“And if they do I can help you find my parents then?”
Jon grinned. He couldn’t help but admire this kid’s spirit. Roy and Josie had raised her well.
“Sure thing, kid,” he said. “Alright, we’re still a couple of hours away, so we need to keep moving. Do you need me to carry you?”
Alex nodded.
* * *
Jon’s old friends Dave and Ruth Mortimer were good people, and they had a nice cabin on a hill in the woods with plenty of room inside and an additional cabin resting outside.
The cabin was a single level place with a loft, and that was where Alex was now sleeping. Once she had arrived with Jon a couple hours prior, Ruth had seen to it that she had been fed and properly hydrated before being put to bed.
Jon had informed Ruth of Alex’s diabetes and lack of insulin. Ruth didn’t have any nursing skills or anything like that herself, but she knew enough about diabetes to know that resting was the absolute best thing for Alex to be doing now after such a long and laborious physical journey. No, it wouldn’t solve the problem, it would hardly do that, but it would help to minimize the effects as much as possible, at least until she could get the insulin that she needed.
“Nice place you got here for a bug out cabin,” Jon remarked to Dave at the table where they had just finished eating. “Never saw it before. Only heard you talk about it.”
“It’s functional,” Dave responded simply with a swig of water.
Jon couldn’t tell if Dave was happy to see him there. Ruth was always welcoming and inviting, but Dave had always had a much more cold and borderline mysterious demeanor about him.
So when Jon and Alex had shown up rather uninvited, Ruth was all smiles and hugs, whereas Dave merely extended Jon a firm handshake and didn’t even bother asking what Alex’s name was.
Dave and Ruth were both in their forties, but Dave in particular looked like he could have been a full decade earlier. He and Jon had known each other from their army days and had reconnected as preppers a few years before at prepper’s networking events. Dave had also met Roy once, though he didn’t really remember him and had to ask Jon for a recollection of who he was.
Ruth returned to the kitchen with Dave and Jon and sat down.
“She’s asleep now,” she said. “She sure is a fighter, that one.”
“She’s going to need her medicine here soon,” Jon said. “In fact, she should have had it already. Days ago. Without it…”
“How are you going to get more?” Ruth asked as Dave listened to the conversation intently.
“I don’t know,” Jon put both of his hands together. “I was hoping you guys would have a little something, but if not, I just don’t know.”
“You’re going back, aren’t you?” Dave asked. “First thing tomorrow.”
“Have to, buddy,” said Jon. “Roy’s been a long friend of mine. He and Josie are good people. And I promised Alex I would find them.”
“And you want my help too,” Dave said.
“Or at least just one of your AR-15s and a backpack of supplies,” Jon assured. “I lost mine back at the crash.”
“Why’d you come here, dude?”
“Only place I could think of. If you don’t want to put your life on the line, I get it. But I have to. I have an obligation to. And I’m going to. First light tomorrow morning.”
Dave could already see that there was no turning Jon back. Even if he didn’t know Jon extremely well, he still knew him well enough to know exactly when he had made up his mind.
“Do you know where to find them?” Dave asked. “Roy and Josie?”
Jon shook his head.
“All I know is that the men who were after us were led by some guy named Nero,” said Jon. “Not too many people have that name, so if I do some asking around folks in the area, I’ll track him down.”
“And then what?” Dave asked.
“And then I’m going to find Roy and Josie, rescue them, and find Alex some insulin,” Jon said resolutely. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“It’s a suicide run,” replied Dave.
“What do I have to lose?” Jon posed the question casually and with a shrug. “Like I said, I’d appreciate an AR and a bag of supplies if you can spare them, otherwise I’ll be good with just a cot to sleep on for a few hours tonight and a can of beans for breakfast in the morning. I’ll be out at first light. No later than six A.M.”
“Dave…” Ruth spoke up.
Dave looked at his wife.
“You need to go with him,” she continued.
Dave sighed.
“I can stay here with Alex,” Ruth went on when her husband said nothing. “I know how to run the twelve gauge. No one knows that we’re out here anyway and we’ll be fine.”
“And I suppose that even if we succeed, Jon will bring back yet two more hungry mouths to feed,” Dave murmured. “We’re not prepared for that.”
“Only for a night or two,” Jon assured. “I can tell Roy and Josie that. Once they get rested and some food, the four of us can move on and leave you two alone. But Dave, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Like you said, it probably is suicidal. I have nothing to lose but you have everything. I’m not asking you to join.”
Dave tapped the table with his fingers.
“Dave…” Ruth pressed him again.
Dave looked at her yet again.
“Trust in the Lord,” she said. “He’ll keep the two of you safe no matter how strong of odds you go up against. I know it.”
Dave looked up at the ceiling and then back down again.
“Alright,” he said. “Two days, Jon. I’ll give you two days and two nights. We don’t find Roy and Josie in that time, and I’m coming back here. I don’t care what you do.”
