Lance turned around and grabbed the bin with “Radios” written across the front. Setting it on the ice chest, he lifted both and followed Ian back to the basement to find one ice chest almost packed. “Just set them down, and go pack the ammo, but just don’t toss it in a basket,” Jennifer told them, never stopping her packing.
When Lance set his ice chest down, Ian moved over and set his down, opened the bin, and pulled out three radios. He turned them on and saw their battery meters were full then set them to the same channel. Jennifer stopped and watched. Ian passed one over to Lance and one to her. Lance clipped it to his belt and wrapped something around his throat then wrapped something around his ear. Then, Lance tucked the wire from both in the neck of his shirt and pulled the end out the bottom and plugged it into the radio.
Jennifer looked down at the radio in her hands and the mass of wires and pieces. “I thought you just pushed a button on walkie talkies.”
“You do,” Ian said, moving over. He wrapped something around her throat. “This is the voice mic.” Then, he wrapped something behind her ear then pushed something in her ear. “This is to hear with.”
She looked down at the wires hanging on her chest and looked up as Ian put his down his shirt like Lance did. Jennifer copied them and pulled the wire out from the bottom of her shirt. Seeing a hole that looked the same size as the plug on the wire, she plugged it in. “How do I talk?”
Ian stepped over and touched her chest where the wire had a box on it under her shirt. “This is the button you push,” Ian said, pushing it, and Jennifer heard static in her ear for a second.
“What the hell do you two need this for?”
“Hunting and hiking,” Lance said, tucking his shirt back in.
Not understanding but not finding a fault in that either, Jennifer just moved over and kept unloading the freezer. “Okay, I’ll continue here.”
Lance walked over to the other side of the basement, grabbed two metal boxes, and carried them upstairs. Ian grabbed another radio. “I’m going to leave this by Allie and Carrie,” he said, shoving it in his pocket.
“They know how to use it?” Jennifer asked, watching him walk over and grab two metal boxes.
“Yeah, they use them all the time when we go camping,” Ian said, heading upstairs.
“Great, my little sister is more prepared for an apocalypse than I am,” Jennifer huffed and continued unloading the freezer.
Ian and Lance lugged dozens of metal ammo cans up the stairs, stacking them in the floor of the kitchen. Then they went to Lance’s dad’s office and pulled out the ammo and all the magazines from the safes. They both stopped and looked in the safes. Like Ian’s dad, the big gun safe held lots of rifles, but they were for hunting.
Ian pulled out a Ruger 10/22, and he smiled, pulling out a pink Cricket .22. “I can’t believe your mom bought Allie a pink Cricket. She already has one.”
“She said Allie needed a girl gun here,” Lance said, throwing up his hands.
“Think we should take some of these hunting rifles?”
“We can hunt with the ARs and defend ourselves. We can shoot more before reloading. If we have room, we’ll take some of the rifles and shotguns,” Lance said, putting stuff in plastic bins. “Shit, what I want is the guns at Doug’s house.”
“No kidding. He has a dozen ARs and those cool suppressors.”
“I begged Dad for the last year to buy a suppressor, but he said if we needed one, we could borrow one from Doug,” Lance said, filling the bin and putting the lid on.
“Yeah, I tried too,” Ian sighed and looked on the wall. “Can we take your dad’s crossbow?”
“Shit yeah,” Lance grinned. “There’s a bin in the garage full of bolts for it.”
Moving behind the desk, Ian took the crossbow down. “I wish they would’ve let us bring our bows back from the cabin.”
“Well, when Mr. Butler’s Pit Bull disappeared, they blamed us,” Lance said, grabbing another empty bin and setting it on the desk.
“That goddamn dog tried to bite everyone. He got two kids the last time it got out,” Ian said.
“We should’ve got the blood off the sidewalk better,” Lance said, loading the bin.
Putting the crossbow on the desk, Ian started filling a bin. “We were really pressed for time,” he said, loading it. “We warned Mr. Butler if his dog got out again and chased us it wouldn’t be pretty.”
Lance chuckled as he closed the bin. “Yeah, even Mr. Oliver was happy to see that dog disappear. Remember when it chased Mr. Oliver and he climbed on top of his car to get away?”
“That’s the only time I liked that dog.”
They grabbed the full bins and carried them to the kitchen then slowly opened the door and very quietly moved everything to the bed of the truck. “I’m done down here,” Jennifer called over the radio.
