Several buildings occupied the overgrown grounds. Rodney and Truck opened one of them while Caleb surveyed the area. The facility building was vast. He knew it would be large, but to finally see it in person and to see how secure it is, he was overwhelmed with gratitude.
The door opened, and Clarence tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. “Come on, son. You’ll get to explore all of that as soon as we handle business across the swamp.”
Caleb followed him into the building. Military lockers lined the walls, but only four of them held any supplies. Rodney and Luke grabbed bulletproof vests, rifles, and ammo for each of them. They also grabbed a few other items they thought may be of use on their trip.
Once they were stocked and ready to go, Rodney and Clarence gave Truck some instructions and asked him to pass them on. All of the women and children in Amitola would be headed there, and the men who stayed behind would be standing guard until the rest of them returned.
They walked back out the same way they originally came, but when they got to the entrance, they walked toward the front of the hospital instead of back towards the road. Just around the building was a mean looking patient transport bus. It was black, white, and gray and appeared sturdy enough to plow through a twenty car pileup.
Rodney unlocked the doors and started her up. Clarence, Luke, and Caleb loaded their equipment on board. As they were settling in, they heard the familiar hum of Jay’s bike. He was back, and he’d brought someone else with him. Clarence and Rodney hopped off the bus to talk to the man. After Judgement Day, Officer Rory Nunez became Detective Gil Dumais’ second in command. They were all that remained of the entire Amitola police department.
Another man approached them while they talked. Caleb watched the guys shake their heads in disbelief as Clarence spoke to them. He knew what they were hearing. He found it hard to believe too, but that didn’t change their reality. They were about to engage in a fight for their lives. People were about to die.
Clarence and Rodney got back on the bus. The other man followed. Clarence introduced them. “Bryce Adams. Caleb Finnigan.” The two men shook hands.
Clarence took a seat in front of Caleb. Rodney signaled Jay to move out then he settled into the driver’s seat, and they drove off.
Caleb stared out the bus window. Amitola was a ghost town. They passed car dealerships, drive-ins, banks, and an I-Phone repair shop, but not a single person. He didn’t even see the men who were supposed to be standing guard.
As they got closer to the railroad tracks, the water on both sides came into view. A couple of times Rodney had to drive the bus through parking lots or backyards to get around it and back onto the road.
When they approached the tracks, movement caught Caleb’s eye. He adjusted himself in the seat to get a better look. There was a dump truck in between the two trains used to block the entrance, and someone was moving it. Finally, he saw people. A few men stood watch, weapons ready, as the exit became apparent. Rodney and Clarence waved as they passed. Once the bus was safe and secure over the tracks, outside the protection of Amitola, the dump truck was put back in place.
Luke noticed the confused look on his face and speculated about his concerns. “The trains are like the main gate. It keeps people from coming across in vehicles. If they try to walk in, we have other deterrents for them.”
“Like what?” Caleb asked.
“First, we always have at least three people guarding it. Then, we have nail beds underneath the dump truck when it’s immobile. From this side, they’re easy to slide under there and take out when we need to. The bed of the dump truck is full of glass, sharp metal and spikes. Then we put razor wire all around the bottom of the trains so no one can cross underneath. We have more razor wire in between the cars too, but we also grease them down, so they’re slippery; the tops of the trains too,” Luke replied.
Bryce fanned his nose. “Smells worse than dead bodies, bruh.”
“What did y’all use to grease it?”
Luke pointed to some five-gallon buckets by the tracks. “There’s endless supplies of oil in the fast food joints and restaurants. We used that. It’s nasty, dude. Nasty.”
Caleb thought about the geography of it. “What if they went around the trains?”
Clarence replied, “They’d have to swim a long way to do it. The train cars are submerged on both ends and we sunk as many trucks and cars as we could to block it off. They’d have to swim from further away, and I don’t know why they’d be willing to do that. If they tried by boat, we’d see them.”
They traveled down the highway at eighty plus miles an hour. There was no one on this main road, and the residents of Amitola had cleared it not long after the flood waters subsided. In the distance, the floodwaters and their aftermath created a devastating backdrop. Cars piled on top of cars, buildings crumpled to the ground, entire subdivisions burned to ash, and miles of debris fields littered the landscape. It was going to take generations of survivors to clean up the mess. First, they had to survive.
The bus veered off the main road, and after a couple of miles, it slowed to a stop. Clarence, Luke, and Bryce jumped off. Caleb stood and asked Rodney what was going on.
“There’s a swing bridge here. It’s operated from this side, so we keep it closed to road traffic. We tried to block other routes too. Anyway, that’s why Bryce came; so he could operate it. He’ll stay here until we get back. Jay’s gonna leave him with his bike and come with us.”
After verifying that no one was waiting on the other side, Clarence, Luke, and Jay climbed back on the bus. Once the bridge was in place, Rodney drove across, and when they exited the bridge, the bus stopped. The point was to block the bridge until it closed. When they were no longer in danger of anyone crossing, they resumed their mission.
