TRIAL: A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Thriller

by Murray Mcdonald

  He remembered the address Roger had given him. He had memorized it without effort, stamped into his mind for eternity. He licked his lips as he watched her cycle away, knowing he’d have her one day. He felt his loins stir just at the thought. Something he’d struggled to do the previous two nights with naked and almost willing women laying before him.

  Two horsemen trotted past him.

  “Where you going?” he quizzed.

  “Patrol.”

  “On whose orders?”

  Both looked at each other in the dimness of the lantern lights that struggled to offer even the faintest of detail in the base compound.

  “Yours, I think. We have to have six riders patrolling the perimeter twenty-four-seven. We’re just about to relieve two of the six.”

  “Is that you, Neil?” asked Trey, recognizing the voice rather than seeing the man’s features. Neil was one of the main stable men and one of Bob’s key men.

  “Yeah,” replied Neil. “And Eddie.”

  “Excellent. Get me another horse,” commanded Trey, his smile hidden in the dimness as his plan formulated in his mind.

  The six outriders extending their perimeter was overkill, and once the sentry points and machine gun nests were in place, really should have been discontinued. If nothing else to allow the horses a good rest through the night.

  A few minutes later, he pulled himself on to a horse and joined Neil and Eddie as they rode out to relieve two militia members.

  “Okay, you four, maintain the perimeter,” Trey instructed. “Neil, Eddie, you’re with me.” As his eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness, he picked up the speed, the clop of the hooves on the tarmac echoing off into the distance. With little background noise at night to cover their progress, the sound of the horses was deafening, but any other route in the darkness was not only impractical but eminently dangerous.

  “Where are we going?” asked Eddie as they cantered along the riverside road.

  “Wherever the hell I tell you!” was Trey’s answer. His focus was almost entirely on the prize that lay ahead. After twenty minutes, they slowed. The road took a sharp left and in the distance, Trey could just make out the bridge ahead.

  “Whoa!” he commanded, bringing all three horses to a halt. He looked around in the darkness. Only the sharp blackness of the tarmac offered any real idea of their reference point.

  “What are you looking for?” asked Neil carefully, conscious of Trey’s previous reaction.

  “Warm Springs Mesa,” replied Trey, continuing to try and see beyond the darkness.

  “Oh yeah, no problem. That’s up there,” pointed Eddie.

  Trey could sense the man was pointing, but couldn’t see where. “Lead the way!” he commanded.

  “Be careful, we just have to get down on to the old road,” cautioned Eddie, striding forward before slowing his pace. Waiting for the others to catch up, he weaved around what Trey guessed was a gate before once again, picking up speed. The blackness of the road broke off in three directions. Eddie took the right and they immediately started to climb. Trey’s smile returned along with the growth in his loins. “East Hard Rock Drive,”’ advised Trey.

  “Yep, I know it.”

  “You know the area well?”

  “I was a cabbie, so I hope so!” replied Eddie.

  “Wait a minute, Warm Springs Mesa. I was at the supermarket, it’s not that redhead, is it?” asked Eddie.

  Trey could hear the excitement in his voice.

  “She’s mine. I’m sure we’ll find you boys someone else to amuse you up here!”

  “You know Bob said we wouldn’t cause any more trouble in Warm Springs Mesa,” said Neil warily. Damned if he did, damned if he didn’t, he was stuck between two guys that scared the shit out of him. He didn’t know much about Trey, but knew enough to know he was a loose cannon. The only person who had any control over him was Bob. How real that control was and how much was show in front of the militia men, he didn’t know. To the outside world, the two were tight, real tight, and getting in between them was not somewhere Neil had any intention of getting.

  “I’ll let you know what Bob does and doesn’t need to know about what I do!” replied Trey. Neither Eddie nor Neil missed the threatening tone.

  “I was just sayin’,” offered Neil with his hands raised, not that Trey could see them, it just felt like the right thing to do.

