Instant Darkness

by Mark J Russell

  His dad’s brows rose. “But you didn’t put any down where we’re working on the fence?”

  “No, they didn’t come from anywhere near there. Although, it seems someone lured Maggie that way, so they must know the back of the property is not secured.”

  “All the more reason to get it done, then. Tell me, why are we out here putting holes in paper when we were robbed last night? We should be concentrating on perimeter defenses.”

  “Because you are no use to me if you can’t use a gun,” Gary said. “That’s why. Stop wasting time and get your gear on.”

  Corey’s dad did as he was told, and Corey followed suit, but five minutes after Emma had gone to clean her firearm, he hurried after her. No one could object to him taking care of the pistol; after all, Gary taught him to clean it after every use. And, as an added bonus, Gary was busy helping his dad with his aim and didn’t seem to notice that he was going to be alone with Emma.

  “This is a conspiracy,” Corey said as he placed his gun on the towel Emma was using to protect both the table and the gun. “Everyone is working to keep us apart.”

  “Gary is dad’s best friend,” Emma said. “They tell each other everything. So, of course, Gary’s going to keep us from talking. I’m surprised he isn’t in here right now.”

  “What are you talking about?” Gary asked, walking in through the open door.

  “Nothing,” Emma said, rolling her eyes at Corey. “I was just proving my superiority.”

  “At shooting? There can be no doubt.”

  “Not just shooting. Everything else too.” She winked at Corey behind Gary’s back.

  “Is it safe to leave my dad out there on his own?” Corey asked.

  “Safer than leaving you two alone in here,” Gary said.

  “I don’t know what you think we’re going to get up to while cleaning guns,” Emma said. “Really, Gary, it’s a public place. Anyone could walk in here.”

  “I know your father doesn’t want the two of you to be alone. That’s good enough for me.”

  “But we’re not alone,” Corey said, feeling he should support Emma, “we’re here with you and Dad.”

  “We can’t see you in here, though, can we?” Gary said in a singsong voice that set Corey’s teeth on edge.

  Corey figured Emma felt the same way—she disassembled her firearm with brutal efficiency.

  “Anyway,” Corey said, “we’ve been friends forever. Why would we change now?”

  Gary grinned. “Hormones.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Corey’s dad was standing in the door.

  “Ask Gary,” Emma said. She’d finished cleaning her firearm and reassembled it, storing it back in the locker. She placed the magazines in a separate drawer and turned around. “Can you put the supplies away, Corey? I need to get to work.”

  “Sure. I’m still cleaning my gun; I’d have to put it all away when I was done anyway.”

  She shot Gary a look. “You heard that, right?” she asked before she stomped from the gun shack.

  “She’s not happy with you,” Corey’s dad said.

  “I’m just honoring Abram’s request,” Gary said, then gestured to the guns and cleaning supplies on the table. “Make sure all this is put away properly before you leave. I’ll be checking it later.” He turned and left as well.

  “How are things going?” his dad asked, disassembling his gun now.

  “Fine.”

  “You’d tell me if anything was wrong, right?”

  “Yeah, of course,” Corey said, though his tone nearly deceived him.

  Corey finished assembling his gun. Then he picked up the slide of his father’s pistol and started cleaning it. As he helped his father put away the cleaning supplies, he wondered what the future would hold during their time at the compound. He wondered what Gary had in mind, but quickly shook those thoughts from his mind before he drove himself mad.

  Corey sighed to himself as they walked down to the end of the fence. Maybe it would have been better if they’d stayed at home.

  Nick’s shoulders and arms ached after a day of digging. They’d finished the last fencepost hole with the help of Maggie, but now they were digging the ditch for the strip of concrete that was going in under the chain link. It was brutal work for a man who spent most of his time on the computer. The three of them—Nick, Maggie, and Corey—walked back to the house, where they were offered hot showers. Nick told Maggie to go first and went in search of Rae Ann.

