He looked up and saw three faces looking at him with concern.
“How can we help? Won't we put them into even more danger? We have no food or water for such a large group. We can't even protect them for any length of time. And every minute we delay is one less minute to reach and follow the Marines.”
Melissa focused on the tactical situation. “The highway is behind us. It probably isn't safe to go back that way and engage whatever group was back there. If we go forward we can loop around and eventually get back to the highway, but we could just as easily loop around to the south and deposit these folks at the Boy Scout camp. We have plenty of gas, and other than a cracked windshield, she seems good to go.” She rubbed the dashboard as if the truck were alive.
Victoria added, “We can't just drive past these poor people and leave them in our dust. Like Liam said, we have to take some responsibility for this. If they knew it was his name on that garage, they'd probably want to string us up. We should at least help them to their rendezvous with their men.”
Phil turned dark. “Bo paid in blood for this subdivision. What happened here with the burning and the killing—it's happening everywhere. You guys saw it in my own neighborhood all those days ago. Society is burning up like newspaper in the fireplace. Soon it will just be ashes. Then things are going to go downhill from there. I came on this mission because I made your grandma a promise. I feel sorry for these people, I really do, but my allegiance is to my tribe here in this vehicle, and Liam's grandma, wherever she might be. We have to take care of our own before we can hope to save anyone else.”
Liam sat down in the back once again, in thought.
He tried to process all the facts in front of him. Like any number of zombie books he'd read, he was faced with a no-win scenario. He was thankful for the small miracle that this dilemma didn't directly involve fighting off zombies, though fighting with other humans was just as disturbing. He was used to making decisions in his online game. Save the princess or save the village. In the game, there were always ways to do both if you navigated the decision tree in just the right way. Was there a similar string of decisions that would allow him to save these people and save Grandma? There had to be.
Or I could lose Grandma and watch these people die.
“We help these people to safety, then go get Grandma. At worst, she would probably jokingly scold me for trying to rescue her, but I think she would use an honest-to-goodness curse word on me if she knew I abandoned these kids when I had a chance to lend them a hand. If we can't count on anyone to do the right thing anymore, then Phil will be right. The world will be burnt to a crisp.”
After a minute of introspection as the truck rambled along behind the women and children, Phil spoke up. “Liam, the threat of Grandma cursing at me is enough to agree with you. And your idea makes perfect sense. We save these people, then we save her.”
Mel got them busy. “Liam, would you be kind enough to man the rear window and make sure no one is following us. We'll watch on the remotes too. I'll keep us just behind the group and we'll see where the night takes us.”
Liam looked West; the last glint of sunlight dipped below the treeline behind them. Someone out there had just tried to kill him in the most destructive way he could imagine. The Marines were moving toward Grandma, leaving him behind. Hayes had her somewhere out there. Civilization itself was enjoying its last hurrah. Zombies roamed through it all. It seemed there were nothing but insurmountable tasks ahead of him.
Victoria's hand touched his shoulder.
He looked at her in the dim cabin. She smiled a faint smile.
“We'll get through this, Liam. We all want to find Grandma.”
Her eyes were islands of calm on a stormy sea.
He resumed his watch, thinking about the one friend who wouldn't be helping him anymore.
Goodbye Bo.
Chapter 8: Thunderstruck
Only a handful of the subdivision's men made it out. Three men showed up to the rendezvous at the school, and they were in a hurry to keep moving once they found the women and children. The survivalists, as they called them, were behind them the whole way. Phil suggested they return to the Boy Scout camp rather than stay near the school. After some deliberation, everyone agreed it made the most sense to join up with a stronger outfit. One man even claimed to be a Boy Scout, saying, “Once a Scout always a Scout.”
Liam and Victoria got out of the MRAP to walk so they could fill it with the smallest children and the weakest older ladies. Older kids, and a few women to watch them, climbed on the roof. It helped the entire procession move with haste.
Liam learned from the survivors they had been assaulted in a swift strike on their neighborhood by an unknown, but large number of “gun-wielding duck-hunter type characters.” Initially they went from house to house killing any men they found, and capturing women and children. But then they started using rudimentary catapults to toss bottles of gasoline onto nearby houses, setting them on fire and chasing out the occupants. There was no defense against it once the houses started to burn. The remaining families rallied on the far side of the subdivision, and that's where they enacted the plan to help the women and youngsters escape while the men made an effort to buy them time.
Still, no one could explain why there was only one house left standing, and they had no idea anyone had written anything on the garage door. Liam was content to leave it at that, rather than explain it was his name.
Several times throughout their walk they thought they could see dim lights far behind, but no one could say for sure. Liam was ecstatic to be challenged by someone at the edge of the Scout camp. They'd finally have some friends to help them.
“Halt there! What's your business? This is Boy Scout territory,” cried a small voice in the night.
Liam chatted with the boys manning the forward checkpoint, and word was supposed to be sent to Mr. Lee's team about what had happened. A boy took off up the trail.