  The rest of the ride was in silence, both of Trey’s companions having been put in their place.

  “It’s the next street on the left,” said Eddie, breaking the silence.

  “Stop here,” commanded Trey, bringing his horse to a halt and hopping down.

  Neil and Eddie complied, following Trey’s instructions and joining him at the end of the street on foot.

  “She’s number six. We’ll approach quietly. Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise,” chuckled Trey. Neither Neil nor Eddie joined in the humor, it had been made clear they were along for support, there wasn’t going to be any reward for them.

  With each passing day, the sun dropped earlier in the evening sky, lengthening the hours of darkness as winter edged ever nearer. It was barely nine pm as they slipped past the houses, all in darkness. Candles were a finite resource and the inhabitants of the street were already becoming accustomed to their new regime. With no entertainment on offer outside of books to read, which required candlelight, darkness meant sleep. With everything requiring more effort to achieve, it seemed sleep had become almost second nature, even to those who’d previously suffered insomnia. Minds were far less cluttered when all you had to worry about was food, water, warmth and sanitation. Worries about jobs, money and the future were already fading, and not even a week had passed.

  Trey tapped Eddie on the shoulder and sent him around back. Their eyes struggled against the almost complete darkness. Only the blackness of the house against the night skyline, gave any hint as to their location. Trey waited for Eddie to get in position before moving towards the front door. Again, blocks of darkness led the way, the driveway’s solid lines giving little help as to where they were.

  “Shit, it’s dark!” said Neil needlessly as they edged towards where they believed the door to be.

  A scuffle before a thump emphasized just how dark it was. “Fu–”

  “Shh…” warned Trey as Neil fell to the ground.

  A dog barking next door stopped them both in their tracks, a slow deep lazy woof, slowly followed by another.

  Trey rested his hand on Neil’s head, stopping him from moving. Three barks, Trey waited for another. When it never came, he released Neil and let him stand up.

  “A bike or something, I think,” whispered Neil, explaining himself. Trey was not interested. He was already edging towards the door. His hand reached out for the handle and twisted it gently. Unsurprisingly, it was locked.

  The sound of locks being opened cut through the silence. Trey stepped back and looked to his left. A door creaked open. The slow deep drawl of the elderly dog barking escaped into the night sky.

  “Who’s there?” came a shout, the voice as old as the dog’s bark.

  Chapter 28

  Kate slipped from the bed and gathered her children around her, shushing them as she woke them. She looked to her bedside table where she knew the phone sat useless while pulling her kids in close, not that it was going to be of any use. She stood. She needed to act, not cower. Keeping the kids safe was the priority. She stumbled forward, leading the way to the basement. She remembered Tim telling her how secure it was, the door was solid wood and opened outwards. Meaning unlike most doors, a well-placed boot and sheer force wouldn’t get through. It had to be pulled open and with a couple of large bolts for added security, should the need ever arise, that’d be no mean feat.

  The only problem was that the door to the basement lay downstairs and near the front door. If they made it before whoever was prowling around gained entry, it would be fine, but if not… she didn’t even want to think about that scenario. She
’d be delivering her babies into the face of danger.

  “Quick!” she whispered, ushering them as they felt their way in the darkness down the corridor and towards the stairs. Hank’s barks gave them an added incentive. He rarely interrupted his sleep. If he was barking, there was definitely someone around.

  Kate led the way tentatively, taking each step carefully and ensuring her weight was spread before taking her next step. The kids followed suit, and all four descended silently towards the unknown. They could only hope their home had yet not been breached.

  “Who’s there?” Harry’s voice carried through the night. Hopefully, his very presence would scare whoever they were away. If not, Kate was sure his double-barreled shotgun would be backing up his shouts.

  “Get back inside before you get yourself hurt, old man!”

  The angry shout came from just outside the front door. Whoever was there was at their house. Kate’s heart pounded in her chest. Up until that moment they’d been random prowlers. Now, she knew they were at her house and were a danger to her babies. She cleared the bottom step and it was just a few yards to the basement door. She felt for its handle in the darkness.

