by James Hunt
“The infirmary.” Doug opened his eyes wide. “I think he’s keeping the kids at the infirmary.”
Without another word, Wren sprinted out of the cabin, shoulder checking the door open. The muscles along her legs burned, but she kept long strides, and her body whined from the exertion.
Gunfire grew louder in its orchestrated chorus in the night air the farther she ran. The rhythm of bullets beat in time with her steps, and she raised the rifle to her shoulder, her finger on the trigger. A shadow darted from the side of a building, and Wren aimed but hesitated, unsure of whether it was friend or foe. But the bullets fired in her direction answered the unknown.
Wren returned fire and glided right, her aim sloppy from her movement. Dirt flew up with every bullet that skipped left and right, short and long. The two grew closer, and Wren planted her foot, dropping to one knee, and steadied her aim. The outlined figure centered in the crosshairs, and Wren squeezed. A cry rang out, and the shadow dropped to the ground. The farther she ran, the more shadows appeared, attempting to take her deeper into the darkness.
Flashes burst from Wren’s muzzle and lit up the night with every hurried squeeze of the trigger. She felt the rifle mold to her body, become an extension of her arm as she sprinted through the hail of gunfire. Two figures guarded the infirmary’s flank, and Wren brought the first down easily, but the second caused her to roll left behind the cover of one of the houses.
Wren caught her breath and hocked the thick phlegm that had collected in the swollen pockets of her cheeks. The tip of the muzzle wafted smoke, and she flattened herself to the dirt. She saw the man’s feet frozen in place, no doubt waiting for her to show on either side of the house. But she burrowed forward underneath, shoving aside dirt, grass, and cobwebs as she crawled toward the last obstacle between her and her children. The cramped space made it difficult to position the weapon, but she managed to raise the barrel high enough to get the needed projection, and by the time the sentry realized where she’d gone, he had two bullets in his chest.
Wren squeezed herself from under the house, her eyes never leaving the sight of the infirmary. A wave of dirt trailed her after the final push, and she sprinted toward the door, rifle up, every cell in her body in overdrive as she burst inside. The scene upon her entrance overwhelmed her, but she kept her rifle up. Her finger itched carefully over the trigger, and her whole body tensed. “Let them go!”
Both Zack and Addison were tied up in the corner by their ankles and wrists, with gags over their mouths. Ted held Chloe by the scruff of her neck, shielding himself with her body, the gun in his hand aimed at her youngest daughter’s head. “Oh, I don’t think you’re in a position to be bargaining.” Chloe’s head tilted at an angle from the pressure of the gun.
Wren glanced behind her then shut the door with her foot, providing her back with a barrier. She took a step forward, but it only caused Ted to press the gun harder into Chloe’s cheek, which was red and wet with tears. “Take the gun off of my daughter. Now.”
“Or what? You’ll shoot me?” Ted pulled Chloe closer, covering more of his body. “You don’t have the skill to shoot me without the risk of killing your daughter. We both know that. But...” He repositioned the gun under Chloe’s chin. “You have three kids. So I could easily plow through two of them and still have a bargaining chip to get whatever I want. You want this one to live? Put down the rifle, Wren.”
Wren’s eyes flitted between Chloe and Zack and Addison tied up on the floor. She shifted her weight side to side. The shouts and gunfire had grown increasingly hectic outside, adding to the screaming match in her head. “You’ll kill them out of spite.”
Ted threw his head back, his maniacal laughter flooding the infirmary. “You’ve learned so much. But even still, you’re out of cards to play. You don’t have any move left but to put the gun down. I’ve seen you in fights. You don’t pull the trigger. You don’t have the training. You don’t have the grit. And you don’t have the nerve.” A few drops of spit landed on top of Chloe’s head as she continued to cry in his arms.
Wren sidestepped to her right, her eye glued to the scope. The crosshairs wavered between Ted and Chloe’s head. Wherever she moved the barrel of her gun, he moved Chloe. Her muscles caught fire, but she steadied her arms, forcing them as still as the metal gripped in her hands. I can’t let him win. Her right arm spasmed involuntarily, and the steady confidence she’d accumulated vanished.
