From Within

by Brian Delaney

  Will had figured on a couple of hours to make the downhill trek to the Jeep. He was even cutting some time by leading them through the trees when they would reach some of the switchbacks that wound up parts of the mountain. He was beginning to worry about Marcus. On some of the rougher areas where they would be walking over rocky terrain, he could see Marcus wince and clutch the side of his chest. He had wondered if the cracked ribs would become a problem.

  “Once we reach the trail again we’ll continue on it from here on out,” Will said. “I can tell the rocky areas are hurting you.” He pointed towards Marcus’s chest.

  “It hurts a little bit,” Marcus said, “but I’ll be alright. We need to keep going and save as much time as we can.”

  Will thought that Marcus was probably just saying that it didn’t hurt much because of the urgency of the situation. He went with what Marcus said anyway. However, he tried leading them by the easiest path he could find.

  After a little over two hours and only taking two breaks, they reached the last part of the trail that was above the property. They stood on the road as Will tried to gauge where they stood in reference to where he left the Jeep. They walked down the road another half of a mile before they turned into the trees and down the mountain. As they walked down, Will tried to find a suitable route they could bring the Jeep up.

  They came across the area Will had cut through with his Jeep. He could see some of the broken branches and the crushed forest floor. Will had thought that he gauged it correctly, but it had been a hectic night. Some of his memories of that evening had blurred together. He paused briefly and pointed an ear down towards his home. He could hear people in the distance. He frowned. He had hoped this trip would reveal the group had moved on already.

  They turned and followed the path his Jeep had created. After a couple hundred yards Will became confused by the tracks. He could see tracks on either side of the path. He couldn’t find anymore that led away from the property. His eyes widened and he rushed back and forth examining the tracks.

  “Shoot!” He nearly yelled it too loud.

  “What is it?” Marcus asked.

  “That group found my Jeep.”

  Chapter Thirty

  “They found it out here in the middle of nowhere?” Marcus asked.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Will said with a sigh. “If they went searching for us that night then I wouldn’t be surprised if they searched the whole property too. It wouldn’t have been hard to find where I busted through the fence.”

  “Does Lewis have any other vehicles on his property?” Marcus asked.

  “I think he has a tractor and a riding lawn-mower,” Will said. “I think they could walk up to us if we tried to drive by on those.”

  Marcus and Will both laughed.

  “Man!” Will said in a frustrated tone. “They had tons of vehicles with them already. Why’d they need mine?”

  All of a sudden, Will and Marcus both looked at each other.

  “Tons of vehicles you say?” Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Will smiled wide. “Yep. Let’s go check it out.”

  They took off at a quick pace towards the break in the fence. They slowed as the fence came into view. Will was surprised to see that the invading group had attempted to put the fencing back up. It was angled upwards and tied to a tree with a section of rope. He wasn’t sure why they put the effort into it at all since they were still able to slip through the opening. They stayed in the trees along the fence line as the crept down the property.

  They stopped and crouched down once they came abeam the house. Will was disgusted by the scene before him. Their crops were trampled all over the place. Tents had been put up in what appeared to be random locations. Areas that were once grass had been crushed too many times by footsteps and tire tracks that it was now mostly dirt. He could understand that with having a couple dozen people that some areas would get trampled, but did they not care about the food? They had tents on their vegetable plots. Vehicles were driven into and parked on planted areas. Will shook his head.

  Marcus noticed Will’s disappointed. “They’ve really done a number on this place, huh?”

  “Looks like it,” Will answered. “We had done tons of work here. Planted tons of food. I wonder if they’ve done anything like this to Lewis’s property.”

  “Sorry, Will,” Marcus said in an effort to comfort him. “I see some Jeeps parked over there. Any of them yours?”

  “I don’t see mine,” Will said. “At this point, it doesn’t matter if we get my Jeep or any other truck. I left the keys in the Jeep and I didn’t have a full tank of gas. We need any of those vehicles that have a lot of gas and the keys sitting in it.”

  “If any of them have keys in there at all,” Marcus said.

  They both scanned over the vehicles in view. They discussed the advantages and disadvantages of different placement of where trucks were parked. They didn’t want to get too close to the tents or the house. There were men walking around the property that they needed to avoid. This was no time to get into a firefight with a group this size. The odds weren’t in their favor. Plus, they didn’t know what they would have to deal with once they took a vehicle.

  The two argued over staying together or searching the vehicles separately. Marcus wanted to search separately so they could cover more vehicles. Will wanted to stick together so when they found a truck to take, they could jump in and go right away. Will was adamant about staying together so Marcus eventually gave in.

  They stayed low and slowly made their way to a group of trucks parked together. They stopped behind every bush and tree they came upon to reassess the situation. The three trucks had been pulled up the driveway and turned right and parked in the rocky terrain. They sat parked downhill from the house in what would be considered the front yard. They aimed for the truck furthest downhill. They figured it would be the easiest out of all the vehicles they could see to escape quickly. They reached the truck and crouched by the front passenger side. They tried to keep any view of their legs blocked by the tires.