Coming down the stairs, they saw her standing over the five closed ice chests. “I don’t think you two can carry these.”
They both scoffed at her and moved over to one. Ian grabbed one end and Lance the other, and slowly, the ice chest lifted off the floor as their faces changed colors. Shuffling, they eased to the stairs and set it down. “Holy shit,” Lance panted. “That thing has to weigh over three hundred pounds.”
Ian lifted the lid and saw how tightly packed the rows of freezer-wrapped packages were with little or no space between them. “She gets an A for packing; that’s for sure.”
“Think we can push it up the stairs?”
“It’s going to make noise,” Ian said, thinking about it. Lance just nodded and lifted the front up on the first step. It made noise, but Lance didn’t think it could be heard outside. When all the ice chests were in the kitchen, all three walked into the game room and dropped into chairs. “Damn, it’s only nine,” Ian huffed, looking at his watch.
“Please tell me that was at least one empty freezer and half the other?” Lance said, rolling his head to look at Jennifer.
“No, I only took like a dozen or so packages from the second freezer,” Jennifer huffed. She had done her best to help them push the heavy ass ice chest up the stairs.
Lance shook his head, standing up. “I’m going to see if Doug’s home.”
“Are we going to take Dino?”
Hearing Dino’s name, Lance froze. “Dino’s dog door… We can get inside of Doug’s.”
“Dude, all his shit is good and locked up. We couldn’t get much,” Ian said, getting up.
“Can we get Dino?” a little voice asked. They all turned to see Allie sitting up on the couch, rubbing her eyes.
Raising his eyebrows, Lance looked at Ian and thought about it. “A two-hundred-pound Mastiff may be useful.”
“Dino’s a good puppy,” Allie said, getting up and hugging Lance’s leg.
Looking down and patting her head, he said, “Yes he is, ladybug. There’s some food on the counter in the kitchen.”
Allie went over and woke Carrie up, and they ran into the kitchen. Lance headed upstairs. Ian grabbed the crossbow and followed Lance. Pushing herself out of the recliner, Jennifer headed to the kitchen to help the girls.
Not seeing Lance in his parents’ bedroom, Ian headed down the hall to Lance’s room. “He’s not home,” Lance said, standing in front of the window. Ian moved beside him and looked out the side window to his house and didn’t see the mass of people.
“Where did they go?”
“Next road over. Another alarm went off,” Lance said, pointing.
“Oh shit, this is too good,” Ian whispered, moving to the side window.
Seeing Ian about to open it, Lance asked harshly, “What are you doing?”
“It’s Mr. Oliver. We were quiet, and he led those fuckers to my house,” Ian whispered as he gently raised the window six inches, and the putrid smell of rotten eggs floated in. Taking the crossbow off his back, he got down on his knees and brought it to his shoulder. Taking deep breaths, Ian exhaled slowly as Lance moved over.
Mr. Oliver was staggering beside his house with the nub of his left arm tapping the side. His entire body was stained with blood.
Twack
sounded as Ian pressed the trigger. The bolt sailed across the yard and hit Mr. Oliver in the side of the head.
With the bolt buried halfway in Mr. Oliver’s skull, he didn’t stagger, turn, or move. He dropped in his tracks, crumpling up against his house in a ball. Reaching out, Ian closed the window slowly. “Like I told him to sit.”
“Hundred-yard shot—not bad, brother,” Lance said, patting Ian’s back.
“Hear that?” Ian asked, leaving the window open an inch.
“What? I hear your alarm’s battery getting weak and several other alarms in the area going off.”
“No, it sounds like a car,” Ian said, putting his ear to the gap.
“If that’s a car, it sounds like hell,” Lance said, hearing the growling of a high-revving engine and squealing of belts.
Ian stood up. “That means people are moving,” he said, turning around with a grin.
A loud squealing made them both turn and look at the beginning of their road. Around the corner, a black SUV turned onto their road, driving slowly with sparks pouring out from underneath it. Steam was erupting out of the torn-up front end. As it got closer, the damage started becoming clearer.
The windshield was spider-webbed out so much they couldn’t see inside. Gore covered the ripped up metal over the front end, and they saw a severed arm hanging off what was left of the front bumper. As the SUV came closer, they saw the sparks were coming from a motorcycle trapped under the SUV.