“I’m running out of patience, Wren.” Ted’s voice dropped an octave, the playful laughter erased from his face. “You won’t be able to win this. You and I both know that. Your distraction is wearing off, and Edric’s men will beat back whatever resistance they come across. Time’s up.”
Wren shut her eyes, focusing on nothing but her breathing. Her heart rate slowed. Her muscles relaxed. The shaky tremor in her right shoulder disappeared, and she felt her body steady. She opened her eyes, and the world through the view of the scope passed in slow motion. The point of the crosshairs lined up perfectly with Ted’s left eye, and she felt her right hand squeeze the trigger.
The blast of the gunshot and Ted dropping to the floor flashed faster than the blink of an eye. Wren dropped the rifle and sprinted toward her daughter, her piercing cries eclipsing the gunfire outside. She scooped Chloe in her arms and scrambled on her knees to Zack and Addison. Clutching her youngest daughter to her shoulder, she ripped the gags from her other two children, and they scrunched their faces in grief. She squeezed all three of them in her arms, and she could have stayed there holding them forever, but the thunder of gunshots beckoned the return of her senses. She set Chloe down and pulled a knife from her pocket. She sawed through the restraints, tossing them aside. Zack grabbed his crutches, and Addison clung to her leg. “Zack, here.” She handed him the knife and scooped the rifle up, keeping Chloe in her right arm. “You three stay with me, and do not stop moving for anyone or anything. Got it?”
Three nods answered in unison, and Wren led them out the front door. She kept Zack and Addison in front, scanning behind them to make sure no one ambushed their rear. Shudders accompanied every gunshot, but Wren marched them forward. “Don’t stop!” They sprinted into the forest, heading for the fence. The farther they ran, the more the gunfire faded, and it was soon replaced with Chloe’s steady crying.
Chapter 11
Zack slammed up against the tree’s trunk, wheezing and panting for breath. “I can’t… I need to stop.” Wren hadn’t let them rest for twenty minutes, putting as much distance between her and the camp as possible.
Wren stopped, Chloe still clinging to her neck, and looked back for the first time. “All right. Just for a little bit.” Wren peeled Chloe off and set her down next to Addison, and the two huddled close to her legs. Wren unloaded the empty magazine from the rifle and replaced it with her spare. Sporadic gunfire continued to disrupt the stretches of quiet, and Wren peered through the tunneled view of the scope. Only trees and darkness fell across her gaze, and she lowered the weapon. “How’s the leg holding up?”
Zack regained control of his breathing, but his face and body glistened with sweat under the moonlight. “The leg’s okay. I haven’t moved this much since it was broken.” He lowered his head, drawing in a long breath.
Wren tilted his head up. “You’re doing great.” She kissed his cheek and ran her fingers through his hair. “We need to find the others.” She stepped over a few of the roots, looking into the darkness, hoping Nate or Iris and Ben would return soon.
“Mom, what about Daddy?” Addison let go of her sister and walked to Wren. “Is he coming with us?”
Wren knelt and tucked Addison’s hair behind her ears. “Dad wanted to make sure you got out safe. He’s helping keep the bad guys from getting to us.” She kissed her forehead. “He loves you so much.” Her voice caught in her throat, and she wondered how long her answer would satisfy her daughter’s worry.
A twig snapped in the darkness. Wren pivoted toward the sound’s origin. Zack and th
e girls cowered backward. Leaves rustled, and she took a step forward. Shadows moved, and Wren placed her finger on the trigger just before a pair of hands thrust themselves into the air.
“Wren?” Ben’s figure withdrew from the darkness. Blood splattered his shirt and arms, with some smaller speckles on his cheeks. “Thank god.” He let out a breath and wrapped her in a hug. “I’m glad you made it out.” He turned to the kids, palming the top of Chloe’s head in his hand. “And I’m glad you’re safe too, young lady.”
“What happened?”
The answer spread across his face before the words left his mouth. “Edric pushed us back after the attack. We didn’t have the manpower to finish him. But Iris managed to retrieve some of our gear from the vaults before we retreated. We’re going to mount another offensive at dawn.”
