The After Days Trilogy (Book 1): After Days

by Scott Medbury

  The soldier stopped and turned our way. We all ducked and I winced at the pain in my bruised ribs as I flattened to the snow covered bitumen. I watched his booted feet from that vantage.

  For the longest time they stood in the one spot as I silently encouraged him to go back into the bar. Of course, he didn’t. The boots turned our way and began a stumbling walk towards the front of the vehicle we were hiding behind. I got to my knees and frantically waved the others to move to the rear of the Humvee.

  We scrambled around to the rear and Luke raised his crossbow to me with a question in his eyes. I shook my head; we couldn’t risk the soldier screaming if Luke’s shot didn’t kill him outright. It was then I realized that our footsteps and scuffs from hiding in the snow would be plainly visible when the soldier rounded the front of the truck.

  I made an instant decision and looked around frantically. There was a rock garden a few feet away that bordered this side of the parking lot and I ran for it, hastily picking up a smooth, fist sized rock. I wished I’d had time to remove my gloves, and prayed my grip wouldn’t slip. I ran around the truck.

  The soldier stood swaying and looking at the messed snow and scuffing where we had ducked to the ground. His gaze followed our footprints to the rear of the truck and suddenly he didn’t seem quite so drunk. He reached for his sidearm and began to creep in that direction. To be honest, I am probably lucky he was drunk. He didn’t even twitch as I brought the rock down hard on the back of his neck. Just fell, as though boneless, to the snow crusted bitumen. I stood over him, my chest heaving, but he didn’t move.

  “Come help me,” I whispered.

  “Nice work Isaac,” said Luke, as they came around to me. We each grabbed an arm and dragged the soldier to the rock garden and dumped him there.

  “Check the trunk, maybe there will be something useful in there,” I said to Luke, before scanning the street to make sure nobody was coming.

  Indigo watched the bar door, it was unspoken, but I knew we were all aware that his buddies might come looking for him at any time. Luke walked to the Hummer and a few seconds later the back popped up. I could hear him rummaging around.

  A few moments later he came back to us, lugging a long, sturdy wooden crate with Chinese characters on the side. With a grunt, he gently set it down and then rushed back to the trunk before returning. This time he was holding a length of what looked like rubber hose with some sort of pump attached to one end.

  “Pay dirt in the trunk, boss,” he whispered.

  “What did you find?”

  “Fuel siphon,” he said, holding up the hose. “We can drain the tanks of these babies dry – they won't be following us any place.”

  “How do you know that it's for siphoning fuel?”

  “It was in a box that said 'Fuel Siphon' and I can read,” he replied, grinning.

  “Wise-ass! How long will that take?”

  “I don't have a clue, man,” he said. “I'd guess in the neighborhood of five minutes a truck, give or take a few depending on how much diesel is in the tanks. There are three of us, and I'd guess that each Humvee has one of these in the back, so we could probably get all six done in about ten or fifteen minutes if we all pitched in.”

  “What’s in the box?” Indigo asked.

  “Well I don’t read Chinese, but if it’s what I think it is, it’s gonna come in real handy…” Luke replied.

  Like an excited kid on Christmas morning, he handed his crossbow to Indigo and pulled a long hunting knife out of the pocket of his ski pants and began to jimmy the top off. At another time I may have asked where he had gotten the knife from, but I was on edge knowing at any moment another soldier might come out looking for their missing comrade.

  The lid came off with a soft splintering sound and he brushed away the Styrofoam beads to reveal a compact rocket launcher and three shiny rockets.

  “Yes! I knew it.” Luke said triumphantly. “Good, it’s a reusable launcher.” He pulled the rocket launcher out of the crate and hefted it before resting it against his shoulder as he flipped the sight open. “Pass me the grenade please?”

  “Grenade?”

  “Yeah. They’re not really rockets, they’re self-propelled grenades.”

  I handed him the grenade which just looked like a rocket without the fins to me, once again amazed at his knowledge of weapons that he really should have no clue about. Within a few seconds he had the launcher loaded and hanging over his shoulder before handing me and Indigo a spare grenade each.

