Day After Disaster, The Changing Earth Series, Uncut Edition

by Sara F. Hathaway

  Erika stepped back to avoid his fall and sighed with relief, when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She struggled and kicked but the sudden grab of this new attacker had taken her totally off guard. She slowly stopped struggling as the unknown individual buried the hilt of his gun in the side of her head. Blood ran down her head and her eyes closed.

  Chapter 26

  "Boss, the front gate is still holding and we have those two trapped in the supply room,” said a strange voice.

  “They haven’t been captured yet?” Another voice said.

  “No, but…” the first voice replied.

  “But what?” said the second voice roughly.

  Erika’s sense of reality was slowly returning. She realized she wasn’t dead but what had happened and where the heck was she?

  “I want those two fuckers dead!” screamed the second voice.

  “Okay, okay, boss, I’ll get out there and take care of it myself,” replied the first voice hastily.

  “You’re darn right you will… oh, look, the bitch is starting to wake up,” said the second voice. He had noticed Erika starting to move.

  “Just let me do her now, boss,” said the first voice. Erika heard a click of a gun cocking.

  “No, stupid, I’ve been waiting for this for too long to kill her quick. I’m gonna have some fun with this whore before she dies.” Erika heard the man walking across the room. “Hey, bitch, you awake,” he said harshly.

  Erika slowly and painfully opened her eyes. They felt swollen and when she tried to move, she realized she was tied to a chair. Through the swollen slits she saw a darker-skinned man with a scar on the bottom of his chin staring right into her eyes. She knew him immediately; it was Doug Pennington, the leader of the gang.

  “Well hello, sweetie. Comfy?” Doug said softly.

  Erika didn’t reply. She looked around the room. It was built from old building pieces that had fallen during the quakes. It was lavishly decorated with large area rugs on the walls and floors. The room was partitioned by a rug as well, and she could see that behind it was obviously a sleeping area. The room she was in held a huge desk with papers, and Dave, Doug’s right-hand man, stood sheepishly along one wall. His blue eyes made contact with hers.

  “Hey bitch, I’m talking to you,” Doug shouted in her face and spittle-splattered on her cheek. “Happy to see me, aren’t ya?”

  “Where am I?” Erika questioned.

  “You’re in my world now, little girl,” Doug snapped back. “You don’t know how much I’ve longed for you to be sitting right there in that chair.” He backed off a little and began to pace in front of her. “You put on quite a show down there at the river. It was supposed to be an easy in and out, but no, you orchestrated a resistance. That was a nice touch, the exploding bridge. My brother died on that fucking bridge!” He was back in her face shouting at her. She saw his nasty sweat bead up on his face and then drip onto her body. “The horse was a great touch, very nostalgic, but easily traceable. I followed your tracks back to that shit hole of a barn and I took vengeance on those people. I should have killed them all, but I knew you would come to rescue them. Somehow, I just knew if I set it up just right, you would come. And here you are. How lucky for me.”

  Reality hit Erika like a wave. This had all been a setup. They had captured Harold’s family and left him alive because they knew he would find her. The truth was almost sickening. Erika turned white with rage.

  “Fuck you and your dead brother!” Erika snapped as the anger over his attack on Henry and Carol welled up inside her. She spit in his face. Doug punched her across her mouth causing her head to snap sideways and her chair to fall over. Blood poured from her mouth onto the floor. She could do nothing but lay there and wait for his next move.

  “Just let me fucking kill her now,” Dave shouted as he bounded across the room. He drove his gun’s barrel into the side of Erika’s head.

  “Knock it off, you stupid fuck.” Doug smacked Dave across the head. “I told you I was going to savor this kill. Get yourself over to that supply room and kill those bastards. Now!” Doug shouted back at Dave

  Dave left in a fury. Erika’s eyes followed him as he left. She was terrified for Vince and Greg’s safety. Erika heard the door slam as Doug abruptly set her back upright in the chair. She was face to face with him again.

