It was a strange thing to hear, but Rob wasn’t taking any chances. He went to his room and grabbed his pistol and two magazines from the gun safe. Their emergency crawl space was located in the corner of the room under a hidden trapdoor, leading to an underground hole large enough to fit five people. As a last resort, it would serve its purposes.
Mila entered the room with Josh and Kelly at her side. Rob turned back to the gun safe sitting on their dresser and took her revolver out, handing it to her.
“Here.”
She took the revolver with an uneasy look on her face. “I don’t want you going out there.”
“Someone has to. We can’t leave this to Elliot.”
“Are you crazy?” she said. “He has a high-powered hunting rifle. I’m sure he can take care of a few drifters on his own.”
“I don’t think these are drifters,” Rob said.
“They tried to kill us,” Josh said. “They shot an arrow right at me. Please, Dad. Don’t go out there.”
Rob touched his shoulders and ran a hand through his bushy hair. “Don’t worry. These men aren’t going to hurt anyone.”
“They’re on the campgrounds now. Walking right past my cabin. Oh my God. Reba!”
Rob put the radio to his face. “Just stay calm. Do they still have their hands up?”
“Yeah. Like they’re surrendering or something. They’re looking up here now. I tell ya, Rob. If one of them tries to go in my cabin, I’m going to take him out.”
A man’s voice suddenly bellowed from outside. “We’re here to talk. Nothing more, nothing less. You have nothing to fear from us.”
Mila and Rob froze, trying to make out his words. Josh heard the man all too well. “He’s lying. Don’t listen to him, Dad.”
“You hear that?” Elliot asked.
“Yeah, what’re they doing now?” Rob asked into the radio.
“They stopped. They’re just standing there—five men in all. About … ten yards from your cabin.”
The man outside continued. “Sir. You in the tower. Please tell your people that we’re only here to talk. We left our weapons behind us.”
Rob spoke into the radio. “Ask him what they want to talk about.”
“Ten-four,” Elliot said. They could hear him calling out from the tower. “What do you want to talk about?”
“How we need to work things out. Peacefully, like civil human beings,” the man answered.
“Tell him that he’s going to have to do better than that,” Rob said, walking to the living room window and peeking out.
He saw five men with their backs to him and their hands up. Their attention was on Elliot. He had every opportunity to take care of them then and there, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not with the children present.
“Tell them…” Rob paused, radio in hand. “Tell them we want specifics.”
“Got it,” Elliot said. “He says we want specifics!” he shouted.
“Who says?” the man asked. Rob could feel his cover being blown by the second.
“No one,” Elliot answered. “Now answer the questions.”
Rob watched from the window as the man spun around slowly, scanning each cabin with his arms outstretched. “Sir, I wish to speak with whomever is in charge. As the leader of my own community, I think it’s only fair. Let’s be adults here. We don’t want any trouble. We’ve only come to work out our differences.”
Rob moved away from the window and held the radio to his face, unsure what to say.
“No,” Mila said. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Yeah, Dad. They murdered Grady, then they tried to kill me and Antonio.”
Kelly joined in. “Don’t leave, Daddy. Please.”
“I’m sorry,” he said to them. “Whatever this is about, I have to take charge. It’s the only way.” He walked to the middle of the living room and gave them one big hug. “Promise me you’ll go to the crawl space if anything happens.”
Mila held him tightly and agreed. She knew there was no changing his mind.
He stepped back and pulled his pistol out while talking into the radio. “Elliot. Tell them I’m coming out.”
“We’re sending someone out!” Elliot shouted from the tower.
Rob stopped at the front door and turned to see his family standing together watching him.
“Be careful,” Mila said.
“I will. Don’t worry,” he said. He opened the door a crack then pushed it open as sunlight beamed into the room. He took a step out and blinked at the brightness. The men were still there with their hands up. Rob walked down the steps and approached them from behind. He was careful to scan the area for others but didn’t see anyone.
“What do you men want?” he called out.
Surprised, the five men turned around, dressed in camouflage and wearing skullcaps. Two of them were especially built and rough-looking, while the others had long facial hair and tattoos showing on their necks. Rob held his pistol steady as the leader of the group stepped forward. He looked nothing like them. He was older and well-groomed—the only one wearing glasses.
“Hello.” The man waved, circling to the front of his group with his hands up. “My name is Arthur Jenkins. My group and I live in a town not far from here. I was hoping we could have a civil discussion.”
Rob kept his distance and his aim steady, not allowing anyone to get close enough to disarm him or try to take him down. “Just tell me what this is about first.”
Arthur gave a small laugh, smiled, and slowly lowered his hands. “Maybe if I knew your name first, I’d feel a little better.”
“I’m not here to make you feel better. But it’s Rob Parker.”
“OK, Rob. Now maybe if you lowered your gun we could ease the tension in the air.”
Rob examined the group. Their faces were stern and serious, unlike Arthur’s. Things then became clear. The men were most likely part of the criminal element running Nyack.
“Not a chance,” he said.
Arthur waved to the tower. “Look. If my men were to try anything, I’m sure your sharpshooter up there wouldn’t hesitate. We’re unarmed and at your mercy. I just want to talk.”
