“Your home?” He rocked back onto his heels. “You had the code and the locks changed. What else should I have done?” Indignation came to a boil in his gut. It wasn’t like he had been traipsing around and partying. He had worked hard this past year.
“Umm, let’s see, a phone call perhaps? Since we’re on that conversation, you never thought to call even once during the last year? Never once wanted to make sure your family was okay or let us know you were still alive? Oh, yeah, and maybe a heads up your checks wouldn’t be coming in? Then you tramp back here expecting everything to be like it was as if you had only been gone a day!”
Blake swallowed the reaction he wanted to spit at her. His fists clenched and unclenched as he watched her pace and flail the bat and Taser around. Then, as if everything dawned on him, he realized he had heard no trace of Tucker.
“Where’s my son?” He shot to his feet and strode straight to the boy’s room. The walls were lined full of pictures from the survival magazines Blake had sent him. Tucker’s hammock hung between the walls, empty. It swung back and forth as Blake searched his room for any sign of his son. They had a protocol should someone unwanted enter the home, but he wasn’t in any of his hiding spots.
Blake strode out of the room, a rage building inside him. He almost ran into Kris, who stood there, arms crossed across her slight chest and her eyes cold and unyielding.
“He’s at a friend’s.” Her voice held the same coldness her eyes did.
“At ten o’clock at night! I told you to never let him be that far away from you. Why don’t you ever listen to what I say?” Frustration pounded in him, pushing out reason. He noticed his fury and consciously let his hands hang by his sides while he internally counted.
Kris rolled her eyes and walked away. “Always the pessimist. Besides, you lost the right to demand what I do or don’t do when you left for a year and didn’t even have enough consideration to contact us—at all!”
“You know how it is. You know I can’t just pick up a phone and call you. When I’m undercover, anything I do could be linked back to you and Tucker. I can’t chance that.” He ran his hand through his short hair, his heart aching with need to see his son, to make sure he was alive and well, to make sure he didn’t hate him like his mother obviously did.
Her eyes followed his hand. “Just like you can’t chance wearing your wedding ring?”
If she could breathe fire, Blake had a feeling she would be right now. Jealousy flared in her eyes as well as distrust and pure livid rage. A rage as red as her long hair.
“I can’t wear it on assignment, and I couldn’t get back into headquarters to retrieve it.” A flash of the two body bags passed through his mind once again. He shook off the goosebumps that rippled through him. Somehow, he needed to get her to listen.
“Sure, headquarters.” She turned her back to him and walked out into the living room.
“Look, Krista, Baby, you’ve got to listen to me.” He followed her, watching helplessly while she slumped into their couch. “Something is going down, and soon. I barely escaped.”
Her eyes met his sharply. They bore into him as if she dug for the truth in his words. Her lips pursed tight, but he had her attention.
“They started dispatching my squad. All the top officials are heading toward their bunkers if they aren’t already there. I came back as fast as I could, but now we have to get our son and get into our bunker. I don’t know when the attack will hit.”
Kris watched him, her gaze hard and dark. Then she did the last thing he expected. She laughed. Not the belly-full-of-joy laugh that he longed to hear, but a merciless laugh devoid of mirth.
“You’re gone a year, without a word to us, then come home out of nowhere and expect me to allow you to lock us into that stinking bunker with you?”
“I sent you the contact I could.”
“A magazine?! Really?”
“Yes, and the messages in them...”
Kris’s phone rang from near her purse where it still lay on the floor, contents strewn about. She ran to the device as if her life depended on it.
“Is everything okay?” She hastily exhaled, her eyes frantic and the knuckles holding the phone white. “Of course, it’s his first attempt. I’m sure it will. Yes, I’ll be down there in about ten minutes. Let him know I’m on my way.”
She ended the call and turned toward Blake.
“I’m leaving to get Tucker now.” Her eyes flickered across his, but wouldn’t stay.
“I’m going with you.” He stood and took a step toward the door.
