“We can’t leave him for the others to talk to him,” Will said. “We’ve already mentioned that we are going to Lewis’s.”
Beth knelt down to Tanner. She noticed he smelled foul. “Tanner, I’m so sorry,” she said as her eyes welled up with tears. “I didn’t realize it was you.”
Tanner answered, barely audible, “No, Beth...I’m sorry.” He was struggling to breathe.
“Mom,” Will said, “Tanner probably brought this whole group up here. This is the group that attacked Juana. They weren’t from around here. He joined them. We need to go. They are coming this way now.”
“We can’t just let him die,” Beth said through tears. “He’s my friend.”
“Beth, we need to go,” Lea said pleadingly.
Will aimed his pistol at Tanner. Beth noticed and backed away. Will fired. They were temporarily deafened by the shot. Tanner’s heavy breathing had stopped. Lea’s jaw dropped open in surprise at what Will had just done. Will looked around at everyone. Juana, having a deep disdain for this group, nodded approvingly at Will.
“We need to go,” Will said.
Will picked up the weapons from the two men and headed off into the woods. The others followed. Beth remained silent, tears still flowing down her face. Lea walked alongside Beth, keeping an arm around her shoulder.
The first words that anyone spoke came after about a mile of walking. The walk was much more difficult through the woods than that morning when they did the walk on the road. It was pitch dark now, with only slight streams of moonlight shining through the trees. The rocky terrain would rise and fall. There were constantly tripping over unseen rocks and fallen trees.
“Will,” Beth called out. “Will...how could you kill him so easily?”
Will, still about ten paces ahead of the others, stopped. He stood facing the direction of Lewis’s farm and waited for his mother to catch up. She stopped next to him. She could see his eyebrows furrowed in anger as he continued looking ahead. Juana and Lea stopped behind them, remaining silent.
“How could you kill him?” Beth asked again. The question and thought of her friend being dead caused her to begin crying again.
Will finally turned to his mother. “He brought them all here. He must have. Look what they were about to do to you and Juana and Lea. You haven’t been to town. I have. There are bodies everywhere. They are killing anyone they want. There is no police. There’s been no one stopping them. They’ve burnt down nearly the whole town.” Will paused from his angry rant, processing his thoughts. “Look, Mom, I liked Tanner too. We have to think about us now. Because of him, we could have all been dead...tonight. It could’ve been worse. They could have wanted to keep you three. Who knows what they would be doing to you.”
“We could have helped him,” Beth said through her tears. “We could have brought him with us.”
“Mom, are you mad that I finished him or are you mad that you shot him first?” Will asked the question before thinking it through.
Will knew the question would pierce his mother deeply. He knew she had to be upset because she had shot a good friend of hers. She shot him to the point that it was inevitable that he would succumb to the wounds. Will wondered if he shot Tanner because it needed to be done or if he subconsciously wanted to take that burden from his mother.
“He would have slowed us down too much,” Will continued. “We couldn’t have brought him with us and he knows where Lewis lives. We said we were going to Lewis’s. If they had time to talk to him then they could have gotten to us tonight. They might still find Lewis’s tonight. It had to be done. He brought this on himself.”
Will was now cold in his tone. He didn’t like being this way to his mother. He didn’t like being this way in front of Lea. He knew it was a different world now. They had to bring their own justice. He wanted the others to understand what he understood.
“We need to keep moving,” Will said. “We still don’t know for sure if Alejandro was going to get Lewis and bring him back to where we were hiding or if they were going to stay there.”
Beth was silent again. She began walking ahead of the others and Juana started to follow. Will looked at Lea with pleading eyes as they both still stood there. He figured Juana was on his side, but he needed Lea on his side more than anyone. He held out his hand to her, wanting her to take it. She began walking, ignoring his hand. He dropped his arm to his side as a feeling something like defeat came over him. He sighed deeply and followed behind.
As Will could tell they were nearing Lewis’s, he decided to catch up to Lea to talk with her for the last section of the walk.
“Lea, what’s wrong?” Will asked. “Why are you mad at me?”
“You just killed those two guys...like...it wasn’t anything to you,” Lea answered. “And then you were so harsh to your Mom. That was her friend.”
“It wasn’t nothing to me,” he said. “It wasn’t easy. I thought of Tanner as a friend as well.” He looked ahead to keep track of Juana and his mother, their moving figures just visible due to the moonlight. “It’s just this whole night,” he said in a frustrated tone. “I’ve always been into planning and prepping and now that hardly did anything for us. All this work we’ve done to survive is going to be gone. Our town is gone. Who knows how many of our friends. I can only hope they made it to those camps. I was scared for you. I came back down the hill and heard what that guy was saying. I know what he was going to do. So do you.”
“I don’t know,” Lea said. “This whole life, it’s so different. It’s not what I wanted. I know those men were bad. I don’t know. I don’t know what to say.”
Will could tell she was struggling with this new way of life. He wasn’t sure if he had noticed before. Maybe it wasn’t until the reality of it landed at their gate.
