Rose took a deep breath in and out through her mouth. “We tracked the woman through the woods. At the time we thought she might have been lost or not sure where she was going, but she was leading us into a trap. We found her group but they immediately started shooting at us.”
“Were they military?” asked one of the men.
“No, Aaron saw some of their jackets, they were a motorcycle gang, Hell’s Angels. They had a bunch of trucks and a few motorcycles. Also a lot of weapons.
They had us all pinned down, luckily we were spread out and we slowly started to reduce their numbers. There were probably like 15 or 20 of them, and we got them down to about 10 or 12. It was going well, or as well as it could have gone, when they broke out the grenades. They threw one, blew off Henry’s legs. Aaron charged the camp and then both of us got most of them. When one of the last guys tried to throw a grenade at Aaron, Henry shot him and blew up the rest of the bikers. Henry saved our lives.” Rose was surprised at the emotions she was feeling while telling the story. She hadn’t thought Henry’s loss and Aaron’s near-death had effected her as much as it had but the grief and anger she felt was real and raw.
“He will be remembered for his actions,” said Rene solemnly. “What happened next?”
“We started to make our way back, but the infected found us. They were probably attracted to the sound of the gunfight and the explosions. We shot one, but there were more out there. We could hear their screams.” Rose shuddered. One of the men handed her a cup of coffee.
Rene stood and addressed the others in the kitchen. “It is as we thought. Come.”
Rene went into the living room followed by the men from the kitchen. The living room was bursting with people now. Rene stood in front of all of them. “I’ve heard the report from Rose here. It has been confirmed. The screams we‘ve been hearing are the infected and there is a strong possibility they will be coming this way. The whole town will need to prepare for war.”
Most of the people gathered seemed very sullen, almost hopeless, but a few looked to Rose with anger as if she was the one responsible for this. Rene’s eyes flicked to Rose briefly then back to the room. “Alert the town. Everyone should prepare to defend themselves. There is a possibility that they may not find us, but we have to be ready.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With Rene’s word, the room cleared quickly as the town leaders left to spread the warning. Aaron arrived at Rene’s with his hand wrapped as the last of the leaders left. He appeared to be in much better condition than the last time Rose had seen him.
“I’d heard that you were injured,” Rene said to Aaron as Rose, Adeline, and Aaron were collecting and storing all their weapons in the dining room. The dining room had become an unofficial armory for the house with all of Rose’s weapons returned to her, Aaron’s weapons, and Adeline’s that she gotten while on guard duty. Rene had decided that all persons assigned to guard duty should be given weapons to take home. “Is it serious?”
“I caught a ricochet in my hand. It was cut up pretty bad, but should be fine once healed. Doctor said I may have some loss of movement but it’s too early to tell.”
Rene nodded at Aaron and looked at both him and Rose. “You both need some rest. You may not have a chance later. Aaron, you can use my room, I’ll be heading down to the command post at the Town Hall. Adeline, you stay here. If things go bad, I want you to stay with Rose and Aaron.”
“Ok Dad,” said Adeline, worried. Rene leaned in and gave her a kiss on her forehead. He then turned and left the house out the front door.
Rose was still holding the coffee she’d been given earlier. She sat down on the couch in the living room and took a sip. It was cold. Adeline joined her on the couch. “What’re the infected like?” she asked. “I’ve never seen one alive.”
“The infected?” asked Rose. “They’re still human I suppose, but only just a shell. The infection eats away at their brain until all the good is gone and all that’s left is a wild animal.” Rose felt as cold as the coffee in her hands.
“That one in the woods was my first,” added Aaron.
“You’ve never had one wander by on patrol?” asked Rose surprised.
“We’ve had some people who are infected, but no one was as far gone as that woman was,” said Aaron thinking back and shaking his head. “Rose is right Adeline, those infected people are just wild animals.”
“Is it hard to shoot someone?” asked Adeline timidly.
“Just remember your training. Don’t think of it as shooting a person. Think of it as saving your life or the life of your friends. If you take out that infected person, that’s one less that can harm someone you love,” said Rose.
“You know how to shoot, Adeline, just trust your instincts,” added Aaron. “We trained enough that it should be second-nature once you get going.”
Adeline didn’t seem convinced. Aaron stood, stretched and yawned. “I’m going to bed while I still can. See you guys in the morning.”
“Yeah, I’m going to go too,” said Rose placing her coffee cup down on the end table.
“Do you mind if I stay with you tonight, Rose?” asked Adeline. The question seemed more from a child than a twenty year old.
“That’s fine,” said Rose blowing out the candles in the living room.
Rose and Adeline walked up the stairs the second floor. Rose grabbed her phone. The power was gone now, it’d been plugged in but hadn’t charged all day and the battery was down to about 60%. Rose scrolled through her songs and selected Led Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving You” and hit play. “Can you fall asleep with music on?” Rose asked, lying down on the bed.
Adeline curled up in front of Rose, her back against Rose’s chest. “Yeah, I think so,” she said after a big yawn.
