Liam wanted to see what was happening. Maybe they could help affect the outcome of the battle, even if they didn't have any guns. Well, besides the mostly empty Ruger he was carrying.
They took off at a run, continuing their race. Victoria ran two houses up, using the backyards to avoid any exposure to Hayes and his team. The Army guys continued to focus their fire on Liam's increasingly rickety house in front of them.
Victoria walked in the back sliding door of the neighbor's house as if she owned the place. He had to struggle to keep up with her.
She brought him to the front room and was impressed to see a crude bulwark of wood below the front window of the house. As he crouched low with her, he could see a pair of heavy iron sewer lids, and in front of those was dirt and rock. It seemed like a formidable defensive position, even against machine guns.
“Welcome to Observation Post Victoria. This is where you and I were supposed to run when everything turned to hell. It didn't go down exactly as we had expected, but at least we made it this far. Liam, I'm so happy to see you. There's so much I want to tell you, but there's no time. We have to see what Hayes is doing.”
Looking out the window, they had a beautiful view of the whole situation. There was Poole's burnt out house, complete with dead bodies on the lawn left to rot. In the middle of the street were three Humvees, each with a heavy machine gun dumping all they could into Liam's house. Next to his driveway, he could see his bicycle had been tipped over and the trailer dumped out. The fake grandma he had put together with sticks and trash had been thrown out into the street.
Grandma wasn't in his trailer. She was safe with Drew.
“I can't believe it worked.” He said it as much to himself as Victoria.
“Yeah, well you really pissed him off. I hope you weren't planning on getting Christmas cards from him ever again?”
As they watched, Victoria explained what she could. “Mel put most of this together. She was in the military. Did she mention that to you? Well, Phil and your dad helped a lot, too. They got your text message you were coming home, as well as your warning about Hayes. They immediately began planning for his next visit. The whole time, your mom and dad wanted to go out looking for you, but we all talked them out of it. Instead, we worked on getting the basement situated so Phil could hide in the secret room.”
On the street, one of the Humvee's machine guns stopped firing, its operator slumped in his perch. The other two started swinging their guns wildly around the neighborhood as other sources of gunfire emerged.
“Anyway, their plan was to get you and me and Grandma safe, and then spring this trap on them. There are positions like this one in almost all the houses on your street. A few of your neighbors joined in to help, though most of the houses were empty. We enlisted the help of some guys from a neighborhood over the hill too.”
A few rounds impacted on the front of the house, sending them both to the ground.
“The plan called for surrounding the guys in the trucks, and forcing them to either fight it out or make them leave. It looks like they are sticking around until the end.”
“Suits me fine.”
They risked a look down the street. One of the Humvees had backed itself up directly into Poole's former house. It managed to smash into the former garage space, but it didn't make it very far into the debris. It was out of the action.
From their left, they heard an obnoxiously loud gunshot. Loud even for the ongoing gun battle.
Another bang.
Pause.
Another bang.
“That's a sniper rifle. One of the new guys brought it with him.”
Liam was looking to his left to try to see where the noise was coming from, but then he panned to where he figured the shots were going. The remaining two machine gun operators were put down, and the side windows of both surviving Humvees were blown in.
Over the next minute or so, it became obvious the battle was over. No one was firing back from the trucks. Soon enough hands could be seen surrendering.
Was the fight to save Grandma finally over? With Hayes dead, maybe they could fade away and live out their lives in peace.
I can dream.
5
It took several minutes before anyone felt confident enough to walk out to the Humvees and tender the surrender of any survivors.
Please let Hayes be dead.
In the relative quiet on the street, Liam heard a helicopter fly over and hover somewhere beyond the entrance to the subdivision.
Phil was somewhere near the military trucks, but out of sight. He yelled for any survivors to exit the vehicles and lay face down on the street. A couple of doors opened. One on each Humvee.
Please let Hayes be dead.
Liam decided he had to be down there.
“Liam, just wait! Let's watch from up here. Safely.”
He paused before leaving the front room of the house. “I have to see if he's dead. I need this to be over.”
With that, he ran out the back door, and toward his answer.
As he ran, he saw many of his friends and neighbors emerging from their hiding places. In small groups, they emerged from many of the houses on the street. All with rifles of some kind held at the ready. They were there to cover the surrender.
Liam walked next to Phil as he too emerged from Liam's garage. His own SUV was abandoned inside—it looked like Swiss Cheese.
“Heya, Phil.”
“Hi, Liam. Good to see you.”
“You, too. Thanks for helping my parents.”
“It was easy with your dad's secret room. It was our secret weapon.”
They both got serious as they neared the men on the ground. Liam had his tiny gun out.
Please let Hayes be dead.
He wasn't dead.
Of course.
There was Hayes. His leg was bloodied, but seemed in good spirits.
“I salute you, Liam. The fake grandma trick was a well-executed deception. But you've just declared war on the United States of America. You'll never get away with this. I'll make sure this is the last mistake you ever make.”