  “Get away from there before I…”

  Hank’s barking drowned out the rest of Harry’s words, his slow lazy woof had suddenly turned into a frenzied assault, unlike anything Kate had heard from him before.

  Footsteps outside began to crash, quick and heavy, not those of an old man. The sound diminished with each step. More than one man. Whoever they were, they were rushing towards Harry. Kate couldn’t worry about Harry, she had to get her babies safe. After that, she would do what she could. Her hand fell on the handle and she pulled the door open, but it stopped after a few inches.

  Kate screamed and pulled with all her might to get the door fully open.

  Eddie, who had made it through the back patio doors with ease, had walked into the hallway just as Kate had started to open the door. He couldn’t see in the darkness and had assumed he had walked into a wall until it started pushing against him, throwing him off balance and knocking him to the ground.

  A blast caught everyone by surprise and silenced Hank’s wild barking, at least for a short while. Kate shoved Sophie, Ava, and Danny into the basement, kicking wildly at the man at her feet.

  “Lock the door!” she screamed, pushing the door closed as the man grabbed her ankle and pulled her down on top of him. Kate wasn’t going down without a fight. She angled her elbow and ensured the point met the man below her with her full weight and every ounce of strength behind it. A satisfying expulsion of air was proceeded by her ankle being released. Kate sprang to her feet. Her attacker was still struggling to work out what the hell was happening, while Kate ensured her kids had bolted the basement door. She pulled on the door, but it didn’t budge so much as a fraction of an inch. With her kids safe for the moment, she rushed to the front door. She couldn’t leave Harry to deal with the trouble on his own. After all, he was protecting them and not himself.

  She pulled open the front door and rushed outside. Two flashes in the darkness lit up the scene before her as the sound waves echoed out across the valley. Harry’s shots must have been a warning to the prowlers, both seemed unhurt. Unlike the return fire they sent back, both bullets hit Harry, making his body contort one way then another. Kate’s scream was answered by Hank’s pitiful howl, thanks to a boot from one of the prowlers which landed with a sickening thud. His whimpers in the darkness were all that remained as the violence ended. Harry lay silent. Even in the darkness, his lack of movement was visible.

  Kate sprinted back into the house, slamming the door behind her.

  “Come back for Eddie, have we?” asked the prowler. His teeth eerily visible through the darkness.

  Kate felt as agile as she ever had. Although she knew her competition days were well behind her, her fitness levels had been maintained, not necessarily out of choice but of necessity, a mother’s work was never done. She launched herself towards the teeth and threw out her foot. She wasn’t any martial arts expert, but she had the moves and capability to do with her body what most people couldn’t. For her height, she could jump far higher than most. Her gymnastic skills came to the fore, her leg swung out, locking at the knee and her full force travelled through her foot and into Eddie’s face. His body collapsed beneath Kate, her momentum carrying her on and over his body, landing almost noiselessly behind him. He hadn’t seen a thing, nor had any idea where she was.

  “Bitch!” he screamed, sweeping his arms out in an attempt to catch her within his grasp.

  A kick to the front door sent it crashing into the hallway wall.

  “Where’s that little cutie?” crowed Trey as he entered.

  “Guys!” a panicked shout from behind Trey, caught his and Eddie’s attention. They both looked out and the darkness had gone as a few oil lanterns tried desperately to cast their light across the area, making their way towards the house.

  “Put your gun down!” commanded a voice from behind the lanterns.

  Trey shut the front door, leaving Neil outside to cope with whoever was there. He had all he needed. Kate was there and she was just as feisty as he had hoped.

  “It looks like there are quite a few of them,” warned Eddie, noting the number of lanterns.

  “It’s dark and they’ll not want to harm the family. I’ll have my fun and we’ll be gone out the back before daybreak.”

  “And Neil?”

  “He can look after himself. Now, where is she?”

