BEYOND THE GRID BOX SET: The Complete Beyond The Grid series (book 1-4)

by Connor Mccoy

  “Figured it was the woman of the house.” She sounded like she was trying to make a joke, but still sounded too depressed. Jacob wondered how much he could get out of this woman. Krysta had been pretty tight-lipped, and the children couldn’t say much. That left it up to the mystery woman to explain their plight.

  “So, uh, Krysta called you Joey. Is that what you want us to call you?” Jacob asked.

  “Pretty much. My name is Josephine Atwell.” She took another bite before going on. “You probably heard the story from Krysta and the kids.”

  “Not a lot, actually. We know you survived an attack from anarchists,” Jacob said, “That’s about all.”

  “Do you know where the anarchists came from?” Domino asked. “Are they part of a bigger army, or are just a bunch of random terrorists?”

  “No.” Josephine sighed. “I know where they came from.” Her face tightened. “Middleburg.”

  Jacob and Domino exchanged worried glances. Armed raiders from Middleburg. That left one prime suspect.

  “Middleburg,” Jacob said, “I get the feeling I know who’s behind them. I had a little adventure involving that town not too long ago. I barely got away from them with my life. Let me guess. They were out looking for resources to plunder and take back to Middleburg?”

  “Pretty accurate,” Josephine said.

  Domino gripped Jacob’s arm. “Sounds like they came out bigger than last time. When you ran into them, they only sent you and two other guys into Pleasantville, right?”

  “Right,” Jacob said.

  “Wait, you were with them?” Josephine asked.

  “It’s a long story. I went to Middleburg to pick up medical supplies to repay a doctor for helping my daughter, but I ran into the new potentate of the town. He conscripted me to go raid Pleasantville for supplies to bring back, but I was able to escape and rejoin my family.”

  Josephine kept a gaze on Jacob as if trying to decide if Jacob was telling the truth. Finally, she said, “Thank God it all turned out alright. Your daughter, is she okay now?”

  “She was hit with an arrow. My doctor friend, Doc Sam, he took care of her. She’s okay now, though it took a while to regain full control of her arm.”

  Josephine’s eyes widened; the first time Jacob had noticed amazement in her expression. “I’ve known some people who have been shot or impaled by accident. How old is your daughter? She looked pretty young when I saw her.”

  “Fifteen,” answered Domino.

  Josephine shook her head. “That must have been scary as hell. Given all the chaos that has happened in the past few months, it’s a blessing she got through it.”

  “Thank you. The two of us couldn’t be more grateful for Doc Sam and everyone who helped us,” Jacob said.

  “Say, where are you from, if we could ask? We’re not from here, originally,” Domino said. “We used to live in northern Virginia.”

  “Wow, you two really switched lifestyles.” Josephine chuckled. “Most people who live up there work for the government.” She whistled. “I can’t imagine what happened to everyone up there. Me, my home’s in a liberty community. It’s a good hike down there, a few days.”

  “A liberty community? Where?” Jacob asked.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll keep that to myself,” Josephine replied as she stirred the last bits of her potatoes.

  “Is it an important secret? We won’t tell anyone, if you want,” Jacob said.

  “Like I said, I’ll keep that to myself. It’s not like you two need to know. Because I plan to take Krysta and the kids back there.”

  “Fine,” Jacob said, “you can stick around with them, rebuild your strength.”

  “I’m very thankful for the meal and the shelter, but I don’t want to keep Krysta’s family sitting in one place,” Josephine set the now empty dish down beside her.

  “If you’re worried about the anarchists, Jay and I have a lot of ammo. Plus, we blocked off the road with trees. They can’t get here very easily, and we’re ready to kick their asses if we have to,” Domino said.

  “I’m sure you have a full moat dug outside with snapping alligators, but I still would feel better if we could get back on the road.” She yawned. “We shouldn’t hang around and impose…” She then winced. “Damn.”

  “You really should stay for a few more days. We’re not doing you any favors by letting you go in your condition. And I’m sure Krysta and her boys could use some time to recuperate,” Domino said.

