“Sounds good to me,” Violet said, excitedly. “I hope it’s still there.”
“My old man never did anything halfway. When he built something, he built it to last. You’ll like this place.”
“Well, I hope we can find it in the dark.”
“Don’t worry. I could find it with my eyes closed. Come on; we should get out of here. I don’t think we should press our luck.”
Violet stood and slipped on my school backpack and cinched the straps until it fit her snugly. I had been careful not to pack it too heavy. After tightly rolling up her sleeping bag, I tied it to the bottom of her pack with a pair of shoelaces she had salvaged from the house. I strapped on my heavy pack and after I buckled in, I picked up the lantern and nodded to the door. We hadn’t walked two steps when a blood-curdling scream broke the silence. The scream was high-pitched so I knew it belonged to a woman. We froze and I fumbled with the lantern switch, trying to shut it off.
At first, I imagined the voice to be Cheryl’s. I knew she would scream like that if she stumbled onto Duke. But the voice was too high, so I assumed that it had come from a family member of one of the other men.
“Mom?” asked Violet. She looked up at me with a confused expression.
We moved to the door and stared out into the yard. The security light bathed the yard in misty-white light and I watched a single shadow darting around at the far edge of it. Whoever it was, was identifying the bodies that hung there like gruesome Halloween decorations.
“That’s her,” whispered Violet. “I can tell by the way she walks.”
I put my hands on Violet’s shoulders and held them tight. “We’re not going out there until we’re absolutely sure.”
A moment later, we were sure. “Violet!” screamed the voice, stretching the name out into an agonized howl.
Violet shot out the door like a human cannonball. I stayed where I was and watched the scene play out like something out of a movie. “Mom!” cried Violet. “Mom, I’m okay!”
“Violet?” Cathy replied in a pitiful voice.
“It’s me! I’m okay!”
Cathy began running toward her daughter and they met next to my dad’s pickup. I felt joy for the both of them, but I also felt a pang of jealousy. I wished it had been my family out there. And to be honest, I didn’t think Cathy had the right to be feeling the joy she was now experiencing. She didn’t deserve Violet, at least in my opinion. I watched them embrace, watched Cathy sink to her knees, watched as she smothered her daughter in kisses. I listened as she expressed her undying love for the girl, but deep down I knew that Cathy and I had different thoughts of what undying love meant. Had Violet been my daughter, there was no way on God’s green earth that I would have pawned her off on a stranger.
I was also slightly miffed that Cathy had suspected that I had failed her. Violet was safe and sound. But Duke still hung from a tree, and the rest of my family was rotting away in a camp somewhere. The longer I thought about that, the angrier I became. If Cathy hadn’t so selfishly remained to fight with Todd, everything would have been different. The odds were that we never would have been spotted by the monster, Bob. Mom and Dad would be sleeping in their beds and Duke, Gunner, and Thor, wouldn’t be dead. I was sure of it.
Cathy rose to her feet and I could hear her whimpering as she and Violet approached the shed. She had either dropped her duffel bag or had lost it somewhere along the way. I suddenly saw her as a burden, as extra baggage. Still, for Violet’s sake, I knew that I had to act delighted to see her mother. I stepped out into the pale light and waited for them. Cathy broke into a jog and nearly tackled me. “Thank you, Gary,” she moaned, slobbering my cheeks with teary kisses. “I knew you’d take care of her. How can we ever repay you?”
I didn’t even think about it. The words were out of me before I realized I had said them. “You can help us rescue my family,” I said. “They were taken prisoner by the National Guard this morning.”
Cathy pulled away and gave me a strange look. “What happened to your head?”
“He got shot,” said Violet. “He was out cold all day long.”
“Oh my God, Gary, I’m so sorry. I should have been here.”
“There was nothing you could have done,” I lied. “Look, we have to get moving. Did you bring your duffel bag?”
Cathy shook her head. “No, all I have are the clothes on my back and my gun. Where are we going? I hope it isn’t too far away.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not far from here. We should be safe to spend the night there. Stick behind me and stay on the path.”
