by Lee West
When another round of soft raps on the door went unanswered, he considered skipping out ahead of the kid. If this was nothing, he didn’t want to risk Johnny seeing him. All hope of quietly unraveling this little mystery would evaporate. They’d have to torture Johnny for the information or hold a gun to his grandma’s head. Either way, Brown would lose control of the information and any benefit it could bring him. He shifted his weight, ready to leave, when the door cracked open.
“Marta, sorry to bother you, but it’s urgent,” said Johnny.
“Come in. Hurry before you’re seen,” said Marta, shutting the door after Johnny.
A sly smile crossed Brown’s face. What to do? What to do? He now had a few options he didn’t have a few minutes ago. He’d proceed carefully with his new discovery.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Sam quietly nestled into bed beside Jane. The warmth of her body made Sam long for her. For now he would be content to hold her while she slept. He buried his face into the back of her neck and breathed in the scent of her hair. Although Jane hadn’t fully showered in a very long time, she still managed to smell faintly like flowers. He loved that about her.
“Did it work?” Jane asked sleepily.
“Yeah, go back to sleep,” said Sam.
Jane turned to face him, breaking their embrace. “Why haven’t you told anyone about the locker?”
“I guess it never came up.”
“Come on. Really? The fact that we have a storage locker with a two-year supply of survival staples never came up?” said Jane.
“Well, you haven’t offered anyone this bit of information, either,” said Sam, stroking her face softly.
“Yeah, I’m really afraid. I’m afraid our supplies won’t be there when we get home, at the house or storage unit. Who knows how long we’ll need to be self-sustaining. I guess I just want to be sure we can manage on our own before I try to save others.”
“I’ve thought about it all being gone, too. But it’s pretty far out of the way, and people usually keep stuff they don’t use in a storage locker. It wouldn’t be high on my priority looting list.”
“You have a looting list,” she said, smiling.
“Yeah, and you’re at the top of it, when all this is settled,” said Sam, kissing her lips.
“I better be,” she said, sighing. “I know you’re right. Everything should be fine when we get there. I’m just being paranoid.”
“A healthy dose of paranoia goes a long way. The real trick will be transporting the things we need to wherever we decide to hole up.”
“I know it has been a while since I was in the locker, but don’t we have bikes with pull-along carrier systems attached to them? We should be able to ride out with a lot of our supplies.”
“We should be able to. But my concern is that these New Order guys are out there basically stealing food, water and everything else from people. We really don’t want to be in a situation where we’re caught on the road with supplies, and I’m not sure how useful the bike trailers will be on a rough trail,” he said.
“We’ll figure it out. Maybe the plan should be that we only travel at night. That way we’ll have an easier time hiding.”
“I think we’ll need to do exactly that for part of the way. Maybe just while we get out of town. We can use the predawn hours to gain some distance from Evansville. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what’s happening in town. The situation there will determine our course of action,” he said.
“What do you think is happening there? With Lea, I mean?”
“I don’t know. So many scenarios run through my mind, some good ones, some not so good. Overall I have to believe that she’s a smart kid who can take care of herself. I’m hoping it’s enough…”
“Me too.”
Neither Sam nor Jane wanted to dwell on their daughter’s situation. There was nothing they could do from here, so they let the silence comfort them.
Jane kissed Sam passionately. “I love you more than you know. You always make me feel so safe and happy.”
Laughing, Sam said, “Wait a minute, aren’t you the police officer? You should be making me feel safe.”
“Yeah, but it’s always you who somehow does it for me.”
“In more ways than one, I hope,” said Sam before kissing her neck passionately in the dark.
“Yeah, in more ways than one…” said Jane, a little breathless.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Doris buzzed around her kitchen in the early predawn darkness, preparing packs of food for each of her guests to take with them. If her kitchen were fully operational, she would have baked some delicious snacks for them. In its current state, all she could offer was fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts and hard-boiled eggs. She hoped it would be enough to help them reach their destinations. She was particularly concerned about Jenny. The poor child looked rail thin and exhausted. She seemed to eat nonstop since arriving at Doris’s. Hopefully, the extra calories would help to put some meat on her little bones.
“Good morning, Doris. You’re up early,” said Charlie, rubbing his eyes.
“I thought I would send you all off with a nice farm breakfast. I have eggs and coffee cooking outside on the camp stove,” she said.
“Are you using propane?”
“Sure am, why?” asked Doris.
“I don’t want you to deplete your stockpile for us,” said Charlie, sitting at the kitchen table.
“Nonsense. I have plenty of propane, and besides, giving you all the strength to make it to the next house is the best use of what I have. I need you to make it back and start fighting for our towns. We all need it. Helping in this small way makes me feel like I’m doing my part.”
“You are more than doing your part, Doris. Without your help we would never have been able to get as many officers and their families out of Porter. You’ve been a major part of the plan right from the beginning,” said Charlie. “And if I may be so bold, I know your son would have been proud of you.”
