“Were you and Uncle Alex like them?” Alexis asked, looking over at her dad.
A sad smile spread on Emmett’s face. He got a faraway look in his eyes. “Yes, honey, we were a lot like them actually. When we first joined the corps together, we were a force to be reckoned with, at least in our own eyes. Those first few years were the best I ever had in the military.”
“What happened?” Ana asked, a sad look in her eyes.
She fingered something at her neck under her shirt, and Alexis wondered again what was hidden there. She’d seen Ana make that motion a few times before and still didn’t know why. Was it a nervous tick or something more?
“IED,” Emmett said. He seemed to realize everyone in the truck was hushed and looking at him. Composing himself, he looked back out the window at the hilltop. “But that was a long time ago.”
“What’s an IED?” Felix asked.
“Improvised explosive device. A bomb.”
“Oh,” Felix said, watching James and Connor.
“Do you have any siblings?” Alexis asked.
Felix shook his head. “It’s just me. But Olive is like my little sister. I always took care of her at school.”
“Well, you’re part of our little family now,” Alexis said, smiling at him.
She watched as the brothers sat on the point, talking and looking down into the small valley where the town sat. After a few minutes, they walked down the hill and started toward Emmett’s truck.
“This doesn’t look good,” Emmett said.
James walked up to the driver’s window. “We might have a problem.”
“Let me guess, walking dead people?” Ana asked.
James looked back at her and smiled. “Always. But we have at least five survivors down at the gas station.”
“Are they armed?” Emmett asked.
“Not sure,” James said, “And there could be more. We saw at least two vehicles. Want us to go down alone and check ‘em out?”
“Is there another gas station?” Emmett asked.
“Nope. It looks like that’s the only one in town,” James said.
“I think a show of force would be more appropriate then,” Emmett said. “We have over thirty adults. They shouldn’t have more than ten, if that.”
“But none of our people are armed,” James said.
“We can change that,” Connor said.
James looked at him and smiled. “Brilliant idea, but we need to teach the ones who know nothing at least how to hold and aim a firearm.”
“We’ll help,” Emmett said. “Girls?”
“Oh yeah,” Ana said.
“Love to, daddy,” Alexis said, smiling at her dad.
He glared back at her and she smiled wider.
I think sometimes he really does hate it when I say that with other people around. The thought made the moment all the better. He needed to be reminded that he didn’t have to be serious all the time.
“Let’s do it then,” James said, hiding his smile as he walked back to his truck.
Emmett’s glare faded as James and Connor walked away and she could tell he was hiding a smile. Her dad was finally starting to loosen his grip on her by asking her to help out. While a situation like this wasn’t inherently dangerous, anything could happen. Thinking back to Haven, she knew it had to have been horrible seeing his daughter dragged away to be eaten alive, especially when he’d already lost his son years before. But he couldn’t protect her for the rest of her life, however short it might be. She was her own woman and she was determined to prove she could handle herself—not only to her dad but to the rest of the group as well.
She climbed out of the truck, grabbing her SCAR on the way out. The rifle still felt a little odd to her because she wasn’t used to the platform or the weight, but she was quickly adjusting and felt safer with it in her hands.
“This oughta be fun,” Ana said as they walked to where James was ushering all the adults to the bed of his truck.
“Okay, listen up,” James said. Alexis, Ana, Emmett and Connor stood by his side, and the rest of the people gathered around. “There are some survivors down there. Now, they may be friendly or they may not be. We won’t know till we get there. We stand a better chance if we show them we’re serious and don’t give them the opportunity to attack.”
“You mean we’re going to shoot them before they shoot us?” asked one of the women.
“No,” James said, “I mean we’re going to give you guns and you’re gonna stick them out the windows. It’ll be a show of force and hopefully they won’t want a fight. We’re going to show you all how to use them, so those who’ve fired a gun before, please step forward.”
Twenty men and women stepped toward him.
“Good, let’s get started,” James said.
“See what they’ve used and how much experience they have,” Emmett said to Alexis as a woman walked up to her.
“Hi, I’m Alexis.”
“Beverly,” the woman said. She was in her forties with dyed blonde hair and a genuine smile.
“Nice to meet you. So you’ve used a gun before?”
“Yes, my husband used to hunt. I’ve shot a few of his rifles,” Beverly said. “Oh, and his shotgun once, but I didn’t like that.”
Alexis turned to Connor, who was in the bed of the truck. “Beverly has used her husband’s hunting rifles,” she told him.
He nodded and began to rummage around. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the bed of the truck was over half full of firearms. They had dozens of them.
“Is your husband here too?” Alexis asked, turning back to the woman.
She had a sad smile on her face. “Sorry, I should have said ex-husband. He left me two years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s fine; he was an odd man anyway.”
Connor came over and handed a rifle to Alexis. “You familiar enough with this one?” he asked her.
She took the rifle and looked it over. It was one of her dad’s favorite models—a Remington Model 700. “Yes, I know this one.”
Connor nodded and went back to the bed of the truck, climbing in to retrieve a gun James had just shouted for. Connor handed his brother a rifle. James in turn gave it to Mila and began to show her how to use it.