  Josephine squirmed. She didn’t seem happy with the idea, but the reality of her weakened state appeared to convince her. “Okay.”

  “We’ll have Sheryl and the kids prepare a bath for you,” Jacob said. “I’m sure you’re eager to get cleaned up.”

  Once Jacob had gotten Josephine and Sheryl together, he took a moment alone with Domino in the living room.

  “There’s something not right here.” Jacob rubbed his chin.

  “I can’t blame her for being spooked,” Domino said. “Remember what a wreck those anarchists turned Skylar into?”

  “It’s more than that,” Jacob said. “I think she’s afraid of someone, not just a mob of people.”

  “You think so?” Domino asked, “Why?”

  “Everything. How secretive she is. How she acts. It’s like she’s expecting someone to lunge from the shadows. That family had a bad time out there and she protected them from it.”

  “She’s afraid of just one person? After all that’s happened with Skylar, I’d be more scared of a whole band of men instead of just one!” Domino replied.

  “One man can leave a very bad impression. Put that together with Krysta. She’s not willing to spill a lot, either.” Jacob touched the side of his face near his eyes. “Those bruises. Someone might have tried to kill her.”

  “Well, maybe ‘Joey’ ought to tell us who’s after them.” Domino folded her arms. “If he shows up here, I want to know who to shoot on sight.”

  Chapter Seven

  “It’s too bad we can’t make more hourglasses,” Courtney said to Brandon as the pair strolled out from the shadow of the farmhouse.

  “Yeah.” Brandon cast a gaze toward the field that made up the south end of the Avery property. “But duty calls,” he added.

  Their time was being occupied instructing Jamie and Ford about their farming tasks. Brandon’s insides burned a little. He wasn’t exactly getting along with Ford. To his horror, Aunt Sheryl mentioned that the two of them had much in common. No way! Brandon didn’t see it.

  The pair soon caught sight of Jubilee. She was sitting on a small wooden platform that was raised a few steps. She was looking through a telescope into the forest beyond the Avery property.

  “I wonder if she knows we’re coming,” Brandon whispered to Courtney as they closed in on his sister. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, “Jubes!”

  “Whoa!” The shout jolted Jubilee, knocking her on her back.

  “Brandon!” Courtney rolled her eyes.

  “Hey, she didn’t act surprised yesterday when I tapped her on the back.” Brandon quickened his pace. “Jubes, what’s your deal? I don’t take you by surprise.”

  Grumbling, Jubilee sat back up. “I was…look, I’m busy. What do you want?”

  Brandon took Jubilee by the right cheek and turned her. “You’ve been stuck on that telescope for a long time. Your eye’s red!”

  “What?” Jubilee blinked her right eye.

  Courtney twirled her finger. “The skin around your eye is red,” she said, “You were pressing it against the telescope.”

  “Yeah, you need to take a break and let someone else take watch. It’s my turn. If you sit too long, your butt is going to fall off.”

  Jubilee clasped her arms behind her head. “Fine.”

  Brandon fitted the eyepiece to his eye. “It is kind of boring to keep looking out at the forest. I really want to go out there and check for berries that will make your head explode.”

  “Excuse me?” Courtney a
sked.

  “It’s a little joke.” Jubilee sat cross-legged. “Brandon used to have this thing about finding berries and leaves to make a suicide drink. You know, a drink with a whole bunch of weird stuff that would make you blow up if you drank it. Brandon and I made one of those and it looked like Pepto-Bismol. You know, because it was pink.” Jubilee giggled. “We almost took a sip.”

  Courtney fiddled with one of her overall straps. “So, this is what it’s like to have a brother. It’s a little weird, but…” She sighed. “I used to be glad I was an only child. But now that all seems kind of boring.”

  “Our life is definitely not boring,” Jubilee replied. “I mean, it’s not boring now, but it wasn’t boring before everything went crazy.”

  “Hey!” Brandon scooted a little closer. “I saw someone!”

  “Where?” Jubilee asked with barely masked alarm.

  “Out in the woods.” Brandon pointed to his right, about southwest. “I saw it. It was a guy, a man, a grownup. Pretty tall. I didn’t get a good look at him. He went back into the trees.”

