by Harley Tate
“We’ve looked up and down the creek and he’s not there. I didn’t see any mound for a burial site, either.” Larkin paused to think. “That means he either took her body back to the Humvee or he’s gone completely crazy and run off with her into the forest.”
Colt gulped a mouthful of water from the canteen Walter let him borrow and nodded. “Let’s hit the Humvee. If he’s there, great. If not, we can strip the Humvee and haul everything back to the camp.”
“What do you know about Walter?”
“He saved an entire planeload of people when the power went out.” Colt scratched at his beard. “Beyond that, not much. He left as soon as we landed. Said he had a wife and daughter in Sacramento he needed to get back to.”
“Where are they?”
Colt shrugged. “Somewhere safe is my guess. You’ve seen his setup. He’s obviously gathering food for more than just himself.”
Larkin nodded. “I was so thankful when I ran into him yesterday, I didn’t ask any questions. A man with venison jerky in his pocket is a good man to know.”
Colt agreed. If all went well, running into Walter might mean the difference between living and merely hanging on. “I think we should offer him some of the guns and ammo. It’s the least we can do.”
“Sounds fair. It’s not like we can carry them all anyway.”
The pair of military men lapsed into silence as they hiked toward the Humvee. Colt kept his eyes open for any sign of Doug, but they reached the vehicle with no further clues as to the man’s disappearance. Colt set his rifle down and leaned against the fender. “Let’s strip this thing and then go dig up the weapons. We should be able to haul it all back if we use the cammie netting to make a sled.”
After a few minutes of rest, Colt and Larkin set to work. Colt hauled the netting out of the rear of the vehicle and set the netting poles on top. Larkin popped the hood and pulled the easily accessible engine belts and the battery.
The inside yielded the pioneer kit Colt had already used to bury Harvey, the SINGCARS radio, and corresponding SL-3 kit. Colt thought back to the first night he regained consciousness at the Wilkins family home. Will had tuned in the radio to hear Walter’s voice admonishing them to not give up hope.
He wondered if the man still had the ability to broadcast. If he didn’t, he would by the time Colt lugged the radio back to camp.
Larkin stopped to stare at all the gear. “You find a pack mule in there, too?”
Colt chuckled. “I think you’re lookin’ at him.”
“You find any whiskey in there?”
“Not a drop.”
“Damn.” Larkin shook his head. “That’s priority number one when we find another town. Whiskey. I am not huffing all this stuff a hundred miles without a payoff at the end.”
“I’m hoping we won’t have to go nearly that far.”
Larkin paused. “Walter’s place?”
“Or somewhere nearby. It can’t hurt to ask.”
“I suppose not. But you know what is gonna hurt?”
“Carrying all this?”
“And the ammo, too. Don’t forget the ammo.”
Colt groaned. “Lead the way, soldier. I was too busy burying Harvey to know what you did with it.”
Larkin motioned toward a makeshift path due south of the Humvee. He stopped at the base of a gnarled pine tree. The ground beneath the lower branches was fresh and free of debris. “It should all be here. Guns and ammo, both.” He frowned. “I swear I covered it better than this, though.”
With the shovel and the pick axe Colt and Larkin took turns digging up the loose soil above the guns. Colt struck something solid first. “I’ve hit something.”
Larkin gave a start. “No way. I buried everything way deeper than that.” He fell to his knees and used the pick axe’s blunt side to scrape away the dirt. Instead of a black duffel bag, he exposed the graying flesh of a human arm. He leaned back in shock. “What the—?”
Colt kneeled beside him and together they uncovered enough of the body to confirm what neither expected: Melody. “Doug must have buried her here.”
“But why?”
All the answers that he came to find filled Colt with dread. A few more than others. “The bags might still be beneath her. We need to move her.”
Larkin stared at Melody’s corpse for a moment before moving. “Right. Of course.” He reached for her, sliding his hands beneath her ribs. As he stood up, the dirt fell away, exposing her dark brown curls and cold, dead skin.
