by Roger Hayden
Josh sat up and rubbed his eyes. “How do you plan to do that?”
“We call the guard, get him in here, and I’ll take care of the rest,” he answered.
The Atkins boys looked at Antonio with skepticism.
“Too risky,” his sister, Gabrielle, said.
“I’m trying to save us here,” he said back.
Kelly and Allison were quiet. They didn’t seem to want to get involved. Or maybe they didn’t know what to say. Josh stood up and stretched. He could sense Antonio’s increasing agitation and restlessness. True, none of them wanted to be there, but what measures could they possibly take?
Antonio pointed at Josh. “You know how to shoot a gun, right?”
“Well, yeah, but—”
Antonio pointed to the Atkins boys. “How about you three?”
Mark nodded, but Jeremiah and Luke said they had never fired a gun before.
“Hold on,” Josh said. “Let’s not get carried away.”
Frustrated, Antonio stepped forward and got in his face. “You’ve been telling me to hold on since we first got here, and now look at us. Caged like animals in here.” He drew his leg back and kicked a plastic waste bucket across the room, startling everyone. Fortunately, it was empty.
“Calm down!” Gabrielle snapped.
“Listen to me,” Josh said. “You’re right. We do need to get out of here, but it has to be done right.”
“I’m all ears,” Antonio said, placing his hands on his hips, waiting.
Mark looked at his brothers and then stood up, surprising Josh, who seemed lost in thought.
“All we can do is wait,” Mark said. “They can’t hold us here forever.”
Antonio groaned. “How do you know? They can do anything they want. There are no cops. No government. No army. This is it, man. We have to make a move. Longer we stay, the less chance we’ll have to escape.”
Josh chimed in. “There has to be some good people left in town. People who can help us.”
Antonio spun around to face him. “Yeah, and they’re probably locked up just like us.”
“Here’s an idea,” Josh continued. “We call the guard and ask to speak to that mayor guy. Tell him… I don’t know, that we have information about our parents or something.”
Antonio seemed intrigued, hanging onto what Josh was saying. “I like it. What else?” he said.
“Then, when they take us to see the mayor, we make a run for it.”
“All of us?” Antonio asked.
“No. Like, just a few. We go get help to free the others.”
Kelly spoke up. “That’s a dumb plan.”
“Agreed,” Gabrielle added.
Antonio took immediate offense. “What do you two know? Nothing. If you’re not going to help, keep your mouths shut.”
“No need for that, Antonio,” Josh said.
“You two are gonna get yourselves killed,” Gabrielle said.
“Shut up, Gabby!” Antonio yelled.
An abrupt banging on the steel door from outside scared everyone. “Knock it off in there!” a gruff voice demanded.
They froze in place as the room went quiet. Antonio stared at Josh with wide-eyed urgency as if saying, now is the time. Josh shrugged and turned away. Frustrated, Antonio moved to the door himself and pounded on its heavy metal surface.
“Hey, man. Hey, we need to talk to you!”
Josh ran over to the door and spoke in a hushed tone. “What are you doing?”
Antonio flashed a determined look. “Your plan, that’s what. It’s the only chance we have.”
Josh grabbed his arm. “Have you ever stabbed anyone before?” He seethed.
“No,” Antonio said sheepishly. “But there’s a first time for everything.” He raised his fist and pounded on the door again. “We got an emergency here!”
There was no stopping Antonio. Josh knew as much. The rest of the group stayed in the back, sitting on the mattresses, seeming afraid to speak up.
“What the hell are you hollering about in there?” the voice outside asked.
“We need to talk to you,” Antonio said. “It’s important.”
Josh released Antonio’s arm and looked back at the group and then to Antonio, sensing a point of no return. He had no idea what they would say to the mayor if they were taken to him. Everything was moving too fast. Josh hoped that the guard would ignore them and move on. Josh wasn’t ready.
To his surprise, the door unlocked and opened slightly as the man’s voice grew louder. “Get back and against the wall!” The glow of a ChemLight seeped through the crack.
