Sundown Series | Book 5 | Vengeance

by Konstantin, Courtney

  “I wish we had more time, but I just don’t like the look of these hordes,” Alex said.

  “Hordes? Alex? Are you alright?” Margaret asked.

  Liam and Issac walked into the lobby then. Cliff followed, looking like he had just taken a shower in their outdoor solar shower. Max guessed that meant he looked worse than Alex did at the moment.

  “Yeah, we’re fine. We had to fight a few that had broken off from the pack and come toward us. Once we took them out, we were able to drive away from the majority of the horde. But I haven’t seen one as big as that since this all started,” Alex replied.

  “We also saw one, a different one, we think, on the other side of town,” Max added.

  “We aren’t the only people alive around here, so there’s no knowing what drew them together. All we know is we need to get out of here before they converge and run over everything in their path,” Alex said.

  “That’s where you come in, Liam,” Rafe said.

  Liam nodded as he stepped up to the table. For over an hour he answered all the Duncans’ questions. He marked in black the freeways that were completely blocked, stressing those were just the ones he had seen with his own eyes. There was no way to know how any other freeway looked. He used a highlighter to mark the routes he had taken with convoys before, leaving it up to them if they wanted to risk taking the same roads. He then pointed to a section below the red circle, near the water.

  “This here is a place to avoid completely. This is Fort Cronkhite. An old World War II barracks. It was preserved like a museum. It’s where the military stays when they are at the bunker. Underground, there’s only space for whoever Callahan is meeting with, so everyone else stays here,” Liam explained.

  Liam went on to describe barracks that had been reopened to house the military forces that came to the area. The mess hall wasn’t in working order, but they still set up all the equipment needed to feed the group that was on base. They didn’t have a large weapons hold the last time Liam had been there, but he admitted he wasn’t looking at the time. The Fort was less than a ten-minute walk from the bunker, even easier when they had vehicles. If somehow the soldiers caught wind of an attack, they would easily be on scene to provide back up.

  “We’ll need to find a place no more than thirty minutes away to create a base,” Alex said.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t have an insight into how you can do that. That will be something you’ll have to see to figure out,” Liam said.

  The Duncans liked to have plans, but sometimes things were out of your control. They could adjust on the fly.

  “We take the rest of the day to pack up, we leave tomorrow morning,” Alex said.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The theatre was full of activity for the rest of the day. Alex gave out assignments and everyone moved into action. Max was assigned to the tent hallway, to disassemble all the tents and get them packed into one of the SUVs. They would all sleep in the open for the night.

  Margaret worked quickly in the food area, packing everything back into the RV that had come with them. It was a much smaller stockpile than what they had at the start, but still they weren’t in danger of starving. She packed smaller assortments of food into each vehicle, in the off chance they were separated.

  Issac and Cliff took all the gas cans and headed into town to siphon until every can was full. They would then fill all the vehicles and do the process again. Alex felt guilty sending Cliff out into town again, but the big man was willing to do whatever he needed to do to contribute.

  Rafe worked with Charlie, ensuring they took all the equipment she needed. All of her instruments needed specific packaging and she flitted around the medical area giving Rafe orders. Max had heard some of it when she went to get Griffin. She had to smother a laugh when Rafe got exasperated with Charlie moving around him, making him dizzy.

  Griffin sat in a chair while Max broke down the tents. The kids ran around, chasing Candace in a big game of tag. Max was thankful for the older girl being able to keep the younger kids occupied while the adults worked. If they had to each care for their own kids, the progress would grind to a halt.

  “Give me the tent poles, I can break them down at least,” Griffin called to Max.

  “You just can’t sit there and stare at my butt while I bend over, huh?” Max shot back.

  “The view is great, but unless you’re gonna come over here with it, I’d like to be useful.”

  Max laughed and brought the long tent poles to his seat. He broke them down easily and laid each in a pile with those of the same tent set. Once they were done, Max sat on the floor next to him with a huff of breath.

