Defending No Where (The No Where Apocalypse Book 3) (14 page)

Violet leaned over his shoulder. “You should use magenta. It’s Libby’s favorite.”

He shook his head either at me or Violet, or perhaps both. “I’m not sure I even know what color that is…” If nothing else, he was playing along nicely.

Pencils and pens had disappeared from our home. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d seen one, though I knew for a fact Libby had been practicing her letters with a pencil not long ago. Or maybe it was a crayon? Last winter, we all sat around for days coloring Christmas trees with the young girl. Thus, I just assumed everyone used crayons nowadays.

Violet handed Wilson the magenta crayon. As she pulled away, he reached for her hand and held it, giving her a kind smile.

“That Hope sure is getting big,” he said. “How old is she now?”

“Almost six months,” Violet answered, seeming more at ease with him than on previous visits.

“I bet she’s gonna grow up to be a beautiful young lady someday, just like her mother.” I swear I saw Wilson’s tired eyes grow misty.
 

He gently let go of Violet’s hand and turned to face me head on.

“These places are all just south of Covington,” he began. “Probably seven miles north of here. Not the spots they were before, which were closer.”

Giving him my full attention, I nodded.

“And they’re a little more remote than the last place I knew they were at,” Wilson continued. He lined the paper up in front of himself.
 

“So here’s that river that crosses between Lettie’s old place and town.” He drew a horizontal line across the bottom of the paper. “Here’s the highway.” A vertical line shot up from the previous one. “And town is just off the top of the paper.”

I nodded several times. “I got it.” Well, sort of.

There were so many little rivers and creeks in this place it was hard to know which was which. Hopefully with a little more detail, I’d be zeroed in somewhere near my target.

Next, he drew some circles to the left of the road. That was west, at least I knew that much. However, the circles were far apart. Potential problem, I thought.

“These are the four known locations that are available to them,” Wilson said, tapping the crayon in the middle of the cluster. He must have seen my concern. “Problem?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “Four spots, miles from here, and they seem a little spread out to me.”

He sighed, crossing his arms. “They’re all at least three miles off the main road. The furthest one might be five.” His eyes met mine. “This fellow is careful. Not like he’s going to set up shop right on the highway for everyone to notice. It’s gonna take some craftiness to get to him.”

I let out a long sigh. For the first time since I’d been planning my revenge, I wondered if it wasn’t as Lettie called it — a fool’s errand.

With the details laid out in front of me, I contemplated my hunt. Wilson had taken a good long time describing as much as he knew. What each of the cabins were like, what he knew about the local terrain, recent movements of the gang and what others had noticed about their fire power.

Mysteriously absent were any comments on my likelihood of winning the battle.

“You’re going up against at least three people, Bob,” he said, working on a plate of venison and potatoes Daisy had prepared for us. Across the table, Violet and Libby picked at their plates. Great, now the two older ones had the little girl depressed.

I contemplated my path and actions while chewing on my dinner. “Twelve miles will take most of a day. At least, if I want to move unnoticed. That’s two days for a round trip.” That was more than I had planned for travel time alone. Hell, I thought the whole adventure would only take two days.

“And then you gotta find them,” Wilson added. “They may or may not be exactly where you expect them. I’d start with the closest place and work my way out. But that’s just me.”

“And we don’t know if they’ve picked up a fourth for sure?”

He shook his head, his lips pressed together in a thin line. “Jimmy heard from a man that there were four. Another friend told me he’s sure there’s only three. So you’d better plan on four.”

That was problematic. My goal was to catch at least two of them in the open somehow. The first would die, completely caught off guard by my attack. I could take the second as they sought cover. I hoped that the third would hole up and I could either wait them out or burn the place down around them.

A potential fourth person made the task more challenging. It allowed them to have a planned synchronized counterattack against me. And if they had enough time, or higher ground, or any other number of factors to their advantage, that could be the end of me.

“And one of them is a woman,” Wilson said, picking at his teeth. “I don’t know how you feel about killing a woman. That’d be hard for me.”