Doris stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath, her eyes moistening. “That might be the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. Thank you.”
“I don’t think there’s any question where your son got his bravery.”
She nodded. “We all need to band together if we’re going to defeat these New Order guys. Let me bring in the coffee. It should be ready.”
Doris walked outside into the damp morning to fetch the coffee and eggs she had prepared. She stopped at the edge of the campfire and cried for a minute, hoping nobody noticed. Her role in righting this whole mess gave her the sense of purpose she’d lost with the death of her son. When she was composed, she wiped her face and returned with the campfire’s bounty.
“Wow, that smells amazing,” said Charlie, grabbing a steaming mug of fresh coffee.
“Please tell me I haven’t been merely dreaming about the scent of fresh coffee,” said Jane, walking into the kitchen with Sam close behind her.
“You’re just in time. The coffee is fresh off the stove,” said Doris, handing Sam and Jane aromatic mugs of coffee.
“Yumm…just what the doctor ordered—good coffee,” said Jane.
“Hey, wait a minute. Haven’t I been serving you the best camp coffee in the mountains for the last two weeks?” Sam said jokingly.
“Well—” said Jane to a round of laughter from Doris and Charlie.
“I also have eggs and a potato hash cooking. Everything should be ready shortly.”
“You really amaze me, Doris. It seems like you haven’t missed a beat during this entire crisis,” said Sam, sipping his coffee.
Doris shared a quick look with Charlie, who beamed with pride.
“Well, being on a self-sustaining farm helps a lot. Over the years I have had my power outages. When you live way outside of town, the utility companies don’t prioritize fixing the occasional power outage. After one particularly bad storm, I went for over two weeks with no electricity. An experience like t
hat teaches you a lesson you don’t forget. It’s why I have two generators, a stockpile of chopped wood and plenty of gas and propane on hand to run just about everything.”
“How did you manage to keep the fuel fresh? I assume you don’t run the generators too often,” asked Charlie.
“No, I really don’t run them very often, but I have my farmhand rotate the gas into the various machines and purchase new fuel so that I always have a certain level. In the winter, I like to increase the amount on hand. You never know. It can be pretty isolated out here. Being prepared helps me feel calm about my circumstances, even being alone.”
“Who knows how long the current outage will last. I’m glad to know you’ll be okay out here,” said Sam.
“I should be just fine.”
Returning to the kitchen, Doris brought in the perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and hash browns. She’d cooked the potatoes, onions and peppers in the fire the night before, giving them an unusual smoky flavor.
“Mind if we join you?” ask Mike.
“Not at all, please sit. Jenny, you can help me get a few more things to the table,” said Doris, with a slight nod to Jenny. Jenny beamed at the invitation to help.
~ ~ ~
After breakfast, the group assembled their packs by the door in preparation to leave. Seeing the size of the stuffed packs always surprised Charlie. He often felt shocked by how much people carried on their backs, while simultaneously marveling at how little one actually needed on a daily basis. Moments like that made him think seriously about living in a tiny house, if he could squeeze a sixty-inch flat screen on one of the walls. If not, a slightly tiny house would have to do.
Pulling out the map and spreading it on the table, Charlie said, “Just so we’re on the same page, the next safe house is here, and your home is here, correct?”
Jane and Sam nodded.
“You should plan to stay on the trail as long as you can. Or at least until this point,” said Charlie, indicating the closest point of approach the trail made to their home.
“Do you really think the trail goes that far into Evansville?” asked Jane.
“I’m not entirely sure, because I’ve never been on it. But people talk about taking extended camping and horseback riding trips that go from one end of the state to the other. I’m guessing you should be fine,” said Charlie. “Just pay as close attention as possible to the trail. It could veer off considerably. When in doubt, take some time to determine your position and use your compass to go off trail.”
“Yeah, we don’t want a repeat of what happened when we tried to find your place,” said Sam.
“Right. You have to assume you’re in hostile territory at all times.”
Sam grimaced. “Staying out of the town and its suburbs will likely give us the best chance of making it to Lea in one piece. After what we saw in Porter, I don’t want to be anywhere near a populated area.”
“You will have some urban areas to cross, right here,” said Charlie, tracing a line on the map from the end of the trail to their house.
“It doesn’t look too bad, maybe just a little over a mile. We could walk along the tree line and try to stay mostly hidden until this point,” said Jane, pointing at the map.
“Yeah, you’re right. We won’t have a trail to follow, but might be able to pick our way through the trees and brush. I just hope one of our neighbors doesn’t see us and call the police,” said Sam, quickly blushing from his obvious mistake.
Everyone sat silent for a moment as his comment sank in.
Breaking the awkward silence, Charlie said, “From the distance on the map between your house and the next safe house, I think we might still be able to communicate with the handheld radios. The reception may not be good, but we should still be able to talk. I’ve set them all to the same channel. One we haven’t used at any point so far. We should be able to talk without eavesdroppers, but keep all communications short on time and details, just in case.”
