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

by Connor Mccoy

  “Fine by me.” Jacob rubbed his right shoulder. “We really could use Arnie’s muscles for this next run. I must have pulled something back there—”

  As Jacob approached the front yard, he heard the spray of gunfire. It was coming from his house!

  “My God,” Jacob said amid a quick breath.

  “Jubilee! Brandon!” Domino cried as she and Jacob broke into a run. The damaged front door, hanging wide open, only fueled their fears.

  All three of them broke out guns. “Krysta!” Josephine shouted, “Jamie! Ford!”

  Once they reached the porch, they found two men pointing guns at Sheryl, who was pointing at them with her own weapon. “Get away from her!” Jacob cried with bloodcurdling rage.

  “Get the hell out of my house!” Domino added.

  The two men turned around. Josephine’s eyes widened. “Greg. God, no.”

  The man Josephine identified sneered when he laid eyes on Josephine. “Damn. I was hoping I wouldn’t run into you again. What the hell does it take to kill you?”

  “More than you and Cramer got, that’s for sure. Now you got five seconds to clear out of that house before I fill your chest with all the lead I’m packing,” Josephine retorted.

  “Good Lord, Josephine, you never change,” the man beside Greg said.

  A chill ran down Jacob’s spine. He knew that voice. It was a tad gruffer and a little more whiskey-soaked than the last time he had heard it, but there was little doubt who it reminded Jacob of. A look at Domino’s expression told him that she thought the same.

  The mystery man walked past Greg, stopping at the doorframe, his gun aimed at the three of them. Jacob blinked his eyes. No, that couldn’t be who he was thinking of. This man was the right height, but he was thin, much thinner than…

  “Mr. Avery,” the man said, “it’s been a while. I trust you and your family are in good health?”

  “Jay, it can’t be him,” Domino said.

  If there was any further doubt, Josephine blew it away when she addressed him. “Alex, for God’s sake, put the gun down!”

  Alex. Alex Cowell. The social worker who had plagued Jacob’s life, the man who had stolen gas from Doc Sam and joined Sykes, was right here in Jacob’s house.

  It didn’t make any sense, looking at him. Alex Cowell’s skin was tanned, almost a light brown, and he wore jagged stubble over his face. His build was a bit heavier in the upper chest but trimmed around the stomach. The post-EMP months had slimmed him down but also made him noticeably stronger. The dress clothing he sported was gone. He wore brown pants, anchored with overalls over a dirty white buttoned shirt. He looked more like a grizzled cowboy than a social worker.

  “Josephine, do yourself a favor and get out of here while you can,” Alex said. “Greg’s here to pick up what’s his and I’m here to help him.”

  “Krysta and her boys don’t belong to Greg!” Josephine replied. “And you, what has Cramer done to you?”

  “Cramer hasn’t done anything to me. He’s enlightened me. He’s shown me what this world is really like and how to become a part of it instead of running from it,” Alex responded.

  Domino narrowed her right eye. “Josephine, you know Alex?”

  “Know him? Hell, that’s my little brother over there!” she replied.

  Jacob couldn’t believe his ears. “He’s what? I thought your last name was Atwell.”

  “That’s my married name. But my maiden name is Cowell. I was born Josephine Angela Cowell. That man standing there next to Greg is my younger brother.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jacob tried processing the revelation he just had heard. Not only was Alex Cowell back in his life, but this mysterious woman who he had welcomed into his house, the “protector” of a mother and her two children, was Alex Cowell’s older sister. Good Lord, he thought. What did this mean?

  “Alex, get the hell out of this man’s house!” Josephine turned to Greg. “And you too! Out!”

  “Not a chance. My Krysta, my boys, they’re here, and I’ve come for them,” Greg said, though he did not advance any farther toward the hall with Sheryl guarding it, holding her firearm at the ready.

  As Josephine barked orders, Alex stared at the pictures on the wall. “It’s quite amazing how things haven’t changed in here, Mr. Avery. Although I see you’ve taken down the television, the computers, and the phones, too. I’m sure it’s your dream come true, a world that reflects your chosen lifestyle.” Alex scratched his stubbled chin. “Do you feel like letting me have that interview now with your daughter?”

