
Cliff approached the door. “This is the house where Weldon used to live. The other people he came in with are still here.” He knocked.
A moment later, a youngish woman around nineteen or so answered the door. Her eyes seemed a little bit too large for her face, her nose like that of a baby doll. Slender, long black hair, and skin as pale as Harper made her look like a grown up Wednesday Addams given a Japanese anime makeover. A men’s large T-shirt hung off her bony frame, exposing one shoulder. If she had any pants on, they’d be shorts too tiny to see past the hem of the giant shirt.
“Yeah?” asked the woman.
“Hayley, right?” Cliff smiled.
“Uh huh. Oh, you’re that militia guy. Where’s the bald dude?”
“Roy’s probably still eating.”
“Guess you wanna look around about Weldon again, huh?”
“Yep.”
Hayley shrugged and walked inside, leaving the door open. “Knock yourself out.”
Cliff proceeded into the house. Harper followed him into a giant living room painted a bluish-grey. The television looked as big as her mattress. Harper gawked at it. She’d never seen a set that big before. Pity it didn’t work. Or, if it had somehow survived the EMP, no stations remained on air to use it with.
Mila entered behind them, calm as could be.
Two men in their middle twenties sat on the couch, sipping Earl’s homemade beer from mason jars. Both wore cl
ean white tank tops and boxer briefs, but their hands appeared dirty, the same shade of brown as the dust covering Mila. Another guy draped himself sideways over the recliner, wearing only sweat shorts. Harper recognized him as the ‘yellow hat guy’ from the Fourth of July party. Steve.
“Okay, let me just make sure I remember. Howie, right?” asked Cliff.
The more distant man with shaggy brown hair nodded. “Yeah.”
“Curtis.” Cliff gestured at the other man on the sofa, who also nodded. “And Steve on the… why would you sit on a recliner sideways? What are you, a cat?”
Steve laughed. “It’s good for the back.”
“So who here knows anything about a box that used to be buried out near the farm?” Cliff looked back and forth among the guys. “Was found right about the same spot we think your friend Weldon was killed.”
“Whoa.” Steve shifted to sit normally. “You figure out who did it?”
Both men on the couch tensed.
Howie picked at the sofa cushion. “No idea, man.”
“Mmm.” Cliff nodded, then stared Curtis down. “What about you? Any idea what might be in a box someone had to bury?”
“That’s kinda messed up.” Haley flopped in the other recliner.
“Yeah, it is. No idea.” Curtis scratched at his head. “Bury a box? Heh. That’s kinda funny.”
Howie managed a weak smile. “Who knows? Might have been something Weldon found after we got here.”
“So you guys still have no idea who might want to hurt your buddy?” Cliff set his hands on his hips.
“No, man. Like we said.” Howie shrugged. “No idea.”
“We don’t know anyone here. No one followed us across Colorado and waited ’til we found this place to off the dude.” Curtis raked a hand over his head. “Has to be a sicko random killer or something.”
Mila stepped around Harper and pointed at Howie. “He’s the guy. I saw him stab Weldon. Snuck up behind him, covered his mouth, and jammed the knife into his heart.”
“Heh. You’re funny, kid.” Howie smirked at her.
Mila stood there glaring at him.
Evergreen (Book 4): Nuclear Summer Page 28