The barricade had been built at an intersection. The direct route took them to the left, onto I-69, but both sides had been blocked and, this time, the barrier was heavily manned. He spotted people running across from the other side of the road to reinforce the forest of rifle barrels that were pointing at the Humvee.
"What are you going to do?" Ross said, in a voice as frightened as it was restrained.
Solly was examining the barricade as they came closer. To the left—the direction they wanted to go—the cars had been lined up three deep, with figures standing behind the first row aiming at them as they got closer. On the main highway, it looked as though there were only two lines of cars and fewer fighters. There was clearly something after the left hand turn that these people wanted to protect.
"I'm going through," Solly said, pushing down on the gas pedal. "I've had enough delays.
The first shots hit the windshield as the Humvee accelerated with a roar towards the narrower barrier. Two impact craters appeared in the glass, and Solly began to weave a little to make it harder for their attackers to find their mark.
Thud, bang.
Out of the corner of his eye, Solly saw Ross gripping his seat, his stare fixed on the road ahead and the imminent impact.
But Solly had seen his target. Two rows where the tail of one car lined up with the nose of the one behind it rather than being staggered like the others.
He accelerated, watching with satisfaction as figures scattered, anticipating a high-speed impact. Then, as they got within twenty yards of the barricade, Solly slammed his foot on the brake, bringing the Humvee to almost a complete stop as it came into contact with the first car. He heard the automatic transmission downshift and gently punched the gas pedal, using the newfound momentum and torque to push one car into another. As the barrier came apart, he gave it some more gas just as a hailstorm hit the sides of the Humvee and it lurched out of the newly formed gap and onto the open highway.
More volleys hit the rear of the Humvee, but they were away.
"Woooo!" Ross cried, and Solly realized he was cheering too.
"That was…amazing!" Vivian said from the back seat as the sounds of gunfire died away.
"They were idiots," Solly shouted over the roar of the engine. "Should have shot at the tires."
He kept his foot down until they could be sure there was no pursuit, before turning onto I-55 heading south to approach Memphis from the northwest.
Though adrenaline was still knifing through his veins and he could feel the beginnings of a headache, none of them wanted to stop until they absolutely had to. But neither did they want to enter Memphis at night.
"There's an RV park somewhere over that way," Ross said, pointing into the gloom. "I saw a sign. Next turn."
"Why would we want to stop at a camping site?" Solly asked.
Ross shrugged. "We could park in the trees and no one would be able to see us from the road."
"You're right. Good thinking."
Solly took a right off 55 at Jericho and followed the signs.
The Humvee cooled beneath a big beech tree, its exhaust pinging in the cold night air, as Solly and Vivian checked the nearby campsites to find they were all empty. There was, of course, no power, but a full moon had risen into a clear night sky so they could see well enough without needing to use flashlights.
Ross hopped down from the passenger seat and Solly went to help him. "Here, son," he said, handing over a long branch. "Gandalf, receive your staff."
Ross laughed out loud as he tested his weight on it. "You're such a geek, Sol!"
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, my son, for they are subtle and quick to anger," Solly said, causing Ross to roar with laughter as he began moving around the site using his good leg and the staff.
He stopped suddenly. "I need to go to the bathroom, and fast."
Solly watched as Ross hobbled off, getting more and more proficient as he practiced. He was proud of the young man. He'd coped with more than anyone should have to and yet he could still laugh.
"I'll light a fire, shall I?" Vivian said as Ross disappeared into a small stand of trees and out of the moonlight. "Is it safe?"
Solly shrugged. "There's no sign of anyone else, but keep it out of sight as much as you can. Do you reckon there's enough dry kindling?"
"Oh yeah. You fetch the firelighters and I'll gather some leaves."
By the time Ross reappeared, the little fire was blazing greedily.
Solly looked up as the boy came toward them.
Vivian sprang up, ran to the Humvee and opened the passenger door before returning, weapon in hand.
"What are you doing?"
"He ain't alone, Solly."
Solly squinted into the darkness, his heart pounding. What had they stumbled on here? Yes, now he could see, a second shape emerged from the trees and followed him in their direction. Then a third, larger and—Solly couldn't say how he knew this—older than the others, and carrying a shotgun.
Solly pulled the Glock from its place in his inside pocket and called out, "Put your weapons down!"
"I don't reckon so," the older figure called. "I got your boy here covered, so maybe you should be the ones to drop your weapons. Now, my granddaughter here has got us into this mess, but I'm fixin' to get us out of it."
"No way!" Vivian called. "You stop right there, old man, or I'll drop you right where you stand. I got a clear shot."
"No, please!" the younger figure called. "Can we just not do this? Please?"
It was the voice of a girl and it took Solly's brain several heartbeats before he realized that he knew it.
"Drop your weapons or I shoot," Vivian was shouting. "I ain't warning you again, you get me?"
He could see the girl's head shake as she stood behind Ross. "Just let us go!" she called. "Come on Grandpa, let's leave these people be!"
"Do I look like a meshuggener? They'll come after us! Haven't you learned anything, girl?"
Solly wanted to speak, but his throat had seized and his mouth had gone dry.
"Maddie?"
