by Connor Mccoy
“That sister of yours has annoyed me greatly. Be glad I granted her a stay of execution. If she gets in my path again, I will spare her nothing.” Cramer reached for a metal cup by his side. He drank while not looking away from Alex.
I can’t believe he’s taking this well, Greg thought as he kept an eye on Alex.
Cramer put down his cup. “I see you have changed, Alex. I stripped you of that ridiculous urban luster you used to wear.” Cramer raised his right forefinger. A metal blade was strapped to it, making it appear Cramer possessed a bird’s talon.
“I remade you in my image, as I have for so many here. One produces after its own kind. I made you, and you…” Cramer spun around to look at Greg so quickly that Greg nearly fell onto his back. “…Well, it seems you have some work to do on this one. I don’t see the killing instinct in his eyes, or am I mistaken?”
Greg’s breath quickened. “I’m working on it. I mean, sure, I have it!” Greg cleared his throat.
“Then where is your woman? Your boys? Why are they not here? I pride myself that my flock will take what they want with no hesitation. Are you being soft on them? Do you speak sweet sounding words, hoping they would heed you?” Cramer brandished his blade close to Greg’s eye. “You have not learned well.”
“Well, Krysta is a woman, after all,” Greg said feebly. “And the boys, they’re young. I have to take some care with them. I mean, that woman Josephine, she led them astray.”
“Then you should have killed her!” Cramer roared. “Well, at least now you should, now that I have finished granting Alex his favor. Now that Josephine has chosen to stay with the family, there should be nothing between you and her death.” Returning his gaze to Alex, Cramer asked, “Am I correct?”
Alex clenched his jaw before answering. “You are always correct.”
“That is how it should be,” Cramer replied.
Footsteps turned Greg’s head. A woman dressed in camouflage gear approached Cramer. “I have sent the message,” she said.
“Show me,” Cramer said.
The woman drew two hunting knifes stained with blood from her belt. She laid them down on the grass in front of Cramer like a religious offering.
“Good.” Cramer smiled, briefly. “The one you choose, he was young, correct?”
“Yes. He was a young man. I made sure his body was displayed for many to see,” the woman replied.
Greg was about to ask what they were talking about, but then he looked into the woman’s sapphire blue eyes and knew what had happened. Cramer had sent this woman out to kill. Greg slunk back and kept his mouth shut.
Cramer reached for his cup once again. “Tomorrow, there can be no hesitation. We will strike, quickly, and in force. The Avery farm will be ours by midday tomorrow. I will spare Josephine so Greg may take her life. That will be his final test to become one in our cause.”
Greg looked at the woman again and wondered if killing that man was her test. Was this truly what Cramer expected of his followers? I wanted to help Krys and the boys, Greg thought. But God, what have I gotten myself into?
Though he was too far away to overhear Cramer speaking, chills ran down Jacob’s back as he watched Cramer talk to Greg and Alex. If Mrs. Kennan were here, she would say that Cramer had a demon inside him. The way Cramer moved was almost like an animal. Cramer’s eyes didn’t even seem natural at all. Jacob could understand why Josephine kicked Cramer out of Fall Crossing. Who in their right mind would want to live near this guy?
Cramer so unnerved Jacob that he almost forgot about Alex and Greg. Alex just sat there and took whatever Cramer said to him with stoicism. If Alex was at all freaked by Cramer’s presence and actions, he did not show it. But Greg was a different matter. Greg clearly acted apprehensive, particularly when Cramer spoke directly to him. Then the woman showed up and Greg’s fear seemed to dial up a notch.
These guys all look like they would tear the head off a guy at a moment’s notice, but not Greg. Why did Greg fall in with these guys? Is it really just about gathering supplies, or does Greg want to prove himself? Jacob recalled Josephine’s words to Greg back in the house about what Greg was trying to show Krysta.
Greg got to his feet. He nodded profusely to Cramer before turning to leave. From his angle of departure, it seemed he was walking back in the same direction from which he had come.
Maybe Cramer gave Greg something to do, Jacob thought.
