by Logan Keys
More blood flowed into her eyes and she started to panic until Paige and Chuck held her down gently. “Only a few more. You got this, girl,” Paige said. “You’re so brave. So very very brave.”
Brittany stopped fighting, exhaustion taking the wheel, and they finished putting her head back together while she floated between a faint and consciousness.
She came to as Doctor Scott was putting some waterproof gel on the wound to seal it. “All done,” he said, blood covering his gloves. “Not too bad.”
Brittany said thank you, but it was between chattering teeth from what she recognized as shock. Probably from the fresh cold too that had settled in at mid-day. But even though it was freezing, she was sweaty.
Paige and Chuck washed the rest of the blood away. “There. Good as new,” Chuck said.
“It’s not really terrible,” Paige said, but Brittany slowly sat up not caring. “Really close to the hairline. No one will notice once it heals.”
“We will be back,” Chuck said, and he and Doctor Scott strode away.
Brittany took in her surroundings. Nothing was familiar, and it made her afraid that she had forgotten something very important. Where had she been going? Had she been driving?
“The children,” Brittany said, glancing around wildly. “I’m supposed to bring them to their mother.” She curled over her middle as her ribs shot sharp pains into her side.
Paige pulled out some items from a pack. “The guys are out looking for your friend now.” She moved closer to Brittany. “Here. Let me wrap those.”
Brittany nodded and let Paige lift her shirt. Paige bit back a gasp as they found nothing but bruised skin beneath. There wasn’t a spot that had not turned black or blue.
When Paige was done, she asked, “Is that better?”
Brittany took a deep breath and sat tall. It was. The pain was still there, but it was much better than before.
Brittany took Paige’s hand. “Thank you. And your brother, too.”
“Were the children…with you?” Paige asked looking at the wreckage. “There were no car seats, but I suppose someone could have taken them.”
“I don’t think so. I last remember them at the farm house. From that point on, I’m not sure of anything. I just have a feeling they weren’t in the SUV.”
“What about the farm house. Is that close by?”
A flicker of memory struck. “Yes. It’s just in that direction I think. I’d remember it if I saw it.”
Paige helped her slowly to her feet. “Can you stand?”
She felt like a newborn foal, but Brittany was able to walk, albeit slowly.
“We’ll let Chuck and them look for your friend. We’re headed in the same direction as the farmhouse. Stick with us, maybe you’ll remember when you see it.”
They waited where all the cars were parked, an entire caravan of them. At least six cars and trucks, even an RV, were all lined up by the side of the road. Paige gave Brittany water and even offered her some soup, though Brittany waved off the food. Her stomach was in knots still from the pain.
**
Chuck came back from searching with a few others, shaking his head. “We didn’t find anyone. Some blood drops on the way back to the highway then nothing. Someone must have picked him up. Your friend…Colton was it? He’s long gone. I’m sorry.”
That made no sense to Brittany. Why would Colton leave her? Were the kids back at the farm house waiting? Had she been with someone else? Why couldn’t she remember?
She rubbed her head and winced as she touched the fresh stitches on accident. Chuck had brought her some pain killers. “They’ll make you loopy but will help.”
Brittany took the bottle but decided to wait until they went to the farm house before she couldn’t think straight.
“You guys ready to go?” Chuck asked his group. Most of them had watched her from afar, obviously still listening to Paige’s warning about leaving her alone.
“Thank you,” Brittany said quietly to them all, but most didn’t acknowledge it.
Chuck patted her on the shoulder and smiled. “You ride with me, I guess,” he said.
Chapter Four
Chicago, Illinois
Colton bounced around in the back of the army truck, hitting his elbow hard once again. He couldn’t catch himself with his hands tied whenever the wheels struck a pothole. Which was every few seconds. They hit another bump and his back slammed against the metal. He cursed an angry slew of words and then glared across the truck at the private who merely shrugged him off and looked away.
“Come on, man. Let me go,” Colton demanded.
