The Life After War Collection

by Angela White

  Once again covered, the three canines huddled together miserably and waited for the endless ride to be finished. It was dark. A full day had gone by without Sally stopping for anything except bathroom or fuel. Dog was positive he’d now passed his female.

  The bumpy ride smoothed out suddenly, and Dog braved the cold to poke his head out of the only hole. It put him in Sally’s lap and she nuzzled his soft fur like a pack mate while studying the house ahead of them in the headlights. She hadn’t been here since before the war. It looked exactly the same…except for the missing sight of her mother staggering down the front stairs to greet her as she got off the school bus each afternoon.

  Dog swept the log house and then the small pond. Frozen, there were three furry shapes sliding across the surface. The area around the house was a mix of woods and suburb, but the large cabin still appeared out of place among the fabricated homes. Dog stayed quiet, hoping Sally’s pets would. They could not assume the people or the animals were friendlier in the north. The snow shifted and the shapes vanished in the darkness.

  The furry forms reappeared near the garage of the home that Sally was trying to reach. She saw three big birds land on the roof. The vulture’s aggressive stances suggested they now ate more than roadkill. She swept the other rooftops and found too many shadows glaring toward her headlamps.

  Dog whined uneasily, increasing her anxiety.

  The storm began to calm as the animals milled around and the wind dropped low enough to hear the sounds of nails clicking and tapping. Animals snorted and huffed, frozen ground cracked.

  “Not good.”

  Dog nudged her arm. Come on!

  Sally slowly took out a small box. Finger on the red button, she gunned them forward. Wind and snow battered the vehicle.

  The wolf ducked under the cover, regarding the two shivering dogs. Stay down.

  The two dogs didn’t respond. They’d stopped speaking shortly after the ride started. Dog was positive they were on the verge of vomiting again.

  Sally hit the button, hoping the fresh batteries would respond. To her shock and pleasure, the garage door began rolling up. She’d honestly thought she would have to go through it.

  Sally slowed, trying to keep them from slamming into the house as they plunged inside the garage. The ATV did thump against the wall of the cabin and Sally winced, hoping it hadn’t done real damage. She hit the button again to lower the door.

  It didn’t respond this time and Sally climbed from the lightly smoking ATV and hurried to the door to do it manually.

  Dog stayed with her, ready to bite anything that came too close, but none of the outside animals reacted to their entry except the vulture that flew away. It was almost as if the other creatures hadn’t even seen them, when Dog knew differently.

  Sally stared through the tiny garage window for a long moment, noticing the same things as the wolf. The animals out there hadn’t reacted to their arrival. They just glowered at the house.

  She rubbed Dog’s fur gently. “Let’s get fed, huh?”

  Sally made sure the door to the house was secured and then set up camp for the night. In the morning, when there was light to view by, she would explore the cabin. For now, the garage was a smaller space to heat.

  Sally quickly had a small fire vented through the garage window, and a hot meal bubbling in a pot. She hadn’t been able to bring many of the things she needed, but this home had been setup for survival the last time she’d been here. It was where her father had taught her to hunt, to fish, to cower in fear of his belt.

  Sally curled into a corner in her sleeping bag and the three animals slowly joined her, after sniffing and relieving themselves. She didn’t mind the smell, though in the morning she would make it clear that only this room would be used for that purpose. If the backyard still had the tall privacy fence around it, then this room could be kept clean.

  Sally let sleep pull her under as Dog’s heavy body settled onto her feet. The small mutts were already on her chest and stomach.

  The woman was more animal than human, and Dog found it comforting. Life had been much like this before Marc had started chasing his own mate and the wolf went to sleep feeling safe despite their surroundings. Maybe this could be home while he waited for his female to catch up.

  2

  “What should we do?”

  Jeff shrugged in the darkness. “Leave her alone. Wait for her to go.”

  “She had a remote for the garage,” Kevin whispered. “She lives here!”

