by Hunt, Jack
Chief Bruce awoke with a pain shooting through his hip, and the smell of shit lingering in the air. With only one bed in the cell, and Arthur being the oldest of them, they’d let him sleep on it. He was lucky to have got two hours’ sleep that night. His dreams had been tormented by the image of Hudgens’ face lying in his food.
“It’s after seven,” Tully said.
Bruce turned and saw him staring with his pants bunched up around his ankles. Tully was squatting on the toilet taking a crap. The smell was atrocious. It didn’t help that there was no running water, so they now had to wait for someone to show up to throw a bucket of water down it to get it to flush. “I don’t know what they put in that soup but it’s gone through me like the Mississippi River.” Bruce diverted his eyes as Tully wiped his ass, then waved his hand around. Like that was going to help. Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to cover the lower half of his face.
“My back is killing me,” Tully said placing one hand on it and stretching out. He gave Arthur a kick. “Hey! Get up. My turn to use that bed.”
Arthur groaned and pawed at his eyes. As soon as he caught wind of Tully’s treat, he went into full gag mode. “Man, couldn’t you have held it?”
“Like you did yesterday?” he said in a sarcastic tone. Tully banged on the door a few times. “Hey. We need some water in here to flush the toilet.” Then he sat on the edge of the bed as Arthur got up and stretched his neck from side to side. “They brought breakfast yet?”
“Yeah, it’s in the toilet,” Tully said before smiling. “Help yourself.”
Arthur tossed him the bird.
“What did he want last night?” Arthur asked Bruce. They’d been on his case since he’d returned but it wasn’t exactly something he wanted to share. Becoming an ally of Hopkins would have marred all the good work he’d done over the years, and yet on the other hand he knew that if he didn’t play by his rules, he would likely end up dead.
“It wasn’t anything.”
“No? You were gone long enough and I don’t see any bruising on you,” Arthur said. “Haven’t seen Greg either. So why don’t you just tell us.”
Bruce adjusted himself and worked out the kinks in his back before replying. “He wants to piggyback off the trust I have with the community. Use me as a tool for convincing them, if and when he needs me.”
“And you told him where to go, right?” Tully asked, looking his way.
Bruce shrugged. “I didn’t give him a response.”
“But if push comes to shove, you’re not going to help him, are you?”
When he didn’t reply quickly enough, Arthur threw his hands in the air. “Geesh. Whatever happened to standing your ground?”
“Listen, the only reason you are alive right now is because I spoke up. I don’t think you’re in a position to tell me what to do.”
“You were selected by us.”
“And?” Bruce shot back.
“I’m just saying. When all this is over—”
Bruce got up and waved him off. “Oh please. Shut the hell up. If you think this is going to be resolved, you are mistaken. I’ve seen what they’re doing out there. Erecting walls. Putting the community to work like slaves. No one is getting out of this alive unless we work with them.”
Tully came to Arthur’s defense. “They murdered Hudgens.”
“And they’ll murder you if you don’t keep your trap shut!” Bruce was beginning to get tired of listening to his crap. He approached the door and banged a few more times on it, yelling for them to bring in some water. The smell was getting worse. “For now we need to play this by their rules. If we’re lucky, we’ll stay alive long enough to see a way out.”
“And the Fords? You think what you said will help?” Tully asked.
“The Fords. Oh please.” Arthur snorted. “They won’t come. He hates this town, always has. This has given him a reason to walk away.”
Bruce glared at Arthur. He’d always been annoying. When the council had to vote on any issue, he was always the last one to put his two cents in and at times had caused massive delays by holding off. “We didn’t have any other option. It was that or he would have killed us.”
“You don’t know that,” Arthur said. “For all we know, this might all just be scare tactics. Nothing more than a means of controlling the masses.”
“You want to test that theory?” Bruce asked.
He looked as if he was going to say something when the locks on the door shifted. The door widened and two soldiers instructed them all to head out.