  She was in the kitchen helping Shelly and Emma prepare the evening meal, standing on a chair in front of the propane-powered stovetop and stirring something in a large pot. When she spotted him, she gave the spoon to Emma and jumped down, running across the kitchen for a hug.

  “You’ve been gone a long time,” Rae Ann said. “Why didn’t you come back for lunch?”

  “We had sandwiches with us,” Nick said. “We have a lot of work to get finished, and it made more sense to work through. What have you been doing all day?”

  “It takes a lot of work to keep the house running, Daddy,” she said, so obviously repeating what Shelly had told her that it made him smile. “We made the beds and swept the floors. After lunch, we planted vegetables in the raised beds, and flowers in front of the porch. It’s important to keep beauty in your life, that’s what Shelly says. She says beauty reminds you of the finer things, so you don’t feel like a drudge.”

  “Shelly is very wise.” Nick caught Shelly smiling from the corner of his eye.

  Corey came in, his hair wet and spiky. “It’s your turn to shower, Dad.”

  Nick hugged Rae Ann once more and moseyed out of the kitchen. He showered quickly, relieved that the grime was washed away. After his shower, he changed into clean clothes from his suitcase, then folded his dirty things and stacked them in a pile. He didn’t know what the laundry routine was yet, and he made a mental note to find out. When he arrived back in the kitchen, Maggie and Abram had joined the others.

  “Where’s Gary?” Nick asked.

  “On watch,” Abram said. “We’ll have to send someone out to relieve him soon.”

  “I can go,” Nick said. “I’m too sore to sleep tonight.”

  Abram glanced at Nick. “If you are sure. We really should take watch in pairs, but I’m not sure we can manage it and get everything done during the day as well.”

  “We should carry whistles,” Maggie chimed in. “So, if something goes wrong, the people in the house could be alerted.”

  Corey’s brow furrowed. “Why not the two-way radios?”

  “We can use those until the batteries die,” Maggie said. “But those rechargeable batteries don’t last forever, and I’m afraid the solar chargers only work when it’s sunny. A whistle is pretty indestructible.”

  “Do we have any whistles?” Nick asked.

  Abram’s spoon scraped the bottom of his bowl. “I think there are one or two in the survival kits in the basement. I’ll go down and check later.”

  Shelly handed Nick a bowl of chicken stew. “You should eat this before you relieve Gary. It’ll get you through the night. And don’t forget to take a water bottle. I’ve filled have a dozen and left them just inside the door, so you can grab one as you leave. When you come back at the end of your shift, leave the used bottle on the sink. I’ll wash it and refill it.”

  “Thanks. This smells really good.” Nick took a spoonful of stew, blew on it to cool it down, and tasted it. “Oh yeah. This will really hit the spot.”

  “What are we going to do about security?” Corey asked. “Even if we have two people on watch, what if they come in a group like they did with Maggie? They lured her into the forest and raided the barn.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Maggie said. “I didn’t know how stupid I could be. They won’t catch me out like that again.”

  Abram said, “If you find yourself on watch, which you won’t for a good long time, remember what we are protecting are the upper and lower outbuildings and the house. If yo
u have to make a choice, protect the lower barns. That’s were the most valuable things are stored. The animals and stores in the barn can be replaced. Those of us in the house can protect each other, but if we lose the fuel, supplies, and ammunition stored down there, we’ll be in trouble.”

  “Do we shoot on sight?” Corey asked.

  “No, we shoot over their heads if words don’t send them packing, unless they are aiming at you, then shoot to kill. Gary is afraid we’ll become an easy mark if we let too many people get away with supplies.”

  Nick raised an eyebrow. “So, if they don’t run away, we kill them?”

  “No,” Abram repeated. “Shoot over their head, shoot them in the arm or leg, only shoot to kill if you are in danger. And most important of all, blow your whistle when you first realize we’re being raided, so the rest of us can come to your aid.”

  “Not all of us,” Shelly said. “Someone has to stay in the house to protect the children.”

  “True,” Abram said. “One person at the house, one to the upper barn to help prevent huge losses, and the other two down to the barn to help whoever is on watch. That seems reasonable.”

