“Mom, you need to save him!” demanded Sophie. “We’re not just going to let them kill him and his family, are we?”
“I’m not sure how that saves us,” replied Kate, unable to bite her tongue.
“If that’s all we’re worried about, perhaps we’re not worth saving!” cut Sophie.
Kate paused, her daughter was right. She almost couldn’t believe it had come from Sophie’s mouth and not Ava’s. She turned towards Ava. Not a sound had come from her area of the attic for a while.
“Ava?”
Silence.
Kate felt her way across the attic space, feeling for Ava as she walked, making sure she didn’t fall over her. Finally, her hand felt skin. Burning hot skin.
“Ava?” Kate gently swayed her daughter to try and wake her.
“Yeah,” she replied after a few seconds, her voice weak and sleepy.
“How do you feel?” asked Kate.
“My head hurts and I’m really cold.”
Kate wanted to scream. The doctor’s timeline was way off. There was no way she had two days to get her daughter the help she needed. She had a day if she was lucky.
“Mom, what about Zach?!” insisted Sophie.
Kate turned and flung the hatch open in frustration, and a pair of eyes stared back at her, almost as startled as hers must have looked. She grabbed her pistol.
***
Trey didn’t waste any time with niceties, he jumped off of his horse, strode to the front door and with his boot connecting with it, kicked it open and came face to face with Zach’s parents.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“Who?” asked Zach’s father.
“Kate!”
“I’d assume she’s in her home,” he answered stoically, placing his body in front of his wife.
Trey responded, throwing a crushing fist into Zach’s father’s face. His nose exploded in a sea of red before he crashed to the floor. He looked up and caught sight of Zach. He was behind the intruder, but the lantern Trey carried lit up the room enough for the two to share a final goodbye. Zach had been sliding the patio door open as quietly and carefully as he could. Zach had stopped and was about to come back to his father’s aid. His father smiled and coughed to cover any noise Zach made, shaking his head almost indiscernibly but enough for Zach to know he wasn’t to come back. Zach blew a kiss to his father and was gone. He climbed over the fence, just before the rest of Trey’s men flooded the house and gardens in search of Kate and her family.
Screams of pain followed Zach’s footsteps as he made his way towards Harry’s house, avoiding any of the militia. Tears blinded him and on more than one occasion, he turned to go back but deep down, he knew he’d only add to the death toll. He’d not only get himself killed, but he’d give away Sophie’s secret sleeping place and get the Wolfes killed as well. The sound of two gunshots sent him to the ground, emptying his stomach before him. His mom and dad had most likely just ceased to exist. He was all alone in a new and very violent world.
He picked himself up. Sophie needed him. He reached Sophie’s street and stopped. He could see at least four men milling around the front of the house and had to assume there were some out the back of the house too. Fortunately, he had grown up on the estate and had spent his childhood negotiating most of the back gardens at some point in his earlier years. He ducked back into the nearest back yard and felt his way through to the next. It was slow-going and he was shredding his hands on the bushes and trees, but he had only one person left in the world, and she needed him.
Chapter 48
Nick grabbed his rifle at the sound of the horses below, its night vision scope offering him a view of what was happening in the darkness.
“Are they heading here?” asked Alex, grabbing his own rifle, also fitted with a night vision scope, courtesy of Sean and Lonnie.
“No,” replied Nick, following their route to the woman’s house. “They’re back for the woman, it seems,” he relayed, as he watched the men rampage through her house. He flicked to thermal imaging and smiled at the five heat spots as he scanned to the next-door property’s roof.
“That’s one hell of a lot of muscle for one woman and her kids,” exclaimed Alex, counting the number of men and horses. There’d always been the concern that Sean and Lonnie had been exposed and had given away their location. On hearing the horses, he had instantly regretted not moving after meeting Sean and Lonnie, but it was such an excellent location. He had balanced their ability to extricate themselves quickly versus finding a location anywhere near as good. Their hide was almost invisible and their view across Boise unobstructed and of course, Nick had his pet project below that kept him amused.
The rousing of the neighbors was an unexpected turn. The militia hadn’t been content with just checking her house and assuming she had moved on. Nick hoped none of the neighbors had spotted the family’s night-time dash to the next-door house. Otherwise, things were going to go south very quickly. His fears were soon allayed as the majority of the riders made off shortly afterwards. Six remained.
“Where is she?” asked Alex, his curiosity peaking.
“Thought you weren’t interested?” teased Nick. He had taken a pounding from Alex over his interest in the Warn Springs Mesa community and in particular, the woman and her family. “What was it you said, corny daytime soap opera?”
“Something like that,” said Alex. “So, do you know where they are?”
Had the situation not been as dire, Nick would have teased him longer. He had been there himself, his wife watching some corny nonsense with a storyline you were half-aware of and something big happens. Your curiosity gets the better, you get intrigued as to how the situation ended.
“Flick to thermal and then scan left to the house next-door.”
“Ahh, clever girl,” said Alex, watching the five blooms of heat in the attic space appear.