  “Tired already, Max Duncan?” Griffin joked.

  “This coming from the guy that can’t get out of the chair,” Max replied.

  She leaned against Griffin’s uninjured leg for a moment, before she moved onto her next task. She was just standing up when Alex came running down the hall.

  “Change of plans. We need to go now,” she called.

  “What? What’s going on?” Max yelled back as she ran to meet her.

  “Cliff and Issac just got back. The two hordes are converging, and we’ve made too much noise driving in and out of here. They are headed this way,” Alex said.

  “If they surround us…” Max started.

  “We’ll never get out,” Alex finished.

  Max ran back to Griffin. Her first concern was getting him into a vehicle so she could move around without worrying about him. He was already up and rolling with his chair to her.

  “Let’s get you to the vehicles. We are taking one of the trucks with Jack. You can get in and get things organized to go while I get things wrapped up in here,” Max said.

  She didn’t really think there was any organizing needed, but she wanted to make him feel better. Griffin didn’t respond, so she was sure he knew there was also no organizing needed. Once they got outside, everyone was running around with boxes and bags. Griffin waved off Max as he climbed into the truck. She didn’t need to be told twice.

  Max ran back into the theatre. Candace had collected the kids near the door, under the instruction of Alex. Jack’s face lit up when she saw Max. Candace nodded when Max opened the door and motioned for all the kids to come out. Candace took Billie, Henry, and Aiden into the RV. Jack followed Max to their truck.

  With Jack settled in the back of the truck, Max went to work with the rest of the adults to pack the last of their supplies. Easton was moved into the RV. He walked with no hesitation, feeling better than he had so far. Charlie fussed over him, but he told her he was fine. With one more check on his wound and his eyes, Charlie was satisfied he would be fine in the RV.

  Max rolled up sleeping pads and let the air out of the mattresses they had all used. The supplies were partially from the compound and also from a store they had scavenged. She didn’t really want them to have to look for a place to live and then think about bedding again. Her plan was to put it all in her truck under a tarp.

  She was shoving things in when Rafe came out to grab her. He motioned for her to follow, but put his finger up to be quiet. Alex fell in step with them as they went back into the theatre. Rafe stopped short of the lobby, peering around the corner carefully. Max and Alex followed his lead.

  “Crap,” Max said.

  “Yeah,” Rafe whispered.

  Alex pulled back and paced for a moment in the small area. The lobby windows that led into the theatre parking lot and a Main Street behind that were darkened. Not by weather, but by infected that were wandering into the parking lot. Knowing the horde was coming, they had removed the boards from the windows for a better view around their hideout. The decision proved useful as they were seeing the early warning. The infected didn’t seem to know the Duncans were in the theatre, but as soon as they started their vehicles, they would follow the noise.

  “Can we get out of the circle without a lot of noise?” Max asked.

  “We have to move at least two of the
cars, maybe one car and one dumpster. Both of which are going to be loud,” Alex replied. She peered around the corner again, studying the movement of the horde.

  “They are coming from the north,” Alex said, pointing that way. “If we block the north side of the back alley at the same time as we open up the circle, maybe it will buy us time to exit the south end.”

  “A lot of variables there,” Rafe replied.

  “We’ve worked with less,” Alex said.

  “Let’s assume they go with the least resistance, and they will just enter the direction they’re coming already. Some might circle around, we can handle those. But hopefully we block the majority of them,” Alex said.

  “Do we have everything loaded? We won’t get a second chance at this,” Max replied.

  “Kids are in. Food is in,” Alex rattled off her tasks.

  “Tents and bedding are in,” Max added.

  “Charlie has packed all of her stuff. She was finishing with the last few boxes into the truck now. Storm is in the truck with Aiden, he’s probably going berserk right now,” Rafe said.

  “I think we are as close as we’re going to get. And if we wait too long, more of this horde is going to get in. They will find the back alley, with or without our noise,” Alex said.

