Sundown Series (Book 4): Torment

by Konstantin, Courtney

  "I know him. He's not a normal grunt, like most of the people Callahan has. So many of us were straight from boot camp when the Major recruited us. This man is higher up, I think he's a First Lieutenant. He wasn't in the Major's inner circle. I think people with rank scare Callahan. He's afraid they will challenge his leadership," Smith said.

  "Is he a good man? Would he turn us in, if we tried to reach out?"

  "There's no way for me to know that. Those are his kids, wouldn't he want to protect them?"

  "I would hope so. But if he believes we are the enemy, he might turn us in to Callahan with a deal to spare his children," Alex said. She had put a lot of thought into the what ifs of the situation.

  "That's one option I guess," Smith said absently.

  They picked fruit in silence for the remaining time. Alex went through each tree, making sure they had all the ripe fruit in their baskets. Margaret had been busy canning a lot of the food from the trees and garden. But having fresh fruit and vegetables would help them manage the initial hunger during travel. Alex wanted to be sure they prevented malnutrition. Powdered and dried foods would only fill so many vitamin needs. Alex added to her mental list to add the multivitamins they had as well.

  Using a wheelbarrow, Alex and Smith carted the fruit toward the RV, where they would store a large portion of the food during their travels. When they passed the bunkhouse, Alex noticed a shovel and a pile of dirt. She stopped for a moment, looking at the spot. It felt familiar to her, but she didn't remember it being there before she was taken to the brothel. She tried to wrack her mind until Smith interrupted her.

  "What is it?" He asked.

  "That hole? Where did it come from?" Alex asked.

  "When you were gone, Rafe gave Easton the job of digging a hole that would eventually be an outhouse," Smith explained.

  For a moment Alex felt lightheaded and confused. When it came to her, she covered her mouth and almost cried out. She knew how she recognized the hole. Pictures of her near death experience flooded into her consciousness. Alex fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath.

  "Oh, crap. Alex? What's wrong?" Smith asked, crouching down next to her.

  Alex wasn't listening to him or registering his voice. She could see her father, hear his words in her ears. She had stood in the field with him, watching as Easton dug the hole, the children were running and playing. All while she was close to dying on the floor of the Noble Lord's bedroom. There was no way of her knowing that Rafe had instructed Easton to dig. She didn't know they were putting an outhouse there. The digging hadn't started until she was gone. So then how had she seen it?

  With questions buzzing around her mind like angry bees, she forced herself to stand up. She shook her head at Smith when he asked if she needed help. Instead she pulled herself up tall and felt calm fall around her. Her dream hadn't been a dream. If she knew about the hole, then she knew talking to her father must have been real. His words and his plans for her, were all real. At that moment she finally found herself believing she could be the leader that Mitch Duncan had worked so hard to train. Alex would survive. She would protect her family. And she would end the threat that loomed over their heads.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Liam Reynolds wasn't sure anyone would notice he added his own name to the rotation of scouts. Normally he wouldn't be allowed to leave his post of housing management. The post was typically slow and quiet. He didn't think he would be missed for at least a few days. By then he'd be far enough away that they wouldn't be able to stop him.

  He packed a light bag, nothing anyone would notice. He made sure to pack an extra pair of clothes, water filtration tablets, a few MRE meals and a map. He had the documents he had stolen about the Duncans packed at the very bottom of the bag. He didn't need anyone seeing them if they searched his bag. When he checked out the Hummer, the sergeant in charge of the vehicle pool checked his records and easily handed Liam the keys.

  Liam had never been as nervous as he was when he pulled through the exit gate. He checked the rearview mirror every few minutes, expecting to find someone chasing after him. He was as close to positive as he could get that no one had put connected the kids to him. Their last name wasn't very original. And Liam knew Callahan didn't know the names of all the men under his leadership. There were a few hundred soldiers on the base in Rapid City. He knew they had just over 200 hundred civilians as well that he was responsible for setting up with housing. Callahan never cared about learning their names.

  For the few months since the apocalypse had started, Liam had followed directions without question. He hadn't wondered why they were shipping the children that came into the outpost to California. He believed Callahan when he said it was for their safety. And Liam had stood the same group, with the same speech. It was for their safety. We had to ensure the survival of the human race. The only way to do that was to keep the children safe. The promise of safety was what convinced most parents to let their children go.

