by J. R. Tate
Running toward the horse trail they had taken down, Jake ran up the hill, his legs burning, his lungs aching. He felt the weight of the handgun in his pocket along with the shotgun in his hand. Double checking to make sure it was loaded, he slid a shell inside, ready to shoot at whoever came at him. The worry about going up to the rim was getting caught in friendly fire but it was a sacrifice he needed to make to get these men off of them.
Sliding behind a large oak tree, Jake saw the man he had shot, dead from the gunshot wound to his head. The other man was crouched down and lying low on the ground. Aiming, Jake shot him in the leg, making sure the injury would only hinder him and not kill him. He needed answers and hopefully, the man would be honest.
Walking up to him, Jake kicked his gun out of his reach and aimed the shotgun right at his chest. The man rolled on his side and looked up at him, holding his hands up at his chest. It felt like a movie scene from an old western, and Jake could feel at any moment that someone was going to come up behind him and kill him.
“You son of a bitch… you shot me!” The man’s words came out in short pants and sweat gathered on his brow.
“Just like you shot someone in my group and killed him.”
“What do you want?”
“I wanna know how many more are coming.” Jake stayed even keel, hoping he wasn’t wearing his nervousness out in the open. Deep inside, he couldn’t get his heart to stop racing.
“How many more of what?”
The man was playing stupid. He knew exactly what Jake was referring to. He grit his teeth and said, “How many more people gunning to kill us?”
“I’d say the entire world. You have horses and guns. And you’re broadcasting your supplies for all to see.”
Jake rested his index finger on the trigger. It was still hard to believe that mankind was resorting to this sort of behavior. The world they lived in was civilized and it didn’t take long for everyone to revert right back to killing each other for survival. He wasn’t innocent - there were two men he had killed now, and possibly a third happening soon.
“You didn’t answer my question. How much more in your group?” Jake pointed the shotgun closer, his arms aching from holding it up.
“Lots more. We just came looking and found you. We were gonna take the news back to everyone. Just because you stopped us don’t mean they won’t find out. They’ll come looking when they realize we never made it back to the camp. Your ass is dead. You’ll be lying belly up like your friend in days.”
Jake clenched the shotgun, hearing footsteps coming closer. Noticing in his peripheral vision that it was Becky, the tension relaxed but he didn’t take the gun off of the man. “Where is your camp at?”
“That I won’t ever tell you.”
Jake edged closer, pushing the metal of the barrel into the man’s forehead. “Where is it?”
“I won’t tell. You’ll just have to kill me.”
“Jake?” Becky spoke up but he had tunnel vision, not even looking her way.
“We could use you as a hostage when they come for us. You’re not worth anything if I kill you.”
“They won’t give a damn. I’m just another mouth they have to feed. Keeping me alive will make me just another mouth you’ll have to feed.”
“Jake. Jake, back up!” Becky yelled, finally pulling him from his trance.
Doing as she asked, another loud gunshot rang out and the warm splatter of blood splashed on Jake’s face. Opening his eyes, he saw the man was dead from a gunshot wound to his chest. Becky still had the gun aimed, a small plume of smoke escaping from the barrel.
“He was reaching for something. You couldn’t see it but I could from where I was standing.”
Jake knelt beside the body and pulled a small caliber pistol from the man’s pocket. “Thanks, Becky. I guess you’re a better shot than you thought, huh?”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Standing, Jake searched each body, pulling a few more guns and an ammunition belt from each of them. Tossing Becky one of them, he slung the other one over his shoulder and took a deep breath, looking toward the horizon.
“We need to keep moving. I don’t know if he was telling the truth or not, but there are more out there. The faster we get out of the area, the better.”
“I’ll get everyone ready.” Becky started toward the trail back down into the canyon but Jake grabbed her arm, stopping her. “I’ll be the front scout from now on. We’ll have someone else stay back in the rear. Next time, we’ll be ready. No one is going to march in here and take what we worked for.”
Becky nodded and smiled. “I know. I trust you, Jake. We’re gonna make it through this.”
He watched as she went down into the canyon to get the group ready to move. Taking another deep breath, Jake closed his eyes to prepare himself for what was to come. They had come this far and survived. He wasn’t going to let anything else get in their way, even if it meant killing more people. It was a new world with new laws. Kill or be killed. Anything less than surviving was unacceptable.
They still had many miles to go, but the next time Jake would be willing to stop and rest would be back home in Dallas, with his family safely by his side.
BOOK TWO COMING SOON!
Acknowledgments:
I would like to thank all of you readers out there! Without you, none of this would even be worth it, so thank you! I would also like to thank my mother, Patti Tate and my sister, Lizzy Gryder for their continued support of my writing! You guys are amazing!
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Looking for more post-apocalyptic thrillers? Check out TORNADO WARNING – THE DAMAGED CLIMATE SERIES BOOK ONE:
http://amzn.to/25BFtWW
In the blink of an eye, the small Texas town of Harper Springs is flattened by the worst tornadic system to ever hit the area. Homes are demolished, trees are uprooted, and people are left for dead.
Taking cover in a cellar with his son, Ryan Gibson narrowly escapes the storm and gets separated from his wife. He hopes that help will come fast – his child is severely injured and the crippling weather pattern rages on, making them pawns in Mother Nature’s game.
Weeks pass with no sign of another human being. Tornadoes continue to hammer away at the already ravished land. Ryan wonders why they have been forgotten. Basic survival skills set in – their food rations get smaller, their water intake less, and their limited resources will soon be gone. With his son’s fading health and his wife still missing, he will have to make a decision soon – leave their shelter and risk death, or stay patient and hold out hope that a rescue team is on the way.
A harsh truth will soon be revealed – the tranquil way of life in Harper Springs will never be the same.