Colt attacked the hole with the shovel, scooping and throwing dirt as quickly as possible. After five minutes of solid effort, he stopped. “They aren’t here.”
“Not a single one?”
“Doug took everything. The duffels. The ammo. All of it. I’m down to hard-packed earth.”
Larkin’s jaw tightened into a steel line. His muscles flexed as he lowered Melody back into the grave. “When we find him, I’m beating the answer out of him. I don’t care if he was Melody’s brother or not.”
Larkin stalked off to ready the supplies while Colt re-buried Melody’s body. By the time he finished, sweat soaked his shirt, but did nothing to dissipate his anger. Doug had been hard to read from the start. When they worked together to rescue Gloria from the militia, Colt thought the man had changed. But after this…
If they did find Doug, Colt wouldn’t stop Larkin from doing what he promised. They couldn’t risk anyone’s safety with a man who might have gone off the rails.
Before he left, Colt paused at the edge of Melody’s grave. He didn’t have a cross or a bouquet of flowers, but he could say a few words. “I’m sorry for all that you suffered at the hands of Jarvis and Captain Ferguson and the militia. I never meant to mix you, your brother, or the Wilkins family up in any of it.
“You were nothing but kind to me. Hell, thanks to your handiwork with a needle I’m not oozing pus and trying to chop off my own leg.” He knelt and put one hand on the middle of Melody’s grave. “I’ll miss you, Melody. I’m sorry you can’t continue on this journey with us.”
Colt walked back to the Humvee with a somber, heavy step. He found Larkin packed and ready. The former soldier leaned against the closed door and stared off into the distance. “Is it done?”
“Yes.”
Larkin pushed off the door and reached for the sled he’d concocted out of the netting and poles. “Good. “Let’s get back to Walter and Dani.”
“Do you want to see it? Say anything?”
“No. Standing over her grave won’t do anything but waste time.”
“I’m sorry, Larkin.”
“Me, too.” He huffed one end of the pole up with a grimace. “Ready?”
Colt grabbed the other pole and exhaled. “As I’ll ever be.”
Together, the two of them dragged the heavy load back to Walter’s camp, over rises and down slopes, around trees and through mud. By the time they reached the river, both men were exhausted. Colt set his side down and stopped to splash water over his face.
As Larkin bent to do the same, a shot rang out. Colt stood up with a start. “Dani.”
Larkin pulled his rifle off his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
They were still a mile away. As they ran, more shots rang out, one after the other in a steady stream until the magazine emptied. Thirty seconds later, the shots began anew.
“We’ll never make it. Whoever is shooting could fire a thousand rounds at Dani and Walter before we reach the camp.”
Colt picked up the pace. “Then we have to hope like hell they’ve got somewhere to hide.” As he ran toward the sound of round after round, Colt threw up a prayer.
If Dani and Walter could stay alive until they got there, Colt would put an end to it. Whoever was trying to kill them wouldn’t make it out of that forest alive.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DANI
Northern California Forest
12:00 p.m.
Dani didn’t know where to aim. The sound of the shots echoed thro
ugh the forest and the rounds landing in the dirt weren’t concentrated enough to matter. Walter dove behind a stack of firewood and Dani scrambled after him. She ducked as another round sailed over her head and lodged in the pine five feet away.
“Whoever’s shooting is a terrible shot!” Walter pulled back the bolt action on his hunting rifle and turned toward the direction of the gunfire.
Only one person came to mind. “It’s Doug.”
“What?” Walter glanced at Dani like she’d gone mad. “He’s part of your group.”
“He blames me for Melody’s death.”
“You didn’t do it, did you?”
Dani stomped her irritation down. “Of course not. I liked Melody. She was my friend.”
“Then why is he shooting at you?”
“It’s complicated.”