  Nick scanned the table. “I hate to repeat this, but it does seem as though we could use another person or two. If someone is ill or injured, we won’t be able to cover all the bases.”

  Abram gave him a sharp look and frowned. “You should be out there looking for Gary now.”

  Nick rose from his chair and took his bowl to the sink. Returning to the table, he placed a hand on Rae Ann’s shoulder. “Rae Ann,” he said, “Corey is in charge. Both of you are to do what the adults in this house tell you, but when it comes to bedtime and washing up, Rae Ann, you do what Corey tells you. I don’t expect Shelly to have to tell you to go to bed, understand?”

  “Yes, Daddy,” Rae Ann said and hugged him tightly.

  “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

  “Goodnight, Daddy.”

  Ending their embrace, Nick glanced at his son. “Corey, if I hear you are abusing your authority, you know what will happen.”

  “Yes, Dad.”

  Nick said goodnight to his son, grabbed a water bottle from beside the door, and headed out into the night to find Gary. He was easy enough to locate—he’d settled himself on an empty wooden crate on the backside of the garage, overlooking the lower barn buildings. Nick sat down beside him.

  “Hey, Gary. Chicken stew for dinner. You should go in.”

  “I will, but I need to ask you a favor. I need to run into town a little before dawn, and I could use your help.”

  “Whatever you need,” Nick said, knowing he’d regret it but wanting to ingratiate himself to Gary.

  “Good. I’ll come to get you when it’s time to go. I think it unlikely that anyone would try to loot us at that time of day, so we won’t tell the others.” Gary got up.

  “Whatever you say, Gary.”

  “Good. See you later.”

  Gary lumbered into the house, and Nick was alone with his thoughts.

  Nick would have liked to put the man out of his mind, but he could not. Abram trusted Gary, and that should have been good enough for Nick—after all, this was Abram’s farm. Still, something about Gary bothered Nick. The whole idea of leaving the place unguarded while they snuck into town during the night seemed underhanded. Gary was Abram’s righthand man, so he couldn’t go to Abram with the knowledge. Hiding behind Gary’s back would be a death blow. Gary would convince Abram that the Caulfield family was dead weight if he thought Nick was undermining his authority. So, he’d just have to go with Gary and hope for the best.

  20

  A couple of hours later, Corey was making the rounds of the lower barns and other outbuildings, looking for his father. “Dad, are you down here?” he shouted into the darkness.

  “I’m here, Corey,” his father replied. “Near the shooting range.”

  Corey shone his light in the direction of his dad’s voice and came to stand beside him in the gloom. “Hey, Dad. I just came to tell you that Rae Ann was excellent tonight.”

  “That’s good to hear.”

  “Yeah, I thought you might like some good news. I’m sorry I brought us here. I know it’s been weird.” Corey was examining the ground at his feet, wishing he didn’t feel like he had to apologize.

  “It’s weird, yeah, but I think I’m glad we’re here. At home, we’d be at the mercy of government programming, and it’s possible that they’ll run out of food and water before things get back to normal. Here, we can grow food. And it won’t all be such hard labor. Once the fence is in, and the cornfield and vegetable gardens are planted, it will be weeding and maybe watering. Harvest will be a lot of work, but winter should be easier.”

  “Except for watering the animals. Emma told me that keeping fresh water available at sub-freezing temperatures is hard.”

  “Well, it won’t be an easy life, but it won’t all be as hard as it is now. My guns are killing me.”

  “That’s because you don’t have guns, Dad.” Corey smirked. “People who work at desks all day don’t develop biceps.”

  “You may be right.” Nick paused a moment. “Don’t worry if I’m not in bed when you get up in the morning, okay? Gary wants me to go with him on an early morning trip into town. I don’t know when we’ll be back.”

  “Don’t go. That guy is a maniac. I don’t trust him.” He couldn’t see his dad’s eyes in the dark, couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  “I have to go, Corey. Gary is in tight with Abram, and I need them both to feel like I’m an asset. I need to be willing to do anything, go anywhere, until they stop talking about kicking us out.”

