Aftermath [Book 0.5]

by J. S. Donovan

  As much as Naomi wanted to give him the biggest hug and longest kiss, she needed to find Trinity. Clenching the knife, she ran out of the apartment. Cal quickly hurried after her.

  Trinity stood in the hall, making herself as small as possible. She had long brown hair that ended at a soft point on the lower back. Her frame was slender and not filled in. Her beautiful green eyes were wet and full of terror.

  Naomi rushed into the hallway. The knife she held was still dripping blood. “Oh God, Trinity,” she exclaimed and embraced her daughter.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Shh,” Naomi squeezed her tighter. “I love you. I love you.”

  It was the first time they’d hugged in a month. Cal limped into the hallway and joined in the hug. The Baxters were together again. They were one. In that moment, they were closer than they were in their fourteen years of marriage. For the first time, there seemed to be hope. The job was done. Their daughter was found. All that was left was to go home.

  The hug ended.

  Naomi fixed Trinity’s shirt. “Did he hurt you?”

  Trinity cast down her eyes. “No, Mom.”

  “Don’t lie. I’ll know if you lie,” Naomi warned her.

  “He… touched me, but that was it.”

  Calving boiled. “I ought to go back in there and kill him.”

  And Naomi was half-inclined to let him.

  Trinity continued. “Greg tried to stop him, but…”

  It was only then that Naomi realized that Greg was sitting so close by with knees pulled to his chest. He had been watching and listening the whole time.

  Calvin walked over to him. “This true?”

  Greg shrugged.

  Calvin stood over him, as if about to scowl at him, and then extended a hand. With hesitation, the boy accepted it and got pulled to his feet. “You got my daughter, myself, and my wife into a mess today, you understand.”

  Greg looked down at his feet.

  Calvin looked over to Naomi.

  She nodded.

  Calvin said to Greg. “Come on. We’ll drop you off at your parents’ house.”

  Greg looked at him like he didn’t understand.

  Naomi, Cal, and Trinity started to walk down the hall. Naomi kept her arm around Trinity. She knew she just cut off a man’s fingers and left him concussed on the floor, but that didn't faze her. Not in the slightest. Naomi looked back at Greg. “You coming?”

  Greg looked back at his brother’s apartment and then followed after them. They journeyed down the stairs, wishing the elevator worked. Adrenaline coursed through all of them. They stepped out into the street, only to see two gangs engaged in a firefight. They took cover behind various vehicles and took shots at one another. Cal gestured for everyone to back away. They stood in the dark of the complex, waiting for the gunfire to die down.

  One of the shooters leaned out from behind a truck and was shot in the shoulder. He fell back, screaming. The rest of people with him started running in the opposite direction of the other shooters. The other shooters chased after them, hunting them like dogs.

  Calvin leaned out to see if the coast was clear. Naomi held tightly to Trinity. Calvin gestured for them to go and they all ran outside. They stayed on the sidewalk close to the building’s walls.

  They twisted down the alley, only to see another gang wearing green bandanas over their mouths and holding an assortment of weapons. From guns to axes, they marched out to take their claim of the street. One of the men had a wheelbarrow full of jewelry, food, and other stolen goods. The Baxters and Greg turned back and dashed across the street to the opposing alley. Another faction with blue bandanas was coming their way. They ran straight down the road as the gunmen emerged and started shooting at each other.

  “Turf war,” Greg explained.

  The Baxters and Greg dashed between two long storage buildings and down the alley.

  They saw the storage unit housing the Land Rover.

  Dim light streamed out of the open roll-up door.

  The four of them slowed as they approached.

  Naomi put her clammy hand on Calvin’s shoulder. His expression was bleak.

  Heart racing, Naomi whispered. “I thought we closed the door.”

  Calvin’s expression grew bleaker. “We did.”

  He glanced around the alley, finding a piece of rebar amidst a pile of broken cinder blocks. Shoulders set, head up, he kept the impromptu weapon by his side and cautiously advanced. Naomi watched nervously. She pulled Trinity close. Greg grabbed a jagged part of the cinderblock and followed after Calvin. The two of them entered the unit, vanishing from Naomi’s sight.

