by Cal, Sarah
But then she deflated.
“I’m tired of being strong, Chase. I really don’t think I can do it anymore. Listening to the men responsible for Janice’s death hurt so badly, I couldn’t help myself. How could I be a good leader when I let my emotions get the better of me so easily?”
“I know, Emma, and I know it was hard. And to be honest, I wanted to hurt the man for the way he was looking at you, the way he spoke to you. I didn’t, but because of that, I can’t fault you, even if it was a little extreme. But now you need to channel your anger and help us win the fight against Brassville. Can you do that?”
Can you do that? That was a ridiculous question. She might no longer be interested in being leader, but that wasn’t to say she was going to let those bastards off easy.
Every time they appeared, they just had to ruin everything, and Emma wasn’t going to let them get their way anymore. Not after losing her grandmother and getting driven from her home. Not with her new family here on this farm, after they’d threatened them. After they’d made her do something that had her sibling and a boy she was coming to think of as her own child against her.
She might just be running from responsibility again by focusing on revenge, but this time was different. Then, Chase had promised to go along with her, but she knew he disapproved. He might as well be giving her permission not to hold back this time.
Of course, she understood why. He was afraid for all of them, and for the boy. Because Chase might look for ways to escape violence all together, but he was as protective of what was theirs as she was. She could tell, just by looking at his face, that he would not stand in her way this time, or treat her differently after. She didn’t plan to disappoint him.
Emma took a few deep breaths and allowed the anger to fill her. She grit her teeth, resolved.
“I’ll do whatever she can.”
Chapter Twenty-Four:
Emma gathered everyone on the farm in the living room.
It was still relatively early, and they all still had duties to attend to, but everything else could wait. Though they’d had to go out to call everyone back, they were all assembled maybe an hour or so later.
The ones that hadn’t been there when their visitors came looked confused, wondering what this was about. Merry was still with Jackson and had refused to come for the meeting. Emma was fine with that, because neither of them really needed to hear it, and she appreciated the distance from her sister. Karen’s kids had been left with Kellen’s to look after them, since they were older, and their parents wanted to be part of the discussions. All the other adults were present, even Mercy was joining them.
“For those of you that don’t know,” she started. “We had some visitors. They were from Brassville.”
The ones that had been with her, when they were leading the attack on Brassville, understood immediately, and their faces looked grim. Karen didn’t understand, though, but Emma knew from her cautious expression that she could read the atmosphere and knew it meant nothing good.
“Are you sure, Emma?” Carol asked, voice grim.
Emma gave her a sharp nod. They were the only two that had seen the final attack on their town, the one that had prompted them to run. Carol had been the one driving when they saw what happened, and she’d been the one to drive away when all Emma could do was stare. They had to run, because their numbers were too great, and they all had weapons, and there hadn’t been even ten in their own party then.
“Even if they hadn't told us, I recognized one of them. Carol, they were at the hospital. Or at least one of them.”
It took her a moment to realize what Emma meant, but then her face hardened. Emma had known she would have Carol in her corner regardless, but that just cemented it for her. Carol resented them more for what they did at the hospital than she did, after all.”
“You recognized him,” she said rhetorically.
Emma nodded anyway.
“What do you want us to do?” she asked immediately.
Emma glanced at the rest of the room. The ones that had been confused before had dawning expressions. They could guess that there was a threat, at least.
“They came here looking for a trade deal,” she started to explain. “Until I told Harry the truth about them, and he allowed me to refuse the deal.”
She paused to shoot a glance at Harry, who was busy looking at the ground and acting like he wasn’t listening. She knew he heard every word, though. She could practically feel his disapproval, because he knew the decision she would come to. And while Emma understood his stance, he understood hers. She was glad he at least let her speak, but everything would hinge on his decision. Emma wasn’t willing to go against him, so all she could hope was that he would change his mind.
“It isn’t a bad thing if they were just looking for a trade deal, is it?” someone asked, unsure. “I mean, if we just dealt with them and did the exchange, they would leave us alone?”
“They wouldn’t,” Carol answered before Emma could. “They’d keep coming back for more, and eventually we’d have to refuse them.”
Emma nodded. “I don’t want to wait for that time, when our own stores are low, for them to start, a fight, because I’m sure any kind of deal will end in a fight, anyway. They aren’t people to be trusted. Carol and I saw one of them at the hospital, back home. They came to steal meds from us, and they were armed and with a car, so there was nothing we could do against them. I don’t think this time will be any different, they’ll just attack sooner because we refuse to deal with them.”
She shared a look with Carol, and knew the other woman agreed with her. That they would have to fight them eventually, and it would only be better to get it out of the way sooner before they lost anything to the bastards.
“They’ll be coming back, and the second time around, there won’t be anything peaceful about their arrival. We need to stand up for ourselves and fight these guys from Brassville, the people who drove us out of our homes and destroyed our lives.”
Carol seemed enthused, but many of the others seemed nervous. It was understandable, because they didn’t know the extent of what happened back home, besides that they needed to run, and they did.
