by N A Broadley
Brian shook his head and laughed. “Thanks, kiddo,”
He handed the jug back. Stephen’s eyes shone with adoration when he looked up at Brian. He’d been Brian’s shadow since his rescue and had now become his little sidekick.
“We go to eat now?” Stephen asked. Brian nodded and hoisted the boy onto his shoulders, causing him to squeal with laughter. He didn’t know what this boy had gone through, but whatever had happened to him set his mind back a bit. Although he looked to be about ten or eleven, his mannerisms and maturity level equaled that of a five or six-year-old. Brian didn’t mind though. He smiled, lifting the boy to his shoulders. He heard Stephen laugh as he carried the boy on his shoulders toward the community kitchen for lunch.
After he got a plate for the boy, he fixed one for himself and sat at the table with Cain, Rusty, and Spike. He thought about how close Stephen had grown to him over the past week. The boy attached himself to Brian for love, protection, and comfort. All which he had plenty of to give. But what about when he left? How would that affect Stephen? Right now, he lived with Leslie and two other little girls that were rescued. Mary Anne had assigned each of the refugee’s homes at the compound. Barbs lived with Jamie and Terri, Mel lived with Jaden and Chelsie. Lastly, Karen lived with Ben.
Brian knew Leslie adored little Stephen; in fact, everyone adored the little boy. She worked with him every day on his speech, taking care of him like he was one of her own. Brian thought to talk with her later. He hoped his leaving wouldn’t set the boy back even further. But hell, he couldn’t take him with them. Not out on the trail.
The afternoon ran long and hot. Brian worked with Beth on upping her self-defense with hand to hand combat. He’d been working with her and Sarah, along with training others at the compound. He came at her with his knife in hand, and she quickly sidestepped him and nailed him with a well-placed kick to his back. He twirled and brought his leg under hers, sweeping her legs out and landing her in the dirt hard. He heard the grunt of pain and she glared up at him.
“What the heck, Bri!” she hissed. He stood over her and glared down at her.
“Never mind the bitching. I told you, you can’t beat me with brute force. You’ve got to be quicker, Beth! Use your balance, outmaneuver! Do you think the enemy is going to stop just because you are hurt? Or bitching?”
With a hiss, she stood up and spread her legs, checking her balance and glared at him.
He moved in again, this time swinging his knife low while ramming his shoulder into her midsection. He heard the air whoosh out of her, and he pulled his weight at the last minute. She tumbled and came up off the ground, furious. With a well-placed kick, she nailed him in the stomach then followed up with a hard punch that made him see stars. He backed away and dodged her next strike. He could tell though, that she wasn’t giving him her best. She played around, not taking his training seriously. Grinding his teeth, he glared at her.
“That’s better, Beth, but not good enough,” he hissed. She moved in again, this time feinting to the left, and he countered her move with a quick backhand to her face. She hissed. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Feigning defeat, she bent over and scooped up a hand full of sand throwing it into his face. Blinded, he struggled to see her through weeping eyes while she rained blows onto him.
“You drew blood, you bastard!” she yelled. She angrily pummeled him with her fists. He threw his hands up over his head. Moving in, he grabbed her and pinned her arms to her sides while she struggled furiously. He flung her onto the ground where she landed with a thud then lunged on top of her.
He grabbed both of her arms with one hand and pinned them above her head. He grimaced when he felt her struggle wildly beneath him. He moved one hand to her throat and applied just enough pressure to scare her. His stomach lurched queasily when he saw the terror in her eyes. He hated himself for what he did. He hated that this was the only way he could make her see how dangerous the enemy could be. He’d noticed over the past weeks, that no matter how much he pressed upon her the danger that surrounded them, she hadn’t taken it seriously. Even with Roger’s death, she had still carried that air of naiveté. She still roamed the compound without carrying her weapon. She still walked around like nothing bad could ever happen. Other than showing her, other than this right here, he didn’t know how to wake her up to the dangers they all faced. He looked deep into her eyes, and his heart broke. He growled into her ear.