It came out like a whisper.
"Maddie?" he shouted. "Maddie, is it you? Is that Al?"
His call bounced around the clearing, the only sound in the otherwise silent night as they all held their breath.
"Dad?"
Solly was up on his feet and running towards them. A shot rang out and he spun around. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
And she was in his arms. And he was spinning her around, tears cascading over his cheeks. And the old man dropped his shotgun, moving close enough to squint at the two of them. "I nearly shot you, Solly," he said. "Maybe I have gone meshuggener."
Solly threw out his arm and pulled the old man into the three-way embrace. No words came to him or Maddie as they cried together, celebrating a miracle and a reunion that was the stuff of storybooks.
Chapter 15
That was the happiest night of his life. He'd known, rationally, that his family might have survived the Long Night when Paulie had told him that some versions of the BonesWare implant were immune to the sudden death experienced by nineteen out of twenty Americans. He'd known that there was a chance, but he hadn't dared to hope that Bella, Jake and Maddie were truly still alive.
He'd grieved over his family in the weeks after that first night and he'd never wanted to re-open the protective scab that had formed around his heart by acknowledging that there was a chance they'd survived. He knew now that his journey to Texas had been more of a pilgrimage than a rescue mission. He'd expected to find no trace of them, hoping, perhaps, to find solace in going through the motions; knowing that he'd tried his best.
All of this self-constructed artifice had been exposed the instant he'd recognized Maddie's voice and the dam had burst. It had been the happiest night of his life, and yet he'd cried until he was empty. All that remained was a sense of wholeness that had been missing since the day he'd left to fly to New York for the job Bella had been so keen for him to t
ake. Since the day he'd become an occasional visitor in his own home.
But, as he floated in the relief of being able to hold his daughter close again, fear circled like a great white shark. Maddie and Al were safe, and, according to them, Bella had been alive and well two nights ago, though the fact that they'd been sent to a safe place by “this Skulls fella” meant she was going into danger. Jake was lost. Entrusted into the care of yet another stranger.
All of that, however, could wait until tomorrow. For tonight, they'd squeezed into Al's RV. Solly sat on the couch with his arm around Maddie. She'd barely stopped talking since they'd embraced but, finally, the words had run out and they were all enjoying the silence. Al was in the captain's chair, which he'd rotated to face inward, the flickering of the gas light—the only illumination he would allow—playing off his wrinkles and making him look like a particularly compact and decrepit Vincent Price.
Ross and Viv sat together at the dinette in the rear. Had Solly been able to extend his awareness beyond the little bubble containing himself and Maddie, he might have noticed that his euphoria wasn't shared by either of them. Ross, in particular, sat silently, the back window looking out on the night reflecting nothing but his stony expression.
"What are you going to do about Mom, Dad?" Maddie said, finally.
Solly, who'd been dozing contentedly, jerked to full awareness. "What? Oh, go and find her, of course."
Maddie rotated her head so she could look up at her father. "Are you sure you're my dad?"
"What d'you mean?"
She chuckled. "You were sad when you left for New York, and even sadder when you last visited."
"We were getting a divorce, Mad. It wasn't a happy time for either of us."
Maddie went quiet again and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I like the beard. And being thinner suits you."
He felt her shift against his chest. "Dad, I have to tell you something. Mom and Skulls…"
"It's okay, honey," he said. And it was, it really was. At least, he thought so. He wouldn't know until his emotions settled down a little. Part of him wanted to talk about Janice, but he found he couldn't. This was a happy time. It might not last, but he didn't want to be the one to burst the bubble.
"What I can't understand," Al said, speaking for the first time since sitting down, "is what was so important for you to drive clear across the country. You were never much of a traveler, son."
And there it was. Back to reality.
Solly drew in a deep breath and looked over at his former father-in-law. "We don't have time for the full story, and I'd be happier listening to your news, but I was carrying a device I was told held the key to stopping the second dying."
"The second what?"
"The Lee Corporation—they're the ones behind all this—wants to finish what they started."
Al sat forward, suddenly alert. "You mean they're gonna kill all the survivors?"
"That's a hard question to answer," Solly said, arranging his thoughts. "I think they want to make slaves of the survivors, not kill them. But, as far as I can tell, that's what they wanted to do on the Long Night, and that went badly wrong."
"They didn't mean to kill everyone? So why did all those folks die?"
Solly sighed. "Because they were outmaneuvered by Annabel Lee."
"But she was the Lee Corporation. It was her company!"
"Not by then. And I don't think they were doing it alone—I think the Chinese government was involved. They wanted control of the Western world, but she wanted to take the rest of humanity with her to the grave."
Al whistled through his teeth. "My God. And this is all going to happen again? But I don't have an implant."
"They have hunting machines. I've seen them. Me and a group of others destroyed their production facility in New York, but that'll only delay them, it won't stop them. The device I carried was supposed to be the answer somehow. It contained an AI and I think its creator's intention was to use it to take over the Lee Corporation somehow. I don't know, and I'm not sure he had the details down pat either. But it sacrificed itself in saving us when we attacked the factory. It's dead. All I have is its container."
"You talk about it as if it was a person," Maddie said.
