by J. P. Castle
“Yeah, don’t mention it, Mr. Push Button automatic.”
Ledger grinned, then flashed back to the office they’d left. “Bastian, when we changed clothes back there, where’d you get that scar on your back? Looks fresh.”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Bastian, shifting his focus out the passenger window.
BACK AT LAKE Dillon, the group waited for their friend’s speedy return. Shock spread through the tiny camp. Everyone tried to come to terms with the new reality. They all pondered the same questions: What happened to my family? Am I alone now? What’s gonna happen to me? What do I do?
Rani, Bryce, and Troian sat by the campfire.
“I’m an orphan now,” said Rani. She cased the title like a trophy. Her mind couldn’t grasp the full gravity of their plight.
“We all are,” said Troian, “except Bryce, maybe. Did Bastian mention the conversation with your mom?”
“No, we haven’t had time to talk, and my parents are out of town right now,” said Bryce.
“Me ‘n Ollie may have to live with you ‘n Bash for a while,” said Rani.
“Are you off your nut, Rani? Live where? Bastian’s wanted. Caleb and I watched two people get murdered this morning. I mean, we’re all soon wanted. It’s not safe for us anywhere.”
“What are we gonna do?” said Troian.
“Not sure . . . no clue. Bastian will figure something out. He’s intelligent about stuff. That’s the best I can hope for right now since I have no idea what is happening around us.”
“Mind if I join you ladies for a minute,” said Mr. McCrady, pulling up a chair.
“Sure,” said Troian. “Have you come up with any ideas?”
“To speak openly, I find myself in question about the people in our town being sick. Bastian and Ledger were both exposed, both touched contaminated objects and wore bracelets removed from deceased bodies. Timmy and Mazel, too. No one here is coughing or showing any signs of illness.
“Out of four subjects supposedly exposed to a killer virus, that makes no scientific sense. The stories they shared all played out the same, with their friends and others dying within a few hours or so after they received the injection.
“It’s possible I suppose . . . that they murdered the people in our town. Bastian mentioned hearing ‘population control,’ but this seems a violent way to do that. No contact with the outside world makes it difficult to discern what’s going on everywhere else,” said Mr. McCrady.
Bryce threw more wood onto the fire, sparks flashed in the air. “We need a plan. I need to find my twin brother, Brock. I can only imagine what he’s going through,” she said.
“When Bastian gets back, we’ll figure it out,” said Mr. McCrady. “There is absolutely no time to waste. Even though the soldiers aren’t aware of what we’ve seen and heard collectively, all of us are still in danger carrying that knowledge and guilty by association. At least that’s what the government will say. If they murdered our town, they'd have no problem adding a few more to the list. I hate to say it, but none of us are important in their eyes.”
“I can’t handle this . . . can we not call the cops or somebody?” said Rani.
“Rani, I love you. But, get a brain. Do you really think the police are gonna arrest the military? They probably killed all of the cops back in our town,” said Bryce.
“I will help you kids all I can,” said Mr. McCrady, “You’re all I have left. My wife passed on last summer from her long fight. You kids are my family at school. That’s how I view it anyway. Most of my relatives are also deceased . . . I’m old.
“Maurine and I were never able to have children. We almost adopted once, then she became ill. Neither of us wanted to put a child through that. We fought her cancer for three decades. Doctors said it came from well water, contaminated with pesticides. Maurine was the love of my life.”
“We’re your family now, Mr. McC.” Troian touched the top of his hand for a moment. “We need you, and we all need each other,” she said.
“Thanks, Troian, what a thoughtful thing to say,” said Mr. McCrady.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Roadblock
LEDGER HAD LESS than a mile to go before they reached the barricade blocking their path to Dillon Reservoir. Tension mounted in Caleb’s neck. He flashed back to earlier in the morning . . . remembering the murders he’d witnessed from the mountain top. Will we be torched next in the ravine?
“Maybe, we should try to carry these bags back. Leave these pigs here,” said Caleb.
“No, we need answers from them,” said Bastian determined.