“I understand,” Jon replied. “Like I said, I’m not asking you to do anything.”
Dave checked his watch. It was nearly nine o’clock.
“We wake up at 4:30,” he said. “Have breakfast, gear up, be out the door not a second past five. It’ll still be dark out then.”
“In that case,” Jon rose from the table. “I’ll go get my shut eye now.”
Chapter 38
Josie and Laura waited for what seemed like an eternity outside of Nero’s headquarters.
They were both outside, waiting under the supervision of two armed guards who were always loyally standing outside of the doorway, AK-47s slung across their torsos.
They were both tired, Josie could tell. She didn’t know their specific responsibilities, but maybe this was all they did. Protect Nero, and that’s it.
Most boring job in the world if that’s what they do, Josie thought to herself.
She then looked around the encampment. People were going about their daily business, hauling in vegetables pulled from the fields or pushing wheelbarrows filled with dirt.
Where were Roy and Ben? Josie wondered. They were both alive, she knew, at least since she had last heard about them. She’d be talking about that with Nero here soon she decided. She wasn’t just going to let both of them die. Roy was her husband, and Ben had become one of her good friends. They were in this together and they were going to pull themselves out of it, one way or the other.
Finally, the door to Nero’s headquarters opened and Grizzly stepped out.
He glared at Josie with his one good eye.
“Nero will see you now.”
* * *
Grizzly led Josie and Laura into the main office of the headquarters building. Nero was sitting at his desk, looking over paperwork.
“Have you had a look around?” Nero didn’t even look up from the paperwork at his desk.
What kind of paperwork could he possibly be doing? Josie wondered to herself.
“No,” Josie responded.
Nero looked up.
“Why not?” he asked. “Laura, I thought my instructions were clear. Show her around, let her get a feel for the place.”
“I was going
to,” Laura insisted. “But she wanted to come see you.”
“And why is that?”
“Because my husband and good friend are both captives under your control and for all I know they’ve been killed in the last hour!” Josie blurted out. “I also have a diabetic ten year old daughter and have no idea where the hell she is but I what I do know is that she’s gone way too long without her insulin and you have some in your infirmary! So why did I want to come see you?! It’s all quite simple: I want to make sure my family is safe and right now you are the only thing in the way of that!”
“Your family is safe,” Nero purred calmly, taking in Josie’s outrage as a temporary source of amusement. “Your husband and the kid you were with are being cared for as we speak. I assure you, they have not been killed and they will not be. As for your daughter, I have no idea where she could possibly be either.”
“I get what you want,” Josie said. “You want me and Roy and Ben to become contributing members of your little society here. Workers, fighters, scouts, farmers, whatever. But I swear to you, I won’t do one penny’s worth of work for you so long as I have any doubts at all about my family’s safety and for as long as I don’t know where my daughter is!”
Laura bit her lip. Never had she seen anybody stand up to Nero like this. She began to step a few paces away from Josie, slowly as to not attract Nero’s attention.
Meanwhile, keeping in the back of the room, Grizzly’s right hand was reaching into his coat pocket, potentially for a hidden weapon.
Nero merely grinned, made eye contact with his lieutenant and shook his head. Grizzly subsequently relaxed his hand.
“So, what do you want?” Nero rose from his desk.
“Didn’t I just tell you?” Josie asked.
“No, you just rambled on borderline incoherently,” Nero played games with her. “But if you would like to make a list of demands, I’d be more than happy to consider them.”
“Alright,” Josie took a breath. “First, I want to see Roy and Ben. I want to see personally that they are being treated properly.”
“That won’t be a problem, Laura can show you,” Nero said. “Anything else?”
“Yes,” said Josie. “I want to be given permission for me and Laura to go search for my daughter, Alex. And we’ll need some of the insulin you have in the infirmary to give her when we find her as well.”
“That, I’m afraid, I cannot allow,” said Nero.
“I have to know where she is,” said Josie. “I have to find her. I promise you, I’ll do whatever you want or need me to if you let me go find her.”
“Where would you possibly look?” Nero asked. “You could spend an entire month searching these woods and mountains, and you won’t even find her stuffed teddy bear. If she shows up in one of our scouting missions, you’ll be notified. But until then, it’s outside of our control.”
Josie’s eyes began to fill up with tears.
“I can’t just abandon her.”
“You’re not, I told you, if we find her we’ll let you know.”
“You have no idea what I’ve been through, Nero. What my family has been through. We have to stick together.”
“On the contrary, I have every idea of what you’ve been going through. Look at the world outside, miss. Only the strong survive, and you’re still alive, so I would think you’re strong too. But now I see that you’re begging me like a dog, and quite frankly, I find it quite pitiful.”