I felt myself stiffen. “They robbed us at gunpoint, they attacked Lettie’s place, they killed Dizzy. They hung two bodies out front to scare us off. I bet that same woman has been with them the whole time.”

He nodded.

“Then she has it coming,” I continued. “Just like Barster and anyone else left in his gang.” I glanced over at Daisy as tears welled in her eyes. “An eye for an eye.”

Day 1,100

I assembled my gear one day and went through the plan the next. That and rain were the only things delaying my leaving. By the morning of the third day, a light drizzle replaced the on again-off again thunderstorms. Drizzle and fog, the perfect setting to match my mood.
 

Daisy followed me around as I laid my gear out on the covered picnic table that Wilson and I had found several abandoned houses away. Every few minutes, she’d hug me or stop me and sneak a kiss. And every few minutes, I gave her a soft smile and went back to my preparation.

The weather and Daisy’s actions made this all feel wrong. But my gut told me everything was right, and the time was now.

Wilson approached from the cabin. “One thing you got going for you is that all four places are close to the same stream. They have to have fresh water nearby. Like I told you before, you follow that same stream and you’ll find all four potential hideouts.”

Yeah, along with a dozen other local cabins he’d also warned me about. But I had the descriptions of the places written down, in crayon no less.

“You find them,” he warned, keeping his voice low, “and then get yourself organized. Don’t go charging in not knowing what the scoop is.”

I nodded to myself mostly, packing the last of my provisions. I had four days of rationed food, two half-gallons of fresh water, a book of matches, an extra box of 45-caliber handgun ammo (along with a fully loaded clip already in the gun), a small tarp and a blanket. I knew I was cutting it close on food, but any extra would have weighed me down. As for the water, well that was something that was plentiful up here. As long as I didn’t get mixed up with any brackish water, I’d be fine.

Daisy came up to me, tears streaming down her face again. I would have said it was getting old, but my mortality warned me to keep that thought to myself.

“Please take this with you,” she said, handing me a folded piece of material. “It’s a scarf I haven’t worn in a while. Maybe wrap it around your neck at night so you’ll think of me.”

I stuffed the thin flowered material into my back pocket and leaned down to kiss her. “I’m coming back you know. Don’t give up on me.”

She played with the buttons of my shirt, nodding nervously and avoiding my gaze. “I know. I know.”

I gave her a hug and looked inside. “I need to get going before it gets too late. I want to be off the road and somewhere near the first place by dark. I’d better say goodbye to the others.”

She hugged me for a few extra heartbeats and finally let loose. I opened the door and glanced at the rest of my family. On the couch, Libby held Hope, rocking her back to sleep. Beside them stood Violet, refusing to turn and look at me.

“I gotta go,” I said quietly. Leaning over the couch, I kissed Libby on the cheek and softly kissed the top of Hope’s head, breathing in her baby scent.
 

“I’ll be back in five days or so, Libby,” I said to the frowning child. “You help take care of Hope while I’m gone.”

She nodded, sniffling back a tear. I turned to Violet, who was still facing away from me.

“You take care of Daisy while I’m gone,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t let her get all in a tizzy if I’m not back right away. I promise I’ll be back.”

Most likely, the teen was crying. But I couldn’t tell, because she refused to look at me.

I gave her a few minutes but nothing changed, so I turned and left. That was the way she wanted it.

Outside I gave Daisy one more hug and kiss. Wilson approached with his right hand extended.

“Good luck to you, son,” he said, looking none too happy himself. “Don’t worry about a thing here. I’ll still be around whenever you get back.” He wiped away a single tear. “Godspeed, Bob. I know it ain’t easy, but I believe you’re doing the right thing…just so you know how I feel.”

One last goodbye with Daisy and I made my way to the road. I refused to look back one last time. I was coming back, then I could stare at the cabin for the rest of my days.

I was five minutes down the road when I heard it. I paused, fearing trouble was approaching from behind in the dense fog. I heard the slap of footsteps running up behind me. When I turned, the person nearly tackling me was Violet.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she cried, hugging me tightly. “I didn’t mean anything I ever said. Not the bad stuff at least.” Her words came out rushed.

