by Connor Mccoy
“How do you know Sykes?” Jacob asked, “Did you work for him before the EMP?”
“No, not before everything shut down. I used to do oil changes and car maintenance. After the EMP, there wasn’t much use for my skills. But soon after all hell broke loose, someone I worked with told me that Sykes still had operable trucks. Terri and I went to him. We thought he’d have an answer for what was going on, like maybe the government was giving him supplies as part of a big rescue operation.” Guy chuckled.
“Turned out the guy was just crazy prepared. He had heard all the stories about the sun activity and figured something big was about to go down. So, he switched over to older trucks and made sure they still could run, even after an EMP hit the Earth.”
“And that’s why he’s going after all the gas he can find,” Domino said.
Guy chuckled again. “The man’s like J.R. from Dallas, if you cross him with a James Bond villain. He’s got some men helping him. They’re taking down all the gas stations in the area, raiding them, stealing the gas. That will let him carry tons of food and supplies across this state.”
“And anyone who doesn’t give him what he wants can starve, right?” Domino asked.
Sheryl scowled. “God, I can’t believe this is happening. Can’t anyone stop him?”
“That’s what happens when society breaks down.” Jacob bit his lip. “It’s the Golden Rule, but not the one you’re thinking of. ‘He who has the gold makes the rules.’ Sykes’s gold is fuel, running trucks, and all the food he can lay his hands on.”
“It wasn’t a bad deal for us.” Boss finally spoke up, still sounding bitter.
“It’s not as if the government flew down from the skies in choppers to save us, to give us food and water. We did what we had to do.” Boss pointed to the wall behind her. “As far as we knew, this place was ditched. No one was coming back here.”
“That’s a hell of an assumption.” Domino approached a step closer. “It’s not like we were an hour’s drive away. It may have taken us about a week, but we made it back.”
“Well, I guess you’re the lucky ones,” Boss replied.
“Guy and I were in East Palm just a couple of days ago before Sykes drove us out here. There were bodies up and down the street. Some of them had been shot. Some of them, who knows, maybe they died on the street from the stress of it all. I counted them. I got up to thirty-five before I stopped and puked. So, yeah, I didn’t think anyone caught in this hell was likely to make it home.”
“Fine, you two were desperate,” Jacob said quickly, before Domino could speak up. “I can understand that, just as long as you understand that this house is back with its rightful owners. So, what I say from here on goes. Now, I want to know what Sykes is going to do next. He’s coming back here, right? He wants your latest haul.”
“Yeah,” Wickers said, “At least two more days. Sykes could come at any time after that.”
Sheryl walked up to Jacob. “That means…”
“Yeah, we’re going to butt heads with him,” Jacob replied.
“He doesn’t look like the type of guy who’s going to take this lying down. He’s going to want this house back, and I get the feeling he’ll fight for it.” Narrowing his eyes at Wickers, Jacob asked, “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yeah,” Wickers said, his voice sounding dry. “I don’t doubt it. Sykes can get real ugly when he wants to be.”
“Which is why Guy and I don’t want to hang around here any longer,” Boss said.
“We know that,” Domino said. “We heard your plan to ditch Courtney and plug Arnie.”
“Like I said before, can you blame us?” Boss asked.
“Murdering a man who’s got some mental issues?” Jacob asked. “Yeah, I damn sure can blame you. I also don’t like the idea of leaving a teenage girl by herself with no adults to look after her.”
“Look, you have your house back. No harm, no foul.” Wickers spread out his hands. “You know our story. We got nothing against you, and we don’t want anything more to do with Sykes or your farm. Just let us go.”
Jacob exchanged a look with Domino. He guessed they were thinking the same thing. There was no point in punishing these two. If they wanted out and they weren’t going to be a problem for the Avery family in the future, then so be it. Jacob rather would worry about the inevitable meeting with Jimmy Sykes then spare another second thinking about these two.
“You two plan on getting far away from here, like you said earlier?” Jacob asked, recalling Boss and Wickers’s earlier conversation.
