by James Hunt
A team was only as strong as the weakest link, and Mary wasn’t looking very strong. If Kalen’s life came down to Mary’s ability to keep her alive, it wasn’t going to end well. But it was a fate she’d come to terms with.
It was an odd feeling though, thinking about death with such indifference. Kalen never considered it before. It seemed so far away, like a dream you couldn’t remember.
The days of boys, parties, and going to college just weren’t a part of her reality anymore. The only thing that felt real was the rifle in her hands and the extra magazines loaded in her bag, smacking against her back as she pressed forward.
The motel sign was just ahead. Kalen recognized it from Mary’s description. When she saw the group of a dozen bikers starting their bikes, she whipped around to grab Mary’s attention.
“They’re leaving!”
But Mary’s eyes were focused on something in the courtyard of the motel. Kalen followed her line of sight to the pile of black and brown figures stacked around a pole. There was something tied to the pole, but she couldn’t tell what it was.
Mary stood up, oblivious of being seen. Kalen yanked her back down.
“What are you doing?” Kalen asked.
“That’s… a person… on the pole.”
Kalen peered through the scope on her rifle. When the object on the pole came into view, her stomach turned.
It wasn’t a person anymore. It was a charred piece of meat slumped over a pile of another dozen burnt bodies.
“Jesus,” Kalen said.
She wanted to look for a building with a second-story window to give them the advantage of higher ground, but she wasn’t sure if they’d have time now.
A few bikers had already started to weave through the parking lot and onto the street. When three of the bikers disappeared heading toward the west side of town, Kalen checked to see if the others would be joining them, but no one else showed.
“Must be a scout party,” Kalen said.
“What did they do to those people?” Mary asked.
“Mary, listen to me. I’m going to the other side of the motel. I’ll fire a few shots in the air to draw them out. When they do, you open fire, understand? If it gets bad, head back for the tall grass.”
“It was a woman tied up there.”
“Once you open fire, I’ll start taking them out on my side. We’ll bottleneck them. They’ll think there are more than two of us in the beginning, but that’ll only last for a little while.”
“There’s a reason she’s up there. Why is she up there?”
“Mary!”
Kalen shook Mary’s shoulders, trying to bring her back to the moment.
“You want to help that woman on the pole? The one they burned? The one they hurt? Shoot them, and don’t let up. Here,” Kalen said, giving her two of the loaded magazines. “If you need to reload you shove the magazine in like this, and rack the chamber. You’ll only need to do it once.”
Mary nodded.
“Remember, bring the rifle to your eyes, squeeze the trigger, don’t pull it, and be prepared for some recoil. It’ll hurt the first couple times,” Kalen said.
Kalen took off, leaving Mary behind one of the cars. She kept low, sprinting toward the other side. Once she was clear and caught her breath, she closed her eyes.
Focus. This is why you’re here. You can do this. You can do this. Just do it.
She aimed her pistol in the air, poised to fire the opening shots that would draw the bikers out, but just before she squeezed the trigger she stopped herself. She peeked back around the corner of the building she was hiding behind and saw the row of motorcycles that were still parked in the lot. She smiled.
“Might as well make an entrance.”
She brought the Harleys into her cross hairs and squeezed the trigger. The bullets blasted through two of the bikes closest to her, knocking them over.
Shouts from inside the rooms immediately followed. The bikers had their guns drawn, rushing outside. When Kalen heard the shots from Mary’s rifle, she ran for a parked car that had a better vantage point in front of the motel.
One of the bikers must have seen her because as soon as she ducked behind the car’s engine, she could hear the thud of bullets hitting the metal.
Be patient. Wait for your shot. Draw them out.
There was a break in the firing. Kalen jumped up from her cover. There were five of them she could see. The closest was out in the open, exposed. He tried to make a run for it, but Kalen had a bead on him.
Squeeze it.
The sound of the bullet leaving the barrel and the spray of blood from the biker’s chest was simultaneous. When he hit the ground she moved on to the next.
One of the bikers ducked behind the fountain in the courtyard. He was crouched low, but the top of his head was still exposed. She squeezed the trigger and a bullet nicked the concrete fountain. She missed.
Kalen ducked behind the car again. Another round of bullets volleyed back at her. She could hear Mary’s shots coming from her right.
Kalen jumped back up on the hood, hoping the biker behind the fountain would give her a better shot.
“Gotcha.”
The bullet sliced the biker’s head in two. Kalen swung the rifle up to the second floor where some of the bikers were coming out of their rooms.