“What are we gonna tell the soldiers at the roadblock?” said Ledger.
“Nothing, maybe they’ll wave this truck on through,” said Bastian.
“Yeah, uh, if they don’t?” said Ledger.
“I’ve got an idea, but if the plan goes south, be ready to shoot. They WILL kill us. Make no mistake about that. They’ve already killed a lot of people, for reasons we still don’t understand.”
Ledger pulled around the final bend. Bastian bounced his knee up and down in anticipation. The guard in front of the barricade motioned his hand, requesting a full stop. The other guard raised up his weapon to ensure full compliance.
Caleb pointed his gun directly into the kidnapped soldier’s faces, who now laid down on the floor. No one said a word. The armed guards approached the vehicle; with no choice, Ledger rolled down the window.
“Where you off to gentlemen?” said the MP. His partner patrolled around the Hummer.
“On orders from Major General Given to comb behind this pass once more,” said Bastian.
“Again?”
“Yeah, again.”
“I’ll need to confirm that, Lieutenant. Wait right here.”
The soldier turned to step away from the vehicle. Without delay, Ledger and Bastian gave each other a final nod. Both burst from their doors—weapons drawn.
“Sorry, but we can’t let you do that,” said Ledger. He pointed his gun in the soldier’s face.
Bastian did the same on the other side of the vehicle.
“What is this? You’ll be court-martialed for this,” said the soldier.
“I guess I would be if I were actual military,” said Ledger. “Drop your sidearm and knife slow, then step back.”
The soldier complied.
Ledger—without taking his eyes off the soldier—slipped both into the waist of his pants.
Boots scuffled on the loose cinders, coming from Bastian’s side. A body slammed into the Hummer, someone let out an “ugh.”
Ledger couldn’t tell if Bastian or the soldier made the pain-filled noise. He tightened his grip on the gun and stepped back two paces to get a better view.
Bastian and the guard were clobbering each other down on the pavement. Bastian was on the bottom. He slugged the man in the jaw twice from below. The commotion brought Caleb out of the vehicle.
The stout soldier landed a heavy blow to Bastian’s ribcage; still, Bastian managed to flip the man over and jump back onto his feet. His gun lay two feet away. The instant Bastian’s eyes veered toward the weapon, the soldier struck the side of his face with brute force.
Bastian nearly blacked out, before landing on his back. Ledger lost his visual but heard the loud thud. The soldier climbed on top of Bastian to finish him off. His rough, calloused hands wrapped, then tightened around Bastian’s throat.
Bastian stretched his arm out for his pistol, inches out of reach. He clawed at the pebbles on the edge of the road . . . one more inch, that’s all I need. Come on hand—reach. I’m gonna pass out, I’m out of air. He’s gonna kill me . . . it’s all . . . turning black.
Bastian’s eyes rolled back to meet the man who continued to strip the life from him. A limpness flooded through his body. His muscles wilted into the ground like flowers without water.
Caleb’s best friend couldn’t match the trained military man twice his size and wearing body armor. Clenching his teeth, he turned his
weapon away from the two soldiers tied up on the vehicle floor and aimed it at the soldier, choking his friend to death. His hand tingled. Either lose Bastian or kill the man, the two available options. No time to debate the repercussions.
Bastian gasped one last time for air.
“BASTIAN!” said Ledger. Even if I can’t stand him, you’re not gonna kill him you piece of . . . not on my watch. Ledger needed to immediately disable the soldier standing in front of him. Without hesitation, he aimed at the man’s leg and squeezed the trigger. The bullet torpedoed into the soldier’s kneecap. The man let out a roar, fell onto the concrete in a curled position, and grasped his leg. Cursing, he swore to kill Ledger.
Ledger rounded the corner of the Hummer just in time to see Caleb fire a single shot into the soldier’s back. A lung hit. The blast from the weapon echoed through the chilly night air.
Time screeched to a halt—someone pushed the pause button on life. The heavy soldier toppled forward, in slow motion, onto Bastian. Ledger rolled him off to the side. The man’s eyes fell open. A pool of red began to surround his body.
