by James Hunt
Jake lowered the pistol and holstered it.
“The kids are on you. Do what you want with them. Take the other two to the sheriff’s cells. Let’s see if they know our friends in there.”
“The woman’s dead. She doesn’t have a pulse.”
“Fine, then take the man.”
***
Mike tried to make sense of everything that just happened, but he couldn’t. He just watched his father kill himself, sacrifice his life so Mike wouldn’t have the burden of pulling the trigger.
When Frankie came in and tossed Jung inside the cell with him, Mike was brought back to reality. His wife and son were still at the cabin, and his daughter was still alive; he was still alive. There was still a chance.
“Looks like you’re getting a little company,” Frankie said.
Jung was unconscious when he hit the floor. Mike crawled to him, checked his pulse, and made sure he was still breathing.
“Jung,” Mike said. “Jung, what happened?”
Jung’s reply was nothing but mumbles and groans. Mike couldn’t understand what he was babbling on about.
“Cincinnati… Jenna… I’m sorry,” Jung said.
“Cincinnati? Jung, where’s Anne? Where’s Freddy?”
Mike brought his hand to the side of Jung’s head, and blood stuck to his fingers.
“Jesus, Jung, what happened?”
Jung started to cry. Mike wasn’t sure if it was from the pain or something else. He just kept shaking his head and weeping. The sobs were silent, but every once in a while a gasp would escape.
He rocked back and forth on the ground, curled in a ball, until he didn’t have any tears left. Finally, he spoke.
“I took the Jeep,” Jung said.
“What?”
“Jenna was getting worse. The antibiotics weren’t working. The only way she was going to live was if I got her to Cincinnati.”
“Where’s my family, Jung?”
“They’re at the cabin. I… I tied them up and stole the car and got out of there as fast as I could.”
Jung didn’t look Mike in the eye. He kept his face down, ashamed.
The pain Mike felt was fading away. His father was dead, his daughter was beaten to a pulp, and now a man who he let into his home, protected, fed, and made sure his family was safe, betrayed him.
“Did you hurt them?” Mike asked.
“No, no, they’re okay.”
Mike wanted to smash what was left of Jung’s life into oblivion. There were a lot of things that Mike could forgive, but attempting to hurt his family by stealing from him wasn’t one of them.
“Daddy!” Jung Jr. said.
“See? Daddy’s okay. He’s just in here,” Tank said.
Jung crawled to the front of the cell, pushing his arms through the cracks in the bar, grasping his children.
“Are you guys okay?” Jung asked.
Jung Jr. and Claire nodded. Tank unlocked the cell.
“C’mon, I’m taking you to one of the motel rooms. You can stay with your kids there,” Tank said.
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” Jung said. “Wait. What about the rest of them?”
“You know these people?”
“Yes.”
“Listen, it’s better if you act like you don’t know them, trust me.”
Jung didn’t bother to turn around. He just left with his kids, and Tank locked the cell. If he had turned around, he would have seen a face that haunted him for the rest of his life. Mike never felt more disgusted in his entire life.
***
When Sam saw the Jeep heading down the dirt road to the highway, he double-timed it. Whatever made them leave must have been bad.
He still had his business shoes on, which made it awkward to run, especially through the uneven forest floor. Sam pushed through it though. The moment he left the cabin, he went into operation mode.
Every mission he went on as an Army Ranger, he would get into a single mind-set. Complete the objective.
It was all just a job, a task given to him and carried out as quickly and efficiently as he and his team could do it.
When he was done, he felt no remorse for anything that happened on the mission. It wasn’t because he was heartless but because it was the only way for him to keep on living once the mission was over.
Once he made it out of the forest and onto the highway, he was able to pick up his pace. The flat, level road was easier to run on than the divots and tree roots of the forest.
Sam kept his rifle up at all times, scanning the perimeter of the town. When he made it to Main Street, he saw the Jeep flipped on its side.
He could hear some commotion down the street. It was the sound of a child crying. Sam advanced, each step hitting the sidewalk quickly, quietly.
Tank was taking Jung and his two kids up the stairs to the second floor of the motel. Sam watched them go into one of the rooms a few doors down.
Sam peered through the scope. Room 24. He sat there for a moment, taking in the surroundings. The motel had forty-two rooms, twenty-one rooms on each floor. From what he heard at the cabin, there were no more than twenty bikers, probably fewer if Mike was a good shot.
It wasn’t likely the bikers would have bunked up, so they were probably in their own rooms. Sam didn’t see anyone on watch, so they either didn’t have enough men for that, were too tired, or thought they weren’t in danger anymore. Either way, he had the advantage.