“Did they not search it?”
“Yes but luckily, everything but the attic.”
“So where have the other riders gone?”
“Looks like the older daughter’s boyfriend’s house.” Nick looked at where the posse had stopped.
“And he knows where they are?” concern creeped into Alex’s voice. Nick was already asking himself the same question and getting a very worrying answer. He noted the concern in Alex’s voice, but thought better of picking up on it. Alex was engaged or at least intrigued.
“I don’t know,” replied Nick, looking cautiously below. A flare of warmth appeared at the back of the house and hopped over the fence. Just one, fast and agile, disappearing, just as four men entered the back garden. The boyfriend had escaped.
“The boyfriend?” asked Alex, following the same drama with increasing interest.
“I guess,” replied Nick, following the boyfriend’s heat signature as he weaved his way through the estate, using the cover of the bushes and shrubbery expertly.
Two gunshots ended his running. Nick watched as a plume of heat erupted in front of the boyfriend.
“Oh, shit!”
Alex scanned to where Nick was focusing. The boy was bent over a lump of heat in front of him.
“He’s fine! He threw up!” said Alex, relief in his voice. He was getting dragged in more and more by the second. “The shots were from his house.”
“His parents?” asked Nick.
“I think so,” said Alex.
“What was that?” asked Nick, he scanned to his left, movement catching his eye from the other side of the estate. No riders had gone anywhere near that area. Two plumes of heat were making their way from one house to another. The gunshots had alerted the community and they were once again, going to stand up for one another. Nick got his bearings, and his heart sank. He knew where he was watching, Alex had been right all along.
“What?” asked Alex, having waited for Nick to tell him what was happening.
“Nothing,” replied Nick, looking back to the boyfriend. The house the two plumes had left had been on
e of the homes not depositing any trash for some time, while the other had been increasing their trash pile daily. Gunshots rang from where he had been watching. Alex looked and to his credit, didn’t gloat as the two plumes ran out of a house, their arms full as the heat plumes inside the house faded.
Both watched silently, that one act had changed everything. Of course, it may have been an isolated incident. One bad apple. But it was symptomatic of what had transpired across the wider city. It really was everyone for themselves.
“Where is he now?” asked Alex. He needed to focus Nick’s mind. He was one of the best soldiers he had ever served with, a man who, when things got tough, you would want by your side. A stone-cold killer, one of the best shots, and certainly better than himself, but he was also a man with a heart and sometimes it got in the way. Alex was worried. He had seen it before, and he should have closed down the whole soap opera straight away. However, this wasn’t Afghanistan in the middle of a war and it had until that moment, been a welcome distraction to an otherwise boring oversight role.
“He must know where they are. He’s heading towards the neighbor’s house,” replied Nick, his voice almost vacant. The impact of what he had just witnessed between neighbors had shaken him to his core.
Chapter 49
Kate pulled her PPQ to bear and pulled on the trigger. Her finger stopped just short of the pressure required to fire.
“It’s me,” mumbled Zach from the darkness, his voice cracking.
Sophie shoved past her mother and rushed down the steps and into his arms. Kate heard deep sobs and knew they weren’t Sophie’s.
“What’s happened?” she managed, realizing how close she had come to shooting her daughter’s first love.
Between the sobs, she just about discerned that Zach’s parents were likely dead. More blood on her hands, she thought, although immediately pushed that from her mind. None of what was happening was her fault. She was protecting her family. As a mother, that was her first and foremost role in life. If she was doing that, nobody had any right to criticize her.
“I’m so sorry,” offered Kate.
“Thanks,” replied Zach, pulling himself together. “But we need to get out of here, or they died for nothing!”
“Did they know about this place?”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t tell them. But they saw you this evening. So, they’ll know you’re somewhere here!” concluded Zach.
“Quick,” ushered Kate to Danny and Ava. “Let’s go!” She turned to where Ava was. There was little sound of movement as Danny and the still muzzled Hank slipped past her. Kate worked her way back to Ava and helped her up. She was in no state to go anywhere.
“Zach!” whispered Kate as loudly as she dared.
Between the two of them, they maneuvered Ava into the bathroom below the attic. The sounds of the posse once again invaded the silence. They were coming back.
“What are we going to do?” asked Sophie, saying what everyone else was thinking.
“First things first. Get out of here and into the hills.” Zach and Kate each grabbed one of Ava’s arms and walked her down to the back door, her feet dragging behind, her body unable to support her own weight. The cascade of hooves stopped in the street out front.
“Fan out! They’re here somewhere!” shouted Trey.
They could hear footsteps beginning to walk down the side of the house. Kate held her pistol in one hand and Ava in the other, while her rifle was strapped across her back.
“Sophie, take Ava from me,” she said, freeing herself to take out whoever was coming their way.
“When I start shooting, you run for the fence, get over, and run into the hills. We’ll meet tomorrow at our picnic spot if not before,” she ordered. Tears were flowing from her eyes which fortunately none of them could see. She doubted she would see them again once the shooting started. With a lump in her throat, she said “Now, get ready!”
