by Lopez, Rob
Rick made it back to the trenches and ran through them crouched down, checking to see how everyone was doing. He found Sally tending to a woman who’d been hit in the arm.
“I told you to wait back with the others,” Rick told her.
“I’m needed here,” said Sally calmly as she dressed the wound.
“I need you alive,” said Rick.
Sally leaned closer to Rick and lowered her voice. “You realize many of these people can lose limbs from wounds like this? I don’t have any antibiotics left.”
“There’s not a lot I can do about that.”
Rick detailed one of his defenders to help her get the wounded woman out of danger and continued his tour of the defenses.
With most of the enemy going to ground, there were fewer targets to shoot at, and the firing slackened. For a moment, everyone was buoyed by the fact they’d beaten off the attack.
Then the mortar struck.
Rick yelled a warning, and the shell exploded by the road, shaking the ground and sending dirt over everyone. Nobody was hit. The next shell, however, hit the tree tops above the trenches in an airburst that showered red-hot shrapnel down on the defenders. Several people cried out as they were sliced by metal and hit by tumbling branches. The chaos and dismay was such that few noticed the enemy’s renewed advance. Rick ran through the trench, rallying the defense, but the defenders were truly shaken after tasting their first bombardment, and slow to react. The enemy militia pushed until they were less than a hundred yards away, and their fire was intense. Rick ducked and fired, snapping from one target to another, but the position was crumbling as defenders began to run. Fighting his way to the end of the trench, he reached Scott who was firing like a machine, empty cases gathering around his feet. Rick added his rifle to the fight at this end, forcing the enemy to take cover. Then the fiery trail of a rocket propelled grenade streaked across the forest and hit the log emplacement with a jarring thump.
That was enough for most of the defenders. They broke and fled.
Rick knew it was all over. “We’ve got to go,” he shouted to Scott.
No further words were needed. It was now a race to get to the next defense line. Ducking and weaving down the slope, Rick and Scott ran until they found the elder Clement dragging the body of his younger brother. Rick turned to give covering fire while Scott tried to help carry the sibling, but then Rick heard: “He’s dead! Leave him!”
The younger Clement was as limp as a sack, and there was a hole in his forehead from which trickled only a tiny amount of blood.
“I can’t leave him,” cried the older brother.
“You have to!”
“No!”
Rick shot the first person to crest the ridge by the trenches, then looked back to see Scott wrestling with the elder Clement. Running to join them, he slapped the older brother in the face and knocked the younger’s corpse out of his grip. Together, he and Scott dragged the elder backwards through the trees, ignoring his cries of anguish.
*
Connors watched through binoculars as his troops overran the first trench line. “Good,” he said, nodding his approval.
From the lodge, a couple of snipers attempted to stem the tide. Connors turned to Leon at the mortar.
“Target that building,” he said.
“We don’t have many rounds left,” said Leon.
“Okay, just the one then. Aim carefully.”
As Leon dialed in the range, Fick turned to Connors.
“I think we should get down there,” he said. “We want to make sure we get Nolan.”
“It’s kind of chaotic down there,” said Connors. “You’re better off waiting.”
“You want him to get away again?”
Connors turned to give him a blistering look. “You know I don’t.”
“Then let us go down and get him.”
Connors held his gaze for a moment, then softened. “Okay. If that’s what you want to do. Good hunting.”
*
At the southern barricade, Packy waited with two other guys for a threat that hadn’t materialized yet, but all three were getting anxious. The sound of gunfire from the eastern defenses sounded bad enough, but once they heard the explosions, they realized this was getting hardcore.
“Should we get back up there?” asked one guy in a worried tone.
He didn’t receive an answer. Packy was thinking more of Dee. He hadn’t seen her in a while and he wondered where she was. Was she safe? Had she gone? Would he see her again? The possibilities were tying him in knots. The longer he waited, the more antsy he got. Rick had put him in charge of this position, which, in past times, he would have felt chipper about, having got the recognition he thought he deserved. But right now, his mind was someplace else.
The whistle of a falling mortar bomb came again, and an explosion tore the roof off the lodge and blew out all its windows.
“Holy crap,” said the first guy.
Packy watched the falling debris and, to him, it looked like the end of the world.
*
Rick lifted his head from the dirt as pieces of glass tinkled down like hail. He’d made it to the half-dug second defense line. Harvey and someone else held the line, firing into the trees ahead. Sally crouched at the foot of the trench, treating a wound on some guy’s leg. The woman he’d treated earlier sat nearby, weaponless and in shock.
“Where’s the guy we pulled from the truck?” asked Rick, indicating the man with the facial wound.
Sally jerked her head to indicate the smoking ruin of the lodge.
Rick sighed. The elder Clement sat curled up and crying. There was simply no way now that they could make a stand. Most of the others had fled across the second line and kept on running.
“You need to get out of here,” he told Sally. “You and Harvey take the wounded and just go. And take this guy too,” he added, nodding to the sole Clement brother.
“What about you?”
“We’re going to hold them for a while.”
Sally gazed at him, then at Scott, who was grimly checking his ammunition.