Sam wanted to keep this as covert as possible. It wouldn’t do any good to let the gang know he was here by running in guns blazing. He climbed the staircase, pressed his ear to the door of room 24.
There was nothing but mumbles, but he recognized Jung’s voice. He never saw the biker who went in there with him come out, so he’d have to act fast the moment he opened the door. He strapped the rifle over his shoulder and pulled the knife from his belt.
One. Two. Three.
He swung the door open and immediately went for Tank, who had his back to him. Sam made it to him in two steps, and in less than three seconds, he had his hand over Tank’s mouth and the knife slicing his throat.
Jung gasped and jumped back, covering his children. Tank let out a few gargled chokes of breath before he finally passed out.
“Shh, Jung, it’s me, Sam. I’m here to help. Are you all right?”
Jung just stared at Sam, then his face twisted into grief and he started to cry.
“She’s d-dead. I-I killed h-her,” Jung said.
“What? Who’s dead?”
“J-jenna. My w-wife. Oh, G-god.”
Jung collapsed on the ground; both his children were starting to cry now. The louder they became the more attention they’d bring, and that was something Sam wanted to avoid.
“Jung, listen to me, I know you’re hurting, but we have to get out of here now. We can’t stay. I need you to pull it together for me. Do you know where the others are?”
Jung tried to compose himself.
“There… in the sheriff’s office. They have them locked up in the cells.”
“Who has the keys?”
Jung motioned over to Tank, collapsed on the bed.
He patted Tank down and found the keys on the inside pocket of his cut. Then he could hear a voice coming up the stairs.
“Tank, everything all right in there?”
Sam stuffed the keys into his pocket and brought his knife at the ready. He put his back against the wall, hiding himself behind the door. When the biker came in and saw Tank dead with Jung on the bed next to him, he pulled his gun.
“You son of a bit—”
One swift snap of the neck and the biker folded to the floor like a stack of cards.
“C’mon,” Sam said. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Sam checked the hallway to see if anyone else heard the scuffle, but no one came. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with Jung and his family. The man was obviously in no shape to fight, and it was too dangerous to move forward with the kids a
round.
The best bet was to stash them somewhere then come back for them once he had everyone accounted for.
“Head for the hardware store, then go out the back and hide in the tall grass. I’ll come back for you once this is over. If I don’t come back in the next twenty minutes, then get out of here. Head back to the cabin.”
Jung didn’t say anything. No thank you, no handshake, nothing. He just took his kids and headed across the street, and Sam watched him disappear in the shadows of the store.
Sam made his way down to the sheriff’s office. When he entered there weren’t any guards, no one on patrol, nothing.
He saw Mary and Kalen first, then Mike in the last cell down the hall. All of them were beaten badly. Kalen had the worst of it.
“You guys all right? Just hang on, I’ll get you out of here.”
Sam went for Mary’s cell first, then Kalen’s, then Mike’s. The moment Mike was out, he rushed to his daughter, who collapsed in his arms. Sam didn’t want to break up the moment, but he knew they had to move.
Mike didn’t know the man who just let him out, but he didn’t care. He had his daughter again. It was a small victory for the high cost he paid today.
“Are you Mike or Ulysses?” Sam asked.
“Mike.”
“I’m Sam. Your wife sent me. I came in with Nelson’s wife, Katie. We need to get out of here. I don’t know how many of these guys are left, but I’ve already taken out two.”
“Give me one of your pistols.”
Sam tossed Mike one of his 9mms.
“Any extra magazines?” Mike asked.
Sam handed him two of the magazines he had on him. Mike tucked them into his pocket then clicked the gun’s safety off.
“Take them back to the cabin,” Mike said.
“Whoa, you’re not in any condition to do what I think you’re going to do,” Sam said.
“This isn’t any of your business.”
“Maybe, but I do know that rule number one of war is you only start one if there’s a chance of winning.”
“I didn’t start this.”
Mike disappeared out of the sheriff’s office, leaving Sam with Kalen and Mary.
“Shit.”
Sam grabbed the girls and gave them the same instructions he did to Jung. He handed Kalen the other pistol he had.
“You shoot anyone you don’t know.”
Kalen grabbed Mary, and the two of them leaned on each other, with Kalen gripping the pistol in her right hand as they walked out the door.
Mike was already out of sight when Sam made it to the motel. Sam scanned the top floor when he heard the first shots go off in a room down the hall.
“Here we go,” Sam said.
Once the gunfire went off, the remaining bikers flew out of their rooms, guns loaded, looking to shoot anything that moved.