“Yeah right,” Safford said.
The peon wasn’t going to risk his neck for a stranger. Colton sighed. It was morning and by now Brittany was long gone, no doubt. The city was still burning, but with the rising sun, it seemed to slow down the craziness just a hair.
The soldiers were working hard, trying to put a lid on the worst of the looting, thieving, and yes, even murders. They stopped at every place where they’d found people taking advantage of the new system: chaos. Outside of the confines of the law lay madness.
Brakes made a high-pitched squeal though they were slow moving, and they pulled up to an alleyway where two men held a rival gang member at gunpoint. From the looks of it, three had already been killed execution style, their bodies were side-by-side, arms and legs at strange angles having landed where they fell.
Private Safford lifted his M16 after he told Colton, “Stay put,” with a grin. He jumped down and approached the two gang members with his much larger, military grade weapon trained on them. They held their own handguns pointed sideways and aimed at the man who was waiting to die on his knees.
“This doesn’t concern you,” one of the gang members shouted at Safford.
“On the ground,” Safford firmly ordered. “Drop your weapon. Get on the ground. Hands behind your head.”
The one on the left scoffed, not taking his gun from the head of the guy he was about to murder. “You want us to put our weapons down or put our hands behind our head first?”
They both laughed, and the answering gunfire made Colton jump in his seat. One of the gang members jerked as bullets ripped into his chest. He danced backwards like a gruesome puppet until he slammed into a dumpster and slumped down. Safford had shot him dead.
Private Safford didn’t hesitate to do the same for the other. Rapid fire lit up the alleyway as he cut down the one on the right too, just to be sure. Like before, this man’s body jerked as dark dots bloomed across his dirty white shirt before he crumpled onto the ground, gun clattering across the concrete.
“Ah!” the last one left who’d been on his knees had tried to lay down to avoid the flying bullets, but he’d not done so in time. Colton gaped when he saw the red now leaking from the guy’s shoulder. Safford had accidentally shot him, too.
Safford turned around as if he hadn’t noticed and came jogging back to the truck. Jumping inside, he rapped his knuckles on the metal twice. The truck lurched forward in answer, driving onward to their next stop.
Colton was busy trying to see out the back of the truck, but the movement forced him into his seat.
“What?” Safford said to Colton’s thunderous expression. “He was just another thug.”
“You can’t leave him there!” What Colton last saw was the man on the ground, writhing in pain. “That’s not who we are!
“Oh? Who are we? Because it looks like you’re AWOL, buddy. Is that who you are?”
“Stop the truck!” Colton shouted, and the driver listened, hitting the brakes, probably thinking it was Safford’s request. “Look, man. You don’t want this on your conscience. Trust me. He doesn’t deserve to die just because he was mixed up in something bad. We don’t know if he was even in a gang.”
Safford glared at Colton. “I’m not sure you should be giving out morality lessons, ditcher. You deserted. You don’t get a vote.”
“You’re right. I planned to get back
as soon as possible, but you said you have a family and so I know you understand. People make bad choices. Do they all deserve to die in an alley? Alone…?”
Safford held out a hand. “Look around you. Worse things are happening.”
“Yeah. And you could stop this one.”
Safford sighed, seeming to weigh the consequences. But he finally got out of the truck. He went up to the front and Colton could hear him telling the driver to “Radio for a medic.”
Then Safford ran back down towards the alleyway.
He later re-appeared with the man he’d shot in the shoulder. “Help’s on the way,” Safford said to the guy, giving Colton a dirty look as he helped the bleeding man into the back of the truck.
Colton breathed a sigh of relief. He just hoped that somewhere, someone was helping the people he cared about in the same way. And that brought him back to worrying over Brittany. While Safford was busy getting the injury situated, Colton searched around in the truck. Safford hopped out of the back and went up front to see if the medic was on his way.
Colton was finally alone. That is, except for the injured man. The first time he’d had a free moment since he’d been arrested.