“Listen to me,” Josie stepped up to Nero right after he had spoken his last word. “Let me tell you exactly what I have gone through. One week ago, I was living peacefully with my husband and my daughter at our homestead. Then we were attacked by a gang of armed and dangerous ex-convicts, and you would have thought that we stood no chance. But we did. We survived and most of them were killed, all I think except for the short one with the tattoos who’s in your service now. But then I was taken captive by the army and sent to a military base. Met Laura there for the first time, in case you didn’t know. And you may also have thought that I wouldn’t have been able to find my family again. But I did. I broke free of that military base and I found Roy and Alex again. But then we were attacked again, by your people no less, and yet again I’m separated from my daughter. But if I could protect her against those convicts, if I could find here in the middle of a war zone, then you’re sure as hell that I can find her again. And find her again I will. So no, Nero, you really have no idea whatsoever of what I’ve been going through. One week ago, I was just your typical American wife and mom living on an idyllic homestead with her husband and daughter. But now, I’ve been through hell, I’ve seen war, I’ve seen my house be burned down in flames, and I’ve felt what it’s like to be separated from your family multiple times and yet here I am still before you. I’m not begging you like a dog, like you say. I’m telling you, I’ve been through all of this before, and I will go through all of it again to find my daughter. And in exchange, you’ll have my complete and loyal service. I promise you.”
Nero smiled. He could see that she was dead serious and he admired her spirit and her tenacity. It was a trait he hadn’t seen in someone in a very long time.
“Nice speech,” he remarked. “Haven’t heard one like that in a long time. Many years, in fact.”
“Well, have I changed your mind?” Josie asked.
“You think mere words can change my mind, miss?” Nero asked her with a coy smile.
He sat back down to go over his paperwork, as if Josie’s big speech she just gave meant literally nothing to him.
“Dismissed,” he said. “Lieutenant, you can lead them out.”
Grizzly opened the door to the outside for them to leave.
“Come on, Josie, let’s go,” Laura grabbed Josie by the arm to lead her out, but Josie resisted.
“You said you would look for my daughter on one of your scouting missions?” Josie asked.
“If she turns up,” Nero reminded her.
“In that case, I volunteer for your very next mission that’s headed in the same direction of where I last saw her,” Josie said.
Nero looked up from his writing.
“Just give me a bottle of insulin to give her when I find her. That’s all I ask for. Please. I beg you.”
Nero relaxed back in his chair.
“Alright, Josie, you win,” he said. “You and Laura can join the next scouting mission, and you can have a bottle of insulin for your daughter if you find her. But there’s one condition.”
“What?” Josie asked, almost through clenched teeth.
Nero gave her an evil smile.
“Let’s just say, I don’t think you’re going to be too fond of it.”
Chapter 39
Ben awoke from his sleep in the infirmary room to a dirty and smelly hand being placed over his mouth.
Over him stood Ojo’s henchmen, Spider and Jonah. Spider’s hand was over his mouth while Jonah stood slightly off to the side with the keys to the infirmary room in his hands.
Ben immediately started thrashing about and trying to call out.
“Hold him down and quiet!” Ojo snapped in a cruel whisper.
Ojo was standing just outside of Ben’s field of vision, but his voice was still heard loud and clear.
Between the restraints already restricting him down to the bed and Spider’s hands over his face, Ben was unable to move or scream at all.
In his hand, Ojo held the silver steel blade of a KA-BAR knife, and he held it over the throat of Roy in the lower bunk bed who was still fast asleep and unaware.
“Roy, Roy, Roy!” Ben was trying desperately in vain to all out, but Spider’s hands muffled his voice.
Ben thrashed about even harder to try and create as much noise as possible.
“I said keep him quiet!” Ojo hissed.
“We could just knock him out,” Jonah blurted out without whispering.
“SSSSHHHHH!” Ojo hissed again through clenched teeth.
Jonah immediately shut
his mouth.
Ojo then turned back to Roy, still asleep in the bunk bed. Ben tried as hard and as hard as he could to warn Roy, but nothing was working. The restraints were too tight and Spider wasn’t letting any words or sounds leave his mouth.
“You thought it was over? You thought I would let Nero break my blood oath to avenge my brother?” Ojo’s harsh whispers carried across the few feet between him and Ben. “Dominic was all that mattered in my life. I have nothing left to lose. Nothing. But you, Benny Boy, you will witness vengeance. I will gut Roy, filet him like a fish, and you get to watch. You’ll watch, and then, you’ll get to pay for not protecting Dominic. Nero is going to think you killed Roy in some weak attempt to win my favor because you’re afraid of me. You are, aren’t you? All that crying and screaming and begging you’re good at. It kept you alive for a while, but now, your words can’t save you. You won’t get the chance to beg for mercy from Nero because Spider rushed in here when he heard Roy’s dying screams and killed you on the spot. Shot you in the head, in fact. Sadly, it was too late for Roy, though.”
Our Survival: A Collection of Post Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thrillers Page 24