Sam picked off the first one easy. The other six were smarter than their friends. Whoever Mike was looking for must not have been anyone who came out on the first floor because he went straight for the back of the motel.
Sam didn’t let up. His training kicked in, and he advanced, moving closer to engage, funneling the bikers into a corner.
It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Each shot Sam squeezed off either killed someone or exposed them from their cover. The only exit the biker’s had was to retreat back into the rooms, and from there they wouldn’t have anywhere to go.
One biker made a run for it in the opposite direction, thinking he could outrun the bead Sam had on him. He was wrong.
The biker’s jaw exploded off his face, and he dropped to the ground. There were only three of them left now; that’s when the bargaining started.
“All right. We don’t want any more trouble.”
“Getting tired?” Sam shouted back.
“We just want to get out of here in one piece.”
Sam reloaded the rifle with his last magazine.
“So did those girls,” Sam said.
He knew he had them on the ropes now. He jumped up from behind the stone fountain he positioned himself against and fired into the corner, where the bikers tried to hide behind the staircase.
Sam sent two shots through the space in the steps and sent each bullet through an eye of the gang members.
Frankie was the only left. He jumped from behind the staircase and aimed his pistol at Sam, but when he squeezed the trigger, all that came out was the click of the firing pin. Sam lowered his rifle.
“Empty,” Sam said.
The biker tossed his gun on the ground and threw his hands in the air.
“You think we’ll be the last? There will be more people like me. You won’t be able to kill us all.”
Sam pulled the knife out. Tank’s blood was still stained on the blade.
“Maybe not, but you’ll do for now.”
***
Mike knew he was out there. He saw him run around back, trying to escape. All of his rage was focused on one point; kill Jake.
The pain shooting through his body didn’t faze him. He wheezed with every breath, a knife-like pain stabbed his lung, his hands felt like they were going to break off, but he pushed through it.
He limped along the backside of the stores. When he made it to the edge, he could see Jake running back up Main Street by the storefronts. He was trying to flank Sam.
Mike sprinted as fast as he could. Every movement and breath was like swallowing glass, feeling it scrape along his insides as it slid down his throat and into his stomach.
When Mike heard the gunshot go off, his pace quickened, then when he turned the corner onto Main Street, he saw Jake lying on the road with Kalen towering over him.
“No,” he whispered.
Killing was something you never came back from. It changed you, turned you into something else. That was what it did to him. You couldn’t unpull the trigger. You couldn’t rechamber that bullet once it had been fired.
Jake’s blood pooled on the street, oozing from his neck where Kalen had shot him. Whatever childhood she had left in her was gone forever.
Night of Day 13 (the Cabin)
Freddy waited until he couldn’t hear the Jeep’s engine anymore before he opened the door to his room. He and Sean had stayed hidden inside when Jung was tying everyone up.
Freddy wanted to do something. He wanted to help, but Sean was too scared to move, so Freddy stayed with him. They hid under the bed until Freddy was sure Jung was long gone.
When Freddy came out, his mother let out a sigh of relief.
“Freddy, thank God,” Anne said.
“Mom, are you okay?” Freddy asked.
“I’m fine, sweetheart. See if you can find some scissors in the kitchen.”
Sean ran to his mom, burying his face into her stomach.
“I’m sorry I didn’t help. I was scared.”
“It’s okay,” Katie said. “I’m glad you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
Freddy found the scissors in one of the kitchen drawers and started cutting everyone loose. Anne and Fay were the first ones out the door, but came back in quickly.
“He’s long gone now,” Fay said.
“Why would he do that? I know his wife’s sick, but did he really think this was his best option?” Katie asked.
“Desperate people do desperate things,” Fay said, picking up the revolver Jung had left behind.
Ray propped himself up in a sitting position after Freddy took the zip ties off him. He had his leg on the coffee table and was gently adjusting the splint around it.
“So, what’s the call, Anne?” Ray asked.
“What?”
“Well, right now we know three things: Mike, Ulysses, and Tom are in trouble, Jung took the Jeep, and Sam went to go help Mike. Assuming Sam doesn’t come back and the bikers come looking for us, our one chance of escape is now gone. ”
“You think we should leave?”
“That’s your call, Anne. This is your place, and it’s your family down there
.”
Anne knew he was right. She had to be the one who made the call. What did Mike always tell her? Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
“We’ll head to the farm. If things turn that bad, then we’ll have a better place to defend ourselves. We’ll be able to see them coming. If we stay here we’re sitting ducks, especially if they come back tonight,” Anne said.