Colton spotted a field knife sitting in the pile. He glanced at the other man but took his chances. Colton scooted over to grab the knife from behind. With it in hand, he had to struggle to get it open, but once he did, he sawed at his binds until they snapped.
“We have to bring him with us. They can’t make it over here.”
Colton jumped when he realized Safford had returned but kept his hands behind to conceal his freedom.
The injured man watched him with knowing eyes but groaned in pain and didn’t say anything about what he’d seen. The guy looked pale, he’d lost a lot of blood already. Safford got back into the truck and moved the injured man to the bench where Colton sat, giving the guy a rag to place on the wound. “Put pressure on that,” Safford said.
Two hard knocks on the metal and the truck started onward again. Colton held his arms in the same place as before, letting himself be slammed around as if his hands were still bound. Blood was soaking the bench, he noticed with alarm. And the guy kept lolling, so Colton started talking to him. “Hey. You’re going to be all right, okay? Hey. Stay awake. What’s your name?”
The man licked his lips, then tried to answer. “T. They call me T. Uh…” he seemed like he didn’t want to use that name anymore. Maybe death was making it seem weird to use nicknames. “Trevor.”
“All right. Trevor. I like T though too. You’re gonna be fine.”
The guy nodded, hugging himself. “I’m so cold.”
“That’s blood loss.” Colton cringed when he noticed Trevor’s coloring had gone from white to blue nearly. He was losing body heat too, and in this freeze, that was just as deadly. He turned to Safford. “Do we have any blankets?”
Safford nodded giving Trevor a worried look. He was probably feeling guilty and Trevor wasn’t appearing as if they’d make it to the medic in time.
Safford piled blankets on top of Trevor and Colton kept asking him questions. “You live around here?”
“Yeah. But my place burned down.”
“Family?”
Trevor nodded. “Three sisters and my ma.”
“Where are they?” Colton asked, trying to distract him.
Blood had started to trickle off the bench to pool onto the floor.
“Hiding. Everyone that’s smart is hiding. The Bloods are going to run this town.” He coughed, and red coated his lips.
Colton frowned. Safford also noticed and he came across the truck to pull the blanket aside. He moved Trevor’s shirt. “Damn,” Safford said quietly. He showed Colton before covering the wound once again. A second bullet had struck Trevor’s side.
“What is it?” Trevor asked while Colton and Safford shared a look.
“Nothing,” Colton said. “Tell me about your sisters.”
“They’re hiding,” Trevor repeated, his voice growing distant. “Everyone who’s smart is hiding.” He sounded slurred and was fading fast.
It turned quiet, but then Trevor rallied. “What about you? You got family?”
“Yeah,” Colton said. “But not here. Well, my brother’s here and my friend.”
Trevor nodded, thinking to himself, eyes glazed. “Your friend is hiding too?”
“No. Someone took her. He brought her here.”
“That’s too bad,” Trevor said before coughing up more blood. “Who took her?’
Colton shook his head. “A guy who’d been locked up. He got free and pretended to be a cop. He forced Brittany to go with him while I was sleeping only a couple dozen feet away. I was stupid. I didn’t realize who he was.”
“You say he was locked up? Here in Illinois?” Trevor’s eyes were focused, and they were staring at Colton. “And he has a girl with him? Maybe a few?”
“I don’t think so, just her.”
“What’s she look like?” Trevor was again very focused, just for a few seconds between talking.
Colton described Brittany and Trevor coughed through most of it but nodded. “I saw her. I did. Justice had her. He showed up out of the blue. Bad dude. Really bad dude. He was locked up for things you can’t even…oh, sorry”.
Alarm bells were going off in Colton’s head. “Where,” he demanded. “Where did you see her?”
“Right back in that alleyway. Justice had her and two other girls. He was looking for Spider. Listen, man. If you care about your friend, I mean even a little, I’d go find her. I’d get out of here, if you know what I mean.” He jutted his chin at Colton, his gesture clear. If Colton was free, he’d better run.
