Borders: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Aftershock Series Book 3)

by Michael R. Watson

  Two men came rushing toward him. When they were close enough, he could see it was Jeremy and one of the three Council members, Roy.

  “The Council confirmed the agreement,” said Jeremy, “and Roy wants to see who captured Davis and Damon for himself and to thank them.”

  “I can’t let you go in there, Roy,” stated John. “Not right now anyway.”

  Both Roy and Jeremy were confused. “Why not?” asked Roy.

  “You were right to be concerned, Jeremy. Those men have taken Governor Grayson hostage and they’re holding Daniel, too. They plan on taking all the supplies they can haul away by wagon. Ryder’s looking for more wagons now. One is already sitting outside the freight doors ready to be loaded.”

  “I was afraid something like this was going to happen,” said Jeremy. “Are they still in the lower level?”

  “Yes. They sent me to find people to help load the wagons.”

  “What are the chances of rescuing them?” asked Roy.

  “None,” said John. “It’s not worth the risk to Daniel’s or the governor’s lives. It’s better to give them what they want and get rid of them.”

  “I can go back to Tent City and find men to help,” offered Roy.

  “And I can try to round up some of the Guard camped along the road,” said Jeremy. “We all still have our weapons.”

  “Roy, go ahead and get the men,” said John. “Have them wait outside the freight doors. Wait for me there.”

  Roy nodded and took off.

  “Jeremy, do you want to help the governor?” asked John.

  “You know I do.”

  “Good. You said you and the others still have your weapons. Can you get a rifle and pistol for me too?”

  Jeremy nodded. “I thought you said we couldn’t risk a rescue.”

  “There are only three of them down there. And I know something they don’t know. I have something in mind that may just help us pull it off.”

  When the people learned Grayson was in trouble there was no lack of volunteers. Roy actually had to limit the number who wanted to help load, or else they would have been stumbling all over each other. They assembled outside the freight doors as John had asked. One wagon sat ready to be loaded. Roy wondered why John wanted them to wait. Ryder approached with another wagon. He saw about a dozen people clustered together on the dock, standing and waiting.

  “What are you doing?” he asked them.

  “John told us to wait for him here,” said Roy, who had included himself with the group.

  “Where is John?”

  “We don’t know. He ran off and took Jeremy with him.”

  Ryder leaped onto the dock. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.” He disappeared through the freight doors. At the bottom of the steps he stopped. Barging through without any kind of warning could be dangerous for the governor, Daniel, and himself. He peeked through one of the small windows. Morgan was looking back at him, still holding the gun to Grayson’s head. Daniel was also sitting, bound to a chair. Smiling, Morgan waved Ryder in.

  Slowly, he walked through the doors with his hands in plain sight. “We’re ready to start loading. I have two wagons outside.”

  “Good, then get started. But two wagons aren’t going to cut it. You’ll have to do better, much better.”

  Ryder had no leverage to argue. He blocked the doors open and headed up to bring the men down to get started.

  On the dock, Ryder warned the men, “A quick word, men, before we go down there. Just grab what they tell you and load it up. Don’t try anything. We don’t want anyone to get hurt. Okay?”

  He saw nods from the group.

  “Follow me.”

  Ryder led the men downstairs. Morgan had moved Grayson away from the door, his back to the wall, Daniel next to him.

  “Tell us what you want loaded,” said Ryder.

  “They’ll show you,” said Morgan, motioning to his two armed men. They had moved from standing guard on each side of the door to positions at the end of two aisles. Their weapons remained raised and ready.

  The men behind Ryder split off into two groups, carrying to the wagons only what they were told. Ryder carried a box out, seeing that a large crowd was gathering outside the fence. Evidently they’d heard what was happening and had come to the fence to watch. He was afraid Morgan might get the wrong idea when he came out and saw them. He waved for them to stay back. As long as they stayed on their side of the fence, there shouldn’t be a problem.

  Ryder was fairly certain Morgan would take Grayson with him when he left, at least for a while. Later, he could only hope they would let him go. There was no reason not to, but Morgan had been hard to read. His gut had been wrong earlier. He doubted whether it would be possible to prevent the governor from being taken from the compound. Morgan was calling the shots.

  On the dock, Ryder took a look around. There was still no sign of John or Jeremy. He wondered what they were up to. Whatever it was, he hoped it would work.

  ***

  Jeremy led John down the south road to where most of the Guard camps were located. They stopped at each campsite to ask for help. Most of the families were outside their tents, adding wood to their fires or already eating breakfast. Seeing the families together made John think of his own. He’d been gone a lot longer than he had intended. His biggest fear was that a horde of low-life scavengers would stumble across their valley while they were gone. Daniel’s sons were there, but even though they were big for their age, and trained by their father, they were still just boys.

  The news about the chief governor hadn’t reached the old Guard yet, but once John and Jeremy filled them in, word spread quickly. In a matter of minutes, John and Jeremy were surrounded by a dozen armed men, ready to help in any way they were needed, ready to make amends for the past. They’d been sitting around for a week and were eager to do something useful. John briefly brought them up to speed on what had transpired during the night. Now they were looking to him to lead them and tell them what to do.

