Sundown Series (Book 4): Torment

by Konstantin, Courtney

  She pushed away the computer and lifted the glass of tequila to her lips. She was not typically an alcohol sipper, but the tequila was the good stuff according to Margaret. So she sipped it and let it burn down to her stomach. She looked up as the chair across from her scraped across the floor. Easton flopped down and his eyebrows rose when he saw she was drinking.

  "It's been a long few days," Alex said in her defense.

  "I know. I'm sorry," Easton said.

  "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You know that, right? Nothing that happened is your fault."

  "My dad...he just stood there," Easton said quietly, his words strained.

  His shoulder seemed to fold in on him as sadness and anger weighed him down. Alex couldn't handle the boy beating himself up. She moved to the chair next to him and took his hand in both of hers.

  "Look at me, East," Alex said. It took a moment, but he finally met her gaze.

  "Whatever is happening with your father, whatever he's done, whoever's side he is on, none of that matters. You are my boy. Your mother gave the responsibility of the safety of you and your sister to me. She wanted me to take you and care for you as I do my own. And I do. You understand? Nothing changes."

  "Candace is wondering if we should go find him."

  "If that's what you want, I will help you do it. Safely. But I have to tell you, if he's with Callahan, he must know you are here," Alex said softly.

  "That's what I told Candy. He had to know we were here. They've sent men to kill us. And his children are here," Easton replied. His anger was rising again.

  "Maybe he didn't know you were here then. Maybe he wasn't informed of Callahan's plans. He's your father. And whatever you want to do, I will support," Alex said. She squeezed Easton's hand again before sitting back.

  "He's been in the military since just after I was born. He's career. He's been gone more than he's been present in my life. He's never been home for one of Candace's birthdays. But he wasn't a bad father. And he always made sure Mom had everything she needed to take care of us. When he was home, he was loving and funny. I can't imagine he would just go along with Callahan and his crazy plans," Easton said.

  "Ok. I think it's best we try to make contact with him. I'm not sure how to do it yet, but we'll figure something out. I can't let you feel torn like this," Alex said with a small smile.

  "Because you really are like a mom to us," Easton replied with his own smile.

  "I'm not trying to replace your family, I never wanted that. But you do grow on a person," Alex replied, bumping her shoulder into Easton's.

  "I guess you do too," Easton laughed.

  "If it helps to settle your mind, I've been reviewing the photos. From what I could see your father and his facial expressions, I don't think he knew Callahan was going to kill Marcus."

  "That does help, some. You know Marcus wasn't always my favorite person. But I never would have wanted to see him dead. I'm so sorry Alex," Easton said.

  "Thank you. And I know, you would never hurt anyone just because you didn't like them. Try to get some sleep, East. Tomorrow we plan for leaving. It's going to be rough until we know we can come back," Alex said.

  "Goodnight, Alex."

  "Night, Easton."

  When she was alone again, Alex unfolded a map across the kitchen table. She studied all the ways she could trace from Kalispell to Callahan's outpost. There were only a few direct routes and some that went many miles out of the way before cutting back to Rapid City. Max and Rafe found their way into the kitchen and they settled in with Alex.

  "What are you thinking?" Rafe asked.

  "The kids want to contact their father," Alex replied.

  "How is that going to work, Alex? ‘Hey, Callahan, can we call a timeout while we talk with one of your soldiers? Give us a fifteen minute head start then we're back to trying to kill each other’," Max said.

  "I'm still trying to work that out, Max. He's their dad. I can't just send the kids into the outpost on their own. If Callahan knows they are here, he could execute them just like Marcus. If their father is really a Callahan lacky, who knows what he would make them do?"

  "Why do they even want to go? Couldn't they just let it go?" Max asked.

  "Would you? If it was Dad?" Alex said.