  They’d been enjoying a cup of hot chocolate with Musketeers bars melting in when they’d heard the engine and spotted the headlights.

  Jeff was busy scanning the woman, wondering why she felt familiar. “Hang on.”

  Kevin stared apprehensively at the garage door from the dark kitchen, still trying to recover from hearing an engine and then having it actually come to the one home on the block that was occupied. They’d hurriedly shut off all the lights and noises. Kevin had almost wet himself after two weeks of peace and quiet. With all the snow, neither of them had thought to see people so soon.

  “Trouble,” Jeff muttered. But after Crista’s death, he didn’t have the heart to hurt the woman. “We’re having company.”

  Kevin’s brows came together in confusion. “Someone we know?”

  “One of them,” Jeff replied. “Gather the weapons and take a watch. We’ll make contact when I get up.”

  Kevin had no trouble following Jeff’s orders. The man was a survival whiz and he’d already kept them out of bad spots more than once. He had also found this home, which had an amazing setup for this type of lifestyle. Once Jeff had added his touches, it had become a good place to lie low for the winter.

  Jeff climbed into his warm hammock in the back bedroom, now eager to grab a few hours of sleep. He was positive he would need them once the woman discovered she wasn’t alone. He examined the pictures on the wall and grimaced as he flipped off his headlamp. He recognized the images. In the middle of an apocalypse, he’d picked a house that still had an owner.

  3

  Sally woke to the smell of frying meat and leapt to her feet, startling all three animals. They’d already smelled it and begun to drool.

  Sally ran to the garage door as she realized there were voices coming from inside the home, but the sight of a huge black bear on the front lawn convinced her she wasn’t better off outside. Hoping in vain that she hadn’t been noticed yet, or that the people had arrived after her, Sally got her gun and approached the door. She was hoping to listen and determine what to do next.

  She wasn’t prepared for the door to swing open as soon as she leaned on it.

  Kevin quickly snatched the weapon from the surprised woman and pointed it at her. “Who are you?”

  The tall woman was bundled up in jeans, boots, and a black coat that went all the way to her knees. Her hair was hidden under a mask and all they could really tell was that she had brown eyes and no lips.

  Sally slowly stood up, not sure what the bristling wolf at her heels would do. “This is my house. Who are you?”

  When she didn’t rush them or even appear angry, Jeff lowered his weapon. He signaled for Kevin to remain trained on her in the dim morning light.

  “We’ve been here for two weeks, waiting out storms. When this one breaks, we’ll go,” Jeff told her. He’d thought about keeping the place, but it was her home. If they turned her out, where would she go? After Crista’s death, Jeff couldn’t do it.

  Before Sally could reply, the wolf padded into the room, followed by the two bouncy little dogs that squeaked as they landed. Tiny claws skidded across the kitchen floor and vanished into the rear rooms.

  The wolf stopped in front of Kevin, golden eyes on the gun.

  Kevin slowly lowered the weapon, gaping. “Dog?”

  Dog snorted and followed the two smaller mutts to keep them out of trouble.

  Sally’s scowl covered what they could see of her profile. “Safe Haven?”

  Jef
f and Kevin both took offense at the way she spat the words, but neither rebuked her. They had their own issues.

  “Not anymore,” Jeff answered, not liking the impression he was getting. Suddenly worried they’d let in a big problem, Jeff ignored the flinch to haul her over to the nearest chair. He jerked her mask off and dropped it in her lap. “Who are you and what do you know about Safe Haven?”

  Kevin thought to protest, but he remembered how many assassins and traitors they’d dealt with and lost people to over the last months. Was the brown haired woman one of the few who had escaped Angela’s justice? Kevin had no sympathy. He wanted them all dead. If not for the government and Mexicans hounding them, Cynthia wouldn’t have shot anyone and turned to Adrian for an outlet. She wouldn’t be pregnant and he would be the one sliding into her at night–not Daryl.

  Kevin winced at his thoughts. He’d been trying very hard not to consider it at all.

