“Have you told Jacob about this?”
“No. He’s the brains of this place, but he’s no fighter. That’s why we came to you.”
“All right, I think we should gather everyone who knows how to shoot and arm them immediately. Then we can meet at the gate. If they haven’t arrived by then, we’ll fight this in the next town to avoid anyone dying here. Run all of this by Jacob first, though. He’s our elected leader. I might know a little more about combat than him, but we should read him in before we do anything.”
“Agreed. We’ll get right on it,” he said and walked away.
About that time, Rebecca, Zoe, and Liam came outside. Max filled them in on what was happening. Rebecca and Zoe looked worried. That was nothing new with Zoe, though. For the last week, she had been walking around in a panic. Max couldn’t figure it out, but something was going on with her. The only calm one in all of this was Liam. Max thought that was strange. Liam wasn’t known for his composure. In a situation where all out war was about to be at their door, even Max felt a little panicked.
“What are we going to do?” Rebecca asked.
“We’re going to fight. I’m not risking you three, but I’ll take the men who can shoot to their location, and we’ll keep everyone safe.”
“You’re crazy if you think I’m staying here. I’ve become a pretty good shot over the last two years, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“I know you have, but I love you. People could die, and I can’t let you get hurt.”
“I love you, too, and that’s exactly why I have to go. We can talk about this all you want, but it’s only going to end one way.”
“Fine, but keep your head low when the shooting starts.”
“I’m going to be there, too. I might be the most useful person here,” Liam said.
“You’re not going,” Zoe immediately said.
“I have to.”
“Wait a second. What makes you think you would be the most useful person there?” Rebecca asked.
“Max lied for me two years ago. He told Troy he was the one who killed Timothy. Odds are that he’s only ordering his people to come here to hurt Max. Before I let him or the people of this town get hurt, I’ll turn myself over to them.”
“That’s ridiculous, Liam. Nobody is going to let you do that.”
“She’s right. That would just be throwing your life away, and I can’t let you do that,” Zoe said and grabbed his hand.
“Why? If I don’t, it’ll be Max who’s throwing his life away. This is what’s right.”
“No, it’s not. I took responsibility for that, and we’re going to stick to my story. You’re one hell of a shot, and I would welcome your aim. No one is sacrificing themselves, though. I mean that,” Max said.
“Fine. I’ll come with you and keep our secret unless we can’t fight them off.”
“Liam, you’re not going. I have to . . .” Zoe managed to say before he cut her off.
“I’ll be fine. Just trust me.”
“If you’re going, then so am I.”
“No, you’re not. Walk with me for a second,” Rebecca said while grabbing her hand and walking away.
“Do you have any idea what’s up with those two?” Max asked.
“No clue at all. What we need to be concentrating on is how we’re going to fix this problem with Raines, though.”
“Agreed. We should be able to take them on. Only about ten percent of the citizens can fight, but that’s more than enough to defeat them. We’ll have them outnumbered, and they’re in our territory. If they want a war, we’ll give them one they’ll never forget.”
“All right. What do I need to do?”
“Gather as many men as you can and tell them what’s going on. I’ll do the same.”
Liam started to rush off, but Max stopped him. If he was coming with them, then one thing had to be clear.
“Liam, I mean it when I say you better not turn yourself in under any circumstances. You mean too much to us for us to lose you. If you’re coming, I also need you to stay behind me at all times. I’m not getting you killed on this trip.”
Liam nodded and went off to find as many able-bodied people as possible. Meanwhile, Max did the same. After three hours, they had everyone who could fight. They gathered with guns and vehicles at the gate, and Max made sure that Jacob approved of their course of action. Then he gave a speech.
“Listen up, everyone. I don’t know what we’re going to find out there, but there are some things I need to say before we go. My wife and I recruited a lot of you. You’ve been invaluable members of our community. Without you, this place would’ve crumbled by now. I even remember a few of you from back when I was almost executed in the streets of Raines. You believed in the vision I had, and now all of this is possible. I’m asking you to stand up for our community one more time. All of us probably won’t make it back. We can pretend that this is Raines’s attempt at peacefully reaching out, but they wouldn’t have sent so many unless they were here to start trouble. We outnumber them, though. We also have automatic weapons that we recovered from military bases last year. We can win this with ease. Given that loss of life is inevitable, I want to offer you a choice. No one in this community is a slave. If you don’t feel up to this fight or you’re just too scared to think that you could help us, you can leave now. I only want the people who feel it is their duty to fight this battle with us,” Max said.
No one left. He could see determination in their eyes. They had truly built an incredible community that was more together than any group of people Max had ever seen.
“You humble me. I’m in this fight because I’m responsible for it. This grudge with Raines started with me, so I have to finish it. If I were in your position, I might just give me up and walk away from all of this. You’re great people, though, and I’m proud to say this is my city. All of you have backed me up every time I needed you, and I want to promise you something today. I will lay down my life for any of you. Thank you for standing with me here. Now, let’s defend our home from the scum who want to end our way of life,” Max said.