Kellen’s face suddenly dawned, and Emma gained some new respect for her, because she was sure the other woman had understood her and Carol’s viewpoint.
“It was them, wasn’t it? The reason you showed up on my doorstep and suddenly said we needed to leave home in a hurry.”
Emma nodded again. “Yeah. It wasn’t a fight Carol thought we’d win, and honestly, I was kind of afraid of going up against them.”
“Is it really worth doing this, though? We don’t need to make enemies, right?”
The question was from Brian, but he wasn’t one of the nervous ones. He just looked curious, and Emma knew he was up for the fight even without him making it obvious. Kellen, standing strong at his side, probably felt the same.
“If we don’t, we won’t survive,” Emma reminded them.
Of course, they all knew about the various attacks that had gone on, but for the first time, Emma wondered if they knew just how serious the whole thing had been. After all, hearing and actually being there had different impacts on people. They probably thought like Harry had in the beginning, that they could come to some sort of compromise. And maybe they could, Harry’s farm did have a lot of crop, but that depended on how many people there were still in Brassville, and their overall greed.
“Isn’t this a little overkill, Emma?” Chase asked, but even as he said the words, he was uncertain.
She understood part of his concern. These people would come with guns to attack them, and they had people and children in the house, not to forget Jackson, who seemed to have a fear of guns. It wasn’t going to be an easy feat, but Emma didn’t think there was much option, here.
“Emma and I were in the front,” Carol said, speaking up for her. “The rest of you didn’t see, and I thought it would be better that way. I don’t think
any of you would have made a different decision, because it was definitely not a fight all of us would have walked away from. And even if we’d stayed in our respective homes, the fight would have come to us. Why the hell do you think we ran in the first place?”
There were still some unsure looks, particularly among the people she wasn’t all that familiar with yet.
“The rest of you didn’t see what they were doing to people in our town. They were dragging people out on the streets and lining them up, and we heard gun shots. Do you really think they left anyone alive? Because I have my doubts we could all go on the road again, but then we’d be running forever, and we couldn’t even handle it for a week. Can you seriously see us surviving that way?”
“We should listen to Emma,” Chase said suddenly. “She’s got us through everything so far. I don’t like the idea, but I like the idea of walking around less. At least here, we have an advantage, we’re not out in the open and it would be easier to defend.”
Emma could see they were getting convinced, and she almost miles. Then to her surprise, Harry spoke, and it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
“I don’t want to be a part of the fight.”
Her mouth dropped, but she couldn’t get any words out for a moment. What did he mean, even after he’d heard everything she said? Or did he just mean he didn’t want to be there for the fight but wouldn’t hold them back?
“Why?” she finally asked.
“I only just got my daughter back, and I don’t want to risk her getting killed. Fights like this never end well, and we are going to be facing casualties if this group is as fearsome as you’re making them out to be.”
“You can’t just sit back and watch them take everything, Harry. We’re defending this place because you invited us here, but all of it is yours, you know. Would you really be ok if it was all just taken?”
She could see from his expression that he didn’t, but she didn’t think that meant he would be ok with the fight, either.
“Why don’t we hit the road?” Harry suggested. “It was my life for years, but I don’t mind leaving it all behind.”
But then Mercy stepped up next to Emma with a stubborn expression. “We aren’t going to run, dad,” she said with finality. “I’m standing with Emma on this—I don’t want everything you’ve worked for to go to waste. You might be okay with losing the house and the farm, but this is my home to. I only just got back, dad. I don’t want to lose it.”
The others were still reluctant, but Emma could almost see them visibly wearing down, then one of them stepped forward, looking weary but determined.
“We’ll help.”
The same words were echoed by the others, besides Brian, Kellen and Carol, because they were a given, until everyone was on board. They would have to explain to Merry, but like all the previous fights, Emma didn’t expect her sister to be part of the battle. She would sit it out, maybe stay with the kids somewhere safe.
“All right, then,” Emma said with a clap of her hands. “We need to start preparations for this thing, might as well do it early and prepare for an attack any day from now. These guys don’t usually take their time, so it’ll probably be soon. Some suggestions?”
Mercy raised her hand with a grim slime. “I have some tricks up my sleeve we they can use.”
Chapter Twenty-Five:
Emma sat beside Mercy in a tractor. Mercy was holding several handmade bombs.
To say Emma was impressed with Harry’s daughter would be something of an understatement. Emma was beyond impressed at this point at the kind of stuff this woman seemed to know. Emma wasn’t even sure where she’d found enough ingredients lying around to hand make bombs, since all the ways she knew how, and only because high school kids tended to be a little too adventurous for their own good, needed chemicals, the kind Emma wasn’t sure could be found in a farm.
“How do you know how to make these?” Emma asked in awe as she stared at them warily.
Mercy had offered them to her so she could look at them, but Emma was too afraid to even touch them.
“I studied chemistry, and learned how to make explosives,” Mercy said casually with a shrug. “We didn’t have everything I need, but I improvised, and it’ll be fine. They should help, especially since we’ll be outnumbered.”
