EMP (Book 4): Desolation

by Ison, S. A.

  “Yeah asshole, shoot.” Tomi laughed, letting some of the tension go. The group went back to the camp and began to crawl into their sleeping bags. Tomi walked back to the road and looked down with the help of the NVGs. Christ, he was glad they’d gotten them. He took a deep breath. The rage was starting to bleed away.

  “I’m really sorry Tomi, I know I sounded like a righteous bitch earlier.” Iris came up behind him. He turned looking at down at her. He could just make out her face in the darkness.

  “Look, I understand, I really do. I’m a peaceful man and a pacifist. Or at least that’s what I want to be. This world no longer allows that luxury. The one who doesn’t pull the trigger first, is dead. There are no second chances. And look, I don’t mind dying for the right reasons. But I do mind leaving you and Dawn, and Linda to some shitty, horrible fate. I’ll not let that happen.”

  “Thanks Tomi. I understand. I know I’m a fool. Trying to believe the best in people.”

  “You’re not a fool. You just need to readjust your thinking. Some people will be okay, like we are. But, then again, we already have food and a safe place we’re heading to. Ninety percent of the people will not, and they’re going to be dangerous. So, you have to choose whether you want to live or die. Choose your life over theirs. Someone’s going to die. You just have to figure out how bad you want to live.” He shrugged. He knew he was hammering her hard, but she needed to learn this quick. It was now a simple equation.

  “Okay, but again, I’m sorry. I know I can be a bit judgy. I guess my profession. But, well, I’m sorry.” She said, awkwardly.

  “Go get some rest Iris, if you can. Don’t feel bad, you’re just shedding your humanity. I imagine that hurts like hell.” He smiled.

  “Is that what I’m doing? Losing my humanity?” She said, choking with tears.

  “No, but putting it on the back burner. We need to stay focused on surviving. I don’t want to kill these men. But if we don’t, they’ll kill us and harm you. I can’t let that happen. I guess that’s the only way I can keep my humanity.” He laughed softly. He felt her step closer and then felt her arms around him. He hugged her to him hard. Then let go and shoved her back toward the camp. He watched through the NVGs as she made it to the sleeping bag.

  He turned his attention back to the road and let out a long breath. Christ, that had felt too good, hugging her. He needed to keep his distance. There was no room for apocalyptic romances here. Then laughed when he thought of Liev and Dawn. Well, almost no room.

  =

  Norman laid beside Linda. He was terrified but tried to be brave.

  “You okay Norm?” Linda asked softly.

  “I’m just scared, Linda. I just don’t know how not to be afraid.” He hated himself for being a coward.

  “Norman, dear, it’s okay to be afraid. If ever there were a time to be afraid, it’s now. Our world isn’t normal, there is nothing normal or safe about where we are.”

  “I just feel like I’m failing everyone.” He complained softly.

  “You’re doing fine dear. Truly. It takes a lot of adjusting to deal with all of this. I’m half terrified every waking moment. But I do know, these are good people. We watch each other’s backs.”

  “I still can’t believe this has happened. I can’t believe Jack betrayed us like that. I thought he was an okay guy until all this started happening.” Norman said, shifting in his bag.

  “When crisis hits, our true selves come out.”

  “Yeah, me being a coward and all.”

  “Norman, you aren’t a coward. Yes, you’re afraid, again, you should be. These are scary times. But you learned to use the gun. You stand guard while we sleep. Cut yourself some slack.”

  “Thanks Linda, I appreciate your friendship so much.”

  “Get some sleep sweety. We’re going to need it.”

  Norman shifted once more and closed his eyes. He hoped he wouldn’t shame himself in the morning.

  =

  Perrin’s eyes popped open and then realized that Tomi was over him. It was dark out and Tomi put his head down.

  “I think they’re coming. I heard some talking. Either that, or someone else is on the road.” Tomi breathed.

  “Fuck.” Perrin said.

  “Get your NVG’s, I’m getting everyone up and ready. Just in case.” Tomi said and moved off. Perrin reached for his AR15, ejected the magazine and then shoved it home as quietly as he could. Tomi moved to each of the bags silently and Perrin saw Liev’s large form raise from the ground. He saw the thin form of Norman walking in jerking motions. The boy was terrified. He hoped he’d not shoot himself.