A cheer rang out from the crowd. He had only estimated that they would have around five hundred people, but there were easily a thousand. People who had barely held a gun volunteered to keep them safe. It was amazing. They even had to turn people away because they were running out of guns to give them. As Max got into his car with Rebecca and Liam, he felt a swarm of pride. If Raines wanted a fight, then they were about to get one that would go down in history.
“How do you think this will really go?” Rebecca asked as they drove away.
“We’ll be fine. Hopefully, we won’t even have to fight. If we do, I know we can win. I just need you two to stay down. The worst thing that could happen is for one of you to get hurt,” Max said.
“I could say the same to you. If you expect us to hang back and be careful, then you better do the same.”
“Some of us are more important than others. Zoe is going to hate me if something happens to Liam, and I think you’re a little too great to die right now. I’ll be fine, though. I always am.”
“There’s a first time for everything. All I’m saying is take your own advice, and be careful.”
“All right. Of course I will be. It’s not like I want to die. Hopefully, this will all be a misunderstanding. I doubt that, but it would certainly be nice.”
“What are you thinking back there, Liam? You haven’t said a word. I figured you would have some input about what we’re going to do,” Rebecca said.
“I’m just thinking about Zoe. Why am I allowed to be here while she’s forced to stay at home? I mean, that’s how I want it, but you guys normally don’t control what she does. Something’s off.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s a sixteen-year-old girl. She’s not built for combat. That’s all there is to it.”
“Oh, really? What did you and her talk about when you walked away earlier?”
“It w
as private.”
“We don’t normally keep secrets. She tells me everything. That’s how I know something’s up. If she’s keeping a secret from me, then it must be really bad. I could die today. I need to know if something’s wrong.”
“It’s the opposite of something being wrong. She should be the one to tell you, though. I think you’ll be happy. Don’t talk about dying either. You’re not going anywhere while we’re around.”
Max looked at Rebecca curiously. Just what had she and Zoe talked about? She gave him a look that clearly said he needed to ask about it later, and he tried to put it out of his mind. It still nagged at him, though. They were about to be fighting a battle, Zoe was keeping a secret, and for some reason, his wife had put herself in danger by coming with him. There was a lot to think about, and none of it was good. Just when Max felt like he was going to lose it, Rebecca laid her hand on his and stroked it encouragingly. She could always tell when he was stressed, and just a simple touch from her could bring him back to his old self. Everything was going to be fine. Max would make sure of it, no matter what he had to do.
When they arrived at the town, they saw several armed men waiting on them. They didn’t have heavy weaponry, and Max’s people outnumbered them. It was perfect. They parked in front of them, and all of Raines’s men stepped behind what appeared to be their leader. Max stepped forward and addressed him.
“Why are you here?” Max asked.
“We were ordered to bring Max Green back to our city along with any supplies we could commandeer from your town.”
“You’re looking at Max Green, and I’m not willing to go quietly. We raided a military base about a year ago. We have superior weaponry, and we outnumber you. If you fight us, you’ll be slaughtered. Nobody wants a blood bath. Can we convince you to go back to Raines?”
“No. We have our orders, even if they lead to our deaths. If we went back without you, we wouldn’t be welcome.”
“So be it,” Max said and walked behind their car.
He motioned for Rebecca and Liam to get down, and he did the same. Then he ordered his men to ready their weapons. About the time he told them to fire, so did Raines’s commander. It was exactly what they wanted to avoid - a bloodbath. Max kept his head up and aimed carefully. The first person he took out was their commander. By the time he was done with that, Raines’s soldiers had ducked into cover. They were being pounded with automatic weapons. At this pace, the battle would be over in no time. Max was patient, and every time he saw someone pop out to lay down fire, he fired a single shot into their head. This might have been war, but in the world they were living in, every bullet was valuable.
After about ten minutes, Max ordered them to charge the town. They massacred the few remaining survivors. The battle was won, but it hadn’t come without cost. Rebecca and Liam were back where they originally fired helping the wounded. There weren’t many bodies, but Max figured that at least forty people had been lost. He shook his head. Their deaths weren’t in vain because they were protecting a town full of people they loved, but Max couldn’t help but feel like all of this could have been avoided so easily. Why hadn’t the commander left? He was clearly given a way out. Just before Max was going to walk back to the wounded and dead, he heard a man laughing on the ground. He was a wounded Raines soldier.
“What do you find so funny?” Max asked.
“All the people you love are going to die,” he said.
“What are you talking about? We easily killed your company.”
“We were only sent here to cut off any people trying to flee to the South. The majority of our forces are hitting your town from the North as we speak.”
Max put a bullet in his head and immediately ran to his car. He motioned for Rebecca and Liam to get in. Then he addressed everyone.
“There was a second force, and they’re headed for Norak. If you’ve got any medical training, stay here with the wounded. Otherwise, come with me. Our people are in danger,” Max said and got into the car.
“What’s going on?” Rebecca asked as they drove away.
“One of their men told me that they were only there to cut off any people running away. We should’ve stayed put. This is all my fault. I . . .”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. The only reason you had us take the fight to them was because you didn’t want a battle breaking out in our town.”