The way Mila threw herself at James, with her coy smile and overly friendly demeanor, baffled Alexis. She never could understand that type of woman.
Alexis turned back to Beverly. “Does this look similar to the one you used?”
“Yes, actually.”
“Good, then I’ll just give you a refresher.”
After fifteen minutes, they had all the twenty-eight adults armed with an assortment of rifles and shotguns. Fortunately, it seemed like most people had at least shot a firearm of some kind before, and the ones who hadn’t seemed to be fairly competent. It was a good thing they were all from Wyoming.
James had most of the armed men and women sit on the left side of the bus, which would be the side facing the gas station, with their guns pointed out the windows. All the kids got on the ground on the other side just in case it turned into a fight.
“Good, we look quite threatening,” James said, surveying the people on the bus. “Now, do not fire unless we’re being shot at. If you haven’t used a gun and don’t feel safe, don’t shoot. You could do more harm than good. If you know what you’re doing, then do it. Remember, if it comes to shooting, it’s life and death. If you don’t kill them they will kill you, and once you’re dead, they’ll go into the buses and kill every single one of the children, or worse. If it comes to a fight, you need to remember the little kids you’re protecting and do what must be done.”
A few of them didn’t look too happy about that, but Alexis saw some set their jaws. They would do what needed to be done to protect the children.
“Let’s roll out,” James said, walking back to his truck. Alexis followed her dad and Ana back to the truck and climbed in, rolling down her window to stick
her rifle out.
They followed the buses down the hill and across the small creek into town. The highway they were on intersected with a road on the edge of town. Up ahead, Alexis could see the gas station on the left side of the road. A purple suburban and a red jeep were parked at the pumps with four people standing around them, watching the line of vehicles approach. They were all armed.
“When we stop, I’m going over with James and Connor,” Emmett said. “I want you both to get out and stand where they can see you. Keep your guns ready but don’t aim at them unless we do. If anyone starts shooting, put those people down, and if things go bad, get in the truck and get out. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Ana said with no hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Yes, dad,” Alexis said.
“Felix, stay in the truck,” Emmett said.
“Okay,” Felix answered.
James went past the turnoff for the gas station and stopped on the road fifty yards away from the people at the pumps. The people didn’t raise their guns, but they kept them ready. They were eyeing the buses full of armed survivors. Two more people came out of the gas station and stood by the door, looking a little shocked. That meant there were six people, three men and three women. All looked to be in their twenties, and they didn’t look threatening.
But neither did Levi, Alexis thought.
James and Connor got out of the truck, leaving it running. Emmett did the same. The three of them walked over to the side of the road in front of the people. Alexis and Ana stood by the truck, watching the exchange from fifty yards away.
“Howdy,” said one of the men. He was short and had pale skin. “Nice day, isn’t it?”
“It is,” James said, watching them.
James is evaluating them, Alexis noticed. All three of them are.
“Are you going to introduce yourselves?” one of the women asked, shifting uncomfortably. She looked like one of the preppy types, the ones who cared more about what they looked like than who they actually were.
“Depends,” Connor said.
“On?” asked the pale-skinned man.
“If you’re going to start shooting or not,” James said.
“We won’t if you don’t,” Pale Skin said. “I don’t think we’d come out on top.”
“You wouldn’t,” Emmett said. “I can promise you that.”
“Well then,” Pale Skin said, “I’m Jeremy and these are my friends.”
“James,” James said, “This is my brother Connor, that’s Emmett, and those are all our friends.” He pointed back to the two school buses full of armed survivors.
“You got a lot of friends,” Jeremy said, smiling. It looked like a genuine smile, but was it?
“Yep,” Connor said.
“Well . . . are we gonna stand here all day or are you gonna get gas?” Jeremy asked.
“Gas would be good,” James said. “Bill, Greg, pull those buses in and fill up. Girls, could you pull the trucks around to the pumps?”
“On it,” Ana said, running up to James’s truck.
Alexis got into her dad’s truck. Greg and Bill pulled the buses around to the pumps as her dad, James and Connor walked through the ditch and over to Jeremy and his friends. The two people standing by the building walked over to their vehicles. Alexis drove behind Ana to the pumps. As she drove to one of the open pumps, she noticed her dad shaking Jeremy’s hand.
Alexis climbed out of the truck with her rifle and began to fuel up.
“I’m Stacy,” said the preppy girl with bleach-blonde hair and perfectly tanned skin.
“Alexis,” she said, shaking Stacy’s hand. She looked superficial, but her smile seemed genuine.
“We haven’t seen this many people since we left three days ago,” Stacy said. “We thought we might be the only ones left.”
“No, there’s still a few around,” Alexis said.
“That’s good to know,” Stacy said, still smiling. “You hear of anywhere safe?”
“No, we found one town but . . . it wasn’t safe at all.”
“Too bad. We’re hoping to find somewhere, but if not, we’re going to Galveston, Texas. Spencer’s family owns a big yacht down there. We’ll be able to live away from all this and just come back to shore for food and stuff.”
