End Days Super Boxset (55 page)

“Can’t they fight back?” Ashlee asked. The group nodded and voiced agreement while awaiting Rob’s answer.

“Not if they lack the means,” Rob said. He paced the stage. “Think about it. The power has been out for two months. Resources are low. People are desperate. All it takes is one bad element to come in and take over. We’re witnessing a complete breakdown.”

Carlos stood up. “So let’s go into town and take care of those bastards. Our friends and neighbors are counting on us.” Mayra touched his arm, urging him to sit back down.

“Hear, hear!” Brad said, himself feeling inspired to do something. People began clamoring for action, and the meeting was getting out of control.

“Listen!” Rob said, quieting the group. “It’s not that easy. We’re preppers, right? And what is our main goal as preppers? It’s to ensure the safety and survival of
our
loved ones. We can’t do that by trying to be heroes. Many of us have friends and family out there, and we’re without any idea of their status.

“It’s scary and frightening, and I know it’s driving us all crazy, but we have to stick to the plan. Until the power grid is returned and law and order established, we need to remain here, only leaving for supply runs. The real issue now is not the fate of Nyack, but the fate of our families, and how we’re going to survive the winter.”

The group was silent. Rob’s blunt assessment had resonated with them—or so it seemed. They all had their own concept of what hunkering down meant, but this was no weekend drill. They had been living in the mountains for over two months with no end in sight. The situation in Nyack was frightening. They truly were on their own.

***

Later that day, Josh and Antonio gathered their supplies for a day of fishing—the one activity that kept them sane. Cooped up in a cabin with their parents and a sister wore on Josh, and most of their days, outside of homeschool, were spent outdoors.

At fifteen, Antonio was two years older, but Josh got along with him just fine. They both liked video games and rock music. Antonio even played guitar. They did what they could to keep their minds occupied while trying to pitch in at the camp. At the end of the day, though, they were teenagers.

“I can’t believe that there’s no girls out here,” Antonio said as they hiked down the mountain trail toward the river. “I mean, why can’t a Swedish bikini team get stuck out here with us or something?”

Josh nodded. “Yeah.”

“That’s the worst thing about all of this, you know?”

The Dunne kids—Jeremiah, Mark, Luke, and Allison—were in their early teens too, but mainly kept to themselves. Allison barely said a word. She was fourteen and pretty, but extremely hard to talk to. Her brothers always surrounded her like bodyguards. Josh had pretty much given up.

Antonio continued. “I’m dying out here, bro.”

“I hear ya,” Josh said, ducking under a tree branch with his fishing pole in hand.

Antonio waved him off. “Ah, you wouldn’t know what to do with a girl if you had one.”

“That’s not true,” Josh protested.

Antonio halted and looked at Josh with a raised brow and a disbelieving expression. Josh had no choice but to stop as well. “Oh yeah?” said Antonio. “When was the last time you kissed a girl, huh?”

Antonio crossed his arms and waited as Josh thought about it, trying to conceal his panic. “Well,” he answered, turned away, “I haven’t done
that
yet, but I’m getting real close.”

Antonio bellowed. He slapped Josh on the back and couldn’t stop laughing, near tears now. “Oh, man. You are
too
funny.” He grabbed his sides while catching his breath. Josh looked down, not saying anything.

“Relax, Don Juan. I’m only messing with you,” Antonio said with a smile.

Josh looked up and shot him a skeptical look. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.” He couldn’t help but smile too. He glanced over Antonio’s shoulder and froze as he saw something in the distance.

Antonio continued his exaggerated laughing, but when he got no reaction, he looked up and saw the dread on Josh’s face. Concerned, his smile disappeared.

“What is it, dude?”

“Someone’s out there,” Josh said.

Antonio spun around to look. Beyond the trees, a man was stealthily moving toward them. Antonio dropped his fishing pole and bucket and pulled out his pocket knife.

“Who’s there?” he shouted.