“The hell you are. You are going to be gone by the time we get back. He doesn’t need you traipsing in and out of his life, and neither do I.” Even with fists shoved into her hips and fire in her eyes, a deep wanting filled him. He loved her tenacity, though he didn’t necessarily desire it directed at him.
“You can’t do that.” His words were simple and direct. The fight had left him. He knew she had no choice but to listen. It would only be a matter of time.
“You can go fight it in court, but right now, you need to leave, or I’ll have to call the cops.” Her bottom lip quivered as she said the words.
“You don’t get it, Kris. Very soon there will be no courts, there will be no cops, there will only be survival...and you will need me.” He had hoped she would be easier to convince, but the fact was it would come down to this...to survival.
“Right now I need you to leave.” With that, she stuffed the contents back into her purse and walked out the door.
If he didn’t know her as well as he did and situations weren’t so dire, he would think it was over. No more marriage, no more love. Yet, as she had said the last words and cleaned up, her bottom lip had trembled and her watery eyes wouldn’t meet his. She was hurt and angry, and in truth she had no reason to trust him.
He could grant her a reprieve, let her win this fight. He knew the war would be upon them soon, and he would not let them fight through this disaster alone.
After her tail lights faded, he went through his hidden compartments in the house, collecting guns, ammunition, and other gear. He wouldn’t leave, but he would prepare. He hoisted the items in the pack on his back and hiked out to the fence-line and their bunker. It wasn’t nearly as luxurious as the ones he had found placements for, but it would be enough for him and his family. Kris would see how much she needed him. She would come around. He knew it, he knew it as much as he knew that disaster would strike at any moment, and he had to be ready.
~3~
Kris let her tears fall unbidden on the drive to pick up Tucker. The road blurred, making it difficult to see. She swiped at her eyes and sniffled. How dare Blake appear out of nowhere and start demanding ludicrous expectations!
Through her anger, her memory of his green eyes blazed. How had she forgotten how handsome he was? Her anger at his absence was so deep because of the depth of her love. She knew that. When you loved someone that much, the pain that he could cause you ran deeper than the Grand Canyon and just as wild as the river that made it.
Her fingers dug into the steering wheel. Love or not, he had been gone without a word for over a year. How could she excuse that kind of behavior? It wasn’t just her anymore.
Her thoughts focused on her little boy. He worshiped his dad. It had taken Tucker months of moping around after Blake left this time before he settled into his absence. She couldn’t have her boy’s heart subjected to that type of abuse. It wasn’t fair to him or her.
A flash of color streamed across the sky. Kris took her foot off the gas and leaned forward for a better look, but the color had disappeared. Only the bright moonlight filled the sky. Maybe it had only been a weird reflection. She shook her head. Blake’s paranoia fuddled her thinking. That was the last thing she needed.
As she turned into the housing development where Sara lived, she took deep, long breaths. Her son needed her right now. He was scared and probably embarrassed. She needed to be fully present with him, not lost in some doomsday future he
r husband had created. Though with all the things happening, doomsday thoughts nagged on her mind.
She pulled up to the house, and her heart squeezed with love for her son. Tucker’s face was squished against the living room window. As soon as he saw her, the curtain dropped, and a moment later the front door ripped open. She quickly climbed out of the car and onto the sidewalk where he ran into her open arms.
“Mommy!” He nestled into her neck and squeezed her like he hadn’t seen her for a week.
“Oh, Sweetie. You okay?” She knelt down and looked into his green eyes so much like the ones she had just ordered to disappear out of their lives.
“Yeah.” He looked down and scuffed his shoe on the ground. He had put his shoes on over his footie pajamas, and Kris had to suppress the smile at the innocent image. “My thoughts just wouldn’t stop. If a big catastrophe happens, I want to be with you.”
“Oh, Tuck,” she said as she brought him back in her arms. A ripple of anger at her husband traveled through her like fire through a pile of straw. If Blake hadn’t planted all this crazy survival stuff in the boy’s head, Tucker wouldn’t have so many fears and nightmares.