  They nodded in unison and ran for the backdoor. As expected, Storm was barking inside Rafe’s truck. Luckily, the noise was buffered enough by the windows that the infected didn’t seem to hear him. Charlie was looking at him wildly, knowing something was wrong, but she couldn’t see the threat. When the Duncans came bursting out into the open, everyone froze.

  Alex made a motion with her hand, swirling her finger in a circle, letting everyone know it was time to get going. She then put the finger to her mouth to indicate silence. Carefully car doors were opened and closed silently. Rafe and Max stayed out to move one of the cars into the north entrance of the alley. Max would drive the car, and then Rafe would start pushing the dumpster to add to the blockade. Then everyone would be able to get out of the back circle.

  As soon as Alex got into the RV driver’s seat, the walkie Max was holding crackled to life. Alex spoke quietly, letting Max know it was time. Max turned over the car and threw it into drive immediately. She didn’t gun the gas, trying to keep the noise to a minimum. When she got to the north side of the alley, she did a three-point turn until the car was blocking the majority of the opening.

  She threw the car into park and barely turned off the engine before running back to help Rafe with the dumpster. The screech of the wheels rang out and echoed between the building at the back wall of the property. Max grimaced and together she and Rafe threw everything into pushing the loud hunk of metal to the car. They collided with the car before stepping back and inspecting their work.

  A sound pulled Max’s eyes down the alley and she hit Rafe’s shoulder to point. He followed her gaze and they both took in the scene of the infected moving toward them.

  “Time to go,” Max said.

  As they turned to run back, Max skidded to a halt at the five infected that were coming down the south side of the alley. Alex had been right, most didn’t circle around without a way to know where to go. But these five seemed to be lucky. They had focused on Max and Rafe, their movements and sounds rising into a frenzy. When Max looked over at her brother, he nodded grimly before pulling his blades. Max grabbed her tomahawk and stepped forward. The walkie at her belt came to life with Alex’s voice.

  “Do you need help?”

  “No. Just five blocking the way. We’ll get rid of them and then we can drive,” Max answered.

  Stepping forward as a team, Max and Rafe met the infected halfway. Max ran at the left side, chopping out the leg of the front infected, causing it to fall face first. As she passed the body, she slammed the spike of her tomahawk into the next infected head. She then spun and swung the blade down onto the back of the head of the infected that hadn’t quite figured out it was on the ground yet.

  Rafe was a blur with his knives. With a blade in each hand, he bobbed between reaching arms and brought the knives up to embed in brain tissue. He kicked at the last infected, knocking it backward while he ended the two he danced with. Max took the opportunity to throw her tomahawk at the last head. It thudded into the front of the skull and fell with the infected.

  “Just like watermelons,” she murmured to herself, remembering her training.

  “I had that one too,” Rafe said, as he bent to clean his blades.

  “I was getting bored watching you playing around,” Max replied. She retrieved her tomahawk and sheathed it once it was wiped off.

  Together the brother and sister ran back to their vehicles. With the space opened, the RV, two trucks and one SUV all revved to life at the same time. They had already decided on an order in which to caravan. Rafe had the maps in his truck and he took the lead with Charlie, Aiden, and Storm. Margaret, Issac, Smith, and Cliff in the Bronco followed, and Max, Griffin, and Jack were next. The RV being the tallest of the vehicles was last in the convoy.

  They all filed into the south alley, which stayed clear until they got to the exit. Rafe paused for a moment before pushing through a small group that was circling the theatre. The infected reached out and clawed fingers slid along Max’s truck. Jack shrunk back from the windows and Griffin reached back to hold her hand.

  “It’s alright, sweets. We’ll be out of here in no time,” he murmured to her.

  By the time the RV exited, Max could see a much larger group of infected coming around the side of the building. Rafe didn’t hesitate, turning away from the main road and driving into the nearby neighborhood. They had scouted the area multiple times before and knew how to go into this neighborhood and get out the other side. It was one of their escape routes.