“Now what? What will you do, Beth?”
He felt her go limp beneath him, and his blood boiled with anger. He’d be damned if he let her give up! Through gritted teeth, he smiled coldly at her and hissed.
“Fight! Remember the man that attacked you on the trail? You fight, Beth, you fight with everything you got because he wouldn’t have stopped for your tears. He wouldn’t have stopped for your screams! He would have hurt you, Beth, in ways you couldn’t imagine!”
He saw tears spring up in her eyes. She bucked her hips, trying to throw him off. He saw the hatred on her face, and it nearly crushed him. He bent his face close to her, and he saw the tiny glint that sparked in her eyes. She slammed her head up and into his face. His nose gushed blood, and his eyes watered. He leaned back and felt her take the opportunity as she exploded with fury from under him, knocking him away from her. She twisted and bucked, kicked and shimmied. He watched her roll to her feet, and she launched a kick at his face. He ducked, catching her leg and spinning it out from under her. He heard her grunt in pain when she hit the ground with a thud. He watched in surprise as she launched herself onto his back, climbing him like a tree, and he hissed in surprise when she wrapped an arm around his throat from behind and laid her blade against his throat. He felt her body shaking like a live wire. She sobbed into his ear.
“I hate you—you bastard!” He felt her climb down off his back, and he turned. Her face crumpled with hatred and horror at what he’d just done to her. He looked at her, his eyes filled with sadness.
“I hate me too, Beth.”
Turning, he brushed off his pants with a shaking hand. Disgust, in himself, roiled in his gut. He began to walk away when he heard her hiss softly behind him.
“You don’t get to draw blood, Brian.”
“I do, and I will, if that’s what it takes to wake you up. Do you think your enemy is gonna care if they draw blood?” he asked softly. His eyes pleaded for understanding. He watched tears course down her face as she looked at him. His heart broke. “Beth, I’m sorry I drew blood. I hate that we have to do this.”
He stood silently and waited, his hands hanging at his side. Emotions flitted across her face as she processed what he’d just done to her—anger, hatred, and fear. Holding his breath, he watched her walk away.
∞
Mitch watched Brian and Beth circle each other. His face darkened with fury when he saw Brian throw the woman onto the ground. In his opinion, he was too rough with her. He understood that the man had to teach her how to defend herself, but his roughness made Mitch want to kick his ass. Turning, he walked away before he could do something he’d probably regret later.
He strode angrily across the compound. He saw Spike coming from the community kitchen and made his way toward him with a scowl on his face.
“You are crazy to have that man training the women in hand to hand,” he snapped. He stopped in front of Spike. Spike shot him a confused look.
“Just what in the hell are you talking about?” he asked. He lifted the cup of coffee he carried to his mouth and took a sip.
“That, Brian! He’s too rough! I just watched him beating the hell out of that woman, Beth.”
Spike shook his head and smirked. He’d felt the tension between Brian and Mitch and knew it would come to a head sooner or later.
“Do you know who he is? Who he really is?” Mitch asked, his face red with anger.
Spike sighed. He knew Mitch would figure it out. As a fellow law enforcement officer, there was no way he wouldn’t have heard of Brian the Butcher
.
“I know exactly who he is. I also know that I would want that man to have my back if the shit went south. Do you know who he is? Who he really is? What his history is? Because I do. I know he would lay down his life for any of us here at the compound. I’ve seen him go against Bobby and his men despite the odds to save Sarah. Man, you don’t know as much as you think you know,” Spike replied angrily. Mitch glared at him and shook his head.
“I know more than you think, boy,” he muttered. “I know what my eyes see, and I see a killer. I see a man who takes pleasure in being rough with the women he’s training. I see a cocky, overconfident bully who’s gonna get someone hurt unless he’s brought to heel,” he growled. Spike felt his face flush with anger. He didn’t know this man well, only the stories his grandfather had shared with him about their friendship.