She felt for the handle and opened it gently. The door creaked as she pulled it back gingerly. The footsteps paused at the sound before increasing in pace at the side of the house. The front door opened behind them. The militia was about to re-search the house. Any doubts about making a break for it disappeared. She pulled the door open and with her pistol at the ready rushed out into the darkness, pulling Sophie behind her. Kate stepped to the side, keeping her body between the oncoming militia and her family as they piled out behind her. Danny last, with Hank being dragged behind him on as short a leash as he could use.
The darkness gave way to the faintest of light as the militia man racing down the side of the house neared with his lantern. Kate raised her pistol as her family dashed towards the fence. There was no way they’d make it before the militia cleared the side of the house and caught sight of them. Kate was going to have to take the shot and give her family the few seconds they needed. A shot that would alert every militia member and Trey to her location. She just prayed she had enough bullets, to hold them back long enough to let her kids escape.
The angle of the light increased across the garden as the militia man neared. Although tucked tight against the wall, the beam was almost upon her. He was nearly there. Kate glanced to the kids. Zach was on top and pulling Danny over, having already pulled Ava over while Sophie was pushing at Hank’s rear to help him over. They needed another few seconds, seconds she wasn’t going to have once she pulled the trigger. The men in the house, when they heard the shot, would be on her in a second.
The militia man cleared the corner. His mouth opened to speak as he caught sight of first Sophie and Zach and then Kate, pointing her pistol directly at him. The first semblance of a word formed as he raised his AR-15 in unison with his shout.
“Ov––”
His head disappeared before he could form the rest of the word. One second it was atop his shoulders, the next, gone, a spray of droplets replacing it. The body faltered, long enough for Kate not to see it fall. She was already moving, rushing towards Sophie and pushing her unceremoniously over the fence before Zach pulled her up.
***
“What the hell?” exhaled Nick in disbelief, watching the militia man’s head explode after the kick of the rifle immediately to his right. He turned to Alex, who was already packing up his kit.
“I think I may have just compromised our mission!”
Nick didn’t need to check. Bullets were already heading in their direction as the militia trained their gunfire in the approximate direction from which they had seen the flash of Alex’s rifle. Fortunately, the AR-15s were struggling to reach them, nor were the militia able to see in the dark like Nick and Alex could.
Nick raised his rifle. With the mission compromised, he may as well take out the boss. He was easy to spot. He was the only one who’d remained calm, while everyone else around him was panicking.
Alex’s shot was no mean feat. The distance and turbulence in the wind as it swirled down the hillside made it all the more remarkable that he’d scored a direct headshot. Nick centered on the man’s body. He was moving too much for a headshot. He squeezed the trigger gently, feeling the break, controlling his breathing. He was in the zone.
He was on a hair trigger, the slightest of movements by his trigger finger, and the bullet would be sent on its way.
***
The gunshot from above echoed across the estate. The militia men scattered for cover in all directions, as they were unsure of where the shot had come from.
“Up there,” shouted one of the men, having seen the flash from the corner of his eye. “Near the crest of the hill.”
The militia emptied most of their magazines as they fired off in the general direction of where they were directed, while trying to get to cover.
“Anyone hit?” shouted Bob. He’d remained calm amongst the chaos. “And stop wasting bullets! They’re too far away!” He rode up and down the street, calming his men.
“One man down, head’s gone,” came a reply.
Bob changed course and rode towards th
e body, it was at the side of the neighbor’s house. Why expose yourself and take out a man walking down the side of a house? he wondered.
“Trey, take ten men and get around the back of that house. There’s every chance they were protecting the family!”
“The rest of you, saddle up. We’re going to see who’s up in those hills,” he said out loud while thinking ‘how they can shoot a headshot in the dark from almost a mile away...’ Whoever was there had working electronics, they had to, to have taken that shot. Only a night vision or a thermal scope could have given them that ability. He dug his heels into his horse’s side and clucked loudly. He wanted to get up there as soon as he could. His horse bucked under his forceful kick and sent him unceremoniously off of its back. Bob didn’t even hear the crack of the rifle that had killed his horse, taking the bullet that would have ended his life.
A militia man dove across the street and pulled Bob behind the horse’s carcass.
***
The area around them lit up again with gunfire as Nick killed the unsuspecting and innocent horse.
“We need to get out of here!” instructed Alex as Nick failed to hit the militia leader. Nick took one last look at where the woman and her children were. They had cleared the fence and were on the trail, just about to head off of it and into the surrounding woods. It looked at least in the short term, they were going to make it. The militia men weren’t going to get to them before they left the trail.
“Okay, let’s go,” said Nick, grabbing his kit. They would be deep in the woods within five minutes, long before the militia would be near them and in the darkness, Nick and Alex most definitely had the upper hand.
***
“What now?” asked Ava weakly as they rested against a tree. The sound of the militia thundering past on the nearby trail had them all holding their breaths.
TRIAL: A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Thriller Page 20