“You bet. I don’t want to be in the same state with Sykes,” Wickers said.
Jacob glanced out the window. “Well, there’s no sense letting you two loose in the dark. It’s going to be night soon. Here’s the deal. I’ll let you sleep here tonight. I’ll give you some canned foods, some water, and you’ll leave early tomorrow morning. And I want you to make good on that pledge to get your asses far from here.”
Wickers smiled. “Hey, I won’t argue with that.” Boss nodded once.
“One more thing,” Domino said before the pair rose from the sofa. “Did you run into a man named Alexander Cowell? He would be part of Sykes’s men. He’s got a reddish-brown beard, pretty thin, a bit of a hard face, and he might look about as tall as my husband.”
“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Wickers said.
“He wasn’t the guy who found the place,” Domino quickly added.
“Nope. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t,” Wickers said.
“Oh.” Domino shrank back. “Okay.”
“Why?” Wickers asked.
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t really want to think about him,” Domino said.
Jubilee stepped into her bedroom for the first time in a while, and yet coming back here felt as ordinary as if she just had returned from an outing at a friend’s or from a sporting event. Except for the dim candle lights and warm air, nothing seemed that different.
Well, scratch that. To her annoyance, Jubilee discovered the clothes in her drawers and closet had been rummaged through.
She groaned. Courtney slept in here, didn’t she? She must have been looking for something to wear.
She heard footsteps at her door. Jubilee turned around. Courtney was looking in on her with a somewhat fidgety stance. “Hey,” Courtney said. “Um, I wanted to tell you, you could have the room back.” She smiled. “I mean, not that you needed me to say that. I know you’d probably kick my ass and take it back yourself.”
Jubilee almost smiled. That was a pretty funny line. “I guess you know about my MMA stuff.”
“Yeah.” Courtney looked past Jubilee, toward her closet. “How long have you been doing that?”
“A few years,” Jubilee said. “It seems like I’ve been doing it forever.”
“Have you ever got in a fight?” Courtney asked.
“What, you mean a real fight?”
“No.” Courtney shook her head. “God, I don’t know what I’m saying. A match. Yeah, that’s it.”
“I’ve done sparring, but I’ve haven’t had my first match. I was training for that.” Jubilee sighed. “But I’m sure I’m never going to do that now.”
Jubilee’s fingers tapped on one of her open drawers, which exposed a pile of rumpled up shirts. Courtney gazed into the drawer, her cheeks turning red. “I guess I left your room a bit of a mess.”
Jubilee shrugged. “It’s okay.”
Courtney chuckled. “It’s not like anything in here fit me anyway. Don’t worry, I never wore anything of yours.”
Jubilee took a look at Courtney’s frame. She had changed out of the overalls and boots and now was wearing her old clothes, which, although a tad baggy, didn’t hide the fact that Courtney was bigger in build than Jubilee.
I wonder what’s going to happen to you, Jubilee thought but did not ask out loud. Are you going to stay here? Jubilee’s dad indicated that might happen. Where would Courtney sleep? Would she bunk out in here with Jubilee?
> “Oh, your dad gave me a sleeping bag. I can catch some Z’s in the living room. I’m sure you want your room to yourself,” Courtney said.
“Oh.” Jubilee breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “That’s cool.”
The two paused for a while. Jubilee wondered what else to say. If the two were about to become housemates, they probably should get to know each other. It might be cool to have another girl around here, Jubilee thought.
“Say,” Jubilee asked, “do you like fishing?”
“Fishing?” Courtney gave it some thought. “I haven’t been fishing, but it sounds cool.”
“I could show it to you outside in the back.” Jubilee looked at her arm, finally un-bandaged. The wound from the arrow was far less conspicuous.
Courtney leaned in closer to Jubilee’s right arm. “Wow, that must have hurt.” Courtney’s eyes met Jubilee’s. “You got to tell me about that.”
Jubilee let her arm drop. “Where do you want to start?”
