Sabotage (Powerless Nation Book 3) (11 page)

“Wire cutters would be really helpful,” Mason said hopefully.

“I’m sure I’ve got at least one pair. Come on down to the cellar with me and you can pick out what you need.” Hester lit a lantern, and handed each of them a flashlight. “There are generators down there for lighting, but it’s wasteful to turn them on if we aren’t staying.”

She led them through the door next to the small bathroom, and they found themselves in a narrow stairway. At the foot of the stairs was a door leading to a tunnel. They stepped inside, and Dee’s flashlight beam revealed a curved metal ceiling, high enough they could stand up without bending over. The walls went straight down on each side and the hallway was very straight and wide. It reminded Dee of something from a space movie, with pipes and conduits along the walls. At one end of the short hallway were several cubicle-sized showers.

“This is the decontamination room,” said Hester. “Burt was sure a nuclear war would end the world.”

“So it’s a fallout shelter,” Mason mused.

They went through another doorway, and the light from Hester’s lamp illuminated a hallway twice as long as the one they’d just left, and as perfectly shaped. Doors were spaced at regular intervals on each side.

Mason shone his light this way and that, illuminating a series of mysterious objects in the wide hallway—an exercise bike with an oversized fan in place of a front wheel, a bucket and pulley hanging above a trap door, and a ladder leading to a hatch in the ceiling.

“What’s behind the doors?” asked Dee.

“Oh, lots of stuff,” said Hester. “Go ahead and see.”

The first two rooms were the same size and shape as the hallway, but lining each wall were bunk beds, twelve on each side.

“One room for the boys, and another for the girls,” explained Hester.

Two more rooms connected to make a large common area, with tables and chairs, desks and storage cubbies. “It looks like your husband was expecting a lot of people,” said Dee, shining her light on walls lined with bookshelves. The books made her think of Sena.

“Burt had a vision this place would be an orphanage,” said Hester. “A place for homeless children to find refuge and safety. We couldn’t have kids, you know, but he loved them.” Her voice caught, and she faced away from Dee, tracing the shape of a pig in the brightly painted mural of a farm scene on one of the walls.

Mason had gone ahead, shouting back his discovery of a large generator and tool room. A moment later he was back. “All right, I just have to ask,” he said to Hester. “Is this place made of old school buses?”

“Yes, it is,” Hester said brightly. “I wondered if you’d figure it out.”

Dee thought of the rooms, each the exact same shape and size with perfectly arched ceilings. It was obvious, now that she knew.

“Burt bought a bunch of them at auction, real cheap. One thing about my husband was that he knew how to smell out a bargain. He hired a contractor and some equipment to come out here and bury the buses and encase them in concrete.”

“It’s amazing,” Dee breathed, peeking into a bus that had been turned into a kitchen. There were two industrial ovens and restaurant style kitchen sinks, including sprayers. “How many are there?”

“Thirteen.”

“How many kids was he planning for?” asked Mason, inspecting what looked like a huge electrical fusebox.

 
“We’re equipped down here for around fifty kids. Twice that if they sleep in shifts.”

“Not bad,” said Mason.

“If any of those kids at the mill don’t have families waiting for them I want you to bring ‘em to me. You got that? They’ll be safe here.”

“I will, but I’m not sure how we’ll get them out of there yet. We’re at a pretty big disadvantage.”

“I think I’ve got something that will help,” said Hester, unlocking a door and stepping inside so the light from her lantern illuminated the room. Mason gasped, and Dee could see why.
 

The walls of the room were lined with guns.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“H
OW
DID
YOU
GET
all of these?” asked Dee.

“My husband was a collector long before we met,” Hester replied. “He used to go to gun shows, and he had a few friends that would let him know when they found something he might be interested in.

Mason moved through the room, touching the guns reverently. “Some of these aren’t even legal.”

Hester chuckled. “I don’t think anyone is going to ask to see your license.” She motioned to Dee. “Go ahead, pick out what you need.”

Dee tried different guns until she found one that fit her hand perfectly. “What’s this?” she asked Mason.