“I just wanna come home.”
“Of course.” She stood and held his hand as they walked to the still flung-open front door.
Sara met them there with Tucker’s bag and a smile. “I’m sorry.”
“Please don’t be. He was brave to try,” Kris said as she took the bag and squeezed Tucker against her.
“Yes, he was, and he’s welcome to try again any time.” Sara reached out and tussled Tucker’s hair. “Vinny’s already asleep. He’ll be excited to see you at school on Monday.”
“Thank you, Ms. Sara.” He hid against his mom’s legs.
“Thank you, Sara. See you Monday.”
They waved goodbye and walked hand-in-hand to the car. Tucker yawned as Kris helped him with his seat belt.
“I’m tired.”
“I bet. It’s way past your bedtime.” She kissed him on the tip of his nose, shut his door, and then climbed into the driver’s seat.
Back on the road, she sensed an eerie silence. How long had it been since she drove on their mountain roads this late at night? The woods loomed alongside the highway in the darkness. She flicked her high beams on and kept a good look out for any deer or other wildlife. She had hit a raccoon once, and it nearly broke her heart.
On the way down to pick Tucker up, her anger had consumed her thoughts so much she hadn’t noticed the deserted roads. Now, with her scared son in the back seat, the realization hit her with a slight flutter. Camping season had ended, though it was still warm enough, and ski season hadn’t started. The only traffic they had were locals, and even on a Saturday night that didn’t account for much.
“Mommy?”
“Yeah, Tuck?”
“What are those strange lights in the sky?”
Kris leaned forward to look out the windshield better. Sure enough, wavering colors lit the sky, like pictures she had seen showing the northern lights. Yet, that couldn’t be...they were in central California.
She slowed to a crawl while watching the lights. Their beauty only slightly mollified the crazy, unsettled quivering traveling through her.
“They’re auroras, right? I didn’t think we could see them this far south.” Hearing those big words from her son’s mouth caused her to shake her head in wonder.
“You’re right, Sweetie. We usually can’t see them here.”
“You don’t think it’s a sign of a solar storm, do you?” Tuck’s voice quivered. “Solar storms can be really bad, a real catastrophe.”
Kris’s heart began beating at a quicker pace. “I’m not sure, but let’s get home and search Google, okay?”
“Okay. I feel safer at home anyway. We have all of our survival gear there.”
Kris sat back in her seat, her hands gripping the steering wheel until they ached. Her six-year-old shouldn’t have to be worried about natural disasters and needing survival gear to feel safe. Clenching her teeth, she pressed down on the gas to get home as fast as possible. Blake had better be gone. By the time she got there, she wasn’t sure if she could control her rage.
The car sputtered. She glanced down at her gas gauge. It read over half-full. What in the world?
She pressed the gas harder, but the car kept sputtering and lurching. The lights in the dash flickered, and the radio turned channels like a seek sensor with too much caffeine. Pressing the off button repeatedly did nothing to stop the blaring sound.
“Mommy?” Tuck’s voice held every ounce of fear that dripped through her system.
She glanced at him in the mirror.
His wide eyes brimmed with tears and his lip quivered.
“It’s going to be alright, Sweetie. The car is just having issues.”
Deep breaths. Her heart hammered loudly, adding a rhythmic base to the frantic sounds of the radio. She maneuvered the car over to a turnout on the side of the deserted highway just as wires began crackling in the dashboard. Smoke tendrils rose from the gauges and radio. The flickering headlights went dark and the radio faded out, leaving an eerie silence.
The pungent smell of electrical burning drove her to action. “Let’s get out of the car. Quickly.” She turned to Tucker and helped him unfasten his belt.
“Wait! My survival magazine!” He crawled back to his bag and yanked it with him as Kris pulled him from the car with her.
“We have to hurry,” Kris urged him. She didn’t know why the frantic feeling coursed through her, but she had learned to listen to her intuition. Her instincts told her she had to get him away from the car.