Colton nodded, clearly understanding.
The truck rolled on and Colton was deep in thought as he planned how to escape. If he hadn’t told Safford to go back for this guy, he would never have even known that Brittany had been right there. With Justice. The guy’s name was Justice? Irony had many forms, but that was dark.
Colton’s fear for Brittany grew while Trevor’s breathing turned laborious. Safford leaned over and jostled Trevor, trying to wake him, but he was out. His head loosely swayed with the truck’s momentum.
“How long before we get to a medic?” Colton asked, and Safford shrugged. He could pretend nonchalance, but Colton wasn’t fooled. The private looked scared. He’d just killed a guy who didn’t seem that bad after all. But then again, maybe Trevor was the worst there was, and now on his deathbed he was trying to make up for a lifetime of evil. You just never knew with people. Death made saints of sinners. But it also makes monsters out of angels.
Either way, Safford was sweating. The guy wasn’t just another thug in an alleyway now. He had a name. And they knew he had a family too.
The truck slowed, and Colton glanced over and sucked in a breath. Trevor was staring right at him, but the life had left his eyes. “He’s gone,” Colton murmured, and Safford let his head slump down onto his chest.
“Oh man,” Safford said. “Oh man. I’m going to hell for this.”
Two minutes ago, he was ready to leave the guy to die alone, but it was harder once you actually talked to someone to give them a death sentence.
“Look,” Colton said. “I need to get out of here. My friend, you heard him, this Justice guy has her and she needs my help.”
“I can’t.” Safford lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. “If I let you go then…I’m the one who pays. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Colton wasn’t giving up. “You can save her. If you let me go. You save someone. It won’t bring this guy back but it’s something. Please.”
“You know I can’t.”
Colton glanced around, then sighed. “You can if I overpower you and steal your weapon.”
“How would you do that?”
The truck pulled to a stop and Colton lunged forward, grabbing Safford’s M16 from his lap. Colton pointed it at Safford, rising to his feet. “I’m going to go now. Give me a head start
. Just a small one.”
They were frozen, eyes locked. Would Colton shoot him in cold blood? Like Safford had done to Trevor?
Before he had to decide, Safford gave a subtle nod. Without hesitation, Colton jumped down from the truck and raced back the way they’d come.
Chapter Five
Wellington, New Zealand
“Can he even fly this thing?” Luckman asked German.
They were aboard the jet once again, and everyone was in their seats ready to go. It was a palpable feeling of absolute terror that made the air seem thicker, Luckman thought. It was hard to breathe. His chest was tight, and he had a fleeting thought about heart attacks.
“Sure,” German answered.
“He says sure or you say sure?”
German shrugged and threw aside his seat belt after fighting with the length of it for a time. “I say sure because you are pale, Lucky. And you might faint.”
Luckman nodded, sitting back against the seat with a thud. He wasn’t ready to fly again. Or sail. Or do anything but stay in one place. What he wouldn’t give to simply settle down and prepare like the rest of the world… for the end of it. Instead, he was in a mad-dash across the entire globe, and it got worse every time.
“Everyone needs to vote,” he said, not wanting this decision on his conscience. “I make no promises about this guy. It’s going to be a great risk letting him try to fly us out of here. Everyone has to agree, or we don’t do it.”
They group glanced at the front of the plane where they could see the pilot through the open door. The pilot was busy clicking away at buttons. He resembled a monkey ever so slightly, figuring the knobs out for the first time, it seemed. Luckman swallowed hard.
“If we stay, we die,” Greg offered with a strangled expression.
Luckman nodded. “If we fly we could die too”
Holtz was putting ice on his cheek. He waved Luckman off as if he could care less which decision was made.
“We have to try,” Terry said, determined. “My family….”
Danielle and she gripped one another from their seats next to each other in a tight hug. The third sister, that Luckman forgot her name already again because she almost never spoke, also unbuckled and jumped into the group hug after she pulled Greg along. The family held each other and whispered encouragement.