  Jacob’s blood boiled. Alex was toying with him. He had to be. “Screw off, Alex!” he said with barely contained fury.

  “Alex, stop it. What the hell is going on between you and these people?” Josephine marched into the house. Greg flinched. Even though Greg was armed, he clearly was afraid of Josephine. Alex turned to his sibling but remained in place.

  “Lord, what kind of hell did you put these people through?” Josephine said as she stopped in front of Alex and so close to Greg that he backed up, nearly hitting the wall near the door to the dining room. “Spill it, Alex. I can see it in their eyes. They’ve run into you before when you were doing social work around here.”

  “That’s right, Jo.” Alex turned back to one of the pictures on the wall. It depicted Jacob and Domino, along with their kids at earlier ages. “The Averys and I have a history. Sometimes it was less than pleasant.” Alex reached out to the picture.

  “I had questions about how they reared their two little ones. I feared their isolated way of living would be to their children’s detriment.” He straightened the picture. “I made my objections known on several occasions.”

  Josephine scowled. “Alex, these people are just farmers. My God, you’ve never understood how people in the country live, never wanted to understand…” Her voice faded. “Makes me wonder what you would do if we were not related, what you would do if you had met me in a house like this, with Kyle...”

  Greg stepped between Alex and Josephine. “Hey, can we get on with rescuing my woman and boys?”

  “Rescuing?” Josephine laughed. “Greg, you are deluded. Don’t you get it? That she doesn’t want anything to do with you?”

  “We were close!” Greg clenched his fist on his chest. “When Marlon left, I stepped in, fed her and the boys.” He raised his right hand, showing off a scar that ran the entire length. “I bled for her.”

  “You made her bleed, too,” Josephine said, with a growing scowl.

  Greg’s skin reddened. “You know I never wanted that! She was struggling! I thought I would stun her, knock her out, so I could bring her to safety.”

  “Safety? You mean back to Cramer?” Josephine retorted. “Which she absolutely did not want?”

  “There was gunfire everywhere!” Greg clenched his fists. “I couldn’t waste time. I had to do it.”

  “Gunfire from Cramer’s men!” Josephine raised her hand and shook it. “If you wanted to help Krysta and the boys, you needed to turn back toward the town. Or you could have stayed down until I reached you! She knew how dangerous Cramer was, but you didn’t care what she thought.”

  “But he’s got food, Jo!” Greg protested. “I…” He sucked in a deep breath. “I got to provide for them and Cramer’s the guy who can help.”

  “Number one, no one calls me Jo but my family.” Josephine extended her forefinger. “Second, we have fields in Fall Crossing. You could have worked them. But no, you wanted to impress Krysta with some big gesture, to show you could give her more than we could. You hooked up with Cramer because you think it’ll make you look like a real man.”

  Greg’s face tightened. He seemed ready to throttle Josephine, even though fear held him back.

  “Cramer has enlightened him.” Alex stepped between Josephine and Greg. “As he has enlightened me.”

  “Cramer is a thug and a murderer. He doesn’t enlighten people, he brainwashes them, Greg and you! Alex, I still can’t believe
you ran off with him! Why did you leave Fall Crossing? You were settling in! You were making a home!”

  “I wasn’t fitting in at all and you know it,” Alex replied.

  “You just needed more time to get used to how we did things. You were getting there, I know it,” Josephine shot back.

  “I was helpless,” Alex said, sneering. “Nothing I did turned out right. How many times did you have to fish my hide out of the fire, with that fistfight with Cantrell, getting caught in the irrigation canal? You practically confined me to the house for a week.”

  “I was trying to protect you after things got a little rough,” Josephine replied. “I didn’t lock you up. I just wanted to give you more time to learn how to fend for yourself. Or what, were you just embarrassed to learn from your sis?”

  “No. I just needed a better teacher. Cramer showed me the way,” Alex said.

  Josephine bristled. That last comment seemed to hurt.

