by E. E. Borton
Okay, maybe I wasn’t finished beating him up.
“If making yourself believe that they’re safe at your in-laws’ house helps, then hold on to that thought as long as you can.”
“Then what do I do? I don’t know where they are.”
“You go find them,” I said, cocking my head at him. “Even if it means you die trying, you go. At least you’ll die doing something, instead of wasting away here feeling sorry for yourself. You get off your ass and you go find them. It’s as simple as that.”
“Where do I start looking?” asked Bud, wide-eyed and terrified at the idea. “What would you do?”
“I’d start by figuring out the route they might have taken,” I said, pulling out his map, handing it to him. “You pack as much food, water, and ammunition as you can carry, but you try to eat and drink anything you find along the way first. Save what you started with as long as possible. As soon as you get close to town, you start looking in places they might hide. I’m sure it didn’t take them long to figure out walking through Lafayette was a bad idea.”
“If I come across anybody, do I ask if they’ve seen them?”
“Avoid groups of men,” I said. “Even if you recognize them, stay clear. Friendships are the first thing to die. They’ll try to take your pack and your gun. Shooting you first will be the easiest way to get to your stuff.”
“Do I shoot them first?”
“Listen to me, Bud. People are beginning to run out of everything. They’re beginning to starve. Everyone is dangerous.”
“But what if they know something? What if they could tell me where they are?”
“Okay, so you’re not listening to me,” I said, standing and opening my pack. “Here’s what’s left of the food from your office. It should last you a few days. Good luck and thank you again for the shelter.”
“Wait, please,” said Bud, standing as well. “I’m listening, I swear. I just don’t know what to do. I’m scared to death. If I let you keep the food, will you go with me?”
“Oh, no, Bud,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s not going to happen. I don’t do towns. You have no idea how far I’ve already pushed my luck. I’m not pushing it anymore. I’m sorry about your family, I really am, but you have to do this, not me.”
“I can’t do this and you know it,” said Bud, pleading. “I’m going to die, but I don’t care. I’m already dead without them. My daughter and my wife, they deserve to live. They could’ve left me years ago and I wouldn’t have blamed them, but they didn’t. They’re my angels. They have good hearts and they don’t deserve to die out there. I’m begging you. Please help me find them and bring them home. I’ll give you everything I have.”
“I’m sorry, but I want to go home, too,” I said, leaving him standing in the living room.
Walking out the door, I stopped on the porch. Sam was standing on the bottom stair with her arms crossed. She didn’t look happy.
“You gotta be kidding me.”
Chapter 24
North
Nothing needed to be said.
After staring at her for a moment, I turned and walked back inside. My steps were heavy with purpose – and anger. Bud was standing in the same place where I left him. He had a blank stare as I pulled off my pack and sat on the couch in front of the map. I picked up the highlighter, holding it up to him.
“Mark the route you think they took to her parents’ house,” I said.
“Are…are you going to –”
“Mark the goddamned route, Bud.”
“Okay, yes, sir,” said Bud, dropping to his knees in front of the map. A smile crept across his face while his shaky hand crossed the map. His changing mood from bad to good pissed me off even more.
“Listen to me,” I said, looking to burst his bubble. “The chances of them still being alive are slim to none. Personally, I’m leaning towards none. So you may want to wipe that smile off your face and speed this up.”
“But there is a chance,” said Bud, removing his smile. “Why else would you be going with me?”
“You’re not going,” I said. “I need to move fast. I’m sure you do a lot of things well, but moving fast isn’t one of them. Stay here in case they come back.”
Bud looked down at his stomach. “I haven’t always been like this, you know. Believe it or not, I used to be about your size. After finishing college, getting married, and starting my business, I paid more attention to providing for my family than I did with taking care of myself. And now me being this size is what has separated us. I know you look at me as worthless, but I’m not. I’ve given them a good life.”
“Touching,” I said, standing. “Well, Mother Nature has just put the entire planet on a weight loss program, so you’ll be good to go in a couple of months. But that box of Little Debbies right there, if you touch one before I get back, I’ll kick your teeth in. Those are mine. What are her parents’ names?”
“Lawrence,” said Bud. “Trevor and Melissa Lawrence.”
I snatched the map off the table, grabbed my pack, and headed outside. I wasn’t pissed at Bud. I was pissed at Sam. Once again, she had found it necessary to put me back in harm’s way. I figured she was trying to get us back together. She couldn’t come back to my world, so she was looking to put me in hers. Sending me into the one place I vowed to avoid at all costs was the easiest way for her to do that.
I hope you’re ready, Lafayette cowards. If there’s anything left standing, I’m going to bring it down on top of your fucking heads.
All the pain in my ribs disappeared when I turned a corner and saw smoke billowing from a convenience store on the edge of town. I had no idea how long I had been walking and I didn’t care. The only thing I did care about was getting to Cynthia’s parents’ house as quickly as possible. I suspected that they might have made it there, but then her parents – if they had any sense – convinced her and Erin to stay.