  “In the kitchen, I think. She put her kids in the basement before I had a chance to stop her,” he replied, picking himself up uneasily. She had caught him perfectly on the chin and there was every chance, from the pain going through his jaw, that it was broken.

  “Kids? More than one?”

  “Yeah, she’s got two daughters and a son.”

  “What age are the daughters?”

  “One’s quite young, but the other, she’s a fine…”

  The clang of the pot hitting his skull echoed through the enclosed hallway, but the damage was already done. He had revealed that Sophie was in the basement. She didn’t know who Eddie was, but he obviously knew her from before. There was no way in the darkness, he could have known about Ava and in particular, Sophie.

  Trey laughed heartily as Eddie hit the floor for a second time.

  “I’m going to screw that spirit right out of you,” he shouted down the hallway towards the darkness of the kitchen. “But I think I’ll practice on that daughter of yours first!”

  Trey felt his way to the basement door and pulled, but it failed to move. He raised his pistol and shot into the lock, it still failed to move. Screams escaped from below as the holes in the door let the sound flow.

  “Trey’s comin’,” shouted Trey eerily, lifting his pistol and emptying a clip into the hinges. The door fell away from the opposite side. Whatever Trey was, he wasn’t going to let a door get between him and his goal. He ripped the door back to reveal a dim light, the candles below lit up the staircase. Before he’d taken a step, he was forced down the hallway, crashing onto the carpet. The sweet smell of woman covered him. He became instantly erect as she thrashed wildly at him.

  “Eddie?” he said calmly as punch after punch landed. Suddenly, the livewire was being hoisted off and a wildly flung kick caught him square on the nose, and he felt the cartilage give way. It wasn’t its first break, but it was the first time he’d enjoyed it.

  Eddie tried to stand with his legs apart as Kate continued to swing her legs wildly in an attempt to connect with whatever she could. Her arms were held aloft as Eddie struggled to keep her restrained under her constant struggle.

  “Put your guns down and come out!” came a command from outside.

  “Take her down to the basement,” commanded Trey. He’d had enough of being told what to do. “And remember, she’s mine!”

  Eddie smiled, noted loud and clear, which meant the daughter could be his.

>   Another kick from Kate landed on his shin. He winced and threw her unceremoniously down the rest of the stairs. Kate landed with a crack, her world suddenly dulled as the force of the impact made her world spin. Her kids’ screams as Eddie progressed slowly down the stairs faded into the background as the darkness consumed her. She was aware of a sustained gunfire from above, but her mind was struggling to make any sense, until it couldn’t.

  Chapter 29

  “Wake up!”

  The banging at the door increased, the urgency of whoever was knocking was growing by the second.

  “Gary, will you wake up?!” pleaded his wife. It had been a long day for the sheriff’s deputy, ensuring that Warm Springs Mesa remained safe and the darkness had been a welcome diversion.

  “Wh...wha…what is it?” he rubbed at his eyes, the banging on his front door below bringing him straight into the present. “What the hell…” he jumped out of bed. The candlelight his wife had lit failed to offer any help in identifying who was battering at their door.

  He grabbed his sidearm and raced downstairs, pulling his pants and shirt on as he negotiated the pitch-dark stairs at breakneck speed.

  “Who’s there!” he demanded as he reached the bottom step. He remained behind the stair wall, keeping it between him and his front door.

  ‘Gabe. I’m on night watch duty. Three horseback riders have breached our perimeter!”

  “Give me a minute!” Gary shouted, pulling his boots on.

  “Honey, lock the door behind me!” he instructed before joining Gabe on his doorstep.

  “How many men have you alerted?”

  “We should have about ten.”

  “Good, where are the riders?”

  “East Hard Rock Drive.”

  “Ahh, shit!”

  “What?”

  “I’ve an idea what they’re after. Somebody mentioned one of Bob Jackson’s men has a thing for Kate Wolfe and after the day they’ve already had with Danny being abducted…God, I don’t even want to think about it.”