  Now Liam had to think of his children. His babies, who weren't babies anymore. He wondered again if what Marcus had said was true. Were his children safe with the Duncans? Did his beautiful wife fall to the plague and give the care of their children to strangers? And the most burning question to him, were the Duncans really the enemy? No cure. No cure possible. Those words played over and over in Liam's head. He had held onto the hope that Callahan spouted to the outpost. He didn't understand the lie. If there was no cure, shouldn't they be working together to eradicate the plague and all the infected?

  Liam thought of the chaos that had followed the shooting of Callahan. The Major had been rushed to surgery under the best doctors they still had. The word had quickly spread that the shot was not fatal and the Major would recover. Liam had been in shock from the murder of Marcus that he hadn't been able to react when Callahan fell on the stage. He knew that plans were being made to retaliate. That knowledge was what pushed him to leave and go after his children now. He couldn't have them in the middle of a war that didn't concern them.

  He led the Hummer down the freeway, avoiding crashes as necessary. After about an hour of driving, he pulled off into a small truck stop. He surveyed the area before turning off the engine and pulling his bag to the front seat. Unfolding the map he had found he used the information he had stolen from the Duncan file to give himself a general direction. He traced the numerous routes he guessed he could take. The most direct route would be the quickest of course. But he was worried about running into other soldiers there. He took some time and finally decided on a route that would take him on a lot of smaller highways. He knew the soldiers determined to make the Duncans pay wouldn't go that way.

  He packed up his items again and then decided to check the gas station for any supplies. Taking so little on the road made him nervous. Since the infection started, he had never gone without a meal. He knew some basic survival skills. And one he knew that was most important was to scavenge as often as possible. He checked his weapon and quietly exited the truck.

  He kept his head on a swivel as he approached the building. At the broken door, he banged on the metal and waited as the echo died down. Nothing came from the shadows. He didn't smell the unmistakable dead smell. Entering the truck stop store, his feet crunched on broken glass. The store had been ransacked, not surprising Liam. He went down the aisles and filled a bag with the individual items he could find.

  On his way out of the store, he stopped short in front of the cash register. There was a turntable of post cards. He thought again of Easton and Candace. Grabbing a few cards with different pictures, he ran back to his vehicle. He thought of their tradition of him sending post cards from wherever he was at. He could only hope they forgave him for not being there for them.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The RV was decided to be the last in the convoy. It was the tallest vehicle and it would block the view of the others. Alex waited behind the wheel as everyone loaded their last-minute items and found their seats in their a
ssigned cars. Bille, Henry, Candace and Easton were with Alex in the RV. Margaret and Issac drove her Bronco. Cliff had Smith as his co-pilot in one pickup. Rafe, Charlie, Aiden and Storm were in Rafe's truck. Griffin was behind the wheel of the military truck they had stolen, along with Max and Jack. Though Jack begged to be in the RV with the kids, Griffin was having a hard time letting his daughter far from him when they were out of the walls of the compound.

  Rafe was the last to get into his truck, as he locked the house, let the cows and pigs out into the pasture and cursed at the rooster he still wanted to kill. Alex watched him stand for a long moment, watching the animals. She knew he was connected to them and she felt bad for him having to leave the home he had worked hard to maintain. Unlike Alex and Max, Rafe had never left Montana. When their father died, he was in the perfect position to take over the care of the compound. They all just knew it had to be done. Alex was thankful for the time Rafe had spent keeping the home in working order.

  The safety they all felt behind the walls of the compound was bleeding away as they all prepared to drive away. The interior of the RV was jammed with boxes of foods. All the canning Margaret had worked on, the MRE boxes, the fresh fruits and vegetables. The fridge was all full of what meat, milk and eggs they could hold, though it wasn't much. Alex knew the fresh foods would make the first days easier for the group. But before long they would need to start scavenging and always making sure they had what they needed. The Bronco was full of blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, tents, tarps and tools. Each pickup had a tarp tied down over full beds of supplies they would need to be on the road.

  Charlie had gone into town to check on Albert Vega before they loaded up to leave. She had been happy to report that his wound was healing well and they were prepared to take care of him after Charlie was no longer close. Claudia sent an ice chest full of tamales, cooked rice, beans, sodas and candies. Charlie relayed the message that Claudia had been cooking for an entire day to make sure she had something to send with them on their trip. Albert also sent the message that the Duncans had somewhere to hide, should they ever come back to Montana.