Bullets ricocheted off the iron posts from the guardrail on the second floor. She hit one of the bikers in the leg, and he crumpled to the ground. Kalen sent several rounds of bullets into him to finish the job.
More bikers were filling the courtyard now, each of them with pistols, rifles, and shotguns. The cars Kalen and Mary were hiding behind were starting to look like Swiss cheese. The time frame between the bikers reloading was getting smaller.
The side mirror exploded over Mary, sending a rain of glass on top of her. She ducked lower, shielding herself from the endless firing of gunshots.
“Mary! Head to the other side of the street! I’ll cover you!” Kalen said.
Mary nodded. Kalen inched toward the trunk of the car, keeping herself low so the bikers couldn’t see her. When she made it to the rear of the car, the tires exploded, dropping the car lower.
Kalen ducked with it, keeping her head down as more bullets rained upon on her. She jumped up and gave Mary the cover fire she needed to sprint across the street.
A few of the bikers had grown bold and left themselves exposed. Kalen killed three more before they could find cover.
As Kalen dropped back behind the car, she could hear the shouts of one of the bikers.
“Send some around back. We’ll cut them off.”
“Jake wants them alive!”
Kalen sprinted back toward the corner of the building where she was earlier. Her feet smacked against the pavement as she fired a few more shots into the biker’s direction, then heard the click of the firing pen.
Empty.
Once she made it to the building’s corner, clear from the exposed road, the empty magazine hit the sidewalk. She loaded a new magazine in and racked the chamber.
She wanted to cut the bikers off before they made it to the other side of town. If the bikers sandwiched them in one of the buildings, they’d be goners.
Kalen ran past the storefronts toward the west side of town, trying to beat the bikers there. She skidded to a stop just before the buildings ended.
Four of the bikers pursued her. They inched their way toward her, moving from car to car up the side of the street and using some of the doors to the shops for cover.
“Shit,” Kalen said.
She looked around, trying to think of a way out. When the bikers came around from the back, she’d be cornered.
It was a good thirty yards from her location to safety on the other side of the street, thirty yards without any cover. She could make a run for it, but it would expose her.
The bikers were getting closer. Kalen could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her hands gripped the rifle harder. Was this it? Was this h
ow it was going to end?
No.
She still had more left. The dirt flew up from the ground as she dug her heels and dashed for the other side of Main Street. She aimed the rifle back blindly, shooting at random, trying to provide her own cover for the run.
When she made it to the other side, she kept running. She didn’t stop until she made it to the back of the building.
Kalen couldn’t remember how many stores down Mary was or which one she ran inside. The first store she ran inside was the old gun shop. Most of it was cleaned out, but there were still some cases and a few rifles and pistols lying around.
Kalen found two 9mm pistols and a box of ammo. She shoved them both in her bag and did one last scan for any .223 shells for her rifle.
She scanned the barren shelves, desperately searching for more bullets. She shoved a few cases of shotgun shells out of the way and found an entire case of .223 ammo.
She stuffed five boxes into her bag, with the pistols and other ammo she had remaining, and hurried out the back door.
The gunshots coming from the front of the store were becoming more frequent, which was a good thing in Kalen’s mind. As long as the guns kept firing, then Mary was still alive.
Kalen checked a few more back doors before she finally found Mary in what was left of the hardware store. She was still by the front holding her ground. Two empty magazines were at her feet.
“Mary!” Kalen shouted.
When Mary turned around a hail of bullets came down on them, sending both of them to the floor.
Kalen crawled forward, dragging the bag with her, shelves of hardware supplies exploding above her from the gunshots.
A box of nails exploded from a gunshot and sent one of the four-inch nails flying into Kalen’s leg. She screamed in pain. Half the nail dug into her flesh. She reached her hand down, her body shaking, and when she yanked it out, a spurt of blood followed.
She let out a relieved gasp and continued her progression forward toward the front of the store.
Mary covered her ears, her arms around the top of her head, attempting to protect herself from harm. Kalen ripped Mary’s hands off her head and handed her one of the empty magazines and a box of shells.
“Load the magazines,” Kalen ordered.
The first few bullets Mary grabbed slipped out of her shaking hands. She finally managed to pick one up and pressed it down into the magazine. She loaded them as fast as her nerves would let her.
Kalen poked her head over the windowpane. There were a half-dozen bikers advancing at them. She knew it wouldn’t be long before the others in the gang would be behind them. She had to get the gun loaded and have one of them guard the back. It was the only way they’d still have a chance.
Mary held up one of the finished magazines and Kalen snatched it from her. The bullets were still screaming into the hardware store, both of them were crouched low avoiding the blasts.
