by Connor Mccoy
“Don’t tell me it’s headed for our house!” Domino said as she began crawling toward the opening.
Jacob winced as a branch cut his arm. “There’s no way they can miss it! If they’re looking for fuel and resources, they’re almost certain to look for homes as well!”
Jacob nearly tripped over a tree root as he barreled toward the fence that separated his home’s driveway from the land beyond it. “Jacob! Wait!” Sheryl cried. “They will see you!” His sister grabbed his arm. “Get down!”
Jacob was in such a frenzy he barely noticed the truck pulling into his driveway. Hell, he had expected the truck to do just that. It took his sister to pull him back to reality.
And I thought I had it bad with just those two in my house. Now what? Are all those men from the other night going to swarm over my property and steal what I’ve earned over the years? Like hell! But he managed to quell his rage enough to duck down under the cover of the hanging tree branches.
“Dad!” Jubilee called from a small thicket similar to the one they had pulled out of moments before. It laid right up against the fence. The space was large enough for them to observe from right against the fence.
“Good going, Jubilee.” Jacob joined her under the brush. The rest of his family followed.
To Jacob’s relief, they were nestled under the brush just as the driver’s side and passenger doors of the cab opened. At the same time, the sliding door in the back of the cargo compartment slid open. Three men jumped out of the back and headed toward the front, meeting the driver. However, whoever had been sitting across from the driver was waiting.
Two interlopers opened the front door of the Avery home and walked outside. This was the cue for the man in the passenger seat to step out into the open.
Domino jabbed her finger in the man’s direction. “That is him! I know it! It’s Sykes.”
Chapter Seven
“Sykes?” Jacob turned to his wife. “You mean Jimmy Sykes? The guy who…”
“Yeah, it’s him, the bastard,” Domino said.
Jacob’s stare was withering as he studied the man. He walked with a broad stride, with each step of his boots making a soft clomping sound on the ground. He was very fit, with a burly chest filling out the top of his buttoned-up flannel shirt. As he walked, he turned his head side to side smoothly, aiming a smile at Jacob’s land.
The sight of Sykes filled Jacob with more and more contempt. This guy just looked wrong. His shirt and jeans were too clean, and Jacob wondered how much soil actually was on the man’s boots. Sykes acted as if he was putting on a show and was enjoying every damn minute of it.
“Well, well.” Sykes approached the man. “Guy Wickers. Terri Boss. Looks like you’ve found quite a winner.” He nodded at the homestead behind Wickers. “Not the fanciest house around here, but it’s got a healthy stock of animals.”
“With proper breeding, they’ll last for years,” Wickers said.
“Say, has the house’s previous owner showed up?” Sykes asked.
“No. his name is Jacob Avery. He has a wife and two kids. None of them have shown up yet. The Averys own a car and a black pickup, but the pickup’s missing,” Wicker said.
“They probably hit the road during the EMP. If they weren’t skewered on the asphalt, they’re probably stranded somewhere or maybe they fell prey to some of the baser elements out there. What a shame. They had kids, didn’t you say? Well, we might as well make use of their land.” Sykes wagged his finger at the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. “All this here, it belongs to me now.”
Jacob tightened his grip. Like hell it does, you posturing jackass!
“So, how many hands am I going to get? With a few strong backs, we can start turning out a big load for you, maybe even expand the fields,” Wickers said.
“Actually, you’re not going to get quite as many hands as you were expecting. Now, I apologize for that. Really, I do, but right now I need my strong hands out here collecting all the fuel they can find. In fact…” Sykes’s grin widened.
“We’re about to make one hell of a big haul. There’s a full-service station at the edge of Mecklersville and we have secured enough tanks and hoses to drain that beauty dry. Thousands of gallons of fuel. No police and no army to stop me.” He chuckled. “In the next few days, I’ll have enough gas to run my trucks for years. And since only I have a little fleet of trucks to carry food across the state, why, I might as well be king of Virginia.”