  Jubilee clenched her shoulders with her hands. “Are you sure? C’mon Brandon, don’t prank me on this.”

  “I’m serious! I think I see more people moving.” Brandon tightened the focus. “Shoot! I wish I had cybernetic eyes. I could see through the trees!”

  “Brandon…” Jubilee shook a little.

  “How many do you see?” Courtney asked.

  “It looks like…I don’t know. Four? Five? Maybe seven!” Brandon pulled back. “I think we got a crowd in there!”

  “Brandon, don’t do it. Let’s go get Mom and Dad,” Jubilee said.

  “No, I want to get a closer look. I don’t even know if I was right. Maybe it was just the sunlight and shadows tricking me.” Brandon began a slow walk away from the scouting point.

  “Brandon, please!” Jubilee sounded even more panicked.

  Brandon turned around. His sister usually was unflappable, but something was eating at her. As he glanced at the scarring on her arm, he guessed she was worried someone out there might be armed and could do them harm, even worse than when that idiot hunter shot her with the arrow, or maybe even worse than Jimmy Sykes.

  He brushed against the gun on his belt. Brandon knew he was not helpless. And if Jubilee was worried about possible intruders, then it was more important that Brandon go out there and determine if a true threat lurked beyond the boundaries of their farmland.

  “I got to see,” he said, with gentleness that surprised even him. “I don’t want us to get caught with our pants down again. You know what I mean?” He held up two fingers. “We got aced by that guy with the arrow and Sykes. I don’t want that to happen ever again.”

  Courtney sighed. “Great. The little boy wants to be a hero.” Cocking her head, she approached him. “If Jubilee is too rattled to go with you, I’ll stick around to keep your ass out of the fire.”

  Jubilee jumped down from the platform. “No, no. I’ll go with you.”

  “Actually, I think I’ll be okay with Courtney,” Brandon quickly said.

  Jubilee, rolling her eyes, whispered to Brandon as she passed him. “I definitely know you need some supervision.” She rolled that last word off her tongue.

  Ha. I am plenty mature, and a gentleman, too. Brandon turned his head and softly shot a raspberry to his sister.

  The metal fence that Brandon and Jubilee’s father had erected was tall in this area, so tall that even an adult would need a good few minutes to climb over it. Unfortunately, it had not been enough to stop the young hunter from scaling it and getting into the yard. The hunter was looking to shoot a hawk but ended up nailing Jubilee in the arm instead. The hunter got a good beating from Jacob. Brandon sometimes wondered if he ever could find the trail of blood leaking from the man’s nose around here. Although the weather would have long since washed it from the soil and grass.

  The chain link of the fence separated the three youths from the forest beyond. This part of the woods was unsettled, unclaimed territory, so there were no public or private buildings to be found. Brandon always liked that the land here seemed wild. It was like an unexplored frontier.

  He just hated that now it appeared dangerous.

  Courtney gazed through the fence with a pair of binoculars. Brandon had a telescope handy, but he wanted to check out the vicinity first. Jubilee’s hand dangled near the firearm on her belt. She among them all was the most apprehensive, which was no surprise.

  It’s good that she’s ready to spring into action, Brandon thought. I just hope she doesn’t shoot someone who’s not a bad guy.

  As they continued their trek, Brandon’s nervousness grew. It was weird that nothing was happening beyond the fence, even though he was certain people were in the woods. But he had neither seen nor heard anything since he and his party had arrived at the fence. How could he uncover their mystery guests?

  “The ground. Tracks, of course!” Brandon dashed right up to the fence and peered through, eyeing the soil in the forest. “Check the ground! If anyone was out there, they would leave prints!”

  Courtney helped Brandon scout the land, with Jubilee adding her own eyes through her small telescope. But they discovered nothing near their location. They backtracked a little bit to see if they could pick up any tracks they might have missed.

  “I don’t know,” Jubilee said, “I don’t think we really can see much from here.”

  Brandon chewed on his bottom lip. Some of the soil easily was visible, but too much of it was blocked by tree trunks or roots. Plus, the land would sink or rise in ways that made it impossible to get a good look at from their location.