Josh felt his stomach tighten into knots. Had they been found out? Had others discovered them? Rob had always told him to not make too much noise during his fishing trips and not bring attention to himself. Was it too late to heed the warning?

“I’m not messing around, man,” Antonio called, holding his knife in the air. “Try me.”

A rustle came from the bushes as a man with a long gray beard and a rough, wrinkly face emerged. It was Grady, the hermit who had taken to bothering their camp as of late. He wobbled forward in his green jacket and torn, baggy jeans, appearing addled and drunk as usual. They had crossed paths with the old man a few weeks ago, when Grady had given them slurred and rambling warnings about coming dangers. This time seemed no different.

Josh felt relieved. Antonio kept his knife in view. Grady stopped when he was about five feet in front of them, leaned against a tree and let out a loud belch.

“What did I tell you last time, old man? Leave us alone!” Antonio said.

Grady raised his shaky arm and pointed at them. His eyes were wild and glazed over. “Buncha no-good punks … that’s all you are. Trespassing on my property…” His head stooped then went back up again. “How many times I gotta tell you to stay off my property?” he slurred.

“This isn’t
your
property,” Antonio said. “How many times do we have to tell you that? Get it through that thick, crusty head of yours.”

Grady’s face reddened. He looked confused, angry, and delirious all at once. His hanging arm began to shake violently, as if in a spasm. “You—you can’t talk to me … not like that. I want you off my property.” He tried to step forward but clung to the tree to keep his balance. “I want you off now!” he shouted.

Angered, Antonio took a couple of steps toward Grady, brandishing his knife. “Yell at me again, old man. See what happens.”

Josh leapt forward and grabbed Antonio’s shoulder, causing him to turn around. “It’s not worth it, man. We both know he’s crazy. Come on.”

Antonio calmed down and let out a big breath, almost as if he were relieved that Josh had intervened. He lowered his knife and stepped back. Grady clung to the tree, his wrinkled face filled with pure spite.

“News flash. You can’t own a mountain,” Antonio said, shaking his head in disgust.

“I can own anything I want!” Grady rambled. His hands went into his jacket, feeling for something. Antonio pulled his knife out again. Grady pulled out a flask, put it against his dry lips, and took a long drink that ended in a coughing fit. An air of relief came over the two boys. They weren’t sure what Grady was up to. Antonio slowly folded his knife and put it back in his pocket but kept his eyes locked on Grady.

“Let’s go already,” Josh said. “Enough of this guy.”

Antonio hesitated, but after a moment gave in. “All right,” he said, and knelt down to retrieve his fishing pole and bucket. He rose just as the old man was getting started again.

“You wanna know something else?” Grady bellowed. A light whooshing sound followed through the air. His face went blank with shock, and his body tumbled, falling flat onto the pebbles and leaves.

Josh and Antonio looked at each other, curious. Grady had simply slumped over without a word. They thought maybe he had passed out, but something wasn’t right. His legs and arms twitched, and then they noticed a long arrow sticking out from the back of his head.

“What the hell?” Antonio said.

Josh looked beyond Grady and saw several men dressed in camouflage jackets about twenty yards away, huddled in a pack. One of them was holding a bow.

“Nice head shot!” a lanky man with a handlebar mustache said. He gave a thumbs-up to the bearded man with the bow.

“Oh my God,” Josh said quietly. His feet felt frozen to the ground. Antonio was still transfixed by the arrow in Grady’s skull when Josh tapped him on the shoulder. He then looked up, noticing the men.

“Back to the cabin,” Josh said in a deadly serious whisper.

The men looked back—five of them in all—and noticed Josh and Antonio, it seemed for the first time, because they looked as panicked as Josh and Antonio did.

Josh dropped his fishing pole. “Run!”

The men sprinted forward, chasing them. Antonio went for his knife when Josh yanked him away. “Move!”