Walter ducked as another round sailed past them. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Dani twisted in place until she could prop the rifle on a log halfway up the stack. If Doug made an appearance, she would be ready. As she stared down the barrel, she answered Walter. “They were under the radar of the militia until we showed up. If Harvey hadn’t taken me and Colt in and if Melody hadn’t saved Colt’s life, then they would all still be in Eugene.”
“I see.”
Dani cut Walter a glance. “They didn’t have to take us in. They could have left Colt on the street to die.”
“I suppose.”
“Or they could have kicked us out when he recovered. They made the choice to stand by us.”
“And suffer the consequences?”
“Whose side are you on?”
Walter shrugged. “No one’s. But now I’m stuck in the crossfire.”
“Then you need to choose.” Dani concentrated on the forest. She was done talking to Walter. If he wanted to shoot her and wave the white flag of surrender, he could freakin’ go ahead. But she wasn’t taking her eyes off the tree line. Doug was out there somewhere and if Walter wasn’t going to ruin her day, then she was going to take Doug down.
The gunfire paused and Dani took a chance. “What’s the matter, Doug? Can’t figure out how to reload?” She took off for the tent, ignoring Walter’s shouts to stay hidden. As she dove behind the green nylon, another volley of fire rang out. It didn’t matter. Dani wasn’t going down like this. She wasn’t letting a man stricken with grief put a bullet in her chest because he couldn’t accept reality.
She ran in a crouch out from the tent and into the dense foliage of the forest. Branches scraped her face and roots threatened to trip her up, but Dani kept going. She needed to lure Doug away from Walter and out into the open.
A brave little bark sounded at her feet and Dani glanced down. Lottie’s brown and gray fur streaked past her toward the direction of the rounds. “Lottie! No!”
Dani chased after the little dog. Lottie’s speed increased the distance between them, but Dani followed the almost constant barking. As the sound grew louder, she slowed. Doug wouldn’t shoot Melody’s dog, would he?
Ducking behind a tree, Dani took stock. The land around her rose in a gentle incline and up to what appeared to be the crest of a hill. The river tracked down behind her, too far to hear. All she could see were trees and brambles and leaves everywhere. Ferns covered the ground and obscured all but the largest tree roots. Lottie would be lost a foot beneath the ground cover.
A bark sounded from up the hill. A shush followed right behind. Doug. If she could hear him, he couldn’t be that far away.
Dani eased down, slipping beneath fronds of the nearest fern and a branch of wild berry vine to hide. She rested her elbows on the ground and brought her rifle up tight to her shoulder. Uncomfortable as heck, but she could bear it.
Another bark. Dani swung the rifle.
“Shh, Lottie. Please.”
Bingo. This time Dani spotted him. Doug kneeled on the forest floor, clutching Lottie to his chest. He stroked the little dog’s fur as she licked him all over the face and yipped. Dani couldn’t take the shot without risking Lottie’s life.
She didn’t know what to do. Killing that little dog wasn’t fair. Dani loved her. Melody loved her. She couldn’t do that to Lottie. But she couldn’t let Doug live, either. He’d tried to kill her. He’d blamed her for his sister’s death.
“Set the dog down, Doug!”
Dani swiveled in alarm. She would recognize Colt’s voice anywhere. Where was he? She scanned the trees to her right, searching for any sign of the man. Nothing.
He was concealed well. She turned back to Doug. He was doing the same, searching the woods for the source of Colt’s voice. Clutching Lottie to his chest with one hand, he stood up with a handgun in the other. “This is all your fault!”
“No, it’s not. Everyone had a choice. You made yours.”
“Melody didn’t deserve to die!”
“No, she didn’t. But it was an accident.”
“I wish you’d never stepped foot in Eugene!” Doug’s voice grew more desperate with every word. It shook and trembled and his grip on Lottie tightened so much the dog yelped.
“Put her down!”
“No!” Doug jerked his head down to look at the dog, then back up to the forest. He brought his right hand with the gun up to Lottie and shoved the barrel into her chest. “I’ll shoot her. I swear to God I will!”
“Just put her down and no one will get hurt.”