“He is rough! He has to be! Don’t you get it, man? These people,” he replied, waving his hand around the compound, “they are untrained, weak and soft! Roger, God love him, was too easy on this community. When it came right down to it, he let these people off the hook, believing this compound could never fall. Well, guess what? It can fall; it will fall unless we start getting tough. So, if Brian is rough in his training, there is a reason. He sees the weakness here. And he cares enough to want to help these people defend themselves against those that would love nothing better than to harm them.”
Mitch scowled. Although what Spike said made sense, he just couldn’t shake the uneasiness he felt about Brian.
“I hear ya. But don’t trust Brian too much. There’s something about him, something I can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s there. My gut tells me this man ain’t all that you believe him to be. Aside from his reputation, something ain’t right with him,” he said. Turning, he walked away, leaving Spike staring at his retreating back.
∞
Sarah stood with her shoulders back and peered through the scope. Rusty gave her a nod, and she pulled the trigger. A resounding bang filled her ears, and she watched the tin can that sat on the wooden fence, jump, and tumble.
“Great shot! Damn, girl! You are getting good!” Rusty said, then laughed. He walked the distance and picked up the can. Her bullet had hit it dead center. He’d been training with her for a week, teaching her how to scope in her target, how to clean the rifle and handgun, how to reload quickly, how to shoot from both standing, sitting and lying positions. She grew more confident with each session and more accurate. At the compound, they’d split up the duties; with him, at the shooting range training; Brian, with the hand to hand combat training; and Spike, teaching seek and cover, perimeter patrol and sniper training from the treetop nests. Since their confrontation with Bobby’s gang, they had all upped their game as far as preparing to defend the compound. Leslie, Mel, Barbs, and Karen had all joined in the group activities as well as several other women that they had rescued. Rusty couldn’t keep their names straight to save his life, but he could tell you which ones could shoot the eye out of a pigeon, and Sarah happened to be one of the women who could do that.
Glancing at the angle of the sun, he nodded to Sarah. “Good enough for today, kiddo. I’ve got a meeting to attend so clean up the rifle and police your brass,” Rusty instructed.
He turned and made his way to Mary Anne’s house. They needed to work on the rotating guard duty list, and she wanted his input on who to assign for this week’s rotation. Since Roger’s death, he’d been called to take on more and more of the chores that Roger had once taken care of. Assigning guards for weekly duty was one of those chores. He didn’t mind. Mary Anne had enough on her plate, dealing with running the everyday operations of the compound. It would make him more than happy if he could ease some of the workload for her.
∞
Darkness found Beth and Brian bent over a map spread out on the small kitchen table. The soft glow from an oil lamp cast shadows into the corners. She was still a bit angry with him, but she also saw the lesson for what it was. He’d reminded her time and time again over the past week to carry her weapon with her, and she’d carelessly ignored him. Yes, perhaps she was a bit naïve, as he had accused her of being, but she hated the thought of always living in fear, always having to watch her surroundings for the bad men, as he called them. She wanted to be able to live life, happy and carefree like she used to before the event; not always being reminded by him of the dangers that surrounded them. She wasn’t as naïve as he thought her to be. She knew these were dangerous times; she just chose not to focus on that danger every minute of every day. Shaking her head, she sighed and brought her attention back to the map in front of her.
The Appalachian Trail, a deep line in purple, zig-zagged across squiggly elevation lines. From Connecticut to Tennessee, it didn’t look all that far on the map; but they both knew better. Mary Anne had discussed with them their journey. She would provide them with horses and supplies. She’d sent out a radio call to all her friends along the route who all agreed to help. Through hours of discussion and coordination, they finalized the plans. In specific towns along the way, a friend in their HAM radio network would meet with the group, resupply their food and medicine, and provide fresh horses. They would also offer rest spots where Brian, Sarah, Beth, and Jessie would be able to stay a day or two to get off the trail. Brian shook his head in astonishment at how quickly Mary Anne had pulled it all together.
“The second week of June?” Beth suggested. Brian nodded.
“Will your hip be up to it by then?”
Beth smiled. It would be. She felt better and better with each passing day. Her hip only bothered her when she became overtired after pushing herself too hard on one project or another.