“Finally. Someone is listening. Maybe what you said helped,” Arthur muttered. He was the first out the door. One of the soldiers shoved him and Tully protested.
“Where are we going?” Bruce asked.
“Just shut up and keep walking.”
They were led out of the police department and loaded into the back of a utility truck where they were joined by the rest of the council members and volunteers. Chatter revolved around their treatment, and concern for what was happening. Bruce stayed quiet as they drove north up Baker Avenue. They hung a right onto 93 and were brought to City Hall. As they got closer, soldiers waiting outside guided the truck past a huge number of locals. There were too many to count; gathered together, it was like they were waiting for some speech to be given. Armed militia kept them in check, using barriers and cattle prods. Hauled out the back, the chief and the others were led up to the front steps where Hopkins was waiting for them. He was talking with another soldier when he noticed them. “Chief Bruce. It seems we have a situation. Last night two of my men were killed by someone in this town. Now, I like to consider myself a fair man so I’m going to give you the chance to speak to those in your community that refuse to build.” He paused. “That’s right, the people behind us are some of those that didn’t take to the message you gave. Now I’m going out on a limb here and assuming it’s one of them as everyone else has been working through the night erecting fences under the watchful eye of our men.” He stopped for a second. “So. Now these people need a little incentive and I plan to give it. Find out who did it, or I will take matters into my own hands.” He handed him a megaphone and gestured for him to step forward and speak.
“But it might not have been anyone.”
“There was a woman. Erika Lyons. You familiar with that name?”
He’d heard of her through Corey and Ferris. He knew of her association. Shit. Was she behind it? He thought it best to tell the truth. “I’ve heard the name.”
“You see her out there?”
Bruce looked out, scanning an ocean of faces. “No idea.”
“Then I will leave this with you. Go ahead.”
The chief swallowed hard as he stepped forward and looked at the people. There were many faces he recognized. Good folk. Hard working. They didn’t deserve this. He coughed to clear his throat, and the megaphone let out a squeal. He adjusted the volume and spoke into it. “You all know who I am. There was a situation last night that ended two men’s lives. If you know anything about this, I would ask you come forward now before this ends badly.” He paused for a second. “Erika Lyons. If you can hear me, come forward.”
There was a long pause as they waited to see if anyone would respond. No one moved. Bruce turned to Hopkins. “Try again,” he said.
A second time, the chief appealed to the community, imploring them to take ownership. He knew there was no chance in hell that anyone would come forward and admit to murder. “Erika Lyons. Can you hear me?” This time Bruce bellowed even louder, hoping she would hear. He wasn’t foolish. He knew this would only end one way, and that was in bloodshed.
When again no one responded, Hopkins took the megaphone from him and shook his head before speaking to the crowd. “Two of you killed my men and if you won’t come forward, I have no other option than to kill two of you.”
Gasps spread. Some of the crowd protested.
Bruce pleaded with Hopkins “Don’t do this. Give me time.
I will find them.”
“We will find them. Time has run out.”
With that said, Hopkins turned and with a nod of his head two of his men standing behind the line of city council members raised their guns and fired into the back of their heads. Arthur was one of them. His body slumped forward. He didn’t even see it coming. The other was a woman called Patricia. Loud cries filled the air. Several people in the crowd pushed forward and were met with rifles to the face.
Another gunshot echoed and silence fell over the crowd.
Hopkins held the megaphone to his mouth. “Return to work,” he said. Without another word spoken, he turned and walked away leaving them in shock.
8
Two blocks away Erika crouched in disbelief on the corner of the Swift Creek Café. She’d watched the sickening execution play out. A heavy weight of guilt now rested on her shoulders, the thought that she could have done something tormented her. The way she saw it, two people were dead because of her inaction. While she couldn’t accept that, Nate could.
“You know as well as I do, he would have killed you,” he said.