Wren paced wearily. She bit her lower lip until she tasted blood. She couldn’t risk keeping the kids around for that. She needed to get them as far away from the camp as possible. “I need someone to take Zack and the girls back to the town.”
Ben shook his head. “Wren, we don’t have that kind of time. We need to hit Edric hard again before he has a chance to come after us. We have to stay on the offensive.”
“I just pulled them out of a warzone. I’m not going to keep them around for another confrontation like that.” Wren thrust her finger into Ben’s chest. “They go. Or I disappear before you can rally the troops behind my figure.”
“Wren—”
“It’s not a discussion, Ben.” She stood her ground as Ben wavered back and forth.
The gunshots in the distance broke the monotony of silence until Ben finally spoke. “All right, but we can’t afford more than one man to go back. We’ll need everyone to bring him down.”
“Then it’s your best man.” Wren walked away but caught Zack’s glance as she turned to the fading sounds of battle. He hobbled around until he completely blocked her view. Even in the darkness, she saw the distressed lines across his face. “You need to be strong for the girls.” She gripped the back of his neck and pulled him close, squeezing him tight. “If something happens to me or your father, you need to take care of them, okay?”
“Don’t go back.” Zack’s words were nothing more than a whisper against her ear. “I know what he did. I know he cheated on you. You don’t have to go back for him.”
Wren forced his eyes to hers. “He’s your father. No matter what he’s done to me, he has always loved you. And you’re stronger than he is. He knows it, and so do I.” She kissed his cheek then embraced him in another hug. “I love you so much.”
The rendezvous point was only a mile away, and Ben helped round up the girls as they trekked through the forest. By the time they arrived at their destination, the gunfire had ended, and most of the survivors had returned. The number of casualties for their group were a quarter of their total. Iris and her team were some of the last to return, though what they brought with them raised the group’s spirits.
“Ammunition. Knives. Explosives. Rations. And NVDs that were stored in my faraday cage.” Iris dumped the loot in the center of the group who’d circled. The booty was distributed evenly, and Wren made sure to take one of the grenade belts. She wasn’t sure if she could be as accurate on this round as her previous shots.
Ben pulled Iris to the side, telling her about Wren’s demands. When the conversation ended, Iris simply looked Wren’s way and gave a soft nod. When she walked by, neither of them exchanged any words.
Once the children’s escort was chosen, Wren pulled them aside, away from the ears and mouths of the group. “You guys are going on a trip with Mommy’s friend Donny. He’s going to take care of you and make sure you’re safe, okay?”
“You’re not coming with us?” Chloe’s eyes widened. She puffed out her lower lip.
“I’ll only be gone for a little while longer.” Wren stroked her cheek, but Chloe jerked away.
“You just came back, and you’re leaving again?” Addison thrust her arms out animatedly. “You can’t do that! You can’t leave us! You promised!” Her voice shrieked. “You promised!” Her face reddened, and tears burst from her eyes as she stomped her feet and kicked the dirt and leaves.
Zack reached her before Wren could and scooped her up. “Hey, listen. It’s not Mom’s fault that she has to leave. She’s going to get Dad. She’s trying to help, and you’re not making the situation any better. You need to be brave. Like Mom.”
Addison buried her face into her brother’s shoulder, and the tantrum ended. Zack rocked her back and forth, using the tree next to him for support. A tear broke through the wall holding them back and rolled down her cheek. Chloe tugged on Wren’s pants, and when she knelt down she squeezed her youngest daughter tight, hoping the night concealed the tears.
Before they left, Wren pulled Zack aside, making sure the girls couldn’t hear. “When you get to town, there will be a man in the care of a doctor. If he’s awake, tell him who you are and that I told him to take you to the cabin. If I don’t make it back, you stay with him. He’ll keep you and your sisters safe.”
“Mom, you shouldn’t talk like that.”
“Promise you’ll listen to what he says.” Wren kept her voice stern and grabbed his shoulders. “Promise me.” After a pause, he agreed, and Wren hugged him. “I’m so proud of you. And I love you so much.”
Wren kissed all of them as many times as she could before Don led them through the woods. Her heart was pulled with them, and she kept her eyes on them until they disappeared into the trees. She lingered on the last spot she saw them and didn’t look away until Iris placed her hand on her shoulder.
