by T A Williams
A loud explosion sounded from the hallway and their door blew off the hinges and fell a few feet from Ben. He squeezed the gun but managed to avoid firing blindly. A dust cloud floated into the room and the light from fire somewhere in the hallway flickered into the room. Ben breathed in slowly and focused on the door. As the barrel of a rifle came into view and began to twist into their room he opened fire. The wall just behind the rifle was peppered with bullets and the rifle fell on the ground just outside their door. A few moments passed and then a pool of blood flowed past the doorway.
“I think you got hi-“ Ty started but was interrupted by gunfire.
It shot through the walls into their room and Ben ducked behind the couch, realizing that if the bullets could pierce the walls the couch wasn’t going to do much to protect him. He fell to his stomach with his rifle out and as the last soldier stepped from behind the wall into the room Ben opened fire. The man’s head snapped back and he fell back against the hallway walls.
Ben didn’t move. He sat there with his rifle pointed towards the door. His ears continued to ring and his head pounded with the sound of his heartbeat. Ty came up next to him and shook him gently.
“You alright, B?”
Ben didn’t say anything.
They both sat there staring at the door until they heard the familiar voice of Mason calling out to them from somewhere in the building. Ty answered their calls. Mason appeared in the doorway and looked at both of them, he then looked down at the dead soldiers in the hallway. With just a few steps he was at Ben’s side and put his hands on his shoulders.
“You good?” he asked.
Ben met the man’s eyes and shook his head. They were safe.
Ally
The horse’s hooves clacked against the cracked asphalt as they walked down the empty street, the smell of baking asphalt filled Ally’s nose. To both sides of them were old brick buildings with dusty windows and faded signs. Tufts of grass were sprouting from the road and ivy had taken over entire sides of some of the buildings. Several worn out cars were parked on the side of the street, their tires flat and their windows busted out leaving them open to the elements.
“Everyone is gone,” Coby said softly but his voice carried down the empty street.
“I said no talking,” Spence shot back causing Coby to flinch.
Spence’s horse led them down the street while Ally rode on the back of Dena’s horse & Coby on the back of Adam’s. The empty fields they had gotten so used to had run out and all that lay before them were cities and towns. They had decided, more like Spence had decided, that going through the smaller towns was safer than going through a large city.
Spence led them back behind a four story brick apartment building that was surrounded on the three sides by large grass hedges that were taller than their horses. The rear of the building consisted of broken windows and boarded up doors.
“We can tie the horses up here and rest for the night,” Spence said as he swung off his horse.
The others followed and tied their horses up to a fence that was partially hidden by the out of control hedges. Ally pulled out her water canteen and got just enough water to wet her tongue. She was out.
“Here you go, hon,” Dena said handing Ally her canteen.
“Thanks,” Ally said as she took a swig of the warm water.
“We need to see if we can find a source of water nearby,” Dena said quietly to Spence.
“I saw a small creek just on the other side of here when I was scouting. Bring the canteens and I’ll take you there,” Spence said.
“I’ll come too,” Ally said.
Spence’s jaw clenched but he didn’t say anything.
“Adam, can you watch Coby while we go get some water?” Dena asked.
The man nodded.
The walked around the tall hedges past an old sheet metal warehouse to where there were a large grove of trees. Sure enough there was a slow moving creek cutting through the trees heading out to nowhere. Dena grabbed the canteens and began to fill them up while Ally stayed back hoping to find a squirrel.
“Hey,” Spence’s voice was hushed but the anger was still evidence. He came walking up to her. “I thought I told you not to go wandering off.”
“I’m fine, Spence, I don’t need you looking out for me.”
“I’m not looking out for you, I’m looking out for Dena. She’s having a hard enough time as it is, the last thing she needs is for you to go and get lost or hurt. So stay close.”
The man started to turn around but Ally stopped him. “Why don’t you like me?”
His head turned slightly but he didn’t look at her. “I don’t have a reason to like, or not like you. You’re just there.”
“Why do you treat everyone like crap? Adam is always nice to you and all you do is bully him around.”
Spence peeked to make sure that Dena was still filling up the canteens then turned his attention to her. “You think Adam is a nice guy?”
“Yes.”
“You’re right, he is a nice guy. Nice guys in this world can’t protect their families. Nice guys are the ones who will get everyone around them killed. I don’t care about you because you don’t make our situation easier, you make it harder. I don’t like Adam because he could make our situation easier but his inability to be a man hurts us instead of helps us. He couldn’t take care of his family when the world was good, let alone now.”
“What do you mean he couldn’t take care of his family before?” Ally asked.
“Dena needed me well before the shit hit the fan.”
“You all ok?” Dena said as she approached.
Spence turned around with a fake smile on his face. “Yep, just talking about the area.”
“Oh….that’s nice,” Dena said not quite buying it.
They walked back in silence and just as their temporary residence was in sight they heard a loud crash coming from the west side of town.
“What the hell was that?” Dena said softly.
“Head back inside, I’ll check it out,” Spence said as he crouched down and began running towards the noise.