Dani wished she were a better shot. If only she could take him out. But no way would she be able to hit Doug and not hurt Lottie. She didn’t know what to do. All she could hope for was that Colt and Larkin had a plan.
Doug jerked the dog around and she whimpered.
“Last chance, Doug. Put her down.”
“No!” Doug pulled back the hammer on the handgun.
Dani braced herself. Could Colt really do it? Could he really shoot Doug and miss Lottie?
“We’ll let you keep the guns. Let the dog go and you can walk out of this forest with all the weapons and ammo a free man.”
Doug turned around in a frantic circle, shaking his head as he held the gun on Lottie. He opened his mouth to speak, but Dani couldn’t make out the words. She rose up out of the ferns and rushed forward.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Mel. I have to do it. I’m so sorry.”
His frantic mumbling sent Dani into a panic. She rose up to her full height and exposed herself. “No! Doug if you’re going to shoot anyone, shoot me!” She held her arms out wide as Doug lifted his head.
He moved his gun hand away from Lottie and Dani screamed.
Chapter Thirty
DANI
Northern California Forest
12:00 p.m.
A shot pierced the stillness.
Dani staggered back.
Doug crumpled to the forest floor.
No! She rushed forward, tearing through the brush to get to Lottie. The little dog lay on the ground, still and not moving. Dani dove for her, heedless of Doug’s body a few feet away. She scooped Lottie up into her arms.
“Please be alive. Please.” She stroked the little dog’s fur and a tiny grumble rumbled up from her throat. Dani exhaled in relief as Colt thundered up to her side.
“What the hell were you doing?”
“Saving Lottie.” Dani eased the little dog’s fur away from her face and Lottie’s little black eyes blinked. She might be in shock or injured, but Lottie was alive. She looked up at Colt. “Thanks for taking the shot.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t.”
Dani’s eyes went wide. “Then who did?”
Walter stepped out of the weeds and stopped beside Doug. He lowered himself into a crouch and felt for a pulse on Doug’s neck. “I did. I wasn’t sure about the truth of this feud until that moment.” He stood up with a solemn frown. “You just don’t kill a good dog.”
Larkin arrived on the scene from the other direction, half-running, half-skidding down the hill. “I tried to come at him from the back, but I was too slow.”
Larkin held out his hand and Walter shook it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Although the three of you owe me a new tent and some gear. Your friend here shot up my entire camp.”
Colt nodded. “We owe you a lot more than that.”
Lottie squirmed in Dani’s grip and she bent to set the little dog on the ground. After a head-to-toe shake, Lottie scampered a few feet away, did her business, and rushed back to Dani’s feet. She scooped her back up and smiled. “I think she’s going to be okay.”
“Thanks to Walter, so are you.” Colt stared at her, his eyes clouded and expression severe.
Dani looked away.
At last, Colt turned to Larkin. “Help me dig another hole, will you?”
Larkin nodded. “I’ll get the shovel.”
Walter held his arm out for Dani. “I can take you back to camp. We can chop up venison for Lottie and clean that wound on your face.”
Dani reached up to feel crusted blood covering her cheek. She swallowed. In the tumult of the shootout, she’d forgotten all about it. “Thanks.”
Walter turned to Colt. “You all right here?”
“We are. Thank you.”
Dani let Walter lead her away from Doug’s body and back to camp.
She sat down next to the fire in the same spot she’d been in before the shooting happened. Lottie settled in on her lap, nuzzling her hand until Dani relented and stroked her fur. It didn’t seem real.
Everyone they met in Eugene except for Larkin was dead. Two entire families wiped out because of what? Dani might have defended herself to Walter, but on the inside, guilt festered. She couldn’t help but wonder if five people wouldn’t be alive and happy if she hadn’t wrecked their lives.
“Don’t blame yourself.” Walter crouched at her side with a wet rag.
She pinned him with a glare. “Why not? It’s all my fault.”
“You didn’t kill Doug.”