Liam looked around for his red-headed driver. She wasn't one of the three survivors.
“Sorry about your people, Hayes. I never wanted any of this. I just wanted you to leave us alone.”
“Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country can do to you. Your country is coming for you, Liam. You were already on a kill list. Your whole family was. But I froze it. If you kill me, it will unfreeze. It won't be pretty; I promise you that.”
Liam looked around. Phil was close. Victoria had caught up and was standing nearby too. His parents were walking across their defiled front lawn, covered in the mess from inside the house.
Mom and Dad!
He had finally found them, alive. But the reunion had to wait. Hayes ruined even that.
His “group” of survivors was formidable, he had to admit. But to think of them in a war with their own country was beyond his imagination.
Liam turned around. “I want to make a movie.” He pulled out his phone. He set things up, then gave it to his mom. “Mom, can you record me?”
When all was ready, he spoke into the camera.
“Hello, I'm Liam Peters. My grandma is Martinette Peters. Today, which is eight days since the sirens, these men attacked my house with the intention of taking my grandma to do experiments on her relating to the plague. We did not give permission for this to happen, and in return, we were viciously attacked in an attempt to take her anyway. My mom is going to sweep the scene so you can see the devastation these men brought to us. Note my house is no longer suitable for habitation, thanks to them.”
His mom panned the camera in a 360-degree sweep.
“Where is Grandma? Put her on camera!”
It was Hayes.
“Tell the camera how you fired first!”
Uh oh.
He hesitated. Should he continue filming?
His dad saw what w
as happening, and softly said, “Well done, Liam. We can edit the film. Don't give him a voice.”
Liam figured that would be his only brush with TV stardom.
“Does anyone object if we let these two soldiers go? Take their weapons and let them go on down the street.”
Liam felt it would set a bad precedent to kill them, and they couldn't hold them prisoner indefinitely. Fortunately, no one objected.
The soldiers ran like hell into the woods once released.
The third Humvee was sitting in the ruins of Poole's house. The driver's door was open but, when Liam's neighbors investigated, they said there were two dead men inside.
Did red-head get away?
Briefly he looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but to no avail.
Now, what to do with Hayes?
Liam felt the press of his gun against his hip. It was reminding him it was there, ready to do its duty for him. One bullet to the temple and the Hayes problem goes away forever.
Forever. It was the word that scared him the most. Killing Hayes would be something that would stay with him forever too. Looking at the bleeding man on the pavement—a place once innocent and pure, where he learned to first ride his bike, where he'd run and play—he couldn't fathom killing a man. Could he allow him to be killed? He had no doubt someone in his group could do it, if asked. Mel had done almost that exact thing to those injured criminals from Poole's house. Would that still put the stain of cold-blooded murder on him?
These are issues he never encountered in any of his video game adventures. The bad guy was always slain. The line between hero and villain was always crisp.
Real life was much more of a mess. He'd been learning that lesson since he'd walked out his grandma's door, into the apocalypse. Each lesson stacked on the next, guiding him and his friends to this point in time. The next ethical puzzle to be solved amidst the rotation of true moral north during the societal implosion. Many had done it in his books. A simple trigger pull and all those future problems go away...
As if sensing his internal dissension, Victoria stood next to him and took his hand. It was warm. Comforting. Alive. Would his decision have been easier if she had really died at the hands of this man?
It would certainly change the equation, though he couldn't say whether he would still be able to pull the trigger. Probably? Maybe?
“Would anyone object if we let Hayes go?” He said it quietly.
He secretly hoped someone would object and jump in to do what he couldn't, but everyone was following his lead. Mel had run up late, but even she assented to his release.
“Just go then.”
“You know what this means, Liam. I can't stop what happens next, even if I wanted to.”
Liam spun around. “I know the feeling. Do what you have to, and I'll do what I know is right.”
Hayes began walking away, as Liam found the comfort of family and friends.
6
Liam imagined Hayes was walking out of his life for good, and that everything would turn out OK. He allowed himself to come off high alert. Back into simple exhaustion. He was standing around with family and new friends. Hayes had limped almost all the way down the street when Liam's complicated masquerade finally came unraveled.
A bicycle and trailer turned the corner, and practically ran into Hayes.
Things moved in slow motion. Liam's entire existence was focused on the end of his block. He could see each action as it happened, though he could hear nothing from such distance. He couldn't change the outcome from so far away.
A friendly wave from Hayes to the rider.
A smile in return. Hayes may have said something like, “So pleased to see you made it, Grandma!” Drew would have no idea he was a bad man.
The bicycle stopped. A short chat.
Then a vicious punch. The rider fell.
“NO! NO! NO!” Liam was yelling, angry at his own impotence. Angry at how slow he was moving.
Hayes struggled to mount the bike, turned it around, and cranked away. Injuries and all.
Everyone in the yard snapped awake.
Liam was the first to start running. He ran for his own tipped bicycle.