“Okay, man,” Antonio said, holding his hands up. “We’ll get back.” He moved back as Josh followed. The door opened, and a burly, heavy-set man cautiously walked in, holding a pistol in one hand and a ChemLight in the other. He had a slight Southern drawl, a bushy gray beard, and a blue bandana over his head. He was dressed in black from head to toe except for a tan tactical vest that barely stretched around his bowling-ball gut.
Antonio leaned close to Josh and whispered, “He’s perfect.”
Josh hushed him.
The man scanned the room, studying the kids sitting in the corner with frightened looks on their faces. He grimaced nastily, and Josh could hear him wheezing as he moved closer toward them.
“What’s this emergency?” he asked with a cocked brow. “I ain’t got no time for games.”
Antonio wasted no time. “Me and my friend here want to speak to the mayor.”
The man’s eye twitched as he leaned in closer, the gun inches from Antonio’s face. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“We’d like to make a deal,” Antonio continued. “Tell him, Josh.”
Panic hit Josh like a brick in the face. He felt uncertain with being put on the spot and wanted to lash out at Antonio. A long, uncomfortable silence followed as the man seemed to be staring holes through them.
“My dad…” Josh began. “The mayor knows him. Has it in for him real bad, if you know what I mean. We have information about my parents and their, uh… activities.”
The man took a step back and crossed his arms in a mocking manner. “Really?” he said, stretching the word out. “Now, why would you sell out your folks like that?”
Josh shrugged. “Every man for himself?”
A silence came back over them as the man studied Josh up and down. He then rocked back on his heels, mouth agape, and bellowed with laughter. Antonio glimpsed at Josh and gave him a quick thumbs-up. The man settled down and caught his breath.
“You kids today. Oh boy,” he said, shaking his head. “You ain’t got no loyalty for nothing.”
“We wish to speak to the mayor immediately,” Antonio said.
The man’s face went from jovial to enraged in an instant. “You don’t get to make demands here, son. Got that?”
“Yes, sir,” Antonio said. “But the information we have is only good for a limited time, if you catch my drift.”
Clearly conflicted, the man pursed his lips and stared ahead, thinking. His raised his thick finger and pointed at Antonio. “Why don’t you gimme a taste?”
“A taste?” Antonio asked.
“Of this supposed info. I need to know if you’re bullshitting me.”
“Yes, of course.” Antonio stopped and looked at Josh.
“Our parents and their friends have five working vehicles,” Josh spurted out. “Bug-out cars, they call them. All made in the late seventies and immune to the EMP, so they said.”
“Josh!” Kelly shouted out. “What are you doing?”
“You shut your mouth,” the man snapped, glaring at her. His eyes shifted back to Josh. “Go on.”
“Um. They have them hidden near the camp. We can tell you exactly where.”
Antonio cut in. “And that’s just for starters, but we’re not saying any more. We want to see the mayor tonight. Will you take us to him?”
The man’s eyebrows knitted together as he cupped his chin and rubbed hi
s scraggly beard with his index finger. “All right. Let’s go.”
Antonio and Josh accompanied the man outside of the cell without saying a word to their group. Adrenaline rushed through Josh, and he could almost hear his heart beating through his chest. He wanted to shout at Antonio to end the charade. They had taken it too far. Antonio, on the other hand, looked more confident than ever.
It was dark outside the warehouse, much like when they had first arrived. Stars flickered between tree branches, giving a faint light as Josh and Antonio walked ahead, with the man breathing heavily behind them. The bitter, cool air sent Josh’s teeth chattering. It had gotten cold very quickly, but all sense of time was lost on him, other than that it was night. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around—a welcome sight, and the quietness was comforting, a fleeting moment of calm before they would have to act.
“Where are you taking us?” Antonio asked, turning around slightly, his head cocked back.
“To the mayor’s house. What’s wrong? You boys ain’t up for a little walking?”
“We’re good,” Antonio said.
Josh could feel the man’s presence behind them, breathing down their necks. His pistol was in the air, steady, and aimed at their heads. The opportune moment to run vanished as quickly as it had seemed to arrive. As though considering the danger at hand, Antonio shifted tactics.