  Naomi’s unblinking eyes locked on the open doors. Breath misted out of her parted lips.

  Seconds ticked by like hours.

  “Mom,” Trinity said quietly.

  Naomi broke her gaze. She turned to her beautiful daughter, who wore a grim expression. She bounced her eyes behind her, seeing a group of four gangbangers silhouetted in the darkness of the alley behind them. Their posture was rigid and hungry, like hyenas on the prowl. The one in the middle, a short man with a bandana covering his scalp and a snow jacket that added inches to his torso, held a small handgun by his side. The weapon’s weight seemed to drag down his left shoulder. The men beside him clenched their own weapons: a crowbar, a survival knife, a baseball bat, and a machete.

  The men surrounding the gunner stepped forward, prowling towards Naomi with no great haste. Naomi darted her eyes between them, knowing how defenseless she was. Not wanting to feed into these men’s ego, she hardened her expression and gently pulled away from Trinity. “Stand behind me,” she said quietly.

  Trinity obeyed with hesitation and took a few steps back, putting herself behind her mother and the predators.

  Naomi shifted her glare between the four of them. “My husband’s coming soon.”

  One of the men cocked his head. A sinister smile curled up the sides of his lips. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah,” Naomi barked. “And he’ll kill you if you lay a hand on me or my daughter.”

  The men looked at each other for a moment and then chuckled.

  It zapped Naomi’s will, but she did well to hide it.

  A shriek of pain rang out from the storage unit. It was followed by silence.

  The man with the gun smiled. “I’m guessing that’s your husband.”

  Fear petrified Naomi.

  The other three men created a wall in front of her. The one with the knife extended his hand.

  “Earrings, purse, necklace, watch.” His cool confidence proved that this wasn’t his first robbery.

  The moment Naomi submitted, they’d want more. It was how people like them worked. They were parasites and vultures who reveled in power. There were only a few things that felt more empowering than robbing someone, none of which she’d wish upon her greatest enemies. Naomi glared at the men. For a long second, no one moved. No one talked.

  “Make me ask again and I’ll take ‘em,” the man said.

  Anger flushing her face, Naomi slung her purse off her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she held out the strap to the man. He took it and quickly gave it to the one with the crowbar. Crowbar guy pulled it open and started to sift through the items inside.

  “Dre,” the one with the bat said in his naturally deep voice. “Wait till we get back.”

  Glaring at his partner, Dre zipped up the purse and slung it over his shoulder.

  Knife guy kept his palm extended. Naomi threw away her pride and handed over her disabled smart watch. Trinity quietly wept behind her. The sound caused Naomi’s stomach to twist.

  Standing paces behind and almost invisible in the blackness night, the gunner watched Trinity with hungry eyes.

  You can show up about now, Cal, Naomi thought spitefully.

  The smart watch was given to Baseball Bat. He pocketed it quickly.

  Knife Guy requested jewelry.

&n
bsp; Naomi spitefully surrendered the amethyst earrings Calvin bought her two anniversaries ago, and the silver cross necklace--a gift from her mother--into the man’s callused hands. He brushed through the items with his fingers. They pleased him. He put them in his back pocket.

  Naomi glared at him, her expression asking if he was finished. Unable to hide his smile from the loot, the man looked past her at Trinity. “She got anything?”

  Naomi gnashed her teeth. As she shook her head, Trinity’s hands extended, cradling her studded earrings, a few bracelets, and a smartphone in her palms. With a cocky grin, the man graciously accepted the offering.

  Rage pumped through Naomi’s being. Good job, Naomi. You’re training your daughter to be a coward.

  Without another word, the three men started back the way they came.

  “Stop,” Gunner commanded with his slow, deep voice. The three bangers instantly halted. Gunner stepped forward, revealing more detail on his face. One eyelid drooped. A teardrop was tattooed on the skin beneath his other eye. The three men waited for his command.

