by Eric Vall
“Are you sure?” the second guy asked.
“Did I fuckin’ stutter?” the first soldier asked, and he thrust his finger forward once more. “Keep going. It’s not worth it.”
“Alright,” the second guy said, and he accelerated the truck. “Fuckin’ dumbasses should have left when they had the chance.”
“People around here are far too stupid to do as they’re told,” the third guy called out with a laugh.
“Ain’t that the truth,” the second guy hollered. “I’d like to see them survive the winter out here with no supplies.”
“Cut the chatter and keep going!” the first guy yelled once more, and I saw the other soldiers shake their heads, but they picked up the speed a bit anyways.
The officer had given an order, but I didn’t like how the other soldiers had pushed him to stop. I didn’t trust them, so I kept my scope on them as they drove by, and after a few minutes the convoy were all out of eyesight, and the sound of their engines died away with the rain.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding and smiled to myself.
“Holy shit!” Anna exclaimed, and she looked over at me with a wide smile.
“That was so intense,” Bailey laughed. “I had my scope fixed on them until they were totally out of view.”
“I love how they said that we’re the ones who won’t make it through the winter,” Anna scoffed.
“They just didn’t know what they were up against,” I said with a grin.
“Oh, my God,” the redhead said. “I can’t believe they just kept going.”
“They have orders to follow,” I said.
“Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “Still though, I was ready for a fight.”
“I’m sure you’ll get one,” I chuckled. “There’s bound to be Canadians coming this way.”
“You think?” Bailey asked. “I mean, I doubt most of them have any kind of a map.”
“Exactly,” I said. “They’ll probably try to follow the Guard.”
“Fuck,” Anna said. “If that’s the case, then they just led a bunch of Canadians right to us.”
“Yeah,” I said, and I took a deep breath and looked back out to the road. “We still need to be ready for that fight.”
I looked over to see that both Anna and Bailey were staring intently at the road. It was an unspoken agreement that the watch had started once more, and we waited in silence for the next wave of trouble to hit.
The rain pattered softly on the ground at my feet, and I reached my hand out to catch a few drops in my palm.
About an hour went by, though it was hard to tell with how overcast it was, and I was about to send Bailey and Anna back up to campus to get warm when I heard voices.
At first the words were indistinguishable, but soon a group of guys came into view. I did a quick count, there were six men, two with pistols on their hips, and one with a rifle on his back.
“They must have gone this way,” the guy in front said, and he pointed ahead. He had on faded jeans that looked like they were from the 80s, and shaggy blonde hair that hung down to his shoulders.
“What the fuck is that?” a second guy asked, and he pointed to the bodies strewn up by the bridge. The guy had on a Lebatt Blue shirt, and he was one of the ones with a pistol.
“Jesus,” 80s jeans said, and his eyes grew wide as he held out his arms to stop the men behind him, then his mouth parted into a wide grin. “You know what this means, right fellas?”
“What?” another guy with mismatched shoes asked.
“They have something good up there.” 80s jeans smirked, and then he pointed up the hill toward the college.
Fuck.
I had had my rifle fixed on Leblatt because that was my least favorite beer, and I figured he would be my first target, but after that comment I flipped my scope over to 80s jeans and fixed it dead on his forehead.
Still time to turn back, guys. Somebody talk some sense into this fucker.
“I don’t know,” Lebatt said, and I was surprised to hear any sort of sense come out of a Lebatt lover’s mouth.
“Come on Trip,” 80s jeans pushed, and he threw an arm over the other man’s shoulders. “I bet they got lots of shit up there.”
“I’m in,” Mismatched Shoes said, and he took a step forward.
“Jerry’s in,” 80s jeans said with a grin.
“Fuck it,” Lebatt-Trip said, and he started to walk toward the college.
“That’s my guy,” 80s jeans laughed, and he followed his buddy.
Well, you had your chance, I thought, and I shrugged to myself.
My scope was still set on 80s jeans, and I waited for him to take one more step and then I pulled the trigger. His chest exploded in red, he fell backwards with a large thud, and his head cracked on the concrete.
Before Lebatt could turn around, I heard the crack of Bailey’s rifle, and he went down with a shot to the eye that sent the back of his skull out onto the road like a bowl of spilled spaghetti.
I fixed my scope on Mismatched Shoes. He tried to run, but he had barely got a step in when I took him down with a shot to the neck. Blood sprayed out onto the pavement, and he clutched at his throat and went down to his knees first, then fell forward into a puddle.
Anna’s rifle sounded, and I saw another of the guys go down with a shot through the ear.
I quickly lined up my scope on one of the last guys who had started to scream and run, but as soon as I pulled the trigger I heard Bailey’s rifle crack as well, and the guy went down with two shots to the face.
Anna took care of the last guy with a shot to the chest, and as quickly as it had begun, the fight was over.
“What the fuck, guys?” Anna laughed.
“What?” Bailey yelled back with concern.