Phil and Mel discussed whether the survivalists were trailing them. They suggested the checkpoint be pulled back so none of the boys got hurt, but the boys wouldn't go. They did agree to move deeper into the woods and assured everyone they would observe and report, rather than confront anyone coming up the road during the night.
The MRAP continued up the paved road as fast as the people outside could walk. They headed for the front gate. Liam had a strange desire to see his parents. He assumed it was because he was surrounded by kids who had just lost their fathers.
They were almost at the gate when shots rang out far up the valley. First, just a few. Liam and Victoria stopped in their tracks, looking at each other in a frozen pose of surprise.
A few more shots rang out. Then nothing.
He felt himself leaning forward as if to continue walking, and another shot rang out.
“We better hurry to the council.”
They left the newcomers and the MRAP at the front gate. They jogged up the small road. Just yesterday they had both run the opposite direction as they chased the young man who pushed Victoria into the creek.
Liam spoke as they jogged. “It can't be a coincidence that guy who pushed you was probing our camp at the same time the survivalists were attacking the subdivision on our northern boundary.”
“I was beginning to think the same thing. The only thing worse would be if he worked for a different group that was going to hit us from a different direction.”
They both got a nervous laugh out of that as they reached the administration building. Liam figured it would be shut down and everyone would be asleep, so he was surprised to see it was a hub of activity even in the pre-dawn hours.
And there, just inside the doors, were his parents.
2
Liam's father still nursed his broken leg; he sat on an ancient metal folding chair. When Liam walked in, they were all over him.
“Liam! Thank God you're OK.” His mom ran and hugged him as she said it.
“Yeah, good to see you, son. Forgive me
for not standing.” He tried to laugh, but Liam saw he was still in a lot of pain.
“We can't get out of here. The doctor wanted to make sure it wasn't going to get infected since we have so few medical supplies available. He said it was cleaner in here than in those dirty tents.”
“Yeah, we saw you and Victoria run out with that Marine, and we saw him come back without you. We knew it was crazy, but we couldn't help but imagine he offed you in the woods. We didn't know what to think until we heard the MRAP was back at the front gate. They said you'd spoken with the guards along the road so we lined up here to give you a welcome home.”
His mom still didn't let him go. Instead, she grabbed Victoria and pulled her into the embrace as well.
“Just so happy to see you both.”
Liam would have been embarrassed in the Old World to have his mother show such affection in front of his girlfriend, but in this new one, he was perfectly fine. He knew she might be gone tomorrow, or he himself might be a fine mist after a massive fireball explodes out of some nondescript garage.
“I'm glad to see you guys too.” He wasn't necessarily going to tell them every scary thing out there, but he had to tell them something. “Things are getting worse out there.”
“We heard there was a doomsday cult making trouble north of here?”
“A cult? No, they were survivalists—or so we've been told. We didn't actually see them up close. They burned a whole subdivision to the ground. We found a big group of women and children on the open road and we brought them back here before they could be rounded up by the bad guys. Most of the men didn't make it.”
Liam looked at his dad as he said it, knowing his father would understand what he was saying.
They were still in the doorway, so it was easy to hear renewed shots in the distance. His mom finally released the two kids. It gave Liam a chance to see how much activity was going on inside the building. Scores of flashlights bounced back and forth between the lantern-glow of the various rooms. He saw head-lamps and hand-held flashlights heading out into the distance and coming toward them in streams from the tents. Liam thought it was kind of magical. The moment was broken when several men and women charged through the doorway. One of them was Mr. Lee.
“We need to talk to the council! We're under attack!”
Mr. Lee shouted, but noticed Liam and his family and diverted to them.
“Liam! Thank you for the warning. The runner from the checkpoint got to us in time to warn us, which I can tell you probably saved a lot of lives. At this hour, it's easy to be lax, but with the prompt of possible trouble our boys were on high alert. I really don't have time to explain everything going on. I need help out there.”
“We're in.” It fell out of his mouth before he even thought about it. Night fighting in the woods wasn't really something he was proficient at doing.
Are any of these Boy Scouts any more prepared?
His conscience reminded him of the reality of where they were. They were all in this together no matter how much experience they had on paper. Fifteen-years-old or fifty, it made no difference now. He'd seen some of those same Boy Scouts fight like lions in hand-to-hand combat against the zombies.
As Mr. Lee moved away, Liam faced his parents again.
“I know you two have to go back out there. I wouldn't expect you to cower here like children. Even though I can't help but think of you as my little baby boy.” She began to tear up. She still clutched his filthy shirt, as if unwilling to separate.
Liam couldn't remember his mother ever being this emotional. It was affecting him as well. He didn't want to start sobbing like that little boy she envisioned. To compensate, he looked at his dad. “See ya, dad. You guys have weapons in here?”
He nodded in the affirmative. He then held out his hand for a handshake. After all their difficulties the past several months, he'd forgotten the last time they'd shaken hands or hugged. Maybe New Years.