Both boys’ mouths dropped open as the SUV passed the house, and they saw dozens of bullet holes lining the passenger side, and none of the windows had glass. Both tires on the passenger side were flat, and even though the SUV was black, they could see bloody gore down the side.
It passed Lance’s house and bounced over the curb, driving on Doug’s grass, stopping in his front yard. A huge man got out, holding a pistol and looking around calmly. He reached back in the destroyed SUV and pulled out a large bag, threw it over his shoulder, and moved to the front of the house. Pulling out keys, the man unlocked the door and walked in.
Even from down the street, they heard the door slam. Ian clamped his mouth shut and put an arm around Lance. “Doug’s home,” he said, grinning.
Chapter 7
Jennifer turned upon hearing Ian and Lance arguing quietly as they entered the kitchen from the game room. “Ian, I’m going, and that’s it. You have Allie to look after,” Lance snapped.
“Shit, she loves you more than me,” Ian said, pointing at her.
“What are you two arguing about?” Jennifer asked, putting up the dishes from breakfast.
Seeing the empty sink, Lance looked up at her. “You washed the dishes?”
“Yeah, they weren’t going to do it by themselves,” she said, closing the cabinet. “Now, what are you arguing about?”
“I’m going to Doug’s, and Ian is staying here,” Lance said, moving to the back door.
“If we can’t get anything from there, why take the risk? We can get Dino when we leave,” Jennifer said, seeing both were carrying their rifles.
“Doug’s home,” Ian said, smiling.
She clapped her hands. “Mr. Doug is home?”
“Yeah, he just drove up,” Lance said, moving to the back door again only to have Ian stop him.
“I’m going,” Ian said, moving to the door.
“That was a car driving by? It didn’t sound like a car driving by,” Jennifer said as Lance grabbed Ian’s arm.
“You have to see it to believe it,” Lance told her and turned Ian to him. “I’m going, and you’re staying. Allie isn’t losing any more. Quit arguing, okay? Doug could pull out any minute and head for the cabin.”
“Let him go, Ian,” Jennifer said quickly.
Ian looked at Jennifer, hurt. “Fine, but wait one second,” Ian said, taking off into the game room. He came back carrying the recurve bow and quiver of arrows. “Take these in case you have problems.”
Clipping his AR so it hung across his chest, Lance took the bow and arrows. “Well, since we know arrows work on stinkers, I’ll take it.”
Ian furrowed his forehead as Lance glanced out the back window and didn’t see anything inside the privacy fence. Hitting the alarm button, he opened the door and took off to the fence. Stopping at the gate on the other side of the yard opposite from the gate to Mr. Oliver’s yard, Lance peeked through the tiny gaps and didn’t see anything close but still smelled rotten eggs.
Clipping the quiver to his belt, he pulled out an arrow and eased the gate open. Stepping through, he saw Linda Devon, a high school girl he had talked to a few times. Linda growled at him as Lance brought the bow up, pulling back the arrow. When the arrow was even with the ground, he released in a smooth motion.
The arrow sailed the twenty yards and sunk in Linda’s nose. Like Mr. Oliver, she dropped where she stood. Pulling another arrow out and closing the gate behind him, Lance looked around and didn’t see anything. Lance moved across the neighbor’s yard in a slow trot until he reached the far corner and peeked around it. He didn’t see anything and moved up to the front.
Stopping at the front corner, he looked around and saw Mrs. Oliver standing in the yard. Pulling back the arrow, Lance stepped around the corner, letting the arrow fly. Hitting Mrs. Oliver in the back of the head, the tip of the arrow stuck out her forehead.
As she collapsed, Lance glanced around but didn’t see anything close. Taking a deep breath, he took off running across the street. Feeling like a thousand eyes were watching him, Lance pushed harder. Feeling his legs burning, Lance leaned forward, gulping air as he ran diagonally across the street to reach the yard next to Doug’s. Then, he jumped the curb and ran to the privacy fence surrounding Doug’s backyard.
Locking his feet up, Lance skidded to a stop, gasping for air at the gate. “It’s me, Dino,” he gasped, opening it. Dino rarely barked, and as one neighborhood kid found out, you don’t jump in Dino’s yard.
Walking in quickly, Lance closed the gate but didn’t see Dino. He moved to the back door and smiled, seeing the red light on the intercom by the back door. Doug had several solar panels mounted in the backyard with a battery house. When power was out in the neighborhood, Doug’s house was always lit up.