“Come on, Ally,” Dena started but Ally had already taken off after the man.
She was tired of Spence always acting like he was the only one capable of doing anything. She was small and quiet, the chances of her going undetected were a lot higher than his. Ally heard Dena call out to her quietly but she didn’t slow down.
Spence cut back into town and began weaving in and out around broken down cars. Ally was able to keep up while still keeping her distance. Every few seconds Spence would stop behind something and listen. At first Ally couldn’t hear anything but over time she could make out the faint sound of talking in the distance. Once again Spence took off in that direction. Even with the sun nearly out of sight behind the far buildings Ally could feel sweat dripping down her forehead. Finally Spence stopped behind a broken down RV and peered towards the other side of the street. Ally stopped and what had once been faint talking was now loud and clear as she could hear a man talking to someone about getting a fire started.
Ally sprinted around the side and hid behind a dirty evacuation sign sitting ten yards from where Spence was set up. She waited a few moments and confirmed that he hadn’t noticed her then she looked around to the source of the talking. A middle aged man and a young woman sat just inside an old clothing store. The glass front was busted out making it easy to see them milling about. The man took off a green hiking backpack and laid it just inside the store, in his other hand was a strung up rabbit. Ally’s stomach growled quietly, it had been awhile since she had a good rabbit. The young woman looked to be in her early twenties, she had long blonde hair and was sitting down at the door trying on a pair of white sneakers.
“I’m telling you these fit perfectly.” Ally heard the woman say to the man. “I told you coming through here would be worth it.”
“I’m still empty handed so it’s not worth it to me yet.” The man answered ba
ck. The man bent down and pulled out a liquor bottle from his backpack. He walked out of the front of the store and surveyed the city, he looked briefly in her direction but scanned the other way just as quickly. He took a long swig from the liquor bottle and from where she was at Ally could see the word’s Johnnie Walker on the side of the bottle. The man shook his head violently and wiped his mouth with his arm. He turned the bottle over inspecting it closer and Ally could also see a large red sticker on the bottle that read MERLE’S LIQUOR STORE on it. After a few moments the man went back inside the building.
As darkness began to take over the sky Spence quietly got up from where he was and snuck around the back of a nearby house heading towards Dena and the others. Ally remained hidden until he passed and then took off after him. She couldn’t help but smile inside. She had managed to not only find the source of the noise, just like Spence, but she had also managed to go undetected by the man. She cut through the town and arrived back at their base just a few minutes after Spence arrived. When she got there she instantly felt bad. Dena came running up with tears in her eyes.
“What the hell were you thinking, Ally? You could have been hurt?”
Spence turned on her. “What the hell did you do? Did you go out there?”
Ally looked to Spence and then looked to Dena. “I tried to follow you but got lost. I just found my way back, sorry.” She wasn’t sure why she lied.
Dena ran up to her and gave her a hug. “Dammit, honey, you can’t do stuff like that. You worried me sick.”
Adam and Coby came out of the house, both of them with worried expressions on their face. “What was it? What did you find?” Adam asked Spence.
“Nothing just a group of people headed in the other direction. They’re not a threat.”
Dena, Adam and Coby all looked worried sick. Ally felt bad, which made her feel angry. Ally pulled herself out of Dena’s grip. “I’m not a child,” she said softly making sure to meet Dena’s eyes. “I don’t need you worrying about me and trying to protect me. I can do that on my own. If I want to go somewhere I will.”
Dena sat back in silence.
“What the fuck did you say?” Spence said taking a few steps forward.
Dena held her hand up to Spence stopping him in his tracks. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Dena rubbed her forehead for a few seconds. “You might be small but you’re tough. I’ll…..I’ll try not to worry in the future. Just promise me you won’t go chasing off after danger like that again.”
Ally nodded. Spence glared at her and then turned around and walked inside. Adam and Coby walked in after him.
“Can I ask you something, Dena?” Ally asked.
“Of course.”
“Why is Spence here?”
Dena’s face crunched up. “What do you mea-“
“He doesn’t like your husband, he doesn’t like me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say more than two words to Coby. You’re the only who he seems not to hate.”
Dena let out a long sigh. “It’s complicated. Spence is……a complicated guy.”
“He doesn’t seem complicated.”
“He was there for me before the power went out. He was a…friend when I needed one.”
“He likes you.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes.”
“Do you like him?”
Dena was quiet for a few moments. “Not like that. Not anymore.”
“Then why is he still here?”
“Because we need him. He watches after us and finds food for us.”
“I can hunt for us. I can make sure we are safe. And I won’t be mean to everyone like he is.”
Dena smiled. “I don’t doubt any of that.” The smile disappeared. “I didn’t realize it was so obvious how he felt about Adam. I’ll say something to him. Deep down he is a nice guy. He’s just…..complicated.”
There didn’t seem to be anything else to say so Ally just nodded. They went inside and had the last of their food. Once again Spence went out looking for more but came back empty handed. They didn’t talk about it, pushing the problem to the side for another day.