“And how has that worked out for us? They don’t have any weapons back in Norak. They’re sitting ducks. Everyone we love could die. That includes Zoe, you know.”
“That’s not going to happen. It can’t,” Liam said in denial.
Max sighed. He hadn’t thought about how that statement would affect Liam. Even if he was starting to look like a man, he was still only a teenager. He had just seen hundreds of people slaughtered, and now he was getting the news that his girlfriend might be dead. How would I have handled this when I was his age, Max wondered.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. Zoe is a survivor. She always has been. Our house is on the South edge of town, too. I’m sure she’ll flee if things get too bad,” Max said in an attempt to make things better.
He didn’t believe that Zoe would run away. She had grown to love Norak as much as them. The people in that town meant too much to her for Zoe not to stay and fight with them, even if that was a death sentence. Max put the petal to the floor. They had to hurry. Zoe was like his daughter, and no one was going to hurt his family if he could help it.
When they got within view of the town, Max’s worst fears were confirmed. He could see houses burning. The fighting had begun, and their people never stood a chance. The smartest thing would have been to run, but they weren’t doing that. Max was going to fight until he died or found the girl that his journey started with. As Norak burned, he drove toward a moment that would define him forever. Raines and Norak’s history was about to begin, and it would be written in blood.
Chapter 24
No Regrets
When Max and the others pulled into town, they saw that it had been easily taken over. Without guns, the townspeople were forced to surrender without a fight. That didn’t stop Raines’s men from killing some of them as an example. Bodies littered the street. At least a couple hundred were dead. Max got out with his weapon drawn, and the others followed suit.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Troy said as he stepped forward with a gun to Zoe’s head.
“We can talk about this. What do you want with us?” Max asked.
“It’s simple. I told you two years ago that your actions would have consequences. Now they do. I want you and half of the supplies from this town. We’ve developed a trade system in Raines. You can buy supplies with credits. I need the leader of this place to agree that we’ll do business in the future. To be clear, if I don’t like the business we’re doing, we’ll come back and take your supplies by force.”
“We’ll trade with you, but Max and our supplies are off the table,” Jacob said.
Troy turned and fired a bullet into Jacob’s head. After he hit the ground, Troy smiled and looked straight at Max. They were powerless. Max’s army was outnumbered, and Troy’s people had found weaponry just as good as theirs.
“So what’s it going to be? Do I have to keep killing people, or are you going to give me what I want?” Troy asked.
“I’ll go with you, and the people in Norak will agree to a trade system. We won’t give you any of our supplies, though. We need them to survive.”
“Wrong answer, Max,” he said and fired a shot into an innocent bystander.
“Damn it! Work with me here! I’m telling you that I’ll give myself up. Just leave these people alone.”
“We’re running a little low on food, so I can’t. How many do I have to kill before you give in?”
“Just shoot, Max. I would rather die than give in to these assholes,” Zoe said.
“Careful, girl. I would hate to have to make you the next example,” Troy said.
“That
won’t be necessary. Everyone, lower your guns. We don’t stand a chance right now. I’ll go with them, and they’ll take no more than half of what we have. Anyone who interferes will only be hurting Norak and its people. This is how we survive today,” Max said.
As Max dropped his gun and walked toward them, Troy released Zoe. When she passed Max, she gave him a look that clearly said don’t do this. What else could he do, though? It was go with them or let everyone die.
“I’ve got to tell them the truth. Max can’t die because of what I did,” Liam said as Zoe made it to him.
“You can’t.”
“I have to. I . . .”
“Liam, I’m pregnant. That’s why I didn’t want you to go this morning, and it’s why even if I love Max, you can’t sacrifice yourself for him. We’ll figure out a way to save him.”
Liam didn’t know what to say. He was in shock. Max was going to die, he had just found out he was going to be a father, and men were taking their supplies. Zoe was still looking at him expectantly, though. Even if the situation was almost unbearable, she wanted some kind of reaction from him.
“At least I found out one good thing today. I’m glad we’re having a baby. We need to concentrate on what’s happening now, but we’ll talk more about this later,” he said and refocused on the task at hand.
They were forced to load Raines’s trucks with their supplies, and after they were finally done, Troy told them one last thing that made Rebecca’s skin crawl.
“We’re not going to kill him immediately. We’re going to show you what happens to men who betray us. A piece of Max Green will be sent to you every day until you have all of him,” Troy said and turned away.
As they were leaving, Rebecca wanted to do something. She wanted Troy dead and her husband returned to her, but what could they possibly do? They were outgunned and outnumbered. Max was going to die a slow and painful death, and it was all thanks to them. Liam had been the one guilty of killing Timothy, and it was her who had just stood by and watched them take Max. She didn’t know what else to do, but that still didn’t change the facts. She had watched the love of her life walk away with men who were going to cut him into little pieces. Zoe felt bad on some level, too. She had been the one to stop Liam from taking Max’s place. It was understandable because he was the father of their child, but she owed everything to Max. In some ways, she felt like she had betrayed him.
The Divide: Origins Page 22