  Max didn't respond, because they already knew the answer to that question. The siblings all studied the map for a while longer. They agreed to use the soldier they had for information. Former Private Smith slept in a military vehicle, locked in for the night because no one trusted him. He knew nothing of what had happened to Marcus or Alex. But they would bring him up to speed so they could formulate a plan. Alex thought maybe they could use radios. If they could figure out what channel the soldiers were on, maybe they could trick someone to putting Liam on the radio. Once he was on the radio, they could give him limited information about where to meet the kids.

  "That's the best I have right now," Alex said.

  "We also need to talk about where we're all going to go," Rafe said.

  "Agreed. We can't stay here, for a while at least. If we can convince Callahan we're gone, he might stop checking here. Then we could come home. Or we kill him and 'The Suit' and finally get on with surviving," Alex said.

  "I like the killing idea," Max said.

  "I do too," Alex agreed.

  "I think it depends on what opportunity presents itself. It might not be easy to get near him. We need to think survival and keeping our family safe. Callahan and 'The Suit' are secondary," Rafe said.

  "It's not a secondary concern if they keep trying to kill us and our families," Alex replied.

  "We take all the vehicles. In the end, if we have to, we can sleep in them," Max said, changing the subject.

  "We'll need them all, if only to pack all the supplies we should take. I still have some of the pig left that we last butchered. We have the meat salted so it will be able to transport much better. I also want to take all the produce in the root cellar. It won't stay good forever, but we could eat as much of it as we could until it spoils," Rafe said, throwing ideas out there.

  "Those are good ideas. We can get to work on packing the RV with food that can fit in the fridge and freezer in there. They run on a generator and battery, so we just need to make sure we keep the RV full of fuel. I want to make sure everyone packs as much of their clothing as they can as well. We won't be doing laundry out there," Alex added.

  "We have those boxes of MREs too. Those will come in handy," Max suggested.

  For the next few hours the siblings made lists and added to them until they had a final decision of what they thought was a good set of supplies needed since they were feeling forced to leave the compound for a long period of time. Each of them had specific duties to start the next day, as well as who to enlist into additional tasks. Though they had no specific shelter planned, they knew they could travel and work with what they found. They were resourceful and could fortify whatever they found along the way.

  "The only end to this is Callahan dying," Alex said. They were getting ready to head their separate ways to bed when she spoke.

  "I'm not sure that's the end. 'The Suit' is still out there," Rafe replied.

  "So they both have to die," Max said, shrugging her shoulders as if it was easy as that.

  Alex didn't feel as sure. It wasn't that she wasn't prepared to pull the trigger again, she would do that in a heartbeat. She just didn't know how they would accomplish getting close enough to the Major to make sure they succeeded. They would have to lure him out of his safe military outpost. Alex tried different scenarios in her mind, trying to figure out how they could anger Callahan enough, that he came after them himself.

  When she entered her room, she found Billie and Henry sleeping in her bed. She changed clothes and squeezed between her children. She tried to force her body to relax. Her leg still hurt, though Charlie had cleaned it and put fresh bandages on. The doctor was happy with the progress the wound had made and that she had luckily no
t ended up with an infection. The rest of her body was covered in angry black and purple bruises. Every way she tried to lay in bed, she ended up on one of the injuries. She finally decided to lay on her back, with her arms curled around the kids. She tried to clear her mind, but instead tears leaked from her eyes, sliding down her temples and into her hair.

  Alex laid there thinking about Marcus and his last words. He confirmed what they were all pretty sure of. Callahan knew there was no cure. He knew it wasn't possible. And even knowing that, they still came after the Duncans. To silence them. To kill the truth about how the apocalypse started. Alex couldn't allow that to happen. They had to spread the word to those that were still alive. She wondered if there were even enough people still alive to fight the corrupt rule of this government faction. Hope bloomed in the darkness of her chest and though she wanted to fight it back, she knew it wasn't in her nature to not try. As she fell asleep, Alex was imagining posters papering the walls of every town they came to.