  “The women are moving deeper into the trees. I’ve told them not to shoot, unless they see that it isn’t one of us. Dawn and Linda have their NVGs, so they’ll keep an eye out. They are also to stay low, so they don’t catch any fire.” Tomi said softly into Perrin’s ear.

  “Good idea. We go out to the road?”

  “Yeah, pick a tree and stay behind it. Whoever is coming, may wake up those assholes. We can follow behind them. And if they wake, we’ll see how it plays out. But we kill those five, regardless.” Tomi suggested, and got nods from the men. Norman stuck with him since he didn’t have NVGs. There hadn’t been enough. He was now glad that Jack didn’t have a pair either. That fucker had sold them out. Perrin moved silently, and Norman tried. He guided the younger man, going slowly, to keep the noise down.

  His body was sore from the wounds, and he felt a couple of damp ones, which meant he was bleeding. There was no help for it. At least he’d gotten some sleep. He found a good-sized tree and planted Norman there.

  “Norman, watch your line of fire. You don’t want to hit any of us. Don’t fire unless you know who you’re shooting at. Take your time and make the shot count. Use this tree as a barrier.”

  “Okay Perrin, thanks.” Norman said, and his voice shook violently. Poor kid, he thought, scared to death. He felt bad for him, but there wasn’t a lot Perrin could do, except point him in the right direction and hope the kid didn’t get killed, just like the rest of them. Perrin found a tree and took his place there. It was quiet and then he heard it. Low talking. He turned his head, but couldn’t see anything through the NVGs. The sound of the soft voices floated over the air. It reminded him of ghosts.

  SEVEN

  Tomi’s head was on a swivel. He could hear them, but couldn’t see them. Christ, where the hell were they? Then he caught movement, ahead a quarter of a mile. He could barely make out two fuzzy green forms. They weren’t talking loudly, but their voices seemed to carry. He could curse them. They were going to wake those five men. There wasn’t much they could do. They’d have to follow these two and hoped that they were not going to end up killing two innocent bystanders.

  He was pretty sure when those five came out of the vehicles, they’d end up shooting these two. He couldn’t warn these men off either. Christ. The world was so damned working against them right now. He looked over at Liev who was shaking his head. Tomi smiled. He was more than likely thinking the same thing. As the men drew closer, he saw that Perrin and Liev became statues. Norman was hugging the tree.

  “I still don’t see why we gotta keep travelin at night. Jeeze, I’m tired.” A man said. Tomi saw that the man was tall, but not as tall as Liev.

  “Look Billy, you don’t want folks seeing you. We sleep during the day, then, move at night when everyone else is asleep.” The shorter man explained, as though he were telling a child, something over and over. Shit, the tall man was not a man, but a teen. And, from the sound of it, perhaps a teen that had diminished capacity. The older man was his father, Tomi thought. Shit. Where’s your humanity now? His brain whispered.

  There was no help for it. Christ, he’d not be able to live with himself. He stepped out, while the two men were twenty feet away. He cleared his throat loudly. The two men stopped and froze, the taller one, grabbing onto the shorter man.

  “You two are making enough noise to wake everyone within a
mile.” Tomi said softly, in a friendly voice.

  “Who’s there? Who are you?” The shorter man nearly shouted.

  “Shut up. God damnit. There are five murderers down that road and you and your son, Billy, are about to walk into them and you’re damn sure going to wake them up if you don’t lower your voice, mister.” Tomi hissed in a low voice.

  “Who are you?” The man said again, but had lowered his voice.

  “Look, we’re camping over there. We heard you five minutes ago, way down there. Your voices carry. You need to stop and stay here, or go back the way you came, at least for a couple of hours. There are five men, really bad men and they’ll kill you both. My friends and I are going to take care of them, but if you go walking down there, you’re going to get caught in the crossfire.” Tomi explained; his voice still low.

  “There are others?” The man sounded frightened, and well he should be, with a child.

  “Sir, go back the way you came and camp for a little while. You’re going to hear gunfire in a while, near dawn. Stay hidden. Stay out of sight. These men won’t hesitate to kill you both.” Perrin said softly coming up beside Tomi.