“Okay, why don’t we plan to touch base tonight. 12:30 a.m.? That way we can confirm everyone is safe,” offered Jane.
“And just know that if things get out of hand, you can fall back to Scott’s house if needed,” said Charlie. “Just make sure nobody follows you there.”
“You could also come back here,” said Doris.
“Thank you, it really makes me feel better knowing that we have a place to come back to,” said Jane.
“The company would do me good.”
“I’m going to grab the last few things from the bedroom. We should be ready to go too,” said Mike to Charlie.
“Sounds good.”
“Jane, are you ready to roll?” asked Sam, tucking the map into his pants pocket.
“Sure am,” said Jane.
Turning to Doris, Jane and Sam each hugged her and thanked her again for the much-needed rest and food.
“Charlie, we’ll touch base tonight around 12:30 so long as everything goes okay,” said Sam.
“I’ll be listening for your call. Good luck. Remember, if you need help out there, don’t hesitate to give me a shout. We’re all in this together.”
“Will do,” said Sam, heaving his backpack onto his strong frame.
Charlie watched his friends make their way onto the horse trail. He worried for their safety. They hadn’t experienced the full brunt of the New Order attacks on the towns. They had been tucked safely away in the mountains, enjoying a peaceful backpacking trip, when the murder and mayhem reached its peak. Living through the brutal New Order assault had awakened something in Charlie. He was now a man who would not hesitate, even for an instant, to defend himself and the people he was charged to protect.
Judging by the look on Jane’s face when he’d shot the New Order man by the roadside, he knew she hadn’t reached that point. She still operated under the old set of rules, which were no longer workable in this changed and dangerous world. Hesitation could spell the difference between life and death out there. The more he thought about it, the less convinced he was of their chances.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Marta lay in bed, trying to will herself up. The late nights waiting for Charlie to contact her were really starting to take their toll on her. To make matters worse, Johnny had stopped by unexpectedly last night, soon after she finished talking to Charlie. By the time Johnny left, Marta was so upset and scared from his news that she couldn’t fall asleep despite her state of sheer exhaustion.
Johnny had told her that he thought a New Order man, a guy named Brown, overheard her conversation with Charlie. He said that she should not try to contact Charlie for at least a few days. Learning that the New Order might find her caused her to panic inside.
The obvious police rosters didn’t include her name, which should buy her some time, but her paycheck was cut by the town of Porter. If this Brown guy heard her first name, he might be able to make a connection if he dug too deep into the paperwork files at the station. For the first time since the New Order’s arrival, she felt completely exposed and vulnerable. If the New Order linked her to the communications, they would kill her in a particularly cruel manner. They were fond of torturing and killing anyone who helped the police, in order to make an example out of them.
Marta wanted to stay in bed until it all went away, but she knew that wasn’t an option. Then again, she had no food to cook, no water to clean with and no job to go to. What was the point? Turning on her side and nestling under the covers, she heard a disturbance outside.
“You’ve already taken everything from us! We have nothing left!” shouted her neighbor Jim Hunt.
“Shut the fuck up and open the goddamned door, or I’ll blow your fucking head off. You still have that, don’t you?” said Tico to a round of laughter from his New Order buddies.
Hearing the exchange, Marta froze in place. What’s going on now? Padding over to the bedroom window, she cautiously moved the curtain aside and peered out. New Order men were everywhere, on foot and in vehicles. It appeared that they w
ere going door-to-door, searching or stealing again. Raids had become a common occurrence of the past two weeks. First, the New Order had stolen all useful items and food from the residents of Porter. Then they’d begun searching “for pigs,” as they put it. The occasional discovery of an officer in hiding bolstered their confidence and resulted in more searches.
Oh shit. What if they’re looking for the mystery radio user? They could be going door-to-door to find whoever is communicating with the cops.
Panic, followed by a nauseating adrenaline rush, hit her hard and fast. Quickly shrugging on shorts and a T-shirt, she ran to the attic, taking the steps two at a time. The radio must be hidden as fast as possible; her life depended on it. Just as she made it into the hot, dark attic, a loud banging on her front door rang through the house, sending a shockwave of fear through her body. She quickly threw a tarp over the radio. The tarp would not be enough to hide the radio, but it was the only thing she could do quickly. The angry banging on the door grew in intensity. Either she would have to open it, or the door would be kicked in. She quickly climbed out of the attic, shutting the door behind her.
“Yes, can I help you?” Marta said to the tall New Order man at her doorstep.
“I’m coming in to search. Now!” shouted the man as he shoved her aside and barged into the house.
“Close the door quick. We don’t have much time!” shouted the man.
“What are you talking—”
“Just do it!” he shouted.
Marta hesitantly closed the heavy wooden door. She was reluctant to be alone with any man, but being alone with a convicted felon terrified her.
“Listen, my name is Brown. I am or was a resident of PrisCorp until all of this went down,” said Brown. “I need to go along with these guys or I will be killed. Do you understand?”