“Looks like a Smithfield Armory XD 9mm subcompact,” he said, taking it from her. He explained the mechanics behind the grip safety and double trigger. “Good choice,” he said. “In fact, as much as I’d love to take these rifles for a test drive, I think you’re on the right track with a handgun. Let’s keep it simple.” Mason and Dee chose enough guns to fill the duffel bag Hester provided.
 

Dee asked, “Do you have ammo for all of them?”

Hester nodded and showed them where the bullets were stored. They put several boxes of ammo into the duffel bag and Mason zipped it closed.

“Why are you giving us these? This is too much, Hester,” said Dee.

“And what am I going to do with so many guns? Burt had a vision of a world where he had to protect and fight for children. Now his vision has come true. If I help you, I honor his memory.”

Hester also gave them trail food and camping gear.

“How’s your ankle?” Dee asked Mason, while they made their way back upstairs to the cabin.

“Practically good as new. Do you want to head back now?”

Dee stepped into the cabin and was surprised by how much darker it was. The winter days were short, and the light from the porthole windows was fading fast.

“Stay one more night,” said Hester. She sat down in her rocker and picked up her knitting. “You can get an early start in the morning.”

Dee wanted to get back to the mill, but remembered how hard it had been to travel at night in the woods. “Thank you, Hester. It won’t do us any good to wander around lost all night.”

She stood on tiptoes to peek out one of the windows and get a glimpse of the forest. She liked the cabin with its underground shelter, but she was starting to feel confined. Although not much of the sky was visible, a pale orange light filtered through the trees and she knew it must be close to sunset.

A flutter of red caught her eye and she saw movement in the trees. “Someone’s out there,” she whispered.

Mason crossed to the window and looked out.

“Do they look like they need help?” asked Hester.

Dee thought about what she’d seen. Two men with rifles moving through the trees. “I don’t think so.”

Mason unzipped the duffel bag and started loading a magazine, showing her how to put the bullets into the clip. It was harder than it looked and made Dee’s fingers sting.

“Do these windows open?” asked Mason.

Hester looked up from her knitting and shook her head. “We’ll be safer keeping them closed anyway. They can’t hurt us in here, you know.”

As if to emphasize her point, they heard a popping sound, followed by a metallic twang.

“Get down!” Mason yelled, taking Dee’s hand and pulling her to the floor next to him. She looked for Hester and realized she hadn’t moved.

“Hester!” Dee hissed. “They’re shooting at us!”

“I know,” she answered. “They made me drop a stitch.”

Dee and Mason exchanged a disbelieving glance.

“We should go back into the shelter,” said Dee.

“We’re safe enough here,” said Hester, as more bullets pinged off the thick metal of the shipping container. “These walls are plenty thick. Burt tested every one of his guns on the cabin, and not a single bullet got through.”

“Is there another way out of here?” asked Mason. “If I could circle around behind them, I might be able to pick them off.”

“You’ve got more sense than that, boy,” said Hester.

“We should defend ourselves,” insisted Mason. “They won’t expect shots from another direction. I’ll surprise them.”

“So, you’d shoot them in the back?”
 

Mason shifted uncomfortably. “They tried to kill us first.”

“Does that make it right?” asked Hester, looking at Mason over the rims of her reading glasses.

Mason scowled, and Dee put a hand on his arm. “They’ll run out of bullets soon,” she said, “and then we can track them back to the mill.” They had been planning to follow their own tracks, but Dee was sure the men would take a more direct route.

While bullets bounced off the walls and windows, Mason and Dee prepared to leave. When the shooting finally stopped, an engine started up. Dee looked out the window in time to see a snowmobile driving away. She watched until she lost it in the trees and the sound of the engine faded into the distance.

“I’ll show you the back way out of the shelter, in case they left someone out there,” said Hester, setting down her knitting and rising from the chair. They followed her through the shelter until they reached a door at the opposite end. “This will bring you up in the trees about fifty yards south of the cabin.”

Dee threw her arms around the tough old lady. “Thank you so much.”

Mason gave her a hug too, and Dee was glad to see he wasn’t still upset. “We’re going to fill this place with kids for you,” he promised.