“Spencer is one of the guys with you?”
“Yeah, he’s over there,” she said and pointed to a tall, black-haired man.
Now that she looked closer, she realized all of them were dressed in expensive clothing and the jeep and suburban looked brand new. They didn’t seem to be the snobby stereotype of wealthy people; they actually seemed like good people. This put her more on edge. Levi had been one of the nicest, most genuine guys she’d ever met, and look how that had turned out. It hadn’t really been his fault though. It was Father Ahaz, the psycho behind it all. Still, Levi had knowingly lured them into the trap, and even if he hadn’t been the one in charge, he was a part of it.
James walked over to them, her dad and Connor following behind along with the other five strangers. “This is all of you then?” he asked, looking at Jeremy.
“Uh-huh, this is it,” he said.
“Good,” James said. “You guys mind hanging out here where we can keep an eye on you?”
“I thought we were past that.” Jeremy said as Ana walked over, having filled up James’s truck.
“We can’t take any chances,” James said. “We have a lot of children we’re responsible for.”
“Children?” Jeremy asked.
“I see the school buses, but . . .” Spencer said.
“They’re there,” James said. “We just had them get down in case there was shooting.”
“Is it really so bad that people would kill kids?” Jeremy asked.
Alexis thought she noticed his eye twitch as he spoke. Was he lying? But why would he lie about something like that?
“It’s a whole lot worse than you can imagine,” Connor said.
“Wow,” Stacy said. “It’s good we met you first then.”
“It is,” James said, “So you don’t mind hanging here while they take the kids in?”
“Not at all,” Jeremy said. “We got what we needed and were just about to leave anyway.”
“Thanks,” James said. “Connor, Ana, you want to make sure the place is clear?”
Connor and Ana nodded and jogged off.
“It’s good in there,” Spencer said.
“But I understand you wanting to be safe,” Jeremy said. “So, how many of those walkers have you been seein’?”
“A lot,” Emmett said.
“I’d guess most of the population has turned,” James said.
“Wow,” Stacy said.
“Where are you heading?” James asked.
“South, as far as Texas if we have to,” Jeremy said.
“My parents have a yacht down there that we’re going to live on out in the ocean,” Spencer said.
“Good idea,” James said.
“If you can make it there,” Emmett said.
“We started out in Texas,” Alexis added.
“How was it?” Jeremy asked.
“It was one of the first places to go,” Emmett said. “I’d say by now it’s pretty bad.”
“Oh,” Jeremy sighed. “Anywhere else we could go?”
“North,” Emmett said.
“We can’t go back there,” said one of the other women, nervously.
She was short and Alexis had barely noticed her standing there. It almost seemed like she didn’t want the attention. The third woman was tall, with flawless dark skin, long red hair, and a stern expression on her face. The last person in the group was a heavyset man with small, beady eyes. Those three were a couple of feet from the rest and seemed like they wanted it that way. Alexis decided she needed to keep an eye on them.
“Bad?” James asked.
“Umm . . .” Jeremy hesitated. “We almost didn’t make it through Casper.” He added hastily.
“An
ything we should know?” Emmett asked.
“Yeah,” Jeremy said. “Where the interstate takes the big turn, there’s a huge wreck, no way to get through it. We got off by the Events Center, but there were a lot of walkers there. We barely made it through.”
“Any other way around?” James asked.
“Not that we could see,” Jeremy said.
“But you guys might be fine,” Spencer said. “That was the day before yesterday. They might have moved off.”
“True,” James said as Connor and Ana walked back out of the building and over to them.
“It’s clear,” Connor said.
“And there’s a bunch of water and food we should get,” Ana said.
“How are you going to pay for all that?” Stacy asked.
“Pay?” Connor asked and looked at her like she’d just grown a horn out of her forehead.
“Like with money,” Stacy added.
“We’ve been leaving money for the stuff we take,” Jeremy said, shrugging. “We didn’t know how bad it was.”
“Plus, it’s the right thing to do,” Stacy said.
Connor started laughing and walked off to the cab of James’s truck. “Oh, we’ll leave ‘em something.”
“Greg, Bill, you’re clear to take the kids in. Make sure no one goes alone. Let’s make this quick,” James called out. “Once the kids are done, bring them back and have people start gathering up all the food and water and put it in the buses.”
“Got it,” Bill replied, turning back to the kids and adults in his bus.
Most of the group went into the gas station. A few stayed behind but got out of the bus to stretch. Mila came over to James’s truck to get Olive, walking with her toward the station.
“Can I go?” Felix said from inside the truck behind Alexis.
“Oh, of course,” Alexis said. “Just stick close to Mila.”
“Okay,” he responded, climbing out.
“There’s a lot of little cuties,” Stacy said.
“Like I said, we have a big group,” James said.
“I’d say,” Jeremy said.
“I think we should go,” said the tall woman, looking across the road.
A dozen or so infected were shambling toward them from town. It wasn’t nearly a horde and they were spread out, but it would still be a problem if they made it to the gas station.
The Brother's Creed (Book 2): Battleborn Page 10