Survival Rules Series (Book 4): Rules of Engagement

by Hunt, Jack

  “Ah. Let’s hope you never have to use it.”

  Again, he disappeared inside and this time he came out with a large tube. He popped the end off and pulled out a rifle. “I got this from a buddy of mine. It’s registered to his grandfather but after he passed away, he gave it to me. Said he had enough guns.”

  “And let me guess. Your parents don’t know about that.”

  “Hell no. But I get a feeling they’ll be pleased I did.” He slung the strap over his shoulder and then collected some bullets.

  “You know this isn’t a video game.”

  “Didn’t say it was. Look, if you’re worried about me, I can handle myself. The question is, why’s Nate on a roof?”

  She told him and he nodded. “Makes sense. So you need to get over to her parents’ home. You gonna wait until dark?”

  “Seems so. It’s either that or follow through with Nate’s asinine idea and now that his face is busted up, I have a feeling it would draw too much attention.”

  “Then it’s settled. We’ll get them later. You guys can hole up here until tonight. I’ll get you over there. I know this town like the back of my hand.” He walked over to the window and peered out. “These chumps picked the wrong town to roll into.”

  “And how do you propose to do that?” Erika asked, curious.

  He laughed. “Leave that to me. Remember the shit I got Nate out of before. Yep, I’m a pro at this end of the world stuff, darlin’.”

  “Oh yeah, a real professional,” she said sarcastically, glancing at the weapons he’d laid out on the bed. He was a teenage boy with a wild imagination, nothing more.

  “Now the only question left is how do we kill some time until tonight?”

  He winked at her and she waved his advance off and walked out of the room chuckling.

  11

  The trip down memory lane ended abruptly the moment Tyler shared his idea. “Out of the question,” Andy shot back. “You want us to align ourselves with the enemy?”

  “He’s not the enemy we’re fighting. If he wanted to attack, he would have done it by now. A month has gone by since the incident. I know we’ve been expecting them to start a war but there hasn’t been any retaliation.”

  “Corey, you want to explain to your brother why this is a dumb idea? Because I’m done. We’re packing up and heading back.” Andy got up from his seat and kicked loose stones out into the lake before walking off down the path with a beer in hand.

  “He has a point, Tyler.”

  “I get it. He doesn’t trust them, I don’t either but you tell me how this ends? We could retreat into the domes, which isn’t a bad idea when you’re up against average people but military, they’ll find a way in, or a way to get us out. So that leaves us with either running or fighting, and we sure as hell can’t win against that many unless we have backup. Together. We can do it.”

  Corey smiled and wrapped a hand around Tyler’s neck. “Brother. Brother. Walk with me,” he said. They took a stroll along the edge of the lake. Tyler could see Andy in the distance. “You go charging into Camp O’Brien, he will take you captive and anyone else you bring. What then? Not only will we have to deal with the militia, but we’ll have to negotiate and I get the feeling Jude isn’t going to do that unless it ends with our heads on a stick.”

  Tyler shook his head. “He won’t touch me.”

  “You. Maybe not. But that’s not to say Maddox, Thomas or one of the others might. Have you forgotten? We killed some of their members. I don’t care how you cut it. They are just itching to get back at us. It’s just a matter of time but it’s coming and the worst thing we can do is to expose ourselves to them. No, I’m with Andy on this.”

  “But what if it worked?”

  He chuckled. “You just don’t give up, do you?” Corey smiled and ruffled his hair like he used to when he was a kid. “I think that’s why you survived all these years under him. You’re stubborn.”

  “As are you,” Tyler replied.

  “True.” He snorted. “Look, I chatted last night with him about entering the domes. We can outlast them. Let Jude deal with this. You said yourself it was only a matter of time before the militia came across their camp. Let them be the ones to tackle this problem.”

  Tyler frowned. “That’s the thing, Corey. I can’t.”

  Corey stopped walking and looked at him. “Because he’s your father?”

  “That’s not all, it’s—”

  “Mom?”

  Tyler nodded slowly. “She’s in the thick of it with him. If he goes down, so does she.”

  Corey shook his head. “So now you care?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t need to, it’s obvious.”

  They continued walking. Water covered the small pebbles on the beach. Tyler picked one up and skipped it across the surface. It bounced four times before sinking. “Part of me wants to hate her, you know, but I think I’ve used up all the hate I have with Andy,” Tyler said, glancing at him before throwing out another stone.

  “I hear you, brother.” He patted him on the back and breathed in deeply. There was a long pause as both of them chewed over the future ahead. It was full of so much uncertainty. And with trust at an all-time low across the board, he could understand why Andy was double-minded about making a decision. So much hung in the balance.

  “Whatever decision he makes, I’m not going into the domes,” Tyler said. “Nate and Erika are in the town and I was not there for them last time. I won’t stand by and do nothing.”

  “Give me time to talk to him. Perhaps I can get him to see sense.”

  “Maybe it’s not you that he needs to hear from.”

  “Jude?” Corey asked.

  Tyler nodded.

  Corey snorted. “There’s no way on God’s green earth he will listen to him or her. Not after what they put him through. He fell to pieces, and there’s a chance he will again when he finds out. It’s best we hold off for now.” Corey looked back. “He’s not ready.”