If they did make it, my problem was solved. I’d let Bud know where they were on my way out. It would be up to him to find a way to get there. I’d grab my snack cake payment and be on my way. If they didn’t make it, I’d backtrack through town looking for them. I didn’t like the idea of going through the middle of Lafayette. It would be nothing short of suicide doing it twice. But it’s what Sam wanted.
Like most rural towns, there was a small square in the middle. As I reached the corner of the only three-story building, I scanned the square for any movement or bodies. There were both.
Four men in camouflaged uniforms, holding shotguns, were surrounding several others while they picked up a body and threw it onto another corpse in a cart. Twenty yards away were three more bodies. I noticed two of the workers were wearing scrubs. The four with shotguns could’ve been military, but they were too far away to verify. Regardless, I didn’t feel a need to introduce myself to them. Cowards or not, I was the one outgunned.
My initial thoughts were that this part of Lafayette was still owned by the local government. Looters and cowards don’t clean up bodies lying in the town square. It was a good sign for Cynthia and Erin. If they made it this far, they may have been given safe passage or even shelter. Either way, I needed to talk to one of them.
Across the square on a rooftop corner, I saw the barrel of a scoped rifle and the top of a shooter’s head. Looking up at the three story building I was leaning against, I had a feeling there was another above me. I backed up and found an open door at the rear of the building. Pulling my shotgun, I stepped inside.
Quietly slipping off my pack, I stuffed it underneath a desk. I found the stairwell leading up to the roof. I didn’t expect the door to be wide open. I did expect the tripwire.
Stepping over the alarm system, I crouched down so the shooter across the square on the shorter building couldn’t put his crosshairs on me. My target was sitting in a lawn chair, wearing all black, looking through the scope that was pointing down at the crew cleaning up bodies. This guy was about to learn a valuable lesson about rear security.
To make my job easier, he put down the rifle and picked up a can. When the spoon went in, I put the barrel against the back of his neck.
“If you give the signal, I pull the trigger.” The spoon froze. “What is that signal?”
“I – I take off my hat,” said the female voice. “Peter is set up across the square.”
“I know,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Stephanie,” she said.
“Don’t touch your hat. Are you a cop, Stephanie?”
“Yes.”
“Peter?”
“No, he’s National Guard.”
“Keep eating. I’m not going to hurt you. If I was a looter, your gun and food would be more valuable to me than your life. The only thing I want from you is answers to a couple of questions, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Who are the dead guys?”
“Those were looters.”
“Is that your policy?”
“Yes, shoot on sight.”
“What about your policy for strangers walking into town?”
“We ask you your business. If you’re not looting or looking for trouble, we let you pass safely. But we can’t give you aid because we’re running low on everything.”
“What’s the signal for you taking a break?”
“That’s where I have to ask you a question.”
“Okay.”
“What did you do with Kevin?”
“Nothing. Who’s Kevin?”
“The asshole that’s supposed to be watching my back,” said Stephanie. “He should be at the bottom of the stairs.”
“There’s nobody inside. I walked right up.”
“I’m going to kill him,” said Stephanie. “Well, that’s unless you kill me first.”
“Turn around,” I said. “I told you that I’m not going kill you.”
She put down the can, stood up, and turned to face me. I backed up several feet before I stood upright so Peter couldn’t see me. Lowering my shotgun, I asked her to wave at him, and hold up five fingers. She complied and then told me he responded with thumbs up.
“I’m sorry about sneaking up on you,” I said. “The problem is, I’m a stranger, but I’m not looting and I’m not looking for trouble. What I am looking for is Cynthia and Erin Jackson.”
“Why are you looking for them?”
“A bit of long story, but the short version is that Bud can’t,” I said. “They left for supplies five days ago. He hasn’t seen them since. Do you know the Jacksons?”
“I do,” said Stephanie. “He does…well, did my taxes. He pretty much does everyone else’s in town, too. He’s a good guy. And yes, we did see them. They were heading to her parents’ place a couple miles on the other side of town. I haven’t seen them since.”
“That’s my next stop,” I said.
“We told them to stay there,” said Stephanie. “I know Bud has some physical limitations, so we told his wife and daughter we’d try to get to him. Then all hell started breaking loose here. We can’t spare the manpower right now to escort him across town. To be honest, we kind of forgot about them.”
“I understand,” I said. “All I need to do is make sure they’re okay and then let Bud know. I’ll let him figure out how to get there.”
Hearing footsteps coming from the stairwell, I moved to the side to let Stephanie do the introductions. She had other plans for him. As soon as he stepped over the tripwire, she caught him on the chin with a right hook.
“What the fuck, Stephanie!” said Kevin, holding his jaw.
“Explain to me how he got up here is what the fuck, Kevin. I never heard him coming.”
“Good morning,” I said, giving him a salute.
“I was in the bathroom,” said Kevin. “Holy shit, I’m sorry. Who is he?”
“Someone that easily could’ve killed us both. But lucky for you, he’s a friend of Bud Jackson’s. He’s looking for Cynthia and Erin.”