“I don’t want you to leave,” she begged. “But I know you have to go. And I don’t want you to think I don’t care.”

She kissed my cheek several quick times, pulling my face towards hers and kissing me again on the lips.

“I’m sorry that Daisy won’t say it, but I will. I love you. I love you so much. I don’t want you to get hurt. I want you to come back in one piece. And we’ll work it out when you do come back. I won’t be in the way of you and Daisy, I promise. Just tell me you love me or at least care about me. That’s all I want to hear and I’ll let you go.”

I stroked her dirty tear-stained chin. “In some weird sort of way Violet, I do love you. But it will never be the same as between Daisy and me. It just can’t be. I hope you understand.”

She squeezed me tightly. “I do,” she whispered. “I just wanted to hear you say it, even if you didn’t mean it. Please be careful, please come back. And if you get all shot up, I promise to take care of you again. Just please come back.”

I rubbed the top of her head and kissed her forehead one last time. “I’m coming back,” I said, summoning the best smile I could. “That’s a promise. Then we’re all going to spend a lot more boring years together. Maybe even find you a real man who will take care of you and Hope.”

I let her kiss me again, though my eyes did peek back down the highway to be sure Daisy hadn’t followed.

She pushed my chest lightly. “Go then. Get this over with. And let’s get on with our boring life.”

I was 40 feet down the road before I turned to look back and wave. There stood Violet, sobbing, doing her best to wave goodbye. I was glad to have her blessing.

Day 1,100 — continued

An hour plus of walking and I began to feel the effects of my hike. My feet were sore. That may have been the fact that the boots I’d chosen were old and two sizes too large. Even the extra pair of socks didn’t seem to help.

My shoulders and back ached from the weight of my pack. I hadn’t thought I’d packed all that much, but the tender spot on my lower back signaled otherwise.

Another hundred paces and I found a log to take a break on. Pulling the 45 from my back waistband, I studied the road behind and ahead before taking a swig of water. Damn, it was already tepid. Or maybe it was already tepid way back at the cabin.

I pulled the map from my pocket and looked it over. Seven miles up and in on an old logging road. Five miles back to where the second major creek crossed the road. Not some little babbling brook of water, Wilson had warned. These were creeks I was looking for. And according to my strange friend, I’d been a resident of No Where long enough; I should know what a gosh-darned creek looked like by now.

Back on my feet, I tried to figure out my location. I had to be halfway to the first turn-off, I figured. Maybe even almost there.

A little further down the road, reality set in. Standing in the middle of the road, I stared at the charred remains of Lettie’s place. I was barely a quarter of the way to my destination for the day.

I trudged on, silently chastising myself. Nothing about this task was going to be easy. Not the hike there, the search, the killings or the hike back. I needed to get it through my head, right then and there, that this was serious business.

A blister brought my hike to another unscheduled stop about a mile past Lettie’s. Gingerly, I took my shoe off and discovered a small pebble that had snuck its way in and was causing the angry, red, irritated patch. No actual blister had formed yet, so I decided to rest for a while to give my foot a chance to breathe.

I closed my eyes for a moment. While I believed I was in decent shape, my massive weight loss had caused my muscles to atrophy more than I thought. The sound of crunching gravel made my eyelids flutter open.

When I looked up, my breath caught in my throat. Three people were walking towards me. I didn’t recognize them at first, but the woman’s smile was familiar.

“What the hell you think you’re doing?” one of the men angrily asked. I focused on him.

“Bud?” I asked. My eyes swam with tears as I rose to greet my brother. I looked at the other two. “Dad? Shelly? What are you doing here?” I thought I spoke aloud, but they didn’t seem to hear me.

Dressed as if they were going to church, the three encircled me. I found it strange that they didn’t offer a handshake or hug, and even stranger that they all seemed angry.

I turned to my father. “Answer Bud’s question, Bob. What do you think you’re up to?” I’d never seen my father that upset. It almost looked like he was going to hit me.