Jacob resumed watching Cramer. Alex by now had risen to his feet. Soon he walked out of sight, leaving just Cramer to sit by himself. He resumed drinking.
Jacob’s left hand crossed over his belt. It was tempting. He could pull out his gun and nail Cramer right in the head. There was no one in the immediate vicinity.
Wait, I’m too far away. Hell, this scope makes Cramer seem as though he’s right in front of me. However, in reality Jacob had no chance to make such a shot. His bullet would strike one of the nearby trees before it got anywhere close to Cramer, and by then the other men would hear the shot and find him. Jacob and Trang would be dead in minutes.
There are too many men here. Jacob took his scope off his eye so he could rub his face. I don’t stand a chance of defending my home unless I get serious help, but first I have to get out of here.
He started scooting backward, but Trang held up his palm. “Wait,” he whispered. He pointed his thumb to their left, through a gap in the plant leaves. Jacob pointed his scope in that direction. A pair of Cramer’s men was walking by at an angle, not close enough to spot them immediately, but the sound Jacob and Trang made would perk their ears.
“Wait until they leave,” Trang said. “Then we go.”
Jacob barely noticed the hanging branch in front of him until the sapling nearly hit him in the face. He ducked, barely missing it. He was walking slowly to allow Trang to keep pace with him, although he would be walking slowly anyway. He was preoccupied with what he just had seen in these woods—a horde of killers not far from his doorstep. A fight was inevitable. What was he going to do?
“I hope Doms has some good news for us,” he said. The survivors’ camp should not be too far away. “If the others aren’t willing to fight, we may be in trouble.” Glancing at Trang, he added, “Oh, thanks for your help in casing the camp.”
The man seemed deep in thought. The despair Jacob had read in the man’s eyes had vanished.
“Greg, the man you spoke about,” Trang said, “I do not think he wants to go through with whatever Cramer is planning.”
“Really? You think he’ll ditch Cramer?” Jacob asked.
“I don’t know. I just know some things about people when I look at them. It was a skill I developed at my work. When I became the potentate of Middleburg, I looked at men. I learned whether they were good or savage in their ways. The bad ones, I tried to weed out as quickly as I could.”
“Reaped,” Jacob added, recalling the reapers who would trail men Trang had sent out to claim supplies for Middleburg, with the intention of killing them when their jobs were completed.
“Yes,” Trang said. “Unfortunately. I would tell myself I was doing a good thing for the good people left behind. I would tell myself anything to make myself feel good about what I did.”
“Now’s not the time to beat yourself up over it. I’m going to need your help. What do you think we can do against Cramer? Can we outfight him if we have enough men?”
“If we could command a wave from the Atlantic Ocean, we could crush him, but I doubt we will be so strong.” Trang scratched his right cheek. “Cramer views anything he wants as his already. It is not your farm any longer. It belongs to him. He just will reclaim it by any means he wishes. His greed may be his downfall.”
“Great,” Jacob replied, “so how do I do the actual downfalling? With all those men, there’s really nothing to stop him.”
Trang sighed quietly. “You are not certain you can save your home.” He slowed even further to look into Jacob’s eyes. “In fact, you have been mourning your home even
though it is still yours.”
Jacob swallowed. Trang did have great insight, Jacob would grant that. “I guess mourning would be the right word. I didn’t build the whole thing from scratch. I actually bought it about fifteen years ago. I did a lot of work on it. That house was my proof that I had escaped my life in the city, me and Doms. And even after the EMP struck, we still held onto it, even beat back Sykes to keep it. It feels like, if we lose the house, we’ve lost everything it stood for.”
Trang bowed his head. “For a while, I felt the same. I lost Middleburg. I lost all I had there. And without my brother, I still do not know what I have left to live for. If he died fighting for you and your family, perhaps helping you will restore my brother’s faith in me.” Now raising his head, he added, “I think I know what we can do. If all else fails to work for us, we can slay the dragon called Cramer.”
Jacob turned back to the forest. “Well, we have some more time before we reach the others, so give me the lowdown.”