“They’re at her parents’ place,” said Kevin, shaking my hand. “You a cop or something?”
“No, just helping out Bud. He’s not very mobile.”
“No, he ain’t,” said Kevin. “He’s a big one.”
“How much of the town do you control?” I asked.
“This square and everything south to the edge of town,” said Stephanie. “We don’t have enough guns to watch over the north side. It’s a mess up there. There’s a group of about thirty or so from Chattanooga trying to get to our supplies. We have a large food distribution warehouse not far from here. They’ve been hitting us every night for the past four days. They’re getting stronger and better organized. We may have to move further south.”
“Any chance I can get an escort through town?” I asked. “Having to be sneaky slows me down.”
“Kevin would be glad to take you,” said Stephanie. “It’s not like I need him here watching my back.”
“I’m sorry,” said Kevin. “I really am. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
“No, it won’t.”
I thanked her, wished her luck, and then Kevin walked me to the edge of town. I didn’t like the conversation we were having. He told me about the group holding on to the north side.
“Two nights ago we stopped a young woman who was running into the square,” said Kevin. “She told us a pretty ugly story we decided not to spread among the ladies in town.”
“What was her story?”
“Well, she lived in an apartment complex on the north side,” continued Kevin. “She said an armed group of about twenty or so started kicking in doors. Most people gave up what they had without a fight. Her husband wasn’t one of them. She said he shot the first one that came in, but there were just too many coming up after them. When her husband ran out of bullets, they killed him and then dragged her out into the street. They handed her over to a guy named Alex. She thinks he’s the leader.
“She said he was real nice to her at first, apologizing for killing her husband, and trying to explain what they were doing. He said ‘cause her husband shot one of their guys, his boys would want revenge on her. You know, rape and beat her. He said if she was nice to him, he’d give her food and protection. So she said she was nice to him, if you know what I mean.”
“I do.”
“One night after he finished with her, she saw an opportunity to run and took it. That’s how she ended up running though the square.”
The conversation ended when we arrived at Cynthia’s parents’ house. Kevin made the introductions and then headed back to the square. Her father gave me the news I didn’t want to hear.
They did make it, but barely. When they arrived, Trevor said they told him about a dead body lying in the street downtown. He pleaded for them to stay, but Cynthia refused, knowing her husband needed the insulin. They stayed for one night, leaving early the next morning to return home.
I asked him if they talked about the route they would take on the trip back to Bud. Trevor said he told them it was too dangerous to go back through town. He said it was safer to go around. I asked him in what direction.
He told me they went north.
Chapter 25
Freedom
Cynthia’s parents didn’t ask many questions about who I was or how I knew their daughter. The only part they cared about was that I was going to try and find them and bring them back. If I did find them, I wouldn’t be taking them to Bud. Her parents were much more prepared with a stock of food, water, and plenty of guns. Unlike their son-in-law, they knew these days were coming.
I accepted their offer of dinner and then memorized the route to the apartment complex on the north side of town. It was the place I knew the group was located last. If they went through that much trouble to take it, the chances were pretty good they’d still be there. My gut told me that wherever I found Alex I’d also find Cynthia and Erin. If they weren’t with him, he’d know where they were.
With no information about their strength or fighting ability, planning a frontal assault
on twenty armed cowards was suicide. Stephanie told me they had hit them every night for the past four days. My only chance was if they made it five in a row. With most of the guns heading for a raid on the square, anybody left behind would be more vulnerable. A good leader would be at the front of the charge. I was hoping Alex wasn’t a good leader.
Under cover of darkness, carrying a scoped rifle loaned to me by Trevor, I headed out. (I appreciated his offer to go with me, but he was pushing seventy years old and was a diabetic.) Moving as quickly and quietly as possible, I made it to the complex in good time. An abandoned building with easy access to the roof was where I set up surveillance. I didn’t have to wait long to see a large raiding party gathering at the front of the building.
I focused on two men who were talking to the troops. I counted twenty-three others armed with various weapons, listening attentively to the leaders. When they started moving away from the complex, one of them stayed behind. Studying his face through the scope, I’d be looking for it when I made it inside.
Lying on the rooftop, I observed the property, trying to determine the level of security once the larger group left the area. Based on the distance to the square, I knew I had at least three hours before all the guns returned.
The two-story, single-building complex looked like it was converted from an old warehouse. From my vantage point I could see the main entrance as well as another access point on the side. I had to assume there was at least one back entrance and another on the opposite side of the building. I also had to assume there would be armed sentries at each.
I didn’t think I’d ever be in a situation where the green hue of the growing aurora would be a welcomed sight, but it allowed me to verify with my scope that there were no snipers on the roof of the complex. (It was also a good sign that they were unprepared to be the victims of a raid.) There were two men sitting in chairs outside of the front entrance with a lantern between them. At the side entrance a single guard with a shotgun was standing in the doorway smoking a cigarette. It was a hot evening so every door was propped open, taking advantage of the light breeze.