  Being out of the relative safety of the theatre as a group felt strange to Max. Their actions previously had always been to keep the kids away from the dangers that were in the world now. However, no matter how much they planned, the infected had no logical actions they could predict. The hordes pushing them from their base now were a perfect example of that.

  “Mom, how long will we be driving?” Jack asked from the backseat.

  “I think Uncle Rafe will find a safe place for us to stop and regroup. We left faster than we had planned,” Max replied.

  “Well as long as we’re together, I guess it’s fine,” Jack said.

  “You’re right, kiddo,” Max replied.

  The caravan exited the neighborhood, and Rafe headed toward the first freeway they had marked as a possible route to San Francisco. When he swung onto the off ramp, the rest of the caravan slowed, with the understanding that Rafe was going to scout out a mile or so and let them know they were clear. They hadn’t been on the freeways since they got to the theatre, so there was no way of knowing what obstacles they may face.

  Max sat, her head on a swivel, watching for any oncoming threats. The horde would have had a hard time following them through the neighborhood, but they couldn’t be sure. All the adults were keeping their eyes opened so they wouldn’t be caught unaware. Jack worked on making herself more comfortable in the backseat, propping herself up on a rolled up sleeping bag and opening a book. The kid looked downright comfortable, despite the apocalypse.

  A few minutes later, the walkie came to life in Griffin’s lap. It was Charlie’s voice to come across, acting as Rafe’s co-pilot.

  “It’s clear. We’re about a mile down. Respond if this is reaching you. Over,” she said. Her voice was garbled a bit, but the walkie still got the signal to them.

  Everyone responded in turn and Margaret’s vehicle started the drive up the on-ramp, with the rest following. Once on the freeway and driving at an increased speed, Max felt vulnerable in the open. They were surrounded by concrete barriers, but they were still clearly visible for anyone watching. There was no solution to that, other than just keep moving.

  When Rafe saw them come into sight, he picked up speed as well, continuing h
is lead car duties. Griffin flipped through a CD case that he had found. When he found an Aerosmith CD, he popped it in. Steven Tyler’s voice came across singing about Janie having a gun. Max hadn’t listened to Aerosmith since they were in high school, but it was nice to have music playing instead of just silence in the car.

  Though Max was focused on driving, her eyes drifted to either side of the freeway. Some small towns they passed looked like they hadn’t been touched by anything. Some had burnt remains of what used to be neighborhoods and grocery stores. They didn’t slow to check for living people, that wasn’t their concern just then.

  A couple hours on the freeway they had started on and Rafe pulled off into a medium size town they had picked for their journey. They were looking for supplies before hunkering down for the night. The one task they all couldn’t afford to relax on was scavenging for their future meals.

  Max followed Margaret as she pulled down the ramp. Rafe must have seen something as they drove into the town as he turned back the direction they had come when he hit the side streets. They rolled into a small shopping complex with a number of restaurants, a tax business, a karate studio and a 99 cents store. Max went straight to that store, knowing that was where Rafe was thinking to check.

  Once everyone had turned off their engines, they waited. Max opened her door as Alex came out of the RV. Rafe followed as Cliff also came from Margaret’s vehicle. Smith joined them too, as they had started trusting him with a knife for now. The five stood in a loose circle with eyes on each corner of the shopping strip.

  A loan growl gurgled up from the broken door of the tax business. Max stepped forward, tapping her tomahawk on the bumper of her truck to call its attention. Its head swiveled sickly, since half of the neck seemed to be missing. But that didn’t stop it from locking eyes with Max and shuffling their way.

  “I got this,” Max said, and she met the infected halfway. It was an easy kill that didn’t warrant all the adrenaline running through Max’s veins.

  The surrounding silence remained unbroken after that. And Alex motioned for them all to come closer so they could make a plan.