  “Screw the siphoning, we don’t have time,” I said. “Besides, I think it’s about time to get one back for our country.”

  “Isaac! No, you can’t. It would be murder,” Indigo said.

  As much as I craved her approval, on this one I wasn’t to be swayed. I shook my head. “You’ve seen what they’ve done to our country Indigo. To our parents. What about all the kids that have starved… hell, the babies? All of the babies that have died starving in their cots as their parents rotted in the same house? That was murder…”

  I saw tears begin to run down her cheeks and, even though I was confident I was right, I felt like a low bastard for making her cry. She nodded and wiped her tears away with the back of her hands.

  “Fine, you’re the leader.”

  It was clear that all wasn’t fine though and there were a few seconds of awkward silence as I considered, but then resisted the urge to try and justify my stance further.

  “Come on,” I said softly. “Let’s cross to the other side of the road.”

  Luke bent to pick up his crossbow and re-pocketed his knife before following Indigo and I at a jog. We crouched behind a snow covered Chevy sedan on the other side of the road. Luke put his hands in his inside parka pocket and pulled out two small yellow objects and proceeded to stuff one in his left ear. Ear plugs? I seriously had to find out what else he had in those pockets of his. Still no movement. Only the muted sounds of country music and off key singing.

  “Can you get one through the glass of the front window? And will one do it?” He just smiled grimly and nodded. “These things are designed to stop tanks, one will do it. Put your fingers in your ears, these things are loud.”

  He placed his crossbow on the pavement and put the other ear plug in before propping the rocket launcher against his shoulder. He flipped the sight open.

  “Ready?” he asked, too loudly. I nodded.

  “Do it.”

  I took a deep breath and held it. Without warning light spilled out through the bar room door and a soldier emerged. I exhaled sharply. The door closed behind the soldier and as my eyes adjusted I saw him looking around and calling out. He was clearly looking for the soldier we had taken down.

  “Still a go?” Luke asked me in a calm voice.

  In answer I pulled my revolver out, clicked the safety off and gave one sharp nod.

  “After three. One, two, three…”

  There was a loud clap and whoosh that echoed off the empty buildings and I felt a quick burst of heat behind me, but all my attention was taken by the quick journey of the grenade.

  Luke’s aim was true, whether through luck or skill I’m not sure, but it hit the window dead center and within a millisecond all of the windows and doors blew out in a spectacular blast. We all ducked as glass fell around us like sharp rain. When it was safe, I looked back over the hood of the Chevy and saw the soldier who had emerged just before the blast staggering to safety behind a Hummer, a pistol in his hand.

  No one emerged from the smoking building. I stood up and walked around the rear of the Chevy and began to cross the road. I heard Luke call to me, but I knew this had to be done. We couldn’t have anyone radioing for help, even on the small chance that the blast hadn’t been heard or seen by any nearby patrols or soldiers.

  I knew the soldier was behind the Hummers, and also that I was protected from his line of sight. I also knew at this point that he would be in a state of shock, unsure of how many of us were out there. I didn’t think
he would be looking to fight. I walked calmly to the first Humvee and rested my back against it. I heard a door open and Luke yelled from across the road. “He’s in the Hummer two across from you!”

  I moved quickly and ran out from my position with my pistol in front of me. I began squeezing shots as soon as I had him in sight. He was in the Hummer, and had just raised the mic to his mouth. My first shot missed, but the second hit his shoulder and the next collected him in the chest as he slumped forward.

  The horn started blaring. I stood where I was for a minute, but he did not move. With my weapon still aimed at the driver’s seat I walked slowly around to his door and pulled it open. He was clearly dead. I pocketed my gun and used two hands to pull him away from the wheel. The horn cut out into a silence that was interrupted only by the crackling of the fire now starting to take hold in the ruined bar.

  There was a semi-automatic rifle on the floor of the cab under his feet. I quickly grabbed it. I had a feeling we would need all the firepower we could get in the next few hours.