Trang did not have time to speak. Actually, Jacob barely got the word “lowdown” out of his throat before he saw the gun pointed to his head.
“Well, look at who I found,” Greg said. The man had stepped out from behind a tree with a handgun pointed in their direction. “I was hoping I’d run into you or someone from your house. You’re going to take me to your farm right now. And if you don’t, I’ll make sure Cramer gets your bodies back as trophies.”
Chapter Fifteen
Domino tried hiding the discomfort in her face. “This is…everybody?”
Simon seemed like he was attempting to conceal his own disquiet. “Unfortunately.” He was flanked by six men, ranging from one obvious teenager to two who were probably in their twenties to three others who were close to middle-aged. Domino had asked Simon to round up people who would be interested in staying on the Avery farm in exchange for defending it against Cramer’s men, although Domino made clear that she wouldn’t expect women or children to take up the fight. However, when she noticed Simon hiking toward her with this handful of men, she feared what that meant.
“Gavin’s murder has spread like wildfire,” Simon said. “It just hit so close to home.”
Mrs. Kennan, who was beside Domino, shook her head. “You’d think these folks would be itching for some payback. Gavin was a good child. He didn’t deserve what happened to him!”
“Believe me, there’s a lot of angry feelings around here toward Cramer, but they’re just losing hope. They don’t think they can beat him. Some of them are resigned to the fact that they’ll die out here,” Simon said.
“What an absolute crock. Me, I’d at least like to take some of those sons of guns with me before they put me in my grave,” Mrs. Kennan said, with a clenched fist.
“I’m sorry,” Simon said. “I wish I had better news.”
“It’s fine.” Domino tapped her boot. “I just wish I knew what to tell Jacob.” She tapped her boot again.
“Hey, child, you’re bouncing around there.” Mrs. Keenan nodded to Domino’s leg. “Something wrong?”
“Jacob’s not back yet.” Domino looked to the woods.
“Well, it’s not like he can hop a taxi back here.” Mrs. Kennan chuckled. “Although, the camp isn’t very big. These folks don’t like to spread out too far. They know danger’s lurking. Hell, they certainly know it now.”
Domino scowled. “I shouldn’t have let him go off.”
“Well, maybe he had to hurry on back home for some reason,” Mrs. Kennan said, “We’re not too far away from your farm.”
Domino turned to the collection of men near her. “My husband, I don’t know where he is. Could you come with me, help me find him?”
Jacob’s mind raced through scenario after scenario as he approached the fence that marked his property line. By now the day had turned well into dusk, although Jacob could make a fire to produce light if he should be caught up into night. He was fortunate that Trang possessed his limp, as it gave them an excuse to walk at a slower pace.
It also could have given Greg a reason to shoot Trang and just frog march me to my house, he thought. The fact that Greg didn’t might say something about the man. Jacob figured he should try figuring out where Greg actually stood in all of this.
“What’s the deal?” Jacob asked, trying not to sound too antagonistic. “You know where my house is. It’s not like you need a guide.”
“You’re my insurance for getting Krysta and my boys outta there,” Greg said. “I’m sure Josephine ain’t going to make trouble if I have hostages.”
“That assumes she cares about us as much as she cares about keeping Krysta and the kids out of your hands,” Jacob said. “I don’t think you’ve thought this whole thing through.”
“Hey, you just keep your trap shut and do what you’re told. I’m hi-tailing Krysta and the boys out of your house,” Greg retorted.
“Why? You’ve got Cramer and his goon squad backing you up. Why all the worry?” Jacob asked as he neared his front yard.
“Because I want Krysta and the boys to be safe, and they’re not going to be safe when all the bullets start flying,” Greg said.
As Jacob reached for the gate, he realized Cramer likely was going to make his move soon. Greg wouldn’t act unless he knew Cramer would strike his home in the near future. Time was running out.
“C’mon, I ain’t got all night!” Greg bellowed.
Jacob flung open the gate. He and Trang walked into the front yard. Jacob did not spot anyone from through the front windows. But if that changed, if someone did spot Greg with a gun to his back and Trang’s, a confrontation would be inevitable. His kids might even get caught up in it.