  Her next thought was of pain as an elbow jammed into already bruised ribs. She woke with a start and felt bad when Billie sat up in bed with panic in her eyes. The room was mostly still dark, the sun barely coming to kiss the edge of the mountains. Alex shushed Billie, insisting she sleep more while the sun was still down. Once she was sure her daughter would stay in bed, Alex carefully shimmied down to the foot of the bed to get up. She was tying up her boots when the door cracked open and Max stuck her head in. She nodded to Alex and left again to wait in the hallway.

  Max hated mornings, but with as much work as they had, early rising was their only option. When they came downstairs, they could already smell coffee and the sisters knew they were beat to the punch by Rafe. Both Rafe and Charlie were standing in the kitchen. They talked softly and turned when Alex and Max entered. Charlie let the wisp of a smile come across her face when she turned to pour them coffee. None of them spoke as they stood around the kitchen, drinking the dark gold. Alex had to wonder when and how they would have hot coffee like this on the road. Instant mix only went so far for so long.

  "We ready for this?" Alex finally asked, breaking the tense silence.

  "Are you sure we have to leave?" Charlie asked.

  She stood with Storm at her leg, her hand buried in his thick fur. Alex guessed it was for her own comfort more than anything. The dog looked up to them as if he understood every word the humans were saying.

  "Pretty sure. Callahan must be furious that we injured him. He'll be out for revenge, even if it makes no sense," Alex replied.

  "He's calculated. But I think the only thing that could break the facade is his own mortality," Max said.

  Slowly the rest of the adults began to filter into the kitchen. Whether it was the rising sun or the knowledge that big things were coming, everyone woke up without prompting. Everyone had their fill of caffeine and Margaret set to making breakfast for the household. Candace came in shortly after, not a hair out of place for just waking up, to assist in the cooking. Alex kissed her on the forehead when the girl came in for a hug. Easton followed, though he didn't look as put together as his sister. He held his hand out for a mug and Candace put his coffee, very light with lots of sugar, in his grip.

  Alex looked around and decided while the young children still slept, it was the best time for a pep talk. She cleared her throat.

  "I know today is difficult for us all to fathom. We came here, some of you because you just trusted us to bring you somewhere safe. We thought this would be our salvation through this sickness. Instead, we have to run again, out into the world that feels so unsafe. And I'm sorry for that. But I promise, whether we come back here, or we make a new home, we will stay together. We do everything we can to be safe."

  The room was silent, every eye on her. Margaret looked into Alex's face and smiled, encouraging her. She nodded, letting Alex know she was with her. That vote of confidence helped.

  "Last night, something else occurred to me. In Marcus' final moments, it was important to him to let us know what was happening in Callahan's mind. We can't allow the truth to die with Marcus, or with any of us. I intend to do whatever I can to spread the truth. I think before we leave, before we have no power or printing capabilities, we should make up flyers. Maybe some sort of booklet too. Something we can give survivors as we see them. Or even posters we could nail up so anyone who passes sees them. Charlie, I was thinking since you have so much information, maybe you could work on that today?"

  Charlie nodded enthusiastically.

  "I have just the thing in mind. That's a great idea, Alex," Charlie replied.

  "Do you think people will believe us?" Max asked.

  "I don't know. But at least the truth will be out there. It will be out of our heads and in the hands of others. If we were to fall to Callahan, we know it won't be in vain," Alex replied.

  The room went silent again, a somberness falling on them all. Alex hated to bring the real threat to them. But they were a team. She couldn't hide what was really happening from them.

  "We have a list of tasks to complete today. We’re thinking it will be best to leave in the cover of night tonight. In the chance the compound is being watched, we want to make it as hard as possible to follow us," Rafe said. It was just like him to bring things back around to the necessities.

  "Tonight? That's so fast," Candace said from her position at the stove.

  "We have to assume they won't delay on striking back. Our first stop will be the Vegas' home in town. Charlie wants to check on Albert and make sure they have everything they need before we leave," Rafe said.

  "Where are we going?" Easton asked. Alex knew his question was loaded. He was thinking of his dad and he was asking Alex of how they were going to find him.

  "We will be heading toward Rapid City," Alex said.

  "Wait, what? Why would we go right into the lion's den?" Cliff asked.