Cathy wrapped her arms around me once again and she tried to kiss me on the lips, but I turned away. The memory of how she and Todd had laughed so hysterically with Barbie and Ken was still fresh in my memory. “Aren’t you even going to ask how I got here?”
I pointed to the bodies in the trees. “No,” I said. “I’m more concerned about us ending up like those men, out there. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up. Please, no talking and follow me.”
“He’s right, Mom,” whispered Violet. “We have to get out of here.”
Cathy pulled away from me and looked down at Violet. Slowly, she nodded her head. I began walking toward the barn and I veered off to the little path into the woods. Hundreds of little birch trees had sprouted up since Dad had built the playhouse. They grew like leafy weeds among the oaks. I trusted my memory and the pale moonlight to light our way. I stumbled onto the trail, which was nothing more than a memory of a path. We moved blindly into the tangle of limbs and on more than one occasion, I thought I had lost my way. My fort, which was how I thought of it, was only a few hundred yards away from the barn, but in the darkness it seemed like miles.
As a teenager, I had added two rooms to the playhouse and made it my own. My friends would spend summer nights out there with me. Sometimes our girlfriends would sneak out and join us. Naturally, our parents were unaware of this. I built bunk beds out of scrap lumber and fooled myself into thinking that my dad thought they were meant for my buddies. He knew the truth, had even told me as much. The mattresses were ratty, but in a pinch, they would be better than nothing.
The woods gave way to the tiny yard we had cleared for the playhouse. I could just make it out in the moonlight, and I was overcome with nostalgia. How I wished I could go back in time and relive those wonderful days of my youth. The grass here was knee high and I was happy to see that my little refuge was still standing. I stopped and pointed up ahead. “That’s where we’ll be spending the night,” I whispered. “What do you think?”
“I love it,” gushed Violet. “I want one!”
“I love it, too,” said Cathy, who must have sensed my pride. “And we’ll build you one as soon as this thing blows over. Won’t we, Gary?”
“Sure we will,” I replied, except I was shocked that Cathy would make such an assumption. She was acting like she’d never embarrassed me, had never abandoned the two of us to go play soldier. I continued walking and led them to the only door; the door was an actual steel service door that Dad had salvaged. I twisted the doorknob and flung open the door. Light spilled out and a man screamed in terror.
Chapter 10
I leapt back from the door, as if it were covered in poisonous snakes. Violet and Cathy began to run back in the direction we’d come.
“Gary?” called a familiar voice from inside my fort. “Gary! Is that you, man?”
“Wait!” I called to Cathy and Violet. “I know that guy. He’s my buddy! Kyle, is that you?”
“Gary?” Kyle asked again. The door burst open and my school chum, Kyle, ran out the door and straight into my arms. Kyle had always been the toughest of those in our little clique, so I was confused by his sobbing. He buried his head into my shoulder and cried like a little boy who had lost his mother. I soon learned that he actually had lost his mother, had lost his entire family. They had been captured and hauled away, just as mine had been.
After making some awkward introdu
ctions, we all went inside and waited for Kyle to dry his eyes and tell his story. “I don’t believe it,” he said, at least ten times, before he had gathered himself into semi-coherence.
The inside of my fort looked smaller than I remembered it, but the few things that were out there looked no worse for wear. The twin beds were still at the far ends of the rectangular room and the middle was still occupied by mom’s old kitchen table. Kyle had a candle burning in the center of the table and we all sat down. Next to the candle was a black semiautomatic pistol, a little larger than the one that Cathy carried. Next to the gun was a quart of whiskey.
Kyle’s blonde hair was short, but otherwise he still looked like he did in high school. Kyle had always been the best looking of our group. He was short and still had the gorilla-like build of his youth. When we were younger, Kyle was always there to protect us. He had graduated high school and joined the army. The two of us had lost contact during that first year, but I still ran into his parents every few years, and they had more or less kept me up to speed. Kyle was dressed in an olive green t-shirt and blue cargo pants. A green rucksack lay next to the table.