She wrapped an arm around his shoulder tightly, pulling him as fast as his little legs could go. Behind them she heard a sizzling whoosh, like a big balloon had sprung a leak. Tucker dug his heels in and turned. Flames reflected in his eyes. Kris didn’t take time to look back. She picked up her son and ran towards the forest to duck behind a wall of large evergreens.
She had just shoved Tucker behind the biggest spruce and covered him with her body when she heard explosions from everywhere around her. All the transformers on the power poles sparked and fizzed. A blast of hot air whipped past them. Her ears thrummed with the deep vibrations. Tucker didn’t scream. He just clung to her as tightly as his little arms could squeeze.
After the last explosions blasted, she peeked out to see the car crackle in flames. Kris’s mind cleared enough to wonder what in the world could have happened to make her car catch on fire and transformers to explode.
She looked towards the aurora-filled skies, tears streaming down her face. She internally screamed at the heavens, asking for help.
Her answer didn’t come with mercy. It came with explosions and havoc. The few houses in the stretch of forest between her home and the town of Forest Glen where Sara lived threw sparks in the air. Not enough to catch them on fire, but enough that their lights flickered off and billows of smoke reflected the colored lights in the sky.
Towards town more explosions sputtered, muted in the distance. The electricity lines sparked and crackled loudly at the smaller transformers.
“What’s happening, Mommy?”
“I don’t know.” Kris pulled Tucker tighter to her. With the dry summer and fall they had, she worried about all of those sparks starting wildfires. A shiver coursed through her as she clutched her son.
“Dad will find us. He will. He said he would!”
Kris pulled back to look him in the eyes. She opened her mouth, but she couldn’t form any words. How could she tell him that she had just told his dad never to return?
Was this what Blake had been talking about? The attack? What kind of attack could cause cars and electrical panels to spark and blow up?
Tucker had a good point. Maybe she should call Blake. Even if she was angry with him, he would know what to do. She reached for her cell phone only to realize she had left it in her purse, which now was surely ablaze along with everything
else in her car. So much for the survival bag Blake had stashed in there.
“Come on, Tuck. We need to keep moving. It’s not too far to walk home. It will be like a night hike.” She stood up and pulled him up with her. “We can do this. We will do it together.”
Her brave son nodded, readjusted his backpack, and squeezed her hand back as if his life depended on it, and it just might. Kris bit her cheeks and blinked rapidly. She didn’t have time to think about what was happening. She only had one goal: get her boy home and safe.
~*~
Blake had just finished dumping another load into the bunker and crawled out the door when he heard the crackling in the power lines back at the house. He shielded his eyes as the small transformer blew, sending sparks spraying into the air like fireworks.
It’s happening.
Adrenaline surged through him as he threw the bunker door shut and sprinted towards the house. Kris’s car was still missing. His heart raced, and more fear coursed through him than ever did on any of his assignments. Clenching his fists, he lifted his head and let out a roar. He had let her go without him, against all of his instincts.
The rock of guilt in his gut weighed him down, but he didn’t let it slow him as he ran into the house. Flinging open the closet door, he saw the emergency pack right where he had stashed it years ago. Thank goodness Kris had enough sense to let that one stay.
His hand instinctively felt his belt for the reassuring weight of his pistol in its holster and the rounds of bullets. Slinging the backpack over his shoulder as he checked the locks on the house, he jogged down the long driveway to where he had left his Jeep.
With the way the sparks showered from the transformer, he was sure the electricity had surged, probably from an electromagnetic pulse. Who had set off the EMP? He wondered how powerful it had been. Had it taken out vehicles, too? He didn’t know if his Jeep would run or not, but he had to try. It would get him to his family quicker if it did.
He scrambled over the gate, swearing again. Why did she have to go and change the code? His Jeep lay hidden at the end of the private road. Sticking the key in the ignition, he asked for a granting of mercy, but only silence answered him. Not even a click sounded.
Grant Us Mercy (Book 1): Grant Us Mercy Page 3