“They give you something to fight for,” Iris said. “Let them be your fuel. You don’t stop until they’re out of harm’s way.”
“And when does that happen?” Wren looked back to the empty forest. “The world doesn’t stop being dangerous just because I want it to. It’s never listened to me before. There’s no reason for it to start now.” She walked away, leaving Iris and the group. She didn’t need to be lectured. She needed to be alone.
A fallen tree provided the quietness Wren needed, and she felt the weight of the past few days fall on her. She rested the rifle across her lap, and the soreness and pain returned in full force. She gingerly stretched her body, every muscle irritated. She poked her cheeks and was reminded of the swollenness in her face. Her eyes felt heavy, pulling her downward. All she wanted was to lie down and sleep.
Wren wrestled with the thoughts in her head, wondering if the driving force behind her return was for Doug’s rescue or Edric’s death, and whether her motives even mattered. Her broken body didn’t have much left in the tank. And while she knew she couldn’t rid the world of every evil meant to harm her children, she knew that she had to try and cleanse it of this one horror in her own backyard.
Footsteps triggered a reach for the rifle, but when she saw Nate emerge from the darkness, she lowered the weapon. “I could have shot you.”
“It wouldn’t have been the first time you tried to kill me.”
Wren couldn’t help but chuckle as he took a seat next to her. “This one would have been more deliberate.”
“But just as fatal.” Nate rested the rifle against the log and folded his hands, resting them on his gut, which had shrunk over the past month. “You did good getting those kids out of there. Doug would have done the same thing.”
“I know.”
“I’m just saying if he were in the same position—”
“Nathan, I know.” She clipped her words, cutting him off. “Just because our marriage fell apart doesn’t mean our commitment to our children did. He knows why I didn’t come back for him, and by now he knows that they got away.” She picked at the dirt under her fingernails. “I don’t know if he’s even still alive.”
“And what if he isn’t?” Nate elbowed her arm. “Could you handle that?”
Wren exhaled, her body collapsing within itself as she did. “One thing at a time, Na
te.” She rubbed her palms together, feeling the calluses that had grown over the skin. Every fiber of her being had either broken or hardened. She wasn’t the woman she used to be. And she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. “Reuben. The hermit who saved me. I want him to stay with my kids if I don’t make it. I’m going to tell that to everyone before we leave.”
“You don’t have to do this, Wren. You don’t have anything else to prove. Let me talk to Iris and Ben. They’ll understand.”
“No. I’m not going back because of the deal I made with them. I’m going to kill Edric. One way or the other, this will be finished for me.” She looked him in the eye. “And I’m not leaving anyone else behind. No matter what.”
Nathan nodded. “All right. You need anything?”
“I’m just gonna sit here for a while. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay.” Nathan squeezed her hand and disappeared.
Once his footsteps faded, Wren was left in quiet. She closed her eyes and listened to the light breeze rustle the leaves overhead. She felt her muscles relax, and while the pain in her body lingered, she was able to block it out. The world around her felt like a graveyard, and she was nothing more than a ghost floating through the headstones.
It was a feeling she’d never experienced before, and she found a level of euphoria in the moment, and a peace that she hadn’t known since before the events in Chicago. Home had never felt so close and yet so out of reach. Her thoughts drifted to the terrorists, and Ted, and she wondered how many more of them were left. How deep did their network go?
Wren tucked her rifle under her arm and returned to the group. Upon her arrival, Ben and Iris already had everyone huddled together. All of their faces stretched long. Everyone was fatigued, and the slouched shoulders and low-hanging heads lacked the confidence she knew they needed. “We’re not dead.” Heads perked up at the sound of her voice. The group sat a little straighter, and she felt the light burst of energy rush through them. “Not yet.” A few smiles cracked over the stoic faces. “Edric has hurt all of us. And the camp he occupies is everything you’ve worked for to stay alive. You put your blood and sweat into that place. And now it’s calling for more.” Heads nodded, and Wren circled the group. “He won’t give it back willingly. He’s a fearmonger. Some warlord sitting high on his chair.”