He took his steps onto the porch. C’mon, how do I throw this guy off balance? If he’s so worried about Krysta and the boys, maybe—yeah, that might do it.
Jacob turned his head right. “Jamie!” he called out. “What are you doing out here without an adult watching you?”
Greg turned in the direction Jacob shouted toward. “Jamie?” He leaned forward, squinting his eyes.
Got him!
Jacob lunged at Greg with all of his might. He slammed the man down onto the ground by the foot of the porch. Jacob made sure to pin down the hand he used to hold his gun.
“Jacob!” Trang cried out. He leaped down and grabbed for Greg’s gun. Greg cussed loudly as he struggled.
“Let me go!” Greg shouted. “Damn you! You can’t keep me from Krysta! Jamie! Ford!” He stopped to scream as Trang kicked the gun out of Greg’s hand.
The front door opened. Sheryl and Josephine sprang out with guns in hand. “Jacob, what’s going on?” Sheryl asked as she ran down the steps.
Josephine’s eyes flashed with rage. “You again!” She looked ready to shoot Greg, even with Jacob on top of him. Jacob was so uncertain of Josephine’s next move that he rolled off Greg. By now Trang was holding Greg’s gun as well. The man was surrounded by two women and a man, all with firearms.
Greg arched his back while bracing against the concrete of the walkway that led to the house. But when he saw Josephine’s gun barrel inches from his face, he stopped in place.
“Jacob, are you okay?” Sheryl asked.
Jacob brushed loose dirt off his body. “Yeah. Our friend here just wanted to pay a house call.”
“I bet,” Josephine quipped. “So, where do you want the bullet? The head? The heart? Make it snappy.”
“I came here to save Krysta and my boys. Cramer’s bringing the hammer down tomorrow. They can’t stay here,” Greg said.
“Really? And you came here all by yourself?” Josephine chuckled. “Without my brother? Without backup?”
“I think he’s telling the truth.” Jacob rubbed his stomach, which stung slightly because of his struggle with Greg. “They don’t need to sneak around. I saw Cramer’s camp. There’s more than enough men there to overrun us. They also know where the Skylar survivors are.”
“It’s true.” Greg flung sweat off his face. �
�Cramer’s coming in tomorrow. First the farm, and then the Skylar guys.”
Josephine swore under her breath. “I’ve got to pack up Krysta and the boys now.”
“I’ve got to help them.” Greg took one step toward the house.
“Are you out of your mind? I ought to finish you off right here for all the crap you’ve put that poor family through.” Josephine stepped closer to Greg, her gun a few inches from his chest.
“Wait.” Jacob walked up to Josephine. “He’s been in their camp. He’s given us information. I think his desire to keep Krysta and the boys safe is stronger than his ties to Cramer.” Glaring at Greg, Jacob added, “At least, I hope I’m right about that. You said he’s coming after my farm first?”
“Yeah. Cramer says it’s his castle and it’s time for the king to move in,” Greg quickly answered.
“That does sound like something Cramer would say,” Josephine said with a roll of her eyes.
Jacob glanced at his home. He detested the thought of that forest-dwelling monster getting his hands on it, but at the same time, he realized that time might just be running out for this homestead.
Domino and Mrs. Kennan’s voices drew his attention. The two women trudged up toward the front yard fence, accompanied by a small group of young men. “Hey!” Domino quickened her pace. “Jay, what happened?”
“Looks like you got yourself a POW,” Mrs. Kennan said as she crossed through the gate entrance.
“It’s alright.” Jacob briefly hugged Domino. “How did it go? I see you’ve brought some help.”
“It’s not much,” Domino said glumly.
Jacob looked at the men. “Seven.” He shook his head. “Doms, I saw Cramer’s camp. Greg told us that Cramer’s moving in tomorrow. He’s coming after our home, then the Skylar survivors.”
Domino’s head bowed. “My God.” Behind Jacob, Sheryl gasped.
Jacob didn’t know what to say. This was a fight they had no hope of winning. Should they run? Did they even stand a chance of escaping Cramer’s army?