“Is that why you killed a man? Chased two young boys through the woods? Just to talk?”
Arthur hung his head, seemingly ashamed. Rob noticed his neighbors looking out of their cabin windows. He kept his pistol steadily aimed.
“That was an unfortunate accident,” Arthur said. “A misfire. Dwayne here thought he had seen a bear. The two boys … well, they spooked us too. We tried to catch them to explain ourselves, but things got out of hand. That’s why I told my men to lay down their weapons and come up here to work this whole mess out.” He paused and took a breath. “That’s why we’re here.”
“I’m sure that’s not the only reason,” Rob said. “And for the record, I don’t believe you. I think you were hoping for an ambush and things didn’t go your way. Now your next best option is to make nice until we let our guard down. How many others have you brought with you?”
The men stayed silent. Arthur nodded and scratched his chin. He shifted in place and then waved his hands wildly in the air, and made an I-give-up gesture. “OK, Rob. Let’s just cut the shit. You owe us. You stole from us and then killed one of my men while injuring another. Did we come here for blood? Possibly. But it doesn’t have to end like that. I have a solution that can work for both of us.”
“A solution?” Rob asked. “What could you possibly offer us?”
“A deal. Simple as that,” Arthur said.
“About the only deal we’re looking to make involves you leaving this area and not coming back. As far as stealing from you, what we took belonged to the hospital, not your band of criminals. As far as your two men, they shot at us. They tried to kill us and deserved what they got.”
Arthur waved Rob off. “It’s all in the past. You see, I’m only interested in the future. You remember how the settlers first established colonies around America?
They’d set up trading posts with the Native Americans and other travelers, and hence free trade emerged. These are desperate times we live in now, and we need to help each other out. This is what I propose. We work together. Not as friends, but groups with mutual interests. You’ve obviously been up here a while. Your people are most likely skilled at hunting and have adapted to the terrain. So we’ll bring you items from town, canned soup, for instance, and trade you for some fresh meat. Catch my drift?”
Rob looked around at the faces peering through the windows. He wasn’t prepared to speak for everyone. His main goal was to get the men out of there without further bloodshed.
“I understand what you’re suggesting, but the decision is not up to me alone. It will have to be discussed with my group.”
Arthur looked around and shrugged. “So where are they? Get them all out here, and let’s talk about this.”
“No,” Rob said. “Not now, anyway. I would just like you men to leave now.”
Arthur shook his head in disbelief. “You know, we made quite the journey to work this all out. It would be unreasonable to expect us to come back again for an answer. We don’t have a nice pickup truck like you.” Arthur paused and looked past the cabins. “I don’t see it, though. Do you have any other working vehicles? We could make one hell of a trade.”
The vehicles had been moved to a nearby empty ravine and covered in camouflage tarp. Rob felt lucky that they had done it in time.
“There’s nothing more for us to discuss,” Rob said. “We didn’t steal from you, and your men attacked us first. Now please leave.”
Arthur smiled and lowered his hands. Rob hadn’t taken his pistol off him. “A deal without trust,” said Arthur, “is not a deal worth keeping. I think we should trust each other, Rob.”
“Keep your hands up,” Rob said.
“We have a truck too,” Arthur said. He held up his index finger. “One military cargo truck. Old as hell. Only a few of us even know about it. Why didn’t we drive it here? Simple. We don’t want the other residents to know that we have it. They’d turn on us in a frenzy.” He shook his head and laughed. “So now that you know our little secret, how about you tell us something about yourself. Where are you from, and how long have you been here?”
“I’m from Nyack, and we’ve been up here for two months.” He’d give them that, but didn’t plan on revealing anything else.
Arthur looked at him, impressed. “Well, you wasted no time, did you? Very smart. As mayor of your former town, I extend my hand and welcome you and your people back whenever you wish. It’s going to be tough to live up here in a few weeks. Come back home.”
“You’re not the mayor,” Rob said. “And your control of our town won’t last much longer. The power grids will come back on, and law and order will be restored.”
Arthur lowered his arms and crossed them. His own men’s arms were shaking from keeping them up. “I have to say, you sound pretty sure of yourself.”
Rob kept his steady aim in the center of Arthur’s forehead. “I am,” Rob said.
Arthur took a step back and sighed. “All right, Rob. Have it your way. I’m glad we could talk this out. Just think about what I said, and I’ll expect an answer soon. We’ll be leaving you now and causing you no further impediment.” He signaled his men to follow, pivoted around, and suddenly stopped. “Oh, one more thing, Rob. You seem to have a good number of folks here, but I have an entire town of people at my disposal. We’ll be back, and we’ll even bring supplies. But we’ll expect a trade in return.”
Rob squinted. “What are you talking about?”
“An ultimatum, Rob. I didn’t come up here for guessing games. Those are my terms. If you want to live up here peacefully, you’re going to have to start trading with us. That’s the same deal everyone gets around here. Everyone has to pitch in.”
“And if we don’t?” Rob asked.
“Expect to see us again. Lots more of us. And our terms won’t be so friendly. Simply put, we’ll burn this place to the ground.”