  Naomi turned her head slightly to Trinity, about to tell her to run.

  Gunner lazily raised his pistol, holding it slightly sideways. Its tilted barrel was aimed between the men at Naomi. “Wedding ring.”

  Naomi’s shoulders went slack and her glare broke. Her eyes glossed over. Her tough-girl mask was broken alongside her self-worth and dignity.

  Gunner repeated himself.

  Naomi pinched her wedding ring and struggled to slide it off of her finger. Over the last fourteen years, she had only removed it a handful of times, and only to keep from losing it. It slid past her middle digit and up toward her fingernail.

  An engine roared in the storage unit.

  The bangers froze, confused by the noise.

  Tires screeching, the Land Rover reversed out of the unit and straightened out. Its bright lights blinded the Bangers, Naomi, and Trinity alike.

  Gunner rose up his hand to block the light and squinted. “What the hell?”

  “Naomi! Move!” Calvin’s voice shouted just as the vehicle charged forward. Naomi took Trinity’s hand and dashed to the nearest wall, pressing as close as she could to it as the Land Rover raced by. Holding their pants up, the thugs sprinted away, shouting curses as they reached the end of the alley and parted to the left and right.

  Letting his team run by, Gunner took aim at the vehicle and fired shots as the vehicle slammed into his hip. Screaming, it launched him three yards as the brakes screeched.

  The very back door opened and Greg yelled at them. “Hurry up!”

  Naomi steered Trinity in front of her and darted for the back of the vehicle. Greg grabbed Trinity’s wrist and pulled her up. Naomi scrambled in by herself. The moment both her legs were inside, Calvin reversed the vehicle at top speed. The door slammed shut behind Naomi as the Rover raced backwards out of the alley.

  Naomi caught a quick glimpse of the storage unit where they’d parked. Two bloodied thugs were curled up on the floor, moaning in pain.

  Dre rushed back into the alley and ran for Gunner’s pistol. Calvin, reaching the end of the alley, whipped the car back and to the left. They swerved into the next street over as Dre got the gun and fired a few shots, missing them. Cal straightened up the Rover, put it into Drive, and sped down the cluttered streets.

  7

  9:45 P.M

  Naomi sat on one of the bench seats. She was hunched over, her elbow resting just past her knee and her fingers rubbing her forehead. The subtle missing weight of her stolen earrings, necklace, and watch nagged at her. At least she still had her ring.

  Greg and Trinity sat across from her with a few inches in between them. They were both stiff and avoided all eye contact. Trinity hugged herself and her teeth chattered. Calvin had the heat cranked up, but Trinity’s leggings and thin jacket weren’t enough for the outside world.

  They weaved through the Badlands, witnessing a group of people smashing into a store, a knife fights, two more muggings, and a shootout. Calvin had learned to avoid all the main roads and any people. In silence, they reached Fishtown.

  Trinity looked out the window, frustration and annoyance written on her face. “Where are we going?”

  Cal pulled up in front of Watts’s house. He glanced up the rearview mirror at the fourteen-year-old boy. “We’ll wait until you’re inside.”

  Greg nodded at him, showing him the proper amount of respect before scooting over to the back door.

  “Hey,” Trinity panicked. “Where’s he going? Shouldn’t we take him with us? Greg?”

  Already having opened the door, Greg looked over his shoulder. “Bye, Trinity.”

  “Greg!”

  He hopped out and closed the door.

  Jaw dropping, Trinity turned to her mother. “He needs to come with us.”

  Naomi glared at her.

  Greg knocked on the front door to his house.

  “Mom, come on. You know how crazy it is out there.”

  Naomi glared at her. “He’s not coming with us.”

  “But--”

  “No,” Naomi said with authority.

  Trinity sank back in her seat, grinding her jaw back and forth. Then, in a sudden act of defiance, she darted for the door. Naomi grabbed her wrist and yanked her hand from the handle. “Sit. Down.”