  “None of us were ready.”

  Corey removed his baseball cap and wiped his forehead. “When you go tonight, I want you to take Markowitz, Bennington, Gibby and Holden with you. They’ll cover your ass if you run into trouble.”

  “But you said you didn’t…”

  “You’re going to do it whether I like it or not so I might as well make sure you’re covered. Okay?”

  Tyler smiled. His brother knew him too well. “So you agree.”

  Corey opened his mouth then closed it. He put his foot up on a boulder and leaned forward on his thigh, gazing out across the lake. Sun glistened off the small waves making it seem even more alive. “I don’t think he will help but I think we have to hedge our bets.” He looked over at his father. “He won’t like it but he’ll understand.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” Tyler replied pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lighting one.

  “When did you take up smoking?”

  “Recently.”

  Corey came over to him and grabbed it out of his hand and tossed it away. “Well, don’t. I already have enough people in the grave. I need you to stick around.” Tyler nodded, took out the pack and tossed it. It was boredom more than anything. He’d smoked a few times as a kid and a couple of times when he went out with women in Vegas but that was it. “Give me a hand loading up the horses.”

  “What about Andy? He knows I’m gonna go out there.”

  “Leave that to me. When we get back, I’ll find Markowitz and the others and bring them up to speed. I’m sure they’re just itching to get out there, anyway.”

  Upon returning to camp that afternoon, Tyler talked over his plan with the four men and prepared to head out. They would take his father’s green utility vehicle. It was fast so they could easily outrun horses and if push came to shove, it handled perfectly off-road. As they loaded up the back with a bag of ammo, rifles and night vision goggles, Allie approached. “Thought you weren’t coming back until to
morrow.”

  He heaved some sleeping bags into the back. “Change of plans.”

  Her eyes washed over the items in the rear and those chatting nearby. “You hitting up Whitefish?”

  “Nope,” he said throwing on a bulletproof vest and tactical helmet. Bennington was all about the gear. He and Markowitz had apparently retrieved a number of items from Andy’s cabin before the place was raided. Andy believed it was raiders but with militia in the area it could have very well been them.

  “You’re not going to Camp O’Brien, are you?”

  When he didn’t respond she continued, “It’s too dangerous. They’ll kill you; you must know that.”

  “We’ll be fine.”

  “Then I’ll come with you.”

  “No. Not this time.”

  “Please. Like you’re going to stop me.”

  The other four guys looked over as she raised her voice. Tyler took her by the wrist and led her into the dome he was sharing with his brother. Corey was in a meeting with Andy and the original founding members. The decision on what they would do would come down to a vote.

  As soon as Tyler had her out of earshot, he pressed her up against the wall. “Listen to me. What I have to do now, I have to do it alone.”

  “Oh really. So the other four guys are…?” She probed for an answer. Their bodies got closer.

  “That was Corey’s call not mine. The first chance I get I’m…”

  “Gonna shake them? Man, Tyler, you are too predictable. I’m going with you.”

  She tried to brush by him but he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall.

  “Can’t you just listen? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  His hand came up the side of her face and the tension that had been building between them for weeks erupted in a passionate kiss. Her body was so warm and soft against his that he almost forgot to breathe. It had been a long time since he’d been this close to anyone with feelings this strong. It was strange but at the same time felt incredible as if the world around him had ceased to exist and only that moment mattered.

  As he pulled back, she held on tight, slipping her hands around him. A momentary thought of whether it was right, right to be there, to allow himself to get involved with her soon faded as her arms pulled him in tight, and he felt her ribs pressing into him. He instinctively tightened his grip on her hips, pulling her into his embrace. He tucked his face into her neck and took a deep breath as he inhaled the scent of her skin. With every passing second all the anger, resentment and hate for his past disappeared. All the turbulence was quieted as she enveloped him. He could have stayed, lost in the embrace but then he realized what she was doing. Tyler pulled back, taking a deep breath.

  “You okay?” she asked softly.

  “I can’t do this,” he said closing his eyes. “I mean, not right now. I need to stay focused and…” He swallowed hard. He lifted a hand and exited the dome, running a hand through his ruffled dark hair.

  As he came out, Bennington was leaning against the truck with a toothpick in his mouth. “Your shirt is untucked,” he said before chuckling.

  Tyler’s cheeks flushed as he jumped into the truck. “Let’s go.”

  “Hold your horses, young gun. Markowitz has gone to speak with your brother.”

  As he said that, Allie came out of the dome. He glanced at her in the side mirror and she looked at him briefly before hurrying away. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her, reject her or make her think that he wasn’t into her because he was, more than he could put into words. But it was one distraction too many.

  Once Markowitz reemerged, Corey called for the gates to open. He stopped the vehicle before it went out. “You look after him, you hear me.”

  Bennington laughed. “Trust me. Your kid brother is more likely to look after Markowitz.”

  “Screw you, Bennington,” Markowitz shot back.