  “Okay.” Brandon looked up at the fence. “Then I’ve got to go over and get a good look.”

  “Brandon, you’re going in there?” Jubilee nearly dropped her telescope.

  Courtney pointed to the foliage beyond the fence. “Yeah, don’t you think that forest screams ‘I’m ready to kidnap a kid?’”

  “Don’t worry.” Brandon started climbing. “I’ll just be too quick for them. You two stay here.”

  Brandon wanted to cheer out loud, but he kept his composure. Finding out that he was right filled him with euphoria. At the moment, he was hovering over a pair of tracks that led into the thick of the woods. The tracks clearly were made by a pair of boots. It had not taken more than a few minutes for him to spot these tracks upon climbing down the other side of the fence.

  He dashed back to the fence, to where Courtney and Jubilee kept worried eyes on him. “I found them! They were definitely here! The tracks go off in that direction.” He pointed his thumb behind him.

  “Great, awesome. Now get your ass back here so we can tell your folks,” Courtney said.

  “Wait, not yet. I want to see if I can maybe find where they are camped,” Brandon said.

  “Brandon Allen Avery, don’t you dare!” Jubilee said with a hiss. “This is getting too dangerous. What if they see you?”

  “Yeah, please, don’t do anything macho to try impressing me,” added Courtney.

  “But I’ve come too far. I can’t back out. Just keep eyes on me while I take a look. I promise I won’t go too far away. I’ll just be a few minutes,” Brandon said.

  “Brandon.” Jubilee winced. “I can’t help you from this side of the fence.” She started climbing. “Courtney, you keep your eyes on us.”

  Courtney glared at Brandon. “If you get us in trouble, I promise I will dump chicken poop all over your head.”

  Brandon didn’t want Jubilee to come, but he figured arguing would be of no help. He wanted to complete this scouting run as quickly as he could. At least he had some assistance by his side. If this did turn ugly, he wouldn’t be alone.

  Too bad I didn’t bring Arnie with us. No, Arnie couldn’t be stealthy like we are. He doesn’t understand how to be a tracker, a scouter, a ninja. Yeah, that’s what we are. Forest ninjas! We’re like a couple of Chuck Norrises.

  “Brandon!” Jubilee whispe
red, “What are you doing?”

  He looked at his arms. He just had made a karate chop in the air. His skin burning, he quickly lowered his arms. “Nothing,” he said meekly. Great. You’re trying to act like an adult and you’re out here karate chopping the forest. At least Courtney’s not here to see you.

  The siblings followed the tracks for several minutes until the sound of crunching twigs nearly brought them to a halt. Jubilee and Brandon raised their eyepieces to try locating the source of the noise.

  People filed past the trees ahead. They were walking in a northwestern direction, their faces turned from Brandon and Jubilee, so the two Averys were not in their view. Standing fast and watching, the pair observed the travelers.

  They wore modestly to heavily dirtied clothing, much of it either outdoor clothing such as leathery jackets, or shirts worn in layers. One man wore an open flannel shirt over a buttoned gray shirt, which lay unbuttoned at top to reveal a dark green T-shirt. The men’s faces were peppered with stubble, light beards, or full-fledged long beards. Most of the travelers carried packs of some kind. They included sacks, handled bags, ordinary backpacks, or camping packs.

  Brandon started looking for signs of weapons. He had not seen one yet, although some of these people could be carrying one in a pack. As a number of women passed by, Brandon got the feeling these people were simply refugees. They did not look like the bloodthirsty anarchists who ravaged Skylar.

  Maybe they’re from Skylar? Maybe they ran all the way here, Brandon thought. But what should they do? Would his dad invite them all to stay at his farm? There was no room for even one or two people, let alone all these survivors!

  One of the men slowed down. He was a tall man, and even from this distance Brandon could tell he had piercing blue eyes. He turned his head, not quite in Brandon and Jubilee’s direction, but eschew enough that he might be able to spot them.

  The man stopped completely.

  “Damn,” Brandon said, using a word he would never use if his mom was around. “We got to bail!”