“Sounds like you’re the man with the plan, Mister S. But I still need help running this place,” Wickers said. “Terri and I can’t make this place work by ourselves.”
“Ah! I did think of that.” Sykes turned to his men by the truck and whistled. “You see, your new homestead is a pretty cozy place. It has “family values” written all over it. So, what you two need are some kids to give the place some sparkle.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, the men reached into the truck and helped out a girl. She appeared to be close to adolescent age, at least younger than Jubilee but older than Brandon. The newcomer looked around with a sour look on her face.
The men led her to Sykes, who waved to her as she approached. The girl maintained a sour look, as if she didn’t want to be there. “This is Courtney. She’s going to be your new daughter. A little moody at times, so I’m told. A little country living is just the thing to lift her spirits.”
Wickers and Boss frowned. Whatever they were expecting, Courtney was not it.
“But, what’s a family without a son?” Sykes aimed his smile at Courtney again. “And a big brother to watch and protect you?”
Almost on cue, Sykes’s men led a young man out of the truck. He was tall, so tall that he towered over the two men who were leading him, and with his build, he seemed like he could tear a small tree out of the land with his bare hands. He sported a dirty pair of dark workpants and a black T-shirt torn at the collar. He clomped around in work boots that were untied and a little loose around his feet.
“Arnie!” Sykes extended his hand toward the approaching behemoth of a man. “Meet your new family!”
Wickers and Boss backed up one large step. Courtney just grimaced as if she was expecting this.
Sykes reached out and took Wickers by the shoulder. “Arnold Lerner. Very strong, but not very bright in the head.”
“He’s a retard,” Courtney said.
“Courtney.” Sykes scolded her a little. “That’s not nice. We call them ‘special people,’ and Arnie is very special indeed.”
Turning back to Wickers, he said, “Arnie actually spent some time in a psychiatric hospital. He came from a very bad family. My advice is not to drink coffee around him. It acts as a trigger. But he will do as you tell him, you just have to be very specific and show him how you want things done.”
Wickers eyed Arnold warily. Arnold was looking at the farmland with curiosity, as if the place was a new wonderland. “How bright is he?” Wickers asked.
“I’ve heard he can match wits with anyone in the second grade. Third grade, not so much.” Sykes quickly patted Wickers on the shoulder. “I wish you the best of luck.”
Before Wickers or Boss could object, Sykes turned to Arnold, calling to him. “Arnie! How about you say hello to your new family? These nice people are going to take care of you.”
Arnold turned to Wickers and Boss, exposing his face more clearly to the Averys. He was a bit pudgy, with pale skin. He wore a confused smile that widened as he checked out Wickers and Boss.
“Hi,” he said.
Wickers and Boss raised their hands and waved, gingerly, and grinned so awkwardly that Jacob thought their faces would break like glass.
Sykes backed up, permitting Arnold to approach the couple. He reached out a hand. Wickers and Boss shrank back but did not run. Jacob thought it was miraculous that the pair did not flee before Arnold embraced them in a bear hug.
Sykes dabbed his right eye. “You guys really are making me feel all warm inside.” He took hold
of Courtney and led her right next to the still hugging Arnold Lerner. Her frown deepened, but she cooperated. Standing back, Sykes added, “This is the classic American family right here.” He extended his hand to the surly girl and the giant smothering the young man and woman.
“Arnold, release!” Courtney barked. “You’re going to kill your new parents on the first day!”
Arnold let go and stepped back, allowing Wickers and Boss to hold their chests and gasp.
Wickers fought hard for breath so he could talk. “Mr. S…”
“No need to thank me. I’m sure you all will do a good job working this homestead.” Sykes started backing up toward his truck.
“But is this…I mean, I don’t know if this is going to work out,” Wickers said.
While Sykes talked, his men walked into the Avery household. “Don’t be absurd. The four of you will make a great start of it. Now, once I’ve consolidated my hold on the area, maybe I’ll send a new hand or two your way.” Now his men started leaving, each carrying a handful of glass jars.