Rob stared at him, speechless. Elliot watched from the tower, apparently trying to listen in on the conversation, but he was a long distance away.
“Do we have a deal?” Arthur asked.
“What is it that you want to trade?” Rob asked.
“You tell me first. What are your people most in need of?”
Rob thought to himself. Then it hit him. “We need coats, blankets, and winter clothes.”
“Perfect!” Arthur said. “So we’ll come back in two days with more coats and blankets than you can handle.”
“And what do you want in return?” Rob asked.
“One of your vehicles,” Arthur said with a smile. “Just pick one of your choosing, but it better run.”
“We only have the truck.”
“I doubt that, but if that’s the case, we’ll take the truck. Good day, Rob.”
Before Rob could respond, Arthur and his group began walking back down the hill. Rob called to them, but they didn’t look back. He aimed his pistol into the air and fired. The shot rang out and the men froze in their tracks.
“I have a better idea!” Rob shouted. “How about if I shoot you all right now for trespassing?”
Arthur stepped forward, blocking his men, and shook his head in disappointment. “You could have done that to begin with. But you shoot us here, more will come looking for us. All of my men know we’re at Bear Mountain, many of them convicts who would so love the opportunity to kill again.”
Arthur turned and continued to lead his group down the hill. Rob held his pistol on them, deeply conflicted, but before he could think any further, they were gone. He lowered the nine and went for his radio.
“Elliot …”
“Yep.”
“I sent them away. Keep an eye out for them.”
“No problem. What happened? What’d they say?”
“I’ll explain in a minute. Right now, I have to get everyone together and get ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“To fight for our lives.”
Coalition
Arthur stood at the living room window staring out as Teresa boiled some water on the stove. He had been home a little over an hour, but there was no time to rest, not with a million things on his mind. Rob and his mountain people were the first real threat the town had faced. Arthur’s focus was on containment. Could a trade deal possibly work with the outsiders? He wasn’t sure.
His authority as mayor was directly linked to the collapse of the power grid. Rob was right about that. And it was clear Rob’s people didn’t belong in the new world, and Arthur wasn’t going to let anyone take his vision away from him.
“I still don’t like that you went out there,” Teresa said, walking out from the kitchen. She wore a button-down white shirt with her sleeves rolled up, white pants, and a blue bandana over her curly red hair. “You could have sent others in your place and still got the job done.”
Arthur had changed into a T-shirt and sweatpants and looked ready for bed, though the day was only beginning. He put his arm around Teresa as she came near and pulled her closer.
“I had to talk to him. It had to be me. And I’m glad I did.”
“You’re lucky you made it out of there alive,” Teresa said. “Those people are animals, living in the mountains like that.”
A few of Arthur’s men passed by the window, walking down the street and headed to the wall for their guard shift. Arthur was moving away from forced labor to offering incentives to work. His pay-by-the-pill method had seen great success so far. Nearly half the town was hooked. The wall extended from the north to the eastern part of town. They were halfway there.
“Their leader, Rob, was actually a pretty normal guy. They’re civilized enough. He fled there with other Nyack residents.”
Teresa stroked Arthur’s arm. “Well, whoever they are or wherever they came from, you have to deal with them before they terrorize this town again.”
“It�
��s not that easy. I’m working out a compromise right now. Something to keep them at bay until we’re ready,” Arthur said.
“Ready for what? Just send Larry and the boys in there and drive them out. They should be locked up with the others for what they’ve done to us. Put them to work on the wall.”
“They have weapons. A lookout tower and trip wire traps everywhere. It’s not as simple as you think.”
Teresa moved Arthur’s arm off her shoulder and shifted away. Steam from the bubbling water on the stove traveled into their nicely furnished living room. Arthur followed her back into the kitchen, still pleading his case.
“I need more people. Not just freemen. We’re going to need an army.”
Teresa spun around from the stove. “An army? Oh, come on! We’re dealing with what, twenty people at the most?”
“It’s not about that!”
Teresa turned the stove off. “Then tell me, what else is there, what else is it about?”
“These mountain folks are a blessing in disguise. Do I really need to explain that to you?”
A knock came at the front door. Arthur was expecting Larry. They were headed to town with preparation in mind.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m dumb. I waited six years for you. Six years! Is that dumb? Maybe I should get my head examined after all.”
Rob touched her shoulder, causing her to shudder. He continued, nonetheless. “This town lacks an external threat. We need an enemy to unite against.”
“I understand,” Teresa said. “But did you stop to think where all this perceived compromise is going to get you? People will think you’re weak.”
Someone knocked on the door again.
“Come in!” Arthur shouted.
The front door opened. “Just me, Larry.”
“We’re in the kitchen,” Arthur said.
Larry’s boots clicked across the hardwood floor as he entered the kitchen and leaned against the wall. His trim handlebar mustache branched out just above his lip. He had changed into fresh clothes—a biker shirt and black jeans. “Afternoon, Teresa,” he said with a nod.
Full of anger, she barely responded. Arthur lightly kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll talk about everything later.”
End Days Super Boxset Page 58