“I know it’s difficult, Lea,” Will said. “I know having to kill someone or watching it isn’t the life we would have chosen for ourselves before all of this happened. That is the world we live in now. I’ve read tons on this type of stuff from military experts and survival experts. When societies crumble, the system of justice is placed in the individual’s hands. There’s no police or courts. And where is the military? We just have to make sure we are making the right decisions. I think what happened earlier was clear cut. I know Tanner was a friend, but he was the aggressor.”
“You still didn’t have to be so harsh to your Mom,” Lea said.
Will had hoped for some response to what he had said about justice being in their hands.
“Maybe I was being too defensive,” he said. “I know she was upset that she had shot Tanner. I know she was upset that I shot him too. Like I said, there was just so much that happened tonight. We are losing all the work we’ve done. We are losing our home,” he said and then paused. “What do you think about the stuff I said about justice being up to us?” He looked at her in the dark, trying to see if he could discern any reaction on her face.
“I don’t know,” Lea said. “Like I was saying, this way of life still seems foreign. I can’t wrap my head around any of us having to kill anyone. It still seems weird to me that my Dad shot the guy that cut my Mom. Anyone that did these types of things before always seemed to be criminals.”
“We are protecting ourselves from criminals now,” Will said.
“I know,” she said. “I don’t know how to explain it.” She paused for a moment. “You’ve been reading and preparing for something like this for a while. You had the food stored. You have survival gear. I’ve never read anything about this. I’ve never done any preparing. You’ve had plans and scenarios in your head for years. Every single thing about our lives now seems new and scary. I’m sure I’ve seen movies that demonstrate this type of situation, but I think of them as just movies. I don’t watch them for education on the subject. They are entertainment.”
“I guess I have to remember that,” Will said. “I have to remember that for you and everyone else. I might be the only one out of our group that basically studied
this type of stuff. Lewis knows tons about working the land which is great for survival in situations like these. But, my Mom is probably going to be similar in thought to what you just told me.”
Their conversation ended as they approached the edge of Lewis’s farm. Beth and Juana were waiting for Will and Lea, staying in the trees. Once they were all together, they all stood silent for a few moments, listening for any indication of vehicles or members of the intruding group.
Beth broke the silence. “I think we should approach Lewis’s house from the back. Maybe only one of us.”
“I’ll go,” Will immediately offered.
Beth and Will looked at each other, still remaining silent on the subject of Tanner. Beth nodded to Will.
“Alright,” Will said, “you all stay here and stay down. Keep an eye on the direction we came from as well. I tried to as we were walking. Someone could have followed. I never saw any indication of it, though.”
They all nodded to Will in acknowledgment. Will hunkered down low and took several steps into the planted field. He scanned around the house across the field and the whole surrounding tree line. He saw no movement. He dashed quickly about half way across the field, still bent low as he ran. He stopped again and knelt. He scanned the whole area again, searching for any new movement. He thought he had been doing a lot of ducking and crawling around this evening. He wished he had a way to signal Alejandro and Lewis. He didn’t want them to be spooked by his arrival and for himself to get fired upon for the second time tonight.
He turned back to where he left the others. He couldn’t see them anymore which meant they were hiding well like he wanted them too. He wished he had said more to his mother. He kept replaying his handling of the situation, the things he had said. He wished he could start again. He wished he had at least hugged Lea before dashing off on another mission tonight. He did one last sweeping scan of the area and moved again towards the rear of the house. He stopped about twenty feet back from Lewis’s back porch. After looking from side to side, he considered taking a detour before approaching the house any further and try to get a better view of the front side of the house and possibly the drive heading down the hill.
He decided to do just that. It had been a long day and exhaustion was beginning to overtake him. He had to be as careful as possible. He turned to his right and ran, staying bent over still, until he was abeam the side of the house. He was surprised to see Lewis and Alejandro standing near Lewis’s truck. It appeared Alejandro was keeping watch down the hill along the driveway while Lewis was loading items into the bed of the truck. A sense of safety came over Will and he stood and called out to them.
“Guys, it’s Will,” Will yelled as he waved an arm over his head.
“Will!” Alejandro yelled back. “Where are the others?”
“They are back across the field,” Will answered while pointing in the general direction that he left the three. “What are you guys doing?”
“Lewis said the truck that we saw come down this way came all the way up here by his house,” Alejandro said. “I’m sure they will bring more back. We are loading some stuff to hide out for a few days. We should get the others so we can get ready quicker.”
“We might have a little bit of time,” Will said. “Those two in the truck are dead. They never made it back to their group.”
“What happened?” Alejandro asked while a surprised look formed on his face.
“The two guys in the truck spotted my Mom, Juana, and Lea and then came after them. There was some shooting and we are all okay,” Will said, purposely leaving out all the details.
“Oh man,” Alejandro said while placing his hands on his head. “I wish I would never have left them alone.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Will said. “We are still going to have to get out of here. There must have been thirty more cars and trucks show up to our place. I’m sure they’ll either search the area tonight or tomorrow for sure. Especially with losing two of their own.”
“Thirty more?” Alejandro said in disbelief.