Jacob erupted. “Those bastards are stealing our canned food!”
“My first cut,” Sykes said. “A small one. I’ll take about thirty for the road. Of course you all are entitled to a share to keep you going, but if you want to keep up with my demands, you’d better start canning some more before the supply runs out. Next time, I’m taking forty jars, and they better be ready and waiting for me when I want them.”
Wickers nodded. “Of course.”
The flow of men out of the house stopped. “Looks like we’re done.” Sykes backed up toward his truck.
“Don’t look so stressed out, Guy! This land is yours now! Well, it’s mine, but I’m making you the tenants. Pull as much out of her as you can, and you’ll have a hell of a good life. A lot better than many folks nowadays.” Sykes laughed. “See you fine folks later!”
Wickers and Boss waved, though reluctantly. On the other hand, Arnie waved so enthusiastically that he accidently slapped Wickers in the chest and nearly cocked Boss in the head. Courtney just stood there, aiming her sourpuss look at the truck, which started up the moment Sykes got in the passenger side and slammed the door shut.
As the truck pulled out, Jacob let his frustration boil over. “Who the hell does he think he is? That’s my house, that’s my farm, and those are my crops! I rebuilt that place. I made it my own. I raised my kids in there, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let that so-called family and that smiling jackass take it from me!”
“I hear you,” Domino bit down on her bottom lip. “Those guys don’t look tough. We could take them.”
“Wait!” Sheryl pushed herself in between them. “What are you two going to do?”
“I think it’s pretty obvious, Aunt Sheryl,” Jubilee replied. “We’re going to go kick some ass.”
“Kick some…” Sheryl rolled her eyes. “Do you mean you’re going to barge in and shoot them? There’s a girl with them! My God, Jacob, I know you’re embracing the rustic life, but doesn’t that mean still being civilized?”
“Sheryl, I’m not talking about shooting them in cold blood.” Jacob tried to calm down, but he still was steaming over Sykes’s violation of his property. “We are going to get them out of there. How, I don’t know. Maybe we can talk them out of it, but I get the feeling they won’t give up the place without a fight.” He sighed. “We have to assume they are armed. I don’t think Sykes would leave them there without a way to defend themselves in case we showed up at the front door.”
Sheryl nodded. She seemed to accept that Jacob would keep a cool head.
Jubilee turned to Brandon. He still was looking through his eyepiece. “Brandon?” Jubilee looked to see where Brandon was looking. “My God! You’re checking her out!”
Brandon jerked away from the eyepiece. “What?”
“You were looking at her butt!” Jubilee added.
Brandon’s cheeks turned red. “No I wasn’t!”
Jacob frowned. What were his kids talking about? He peered into Brandon’s eyepiece.
His son had focused the scope on Courtney. The girl was dressed in a long, high-waisted jean skirt with black tights. At the moment, her back was turned toward the group.
Jacob turned to his son, keeping his expression neutral. Brandon retreated a little. “She’s…she’s cute! Okay!”
“Great. Our house has been captured and Brandon’s ready to defect to the enemy,” Jubilee said.
“I am not!” Brandon fired back.
Jacob, turning to his wife, said, “This is perfect. On top of everything else, our son may have a crush on a member of the new ‘family.’” Domino managed a small smile before turning somber again.
At least they knew what they were dealing with. Jacob decided they couldn’t spend any more time out here. They had to regroup and think about their next move.
Jacob braced himself against a nearby oak tree. All that lying on the grass and kneeling had made his muscles sore. I’m not in my twenties anymore, that’s for sure, he thought as his kids passed him up.
The Averys managed to slip away from the fence without being detected. They were not going to return to their original campsite. They didn’t need to. They would set up a new camp a short walk away.
Domino, Brandon and Jubilee stopped ahead of Jacob. They had buried their gear and supplies with a thin covering of soil near a large tree. It was easy for them to brush the soil off to retrieve everything.