He got the message and bolted along with Josh, back up the trail toward camp. They could hear bushes rustling as the men raced after them. Another arrow whizzed right by Josh’s head and hit a nearby tree. He screamed out and pushed his legs as fast as they could go.

“Don’t let ’em get away!” a man shouted.

Antonio trailed slightly behind, gasping for air. Their legs felt like jelly as they ascended a steep hill. No matter how hard they pushed, gravity weighed them down. At his most frantic point, when he thought they were dead, Josh could hear the men’s voices fading. They were losing them.

“Come on!” he cried out to Antonio. “Keep moving.” They made it to the top of the rise and kept going with adrenaline racing through their blood.

***

Mila set some antibiotics on the table near Reba after having just set up an IV bag. Her condition was improving, and despite the terrible experience of retrieving the medical supplies, it felt good to be nursing again. Reba lay under her covers awake and in good spirits. Her color had returned, with her brief but healthy regimen of rest and medicine. She hadn’t recovered completely, but it was a good start.

“Dysentery?” she said to Mila, holding a warm cup of soup. “I’ve never had anything like that before in my life.”

Mila set a fresh glass of water on the nightstand with two pills next to it. “You’re not out of the woods just yet, but we’re getting there.”

“How did I get this … this infection?” Reba asked.

“I’m not sure,” Mila said. “Best guess is that you ate or drank something bad. Can you think of anything?” She hadn’t yet had the opportunity to ask Reba any questions about it. With her feeling a bit better, Mila thought the time was right.

Reba set her soup to the side and placed her face in her hands. “Oh dear…”

Mila looked up inquisitively. “What is it?”
She removed her hands, sounding ashamed. “We had some pickled ham I wanted

to finish before it went bad. That had to be it. I can’t believe myself. I should have known better.”

“But how did you get sick and not Elliot?”

Reba leaned forward and took the glass of water.

“Don’t forget your pills,” Mila added.

Reba took the pills and gulped them down with the water as Mila waited for her answer. She took another drink and continued. “He didn’t have any. Out of all nights, he said he wasn’t hungry.” She grimaced. “And don’t think I didn’t try to press him on it. So I had a piece and then threw the rest out.”

Mila crossed her arms over her lap and shook her head in motherly fashion. “You can’t take chances like that, Reba. You should know better. Now we need to check all your pickled foods.”

“There’s not much left now,” Reba said solemnly. “Which worries me. What did you find out? Is the power expected to come on anytime soon?”

“Looks like it’s going to be a while,” Mila said.

“Oh,” Reba said, sighing.

Suddenly they heard shouting from outside—the voices familiar. Mila shot up from her chair. “Josh…”

“What is it, dear?” Reba asked.

Mila hid her panic. “Nothing, Reba. Let me go check to see what’s going on. You need to stay in bed and finish your soup. I’ll be right back.” She exited the room calmly and then darted for the front cabin door once she was out of Reba’s view.

She swung the door open and squinted her eyes in the bright sunlight. Josh and Antonio ran right past the cabin and toward the meeting canopy where Rob and the others were still sorting out their ideas.

“Help!” Josh shouted. “Help us!”

“Josh!” She ran down the cabin steps, chasing after the two fleeing boys. Rob, Carlos, Brad, and everyone else raised their heads and looked over, alarmed. Rob started running toward them. The distressed boys looked as though they had just run from a bear or some other wild animal.

“There’re people here! They killed Grady!” Antonio shouted. “Now they’re after us.”

The adults looked shocked. Intruders? Grady murdered? They all rushed toward the boys. Things suddenly began to feel very dangerous. They had not expected the threat to come to their camp so soon. Carlos dashed to his son as the two boys slowed and nearly tumbled against each other in exhaustion.

“What on earth are you talking about?” He held his son by his shoulders, preventing him from collapsing. Both boys gasped for air. Sweat drenched their clothes and faces. “Slow down and speak to me.”

Mila went to Josh as he rushed into her arms. She’d never seen him so shaken.