“Uncle Doug, it’s Lance. Can I come in?” Lance said, pressing the button. Releasing it, Lance stepped back, glancing around nervously. Fighting the urge to try Dino’s dog door, Lance waited, knowing the massive door only opened for the collar Dino wore.
Hearing the deadbolt throw, Lance sighed as the door swung open. Standing just under seven feet tall, Doug was a tall but also very big, muscular man and filled the entire doorway. With a large hand that covered Lance’s entire chest, Doug reached out, grabbed the front of Lance’s shirt, and pulled him inside then lifted him off the floor up to his face.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Lance? Your dad left a message that he was sending all of you in his truck to the cabin,” Doug growled.
“Uncle Doug, Dad told me to wait for you for two days,” Lance said, trying to sound meek.
Lowering Lance to the floor, Doug let him go and closed the door then locked it. All this he did reaching over Lance, not around. “You shouldn’t have waited; Jason could’ve followed the directions,” Doug said, turning around and grabbing a bottle of whiskey off the counter.
“Jason’s…” Lance started, feeling a lump in his throat. “Jason’s sick, Uncle Doug.”
With his back to Lance, Doug’s shoulders slumped as his arms fell to his side, and Lance noticed in his right hand was a polished silver 1911. “I’m sorry,” Doug mumbled, raising his left hand to take a drink from a bottle. He put the bottle back on the counter, and Lance saw it was vodka. “You were right to wait then.”
Doug turned back around, and Lance took a step back, gasping. “What the hell happened to you?” From Doug’s left shoulder down to his ankle, he was covered in dry blood. On Doug’s abdomen, his shirt was soaked with fresh blood.
“Got shot yesterday,” Doug said, turning around, moving to the front of the house.
A massive, tan Mastiff with a black face lumbered over to Lance. “Hey, Dino,” Lance said as Dino stopped in front of Lance with his tongue hanging out. Dino’s back almost came to Lance’s chest. Rubbing Dino’s back, Lance heard a groan from the dog. “I’ll pet you later, Dino,” Lance said, moving around him.
He found Doug in the living room digging in a black duffle bag and pulling out giant pill bottles. Taking the top off one, Doug threw some pills in his mouth and swallowed them dry. “Come here, Lance,” he said, putting down the duffle bag.
As he walked over, Lance realized Doug was awful pale. “Sorry about how I grabbed you. I just thought you and the other kids were already safe,” he almost panted. “We don’t have long. Have you packed up what you need yet?”
“Yes sir; we’re almost ready.”
“How much longer at your house?”
“An hour tops,” Lance said, seeing Doug wobble on his feet and his eyes struggling to stay open.
Without warning, Doug hit the blood-soaked spot on his belly, cringing. His eyes shot open as he sucked in a breath. “Shit, that hurts,” he gasped, staggering back.
“I wouldn’t do it if it hurt,” Lance said, getting worried about Doug.
“Can’t go to sleep,” Doug said as he turned around. “Come on,” he said, walking off.
In Lance’s left ear, he heard Ian ask over the radio, “Hey, are you inside?”
“Yes, I’m inside,” Lance said, keying his radio.
“Tell your brother you’ll be back to get them in a few minutes,” Doug said, walking into his office. Lance relayed the message as Doug walked over to three of the biggest gun safes Lance had ever seen and opened one. “Lance, close the shutters.”
Lance ran over to the windows. Below each window on the left side was a cranking wheel. Grabbing the handle of one, Lance started spinning it to the right, and the outside shutters slowly slid closed over that window with a tiny, metal
clink
when they met. Moving to the next, Lance cranked it closed.
When the shutters were closed, Doug said, “Come here.” Lance turned around to see Doug holding an AR with a suppressor attached. “Take your dad’s AR off, and use this one.”
Lance slid the sling over his head and laid his dad’s AR on Doug’s desk. Putting the sling over his shoulder, Lance checked the safety and press-checked it, seeing brass under the bolt. Letting the bolt close, he tapped the forward assist and looked up at Doug as he pulled another AR out.
“I’m going up stairs to cover you. Don’t run; just walk across the street so I can kill what’s around. Take the radio on my desk, and tell me when you are ready to bring the truck over here. Back it up to the closest garage door to the house. Don’t block the RV door. Understand?”