  “Now, where were we before that mouth of yours got you into trouble. Oh yeah, I was telling you all about how you lead me straight to that beautiful cache of supplies. So, my fiery little bitch, what’s your name?” Doug grabbed hold of her chin and looked straight into her eyes.

  “Fuck you!” Erika ripped her head out of his hand, and spat blood from her swollen mouth onto the floor.

  “That can be arranged,” Doug hissed at her. He reached down and ripped her shirt down the front. “Well, look at you. Those scars run all over your body. What the hell happened to you?” When Doug had seen her scarring, he was taken back a little. His surprise caused him to step a couple of paces away from Erika, giving her some room to breathe.

  She knew her situation was grim and she needed to think fast. It was obvious Doug was not in a hurry to kill her and spike her head somewhere along the wall. She figured if she could keep him talking, it would buy her time to be rescued, or rescue herself. Her face hurt, and she could feel it swelling more and more. At this point, she needed to play damage control. She had to survive; her kids were waiting.

  “I made it out of Sacramento,” she said flatly.

  “You did what?” Doug couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Nobody made it out of there. We looked for survivors, all we found were bodies.”

  “Lucky for me,” Erika commented under her breath.

  “You know, you really should control that mouth of yours,” he said. He was right in her face again with her chin in his hand. “I don’t care if you made it through the gates of hell itself, I’ll still kill you right now,” he said in a surprisingly calm voice. He looked her up and down as he tilted her head from side to side in his hand. “Oh yeah, there’s plenty that can still be done with you.” His tongue licked his lips. “Nothing’s really damaged here.” His tone of voice made Erika’s skin crawl.

  Erika tried so hard to back away from him she ended up tipping the chair over backwards. This caused Doug to beat on her some more before he once again sat the chair upright.

  “You are a spirited one, I have to give you that,” said Doug with a chuckle. “You sure are making this fun.” He was pacing back and forth in front of her again, obviously taking pleasure in tormenting her.

  Both of Erika’s eyes continued to swell, and she had sustained a nasty kick to the ribs. She checked the strength of the ropes at her wrists and felt the rope burn on her skin as she twisted her wrists back and forth. They were tight, and pain shot from just about every corner of her body. Her heart beat frantically. From outside, she could still hear an explosion now and again, and she could hear gunfire from every direction.

  Doug saw her taking notice of the noise outside. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, my boys will kill all those heroes that came with you and no one will come to save you now. You are all mine.” Doug rubbed his hands together like he was getting ready to eat a gourmet meal. He watched her puffy eyes start to water. He knew he would break her soon.

  Erika prayed he was not correct, but in the back of her mind, she had to wonder if he was. The plan had never been to conquer the whole compound. It was supposed to be so simple, get in and get out, save some people and get some supplies. Now here she was, stuck, and the most sickening part was this had been Doug’s plan all along. He had expertly conceived the plan and it had worked. She had no idea that he would be expecting her. She acted on instinct to save her friends and had played right into his diabolical plot. Her mind was racing. What should I do? she wondered again and again. Should she appease him and try to survive until she could escape his grasp. She shook the thought from her head. Surrender had never been an option for her in the pas
t, and she certainly wasn’t going to give in now.

  “So,” Doug’s harsh voice snapped her back to reality, “you escaped that sludge down there but obviously not unscathed.” He was calm and curious now.

  “Yes, and those people you took vengeance on, those wonderful people, they saved me. They found me and rescued me. They didn’t lock me in a cage or make me a slave. They helped me and sent me on my way back to my fam…” Erika realized she was saying way too much. She had got caught up in her anger over how this monster had devised this plan, and how he had treated Henry and Carol, and all those people, even children.

  “Back to your family.” Doug had caught the slipup immediately and pounced on her weakness. “And were they alive?” He paced vigorously in his delight while his mind worked on the implications of her statement.

  “No, they were dead, even my baby boy,” Erika lied, trying to sound convincing.