  Realizing she needed to be careful, Sally said, “I had a home until some of those people came through. This is…was, my father’s house.”

  That explains that young photos, Jeff thought. He settled into the chair across from her, considering their options. He had a bad feeling about letting her stay, but he was also reluctant to send her out to a frozen death. And, Dog was with her. Jeff had always found the wolf to be a great judge of character.

  “We’ll leave after the storm breaks,” Jeff repeated, gesturing for Kevin to close the garage door. “You’ll stay here in the living room, where we can keep an eye on you.”

  Instead of the pleading or rage he was expecting, Sally rubbed at her arms and glared.

  “You have to sleep sometime.”

  Jeff lunged forward to place his gun against her temple.

  Sally snarled, “I’m not afraid you of! Shoot me!”

  Startled by the rabid response, Jeff holstered his gun and took out the handcuffs. “I have other plans.”

  Sally screamed.

  Dog came running, followed by the two squeakers.

  Kevin drew his weapon, not sure who to shoot.

  “The wolf!” Jeff shouted, struggling to cuff sally’s hands in front of her. “Damn, lady. I didn’t mean it that way!”

  Sally continued to scream until Jeff moved back and then the noise cut off abruptly. An eager grin came over her weather-beaten face as he rotated to find Dog snarling, fur in full bristle.

  Jeff, running on instinct because there wasn’t time to think, said, “Tell me she’s safe to leave loose and I’ll cut her free.”

  Dog growled again, but couldn’t follow through. The woman was definitely dangerous.

  Jeff walked away and Kevin holstered again, already tired of the drama. The last two weeks were so peaceful!

  Dog padded to Sally and sat down in front of her, head swinging between the two men.

  Kevin stayed on his post at the front window of the house, unable to count all the animal tracks in the light snow that had come in overnight. While Jeff slept, they’d had a migration come through and the variety in it had been astounding. What was more shocking was that the creatures had been going north, not south like when Safe Haven had come across moving herds. It was as if the animals were being drawn by something.

  Jeff resumed their morning ritual of breakfast and music, flipping on the iPad he’d connected to a nice speaker system. With Kevin on duty in the front and the wolf now here, Jeff felt safe enough to increase the volume a bit and enjoy what so many of them had taken for granted nearly every day of their old lives.

  The deer steaks didn’t take long and Jeff made three plates, thinking that at least the animal migrations provided a steady diet. With winter here and the herds coming through, he and Kevin already had a nice stock of meat. They would continue to add to it.

  Sally studied the two men, glad of the warmth in the room and the wolf settling down on top of her cold feet. The trip here had numbed her and when she woke, she hadn’t had time to notice how cold the garage had become. Her toes were still icy.

  Kevin spotted a nice buck and slowly eased the window open. He picked up the Winchester from the window ledge.

  “Baggin’ one,” Kevin called, easing the window open. He quickly took aim and fired.

  Sally flinched at the report, as did Dog. The animals outside stared in avid hatred as the body fell.

  “Headin’ out for it,” Kevin called, pushing the window open to climb down.

  Jeff set the spatula aside and came over to cover Kevin from the window. He would take the carcass to the cleaning area that they’d chosen to set up in the backyard. From his position, Jeff could observe him until he shut the gate.

  Instantly sorry that he hadn’t grabbed his coat, Kevin ran to the buck and grabbed it by the hoof to drag away. He slipped and slid, but it wasn’t hard to transport the warm body across the icy ground. He was quickly into the backyard with it and had the gate locked. Too stubborn to stop and go in for his coat, Kevin began skinning and cleaning the deer. He and Jeff had gotten quicker at it and he was confident that he would be fine for the ten minutes it would take to get done and hang it up.

  In the other corner of the snow-covered yard, a small tunnel under the fence glared in unnoticed danger as furious animals studied the laboring man hungrily.