Bastian fought to regain his breath, clawing at his throat. His vision returned little by little as oxygen replenished his system.
“Bastian, are you all right?” said Ledger.
“Yeah,” he coughed, grateful his pals had saved his life.
Caleb lowered his weapon.
Ledger grasped Bastian’s hand to aid him up.
“He almost killed me.”
“What do we do with this one? I shot him in the knee,” said Ledger. “Should we kill him, too?”
“Yes, we should. They’ve destroyed our lives, killed our families ‘n friends,” said Bastian.
“Guys, you don’t have to do this,” said the soldier.
Ledger—conflicted—continued to point the gun at the man’s head. He imagined how his parents had died, choking on their own vomit, the same as Henry Gaines. How desperate they must’ve felt with no one to help in their final moments. His hand quivered.
“Cover his face up,” said Ledger. “I can’t do this with him eyeballing me. This should be so easy.”
“I just killed a man. Move, I’ll do it,” said Caleb, raising his pistol. “I’m a murderer now. What’s one more?”
“No, Caleb, no, you’re not a murderer. This is war. It’s not murder when a person’s being attacked, and they don’t have a choice. We both . . . all three of us can understand that,” said Bastian. “You saved my life, there’s a difference. We aren’t executioners.”
“Let’s tie him up ‘n go,” said Ledger. “Keep what we got ‘n get out of here.”
“What’d you brats get anyway?” said the soldier, unaware two of his compadres remained tied up on the Hummer floor.
“Shut up,” said Ledger. He hammered the butt of his gun into the back of the guy’s head, rendering him unconscious. “This is your lucky day. You can thank me later.”
Bastian collected the weapons and added them to their growing cache. They tied the injured soldier up with his own zip ties, stole his radio, and flattened the tires on his jeep.
“What about him?” said Caleb, pointing to the lifeless man.
“Roll them both over the ravine. It’ll take a long time to climb back up with a bullet lodged in that knee,” said Bastian. “They burnt your parents, and our friends, in ditches after they murdered them. I’d say we did better for him than he would’ve done for us. We KNOW who we are. Not one of us is a murderer. Them . . . they’re cold-blooded killers. What happened to protect and to serve?”
“Uh, I think that’s the police,” said Caleb.
“Oh yeah, whatever,” said Bastian. “Let’s go, it won’t be long before their buddies realize we’ve been here.”
They climbed back into the Hummer; Ledger pummeled through the barricade without a second thought. No one said much along the way.
TWO DAYS AGO, Caleb wondered who he wanted to take to the Fall dance. He had a couple of girls slated to ask, one in particular, the other, plan B. That was the biggest decision on his plate to worry about in life.
Now—instead—the death penalty or a life sentence for murdering a U.S. soldier weighed on his mind. Mom always said life could change in the blink of an eye. I thought she was so full of it. I’m really gonna miss you, mom. You too, dad.
He glared at the two soldiers on the floor and kept a steady aim at them. You caused this. You’ve ruined my life, my family, and robbed my future. I should kill you both dead right now.
LEDGER KNEW HIS family had dysfunctional problems. Even so, they were still his family, and he loved them.
His only brother died at the age of ten; Ledger had turned eight that year. A driver accidentally ran over his brother after he wrecked his bike, killing him instantly. This was the tragedy that caused his dad to take up the bottle. His mother hardly functioned from depression after that.
Ledger spent a lot of time alone following the accident, until he met Bastian. Guess my time on this earth was fated to be spent all by myself. No family. No brother. No girlfriend. Nothing. Lost my best friend. Why? What’s left for me now but to survive . . . and now I’ve shot a man.
BASTIAN’S NECK ACHED from the soldier’s powerful grasp, causing him to wince from the pain and close his eyes for a minute. His ribs didn’t feel much better. He’d torn the edge of one of his nails clawing in the cinders. He reached up to place it on the coldness of the window but quickly recoiled it into his palm. The window wasn’t as comforting as he’d imagined. It only added to the burning sensation.