  Alex averted his gaze from Josephine. He advanced toward the open doorway, in direct sight of the Averys. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Avery, it’s been a while. Are you impressed? I look like one of you, don’t I, a real outdoorsman.”

  Jacob nodded at Alex’s attire. “Actually, I was never a fan of suspenders.”

  Alex turned to Domino. “You know, it never occurred to me until now how much you act like my sister. No wonder your family caught my attention.”

  “I’m sure you’re having a kick seeing us again.” Domino bit her upper lip. “I was hoping I wouldn’t see you again.”

  “You never found our conversations enjoyable?” Alex asked. “I always tried to keep things pleasant, amicable.”

  “You know what I’m talking about!” Domino said, flaring up. “You stole from Doc Sam. You hooked up with Sykes. His men nearly put me in my grave.”

  “Oh, yes, that.” Alex sounded so dismissive that it injected fresh irritation into Jacob’s body. “Well, that was unfortunate, wasn’t it? Of course, they didn’t tell me they would be shooting at you or Doc Sam. Oh well. I am pleased that you’re still alive. No harm done in the end.”

  “I’d call stealing from someone a hell of a lot of harm,” Domino said. “He didn’t deserve it. And I guess you might not know this, but Sykes tried stealing my house and killing me and my family too. Did you know who you were dealing with, or did you not care?” Domino laughed. “Actually, why should I ask? You’ve hooked up with another snake. I guess it was in your nature all along!”

  “You truly haven’t changed,” Alex said. “So, it sounded like you had a reunion of sorts with Sykes. I never heard what happened to him.”

  “Check the little dirt mound near the back fence across from the lettuce rows,” Jacob said.

  Alex raised an eyebrow. “Well, no matter how things ended for him, I can assure you things will go differently between us.”

  “Please. Give me one reason why I should let you leave my house alive,” Domino said.

  “Whoa! Calm down!” Josephine turned in Domino’s direction. “Easy on the trigger, Domino. That’s my brother you’re talking to.” Greg started shifting toward the hall, but Sheryl kept her gun on him, so the man stopped in place.

  In a low voice, Jacob said to his wife. “Let’s be careful with him. Josephine may have differences, but she’s not going to let us kill her brother.”

  “Who cares?” Domino whispered back. “He showed up here, so it ought to be his funeral.”

  “Doms,” Jacob said, “Please.” Shooting Alex likely would make Josephine an enemy on the spot, and Jacob didn’t want this situation to deteriorate even more than it already had.

  “Nothing like the dynamics of the traditional family,” Alex said, with a slight smile that seemed so poisonous it chilled Jacob to the bone. “The wife defers to the husband. I suppose I have nothing to fear.”

  “Stuff it, Alex. I could have you and Greg disarmed and imprisoned here while we think of what to do with you. Josephine could lead you two back to Fall Crossing with your hands tied behind your backs. In fact, there’s a bunch of people close by with a bone to pick with Cramer and his men. We might turn you over to them if we feel like it.”

  “That’s right. I heard there were survivors from that town, Skylar,” Alex said as if he was not the least bit surprised.

  Jacob instantly regretted saying that. He ought to have kept his mouth shut and not revealed the existence of the survivors, although it seemed Alex might have been aware of them in any case.

  “Oh, I’m not afraid. In fact, you are going to let me and Greg leave here without challenge,” Alex said.

  “And why would we do that?” Domino asked, with a stifled laugh.

  Alex turned his head and whistled loudly. It sounded like the cry of a hawk.

  In the distance, across the road, movement stirred in the trees. Heads emerged in the shadowy gaps underneath the hanging branches. Then bodies followed. Men with guns poured out from underneath the foliage. They were situated side to side, so they looked like an approaching wall. A few women joined the brigade.

  Jacob swallowed hard. It looked as though there were just more than twenty of them. To make matters worse, a second brigade started emerging from the trees with about the same number of men and women. The first line came to a stop at the shoulder of the road.

  “And there’s more just behind them,” Alex said. “Tell me, do you think you have a chance to escape them? From that distance, they would make it here in little under a minute.”