“What’s your name, sir?”
The man hesitated and cleared his throat. “What the hell you wanna know my name for?”
“Just curious. A little ice breaker never hurt anyone,” Antonio said.
The man didn’t respond. It was patently clear that the guard wasn’t going to stoop so low as to talk with a bunch of kids. But Antonio persisted.
“My name’s Antonio. And my friend, who you have your gun pointed at, his name’s Josh.”
The man snarled in disgust. “Don’t give a shit who you are or where you came from. And if you keep it up, I’ll leave the both of you in a ditch. That clear enough?”
They continued across the dry grass toward a dirt road leading to a cluster of houses in the distance. Josh’s heart seized at the sight of homes under the starlight. It looked so comfortable and normal. The mayor could be living in any one of them. They were getting close and running out of time.
Josh opened his mouth, but no words would come out. He tried to force himself to spring off, into the abyss of a nearby forest, but his legs wouldn’t move beyond making steady footsteps. He had no idea what the man was capable of. He only knew that they were in over their heads. But again, Antonio persisted.
“If you’re not going to tell us your name, maybe I could guess it.”
The man said nothing. Antonino’s pace increased as Josh tried to keep up with him. They could hear the man struggling to keep up.
“Slow your asses down!” he barked.
Antonio slowed. “You look like a Larry. Maybe even a Barry. Am I close?”
The man raced forward with anger. “Shut your hole, you little shit. Just remember, I only need one of you.”
Antonio shook his head. Josh looked at him for some sign of what to do, but Antonio seemed set on taunting their gun-wielding traveler. “Do you always threaten teenagers with violence?”
The man smacked the back of Antonio’s head with one quick swoop of his meaty hand. Antonio jolted forward and grabbed his head. His legs almost went out from under him, and he stumbled.
“Keep it up, big mouth,” the man said.
“I just wanted to know your name!” Antonio shouted. “Is that a crime?”
“Keep your voice down,” the man said.
Josh found himself leading the way. As they continued down the dirt road, he could see several homes in view. He kept walking, one foot ahead of the other, at a pace all his own. He then realized that both Josh and the man had stopped. He turned to see Antonio standing with a hand still over his head. The man pushed the gun into his back. Several stringy gray hairs hung from below his blue bandana.
“What are you stopping for?” he asked.
“No one has ever hit me in the back of the head before for just asking a question.”
“I can do a lot more than that,” the man said.
“Antonio, enough!” Josh shouted.
Antonio turned to Josh and gave him a look that sent chills down his spine. No, Josh thought. Don’t do it!
Like clockwork, Antonio lunged at the man like a wildcat and grabbed at his pistol with both hands, struggling to take it away. The man stumbled back as Antonio, half his size, fell into him in a fevered attempt to wrestle the gun from his hands.
“Run!” he shouted.
Josh tried, but his legs remained frozen onto the ground. He watched the bizarre struggle, unsure of what to do. He watched as Antonio pulled his pocketknife out and thrust it into the man’s chest. A gargled scream erupted from the man’s windpipe, followed by an ear-splitting gun blast.
Josh jumped back, flinching. Antonio screamed, clutched his chest, and collapsed onto his knees then stretched out on the ground. The man stumbled back, cursing, and yanked the knife from his chest, throwing it on the ground. His hand gripped the pistol as smoke rose from its barrel. It was like something out of a dream. Antonio lay on the ground, twitching. His eyes were wide with shock, staring upward.
Echoes of the gunshot rang through the air, pulsing then fading. Dogs barked in the distance. The man gasped for air and stumbled toward Josh with his pistol swaying. “The name’s Jasper, you little shits. And you’re next!”
Josh’s flight instincts kicked in. He sprinted off without looking back as another shot whizzed past. His adrenaline had gone into high gear. He ran as fast as he could toward the shadowy neighborhood as sweat and tears poured down his face. The man shouted at him to stop and fired again. Josh felt his heart going into hyperdrive. Nothing was going to stop him. He had no idea what had happened but feared the worst.