  Doug paced around her chair like a shark smelling blood. Finally, he leaned down so he was in her face again. “You want to know what I think. I think you are lying. You went back home to your little family. You found them and now your man is here, isn’t he?” Doug’s brain was racing now. Maybe he could have a lot of fun with this. Killing her husband in front of her would be the ultimate humiliation. She would have to submit to him then. He was pacing again. Erika was horrified as she saw a look of realization come over his face. “And I know where he is.” Erika’s eyes widened. “Oh yes, my little pet, I definitely know where he is.” He rubbed his hands together again. “I saw your eyes when I told Dave to go kill those men in the supply room. You looked fiercely concerned. He is one of those guys, isn’t he?”

  “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” She angrily spat out the words. “I told you my family is dead.” Erika was doing her best to sound convincing but she had never been a very good liar. “Of course I would be concerned about my friends.” She continued desperately trying to convince him.

  “Oh, but I think you know exactly what I’m talking about. Now you just keep your fine self right there and I’ll be right back.” Doug was excited now.

  “You’re a fucking monster!” Erika shouted at him.

  “Bitch, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” Doug seethed as he slammed the door.

  Erika found herself alone. What had just happened? That monster was going after Vince. Pain coursed through her body. She took a deep breath and winced from the sting in her ribs. She wanted so badly to just give up. She had endured enough pain for three lifetimes but something inside her said no. This was her chance. What was she going to do? She examined the chair she was tied to. Frantically, she pulled at the ropes on her wrists until she could feel the blood trickling down her hands. There was no working her hands free. She was tied to the back legs of the chair. If only she could break those legs. She rocked the chair so her feet could just barely touch the floor and then she jumped and tried to make the chair land on the back legs. She hit at a horrible angle and fell hard on her side. The pain shot through her. Now, she was down again, and there was no one there to pick her up. The pain surged through her battered body but she had to get up. Working with her tippy toes and fingertips, she finally rocked the chair upright and she was on her feet again. Erika feared the pain from another fall but knew if she could just break those back legs she would be free.

  She worked up all her courage, jumped off her feet, and threw all her weight into landing on the back legs. It worked! She heard a loud crack as her hands broke free. She quickly brought one to her mouth to wipe away the blood, sweat, and spit. The rope had been so tight, her hands were still tied to the broken chair legs. She worked at the knots with her teeth and soon her hands were free. She quickly untied her legs. There was no time to lose, any minute now they could be coming back through that door. She stood up. The adrenaline was pumping through her battered body now and she felt no pain. She thought about running out the door, but what about Vince? She couldn’t risk the chance that Doug would come back with Vince as his captive, find her missing, and kill him in his rage. She was thinking frantically. She needed a weapon. She scanned the room but saw nothing. She rummaged through the desk but it was just papers and pens. The thought the pen is mightier than the sword ran through her head. She didn’t think that would be true in this situation.

  Erika ran to the back sleeping area. There was a bed with silk sheets. Erika spit a bloody mouthful of saliva on them in disgust and continued surveying the room. There was a table with a sawed-off shotgun lying on it. She ran over and grabbed it. When she broke it open to check for ammo, there was only one shell inside.

  “Oh shit,” Erika said to herself as she looked for more ammo. She found none. “Well, this will have to do.”

  She quickly hid behind the door to the outside. She waited. She remembered hiding behind her bedroom door waiting to ambush her unsuspecting son. She would jump out and yell “boo.” He would be completely surprised and Erika would laugh and laugh at her joke. Hoping this strategy would work, she listened closely for movement outside. She could hear shouting from out in the camp. Every hair on her body was standing on edge. In her moment of calm, she felt the pain in her face, causing the muscles to twitch. Her wrists burned where the ropes had been tied tight. She tried to steady her breathing and prepare for the encounter.