Jacob held onto the doorknob before backing the rest of the way into the hall. He studied the expressions of Wickers and Boss carefully. The pair faced him from the den. Jacob had gone ahead with his choice to lock them up in the den for the night. He wondered how much resentment would boil under their flesh, but so far, the pair had been accepting of their terms of staying under Jacob’s roof for the night.
“I know there’s no bathroom in there, but in the event you absolutely need to take a piss…” Jacob began.
“Your wife already explained it to us.” Wickers pointed his thumb behind him. “The pan’s all ready for us. Don’t worry, we didn’t drink a lot in the past couple of hours. Oh, and thanks again to your wife for the great meal.”
Jacob kept his eye on Terri Boss. Strangely, she seemed quite at peace, more so than in the first few hours that Jacob had known her. Perhaps, since she had been relieved of her duties as one of Sykes’s farm hands and no longer had to take care of Courtney and Arnie Lerner, she felt more relaxed. The stress of those roles no longer weighed on her.
“I promise we’ll be up very early. I want you to be on your way sometime before six o’clock.” Jacob shook his head. “Of course, my clocks are all dead, so I’m just going to have to go with the angle of the sun as my guide to what time it is.”
Wickers chuckled while Boss nodded in a “yeah, I get what you mean” kind of way.
Jacob began pulling the door closed. “I’ll see you two in the morning.”
“Wait.” Boss pulled back on the door. “I was just wondering how Arnie and Courtney…well, are they settled in?”
“Sure. They’re doing fine.”
Jacob was a little surprised that Boss would show any concern for them. I guess it’s easier when they’re no longer your responsibility, he thought. Or maybe Boss was a kinder person underneath that rough exterior of hers. With the harsh circumstances of the world around her, she likely had little chance to show her compassionate side.
“We have places for them to sleep,” he added, “and they seem happy.”
“That’s good.” Boss sank back into the candlelit den. “That’s good.”
Jacob stepped into his bedroom. Domino was out of sight, in the small bathroom adjoining their personal abode. With the sun down, candles on the dresser supplied the room with light.
“Jay?” Domino called.
“It’s me.” Jacob walked toward the open window to enjoy the soft breeze.
“I was just checking around. I thought I heard something. It turned out Arnie wanted to sleep closer to Sheryl. She didn’t mind. The two of them were out like a light.”
“Did you look at the kids?” Domino asked.
“All of them. Brandon was still a little active. I had to chat with him for a few minutes. He felt a little weird knowing Arnie was sleeping in his bed.”
Domino stepped out of the bathroom, showing she was dressed in a nightgown. “Is he okay with Arnie living with us for a while?”
“Sure. The two of them got along well,” Jacob said.
Domino sighed. “Thank God.” Sauntering over to the bed, she said, “I wonder if I’ll still feel okay to sleep with Terri and Guy still in the house.”
“They seemed fine with being locked in the den. I think they know they got into a pretty good situation. They could have ended up dead, and tomorrow they’ll be leaving here altogether. They won’t have to worry about Sykes.”
Domino lay on her chest on the bed. “That just leaves us to deal with him.”
Jacob felt a sudden weight push down on him. “God, I don’t want to think about that. I just got home.” He sat down on the bed close to Domino. “I want to reconnect with this place.”
Domino sat up. “I know how you feel.” She nuzzled the back of his neck. “You of all people deserve to rest. You did it. You got us all home safe and sound. We even got Sheryl back.”
Jacob turned to Domino. “With some help from my lady.”
The pair shared a kiss. Jacob flung a little sweat off his forehead. “I guess the lack of AC still is going to take some getting used to.”
“You think it’s too hot in here?” Domino giggled. “Isn’t a sweaty husband in bed a good thing?” She leaned a little closer and spoke coquettishly. “You do know how to work up a sweat in bed, don’t you?”
Jacob was puzzled for a moment, but only a moment. He realized he had not possessed the time to consider such pursuits in days.