  It was Jacob’s worst fear come to life. This number of armed men and women would be impossible to fight off with just his family.

  Greg approached Alex, still keeping an eye on Sheryl and Josephine as he walked. “We came to get Krysta and the boys so they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.” For the first time, he sounded genuinely concerned, with no trace of bravado or anger in his voice. Turning his attention solely to Josephine, he added, “You wouldn’t have let them go without a fight. You’d have put them in danger.”

  “You come with a small army and I’m the one who put them in danger? Oh, that’s a laugh!” Josephine advanced on Greg, who in turn stumbled out of the doorway and onto the porch.

  “You’re just angry because I fight back against the bullies you hooked up with, the same bullies who burnt down whole towns and shot at everyone, men, women and children.” Josephine shot a stink eye at her brother. “Yeah, are you still ignoring that little fact, or do you still want to pretend to be enlightened by your new idol?”

  “You joined forces with the reapers of Middleburg. What do you have to say for yourself?” Alex responded blandly.

  “To defend innocent people against Cramer! My God you are dense?!” Josephine shouted back. “Trang gave up his old ways to help us. Cramer is nothing more than a thug, a thief, and a murderer.”

  “Cramer never shot first. We sent in men to try setting up trading,” Greg said, “Cramer said—”

  “Cramer is a liar! Whatever he told you and Alex, you can flush it down the toilet!” Josephine marched to the edge of the porch. “Now, take your flunkies and get the hell away from here.”

  “You know if a fight starts, there’s no way for you to win,” Alex said. “You’d be better off going home. We wouldn’t challenge Fall Crossing again. Cramer has sworn it.”

  “Cramer probably has sworn it because we sent him packing last time and he knows he never could win a rematch.” Josephine softened her voice. “Alex, why don’t you come home? Whatever Cramer put in your head we’ll wash it out. You’ll live with us, like you should.”

  Alex sighed. “My home was lost with the EMP. I can’t pretend I can make a new one anywhere else.”

  “Is that it?” Jacob looked Alex in the eyes. “You don’t think you can put down roots anywhere? Is that why you turned to Cramer? You know, you were the sore in my side for a while, but I didn’t figure you to be a truly evil man. Why the change? Why would you do this?”

  Jacob studied Alex’s eyes. The man was different, n
o question about that. Something harsh was burned into his soul. Jacob wondered if the trauma of losing the modern way of life due to the EMP had damaged the man more than Jacob ever had perceived and that it was just a matter of time before Alex snapped.

  “So much was lost in an instant,” Alex said slowly. “My car, my home, my profession, my colleagues, all scattered to the wind. My money, forever lost in the fried innards of bank computers that never can be accessed again. Everything I knew about how to live in this world was rendered worthless. I had to relearn everything.” Raising his chin, Alex finished. “Perhaps I’d rather live my life taking revenge on this world. Perhaps the world deserves to burn.”

  Jacob backed away, permitting Alex to join Greg. “Now, we’re going.”

  Greg spread his arms. “But Krysta, Jamie, Ford…”

  “They won’t escape.” Alex looked up at the roof of the homestead. “There’s no place they can run to.”

  Alex turned and started down the walkway that led from the porch to the front yard’s outer gate.

  “Alex!” Josephine called, “Please don’t do this!”

  Alex did not look back. He pushed open the gate, allowing himself and Greg through. The pair joined the line of armed men and women at the road, who then turned around and filed back into the woods without any hurry.

  Josephine let her arms dangle as she bowed her head. “Damn him. Alex…”

  The sister of Alex Cowell turned and walked back into the house. Jacob barely heard her. He was frozen in place, watching the last of the armed men and women retreat into the forest.

  Domino shook her head. “Jay…”

  “I know.” Jacob added in his mind, We’re in trouble, but Domino didn’t need to hear that. She knew that their world just had been flipped upside down.

  Sheryl approached them from the house. Jacob looked over his shoulder at her. “We need to talk.” He shot a glance at Josephine retreating into the house. “Without her around. Once we’ve made sure Krysta and the boys are safe.”