“I thought you were still in the Army?” I asked, unsure of where to begin.
Kyle nodded his head. “Technically, that’s true,” he said. “But only until they find me. I deserted the army when this shit came down,” he then looked at Violet. “Sorry, I forgot we had a child at the table.”
“I’m not a kid,” said Violet, raising her chin to Kyle. “My mom says shit all the time.”
“And that doesn’t make it okay for you to say it,” scolded Cathy.
Violet gave her a defiant stare. I caught something in her eyes that made me proud of her. The two of us had bonded on our journey and I couldn’t say I was happy to see Cathy when she had arrived at the farm. I wasn’t Violet’s father, but I had made an emotional investment and I felt as protective of her as if she were my own flesh and blood.
“I’ll watch my mouth,” Kyle continued, smiling for the first time since we’d arrived. “Do you know what an Oath Keeper is?” he asked.
“Are you kidding?” asked Cathy. “I’m an Oath Keeper. I deserted my unit when they came looking for me. I’m also in the army. I put my four years in and joined the National Guard. Wow. Small world, huh?”
From that moment on, Kyle and Cathy talked while Violet and I sat and listened. She and I exchanged glances and I knew the kid was thinking exactly what I was thinking. I wasn’t happy about being excluded from the conversation, but my anger was more directed at Cathy than it was at Kyle. Cathy began by telling her story and brought us up to speed on what had happened with Todd’s group. Todd had been killed and I can’t say I was sorry or surprised to hear that. She told a gruesome story and given the company, I found myself wishing she had left out some of the more gruesome details. She also used some four-letter words, which I didn’t appreciate. I knew she was trying to impress Kyle; she used military terms and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, as if she’d seen plenty of action.
Todd and his group had been playing war in a soldier’s world. Just hours after Violet and I had left them, they had attacked a convoy and had been virtually wiped out in less than ten minutes. According to Cathy, Todd had taken a large caliber round to his throat and despite her heroic efforts he had bled out in her arms in less than a minute. Most of the others had suffered a similar fate. Luckily, Cathy had managed to escape and make her way out to the farm.
Kyle listened and shook his head. “You’re lucky to still be alive,” he said. He then began his own story. He was also a member of the National Guard, but he had worked his way up the ladder and had become an officer. I had known this, but little else. “I was in charge of coordinating the integration of the U.N. troops into the local Guard units,” he said, taking a swig from his bottle. “When those troops began to outnumber our own, I had to walk away from the Army. I knew they would come after me, but I also knew that we were all doomed. I wanted to see my parents before they were killed or captured.”
Cathy took Kyle’s bottle and raised it to her lips. When she drank, Violet lightly kicked my shin under the table. We exchanged a knowing glance.
“I was out in the woods,” Kyle said. “My dad wanted me to stash my gear and planned to hide me in the cellar. I heard the trucks when they rolled in. I heard my mom screaming and I knew what was happening. I just knew it. I watched them as they were cuffed and stuffed into the back of a truck. I couldn’t help them. I wanted to help them, but I would have been shot dead. They’ll kill them if I don’t turn myself in. That’s how they do things. I know too much. They can’t have me running around out here.”
“Where are they taking the people from Pine City?” I asked.
“Down to North Branch,” whispered Kyle. “They’ve got a detention center there.”
“You mean a concentration camp,” I corrected.
Kyle shrugged and nodded his head before returning his attention to Cathy. Violet and I sat and listened to them talk. They traded taking nips at the bottle and when they began slurring their words, I got up from the table. I pointed to the bed against the far wall. “Violet,” I said, “why don’t you take your sleeping bag over to that bed over there? You and your mom can sleep there. Kyle, you and I can share the other one. I’m tired and my head hurts. I’d appreciate it if you and Cathy kept it down, okay?”
Kyle gave me a nod. “I’m so happy to see you, Gary,” he said. “I prayed you’d show up. I wasn’t sure if I’d live to see the light of day.”