Everyone else was on foot, but heading in the same direction. Soon he had control of his bicycle and overtook them all. He flew by Drew, who was sitting up and getting his bearings. His target was up ahead, but couldn't be far. The helicopter was loudly chopping air nearby.
Liam pedaled like a maniac, but he only had to go a couple of hundred yards. The helicopter was in the middle of a grocery store parking lot, as he imagined. It was on the ground but its rotors were spinning hard, like it wanted to take off. He risked a look back and could see his group running furiously, some faster than others. Victoria near the front. He kept pedaling.
Hayes was having issues. His leg injuries were slowing him down, but he managed to keep turning the pedals and he kept steering more or less in the right direction. Liam was closing the distance.
Liam saw his opportunity as he caught up with the struggling man. He whipped his bike to his left and in front of the other, intending to cause a wreck. Hayes made no effort to correct his path as they collided.
Liam tumbled hard to his right while Hayes just crumpled with his bike as it impacted. His speed wasn't that great, so Liam ended up getting the worst of it. Even so, he was on his feet quickly, road rash be damned.
Hayes was straddling his bike's top tube, talking into his headset. His eyes firmly on Liam.
A shot rang out.
Liam turned around to see a civilian man with a high-powered rifle in the back of the helicopter. It was now pointed at him.
“You lose, Liam! I'm taking Marty and we're getting on this bird. I'm cutting you a break just like you cut me one back there at your house. Details, you see. But we're even now. I'm a little injured. This is what you're going to do. You're going to get Grandma out of her trailer—the real trailer, you sneaky bastard—and help her board. Then I'm going to fly away with her and you will never look for her. Do you understand?”
He understood. He looked back to see several people arriving behind him.
“I'll agree to your terms if you also agree not to harm any of the others.”
“Fine. Just get her in, quick!”
Liam made a motion for everyone to halt well behind him. Only Victoria disobeyed and continued to run up to him with a hug. She then helped Liam get Grandma out of the trailer as requested.
Grandma came out with a smile. “Oh, Victoria! I'm so glad to see you're alive. Such a happy day for Liam.”
“Grandma, they're going to take you away. To a medical facility again. I'm really sorry, but I couldn't save you. They were going to kill us all to get you.”
Liam could feel the tears welling in his eyes. He found a free spot on his tongue and bit hard.
“Liam, you made the right decision. You have to see that. Don't you worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm old, you see. I've got my Rosary at the ready.”
Victoria seemed to take a cue from seeing the religious object.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the travel Bible Liam had given to her. She showed it to Liam, opened it wide, and held it up to her eye. It had a bullet hole near the top left corner, though it didn't go all the way through.
“This Bible saved my life. I had it tucked in Liam's belt because it wouldn't fit in my pants pockets. The bullet hit this and sent me flying. I had a bloody bruise on my hip, and I hit my head, but was otherwise unharmed. It was a miracle. I want you to have it so you can have a miracle, too, Grandma.”
“Oh, child, thank you. Seeing you alive is my miracle. I'll take it for now, but I'll give it back when we meet again. Deal?”
Victoria was unable to do more than nod. She was crying openly.
“Oh, and please do return that pillow to the Boy Scouts, if you can.” Liam couldn't tell if she was joking until she gave both of them her trademark wink.
Liam took his opportunity to giv
e Grandma a big bear hug. He held her for a very long time. Finally, he spoke.
“Grandma, I'll find you. I have a whole group here to help me. Together, we can get to you wherever they take you.”
“Liam, don't you go fretting about me. I don't want anyone else to be put in harm's way because of me. Just live a good life with Victoria and your folks, and remember me from the time we've shared on our adventures. I'm happy to have gotten to know you better and I'm proud of the man you're becoming. But maybe you could pray for me once in a while?” She flashed him a huge smile as she said it.
“I love you, Grandma. I'm going to miss you while you're gone.”
“I love you too, Liam. Tell your dad I love him, will you? Your mom too!”
She gave her son and daughter-in-law a wave and together she and Liam moved into the wash of the spinning blades. Hayes had struggled his way into a back seat, though he was still yelling into his microphone.
With the assistance of one of the crew, Liam was able to help Grandma up and into the helicopter. She was put in a seat across from Hayes. Liam waved once more to her and then ran out of the wash from the rotors. He was watching with Victoria by his side.
From inside the helicopter, he could see Hayes was now wearing a larger pair of headphones and had a boom mic across his face. A loudspeaker on the bottom of the copter kicked on.
“I have one last gift for you, Liam.”
Liam looked around, looked at the helicopter, looked at the man with the gun riding in the back. He had become hypersensitive to traps. He found himself taking a step in front of Victoria—shielding her. But from what?
“Consider this your air raid warning.”
Maybe he did it to imitate Grandma, but he winked at Liam as the door slid shut.
With that, the helicopter pushed up, then tilted forward and escaped the area in a hurry.
Escape.
“Everyone run!”
Another race.
As the helicopter rotor noise faded, a different roar got louder by the second.
Since The Sirens Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 55