  I ran back to Indigo and Luke who were ready to roll and we headed back to the truck as fast as we could in the icy conditions. The others had obviously heard the explosion; they surrounded us as we got back, their looks of concern turning to relief. All except Sonny.

  “What the Hell happened?” Sonny asked.

  A little taken aback by his sharp tone, I brushed past. “We need to move,” I said. “I’ll explain in the truck. Everybody! Back in the truck!”

  Indigo asked to go in the back of the truck. She was withdrawn and I knew she was upset with me. It was strange to think that just twenty minutes ago she had kissed me on the lips and now we weren’t talking. I have to admit I was kind of relieved when she got in the back; both because I would have Luke up front, and also because I could avoid talking to her about what had happened.

  In just a couple of minutes we were moving again. From the corner of my eye I saw Sonny glaring at me.

  “Well?”

  “We just took out a whole platoon with a rocket launcher!” Luke blurted, clearly excited at the evening’s events.

  “Sounded like it too,” he said bitterly. “Haven’t you guys ever heard of stealth? We’re going to have the whole damn Chinese army hot on our asses now!”

  I was silent for a moment, it was crucial not to get into a fight at this point. We needed to be a cohesive unit. In calm tones I explained what had happened and also my reasoning to Sonny. Whether he agreed, or whether he just decided to let it go because he didn’t want to fight, he left it at that but I could tell he wasn’t a happy camper.

  We continued along the back roads a few blocks before turning back onto the main street, which would turn into the highway once we left Concord. Sonny drove as fast as he deemed safe in the conditions.

  We didn't see any other sign of occupation and I began to think that the group of soldiers at the bar, may have been the only presence in the small city. A few minutes later, the searchlight of a helicopter piercing the night about two miles to our right disabused me of that idea. It was clearly headed to the scene of our recent show of defiance.

  Luke and I craned our necks to watch its progress, but it didn’t turn in our direction. We breathed a collective sigh of release.

  “I wish this thing could go faster,” Luke said.

  “It could,” said Sonny. “But we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves if we do happen to pass any Chinese vehicles.”

  There was a slight lull in the snowfall as we reached the intersection where the highway joined another major road to turn and follow the river. Sonny took a left, following the sign that pointed the way to Interstate 93.

  An incident free half hour later we were on the freeway headed north. The mood in the cab was buoyant, with Luke cracking jokes and telling us what he would eat when we arrived at the safe haven. I hoped fervently that it really did exist; we didn’t exactly have a plan B.

  We didn't see the vehicle that came up behind us until I saw the headlights in the one good mirror that the truck still had. We had only left the outskirts of the city about five minutes before. I felt my hopes crash and burn…so close. I heard Luke groan and Sonny swore under his breath.

  “Well that's a kick in the guts,” I said, scowling into the mirror as I pulled out my revolver and took the safety off. Fortunately it wasn't a Hummer, it actually looked like a black SUV, maybe a Yukon or a Suburban. “What do we do?”

  “We just keep driving, nice and steady,” Sonny said, placing his hand on my gun hand. “You two get down in the foot well.”

  Luke and I awkwardly climbed down onto the floor, and I somehow ended up on top of him, my elbow accidently poking him in the butt as I tried to keep my gun arm free. “I didn’t know you cared,” he cracked, and in my adrenalin wired state he almost brought a giggle from me. The laugh was choked form me when the car following us moved into the center lane and came up alongside the truck.

  I watched Sonny from my vantage on the floor. He stayed focused on the road ahead, but when it was clear that the occupants of the vehicle had slowed to the pace of the truck, he looked down at them and waved. They didn’t pass though and just as I was thinking the game was up, he put a hand to his ear and made a strange face as though trying to understand something.

  I heard him make an “Ahh” sound and he reached out and flicked the lights on. The SUV’s horn tooted and Sonny waved thanks. After a few painful seconds the other vehicle sped up and overtook us before shooting off.