Rose lay there for a long time listening to the music and feeling the press of Adeline on her body. It’d been so long since she’d felt this press she’d grown so accustomed to with Kate. That seemed like a lifetime ago. Part of Rose still hurt to think about it, but she’d moved on. This new world had changed her. Rose finally felt that she’d found where she belonged, and it was in this town. She drifted off to sleep as the sweet docile tones of “Leather and Lace” by Stevie Nicks softly filled the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The multiple explosions shook the house and Rose sat upright in bed. At first, still drowsy from sleep, Rose thought the first boom had been from Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” which was playing in the bedroom, but as the secondary booms happened, she knew it wasn’t. It was still pitch black outside, nowhere close to morning. Adeline was waking as Rose reached over and stopped her music. Pocketing her phone, she jumped out of bed and began putting on her boots. She could hear movement in the house and knew that Aaron was awake as well.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
“What’s that?” asked Adeline now fully awake and rising to get dressed.
“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the landmines you have around town. They’re coming.”
“Oh fuck,” said Adeline softly.
Rose couldn’t help but smile. Rose didn’t think that she’d ever heard Adeline swear before. After lacing up her boots, Rose raced downstairs to collect her rifle and other weapons. Adeline was close behind. Downstairs they found Aaron struggling to arm himself in the dining room, his injured hand a major hindrance. Adeline went over to Aaron to help while Rose began strapping on her own weapons. She slung her rifle over her shoulder and onto her back, undid her belt, and put on two holsters, one on each hip, before rebuckling it. She grabbed a bowie knife and sheath and stuffed it into a cargo pocket, and then grabbed her camo shotgun verifying it was fully loaded. Rose then placed the shotgun on the table and grabbed two handguns, both Glock 45 calibers and seated each in a holster. Once set, she went over to Aaron and Adeline.
“I’ll help him. You go get yourself armed,” said Rose. Adeline went over to the dining room table to gather he
r things. Aaron had managed to get a holster on and was sliding another Glock into it when Rose came over. Rose grabbed a shotgun and extended the strap so she could slide it onto his back. Aaron gave Rose an annoyed look but didn't protest. Rose knew that he didn’t like being helped but they needed to get armed and get out there, not worry about Aaron’s ego. “What else do you want?” said Rose to Aaron.
“Grab me some shotgun shells. I’ll put them in my pocket,” said Aaron as he grabbed a large machete. Rose scooped up a handful of shotgun shells, a mixture of buckshot and slugs, and brought them to Aaron. He opened a cargo pocket on his pants and Rose dumped the shells in. The pocket was on the left side so he could reach in and grab them easily. Rose wasn’t sure how Aaron was going to use his right hand. The bandage had made it into almost a ball so he was essentially one-handed.
Rose looked over to Adeline. She had Rose’s shotgun slung over her back. “You’re going to use my stuff instead of the shotgun from guard duty?” said Rose, again amused by Adeline.
“Well you have a rifle and two handguns plus a knife. You’re shotgun is way better anyway. Do you mind?” asked Adeline, expertly swinging the shotgun off her back, chambering a round, and posing.
“All yours, Rambo. Are you ready?” Rose asked her.
“Yes,” said Adeline with a confidence that, despite the show, Rose knew was only a front. Her fear was buried just below the surface and Rose didn't have to look very hard to find it. Rose looked to Aaron and got a nod of his head before making for the front door. Adeline slid the shotgun around onto her back and followed them out.
As they left the house, there was another loud BOOM! The explosions were much louder outside the house, and they could feel the vibrations in their feet as they shook the ground. They could also hear the screams of the infected coming from the south, loud and blood-curdling. The problem was that the first explosions that had awoken them had come from the south side of town. The explosion they’d just heard had come from the north side of town. Rose had a sinking feeling in her gut as she realized that the attacks were now coming from opposite sides of town and they were caught in the middle. Were they surrounded? Rose glanced over at Adeline, and judging by the lack of color in her face, she’d come to the same conclusion.
Rose looked for Aaron. “North or South?”
Aaron paused briefly. “South was the first attack and probably got a strong response. North will have been more of a surprise. We should head north.”
They set off North on foot without delay. As they got further from home and closer to the northern border, the screams of the infected faded but not the clatter of gunfire. As the northern border drew closer, they seemed to run faster. Rose could see the lights up ahead and the large pile of cars as well as the muzzle flashes from guns as they fired. It appeared to Rose as though there were about twenty defenders in the area around the cars. They’d dug in and were firing from positions where they could see out but most of their bodies weren’t exposed. Rose found this quite odd since they were shooting at infected who weren’t shooting back.
As they came up to the pile of cars, Aaron signaled to one of the commanders.
“How many infected are out there?” asked Aaron.
“Infected? None, that’s the southern border. There are people shooting at us here. It’s like their attacks were planned to happen together,” said the Commander.
That caught Rose by surprise. Other people were now attacking too?
Aaron was also taken aback. “What? Who are these people attacking us?”
The Commander shrugged. “No idea. All I know is the infected started attacking the southern border and not long after, we started taking fire here and one of our landmines blew.”
“What can we do to help?” said Adeline, stepping up.
“I need help on the right side of the line. Had several injuries over there if you want to support them,” said the Commander, pointing to the far right side of the car pile.