She wasn’t sure what burned her more, the fact that he was right, or that they were still in Whitefish. After leaving the hospital and fleeing into the surrounding woodland, they could have easily escaped had it not been for Helen, and her dire need to get her parents out. Oh she understood it, as the same fear had driven her from Vegas to her parents’ home. But in hindsight, she now knew it was a bad move. That was why Erika tried to change Helen’s mind and make it clear that if they didn’t leave now, there was a good chance they’d be caught, but she wouldn’t listen. It didn’t help that Nate sided with her. Though she should have figured he would, the way Helen had been eyeing him ever since they’d saved her spoke volumes. She was smitten. Who wouldn’t be? Seconds away from a sexual assault and Nate saved the day.
That split-second decision to stay would cost them dearly.
Unable to reach Helen’s parents’ home in the north end because of the militia on the roads, they’d holed up in an RV park just north of the hospital for most of the night. Rotating in shifts, she’d been the last to sleep.
Erika had awoke to the clatter of corrugated steel being erected, the same noise of metal and voices she’d heard most of the night. It reminded her that the window of opportunity to escape was closing with each passing hour. One look outside that morning and it was finally clear what they were doing. This wasn’t some ludicrous attempt at building a full wall around the city. That would have taken thousands upon thousands of panels. Instead they were making it harder for people to enter or exit by enclosing only a small portion, leaving only a few entry points that would need to be patrolled. Previously, the town had done something similar in the way of roadblocks at four major intersections but that was to monitor refugees coming in from other towns, and to ensure that vehicles didn’t leave hauling away valuable supplies. People could still walk in or out, or view other areas. But maybe not now. The militia were taking a different approach. Enclosing a small area of the town didn’t require one continuous wall, it just needed a reduction in the number of through roads. Fewer escape points, fewer areas to monitor. Thousands of stalled vehicles lined the roads, and the driveways inside Whitefish, and that was just within the town limits. They didn’t have to go far to find more clogging up the main veins into town. This provided more than enough.
Erika had spent the first hour of the morning watching citizens from the town roll vehicles into position, while some slotted steel panels into place and others overturned vehicles. It was only when they scaled a few of the buildings in the area could they understand what it looked like. The entire town was beginning to look more like a maze with steel panels and vehicles blocking roads and walkways.
“Look, Helen how much farther is your parents’ home?” Nate asked.
“It’s in Happy Haven just north of Denver Street.”
“Denver Street?” Erika spat. “We’re lucky to have made it this far without being caught. You said it was in the downtown area.”
“Yeah. Just north of it.”
Erika rolled her eyes.
“Stop worrying, they don’t know what we look like,” Nate said peering over the wall at the road. Everywhere they turned, militia was spread out, an armed guard on most of the street corners.
“It doesn’t matter. They catch sight of us not helping, they’ll either put us to work or take us in. And now it’s light, we don’t stand a chance of getting by anyone.”
“So we kill a few,” Nate replied without missing a beat.
Erika frowned. “Are you serious?”
He nodded.
“Nate. What we did last night was a fluke. And we had good reason. It could have easily gone south on us. And let’s not forget we were up against one person who didn’t see us coming.”
“So? We make sure we don’t get seen.”
She brought a hand up to her forehead. “Did a few of your brain cells die from a lack of sleep last night? It’s daylight. There are hundreds of them out there.”
“And even more locals,” he replied, turning and peering over the lip of the roof. Nate pointed. “They’re erecting fences down by the bridge. We head down there, slip out into the group. Join them. Get involved and when the opportunity arises, move from one group to another. We’re just there to help.”
“You’re killing me here, Nate. That is…”
“Smart thinking,” Helen replied.
Erika frowned.
Nate pulled a face. “Yeah, I thought so,” he added.
“That was definitely not what I was thinking,” Erika added. “You think they’re just going to let you wander the town from one group to the next?”