  “They’re gone,” Sonny said. Luke and I struggled back into our seats.

  “My bad about the headlights, maybe they would have just passed if I hadn’t made the call to switch them off while we were driving,” I said.

  “Yeah! What was that? I can’t believe they didn’t try and pull us over. This truck is pretty damaged,” Luke said.

  “Don’t worry Isaac, it worked out okay. Maybe seeing me in the driver’s seat allayed any suspicions they might have had about the damage. If I had to guess, I would say that was a government vehicle, not military. The driver wasn’t wearing a uniform, but he was definitely Chinese.

  “I don’t think them being on the road had anything to do with your attack back in Concord, but we still need to be wary of heat from that little escapade.”

  “Yeah we dodged another bullet – you played it real cool Sonny, well done. I am worried about what it means for the road ahead though, what if they have some sort of checkpoint or base up the I-95?” Luke asked.

  “If there is, we're screwed,” I said. “I think maybe we should take the truck all the way into Lincoln. It’s the only disguise we have. If a military vehicle passes us while we’re walking along the freeway on foot, you know for sure that they’ll take us. At least in the truck we have some chance.”

  “Yeah,” Sonny nodded. “I'm still worried that it'll make it easier to track us if the Chinese find the truck further down the road, but it'll certainly be a safer and warmer trip.”

  “Why don't we take it all the way to Drake Mountain?” Luke asked.

  “Too risky, if there are refugees there or nearby, it might lead the Chinese right to them,” Sonny said.

  “Yep, it looks like we're going to have to walk at least a couple of miles in the snow either way,”

  “Worse than that,” Sonny laughed. “The road from Lincoln to the Drake Mountain Ski Lodge is all up hill.”

  “Great,” said Luke, and I could almost hear the groan in his voice. “This is not going to be fun.”

  The snow had resumed what could reasonably be called dumping down again. We rode in silence for about fifteen minutes, each lost in our own thoughts. I dared to hope we might make it to our destination without any other encounters with the Chinese. It was not to be, however. We had just passed a sign proclaiming that the exit to Lincoln was in five miles when we saw four sets of headlights speeding from the opposite direction toward Concord.

  “Uh oh. Those are most definitely Hummers and they are
in a real hurry. The word is out…” said Luke.

  We watched as the line of vehicles sped past. For a second I thought we were safe and then I saw one slow and turn onto the snow covered grass that separated us from them.

  “Crap!”

  As soon as it veered from its course, Sonny, as though anticipating it, immediately planted his foot. The engine of the truck whined in protest and it seemed to max out at 65 mph. The headlights of the Hummer closed quicker than seemed fair and I found myself leaning forward as if trying to help propel the truck.

  The wind whistled through the broken windows. My ears were numb; the beanie I was wearing offered little protection from the wind-chill. Miraculously, once it had caught up with us, the pursuing vehicle slowed so that it maintained about a two hundred foot gap between us and them. I had my gun out and had reloaded it. Luke held his crossbow cocked in his hand and the rocket launcher was at his feet, along with the remaining two grenades.

  “Why aren’t they pulling us over?” I shouted.

  “I think they called for assistance!” Sony yelled over the howling wind. “There is another set of headlights coming up behind the first.”

  That explained it; they were waiting for a second Hummer before they ran us down. If their commanders had put two and two together, they would know we were the same truck that had busted up their roadblock and had struck again at the bar. We could assume they would display extreme caution.

  I felt a sinking feeling as the headlights of the second Hummer caught up with the first. The first Hummer moved into the overtaking lane and sped up as both vehicles began to close in on us. I turned back to the highway and was amazed when I saw the off ramp in the distance. Just another two minutes and we would make it.

  Sonny stomped the accelerator to the floor of the truck and seemed to eke out another few miles an hour, but it wasn’t enough. They had us. As the Hummer in the overtaking lane began to come up beside us, Sonny twisted the wheel hard, crashing into its front fender. Metal screeched and the Chinese vehicle immediately braked and slowed as Sonny veered back into his own lane.