  Will had Marcus stay crouched by the tire while he crawled around the front end of the truck to check for keys. While on the ground, he scanned from under the other parked trucks to check for any of the men walking around near the house. He couldn’t see any so he started to stand as he reached the driver’s door. He tried the door and was relieved to find it unlocked. He stayed bent low as he slowly opened the door. He continually looked back behind him. He leaned his chest down on the bench seat to keep his head out of view while he searched for keys. He was disappointed they weren’t in the ignition.

  He heard a tapping sound and jumped when he saw a head in the passenger window. He calmed when he realized it was Marcus. Will raised an eyebrow and gave a puzzled look at him. Marcus pointed a finger towards the house and mouthed something. Will lifted his head so he could see through the window. He saw a group of six or so guys walking from the house towards the trucks they were searching. As they were about half way he could start to hear their voices. He quickly glanced back at Marcus with wide eyes. As he did, he noticed the keys out of the corner of his eye tucked above the visor. He motioned for Marcus to get in. He reached up and pulled the visor down and the keys dropped to the floor.

  “Gerard wants us to do some recon on that next small town we went through a few weeks back. The one towards Fresno. Some of the others traded some bullets with some locals there. There was plenty more for us to get in that town.”

  The group of guys had stopped behind the truck next to them. Will and Marcus could clearly hear them discuss their plans. The top of Marcus’s head was still visible in the passenger window. Will motioned again for him to get in. He had inserted the key into the ignition and was waiting for Marcus to get in to start it. Marcus held up three fingers and then pointed to the ignition and then the door. Will understood that on a count of three he was to start the truck and Marcus would jump in.

  Marcus held up the three fingers
again. Will put his hand on the key. Two fingers. One. Marcus tried the door but it was locked. Will had turned the key on cue. Marcus’s eyes shot to Will. Will realized the mistake and quickly reached over and unlocked the door. As Marcus entered the truck Will looked through the rear window. The group of men were startled and confused by the truck’s engine roaring to life.

  The men walked up behind the truck expecting to see someone from their own group. They saw two wide-eyed faces looking back at them that they didn’t recognize. Will slammed down the accelerator. The spinning rear tires sprayed dirt and rock over the group of men as they were drawing guns. The debris caused the men to duck and cover their faces with their arms. The action gave Will and Marcus just enough time to begin their escape.

  The truck bounced over the rough terrain as Will angled towards the level dirt driveway. A barrage of bullets was sent their way. They could hear the thunks and tings as bullets struck the truck. Will saw a branch a few feet to his left instantly snap out of the corner of his eye. He knew it was bullet striking it.

  As the truck skidded onto the main road, Will yelled over the roaring engine. “Are you okay? Did you get hit?” He could see Marcus holding his chest. He hoped it was just the cracked ribs and not a bullet wound.

  “I’m fine. No bullet holes in me,” Marcus answered.

  Will sped down the road as fast as he could. Marcus readjusted in his seat and buckled in as they accelerated faster. Will noticed Marcus buckling in and he did the same. Before reaching the town, Will began to slow down.

  “Hold on,” he said.

  “What are you doing?” Marcus asked.

  “I know a shortcut,” Will said. “Well, it’s not exactly a shortcut. It’s just not the most direct way to get to the highway to Fresno. If they follow us, I think this will help us lose them.”

  Marcus grasped the handle on the door expecting another skidding turn. At the last moment, Will had decided against it. He slowed way down to make the turn and then sped up again. After the turn, he explained to Marcus that he didn’t want the fresh skid marks left on the pavement acting as a giant arrow pointing to them.

  Marcus looked back up the road and never saw any passing vehicles. It looked like they were in the clear for now.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “What do you think we should do?” Lea asked her father.

  “What can we do?” Alejandro answered.

  “There were gunshots. We need to go make sure they are okay,” Lea said with an increasing sense of urgency in her voice.

  Alejandro sighed. “I’ll make the hike down there. I definitely don’t want you going.”

  “But I need to know Will is okay,” Lea said.

  “Once I can see what I can find out, then I am coming right back here,” Alejandro said.

  Alejandro dreaded what he had just volunteered for. He immediately played out several scenarios in his head after hearing the gunshots. One, which was the worst case scenario, both Marcus and Will were killed by the group that took their home. If that was the case, he didn’t want his daughter taken by the group or seeing Will’s dead body. He also did not want to come across Will’s dead body. Two, Will and Marcus made it away with some injuries. Three, which was his hope and the best-case scenario, they followed through with the original plan of bringing the Jeep higher up the mountain to join the four-wheeling trail. The gunshots were from their dash by the property. Either way, there were gunshots and that could never be good.