  Alex was thankful to have made allies in a world that had fallen apart. Though their own group had grown some, Alex realized the world felt very lonely without neighbors and friends outside their own walls. The world had gone so quiet, that Alex found herself wishing for the noise of traffic just once more. She knew she was the only Duncan sibling that felt that way. Both Rafe and Max were happy without society around to interfere with their lives.

  Rafe was finally settled in the truck at the lead of their little caravan. The CB Radio sitting on her dash came alive with Rafe's voice.

  "Radio check," he said.

  Everyone took their turn and answered back. Easton answered for the RV. While Charlie was checking up on Albert the day before, Rafe was scavenging all the military and FEMA vehicles for CB radios to install so they could stay in constant contact. Between Rafe, Issac and Cliff they were able to figure it how to install the radios in each truck and the RV. Alex felt better being able to communicate as they drove and should they get separated somehow, they could reach out if close enough.

  The giggle of Henry reached up to the front of the RV and Alex looked over her shoulder. She was happy her son was laughing at his cartoon playing on the small RV tv. She knew losing Marcus was really weighing down on the kids. But they were resilient and would keep surviving as they had been. It was no life for a child, but with no better options, what the Duncans could provide was the best they were going to get. Alex and Easton's eye met as they both turned to look back at the road.

  "I can't believe this is really happening. We worked so hard to get here," Easton said.

  "I know. But as long as we're together, we can do this," Alex said.

  "You're always so sure everything will be ok."

  Alex thought about her inner turmoil and doubt she had been experiencing. Hope was something hard won for her. Often she wanted to give up, no longer fight, accept things for the way they were. But when she thought about her kids, all four of them, she couldn't bring herself to fall apart. It was her they looked to for strength and guidance. If she wasn't strong, she wasn't the example they needed. Her hope was really placed in them, even though they weren't aware. Hopes of them learning everything she knew so they could survive once she was long gone. Hopes that they bonded and took care of one another, like Alex, Max and Rafe. Hopes that they found happiness even though the world was falling to the infected.

  "I have to be sure. Because I have you, Candace, Billie and Henry. I will never believe that there's not a way to survive so you all have a life to live," Alex finally replied.

  "That was deep, Alex," Easton grumbled in his teenage way.

  "Sometimes parents have emotions, East," Alex replied, laughing.

  Rafe's truck began to drive through the open gate. After he was through the gate shut. The plan was he and Charlie would check the area to ensure there were no infected or soldiers waiting for them to come out of the compound. When the gate opened again, the rest of the convoy would know it was safe to leave. A gunshot sounded and Alex tensed. She leaned forward in her seat, as if that would help her see her brother and what was happening. A few more gunshots echoed into the compound.

  "Those are 9mm shots," Alex mumbled.

  "So Rafe's gun?" Easton asked.

  "Most likely."

  Alex was only talking to ease the tension in her stomach. It was the first time she had hoped for the infected. She didn't want to find out there were soldiers in wait for them outside the walls. It was long moments later when the gate opened again. Rafe had backed his truck almost to the fence. The CB radio crackled with his voice.

  "Just infected. Not many. We handled it. It's clear. Over," he said.

  "You and Charlie ok? Over," Alex replied.

  "All intact, no issues. Over," Rafe said.

  "Let's get this show on the road, over," Max chimed in.

  The vehicles all slowly made their way through the gate and onto the well worn dirt road beyond. The trees stood tall on either side, shadows dancing under the moonlight. The warmth from the day had warmed the RV and Alex figured they would need the AC on at some point. Candace opened some of the windows just a crack to let the cool air blow through. The forest was quiet now that Rafe had cleared it of the infected.

  The RV was the last to pull through the open gate. Once they were clear, Easton hit the button for the gate and Alex watched it close in the side mirror. When it stopped, she didn't drive away immediately. She stared at the gate, remembering how relieved she had felt when she finally arrived there a few months ago. She thought about how her heart had nearly stopped when Easton and Candace had made it and were on the other side of the gate. The image of a broken Max coming through and then finding Rafe and bringing him home. That was all through the gate her father built years before.

  "Alex?" Easton said.

  Her eyes left the mirror and looked at the boy in her co-pilot seat. His eyes were full of question, his eyebrows raised up. She nodded to him and swallowed hard to keep any tears from threatening. She put the RV into drive and guided the large beast down the dirt road.

  Glancing back to the gate once more, as it began to disappear around a corner, Alex made a promise in her heart. Someday, they would come home.

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