“Yeah,” Will said, “and we couldn’t tell how many people were in each vehicle. I know it’s been a long day but we should get out of here soon. What do you think? Go further up the four wheeling road? I guess that’s a stupid question. We can’t go the other way. We’ll just run into them.”
“That’s what Lewis and I were planning,” Alejandro said. “Go up the trail to wait them out. Do you think they are going to stick around?”
“I overheard them talking about making our place a camp,” Will answered. “I’m guessing they are staying a while. They might see all these fields of food and decide to stay to harvest it. Who knows?” He looked around at the moonlit planted field. The thought of all the work they had done going to waste still depressed him. “I’ll go get the others so we can get out of here.”
He ran straight to where he left the other three. This time, he made no effort to move quietly or stay low. As Will approached the tree-line he yelled out for them.
“Alright guys, it’s safe. They’re safe,” Will said referring to Alejandro and Lewis.
He glanced back and forth along the trees waiting for them to pop out. After a brief moment, they all stepped out of the woods and began brushing themselves off.
“They are loading up Lewis’s truck,” Will said. “They think we should get out of here quickly too.”
They all walked across the field and then around the house. They all gathered together at the bed of the truck. A light from the porch illuminated them and the truck.
“Well...” Lewis began, “I loaded some camping supplies. There’s some food.” He was clearly depressed and saddened by the abrupt turn of events. He sighed. “I really didn’t want to leave my home.” His eyes appeared to be filling with tears. He didn’t look at anyone. He kept his eyes pointing towards the items in the bed. “That cooler there has a lot of that deer meat.” He nodded his head in the direction of the cooler. “Anything else you all think we should get?”
“I have my pack here,” Will said. “It has some survival gear to help get us through. A little bit of food as well. I had more stuff in the Jeep.” He let out a forced laugh. “I forgot to tell you, I hid the Jeep up in the woods up beyond our property. I grabbed this bag and left all the other stuff I had. I’m glad I didn’t try bringing the Jeep all the way back to the road. If I did...” He stopped, not wanting to bring up the shootout and death from before. “Anyway, the wheeling trail eventually cuts back higher up the mountain behind all of our land here. We might be able to sneak down at some point and try to bring it up. Or, at least get the stuff I packed in there.”
“There’s a lot of thick woods and rock outcroppings between here and the road,” Lewis said. “It’d be a bear of a job.”
“Yeah,” Will said solemnly.
“If there’s nothing else to get then let’s get going,” Beth said.
“I’ll drive,” Lewis said. “You all have been running around the woods for hours. You should try to sleep.”
“One last thing,” Will said. They all looked to him. “We need to check down the road before we drive the truck down the driveway.”
“Good idea,” Alejandro said. “I’ll run down there. Someone should stand higher up to pass on to bring the truck down.”
“I’ll go with you,” Will said.
“Ladies, you should get settled in the truck,” Alejandro said.
“Once we are on our way, you all should go to sleep,” Lewis said. “I’ll take care of it from there.”
Lewis and the three women sat quietly in the truck as Alejandro scouted their exit route. Will stood part way down the driveway waiting for Alejandro’s signal. He couldn’t see the truck from where he stood. He would have to turn back uphill and walk a bit to be able to signal the truck. He dreaded having to take a single step uphill.
Beth, Lea, and Juana were all situated in the back seat of the truck. The sudden halt of all the night’s excitement, their bodies b
eing overcome with fatigue, all being paired with the still and quiet of the night caused their eyes to become heavy. A cool breeze swept through the valley. The comforting air passed through the open windows of the truck. Lea lay against her mother’s arm. She was already fast asleep. Beth and Juana lay against opposite doors, their eyelids shutting for longer and longer periods as sleep tried to take them. Lewis sat in the driver’s seat. He leaned forward with both forearms resting on top of the steering wheel. He watched down the hill for Will, waiting to spot his figure somewhere on the dark, tree-lined driveway.
Lewis heard a distant yell. He moved his right hand to the key in the ignition. He didn’t start the truck yet. He wanted to see Will giving them some sort of signal that they should come down the drive. He squinted and leaned forward a few inches with the hope it would help see into the dark. Now there was more yelling. It was from multiple people, none of which sounded like Will or Alejandro. Lewis’s mind clued into what was happening. He whipped his head around to see figures in the distance across his backyard. The moonlight giving just enough to differentiate the multiple figures as they emerged from several locations out of the trees. They must have sent out these search parties to comb the woods.
Lewis immediately turned the key and the large diesel rumbled to life. He quickly shifted and slammed down the accelerator. The tires spun in the dirt before grabbing and jerking the truck forward. All the women were awake again, Lea in pure confusion from being yanked from a deep sleep. Lewis could hear shots being fired. Bullets were whizzing by his window. A couple hit the truck somewhere near the rear. It made a sound like someone had taken a baseball bat and slammed it against the bed of the truck.
It didn’t matter now if this group was waiting for them at the road. There was no need to scout it out. They were either there or they weren’t. The only option now was to try. They were without a doubt behind them, now claiming Lewis’s land as their own. If they held the road as well, they had them no matter what. Lewis guided the barreling truck down the driveway, ready to slam on the brake pedal at any moment to pick up the other two.
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