  4

  Inside the cool house, Jeff hurried toward the kitchen without reacting to the cuffed woman’s flinch or Dog’s low growl. He could smell the steaks burning and chose to leave the window cracked to vent the harsh odor.

  Sally stuck out a foot as the intimidating man went by and he tripped, falling into the wide coffee table with a loud crash.

  Jeff groaned as his head struck the corner and he slid to the floor.

  Dog leapt to his feet, startled, and Sally rose, going to the prone man. She slid his gun and knife free, then dug for the keys to the cuffs.

  In the front of the house, the black bear returned, coming straight for the front window where the rifle was still laying. The smells and sounds of people were not supposed to be here.

  Sally rushed to the garage door with the knife in her teeth and the gun in her cuffed hands, struggling to open the door and not drop either weapon. She stumbled into the garage and shut the door to protect her pets, then quickly went to the ATV. She hadn’t found anything in the man’s pockets, but she’d brought her own cuffs and, her own keys.

  She was loose a minute later and the smell of smoke drew her notice. Something was burning. She remembered the cooking food and reluctantly went back to the door. She didn’t want her pets to burn.

  Sally saw the man was still on the floor and hurried to shut the propane off. As she spun around, she realized she could hear the other one screaming from the backyard. Guilt slapped her and then terror followed as she saw the huge bear in the open window. The gigantic head was inside the window, lips drawn back as it scented the room.

  Dog was in front of the bear, as were her pets. All three of them were growling but not barking, and Sally hesitated. The Winchester was on the ledge under the window, but she didn’t think she could get to it without being bitten or clawed, and if the bear chose to climb–

  The bear began to heft itself through the window.

  Dog growled harshly and the two small dogs yapped furiously.

  Close the window! a voice shouted in her mind.

  Sally rushed forward and slammed both palms into it, hitting the bear in the nose with the glass.

  The bear flinched in confusion and Sally quickly snapped the lock in place, lungs burning from the air she’d forgotten to take in through her terror.

  The bear roared angrily, rattling the pane as it pressed against the cold glass.

  Sally stumbled backward, panting in fear.

  A hand wrapped around her ankle…

  Sally screamed.

  Jeff jerked the woman down as the vulture swooped. It had come in the window while Sally was in the garage. Jeff hadn’t been able to see anything for a minute due to the head bump, but he’d heard every no
ise–including the bear trying to enter their den.

  Dog lunged as the vulture dove again.

  Jeff covered the woman as the two animals fought for dominance, and he awkwardly got to his sidearm. There wasn’t a clear shot, however, and he finally had to roll them out of the way and under the protection of the kitchen table.

  The two small dogs joined the wolf, snapping and growling, biting where they could reach. The two main rooms were heavily damaged with splintering bookshelves and chairs.

  A piercing cry echoed and then silence fell.

  Jeff scanned the chaos and found Dog’s teeth clamped around the vulture’s face. He hurried over to put his gun against its head and signaled Dog back.

  Used to laboring with the Eagles, Dog responded immediately and Jeff pulled the trigger.

  The vulture slumped to the floor as blood pooled and Jeff dragged the carcass to the window.

  He picked up the rifle. “Get over here. When I tell you to, open the window and swing it easy. I need all the time you can give me.”

  Sally didn’t think of arguing and she took a place nervously, flinching as the screams from the backyard increased in volume.

  “Now.”

  Sally flipped the lock and gave a firm push.

  The window swung open, a bit too quickly, and Jeff tried to narrow his aim as the bear immediately crowded into the opening. He ducked in and shoved the gun under the bear’s thick neck.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Jeff kept firing even after the animal stopped advancing to make sure it was dead. A 30-30 was light for a bear this size.

  Sally retreated from the bloody, damaged room, shocked and angry. My house!

  Jeff spun toward the backyard, aware that Kevin’s screams had stopped.

  5

  Kevin kicked at the vulture when it tried to follow him under the picnic table. He’d been swarmed with the birds before he could even draw his weapon.