Liam took it with a firm grip. The unusual displays of affection from both his parents were making him dangerously close to losing it.
“OK, we have to go. We'll be back as soon as we can.” He turned around and was hasty walking out the door. Victoria followed.
When they were into the tents, he stepped off the main path. He felt the tears forming in his eyes. “I'm sorry, I didn't want to get emotional in there. I've never seen my parents like that.” He wiped his eyes, only making a cursory effort to keep her from seeing him.
“Well, they did think you were dead. Gunshots are ringing out in the night, getting closer. They don't want to lose you for real. Frankly, I feel the same way. We're heading into a dangerous situation again. We can't be kids anymore, just sitting on the sidelines while the adults take care of things for us. They've known that for a long time, as have we.”
Is this what it feels like to be 25? 55? 105?
Liam briefly considered telling Victoria to stay with his parents, to keep her safe. But he knew how that conversation would end.
3
Liam and Victoria stood outside the building waiting for Mr. Lee to organize things on the inside with the council. He took the time to check their rifles, organize their magazines, and lighten their loads. His backpack had nothing but the brick-sized 1000-round box of .22 caliber ammo, still mostly full. He had nothing else extra to toss out. They each had one of his dad's surplus AK-47 rifles with one thirty round mag in the body of each weapon, and three spares. No water. No food. No medical supplies. Liam also had one pocket knife and one mysterious photograph.
They looked each other over to ensure they had no loose clothing or other obstructions that could get them killed. Shoelaces were tied.
“Your clothes stink.”
“Oh really? And what do your mud-soaked clothes smell like?”
“I'm a lady. They smell like roses.”
They had no opportunity to change since they survived the bombing of his street and jumped in the muddy creek. They both reeked, but so did the rest of his friends and family.
She had tried to buoy his spirits, but all he had in him was a polite chuckle.
He pushed out the thoughts of the dead, and tried to regain his focus on the moment. They each had their little Ruger .22 pistols, though his felt insignificant next to the larger semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder. As he found back at the dead intersection, it would only be useful as a last resort.
The faintest light of the morning appeared as Mel and Phil jogged up. They both looked like death warmed over. None of them got any sleep on the journey in, but driving and navigating while watching for bad guys all night clearly took a toll.
“Hey, guys. What's the plan here?”
“We're waiting for Mr. Lee. He's talking with the council and getting a plan together for how to defend the valley. Once he comes out, we're going to link up with him and see what he needs from us.”
“Does he know we have the MRAP here? Surely he does.”
“He didn't tell me anything. He was in a hurry.” Liam looked at Mel. “How would you defend this place, Mel?” She'd surprised him several times the past weeks with her quick understanding of tactical situations. In all that time, he still didn't think to ask her about her military background, or how she ended up selling shoes.
She had already formulated a plan.
“This valley is impossible to defend from all directions. We aren't professionals, and this isn't a movie where stupid heroism wins the day. We have thousands of innocents, most without weapons or any means of protecting themselves from flying bullets. The survival guys will already control all the hills, or at least the hills they need to assault this valley. Our only good options now that we've lost the initiative are to either get everyone out and use our shooters to facilitate that escape, or try to draw in the enemy to the place and time of our choosing and strike them hard. I doubt we could evacuate anyone before the place was overrun. That leaves only one realistic option.”
Liam tried to think of what he'd do with the MR
AP. “Maybe we could wait until we see them down here in the valley and then shoot them with the chaingun on the MRAP?”
“How would we avoid slicing and dicing unarmed civilians? That gun isn't exactly a precision instrument. Even less so in the low light.”
“What about the Marines? Are they still close by?”
“No!” Mr. Lee had just emerged from the building as Victoria spoke. “We've kept our eye on the Marines, but they cleared out just before dark last night. We have no idea where they went, other than north up the interstate. We can only depend on ourselves in this fight.”
Several armed adult men ran out of the administration building. They were the core of Mr. Lee's defense force for the valley. He explained they were a mix of ex-military, law enforcement, and competent listeners who could also shoot. There were only a precious couple dozen of them gathered now.
Melissa pulled Mr. Lee aside toward Liam. “Where are your men heading? What's your plan?”
They discussed the plan cooked up between Mr. Lee and the military guys. They were going to launch an immediate counterattack by taking a long route down the valley and then work their way around the back of the attacking force to catch them off guard.
“We don't have time for a counterattack. Your boys don't have the discipline to pull it off. It would be tough for regular army under these conditions and with such bad intelligence. You need to put your men where you know the enemy is going to be—here in the valley bottom. Put a token force in the administration building and along the creek bed, draw in the enemy, and then give them the building. They will then stack their troops in there because it's the only hard cover around. Then we hit them hard with the MRAP when they're grouped up. Kill the stragglers.”
Mr. Lee seemed to waver.
“Lee, you can't leave the valley in the hope you run into them. By the time you've made contact, they will already be here killing your people.” Melissa spoke to him softly, almost pleading with him.
Since The Sirens Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 69