“If you see April,” said Scott, “tell her not to wait.”
Sally didn’t see a need to say anymore. With a nod to Harvey, she packed up her bag and helped her patient out of the trench.
As soon as they were gone, Rick and Scott looked across to the one man who’d elected to stay.
“What’s your name?” asked Scott.
“Leroy,” said the man with a look that suggested he wasn’t sure whether he was doing the right thing or not.
“Make 'em count, Leroy.”
Leroy nodded, still uncertain. Together, the three hunkered down and aimed their rifles.
Figures moved in the trees. As soon as they emerged into the clearing by the rail line, they were cut down by vicious fire from the trio.
33
April watched with growing alarm as the situation unfolded. People ran everywhere, bullets cracking overhead. April tracked them with her shotgun, but she wasn’t really sure whether they were friend or foe. The complete abandon with which they fled led to the dispiriting conclusion that they were likely her own side.
John Yorkin dashed around from the cabins and ran up to the trenches. “Grace,” he shouted. “Grace, where are you?”
Grace, sheltering from the fire, leaped up. “I’m here, Dad.”
Yorkin jumped into the trench and hugged his daughter.
“I’m scared, Dad,” uttered Grace.
“It’s okay, baby. We’re going to go now.”
Without even a glance at the other occupants of the trench, Yorkin lifted his daughter out and ran with her into the forest.
The mothers in the trench, disconcerted, watched them go, then clambered up to follow them, hauling their children up.
“Wait,” said April, feeling she should have been in charge.
Nobody waited, and soon it was just her, Daniel, Lizzy and Chuck.
“I’m staying with you,�
�� said Chuck after seeing the concern on her face. “But maybe we should go soon?”
April remained torn. From the other side of the lodge, a battle continued to rage, and she knew her love was in the middle of it.
*
Packy heard vehicles coming up the south road. He hoped it might be reinforcements from Camp Grier, but he knew he’d already collected most of the people from there willing to fight. As soon as he saw the lead vehicle, an AMC Gremlin, he knew it was the enemy.
No one else would drive such an ugly car.
With his two compadres, he took aim. His recently acquired shotgun was loaded with solid slugs, and he hit the lead car through the grille. The slug round pounded through the radiator and cracked the cylinder head, bringing the vehicle to a jarring halt. The windshield shattered as rounds plowed through it, and there was a scramble as the doors popped open and the occupants leaped out, ducking and flinching.
The two vehicles behind the Gremlin skidded to a halt and disgorged their guys, and soon a spirited firefight put bullets into the Gremlin from both ends.
Packy banged out another slug, then ducked down as the return fire got heavier.
“Gentlemen,” he said to his companions, “discretion is the better part of valor.”
“What?” said one.
“Run,” said Packy.
With a final volley over the barricade, they fled through the trees. Packy turned to fire another shot to deter pursuers, then turned away from his companions to run into the compound. As far as he could see, the situation had gone beyond chaotic. Isolated firefights broke out as stragglers made last stands or fired from the forest on the east side. Organized resistance had collapsed, but the enemy were having their own problems taking advantage of that as groups got split up and did their own thing. Packy sprinted behind the line of cabins and saw April’s head peering over a trench.
“Hey,” he shouted, getting her attention. “Have you seen Dee?”
April turned to him. “No, everyone’s gone,” she said fretfully.
Packy halted and bent over, breathing hard to recover from his sudden sprint. “Not everyone. Should you still be here?”
“I’m not going until I see Scott.”
“He can run faster than you. Hell, he can probably run faster than me. You need to go now or you’re not going to be able to. The situation out there’s crazy.”
“I agree,” said Chuck. “We should go now, at least for the children.”
Packy glanced at the children whom, in all honesty, he’d never taken much notice of before. They appeared more frightened by the indecision of the adults than by the gunfire. “Yeah, you need to split,” he said.
April looked ready to stubbornly resist until Sally and Harvey arrived, with wounded in tow. “We need to go,” said Sally firmly.
“Have you seen Scott?” asked April.
“Yes, and he told me to tell you not to wait. You’re pregnant and we need to climb up a mountain. You need to begin now or we’re all in grave danger, because we’re not going to leave you.”
“Take that trail and keep moving,” said Packy, pointing. “Don’t stop.”
“What about you?” said Sally.
“Call me crazy, but I think I’m in love,” replied Packy. “I’ll catch you later.”
Taking a deep breath, he ran out across the compound and by the lake, attracting fire from all directions. He had a hunch and he placed all his bets on it as he raced to one of the houses at the north end of the compound.
It was where Dee lived. He’d gazed at the house so often recently, he knew every detail of its exterior. What he’d never dared do was go inside, or even knock at the door.
He didn’t bother knocking now. Barging straight in, he pelted up the passageway, glancing in each room as he passed, then up the stairs. On the second floor he smashed open every door until he reached the bathroom. Kicking it open, he found Dee sitting, fully dressed, on the toilet, tears trickling down her cheeks. In one hand she held Jacob. In the other she held a kitchen knife. The hand that held it was shaking.
“Whoa, it’s okay,” said Packy. “I’m here to get you out.” He paused for a moment. “Again.”