  “It was his brother who tried to rape me, not him,” Trinity said, trying to pull herself from her mother’s death grip. “Let go, you’re hurting me.”

  Naomi squeezed tighter.

  “Ow,” Trinity moaned. “Stop, Mom.”

  “Get your butt back into your seat, buckle up, and shut your mouth,” Naomi said, letting go of the girl.

  Meanwhile, Watts opened the door and ushered Greg inside. He waved goodbye to Calvin and slammed the door.

  Seeing this, Trinity moved back to her seat and scowled. “I hate you.”

  “Oh, you do?” Naomi asked sarcastically. “Do you have the slightest idea of what your father and I had to go through to get you?”

  Trinity scoffed.

  Furious, Naomi exited out the back door and slammed it shut. She stormed to the passenger door and took a seat next to Calvin.

  A small smudge of blood and a tuft of hair clung to the piece of rusty rebar laid across his lap. He had a black eye, a busted lip, and a small dark spatter on his coat. Unblinking, he kept his gaze looking straight ahead as he accelerated away from the Watts house.

  A few loose wires hung out of the dash near the steering wheel. It looked like someone had tried to hot wire the vehicle. On the foot of the passenger side was a cracked lantern that wasn’t owned by them. Naomi didn’t know exactly what happened in that storage unit, and this wasn’t the right time to ask.

  After a few minutes of heavy silence, Calvin spoke. His tone was quiet. “I’ll get the windows boarded up when we get home. Can you find us something to eat?”

  “It’s going to be last night’s cold lasagna,” Naomi said without apology. They needed to preserve their non-perishables. If tonight was any indication of how the following the days would be, they needed to start rationing now and avoid outside contact as much as possible. The unpleasantness of the situation annoyed Naomi, but at least she had her family back. They would suffer together.

  Snow fell on the desolate streets. Stores vomited glass across the concrete while gas station doors were broken apart. The wind howled, picking up debris as it raced between the tall, abandoned buildings. Street vendors had deserted their stands. Forsaken shopping bags littered the sidewalk. No one walked the streets. Philly was a ghost town. Naomi looked at it with disgust. “Maybe we should just leave?”

  “And go where?” Calvin replied harshly. It was impossible to tell if her question had set him off or if that was just a result of their current circumstance.

  Naomi leaned back in her seat. Despite the warm air being blasted at her, she locked her fingers together to hide their trembling. “My brother’s.”

  “That
’s three hundred miles south,” Calvin replied. “How are we going to make it down there? We don’t even have GPS.”

  “We’ll use a map,” Naomi replied.

  Calvin clenched his jaw.

  Naomi put her hand on his knee. He went tense, then settled. Naomi looked up at his damaged face. “We have to try.”

  “Naomi,” he said sternly as if speaking to a child. “This city is our home. We can’t just leave everything.”

  “This place has gone to hell,” Naomi pointed out. “I thought you’d want to go.”

  “You’re talking about giving up on everything.” Calvin turned to her with a hardened expression. “I can’t. I won’t.”

  He turned back to the road. Naomi looked out the window. She knew him well enough to know that his ways were set.

  The road back to Society Hill was a quiet one. The snowfall had picked up immensely. Temperatures had fallen drastically. On their way through the upscale neighborhood, they saw a massive fire reaching for the sky. The wind and snow caused the spikes of blaze to flicker, dance, rise, fall, and rise again. Naomi and Cal leaned forward in their seats, silently trying to guess which of their neighbors lost their home.

  They weaved through the streets, getting closer to their home and closer to the fire. It had to be near their house. If there was still water, they might be able to lend a hand to the unfortunate family.

  They turned to 3rd Street and looked past the Hinkles, the Smiths, the Barkleys, and finally to their townhouse engulfed by fire.

  Naomi covered her mouth. Calvin’s jaw dropped. Trinity gasped. They pulled to a stop in front of the house. The dancing fire reflected in their bloodshot eyes. Their house’s window had shattered under the heat. The rubbernecking neighbors across the street watched the dancing flames through parted blinds.