Did Antonio just get shot? Nothing made sense. He couldn’t see or think clearly. His only objective was to find someone—anyone who could help them. The surroundings looked familiar. It was the town he knew. A premonition turned him in the opposite direction of the neighborhood, and he sped off down the road toward the highway. He’d only gone a short distance when he saw it: a large wall, with no apparent way around or over it. He was trapped. Several men came out of nowhere and launched themselves on him with the precision of scud missiles. They tackled him onto the hard pavement—three men in all. They pummeled his back, his head, his stomach, and he could hardly breathe. His lungs felt paralyzed. He didn’t even know what was happening. Somehow, he managed to get to his feet and began stumbling away.
“Get him!” he heard. “Get that little bastard.”
Jasper’s voice closed in, full of vengeance. Jasper tackled Josh, brought him to the ground, and delivered a swift punch to the face. Then everything went black.
Some Kind of Hope
The cold morning air drifted through the camp. A sheet of fog obscured the cabins like a sinister blanket. Mila was outside, trying to stay busy—anything to keep her mind occupied. She was in the process of salvaging her modest vegetable garden by spreading a thin bedsheet over their sweet peppers and cucumbers. But there was little she could do to take her mind off of Josh and Kelly.
She was sickened with fear. The thought of her children at the mercy of madmen crippled her physically and mentally. Her legs shook. She dry-heaved with panic, and no matter how often she told herself that everything would be all right, nothing could alleviate her anxiety. And she wasn’t alone.
The absence of their children punctuated the daily drudgery of camp life in ways Mila had never imagined. She walked around the side of their cabin to where their freshwater pump was implanted into the ground. Having to scrape by off the grid with their meager supplies and resources was hard enough. But now it was time to fight back.
Inside the quiet cabin, she went straight to her room, where Rob lay in bed on top of the covers.
&n
bsp; “Let’s go,” she said. “I can’t take it anymore.” The floorboards creaked under her frantic pacing.
Startled, Rob’s eyes opened, and he sat up. He was still wearing his jacket and pants.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around, dazed. “What time is it?”
“It’s morning,” she said, standing over him. She touched his leg and spoke in a calm but serious way. “We have two options.”
“What’s that?” Rob said, wiping his face.
“We go into town, talk with that phony mayor, get our children back, or I lose my mind.”
Rob beckoned her to sit on the bed. When she did, he put his arm around her.
“Mila… We talked about this. We’re outnumbered and he knows it.”
“So what,” she said. “There has to be a way.”
“There is. We find people who can help us. Why all the doubt?”
Mila shook her head and rose from the bed. “I can’t wait for that. We need to do something now. The thought of Josh and Kelly at the hands of those people…” She paused and walked to the fogged window where tree branches swayed in the bitter wind. “I can’t take it anymore.”
Rob swung around and hung his legs off the bed, struggling to respond. “I’ll… I’ll take the truck into town and talk with them. Put an end to this nightmare.”
Mila turned with her arms crossed. “You’re not going alone.”
“Carlos will go.”
“I’ll go.”
Mila was on the warpath, and Rob knew it would be impossible to have her wait another day or two. His carefully laid strategy had been blown out of the water.
She leaned against the end of the mattress, pressing it down. “All we need to do is convince those bastards that we have more numbers than he thinks we do.”
They looked into each other’s eyes, sensing a compromise. But the plan wasn’t clear just yet. There was a lot to work out, and the sense of urgency could not have been greater. Mila found her sadness fading and a burning anger taking its place.
Rob gathered the camp in the pillaged meeting area. Winter jackets were out in full force.
Just the other day, the sun was out, with no hint of winter on the horizon. Rob stood at the podium, vapor flowing from his mouth. Carlos and Mayra sat huddled together, their faces worn with exhaustion. Brad and Ashlee sat nearby with Peter and Krystal behind them, sipping coffee from a thermos. Elliott and Reba were still sleeping, and Rob didn’t want to bother them.