Ally woke up early, the sun hadn’t even broken the horizon yet. Tiger stirred next to her and licked her on the face. She pushed the dog away and stood up. Dena and Coby slept together wrapped up in little balls, with Adam just a few feet away, while Spence slept on the opposite side of the room. Chances were they would be asleep for another hour or so. Ally looked outside and decided it was about time she showed them how capable she was.
She snuck out through the hole in the kitchen and for a brief moment thought twice about what she was doing when the cool morning air hit her. Tiger sat at the opening and didn’t move.
“Come on, you big baby, it’s not that cold,” Ally whispered.
Tiger looked behind him towards the warm blankets and then back to Ally standing out in the cool air. The dog whined softly then slowly walked out with her.
“You’re such a baby,” Ally said smiling to herself.
Ally felt free again as she bounded past the hedges towards the open field leading to the small creek they had found yesterday. The wind blew through her hair, the sounds of crickets filled her ears and the bow just felt right in her hands. She crouched down as she approached the brush and let the sounds of nature take over. Each step she took hit the ground gently avoiding sticks and other noisy debris. After a few moments she noticed a squirrel hop down from a tree and take a few leaps into the open where it stopped and picked up a nearby acorn. Ally aimed the bow and let loose. She knew it was a hit before it left the bow.
The sun had crested the horizon by the time she had nabbed her second squirrel. She considered for a brief moment waiting to see if she could catch another but the memory of Dena’s face changed her mind. If they woke up and she wasn’t there then Dena would start to worry again, despite the fact Ally told her not to. She didn’t want the woman to go through that again. She turned to head back towards the house when she heard Tiger whining from behind some thick brush.
“What are you crying about?” Ally asked.
Tiger continued to whine so she came around the brush and saw the dog sniffing at something partially obscured by the tall weeds. She pushed him away to get a better look and saw a bag covered in dried blood. Whoever had worn this thing couldn’t have made it. As the sun cut through the trees one of its rays hit the ground near the bag and Ally’s heart sank. She had seen this bag before, minus the blood. In front of her sat the same hiker’s bag she had seen the day before, but the man and woman that had it last were nowhere to be seen.
Alec
Whitford sat down at the table in front of the council and defeat was written all over his face. Not a word had been said, not by him or anyone else, but he already appeared to be beaten and worn down.
Margie watched him with a frown on her face. Alec could still tell her nose was slightly off center, the only physical evidence of the beating she had once taken long ago. “You ok, Whitford?” she asked.
The man looked up suddenly as if he just realized where he was. “What? Oh yes, I’m fine.”
Margie looked to Malcolm and then Alec. He tried to give her a comforting smile even though he didn’t think there was anything he could say to comfort any of them.
“All right,” Malcolm leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “It doesn’t look like the Chinese are going anywhere soon.” No one spoke up. “So where does that leave us?”
Whitford ran his hands over his face and sat up. “There are probably over a hundred of them based at the fairgrounds, maybe more, and each of them individually probably has more firepower than we do combined.” Whitford stared down at the table. “There isn’t anything we can do.”
“Have they hurt anyone?” Trevor asked. “I know they have taken some of your livestock but have they done anything else?”
“Not yet. It’s possible that they just needed a place to re-supply and they will be going soon. It�
��s also possible that they, for some strange reason, needed two cows and won’t have any need for anything else. I think we all know that is not the case. They are invading our country. They outnumber and outgun us. They are well aware they can do whatever they want.”
Alec couldn’t find a single thing to disagree with Whitford about and part of him was glad the man hadn’t come into the meeting asking them to suit up for war, but the fact the man had seemed to have given up was disconcerting.
“I’m sorry you all got together just for me to come here and tell you it’s pointless. That wasn’t my original intention but I’ve looked over all our options and there is nothing we can do. You all need to stay hidden and if we are lucky enough and they do leave then we can try and rebuild.” Whitford let out a long sigh. “They have been sending out patrols to scout the area. If I were you I would post people up at the roads to watch for them and warn if they get close.”
“Is there anything you need from us?” Alec asked.
Whitford shook his head no.
Malcolm cleared his throat uncomfortably. The old man had been expecting a fight, not for Whitford to walk in already waving a white flag. “Thank you for the warning.”
Whitford nodded his head and slowly got up and walked out.
“He’s right, there isn’t anything we can do,” Trevor said once Whitford had left.
“Would we be saying the same thing if they were in our settlement?” Alec asked looking around the room. “Would we be content to just sit back and let them take whatever they wanted?”
“It is easier to sit back and do nothing,” Margie said quietly. “But you saw what happened first hand when we tried to fight back. You saved my life from people looking to take advantage of us and the town we came from is probably burnt to the ground now.”
Alec didn’t know what to say. She was right. He had fought back against the scum that had taken Margie’s old town hostage and that was why they were here. He had almost talked himself into believing that he had saved everyone from that place, when in reality he had just given them a new place to live. A place that was needed because their old town was destroyed, because he fought back.