"I guess I thought of Alison like that. She grew on me."
Maddie looked up at him. "Alison? It had a name?"
"Can I see the doohickey?" Al asked.
Solly fished the cylinder out of his pack and handed it to Al, who pulled it from the sheath before holding it in front of the gas lamp and turning it over in his gnarled, clever hands.
"Amazing. And this is the activation switch?"
"Yeah. But nothing happens when you press it."
Al confirmed this before looking up at Solly. "What powers it?"
Solly shrugged. "I'm not sure. Something to do with kinetic energy."
"Clever. So, it charges itself as it's moved. And you've covered a lot of miles, so the battery should be full. Do you mind if I take a look inside?"
"Knock yourself out, Al. But I'm heading to bed, I'm exhausted."
Al nodded without looking up. "You do that, Solly my boy. And tomorrow, you go get my daughter and I'll see what I can do about your robot friend here."
Solly got up, kissed his daughter and roused Ross, who'd fallen asleep on the dinette table. He waved goodbye to Maddie as he helped the boy down, and to the old man as he bent over the cylinder. Let the silly fool fiddle with the most advanced piece of 21st century he'd ever seen. What harm could he do?
Solly was in a black mood as the Humvee pulled out of its camping site to head back to the main road. He'd cried again as he'd hugged Maddie. He wanted nothing more than to keep her close, but he had to find out what had happened to Bella. Al and Maddie had already waited for longer than they'd been told to, and Solly was certain something bad had happened to prevent Bella from sending a message or joining them.
Al had advised him where he could park on the edge of the town of Elizabeth. He'd thought Maddie was joking when she'd said Bella was the mayor having taken over from a bloodthirsty maniac. It seemed his ex-wife had also changed a lot since he'd last seen her.
Solly's blood had chilled when he'd learned that the Lee Corporation had gotten involved and that had only confirmed his fears for Bella. Al had talked of protests outside the town hall and Solly knew that Lee Corp was fomenting trouble in Elizabeth. He only hoped he could do something about it.
Vivian sat next to him, but Solly had insisted that Ross stay with Maddie and Al. They would have to park outside town and walk in, and despite the improvement in his condition, Ross wasn't up to that. As he'd talked to the boy, he'd sensed the shutters coming down and distance forming between them. Solly understood how conflicted Ross would be about Maddie, especially, and suspected that, despite his kind nature, the boy was deeply jealous of the natural bond between Solly and his daughter.
Solly looked over his shoulder, but there was no sign of Ross as they pulled out of the RV park and back onto the main road to Elizabeth.
The St. Lawrence National Forest bordered the outskirts of Elizabeth to the north and east and Al had suggested they approach the town from that direction. So, they headed down the highway until they reached a left turning that took them along a small road into the southernmost skirt of the forest.
It was a narrow lane bounded on both sides by trees whose leafless branches were coated in a suggestion of green, hinting at the approaching spring. They passed the town cemetery on the right and then followed the twisting road through the forest until they approached their first target.
"That stinks, Solly!" Vivian said, squeezing her nostrils together.
Soon enough, he found the turning into the regional landfill and took the Humvee along the trash-laden track, past a huge scar on the landscape filled with the detritus of their former civilization. Al had told him that if he followed the dirt road that ran alongside the great pit, he'd eventually end up at a small pond, beside which there wa
s a parking lot for hunters and fishers, and the road that led from that lot would take them into the outskirts of Elizabeth. Al was a sly old fox—he'd plainly worked out an escape route that, in the end, he hadn't needed himself.
Solly left the Humvee beside a rusting wreck in the parking lot. They locked it and checked that they were both armed with spare magazines.
"We've got to stay out of sight, Viv," he said. "If we're discovered then even if we do get away, any chance of surprise goes out the window."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I know, Sol. You told me like a hundred times. Ghost mode, that's what we gotta use. I've come along to help get your ex-wife outta here, so that's what I'm gonna do. Don't you worry about me."
"Sorry," he said. Truth to tell, he was worried about her. She was a young woman with a hidden vein of anger that was a sight to behold when it was exposed. Though she'd proven more than capable of handling herself, he'd have been a whole lot happier if Kuchinsky was here. But Kuchinsky wasn't, so he patted her on the arm and said, "Come on, then."
The track into town was barely visible beneath a thick layer of leaves, but they picked their way through to a metal barrier that had been left open. As they came out from under the cover of the trees, they emerged onto a road lined with ranch houses on either side. A basketball hoop stood outside one, a ride-on toy car beside it, both looking as though they were waiting for children to run out of the house and play with them again.
Solly and Vivian kept to the sides of the road, using the trees which had been planted at regular intervals for cover. It would be a mile or so until they'd reach the town proper, so they took a break halfway along, enjoying the shelter of a veranda and trying not to think about whether anyone had been left inside all those months ago. None of the houses they'd passed had been occupied by the living in months; probably since the Long Night. Presumably, those who'd survived had moved into town in the hopes of finding others.
An hour later, they were near the end of the tree-lined road when Solly noticed a woman emerging from the woods. She immediately stiffened and went to run, but stopped at Solly's urgent call.
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