  Alejandro figured leaving now would put him at the property when there was still daylight. He had mixed feelings about it. He wanted the cover of night, but at the same time, he wanted the light so he could see as much as possible. He warned the others that he might spend the night somewhere on the mountain and head back in the morning. He didn’t know the terrain as well as Will and didn’t want to get lost in the dark. Alejandro packed a small bag with some food and a few survival items for the potential overnight stay and headed down the mountain.

  Alejandro considered the gunfire could lead to the group deciding to search up the mountain for them so he concluded it would be best to parallel the trail at least ten feet in the trees on his way down. He hadn’t been in that great of shape prior to the country spinning into chaos, but now that they had been doing much manual labor, Alejandro was energized by the trek. He made good time down the mountain and was even able to see ahead on some of the switchbacks and cut down on the distance he had to travel.

  He made it to the portion of the trail that was above Beth and Will’s property. He even got lucky and came across their footprints on the side of the trail where they entered the woods again. He was fairly positive it was their footprints because one set looked like they belong to the dress shoes Marcus was wearing. He entered the trees and cut over to his right. He knew he should eventually run into the fence that marked the property line.

  He reached the fence where he thought he must be lower down the mountain from where Will said he broke through the fence with his Jeep. His tracking skills were non-existent so he had immediately lost the footprint trail upon entering the woods. He tossed his bag over and then managed to climb the fence and drop over to the other side.

  Now that he was on the property, he crept slowly ahead. He stopped every few steps to listen. He could see the edge of the tree line ahead and decided to watch the property from here. He didn’t want to get too close to the tree line and risk being seen. He pulled a small pair of binoculars that Lewis lent him and started scanning the area.

  “Ruined a lot of my gardening work,” he muttered under his breath.

  Alejandro pulled the binoculars from his eyes and scanned the area without. He replaced them and quickly scanned around again. There was only one truck. He could tell that there had been many vehicles before. He saw the signs all over the yard and in the garden areas. There were tire tracks that beat the ground into a muddy mess and flattened areas that had to have been tents. Had they left? Maybe the gunfire they heard was another group threatening this one. The lone truck bugged him. It did look fairly beaten up and old. Perhaps they left it behind on purpose.

  After fifteen minutes or so of reconnaissance at this location, Alejandro decided to move all the way around to the other side of the property to see what was on the other side of Beth’s house. He made his way all the way back to the fence where he had entered the property and followed it all the way around. He had to remind himself several times to slow down so he wouldn’t make so much noise. Once he arrived at a new spot he was satisfied with, he spent another fifteen minutes doing the same.

  There was nothing out of the ordinary on this side of the house. He was happy to see no sign of Will or Marcus. Maybe the gunfire wasn’t related to their arrival down here earlier in the day. Alejandro held on to that hope. He decided he would go to the opposite corner where Will would have broken through the fence and try to find the Jeep tracks. He could also head down to the main road to search for any clues with the little light of day that was left.

  He was happy he didn’t find the Jeep. He also didn’t find anything at the road. On a whim, he double-timed it over to Lewis’s property. The thought had crossed his mind that the group had possibly moved over there. He was glad to find almost no evidence of them living there. It appeared they had searched the house food and probably took everything that Lewis had stored. It was now dark and Alejandro started to hike back up the mountain. He would return in another day or so to make sure they didn’t return. He would spend the night at least a mile beyond Beth’s property, still worried about the lone truck. If the group did pack up and leave completely, it may be a confidence booster for everyone that they could return home.

  *****

  The next morning Alejandro awoke early to hike the almost ten miles up the mountain in the still-cool morning. He had felt good about what shape he was in the day before but going uphill told him a different story. His lungs were on fire. He definitely would have to wait an extra day or so before doing all t
his again to check if the property had remained clear.

  He arrived as they were cooking lunch on the fire. He reported his findings and it did indeed boost everyone’s mood.

  “I’m still worried about what that gunfire was,” Lea said. “It happened about the time they should have gotten down the mountain.”

  “It could have been anything, Lea,” Juana chimed in.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if those people fired on them as they drove down the road by the property,” Alejandro said. “I went to the road and couldn’t find any sign of trouble. Maybe someone was hunting in the area.”

  Lea nodded and remained quiet and in thought.

  “After I can recover a little bit from the hike up this morning, I’ll go down again to see if it’s all still clear.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “That certainly wasn’t a good start,” Marcus said.

  “Yeah,” Will said. “Definitely not how I expected that to go.”

  The two had been driving for a little over thirty minutes. Their nerves had finally just begun to settle. Marcus stopped watching the road behind them and shifted on the bench seat to get comfortable. The loud rumbling exhaust on the ancient big block engine made Will cringe. Anyone would be able to hear the trucks for miles ahead of their arrival. He continually worried about any other similar groups that might stop passers-by and lighten their load of all their belongings, or perhaps even their life.