  “They can’t kick us out, Dad. There wouldn’t be enough people to get the work done.” Corey scuffed the ground at his feet. “I know they threaten us with it all the time, but I don’t see how they could manage without us. Especially if they decide to have two people out on guard all the time.”

  “I think they should let Joshua join us. An extra adult wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

  “He did seem like a nice guy. He got us here, but we don’t really know him.”

  “You have to take people at face value, son. I mean, you could just distrust everyone, but I think the way humanity is going to survive this is by creating alliances. He helped us, and we should help him. But I can’t convince Abram. Every time I think he’s about to change his mind, Gary butts in and changes it back. I’d do more for Joshua if I could, but I don’t want to risk our position here. The same reason I’m going to town before dawn. I don’t dare say no.”

  “I wish you didn’t have to.”

  “Yeah, me too.” His dad wrapped an arm around Corey’s shoulders. “You should head back up to the house. It will be a long day tomorrow. I think we’re pouring cement in the trenches and placing the fenceposts.”

  “All right, Dad. Be careful, okay? Don’t let Gary get behind you. You want to keep him in your sights at all times.”

  His dad laughed. “Okay, I’ll do that, but he’s going to think I’m strange.”

  “No, he won’t—he’s going to be trying the exact same thing on you. Goodnight.”

  Corey walked back up to the house, but instead of going inside, he eased into one of the chairs on the front porch. He was worried about his dad, and he wished he wasn’t going into town before daylight. Obviously, whatever Gary was going for, it wasn’t above board. Nobody went into town before anyone was out of bed for legitimate business.

  He sat in the dark on the porch as the night stretched on. Soon, he’d discover what Gary’s real plan was. Until then, all he could do was wait and see.

  It was going to be a long night.

  The night sky had lightened from black to dark gray when Nick heard Gary coming up the drive. Nick had been patrolling the fence—he’d heard noises, but it could have been deer or a bear, coyotes or foxes. He hadn’t seen anything on his walk along the inside of the fence, so it probably was wild animals scared away by the scent of
him.

  He met Gary on the drive outside the upper barn, the animals there still deep in sleep.

  “Got your pistol?” Gary asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Follow me,” Gary said, and they walked side by side up to the front gate.

  Nick wasn’t surprised when Gary produced the key that let them out through a door-sized gate not far from the drive. Of course, Gary would have the keys. He was trusted with everything. He waited until Gary had reattached the padlock and the two of them continued up the drive toward the road.

  “What are we doing in town at this time of day?” Nick asked.

  “You’ll see.” Gary played his flashlight on the road ahead of them.

  The sky was brightening, but not yet enough to illuminate their way. Nick could make out the horizon, but the stars were still visible overhead. He hadn’t thought to look at the sky while he was keeping watch and he regretted it now. It must have been brilliant in the dead of night, if it was this wondrous now.

  They passed a farm a mile down the road. The house was dark, but there was a light in the barn, and they could hear the lowing of cattle and the voices of the people tending to them. Nick wondered why they had to begin their day so early. Did they have so many cows to milk that the chores took them all day?

  The next farm they passed was the same, except that there was also a flickering light in one of the downstairs farmhouse windows. The world here was stirring, but when they finally came down to the small town, it was still swathed in darkness. Only the farmers got out of bed in the middle of the night.

  “Where are we going here?” Nick asked. “No one is awake yet.”

  “You’ll see. Just stay alert,” Gary said shortly, motioning for Nick to follow him across the road. There was a row of shops on Main Street. All dark, many shuttered. Three of them were restaurants, Nick noticed, and he wondered if they would remain closed until electricity returned to their world. Or would they learn to cook on an open fire and feed people anyway?

  They came to stand before the small grocery store, the windows shuttered with plywood. When Gary walked to the door, Nick said, “I don’t think they’re open yet,” and heard how stupid he sounded. Of course, the store wasn’t open.