  "We need to give Easton and Candace the chance to contact their father. It's possible he could help us. And it's possible he has no idea that Callahan is lying," Alex explained.

  "Alex..." Cliff trailed off.

  "I know, Cliff. It's going to be dangerous. We're going to use a roundabout route, hoping to keep us from accidentally running into troops. Once we make it, that's when we figure out how to contact Liam Reynolds," Alex explained.

  The mudroom door opened and in walked Issac and former Private Smith. All eyes turned to Smith and he halted quickly in the entrance to the kitchen. He looked to Alex, completely ignorant to why everyone was staring at him.

  "And in walks our perfect weapon," Max said quietly.

  "Weapon?" Smith echoes.

  "We'll see if Smith can make himself useful once we get to Rapid City," Alex agreed.

  "Rapid City? Why are we going there? Callahan will kill me!" Smith cried.

  "Shut it, Smith," Rafe shot back.

  And to his credit, Smith knew when it was smart to keep his mouth closed. He immediately stopped his protest and walked into the kitchen to accept the coffee Issac handed him.

  Small discussions continued, but once Rafe handed out the morning chores to everyone, the group disbanded. Alex was left in the kitchen with Smith standing across from her. Rafe and Max had decided she would be the best to question him about Liam Reynolds. Max scared Smith and Rafe was afraid he'd strangle the man after he helped take him hostage. Alex was the last one left with a cool head, though that cool head was slowly becoming more of a liability she feared.

  "Walk with me, Smith," Alex suggested.

  He fell in step behind her, without question. Alex lead the way out to the barn. She picked up two large baskets and handed one to Smith. They made their way to the back of the compound where the fruit trees were planted in a few small lines. Alex was happy to see pears still on the branches and some apples. She pulled an apple down and took a bite. It was cool and sweet, perfect to pack away in the RV for snacks as they drove. She tossed the bitten apple to Smith for him to try and he did. He moaned quietly at the taste
of fresh fruit before holding out the apple to her.

  "Keep it," Alex said.

  "Thanks," Smith replied.

  "You've never tried to escape, Smith. Even though we keep you locked up and under constant supervision. You've never tried to escape. You've never tried to turn on us. Why is that?" Alex asked.

  "Uh, well, if I'm not here, I'm back with the Major. And he's volatile. After going missing like I did, he would kill me no matter my explanation. Especially because Rafe escaped when I was still alive. It would be blamed on me," Smith explained.

  "So, you're afraid of Callahan?" Alex asked.

  "Everyone is. You should be too," Smith replied.

  "I'm not sure fear is what I feel."

  "Well, excuse me for saying this, but you're stupid," Smith said.

  Alex looked at him over her shoulder as she pulled another apple to drop in her basket. Smith worked on the tree next to hers and had stopped to look at her as he made the comment. She turned to him.

  "I'm anything but stupid. I just know Callahan doesn't have as much power as he thinks," Alex said.

  "Power or not, he's ruthless. And will level this place if you stay," Smith replied.

  "Which is why we're leaving."

  "But, going to Rapid City? That's the worst direction to go. Let's go west. Oregon or Washington. Lots of water. Lots of land to grow things," Smith said.

  "There are things we need to handle before we can stop looking over our shoulders," Alex explained.

  "I'm not sure that's a good enough reason."

  "Do you know Liam Reynolds?" Alex asked.

  Smith frowned at her sudden change of subject. He turned to pull another apple from his tree as he thought.

  "Should I?" He finally asked.

  "He's a soldier in Rapid City. We need to reach him. Do you know him?" Alex asked.

  "Maybe. I didn't know everyone's names, but faces I'm better with."

  "I thought that might be the case," Alex said.

  Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a photo that Easton had given her. It was worn at the edges and Liam looked a few years younger than he did now. But his face was the same as the photos Rafe took just hours before they arrived home. Smith looked at the photo of the happy family smiling into the camera. Easton and Candace were little kids sitting in their parents' laps. Easton kept the photo on him at all times, his way of remembering his mother.