The wrench, I forgot the wrench I borrowed to tweak my dirt bike motor last week. Mr. Pitman won’t be too happy about that. Why that memory? We just killed a man back there. Maybe, I’m in shock. Is this shock? Guess that wrench doesn’t matter much now, Mr. Pitman’s dead anyway. No time to worry about wrenches or dirt bikes today, maybe never again.
Bastian promptly returned to reality when Ledger pulled into the reservoir. The vehicle rumbled down the bumpy dirt road, jarring everyone around along the way. Those packing up camp stopped dead in their tracks when the military Hummer slowed and parked. Ledger, Caleb, and Bastian ignored their prized catch on the floor. They exited the vehicle with great haste.
“You scared us half to death,” said Rani.
“Why are you in those clothes, Bastian? Uh, where’d that vehicle come from? And what happened to your face? Is that blood?” grilled Bryce.
“Long story, no time to explain. We are flat on borrowed time here,” he said.
Bastian dug into one of the duffel bags. He handed Trent fifty thousand dollars.
“You have to leave here right now for the reservation. Do what we discussed. Get the bus loaded. Mr. McC can go with us, we’ll need him. Bryce, Rani, Ollie, Caleb, Ledger, Timmy, and Mazel, too.”
“I’m going,” said Troian.
Bastian nodded. Everyone stood in agreement.
“Amir and Youlie, it’s your choice, but I’d appreciate it if you’d join our group also,” said Bastian. “We’re gonna need your IT skills.”
“Who knew our nerdiness would one day come in handy?” said Amir, nudging Youlie’s arm.
“Yeah, we’re in,” said Youlie, who harbored a secret crush on Amir, unbeknownst to him.
“Joaquin, Mateo, your choice, but our group could use you,” said Bastian.
“I’m in,” said Mateo.
Joaquin nodded in agreement.
“Okay, so that’s about half the group,” said Bastian.
“Bastian, I want your group,” said a freshman girl, standing in the back named Lumen.
“Okay, but that’s it,” said Bastian. “That’s about fifteen out of twenty-nine here. We can’t take any more. The rest of you load your stuff on the bus, hurry. I’ll be in communication with you, Trent. We WILL keep in touch. Stay OFF any phones, social media, or risk death. That’s the bottom line. Death for the whole group. Tracker, I need your uncle’s phone number and address. I’m taking the sat
phone out of that truck. I’ll memorize the information and throw it away.”
“Bastian, I’m in total agreement with everything you’ve said so far. Glad you’re showing strong leadership abilities, but we need other transportation. Why don’t I go down to the camp store, the owner might sell us that old jalopy sitting behind it? That’s all I can figure out right now to get us out of here. We also can’t be seen with Breckenridge tags or in that military vehicle.”
“Great idea. Here take ten grand. Give him whatever he wants,” said Bastian.
“We should try to get to Vedauwoo in Wyoming tonight, it’s about three ‘n half hours from here. We can figure out a plan there and rest. It’s a remote temporary place to hide,” said Mr. McCrady.
“Yeah, yeah, sounds good. Everybody load up,” said Bastian.
“You heard the man, let’s move it people,” said Ledger.
Caleb sat off to the side for a minute by the fire.
“Are you okay?” said Bryce.
“I’m fine,” he said. His eyes danced around the flames.
“What did you see in our neighborhood?” said Bryce.
Without looking up at her, he responded, “Didn’t really see much with the dark ‘n the fog. But the experience . . . I won’t soon forget.”
Bryce placed her hand on his back. “You’re like my brother, Caleb. I’m always here for you, always.”
“I’m not your brother, Bryce,” said Caleb. He got up and walked toward Bastian.
The cold sting of his words hurt Bryce, leaving her confused. That’s not how he normally is with me. Must need some time alone. Could’ve seen something horrible and doesn’t know how to tell me. It has been a long day.
FEARS CONFIRMED
MR. McCRADY HOPPED on the golf cart and drove down to the country store, now closed with no signs of life inside. Unsure of where or how to find the owner, he quietly crept around the backside of the building where the old R.V. sat.
Wonder if it’ll even start.