“Every time I would line up a shot, you guys took it before I could,” the redhead laughed.
“Gotta be quicker than that,” I retorted.
“Sorry,” Bailey chuckled.
“You got a couple in.” I smiled at the redhead.
“Yeah,” Anna said. “But you guys took out most of them.”
“We took down one at the same time,” Bailey laughed. “I didn’t know you were lined up on that guy, sorry, Tav.”
“It’s alright,” I said with a grin. “It was pretty fun to watch.”
“Should we move the bodies?” Bailey asked.
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “Let’s leave them there as a warning.”
“You don’t think we have enough of those?” Anna chuckled.
“I think these will be better,” I said. “They show that our other warnings are serious. And current.”
“Good point,” Anna said with a nod.
“Hey!” I heard Tara call out, then she came into view along with Paige and Justin.
“Hey,” Anna said, and we all made our way out of the tree line.
“We figured we would relieve you guys,” Paige said with a smile.
“How is Frank doing?” I asked Justin.
“He’s a little better,” he answered with a tired smile.
“Marla says we aren’t out of the woods yet,” Paige said. “But he’s responding to the IV.”
“I’ll check on him while I’m up there,” I said. “But I need to talk to Jeff.”
“About what?” Tara asked.
“About setting up the explosives for the bridge,” I said.
“Are we blowing it right now?” Paige asked with wide eyes.
“Not yet,” I said, and I shook my head. “It will be a last resort, but I want it ready.”
“Okay,” the brunette said with a nod.
“Be vigilant,” I told them. “If anybody makes a move toward campus, take them down.”
“On it,” Tara said.
“I’ll be back down in a bit,” I said.
“Try to get some sleep,” Paige said with a frown.
“Yeah,” Tara agreed. “You were up all last night.”
“I�
�m fine,” I replied cheerfully. “We have a lot going on right now, and I want to make sure things are running smoothly.”
“Alright,” Anna said. “But we’re here to help too.”
“I know,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Go find Jeff,” Paige said. “I think pretty much everyone is in the dorms since it’s raining.”
“Alright,” I said. “You all be safe down here.”
“We got this,” Tara said with a grin.
Anna, Bailey, and I headed up toward campus. I could feel that I was tired, and I was sure I looked it, but I stood by what I had told the girls. This war was just beginning, and I needed to make sure that things went as planned. Right now that meant finding Jeff and getting the explosives set up as soon as possible.
“I’m going to get some food,” Anna said as we walked. “Bailey, are you hungry?”
“Oh, yeah.” the blonde nodded.
“Tav?” Anna asked.
“I’m alright,” I said with a shake of my head.
“We’ll make you some food anyway,” Anna replied with a smile.
It was still raining, but they were small drops and it was barely above a sprinkle, so we weren’t too soaked by the time we got to the dorm building.
I went inside to find a few of the civilians playing board games.
“Hey, guys,” I said.
“How’s it going down there?” Cathy asked. “We heard shots awhile ago.”
“It’s alright,” Anna said with a nod.
“Does anybody know where Jeff is?” I asked.
“He’s throwing some wood on the fire,” Cathy said, and she pointed toward the old laundry room where our wood stoves were.
“Thanks,” I said, and then I headed toward the room.
I found Jeff stoking the fire, and his big red beard looked more unruly than I had ever seen it.
“How’s it going in here?” I asked.
“Probably better than out there.” he smiled.
“You all did a good job earlier,” I said. “I appreciate it.”
“Thanks,” he replied. “But we’ll do better next time.”
“And even better the next,” I said with a smile.
“So, what can I do for you?” he asked.
“Well,” I started. “I want to get the bridge ready to blow.”
“Are we doing that now?” Jeff asked, and his eyebrows pulled together.
“Not right now,” I explained. “But I want it to be ready to go down at a moment’s notice.”
“Alright,” the red bearded man said with a nod.
“You got a chance to look over the explosives, right?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “We should have enough, but we’ll have to set it up just right.”
“I’m guessing we need to take out the beams?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “We’ll need to set up the explosives just under the support beams.”
“Okay,” I said, and I thought for a moment. “We’ll need to figure out a way to get over there.”
“I’m betting we don’t have a boat either,” he said with a small laugh.
“Afraid not,” I chuckled.
“We should try to set them up as close to the top as we can,” Jeff said.
“We may be able to do it from the top then,” I said with a nod.
“Right,” he agreed. “It will take me a little bit to wire everything up properly.”
“How will we explode the C4?” I asked. “I know it typically has an electric charge.”
“We’ll use the dynamite to create the shockwave we need to detonate the C4,” he said with a grin.
“Will that work?” I asked with a raised brow.
“In theory, yes,” he said with a nod. “But that’s the only way I can think to do it with what we have.”
“There’s no other way to make a blasting cap?” I asked.
“I’ll take a look around,” Jeff said. “I’ll figure something out and let you know.”
“Okay,” I said, and I pursed my lips in thought.
“I’ll start on it right now,” Jeff said with a small smile.