Ten minutes down the road, Caleb felt Jay’s eyes burning into the side of his face. “Is there something I can help you with, man?” he asked.
Jay replied, “How you know Maia?”
Clarence turned an ear to the conversation.
Caleb replied, “One of my best friends was good friends with her husband. They’ve known each other for years. He was her trainer. I know her through him, but she’s a friend of mine too.”
“Huh,” Jay mumbled. “How good?”
“We’re not together if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What about your friend?”
Caleb chuckled. “I tell you what when you see her, you can ask her yourself.”
“Heads up, fellas. We got a roadblock,” Clarence said.
Rodney rolled the bus to a stop before it even got close. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.
Clarence studied the scene for a minute. “They don’t look too friendly, and we have nothing to swap. Get up to the highest speed you can and drive through but make sure you take out both trucks so they can’t follow us. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Clarence turned and motioned to the other men. “Buckle up and brace yourself.”
Rodney thrust his foot down on the accelerator and clenched his hands tight around the steering wheel. The speed of the bus reached nearly 70mph. Instinctively, the crew ducked behind the seats when the guards shot at the bus, but they didn't need to. The bullet-proof windshield, grates covering the side windows, and armored plating prevented any damage.
As sweat dripped from his brow, Rodney floored it and drove straight through the center of the roadblock. Men dodged the bus and attempted to fire at them again. The bus plowed through, mangling the trucks like a freight train. Rodney bounced in his seat while high-fives and hoots and hollers belted out of the crew. Clarence leaned back into his seat and smiled.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Maia sat and listened while Tye talked but thoughts about him took over. She could see that all of those marriage conferences and workshops Beth drug him to paid off. He was quite introspective and his ability to communicate what he was going through impressed her. Lance had moments of tha
t, but for the most part, he was silent about his thoughts. Her three boys were each unique in that sense too. Carsten was like his dad: a bit of both. Jaxon was a free thinker and talker like his mom. Gabe kept to himself. His thoughts had to be pulled out of him, and even then, they were so vague a translation was required.
“We're going to have to fight, and people are going to die, but this is where we are now…and that’s just it, Maia.” Though she’d stopped listening intently and became lost in her thoughts for a moment, the sound of her name brought her out of it.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
He looked down and shook his head. He took a deep breath and blew it out hard. “I, uh—“ He rubbed the stubble on his face then ran his fingers through his hair. He searched for the right words to say. “I know neither of us ever thought we’d end up here. I thought Beth and I would grow old together and I know you thought the same thing about you and Lance. Honestly, a few days ago I thought I couldn’t walk away from you because you were my student and my buddy’s wife, so that meant I needed to protect you, but…” He reached over and grabbed her hand.
“If this is about me reading that book or me joking around with you—“
She stopped talking when he held his hand up to her in that sweet, authoritative way he used to do during training when she started trying to predict the lesson before he even began teaching.
He continued, “After they took Lanie, I nearly lost my mind. It took a while for me to come around, but even then I was only a shell of who I was. I existed to take care of my kids. That was it. But, from the moment I found you out here something changed.”
When she heard him say those words, it was as if she swallowed all of her emotions and they jolted down to the bottom of her stomach. She stared at him in hopeful disbelief.
“Don’t get me wrong, my kids are my everything, but I only survived so they could. The last few days though, I’m living again. I have a reason to want more. At first, I didn’t know why that was but, now I do.”
Her eyes lingered in his. “Amitola?” she asked, wanting so much to be right…and wrong.
“No,” he said, briefly touching her forehead with his. “It’s you. You make me want more. The way we are with each other. The way you are with my kids and how they are with you. What I see in you, what I see in us…what everyone else sees in us apparently.”
All of those emotions that caused the happy butterfly effect just moments ago suddenly had her feeling nauseous. What was she supposed to do with this information? “I miss Lance so much, but it feels like he’s been gone for so long.” She picked at a spot on the floor. “I know what you mean about only living for your kids. My only goal has been to get Gabe back. Apart from that--, I don’t know, Tye.” She examined his expression but couldn’t read him. “I guess I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”
He saw the concern in her eyes. He wanted to fix it. “I feel the same way about Beth. It was less than six months ago, but it might as well be six years. Time didn’t stop. It sped up on us. If this had happened under normal circumstances, I’d ask you to have coffee with me or go to the movies but that sort of thing went out the window with everything else. I don’t know how to do this anyway after all this time, b—”
He took a moment to regroup then spoke rapidly, gesturing with his hands. “This —me and you— it might seem kind of fast, but we’ve known each other for years. And I don’t want to push you, but I have to say, even the mere thought of you with another man makes me want to boil my brain.”
“Boil your brain? Seriously?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“See…I even like that you crack jokes at my expense. I’m pathetic. I can’t believe it either.”
She broke her gaze and stared straight ahead. Was he saying he wanted them to be together? She didn’t know what to say. She knew what she wanted but what she didn’t know was if they were sufficiently prepared to fight the battle or if they’d get stuck in the trenches. Funny how they were probably more ready to fight the physical battles than they were to fight through the mental ones.