“I’ll have plenty of Tylenol in my backpack.”
He nodded but worry, shadowed his expression. Out there, on the trail, they would be pushing hard each day. Yes, this time they would be riding horses instead of walking, but there would still be some challenging terrain to cross, some long days of sitting in the saddle. And time was not on their side. Leaving mid-June for a trip that was just shy of one thousand miles would land them in Tennessee in late October. That was, if they didn’t run into any problems along the way. A knock on the door startled them both, and Brian got up to answer it.
“Hey?” Spike said. Brian smiled and greeted his friend with a nod.
“Can we talk?”
“Sure, come into the kitchen,” Brian said.
Spike followed him into the tiny kitchen and nodded a greeting to Beth. Brian sat back down on his chair and looked at Spike.
“What’s up?”
“Well, I wanted to talk to you both about going with you to Tennessee,” he replied. He wrung his hands nervously. Brian shot a look at Beth.
“What? Why?” Beth asked. She couldn’t believe he would want to leave Mary Anne and the compound.
“I need a fresh start. I can’t bear to stay here. With my wife and children gone, well, I feel I want to head out and start over,” he replied, his eyes filling with sadness.
Beth nodded. Oh, how she understood. She felt the same when she’d lost her husband—the need for a fresh start, somewhere away from the ghosts of the memories.
Brian clapped a firm hand on Spike’s shoulder and looked into his eyes.
“Of course, you can come with us. Man, I’d be more than happy if you did. But have you talked to Mary Anne about this? I mean, you’re all she’s got left for family.”
Spike nodded. He did talk to his grandmother. Although she hadn’t been happy about it, she understood his need to go away for a while. And he assured her that it wouldn’t be for good, just for a while until he could pull his head together. He hadn’t taken the time to grieve his family or his grandfather properly. He hadn’t taken the time to process it all. By traveling with Brian and Beth, Sarah and Jessie, he would allow himself that time.
“Then absolutely, you can come with us,” Beth said. Getting up, she walked over and hugged him. Their little group of three just became four plus
a dog.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Just before dawn Mary Anne heard the radio squawk. Darkness filtered through the house, casting shadows in every corner. Dressed in her bathrobe, she made her way to the basement carrying an oil lamp that cast a soft glow over the stairs. Picking up the mike and sitting in Roger’s chair, she keyed in her call sign. Immediately Naomi Stilter spoke back to her.
“Hey. How are you?”
“I’m still kicking like an old worn-out mule,” Mary Anne replied.
“Well, ya got some trouble coming your way. Big time trouble.” Naomi replied. Mary Anne’s heart sank.
“Fill me in.”
For the next twenty minutes, she listened while Naomi filled her in on what was happening a hundred or so miles south of the compound. A branch of the Alliance had broken away from the main force and was hell-bent headed toward her community; an army of what looked to be a few hundred. They somehow got wind of the battle between the compound and one of their own, Bobby’s gang.
“So how do you know all this?” Mary Anne asked.
“Because I’ve had spies watching them since April. They’ve been reporting back to us about their progress and plans,” she explained. With a heavy sigh, Mary Anne leaned back in the chair and processed what Naomi was telling her. They didn’t have enough manpower to hold back an army of two hundred.
“I’m sending help to you folk. My guys should be at your door in a few days. We’ve got to stop this group from moving any further into our territory,” Naomi continued. “We can’t lose the North East to a bunch of gang-banging thugs!”
“Roger that!” Mary Anne replied. She would have to call an emergency meeting. Rusty would need to know about this, and they would all need to start preparing. Wearily she signed off and leaned back in the chair. She closed her eyes.
“Damn it, Roger! Why’d you go and have to get yourself killed?” she whispered into the silence.
News of an early morning meeting rousted Beth, Sarah, and Brian from their beds and they sleepily stumbled to the community kitchen where Spike, Cain, Rusty, Mitch, and Mary Anne sat, talking quietly and downing coffee. Once several more members of the community arrived, including Stinky, Mary Anne stood and filled them in on what Naomi told her.