“You got it,” said Aaron and they set off. Rose was still confused. “Could the people attacking somehow be working with the infected?” Rose asked aloud to Aaron and Adeline as they jogged to their positions. “How’s that possible?”
“What’s more likely is that they were out there waiting to attack and when the south side was attacked, saw it as a perfect opportunity” said Aaron as they reached the general area the Commander had pointed out. All of them took up similar positions where they could see out but were shielded from incoming gunfire.
They held their positions for what seemed like hours. The gunfire was still coming at them, but it was sporadic, and no attack ever came. The attackers would fire, move, and then fire again never advancing. All three of them had no idea what was happening at the southern border, but Rose half expected to be swarmed by infected from behind at any moment. Squatting down waiting for the attack to come was maddening. She felt like she needed to do something, but could do nothing but maintain her position. She couldn't see anything to shoot at out there so she hadn’t shot since they took up their position. Occasionally one of the other defenders in the area would fire off a few rounds, but Rose thought that was more to make them feel better rather then actually targeting something. Finally, Rose couldn’t take it anymore and leaned over to Adeline and Aaron. “I’m leaving.”
Aaron looked at her with eyes wide with disbelief. “What? Why? We have a position of advantage, we can hold them off.” As if to emphasize his point, another landmine exploded on the far left side of the car pile away from where they were positioned followed by the obligatory gunfire in the general direction of the explosion. “See?!?” said Aaron exasperated and frantically scanning the area with his shotgun for attackers.
“I think this is a trap. I think they’re keeping us distracted here and they’re moving in around us. It’s what I’d do. Keep a few people here, throw some rocks at the landmines to keep us distracted, then come up from behind us from the east and the west. We’ll be sitting ducks.”
“I agree with Rose,” said Adeline from the far side of Aaron. Aaron gave her an annoyed sideways glance before slowly turning his head back to Rose. He stared at her for several long seconds. “Fine,” he said begrudgingly. “We’ll check the eastern border quickly then come back and re-man our post. Okay?” he added as they started to move.
Rose looked over to see if the Commander would notice their departure, but he was too concerned with the recent explosion to his left to see them leave to his right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rose, Aaron, and Adeline skirted the woodline so they wouldn’t have to worry about landmines and would have some concealment. Aaron took the lead and signaled back to Rose and Adeline when they were clear of the mines and the barrier walls started. It was so dark past the lights at the car pile, Rose was glad that Aaron was with them to be their guide. It quickly became eerily quiet out by the eastern border. The gunfire from the north had faded and they must have been too far from the south to hear any of that noise. All Rose could hear was her own breathing and the soft footsteps of the three of them. The walk out was mostly uneventful. They found places where the fence was broken or damaged, but that could have just as easily been from an animal as from an attacker. The further they went, the less confident Rose became in her initial theory. She’d been so sure that the attack on the northern border had been a ruse, but she was starting to doubt herself now. They hadn’t heard anything, let alone seen any evidence of a possible attack. By the time they’d reached the near-exact halfway point on the eastern border between north and south, Rose had given up on her theory. “Alright, let’s stop,” she said softly.
Aaron turned around and faced her. “Okay, I admit it, this was a bad idea. Should we head back north to where we were or keep going south?” Rose asked to both Aaron and Adeline.
“Well, we know nothing about the south. They could be all set. We know the north was shorthanded. I say we go back north,” said Aaron. Adeline kept silent.
�
�Okay, lets head back north,” said Rose, moving aside so Aaron could take the lead again.
Rose was disappointed in herself. She’d felt so sure. Being the go-to person for training and surviving the mission out to the biker camp had apparently gone to her head. She had only been a cop for two years and she’d been foolish to think she could be some sort of battle tactician. Rose tucked those thoughts away so she could use them again to temper herself next time she had another plan.
Going back the way they came, they found the barrier unchanged from the first pass. Rose’s self pity had become a dark cloud hovering over her head. She’d focused internally, paying little attention to what was going on around her and feeling sorry for herself, embarrassed about her leadership failings.
Rose never noticed the figure hurtling down off the top of the barrier toward her until it was almost too late. At the last possible second, Rose caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, tucked down and rolled away from it. A large man holding a large medieval type broadsword slammed the blade of the sword into the ground right where Rose had been standing seconds earlier, driving it deep into the ground. As Rose came out of her roll, her first instinct was to draw her Glock and fire, but as she went to draw the gun, she saw that Aaron was already moving in. The big man was so concerned with pulling his sword out of the ground that he didn’t have time to defend against Aaron’s attack. With one swing of his large machete, Aaron was able to remove the man’s head from his shoulders despite the bandage on his hand. The big man’s body quivered as the head tumbled away giving one last jerk to the sword but even in death, it couldn't be pulled from the ground. The lifeless body then crumpled in a jumble of limbs.
Pulling out a flashlight, Adeline shone the beam on the body. A steady stream of blood was pouring from the neck, but it’d been a clean cut. As Adeline panned the beam down the body she gasped. The man was wearing a fur-trimmed Hells Angel’s jacket.
Break Away (Jordan Rose Duology Book 1) Page 19