Hester cleared her throat and said in a gruff voice, “Be safe, you two,” before unlocking the door and letting them out into the twilight.

*

The woods were quiet except for the twitter of evening birdsong. It was almost peaceful, despite their recent experience.
 

“How’s your ankle?” asked Dee.
 

“Awful. Want to give me a piggyback ride?” Mason grinned and faked a limp.

“Nice try,” said Dee. “It’s your other ankle that was hurt. Remember?”

“Oh right,” said Mason, switching his limp to the other side.

“You’re in a good mood, considering we’re about to attempt the impossible.”

“I’m thinking how pretty you look.”

Dee blushed. She wished Mason could see her with mascara and a decent haircut. And clothes that fit. She was wearing Hyrum’s mom’s clothes. Although Angela’s old clothes were warm, her fashion sense was stuck in the 80’s—acid washed jeans and all. What Dee wouldn’t give for a suitcase and five minutes in her own closet back home.

“My teeth aren’t so bad,” said Dee, running her tongue over them. Hester had given them each their own toothbrush and trial-size tube of toothpaste. Dee inhaled deeply and let out a minty puff of air.
 

“Your teeth are fabulous and so is the rest of you.” Mason pulled her to him and kissed her suddenly.

They linked hands and walked in the tracks of the snowmobile. Dee had been right to think the soldiers would follow a more direct route back to the mill. They made good time, and reached the mill fence in a little over an hour. From there, it was easy to find the abandoned shack where they’d left their supplies. Once their things were stashed inside they hid themselves in some thick underbrush near the fence.

“Keep an eye out for guards,” whispered Dee. They surveilled the mill camp from several different vantage points over the next couple of hours, always taking care to stay well hidden.
 

Even though it was late, the prisoners were still doing drills, running around the yard. Dee thought her heart would break when she heard one of the sergeants yelling abusively at a little girl. She looked barely older than McKenna, the youngest child in Dee’s school class.

“It’s like boot camp in there, Mason. You’re right, Downey
is
building an army.” As Mason has suspected, the recruits were indeed being held in the main warehouse. There was a lot of open space surrounding the warehouse, and several vehicles were parked outside a garage bay.
 

A large fire burned in the center of the open space flanked by several smaller fires. Steam rose from a large cookpot over the main fire. When the training was finished, most of the guards took up positions around the clearing and the prisoners lined up to get their dinner from the pot.
 

“Look at the guards,” Mason pointed out. “They’re all facing away from us.” It was true. The guards were watching into the center of the space to keep an eye on the recruits, rather than looking toward the woods. “The fire is going to screw up their night vision.”

Dee looked for anyone she knew, and finally spotted several familiar blond heads together. “There they are!” she whispered excitedly.

Kade, Hyrum, and Jeremiah stood with a small clump of boys in one end of the clearing. They huddled together occasionally, but stopped when a guard pointed at them and yelled for quiet. Too soon, the prisoners lined up and marched into the warehouse.

After several more hours of watching patrols, Mason and Dee went into the shack to go over the plan one last time.

“It looks like most of the guards are off-duty at night. I really think this could work,” said Mason, digging in his backpack for an apple. The sight of it made Dee remember another conversation they’d had in the shed.

“Do you realize we had our first fight here?”

Mason swung around and shined his flashlight on her. “I only remember the making up afterwards.” She couldn’t see his face, but could hear the smile in his voice.

Dee knew she should drop the subject, but she wanted to know more about his old girlfriend. “What was her name again? Amanda?”

“You’re not still worried about that, are you?” asked Mason. He put his backpack down and came toward her.

“No, I was just wondering. Do you think she’s still alive?”

“I have no idea. You’re the only girl I think about,” said Mason, wrapping his arms around her.

“That was the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said to me,” said Dee. She secretly loved it.

“Oh, I can be way cheesier.”

“That’s hard to believe,” said Dee.

“Do you want me to compliment your teeth again?” Dee put a hand on his cheek and he nuzzled it. “You still owe me a second date,” he said softly. “Let’s bust these guys out so we can finish our movie night. Are you ready?”