“Yeah. They need these fences up as fast as possible. They don’t give a shit who’s doing it, only that you’re doing it. They’re not expecting any of these people to run, or carry weapons. They’ve probably already been frisked.”
“I’m surprised they’re not protesting.”
“You don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Besides, they’ve probably been fed some line about these walls will make it easier to protect the town. So?”
Erika shook her head. “You know what…how about we put a pin in that idea for now?”
“Look, you said yourself. The longer we take to do this, the less chance of us getting out. We need to move now.”
“I’m not doing that,” Erika said. “All it takes is for one person to recognize me and it’s over.”
“Who the hell even knows you? We spent the first few weeks stuck in Andy’s place, then we were held hostage by psychobilly’s sister and then you’ve been in the hospital.”
“Would you stop calling her that!”
“It’s true. She was one mad fucker.”
Erika groaned. “Look, I don’t want to risk it.”
“Says the one who urged me out of a two-story window and had me hold on for dear life as wind nearly blew me off.”
“That was different. We had no other choice.”
Nate lifted a hand. “Fine. Whatever.” He got up and walked away leaving Erika sitting near Helen. Helen had sat there listening to them like some sweet innocent girl. She was nice enough but if they hadn’t gone back for her, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Several minutes went by before anyone spoke again.
“I’m sorry,” Helen said. “I know you wanted to leave.”
“Whatever.”
“No. I don’t want to hold you two up. I shouldn’t have even asked.”
“Well you did,” Erika said not looking at her. “And here we are.” She picked a piece of the roof away and tossed it a few feet.
They remained on the roof for a good ten minutes before Erika buckled to Nate’s idea. It was that or hold out until night and by then there was a chance they might be found. At least if they were on the ground they had an excuse.
“Finally, you came to your senses,” Nate said.
Erika pursed her lips an
d narrowed her eyes at him. “First things first, we need to get Miss Florence Nightingale out of those scrubs. Those are a clear giveaway.”
“We made it this far.”
“Nate. Come on.”
“Okay. Okay. Any ideas?”
“We double back, hit one of those homes over there,” she said pointing out a house across the street. “We leave her here and return with the clothes.”
“We’re not leaving her here,” Nate said.
“We made it here in the early hours. Right now the town is buzzing. She can’t be seen. If you want to stay here, then by all means but I’m going down.” Erika crossed over to the black metal fire escape. She could see Nate contemplating what to do. He looked at her then back at Helen. Decisions, decisions, Erika thought with a smile on her face. Finally he told Helen they would be back with some clothes and he caught up with Erika. As soon as they hit the ground, they cautiously waited for a truck full of militia to go by before darting out, crossing the street and going around the back of a two-story, aluminum-sided white home. There was a black Jeep parked out front, and an angry-looking Rottweiler in the neighbor’s yard. As soon as it caught sight of them it charged the chain-link fence and started barking up a storm. Growling, attempting to chew through the metal, it caught the attention of a soldier within earshot. Erika grabbed Nate and pulled him back behind a wall just as they were about to go around. They dropped down behind some oversized garbage cans and a mountain of black bags. Trash had become a massive issue since the blackout. No trucks came by to pick it up and while the city had instructed the townsfolk to create fire pits in their backyard and burn trash, not everyone did. “Oh God, what the hell is this?” Nate said lifting his hand which was now gloved in some brown wet substance. One of the bags had been chewed open by animals and the contents were scattered all over the driveway.
Erika put a finger to her lips as she saw the soldier approach. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder but as he got closer, he removed it and panned the area before taking one look at the dog and shooting it. “Shut the hell up,” he said afterward as if anyone could hear him. He strolled away without looking back, cold and callous. And yet at the same time he’d done them a favor. The dog would have only drawn attention. As soon as the soldier was out of sight, Erika jumped up and double-timed it around the back with Nate following. They hopped over a hip-high fence and made their way to the back door. A quick test of the handle and it opened. Erika held the door open as Nate went inside.