  He didn’t feel comfortable taking on a leadership role. Either Daniel or Ryder would have been much better suited to this sort of thing. When he left their valley to help Ryder and Levi, he never would have guessed he’d be in this position. At the moment though, if they were willing to follow, he would lead. He did have a plan.

  Jeremy sensed John’s uneasiness. “What would you like us to do now, John?”

  “Some of the people will probably be coming to gather a few supplies this morning. We don’t want anyone walking into that messy situation. For their safety, it would be best if two of you could keep everyone back. If one can keep those living outside the compound from entering and if the other one can keep the ones living inside away from the lower level, things will go a lot smoother and safer.”

  Jeremy spoke up, “Peter, why don’t you and Sam handle that.” The two men nodded and took off.

  “If you see Morgan or his people, don’t provoke them. Just keep the people back and safe,” John called out loud enough for them all to hear.

  “How will we know who Morgan is?” one man asked.

  “He’ll be the one with a gun to the chief governor’s head,” answered John.

  “Next, I can see two options, one is to attempt a rescue of the governor and Daniel who have three men watching them. It will be difficult since they’re in the lower level. Or, we can attempt a rescue of the governor’s right-hand man being held at a campsite near where the helicopter landed. Eight or nine of Morgan’s people have him. There are twelve of us, so we have them outnumbered. And if we can catch them by surprise out in the open, perhaps we can rescue Blake and take them hostage to trade for the governor.” He paused. “I don’t know if all this was planned by Morgan from the beginning or if it was a spur of the moment decision. And I guess it doesn’t really matter. It was just a matter of time before outsiders heard about your supplies and came to take what they wanted.” John knew if they’d had proper security in the first place, this never would h
ave happened. He believed Grayson had to take some of the blame for his poor choice of governor and his poor oversight. Being so trusting in these times wasn’t realistic.

  “Let’s go get Blake,” suggested Jeremy. “It sounds like our best bet.”

  John was the only one in the group that had been to the campsite, originally Ryder’s, but Jeremy and some of the others had a good idea where to find it.

  They approached from the east, moving in cautiously, stopping when they could see the campfire. The camp was quiet. From there it was too far to make out which one was Blake, since several of Morgan’s people also wore dark clothing similar to his security uniform. The camp was less accessible in the daylight than John had remembered in the dark. This was going to be harder than he thought.

  Between them and the camp there was only knee-high prairie grass, which would require anyone approaching to crawl through it on their bellies. It was a distance of one hundred yards or more. There was a hedge tree row that ran north and south along the west side of the camp. Maybe what they needed was a distraction. John sent two men around to the south to move in along the tree row. In fifteen minutes they were both to fire their rifles, hopefully drawing some of Morgan’s people away from the campsite, leaving the others vulnerable.

  While the two men moved into position, John and the others spread out and crawled closer. As the fifteen minutes wound down, they prepared to charge the campsite. The time line came and went without any gunshots. John got a sick feeling in his stomach. Something had gone wrong.

  The silence was broken. The campsite turned into a frenzy of activity and shouts. The entire group that had been around the fire was disappearing into the tree row. Two of them were dragging a third person with them, most likely Blake.

  There was no chance of a surprise attack now. John started backing away, yelling in a hushed tone for those near him to retreat and to pass the word to the others. He had no idea what had happened to the two men. He had to assume they’d either been captured or killed.

  When they re-assembled at a safe distance, John apologized for the plan not working. “Jeremy, can you come with me? The rest of you just stay back here and keep an eye on them?”

  As they headed back to the compound, John told Jeremy, “I’m about to try something crazy, the other option I mentioned. So, if you’d rather not go with me, it’s okay.”

  “I’m in,” confirmed Jeremy without hesitation and without knowing what he was committing to. He had faith in John.

  ***

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Governor Grayson couldn’t understand why Morgan felt he needed to take supplies by force. The goods collected and stored at the compound were to be distributed to all the people of the area to help them survive and get through the hard times. That had been the intent behind re-purposing the prison as an aid center in the first place. And Morgan was welcome to his fair share.

  “It’s not too late,” insisted Grayson. “Let me go and we can still work something out before someone gets hurt.”

  Morgan stepped in front of Grayson so he could look directly into his eyes. “Before someone gets hurt?” He smiled with amusement. “If anyone is going to get hurt, it won’t be any of my people. And I have no intention of letting you go until we’re far enough away to feel safe.”

  “Someday you’ll need more supplies and you won’t find it so easy.”

  “Someday doesn’t interest me, only today.”

  “But …,” began Grayson.

  Morgan took the sweaty bandana from around his neck and stuffed it into Grayson’s mouth, Grayson making a terrible face. “You’re beginning to bore me,” exclaimed Morgan.

  Grayson let out a deep breath through his nose, giving up for the moment.

  ***

  Ryder saw two armed men come out of the woods to the west. One stopped at the crowd where they gathered around him. The other man came toward the prison, coming through the gate. When he was close enough, Ryder remembered him as one of the old Guard. He motioned him over.