  They laughed and Holden honked the horn before heading out. A quick glance in the side mirror and Tyler saw Allie. He just hoped she wouldn’t follow. They drove north on 93 and went south on 37 crossing west towards O’Brien Mountain. It was a good three-hour journey by car. They could have reduced that by half had they gone by horse and cut through but Corey was adamant that he didn’t want them getting stuck in the middle of the Kootenai National Forest. The journey would take them through various towns like Stryker, Fortine, Eureka and Rexford. With so little resources being offered by the communities, most of the locals over the past month had abandoned their homes and moved to Whitefish or Kalispell. Rumors of FEMA camps being opened across the United States had finally reached their neck of the woods but so had news that some had been overrun. It was hard to know what was true as their focus had been on ensuring Jude didn’t attack. Tyler wasn’t an idiot, he knew there was a chance his idea could go south but he had an ace in his back pocket, something he figured would help. Whether it would work was to be seen.

  The sun was beginning to wane by the time they made it to the town of Eureka, Montana, just north of O’Brien Mountain. Its glow slowly retreated behind the pines and rocky terrain. Hundreds of acres of forest hedging them in on either side of the road gave way to the town limits. Burned-out buildings and structures reduced to rubble were dotted throughout the landscape.

  “Haven’t been up this way in a while. Seems they took one hell of a beating too,” Tyler said. Holden drove the vehicle while Tyler rode shotgun up front. The others were crammed into the back.

  Markowitz leaned forward and tapped Tyler on the shoulder. “Your brother seems to think that this is a big mistake. Why are you so confident you can get through to this man after what you just put him through?”

  “Because blood is thicker than water,” Tyler replied.

  Markowitz didn’t look too convinced. He looked as if he was about to reply when Holden eased off the gas.

  “What’s up?” Bennington asked from the back.

  “We got movement up ahead.”

  12

  He swerved behind a stalled vehicle and killed the engine. All of them got ready with their weapons. Bennington leaned forward to get a better look. He brought a pair of binoculars up to his eyes. “Seems we have a roadblock.”

  “Raiders?” Tyler asked.

  “Hard to tell. But there are at least eight of them.”

  “Is there another route?” Markowitz asked.

  “Nope,” Tyler said. “Unless we double back and abandon the truck. The only way through is… through them.”

  “What about militia?” Gibby asked.

  “It doesn’t look like it. They look like run-of-the-mill folk. Probably locals protecting the town. We have a couple of options, roll on up and see what the deal is or wait it out and see if they move on.”

  “Are they armed?”

  “Seems so. AR-15s. A couple of horses. They’ve rolled vehicles into place so the only way around is…” he adjusted the zoom on the binoculars. “Well, it appears there is no way around.”

  “Can I?” Tyler asked reaching for the binoculars. He wanted to see if he recognized any of the men. If they were from Jude’s camp, perhaps he could speak with them and avoid a confrontation. A quick scan and he realized he hadn’t seen them before. “We have to go through. No way around this. It’s up to you,” Tyler said to Holden.

  Markowitz patted Holden’s shoulder, “Drive up, slowly.” He then turned. “Bennington.”

  “I’m already on it,” he replied. “I have my crosshair on one.”

  Bennington leaned forward. He had the barrel of his rifle perched on the seat shoulder.

  Holden veered the truck out, and they made their way down. As soon as the men saw them, they brought up their weapons but didn’t engage. “Let me talk to them,” Tyler said. “Ease off the gas.” They stopped about fifty yards from the roadblock and Tyler opened the truck door.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Gibby said.

  Tyler didn’t step out from behind the door but kept it wide open just in c
ase they decided to fire.

  “Hey there!” Tyler put up a hand. “You want to move the vehicles? We need to go through.”

  A staunch-looking fella with a fierce beard, baseball cap and sunglasses inched forward between the cars. He kept his rifle trained on him. “Where are you coming from?”

  “Olney.”

  The men looked at one another and words were exchanged.

  “What business have you got this way?”

  “Heading to see friends of ours over at O’Brien Mountain.”

  Tyler figured if he dropped the location, perhaps they would know who he was referring to and if they had any kind of agreement in place, they might go easy on them.

  “What you got on you?” the guy asked.

  “Just the basics.”

  “Can’t let you through without an exchange of either food or supplies. So what will it be?”

  Tyler snorted. He dipped his head down into the vehicle. “Bennington, dig into that bag behind you. Grab me out the box of jerky.”

  “We’re not handing that over. That’s for this evening. That’s for all of us.”

  “Jerky or a gunfight. What do you prefer?”

  “Both,” he shot back.

  “Bennington.”

  “All right. All right,” he said unzipping the bag and retrieving the plastic container. He handed it to Tyler, and he held it up. “How’s beef jerky sound?”

  “What else you got?”

  Great, that wasn’t going to cut it. However, he was determined to avoid conflict. They would suffer enough of that later and at some point, he knew it would get to this, exchanging goods and bartering would be the new way moving forward. Hell, he guessed they might have done the same had they been in Whitefish.

  “Bennington,” Tyler said, snapping his fingers.

  “Oh, hell no. That’s it.”

  He cast him a sideways glance. “Don’t you have those smokes?”

  “They’re mine.”