“Do you think the Army is going to show up?” asked Violet.
“No,” I said, mussing her pageboy hair. “Kyle was thinking stupid thoughts, but he’s not anymore. Are you, Kyle?”
Cathy put her hand over the handgun. “He isn’t,” she said.
Kyle rested his hand on top of Cathy’s. “That’s right,” he said, staring into Cathy’s eyes.
Violet gave them both a look that said that she wouldn’t care if Kyle blew his brains all over the wall. She tore at the shoestrings that held her sleeping bag to her backpack and wordlessly carried it over to the other bed and spread it out. I did the same and Cathy and Kyle continued talking, albeit, in a whisper. I crawled into my sleeping bag and prayed for sleep.
I’m not sure how much later it was, but I felt a hand tapping my shoulder. I looked up in the flickering candlelight and saw Violet. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. The table was empty and Violet and I were alone. I was going to ask her where her mom and Kyle had gone, but then I heard the unmistakable sounds of a man and a woman in the throes of passion. Cathy and Kyle were out in the grass and I fought the urge to scream at them. Violet had her bedroll and I nodded to my bed. She slid against the wall and into her sleeping bag. I slid into mine and put my arm around her protectively. Violet clung to my arm and wept softly. Rarely have I ever felt such rage. My ears burned as Cathy’s moans became more pronounced. Thankfully, the moment soon passed and the crickets blotted out the sounds of their lovemaking.
As angry as I was, I began to doze off. A minute later, I heard the door open and the sound of Cathy giggling. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. Cathy was soon tapping me on the head. I turned to see her pointing at Violet and shaking her head. I nearly leapt to my feet. “The both of you can sleep over there,” I hissed, pointing at the other bed. “You woke us up and I don’t have to tell you what we heard. Do not wake us up again. Do you understand me? Leave us alone.”
“Oh shit,” said Cathy.
“Go to hell, Mom,” sobbed Violet.
“Oh baby,” Cathy pleaded. “This is so embarrassing. We’ve talked about this. You know that’s what big people who like each other do, honey. I’m sorry you had to hear us.”
“Cath,” said Kyle. “Come on, Gary is right. Let’s get to bed and we can sort this out in the morning.”
I glared at Cathy and she shrank away from me. I had said all I was going to say and crawled back into my sleeping bag. No wonder this kid was
screwed up, I thought. I wondered what else she had seen in her short life. I told myself that it was high time I found out. I was so mad that my jaw ached from clenching it. But I kept on clenching it because that’s just what you have to do, sometimes.
The night was slightly cool, but I wasn’t about to surrender one of our sleeping bags to them. They had each other to keep themselves warm. I heard the other bed groan and then someone blew out the candle. After some disgruntled whispering from Cathy to Kyle, silence returned and sometime later both Violet and I fell back to sleep.
I was up at first light and I risked a short nature walk back to the outhouse out at the farm. The morning was cool, but the sky was clear and I knew the day would be warm. In the distance, gunfire popped at regular intervals. My anger returned as I walked. I had never had a child of my own and knew little about raising them, but I didn’t think Cathy was fit to be Violet’s mother. I had a sneaking suspicion that Violet’s grandmother had been responsible for raising her. The little bit that I understood about parenting told me that these were very formative years in Violet’s young life. From what I’d seen and heard of Cathy, she was a terrible parent. I also thought she lacked the moral fiber to raise a twelve-year-old girl. I knew Violet would be better off with me.
I was also angry with Kyle. They both should have had the decency to walk far enough away to be out of earshot of the fort. Violet should never have heard them making love out in the grass. That was disgusting. There was something else that bothered me, and it had to do with Cathy and me. I knew she had slept with Kyle and I was relatively certain that she had slept with Todd, so why hadn’t she been interested in me? After last night, I no longer wanted her, but that didn’t stop me from wondering what she saw in me that she didn’t interest her. The longer I walked, the more this thought burrowed under my skin.
Stealing Second (The Amendments Book One 1) Page 11