“Watch the back. They’ll most likely be coming from the left. There’s no cover back there, so they’ll have to duck in between the buildings,” Kalen said.
“What about you?” Mary asked.
Kalen dumped the boxes of ammo onto the floor.
“I’m watching the front,” Kalen said.
Mary grabbed her rifle, a box of shells, and the other empty magazine and crawled to the back.
The bikers’ gunshots were relentless. Kalen knew they’d have to go back and get more ammo soon. They had to reload at some point.
Kalen took the time to reload the magazines she had and made sure the two pistols were loaded as well. A few moments later the gunfire lightened and she jumped up, rifle in hand, and squeezed the trigger. She was able to hit two of the bikers, killing one while the other dragged himself behind a car.
Then, before she could duck back down, she felt the sharp pain of steel and metal slice through her arm. The force of the bullet pushed her back, and the rifle fell from her hand.
Kalen hit the floor, pressing her hand against her arm. The blood was warm, sticking to her fingers and shirt as she tried to stop the bleeding. She tried moving, but each time she did it sent stabbing pain through the left side of her body.
Kalen could see one of the pistols on the ground. She stretched out her good arm, her fingertips almost touching the composite of the handle, when a boot pressed down on her hand.
When she looked up, Frankie had his pistol aimed at her head.
“Game’s up, sweetheart,” Frankie said.
The rest of the bikers converged on them and dragged both girls to the motel. Neither of them screamed or resisted. Kalen simply kept pressure on her arm, trying to staunch the bleeding.
All of the tortures she was about to experience raced through her mind. When she made the decision to do this she knew this could be one of the outcomes.
No matter what happened though, she wouldn’t scream. She wouldn’t cry for help. They wouldn’t get the satisfaction of hearing her beg.
Day 13 (the Cabin)
Whatever doubts Ken had about Mike in regards to their deal dissipated when he saw the amount of ammo he had stock piled.
There were enough rounds to keep them hunting for the next decade. Mike agreed to give Ken the boxes up front, but he made Ken agree to take them hunting tomorrow.
“I need fresh game and I need it soon,” Mike said.
“Okay. Meet me at the trailhead that leads down to the road in the morning.”
Mike looked at him surprised. He specifically took Ken the way he did to avoid the trailhead entrance at the highway.
“I’ve been hunting this land for more than forty years; you really think I didn’t know about the road entrance to your cabin, did you?” Ken asked.
“I guess not.”
“Six a.m. We’ll need to get started before the sun comes up.”
Before the two men could shake on it, Freddy came running into the basement. He almost tripped over himself coming down the stairs.
“Dad! You have to hear this! Come upstairs!” Freddy said.
“What is it?” Mike asked.
“There’s someone on the radio!”
Upstairs the entire household was gathered in the living room, circled around one of the radios Freddy had found the day before, protected from the EMP by the faraday box Mike made to store them in.
It was a woman’s voice coming over the radio. Mike couldn’t tell if it was a recording. The sound kept breaking in and out.
“We have food, water, shelter, medical attention, and protection. We have our operations up and running and we are restoring power to our area. If you have the ability to arrive, please know that we can help. We can offer assistance. We can keep you safe.”
“She’s not saying where it is. Where is it?” Jung said.
The rest of the group hushed him. The tension cut through the air as the group waited to hear more.
“Cincinnati has been chosen as the starting point for relief efforts in Ohio. Similar cities have been chosen in other states to act as rallying points in bringing power back online along with other basic utilities. Again if you are in the area and can make it to Cincinnati we have food, water, shelter, medical assistance, and protection.”
The signal went dead, and the woman’s voice was replaced by static. It filled the room as everyone looked at each other, letting what they’d just heard sink in.
“What are we waiting for? We need to get there now!” Jung said.
“Jung, we don’t even know who that was. It could be a recording from weeks ago,” Mike said.
“But shouldn’t we at least try? What if it’s true? What if the power is on in Cincinnati? We have the Jeep. We can send a few people,” Tom said.
“The only highway around here that leads to the interstate has to go through Carrollton. That means dealing with the biker gang that’s down there. A gang that’s killed most of the townspeople,” Mike said.
“We have to try something!” Jung screamed.
The group members around Ju
ng separated themselves from him. His body was shaking. His eyes were desperate, pleading to the group. He had the look of a man who was willing to do anything to save his wife.
Mike understood. It was a feeling he had the entire walk from Pittsburgh to here. He was willing to do whatever he needed to get to his family, but just because Mike understood Jung’s pain didn’t mean he could let him take the Jeep.