“You think of everything,” Sheryl said as she approached Jacob.
Jacob rubbed his lower back. “Almost everything.” As she crossed past him, Jacob felt the urge to say something. “I hope we didn’t spook you back there. You know Doms and I wouldn’t go off half-cocked. It’s just…” Jacob braced against the tree again. “Right now, my house is in someone else’s hands and it pisses me off. I guess I know how you feel, losing everything you had in Chantilly. I know I can get my life back, but there’s just no guarantee. That thought scared me.”
Sheryl calmly approached him. “It’s not going to be the same even if you do get your home back.”
“What do you mean?” Jacob asked.
“Did Brandon or Jubilee think of going to college when they grew up?” Sheryl asked.
“I don’t think it had come up with Brandon yet. Jubilee was making noise about a community college, but that’s still far away.”
“Think any of them are going to college now? Or becoming an intern for somebody?” Sheryl shook her head. “Your kids’ futures are going to be so different. And even if you do get rid of these guys, that man, Sykes, he’s coming back someday. You’re going to have to fight him, too. And then maybe someone else.”
Sheryl retreated a step. “Jacob, you left home for good that day. Whatever you’re coming home to, it isn’t the same home you think it is.”
“Jay!” Domino called to Jacob. She and the kids had gathered their supplies. “We’re ready.”
Jacob swallowed hard. “I’ll worry about the future when I know I have a present. Thanks, Sheryl.”
He turned away from her and toward his family. He had enough worries without thinking about Sykes and what was to come later, although deep down he knew Sheryl was right. Whatever life he was coming home to would be different than when he had departed in his truck those days ago.
Chapter Eight
Jacob sat cross-legged against an oak tree with his family all in a circle. “Okay, time to work out our plan of attack. We know there’s only four people in that house, three adults, one child. Two of the adults likely are armed. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have given guns to the other two, although I doubt they would arm that big guy they took in.”
“Should we sneak inside while they’re all asleep?” Jubilee punched her open palm. “Go into the bedrooms and tie them up before they know what hit them?”
“A nighttime raid.” Jacob scratched his chin. “Let’s talk about that. Pros and cons. We’ve heard a pro. What’s a con?”
Nobody produced a reason why it wouldn’t work. It was up to Jacob to chime in. “If we end up in a gunfight, the house is going to be pretty close quarters. We might not be able to run if we need to. We also could get bottled up inside one of the rooms. Plus, I’m not sure we actually can move around without making noise. Some of those floors do creak a little at night.”
“Can you sneak in at all?” Sheryl asked. “I’ve seen your fences. Some of them have barbed wire!”
“We did have somebody sneak into our yard before,” Brandon said with some bitterness. Jubilee looked at her bandaged arm.
“Right. Some of the fencing in the back doesn’t have any barbed wire. Anybody still could scale those fences and make it onto my grounds,” Jacob said.
“And your door locks? I’m sure they’d bolt it tight before going to bed,” Sheryl said.
“I bet they would. I installed electronic alarms but those are dead now. But all of my entry doors have solid deadbolts and a metal grill over the door windows so no one could smash the glass and access the doorknobs. All my other windows have reinforced glass. Not even jolly old Saint Nick could break inside.”
Jacob looked at Domino and smiled. “Not unless he knew the secret way inside.”
“Secret way?” Sheryl looked back and forth between Jacob and Domino.
“Jacob planned for a lot of things.” Domino chuckled. “Like what if you lose your house key?” She aimed a glare at Jacob, who shrank back as if taking a false accusation.
“What I was aiming for,” Jacob held up his palm. “Was if we had lost our keys out in the wilderness and didn’t have any way to unlock our house when we finally got home. And I did think about emergencies, such as if intruders tried squatting in our house and we had to sneak inside. The back den is built raised.” Jacob raised his arms. “There’s a secret door that leads up into the den’s storage closet. So, you sneak under the house and go up through the passage, and boom, you’re in the closet. Only I know it’s there and only I know how to unlock it.”