She kept remembering various things he’d taught her. In particular, his lessons about having a partner. We all have blind spots. Even when we think we’re safe and when we think we’re okay, our partner may see something we’re blinded to. One thing was sure, she needed to inform him about exactly what they were going up against, and she needed to be certain she knew what he wanted.
“Before I say anything about that I just want to be sure you know what you’d be getting into. I’m not sure of myself, sometimes. Also, I guess, I need to know what you’re asking specifically.”
“Well, I don’t want you to take off running, but I’ll shoot straight. These days, there’s no point in dating. Now, I’m not proposing to you…yet, but I am asking if you’re interested in taking our relationship in that direction. Judging from the way you acted when you thought I was with Kat I believe you are." He held his hand up before she could speak. "Just sayin’.”
She let out a disgusted sigh. “I don’t want to hear another word about you two. Did you really take a shower with her?” Maia interrupted while turning to face him again. “See…” he said.
“You’re dodging the question.”
He giggled and pointed at her. “You’re avoiding my question, but yeah, I did.”
“Like…naked?” she asked.
His face couldn’t hide his amusement. “Yes, most people do take showers naked. I mean come on, she’s a sexy woman, and she was all over me. What was I supposed to do? And what about you? Kissing all over Jason?”
“That’s different. I thought we had to do that to make Allen think we were sleeping together. And we had our clothes on.”
“Yeah, well he had his hands all over you, and you didn’t look too bothered by it. And you’re right. It is different. You have a history with him which, to me, is worse. I had no history with Kat. It was just two people who wanted to forget about everything for a while.”
“Then why didn’t you say something to me about Jason? And why didn’t you sleep with Kat?”
He felt her eyes dig deep inside of him. He knew her. She wasn’t a woman who responded without considering all angles. She needed a big picture; that involved logic and emotion. He was aware that she was sold on logic already. They were friends, partners, and they made sense together. She was already planning her future with him in it. Now he had to provoke her to dig deep and figure out how she felt about him.
Sensing their moment, he moved closer and brushed her lips with his finger. “Because I’d convinced myself it was too soon and you didn’t want me anyway but…when you walked by and ignored me, I realized I might be wrong. I knew then that if I was with Kat, it might ruin any chance I had with you.”
Thoughts cluttered her mind. She studied him, still searching for understanding.
“Looking back, I think there was always some kind of energy between us, but we ignored it because we were married. Tell me you didn’t feel it.” He waited to see her response, but she gave him nothing but a blank stare. “I’m just saying, things are different now. Just tell me we can try.”
Then, just when he thought he’d misread the whole situation, she grabbed onto him. “I don’t know. I’m scared,” she said, entangling herself in his arms and burying her face in his neck.
Relieved, he cradled her in his arms. “Me too, baby. Me too,” he replied. “We can work through it.”
“I don’t know if we can work through this. Nothing is simple anymore. I’m scared I’ll lose you. I’m scared you’ll lose me. I’m scared something worse will happen. I’m scared you’ll think I can’t be fixed. And worse than that…I’ve done things; things I’m not proud of. What happens when you find out I’m not the person you think I am.”
“Really?” he said. “We’ve all had to do things we aren’t proud of and you, I think you’re exactly who I always knew you were.” She waited for an explanation. He stared at her lips, his mouth
slightly open. “You don’t take crap from anyone. You fight with everything in you, and when you get pushed against a wall, it makes you fight that much harder. You’re tougher than most men I know.” He took in her scent then curled his top lip into his mouth.” If you weren’t so soft and smell so good, I might wonder.” He worked her like putty in his hands, and she knew it. He was right. She’d always known there was something between them, but when you’re fully committed to your marriage, you ignore those things. Now, there was no longer a reason to ignore it.
His hand lingered down the curves of her waist and hip. “As tough as you are, somehow you’re still this feminine, petite, curvy…” Knowing what he was about to say, she giggled at him, and he smiled right back. “Bouncy?”
She leaned more into him so he’d have a better view. “You really like to focus on that bounce, don’t you?” He looked her up and down. “Mmm, hmm…you are all woman, and all I want to do is make you smile again, and again, and again.” They both laughed. “Like that,” he said.
She gazed into his wanton eyes. Trying to remember why she resisted him in the first place. She put her forehead to his lips then forced his head back so she could sink her face into his neck. He had this earthy, male scent that ignited wild passion within her. She inhaled deeply, admired his chest underneath that thin wife beater then reached up and ran her finger from his lips all the way down to his navel. His untamed pride broke through when, breathing heavy, he took her hand and slowly moved it all over his chest and face, an invitation to fondle him without restraint. He kissed her fingers, and she knew she was making him just as crazy as he was making her.
With her soft cheeks, Maia grazed Tye’s shoulder then she traced the lines of his tattoo with her finger. Their bodies connected and communicated, even without their consent. She brought something out in him that he had suppressed and locked away for a long time. He had to touch her. He needed to feel her. His hands found their way to her neck and back. She closed her eyes, then as quietly as she could, she took a deep breath.
Amitola: The Making of a Tribe Page 35