“Ah, Uncle Doug, I’ve never backed up a real vehicle before.”
“Fine, just park it at the end of the driveway, and I’ll back it to the door. Then, you kids can unload it to the trailer.”
“Can’t we just take the truck?” Lance begged. He really didn’t want to move those damn ice chests again. “We put the frozen meat in ice chests, and those damn things are heavy.”
“Did you get all of it?”
“Shit no.”
“Put it in bags, and bring it over. I have more ice chests. No, we can’t take the truck. You’ll need the Hummer. You need to hurry; we don’t have much time. Wait till I tell you on the radio to leave, and don’t let Dino out; he doesn’t like the sick people,” Doug said, walking out.
“Shit, I don’t like the sick people,” Lance called out, but he didn’t know if Doug heard him.
Lance left the office and went to the front door. Seeing the window shutters open in the living room, Lance moved over to crank them closed. Before he moved to the third window, he heard, “You can go now; just walk across the street. When you get in your house, move fast so you can get back here quickly.”
Bringing the radio to his mouth, Lance pressed the button and said, “Yes sir.” He heard a
pfft
upstairs, and he knew Doug was shooting something outside. That was why he loved suppressors; the world doesn’t know when you shoot. “Sit, Dino,” Lance said, unlocking the door.
He stepped out and closed the door and heard a
pfft
above his head and saw a figure drop in the front yard. Casually walking across the yard, Lance heard Doug continue firing and watched figures dropping around the area.
When he reached the road, he heard Doug slap a new magazine in and shoot a man who Lance didn’t know that was coming up the street. Bodies started dotting the area, dropping as their heads exploded.
When Lance reached his yard, he lifted his hand to his chest and pressed the squawk box. “I’m coming in the front door. Press the alarm, and open it please,” he called out on the radio. Before Lance was close to the door, it opened.
Ian stepped outside. “Doug is shooting the shit out of those fuckers!” he said with a grin from ear to ear. “That is subtracting!”
Lance pushed Ian inside then closed and locked the door. “We have to hurry; Doug’s been shot and looks weak.”
“Doug’s shot, and it hurt him?” Ian said in disbelief. Doug made Jason look like a little kid when they stood side by side. The fact something could hurt him shook Ian’s world.
“Ian, we have to hurry,” Lance said, moving into the house, and he gave out assignments.
Across the street, Doug slammed in his sixth magazine but didn’t see any targets. Feeling a cold nose in his neck, he turned around, rubbing Dino’s massive head. “I know, boy, but I got some time to help them,” he said. “You’re going to have to protect them for me.”
Dino gave a groan as Doug stood up, leaving his rifle propped up in the window. He walked in his room and pulled out clean shirts. He didn’t want ladybug to see all the blood on him. Pulling off his shirt as he walked into the bathroom, he looked in the mirror at his abdomen and pulled a bandage off.
Three inches from his navel was an ugly hole covered in jelled blood. He turned and checked the bigger exit wound on his back. Lifting the dressing, he saw it wasn’t bleeding and was covered in dried blood. Feeling sleepy, he balled up his fist and drove it in his stomach over the bullet wound.
Bright lights filled his vision as he staggered, reaching out and grabbing the counter so he wouldn’t fall down. “I just need a few hours,” he said, grabbing some gauze and taping it over the dressing on his belly. “I have to give those kids a chance.”
When he finished taping the new dressing, Doug looked in the mirror. On the left side of his chest was another, smaller bandage. Taking a deep breath, he lifted it off, exposing a bite complete with teeth impressions next to a hole. Around the hole, he could see where the teeth ripped the flesh out before he stopped the second bite.
He covered it and pulled on his shirt. Turning on the water, he splashed some on his face. “Need to move,” he said, walking out. Stopping in the room he was covering Lance from, Doug weaved around the shelves and grabbed the radio. Looking around on the shelves, he grabbed an armload of stuff and headed downstairs.
***
Across the street, Lance looked at his watch. “Are we ready?”
“The bed of the truck is full, and we have enough frozen meat to open our own store,” Ian said with his hand on the door to the garage.
Lance looked around. “Everyone have their go bag?” he asked, and everyone nodded. They had loaded a bag up for Carrie from the stuff his mom bought for Allie. Then, they just grabbed the rest, throwing it in bags so the girls could have more clothes. Ian and Lance emptied his room of anything they thought they might need.