Day One (Book 3): Alone (26 page)

“Who the hell is shooting at us?” She asked.

It took me a moment to get enough air into my lungs to respond, which added in me reloading before doing anything else. “I don’t know, but whoever they are they suck at shooting. We were both in the middle of the street and the wind was blowing against us, so why they missed is anyone’s guess,” I answered.

“You think they missed on purpose?”

Before I could speak a bullet blasted through the wall, showering us both with splintered debris, forcing us to get lower to the ground.

“Well, if they did, they’re making up for it now,” I said to her. “Keep your eyes and ears open though, they could have others with them and shooting at us to keep us from seeing them advance.”

Two more holes were blown into the side of the carport.

“Maybe we should move?” Rachel suggested.

I nodded my head vigorously. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” I announced. “You push and I’ll cover you.”

“Which way?”

“The backyard,” I told her. “There are too many obstacles, including fences, to block their view. So unless they are elevated somewhere, they won’t see us hauling ass.” That set of ideas got me to thinking and it completely engulfed my train of thought. I was no soldier; therefore I had no way of knowing whether the person shooting at me was far off or close up. The falling rain and rolling thunder masked any gunshots or they could have been using a suppressor like I had. In every past gunfight I had been so focused on staying alive that I’d never really payed much attention to what the chaos sounded or felt like.

All I knew for sure was that I could feel the fear working its way through me and I needed to get it under control before it shut me down. I didn’t have to be a soldier to know that freezing up in a gunfight would kill you.

“Okay,” I said to Rachel. “When I start shooting, you haul ass and don’t stop until you get to cover. Once there, I’ll move and you cover me. You got it?”

“Gotcha,” she answered.

I weaseled my way up to the wall, where three bullets had shot through so far, and flattened out into a laying, or prone position. Very little of my body was exposed, in case of further gunfire. I could see in the direction of where I thought the fire was coming from, so if anyone at all tried to move on us while Rachel was going for cover, I’d kill them with extreme prejudice. And if the sniper fired at us again I might be able to see a muzzle flash and locate their position.

“Go,” I said quickly and she shot from under the carport like a bullet. I watched from my concealed position, yet there was no more fire directed at us and no one tried advancing.

Rachel made it to a small shed in the backyard and quickly knelt down facing me. She propped her pistol against the side of the building to steady her aim and waited for all hell to break loose.

I lay there watching the several front yards and street for what seemed like a half an hour or more. No one came to investigate. No more bullets flew our way. There were no other disturbances and that bothered me more than if they would have charged us with great numbers. At least in that scenario I could kill a few of them, let them know we weren’t scared and we’d fight like cornered animals. It was the not seeing them that toyed with my head the most. “What the hell are you guy’s waiting for?” I asked aloud.

They had to be coming up behind us. That would explain why I couldn’t see them moving, which meant the first four rounds had simply been shot at us to unwillingly conform us to their unspoken demands. It had been a diversion of epic proportion and most of all… it had worked.

Rachel motioned for me to come to her. I shook my head and pointed toward the fence, trying to get her to understand what I was saying, as I didn’t need her looking at me. I needed her watching the fence for any intruders that were sure to come bounding over at any moment. Unfortunately, she didn’t understand what I was telling her and continued to shrug her shoulders, motion for me to come to her, never once looking in the direction of the fence.

“Dammit!” I growled under my breath. I couldn’t just shout instructions to her, because the moment I did that, I’d be telling
them
that I was aware of what they were up to. And I wanted them to think I was oblivious to their plan.

“Anything?” A voice suddenly asked softly and very close.

I froze solid, realizing that they had closed the gap to me unseen and were now just a few feet away. I had no idea how many of them there were, nor did I know the type of weapons they carried, although I knew for a fact at least one of them had a long range rifle. Probably something large in caliber for hunting things like Elk or Moose, something I didn’t want to get hit with by any means.

“Nothing,” another voice replied a little further away. “I just saw them slip up along this area and disappear.”

“Did you hit any of them?” The first voice I had heard asked.

There was a brief pause, to which I’m sure the shooter was receiving a look from his friend or superior of utter disappointment. “I didn’t see any blood on the street, so I either missed or winged them.”

“Great,” the first voice exclaimed. “Now we have a cop running around, that could be just winged or scared shitless. How many times do I have to tell you to focus right before you squeeze that trigger?”

“I wasn’t aiming for the cop,” the second voice stated.

“What?” the first asked.

“I was shooting for the military guy,” the second told the first.

I lay there wondering why it was that every time I ran into other survivors, not only were they trying to kill me, but they were completely stupid as well. Was that a curse I was carrying with me, to be assaulted and hunted by dumbasses until I was killed by one of those things? I mean how unlucky can one guy be at the end of the world? Isn’t the end of the world punishment enough already without having to factor in gun totting idiots with no more brain power than the ones who shuffle aimlessly around? Geez!

“You idiot,” the first said, trying his best to keep control of his voice.

At least he’s calling it what it is.
My mind said in a sarcastic tone.

“The military guys are on our side. It’s the damn corrupt cops from the school that we are fighting with, hence the reason he was about to shoot the cop, right before you went and screwed that up,” he added.

The second man’s voice went into defensive mode. “You said to shoot them! You didn’t say which one, you just said shoot and I did. He had the military hardware in his hands and I considered him to be more of a threat than the cop with a pistol.”