  “Jesus Lord of Hosts, these woods are damned full.” The man said, still holding onto his tall boy.

  “Is they bad men daddy?” The teen asked, Tomi could hear fear and perhaps tears in the kid’s voice.

  “No son, they’re just warning us. Thanks mister. We’ll go back a mile or so and maybe just camp for a while. My home is just up the road.” The older man said and began to lead his son, back the other way. It must have been the home that he and Iris had seen earlier in the evening, the night before. Christ, he hoped the men wouldn’t discover that home. There had been a child there. He was now more resolved than ever.

  “Mister, you’d best not talk. We really could hear you a long distance.” Liev said softly.

  The older man jerked, having not known there was another man near. He put his arm around his tall son and began walking quickly in the opposite direction.

  “What time is it?” Norman asked quietly.

  Tomi looked at his watch, just after four. They might as well walk to the cars with the men inside them. It would be light in about an hour. They could get set up and be ready for them.

  “It’s after four. Let’s go ahead and get down there and set up.” Tomi said and began walking. Norman came from behind the tree and fell, his gun falling to the ground. Tomi gritted his teeth. That kid was going to get himself killed if he didn’t pull his shit together. Or get one of them killed. He saw Perrin help the man up and then all began to walk down the road. They walked slow and he stopped from time to time to listen.

  He heard the kid say something, from down the road and heard the father shush him. It would be a goddamned miracle if those voices didn’t travel far. After a mile he relaxed, he could hear nothing but Norman’s heavy breathing. He stopped and waited for Norman to catch up.

  Leaning his head close to Norman he breathed softly, “Norman, get your breathing under control. Breathe softly, calm down.”

  “Sorry, I’m just scared.”

  “I know. But if you don’t calm down, I’m going to have to leave you behind.”

  “No. Don’t do that. I’ll be okay.” He said in a loud whisper and Tomi cringed.

  “Hush, Jesus. Be quiet. Okay, breathe quietly. Go slow and relax. We’ll take care of these guys. Okay. Just be mindful of the noise you’re making.”

  “Okay.” Norman whispered in a small voice. He patted the young man on the shoulder and started walking again.

  He saw Liev and Perrin shaking their heads. It was starting to get lighter out now. He was wondering if he should have left Norman back with the women. Christ. They needed him though. And deep down, he was afraid that Norman might accidently shoot one of the women. They slowed their walk down even more. They now moved to the tree line, using the trees as cover. Tomi could now see the others easily without the NVGs and if he could see them, so could the other five men. He waved Norman back and wanted him well behind.

  He just hoped that Norman didn’t blow his head off. They drew up near the vehicles that contained the men. The windows were fogged over. Now it was a matter of waiting. Tomi gave the signal for everyone to get down and low. He didn’t know how long it would take. He hoped it wouldn’t take a long time. He didn’t think Norman could take it.

  =

  Iris stood in the dark. She could hear Tomi talking to someone, though it wasn’t loud, the voices carried. She smiled, he’d been ready to kill anyone, and yet, she could tell by the teen, that Tomi wasn’t going to risk the kid’s life. He wasn’t going to let the child be caught in a crossfire. That was good. It also sounded like the man was nearly home with Billy. She felt her face heat with shame. She had judged Tomi wrongly. He wasn’t killing, for killing’s sake, but to rid the world of animals, such as those men who were hunting them.

  “Jesus Christ, these woods seem to be filling up fast.” Dawn whispered softly.

  “I just hope nobody else comes along.” Linda added softly, patting her shoulder, then got down on the ground.

  “I’m not surprised. If what Tomi said is true, then people have run out of food and are on the move, looking for more.” Iris whispered, getting down on the ground beside the other women.

  “Yep, I guess we’ll need to keep a very sharp look out.” Linda said softly. The women were down behind a large dead tree. All of them prone and looking around. It was getting lighter and they could make out shapes now, in the surrounding forest. Iris hoped no one would approach them, she was sure she’d shoot and ask questions later. Once more, she felt the heat of shame. She wondered if she was just losing her mind? One minute she’s jumping up Tomi’s ass for being a bloodthirsty killer, the next, she was ready to shoot anything that moved in the forest.