“I hope so—we don’t have many other options left.”
It was a day since their visitors came, and there hadn’t been anything since. But they were all on high alert, Emma especially, because the last thing they needed was to get surprised. There were people surrounding the house, all of them armed, so whichever direction their attackers came from, her group had some advantage. The numbers were the only thing that still worried her.
She didn’t want to think of what would happen if they failed. Merry was inside the house, and she was with Jackson. Karen’s kids were with Kellen’s in their rooms. They’d decided leaving Jackson in the same room with the other kids when he was so high strung wouldn’t be a good idea, since they needed the children to remain as calm as possible.
Her heart clenched, thinking about Jackson. He hadn’t calmed down enough that she could go near him, and she hated that it was her fault he was like that. This situation couldn’t have come at a worse time. If he really had been there when his parents were killed like she’d been thinking, he wasn’t going to be happy at all when shots started firing outside. Even though it irked her a little, she was glad he had accepted Merry so he didn’t have a problem with her staying with him through the ordeal.
She wouldn’t have been able to stay with him even if he’d wanted her to. Emma wanted to fight; she knew herself too well, and there was no way she could sit out of this fight. It was the revenge she’d gone looking for, and her recent stress and frustration because of the same people had brought back her enthusiasm or the job.
Then they heard the vehicles approaching. Emma felt her eyes widen. They really had come back soon, but they were prepared enough that it wouldn’t be a problem. Her heart was suddenly beating hard and fast in part anxiety, part excitement.
“Everyone, move forward!” Mercy ordered. “Step on the tractor pedals!”
As vehicles raced towards them, everyone lighted their Molotov cocktails and threw them at the cars. Emma held her breath as she saw them fly. Mercy really had outdone herself, creating a lot of them, and as they hit, they all blew.
Three of the five attack cars were destroyed in the chemical attack.
“Fuck, yes!” Mercy cheered, but their victory was short-lived as the others get out of their cars with guns.
Emma reached for her own as their tractor stopped. Mercy didn’t know how to use a gun, so she hadn’t take one. Instead, she grabbed a knife from her belt, jumped off the tractor and charged them. Emma grinned at the other woman’s actions, again thinking how very alike they were. She followed her off the tractor and into the thick of the fight. As confident and capable as she seemed, Emma wanted her to come out of this alive, because of how important she was to Harry.
Emma had a hunting gun and took down several people, alternating between ducking out of range and shooting. Too many of them had been squeezing in the cars, so even with three of them down, there were still plenty of targets for her to aim at. She didn’t see the bastards from before, but she didn’t have a problem picturing everyone she shot down with their respective faces. Adrenaline course through her veins, amping up her excitement, and Emma felt her lips curve into a vicious smile.
Emma wondered what the others were doing, but couldn’t see them in the chaos.
Then Emma realized she’d run out of bullets and ran out, brandishing a knife. She joined Mercy, stabbing wildly at her assailants. They battle back to back, protecting one another. But Emma couldn’t doubt the exhilaration thrumming through her, and when she got a look at Mercy, she could tell the other woman felt the same thrill. She thought idly if she should feel bad, that she didn’t feel bad that she was killing people, but the thought washed away as th
e other woman shot someone with a gun aimed at Emma.
She did think about the others, though. Emma wondered if Merry and Jackson were safe, and how the little boy was. Worst case scenario was that he lost it, like Merry had. Emma knew it could happen quietly, and he would just shut himself down. If that happened, how would they help him, then? Emma wasn’t good at dealing with trauma, considering her way of doing it was running away from the problem, and Merry was turning to her delusions. There hadn’t been talk of visions again, but Emma had a feeling it hadn’t died quite yet. There was hope that Jackson would be the one to get rid of it, because Merry acted so normal the more time she spent with him, and Emma didn’t want to lose that, either
Besides, it would probably break both her and her sister both if they lost someone else they cared about.
But then something caught her attention, out the corner of her eye, and when she turned to look, she was shocked to see someone heading into the house. No one else had seen, because they were alone.
Her reaction was instantaneous.
Emma chased after them to make sure they wouldn’t hurt Jackson and Merry, or any of the other kids still inside. But the two of them were the ones she really worried about. She wasn’t sure if Jackson would stay quiet through the ruckus outside, and the bastard was likely to hear them and rush right for them. They were dying, but they had no intention of backing away, and were focused entirely on causing damage to them.
Her prediction proved true. She arrived just as the man was entering the bedroom where they were hiding. Ice filled her heart as she forced her body faster. Emma let out a cry and stabbed the man in the back.
He roared, very loudly, and Emma could hear Jackson screaming and Merry shaky voice trying to calm him down. She pulled the knife out from the man’s back and brought it back down in another stab, feeling the resistance as the knife cut through and his scream suddenly garbled, Emma watching him as he fell to the floor.
Jackson was curled in Merry’s lap. She was astonished, eyes wide and moving from the body lying on the floor, to Emma standing above them and panting.