Dee was beside herself with grief. “I can’t take it anymore,” she sobbed. “There’s nowhere to go.”
Packy gently removed the knife from her grip. He wasn’t sure whether she’d planned to use it to defend herself, or damage herself. Either way, she was in a fragile state. “There’s always somewhere to go,” he crooned. “Take my hand and we’ll walk. Right on out.”
“It’s always going to be the same.”
“No. No, it isn’t. Come with me.”
“Leave me alone.”
“Girl, this heart won’t let me.”
Packy tenderly pulled her up and led her downstairs. The back of the house was close to the forest. The way looked clear. “We’re going to go in the woods now and take a real nice walk. Just ignore all the sounds. I’ll be taking care of you. Before you know it, we’ll be out of here.”
“I don’t want them to get me again,” wept Dee.
Packy wiped a tear from her cheek. He was tempted to kiss her, but the baby stared at him. “Not going to happen,” he said to both of them. “Let’s go.”
They made it to the trees and began climbing the slope.
*
Rick got to the end of his last magazine, swung the M4 behind him and pulled out his Glock. His little group had held the enemy for as long as possible, but he was now retreating past the base of the knob where the lodge was still smoking. Taking position behind a tree, he waited until Scott and Leroy moved back past him, then got ready to do the same as they covered him.
His delaying action had forced the enemy ahead to be more cautious, so disengaging wasn’t a problem, but the machine gun had been set up in a new position and was now firing random short bursts down into the compound. He also knew, from the shooting to the south earlier, that the southern barricade had likely fallen, because it was relatively quiet there now.
Beyond the lodge, the tree cover was sparser until they reached the cabins. He hoped everyone who could make it to the forest on the far side had done so, because there was really nothing to stop the enemy if they made a concerted push. The mortar had ceased fire, but there was shouting in the woods ahead as someone tried to rally them to do just that.
Rick made to pull back when he caught sight of the shouting figure up the slope at the second defense line.
It was Fick.
He was too far away for Rick to get him with the pistol, so he dashed back to Scott’s position instead.
“It’s Connors,” he told Scott breathlessly as he passed him. “He’s leading this.”
“Oh great,” groaned Scott, lifting his rifle. He fired two more shots at fleeting figures, then his weapon clacked empty.
“Who’s Connors?” said Leroy.
“Bad news,” said Scott.
The two ran back past Rick’s position, then they switched roles again. Bullets cracked at them from the south, so they veered left, heading toward the lake. They were now just a hundred yards from the forest behind the cabins. If they could make it there, they had a good chance of getting away.
*
Hurrying down the trail and coated in sweat, Red and Josh encountered Sally’s group ascending. One look at the defeated faces and the wounded was enough to understand that things hadn’t gone well. Josh dropped down to Lizzy’s side.
“Where’s Dad?” he panted.
“He’s down there,” said Lizzy in a small voice.
“And Mom?”
Lizzy started to cry. April touched Josh’s shoulder.
“Josh, you need to sit down.”
“Why? What’s happened?”
“It’s your mom, honey. She’s … I think she’s been taken.”
Josh gaped at her. All he’d done was go out on a hunting trip this morning, and in that time everything had gone to hell. He took off down the trail.
“Josh!”
Red tipped April a salute. “Don’t worry ma’am, I’ll look after him.”
Moving on past, he stopped at Clement. He glanced once into his dead eyes and learned all he needed to know about his brother. Shaking his head at the tragedy, he loped after Josh.
Being a mountain man, he knew how to pace himself while still eating up the distance. He soon caught up with Josh, running raggedly down the slope. He grabbed the boy’s arm.
“You ain’t going to do no good rushing into nothing,” he said.
Josh practically wilted in his grip, but his face was a mask of pain and rage.
“I know what you’re feeling, kid. You stick with ol’ Red, and we’ll get more than some buck today. I guarantee it. Stay behind me, but keep up.”
Farther down the trail, they encountered two more stragglers.
“Hey! Ned. Ralph. Where you going?” called Red.
“We’re getting out of here,” said Ned.
“What kind of yellow talk is that? You hear that sound? That’s gunfire. That means there’s still someone down there who needs our help, so you turn around and follow me.”
“Red, they’ve got machine guns, artillery and everything.”
“Yeah, and I got this,” said Red, patting his hunting rifle. “I don’t need nothing more. Now let’s go see what we can find.”
Leaving the trail, Red moved obliquely down the mountain until he reached the rocky outcrop they’d used when they first assaulted Round Knob.
The picture was a little different now. The lodge was a shattered ruin, and barely visible figures moved furtively around the valley. A machine gun chattered briefly before falling silent for lack of targets. It looked indeed like the battle was over.
Josh hissed suddenly, pointing. “There’s Dad!”
Three figures could be seen clearly approaching the lake, getting ready to cross the gravel road that ran through the compound.
34
Connors stood on the remains of the shattered log bunker, high up on the road at the rim of the valley. From here, he had a commanding view of the compound through his binoculars. On the ground beside him lay Taft, with the fifty-caliber sniper rifle.