  What the hell was wrong with her? Get a grip sister and pull up those big girl panties, she mentally yelled. Perhaps it was waiting, not knowing if the men would come back. What then? What would happen if the men were killed? Could she, Dawn and Linda make it to Tomi’s uncle? She shivered and it wasn’t from the morning chill. She jerked out of her contemplation by the echoing staccato of rapid gunfire. She could feel the other women tense around her. Then there were sporadic shots. Then silence. She wanted to run and see, but they had to stay put.

  =

  It was over in less than a minute. Smoke, cordite and blood filled the air. Liev groaned, clutching his arm, his teeth gritted in pain and anger. One man had gotten away, he’d been injured and Tomi could only hope that he’d been fatally injured. The other four men were dead, Boomer, Jimmy and two other men. He wasn’t sure of their names. Perrin was checking on Liev. Tomi noted satisfactorily that Perrin was pulling the med kit from his shirt. He’d tucked it away, just in case.

  Tomi walked over to Norman, his heart sinking. The young man was by the tree, gasping. He’d taken the brunt of a shotgun blast, in the chest. The kid had jumped out at the wrong time. He squatted down beside him and held his bloodless hand.

  “Did… did.. we get’em?” Norman gasped, and grinned, his mouth full of blood and his teeth laced with the stuff.

  “We sure did Norman. I think you got two of the bastards, by Christ.” Tomi lied, his heart breaking.

  “Good. That no good Jack. I can’t believe he … he.” Norman sputtered and then he was gone. Tomi reached down and shut the blue eyes, and bowed his head. He needed to go hunt down the last son of a bitch.

  “I’m going to go look for the last one.” Tomi said.

  “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about him. The guy was shot in the leg and the chest, I think.” Liev said, then groaned.

  The five men did have weapons, most handguns except for the shotgun. They’d caught them just as they’d been emerging from the cars.

  “Tomi, you’re bleeding dude.” Liev said, pointing up at Tomi’s head.

  Tomi felt around and then winced when his hand touched the graze of where a bulle
t just missed, or not missed. Christ, he’d have been as dead as Norman, but by the grace of God. He looked at the blood on his hand and felt a little shaky. He walked over and sat down beside Liev and Perrin.

  “Give me a sterile wipe, and I’ll clean it.” Tomi said, tenderly touching around the area.

  “Let me look.” Liev said and opened his hand to take the wipe. Tomi bent his head and hissed and cursed as Liev gently cleaned the wound. God damnit, it hurt.

  “Doesn’t look bad. Took a little skin. Must be that hard ass pumpkin head you got, brother.” Liev sniggered.

  Tomi grunted, and looked back over to Norman. They’d have to bury him. Poor kid.

  “Norman didn’t make it. Took that shot from the shotgun. He stepped out when he shouldn’t have.” Tomi said sadly.

  “Christ. Poor kid. I know he was scared.” Perrin said, shaking his head.

  “How’s his arm?” Tomi asked, nodding to Liev’s wound.

  “It’s a through and through. If he doesn’t get infected, he’ll be okay. No wallowing around on the ground you beast.” Perrin grinned an admonishment at Liev.

  “You can’t go traipsing through yonder woods, looking for that asshole. There’s no telling where he got to. I don’t think he’ll come back, now that his buddies are all gone. Besides, you’ll end up tripping and finishing the job on your head.” He grinned, pain clear in his face.

  “I hate leaving it undone.” Tomi said, looking over to where the man had disappeared.

  “Liev’s right, there is no telling where the hell he went off to. Hopefully it won’t come back to bite us in the ass. We need to get back to the women and we need to bury Norman.” Perrin said, standing up. He reached down and helped both Liev and Tomi up. Both swayed.

  “We’re a bunch of broke down, injured idiots.” Liev smiled. They walked over to Norman’s body.

  “How do we do this?” Tomi asked.

  “Liev take him under one arm, I’ll take him under the other. I don’t think any of us are up to carrying him. We can alternate.” Perrin said, shaking his head, and leaned down to put his hand gently beneath the dead man’s arm. Liev did the same and they began to drag the dead man back to the camp. Half way there, Tomi took over, Perrin becoming pale and sweating. It took a bit of time, but they got to the camp site.