“I would appreciate that,” I said, returning his smile.
“No problem,” he said, and he closed the door for the fireplace, stood up, and headed out of the room.
I stood in the heat of the wood stoves for a moment longer, it felt good to be warm after being out in the rain so much. I contemplated staying a while longer and taking a nap, but I found myself pacing the room. I couldn’t stop thinking about the horde of people that were coming for us. We had already seen a few just in the last day, and more were bound to be coming.
As much as I trusted my girls, I wouldn’t ever forgive myself if something happened to them.
“Hey,” Anna said softly from the doorway.
“Hey,” I replied back.
“We brought you some food,” Bailey said, and she held out to me a plate of green beans, venison, and corn.
“Thank you.” I smiled and took the plate.
“Of course,” Anna said, then she looked at me with pursed lips. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “Just concerned about the Canadians.”
“We got this,” Bailey said happily.
“I know,” I said with a smile and took a bite of venison.
I hadn’t realized how hungry I had been. The girls left me alone, and I devoured the plate of food in just a few moments. I felt more alert then, and since I figured there was no way I was getting any sleep, I decided I would head up to the roof and take over guard duty.
Chapter 7
I headed out of the old laundry room and up the stairs toward the roof, but on the third floor I heard something strange, so I stopped to listen.
It sounded like crying, and I walked around the floor until I found the room it was coming from.
“Hey,” I said gently, and I knocked on the door.
“Go away,” I heard a small voice say, and I realized it was Mitch.
I opened the door and saw the small boy laying face down on the bed, hard sobs running through him that lifted his back with each intake of air.
“You worried about your brother?” I asked as I went and sat on the bed next to him.
“I said go away,” he sobbed, and he raised his small head to look at me. His face was red from crying and covered in tears.
“It’s okay to be upset,” I told him.
“Everyone’s acting like I’m stupid,” he said, and threw his face back down onto the bed.
“No,” I said gently. “They just don’t want you to worry.”
“Well, I should be worried!” he said loudly.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I’m sorry. But you know what?”
“What?” he asked, and he lifted his small head up and wiped away a tear.
“I got Frank some medicine,” I said with a small smile. “And your mom says he’s responding well to it.”
“Really?” he sniffled.
“Really.” I grinned. “I think he’s going to be okay.”
“Why won’t anybody let me see him?” he asked with a frown.
“Frank needs his rest right now,” I told him.
“I miss him,” Mitch said with a small voice, and he looked down at the ground.
“You know,” I said. “I always wanted a brother.”
“Did you have a sister instead?” he asked.
“No,” I chuckled and shook my head. “It was just me.”
“I bet that was pretty lonely,” the black-haired boy said.
“It was,” I agreed with a small smile.
“I’m lonely without Frank,” he said.
“I can tell,” I said. “That’s why I always wanted a brother, but you’ve changed my mind on something.”
“What?” he asked, and he looked up at me with small, dark eyes.
“I always thought I wanted a little brother,” I said.
“Now you don’t, huh,” he said, and he l
ooked back to the floor. “‘Cause they’d get sick, and you’d be lonely.”
“That’s not it,” I chuckled. “I realize now that what I would want would be a big brother.”
“Why would you want a big brother instead?” Mitch asked.
“Because if my big brother was anything like you, I know he’d take care of me,” I said. “Just like you take care of Frank.”
“It’s hard being the big brother sometimes,” Mitch pouted.
“I’m sure it is,” I told him. “I don’t think I could handle it as well as you do.”
“Probably not,” he said with a small shrug. “It’s a lot of work.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But you make your little brother really happy.”
“I wish I could see him.” He frowned.
“Tell you what,” I said. “There’s some people downstairs playing board games. If you go join them for a little and try to have some fun, then I’ll see if I can get you in to see your brother again.”
“Really?” he asked with a small smile on his face.
“Really.” I grinned and tousled his hair.
“Mitch!” Kimmy exclaimed, and she rounded the corner into the room quickly, clutching her chest with one hand and holding baby Anthony with the other. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Sorry.” The young boy frowned.
“It’s okay,” Kimmy said, and she walked over and put her hand on his small face. “You scared me, that’s all.”
“Kimmy,” I said softly. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Of course,” Kimmy said, but she looked at me with surprise.
“I told Mitch to go downstairs and play games,” I said after I led her to the hallway.
“Okay.” She nodded.
“But he really wants to see his brother,” I said.
“I know,” she sighed. “But Justin asked me to watch him again, and I don’t want to disobey their wishes.”
“There’s some little snack cakes in the gym,” I told her. “After a while of playing games, take him over there with you.”
“Sneaky,” Kimmy said with a grin.
“If Marla asks just tell her I told you to,” I said with a smile.
“Alright,” Kimmy said, and she leaned back into the room. “Mitch, sweetie, come on back downstairs.”
The small boy hopped off the bed and walked over to us, then he stopped and looked up at me with a genuine smile.