Another few seconds of silence, and then the first voice spoke. “Okay… you did what you thought was right, I see that and I should have been more specific. But we can’t change that now. We’ll have to find both of them and finish this thing now.”

“The cop could have easily called for backup by now or went for help,” the second voice said. “I say we caught our loses and go, while we still can.”

“What, and let them come back here later or in a few days and wipe us all out? I don’t think so. We find them
both
right now and eliminate them,” the first voice said.

The fear that had been dwelling within me, threatening to take control, faded like insurmountable pain devoured by syringes of morphine. The numbness that remained was filled with a sea of rage and hatred toward those that stood in my way of finding my children. For them to threaten my life was the same as them threatening my children and when it came to their lives I’d become the hand of God and smite them all.

The mercy I once held was fleeting with each new day.

The compassion had run dry, as well as what humanity I could spare. I was de-evolving faster and faster until all that would remain were the basic of instincts. I was becoming less of a human and more of a predator. Everything in this very instant was as clear as glass. My life, their lives, none mattered to me but those of my children… and they would live at all costs.

Rachel, upon seeing the first stranger stroll up from nowhere, had moved further down the side of the shed and dropped to the wet ground in order to remain out of sight. From her position, she was able to see under the shed as they two men talked and my proximity to them. The odds of them finding me were great and at the current range, which was outside of her skill level in shooting, there was little she could do to save me. I was on my own when it came to these two… or however many of them there really were.

The assumed leader turned and headed toward the backyard in which Rachel was hiding and slowly came into my vision. I quickly, yet quietly at the same time, altered the direction of my body and rifle barrel, bringing his full appearance into view.

“They couldn’t have gotten too far,” he said and turned to see his friend still in the same spot. His eyes also danced across me and instantly he froze, a hand stopped halfway toward an unseen pistol, as he knew he’d never make it before I got my shots off on him.

“That’s what I was thinking,” his friend replied and took a few steps closer, realizing his buddy had abruptly stopped and was facing the carport with something odd flashing on his eyes. As he grew closer he could see what he feared the most, and that was the look of utter horror in his friends eyes, there was no doubting it. “Marcell, what is it?”

Marcell threw up a hand. “Don’t come any closer, Erin, stay where you are.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Erin asked, the worry evident in his voice.

Rachel could see that with everyone’s attention upon Brandon, she could move unmolested or unseen and gain a better, as well as closer vantage point, so if something were to happen she could better support her new friend.

Erin stopped as ordered, but he would not put the question to rest and kept pushing for an answer. “Marcell, what is it? Tell me dammit!”

Marcell spoke. “Just hold on a minute… let’s just keep calm and talk about all of this.”

“Talk about what?” Erin asked.

“I’m sure we can work something out if we try hard enough… he’s just a kid for god sakes, no more than eighteen years old,” Marcell added.

Erin was totally lost at this point. None of the things Marcell was saying made any sense to him. Who was he referring too that was near his age? Keep calm about what? “Please, tell me what you are talking about?”

Marcell turned his head to Erin. There was no longer a look of fear in his eyes, as anger had taken its place. “Get away from here!”

“But…”

“I said get the fuck out of here, now go!” Marcell ordered this young kid.

Erin was about to walk away when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye and looked to see the female officer taking up a better firing position at the corner of the house. Her pistol was trained on him and he knew that he’d never get his rifle up and aimed before she shot him down. “Oh, shit.”

Marcell looked to see Erin looking toward the rear of the house. He followed the kid’s gaze and came to the female officer, giving me more than enough time to get to my feet and better see both of my targets instead of just one.

“I found the cop, Marcell,” Erin said.

“And I found her friend,” Marcell responded, pulling Erin’s attention towards his friend to see me now standing with my SBR leveled at them.

“Don’t even think about it, kid. We’ll burn you down before you can even get that rifle into your shoulder,” I said sternly, hoping that the kid took the warning and kept his hands and rifle where they currently were. I didn’t want to shoot him because he was so young, although if pushed me into a corner, then I’d have no choice but to come out swinging.

Rachel’s voice cut through the wet silence. “Put the rifle down, kid, nice and slowly.”

Fear enveloped on Erin’s face and his fingers began to twitch, showing the nervousness he was surely experiencing at this moment in time. “What are we gonna do, Marcell? They got us surrounded and I don’t think I can get both of them!”

“Erin,” Marcell said. “Put the gun down like she said.”

Erin shook his head furiously. “No! You aren’t going to shoot us down like unarmed dogs!” He shouted.

Marcell knew how grave the situation was and at any moment either of the two strangers could start shooting. If he wasn’t able to get the rifle out of Erin’s hands, and fast, he’d be shot for noncompliance. “Erin, listen to me. You have to put the rifle down… just put it down.”

I had the kid dead to rights if he didn’t drop the gun. I felt my finger touch the trigger and knew that it would only require a few pounds of pressure before the chunk of lead exited the barrel and hit the kid in the right side of his head. He’d be dead before hitting the ground and the older guy would be next. Still, with all of this pent of frustration I had for Morris and what he’d done in the last few hours, I didn’t want to have to kill a kid. I don’t think I’d be able to handle the guilt that came with that, in a bad situation or not.

I had kept from killing Smith’s son, and he had put a hand cannon to my head and threatened to blow my friggen brains out, where this kid you could tell was simply scared and thought we were going to do both of them harm after we disarmed them. I could see Rachel becoming annoyed at the kid, telling him several times so far to put the gun down without success and wondered how many more times she’d demand him before pulling the trigger.