“I think we should close the door first,” he said slowly. “And then I’m going to take my very best guess.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jacob glanced over at Wickers and Boss, who were standing with him in the woods beyond the Avery fence line. The pair wore backpacks stuffed with the supplies that Jacob had promised. The pair appeared tired, no doubt because Jacob had insisted that they wake up before dawn to get ready to set off. Even now the sun had not risen fully beyond the horizon.
“If you stick the woods and follow the marked route, it’ll take you to the state line without putting you in view of any roads,” Jacob said. “The chances that Sykes or his men ever will run into you are probably one in a zillion.”
Wickers fingered the strap of his pack. “You really put in a lot for us. Thanks.” Boss nodded once in agreement.
“Don’t mention it,” Jacob said.
Wickers looked off to the woods beyond. “I tell you, I never would have dreamed my life would come to this. I was a car guy, a mechanic. Now I’m hiking the woods like Daniel Boone. I guess I should feel grateful that I’m alive at all.”
Looking at Jacob, he said, “I’m sorry for what we put you through. If I had known you were alive and coming home…”
“Forget it,” Jacob said. “In any case, it’s better you thought the house was permanently deserted. Sykes, if he knew, might have put some of his men with you. My homecoming would have been a lot more difficult.”
“Are you really going to stand up to him?” Boss asked.
Jacob let his fingers dance along the chain link fence. “When I first drove up to that house, it was beat, worn down, and a little smaller than it is today. I put my heart and soul into making it a home for me and my family. There’s no way I can give it up to Sykes.”
Wickers approached Jacob. “Well, for what it’s worth, I hope you and your family pull through this.”
Jacob turned to Wickers. “I hope you and Terri find a place you can call your own. Just make sure that it’s truly on the market.”
Jacob offered his hand. Wickers shook it.
A few minutes later, Jacob joined Domino, who had watched the conversation and parting from a short distance away in the fields. She previously had bid Boss and Wickers farewell and had allowed Jacob to walk them to the property line. As of now, the couple who once occupied the Avery homestead was disappearing from sight into the woods.
“That’s one fire put out,” Domino said. “I know we didn’t have the happiest meeting with those two, but I hope nothing bad happens to them.”
&nb
sp; Jacob averted his gaze from the woods beyond his property back to his home. With Wickers and Boss departed, there was no distracting from the hard work ahead to figure out how to keep that house in their hands.
Sheryl looked wryly at Jacob. “Why does it feel like every time we turn around, we’re planning to go to war with somebody?”
The Avery family was strewn around the living room, seated on the sofa or the loveseat. Lerner was occupied coloring in an old coloring book that the Averys had bought for Brandon but that he never had used. Courtney sat with the Averys as well, huddled up on the edge of the sofa.
Jacob, the only one not seated, strolled past Brandon and Jubilee before halting near his wife, who sat on the end of the sofa opposite Courtney.
“It’s one hell of a family meeting, isn’t it?” he asked Sheryl as he cast a glance at her.
Panning to speak to the others, he said, “I wish we all had time to settle in and get on with our lives, but we’re racing against the clock. If Sykes isn’t going to play nice and leave us alone, we’re going to have to fight him, and we’re going to have to play for keeps. Either he must recognize that the Avery farm isn’t his for the taking, or we’re going to have to make sure he doesn’t leave at all.”
“Suits me,” Domino said. Sheryl still seemed uncomfortable, but kept silent.
“So, how are we going to stop him?” Jubilee asked.
“It’s simple.” Brandon jumped off the seat.
“He’s coming in a truck, right? So, we dig a bunch of holes in the road leading up to the house and fill them with mines. He drives over one of them…boom!” Brandon spread his hands. “Pieces of Sykes blown everywhere!”
“That’s nice, Sweetie, but I don’t think we have the tools to dig up the road,” Domino said.
“No, but that doesn’t mean we can’t block the road.” Jacob smiled. “What good is his truck if he can’t reach our house? There are plenty of trees around here. A few solid trunks across the road will stop him dead in his tracks.”