  “What’s going on?” asked Ryder.

  “John asked me to keep the residents inside the compound and away from the lower level. Peter will keep the crowd outside, on that side of the fence.”

  “Where is John?”

  “He and Jeremy ran off somewhere.”

  Ryder still didn’t know what John was up to, but it was obvious he was trying to help.

  ***

  Jake, Carla, and the rest of Morgan’s people huddled inside the tree row. It didn’t take them long to learn the hard way that the tree row was made of hedge-apple trees with thorns covering the limbs, one to two inches long, sharp and painful. Several of the group already had red bleeding welts and scratches along their arms and any other exposed body part after rushing into the trees for cover. The tree had been popular with farmers as a windbreak after the dust bowl days since it was drought resistant, strong, and decay resistant.

  Since no shots had been fired, John had to assume Morgan’s sentries had seen and intercepted the two men he’d sent south. They’d evidently been caught completely off-guard since no shots had been heard. John had seen one of the sentries run to the camp to warn the others. At the apparent danger, they’d all taken cover, taking Blake with them.

  Jake wondered what had gone wrong. He wished Morgan had taken more men with him. It was supposed to be a straight-forward exchange and there shouldn’t have been any problems, unless the chief governor or one of the Council was trying to renege on the agreement.

  One of the women scooted over close to Jake, “What’s going on?”

  “I wish I knew, Carla,” he answered.

  “We can’t stay here,” she commented. “We’re sitting ducks. What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” Jake was Morgan’s number two man, but he was seldom placed into a position of making decisions. Morgan was always nearby.

  “Someone needs to go and find out if something has happened to Morgan,” suggested Carla.

  Jake was silent while he thought.

  “Well?” pushed Carla.

  “Why don’t you go and check on him?” snapped Jake.

  “Glad to,” she snapped back. She started crawling away, picking her way through the thorn-covered branches to the other side of the tree row.

  “Better take someone with you,” whispered Jake before she got too far away.

  She turned back. “I’m better off doing this alone, but thanks for your concern.” She pulled her pistol out, checked the clip for ammo, and slammed it back into the handle.

  “I wasn’t concerned about you. I’m just not sure you can do it alone,” he mumbled.

  She stopped and looked back at him. “What was that?”

  “Nothing.”

  ***

  John led Jeremy as they ran into the woods west of the compound fence.

  “Where are we going?” asked Jeremy, puzzled at their path.

  “You’ll see.”

  John took him to a small clearing among the trees. Jeremy was still at a loss as to why they were there until John dropped to his knees and began to brush away a thin layer of dirt and leaves, revealing a metal lid.

  A smile came to Jeremy’s face. “I suppose this leads inside?”

  “It does and we may be able to use it to get the drop on Morgan and his men so we can rescue Grayson and Daniel.”

  “I had no idea this was here.”

  “Not many people do. That’s why they won’t expect us.”

  “How did you know it was here?”

  “From a very unlikely source.” John didn’t see the point of elaborating and telling him it was from Daniel’s sons. What difference did it make anyway?

  Jeremy helped John swing the heavy metal hatch up out of the way where it locked into position. He looked down the pitch black vertical shaft. “Did you bring a flashlight?” asked Jeremy.

  “No. You?”

  Jeremy shook his head.

  “Then we’ll have to feel o
ur way along.”

  Jeremy looked at him with skepticism.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve been this way before.”

  “I’m not worried,” he lied.

  John sat on the lip of the shaft, placed his foot on the top rung of a metal ladder and lowered himself down into the darkness. Jeremy followed with only the briefest of hesitation, not wanting John to get too far ahead.

  “John. Should I close the lid?” he shouted.

  “No. It’ll give us a little light once we get to the bottom and on our way back out.”

  John waited for Jeremy at the bottom. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

  Jeremy looked into the black tunnel facing them. Even though he was apprehensive as he imagined what could be ahead in the pitch black space, he trusted John and wasn’t about to desert him. “I said I’ll help and that’s what I’m going to do. Lead the way. I’ll be right behind you.”

  John saw the concern on Jeremy’s face, but admired him for his willingness to come along anyway. He wouldn’t mention it again, turning to lead the way.

  “Not too fast,” exclaimed Jeremy, as he felt his way along the side of the passage. He could just barely make out John ahead. They had to proceed slightly stooped over since the corrugated metal tube was only six feet in diameter.

  John knew roughly how long the first leg of the tunnel was before it branched off. He hadn’t paid much attention to the details the last time he was there since they had all been following Aaron and Adam. He shuffled along, hands feeling along the sides. It was getting darker the further they moved away from the light of the shaft where they’d entered. Soon it became too dark for Jeremy to see John, even bumping into him a couple of times. After what seemed like an eternity to Jeremy, they began to see a dim glow of light ahead. Jeremy could now see John’s silhouette in front of him. Stacks of boxes began to appear, lining both sides of the passage. A little further and the main supply room opened up in front of them. Morgan and his two men, Charles, and Daniel would be at the other end of the enormous room. John motioned to Jeremy to be quiet. If this was to work, they couldn’t risk being discovered before they were ready to act.