  Then from out of nowhere, the door was thrown open. It smashed into Erika but she held perfectly still, holding her breath. Two men with their hands bound were thrown through the door and fell with a crash onto the floor. Erika could see instantly it was Vince and Greg. They both appeared to be badly beaten. Vince looked to be on the edge of consciousness, but Greg fell into an unconscious heap on the floor; his sarcasm must have earned him a much harder beating.

  “So, you stupid whore, which one of these bastards is your husband?” Doug fumed as he strut through the door. He had assumed she was still in the chair and his confidence was palpable. “What the fuck?” he questioned when he saw the broken chair. He quickly spun from right to left, scanning the room.

  Erika’s heart was pounding out of her chest as she kicked the door closed to prevent the entry of any backup men. She aimed the shotgun at Doug and without hesitation, bang! She pulled the trigger! He blew backwards off his feet as blood flew from his pelleted chest. Behind her, the door flew open again, and there was Dave with his gun pointing right at her. She turned to face him but knew she had no ammo left.

  “What did you do, you fucking bitch” shouted Dave as he looked past her and saw Doug on the floor. In slow motion, Erika could see his finger go to the trigger. He began to pull.

  Erika closed her eyes and heard two gunshots but felt no pain. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Dave on the ground. He had turned his back to her. But why? she wondered. Why had he turned away? Then she saw another body facing him. She recognized that red hair and that build, but she quickly spun back around to check on Vince and saw Vince with his mouth agape.

  “Holy shit, baby, are you all right?” Vince, lying on the floor, was in total shock and awe of his wife.

  “I’m all right, but I think that was Henry. He saved me again,” Erika said, in shock herself from the chain of events.

  “It was, untie me,” Vince said quickly. He had watched the whole thing happen. Henry had come up behind Dave while he was focused on Erika. Henry had shot Dave before he could shoot Erika, but Dave turned and shot Henry on his way down. “Go check on him, I’ll get Greg.”

  Erika ran over to Henry. He had already turned himself over. “What were you thinking, old man,” Erika jested with tears in her eyes. She could see this was very bad. The bullet had ripped through his chest.

  “Now, don’t you cry for me,” Henry sputtered. He was choking on bubbly blood coming out of his mouth. "I wasn’t gonna let you youngsters have all the glory… listen… you just go on surviving… you… youngsters… are the only… hope.” He exhaled one last time and his spirit left him.

  Erika leaned over and whispered i
n his ear, “Thank you.” She closed his eyes with her hand.

  Vince was there with her now. He was supporting Greg’s weight on his shoulder. “Erika, look,” he gasped.

  As Erika looked up, she could see a red sun rising in the east. It cast its light down upon a group of people cheering in the camp. It was over and they had won. The prisoners had mustered their strength, armed themselves, and come in upon the gang full of fury. The people of the camp had decided that this was their chance to escape Doug’s monstrous rule, and they helped the prisoners to overrun the remaining gang members and let the other fighters that were out front in. The people had taken their freedom and Doug was dead.

  Chapter 27

  The battle had been much bigger than anyone had anticipated so now there were more decisions to be made. People needed time to heal before they began the long trip over to the Lotus camp. Luckily, Rob’s whole team had survived. They had hid and used guerilla warfare to keep the front gate guards occupied. When they finally did rush the gate, Jimmy had gotten his arm broken and Tom had been shot in the leg but they were alive.

  Rob took charge and quickly had things in order. He directed the people with medical knowledge to set up a trauma center and was pleased to hear that this camp had lots of medical supplies and a real doctor. There had been a drug store with a pharmacy here, and they had completely raided its contents, even though the building itself was turned into rubble. The doctor was a man named Stan. He had been held hostage here by Doug and his gang because he could patch them up after their raids. He was thrilled by the sudden change of management and stepped forward immediately to volunteer his services for the injured. Erika, Vince, and Greg were all among the injured taken to the trauma center to receive care. Vince was bruised badly but not broken. Erika was in the same bruised state but Doug had broken three of her ribs when he was kicking her on the floor. Greg was messed up pretty bad. He had broken his collarbone and his knee was the size of a grapefruit.