Forsaking Home (The Survivalist Series) (7 page)

Ted nodded. Then Mel shouted, “Morg? What’s the matter? Where is she?”

I stood up as she ran up. “Someone took her. All we have are tracks.”

“What do you mean someone took her?” she screamed. “How could someone take her from right here with everyone around?”

“I don’t know,” I said, fear gnawing the pit of my stomach.

“But we’re going to find out, Mel,” Ted said.

I climbed into the buggy with Ted and Mike. Mel jumped in too. “Make room for me.”

Danny and Doc pulled up beside us. “We’ll follow you guys. The girls are staying here with Thad,” Danny said.

Mike drove down the road as Ted hung out the side watching the tracks. From the ATV, Doc was also tracking as Danny drove. They were going to the north, toward the paved road. If they got to the paved road it would be nearly impossible to find them. My head was spinning as I thought of Ashley’s smiling face. She was so little, so sweet. The thought of what could be happening to her made me sick. Tears began to run down my cheeks.

I looked at Mel. She was a total mess. I wiped my face to try and give the appearance of certainty that we would find her. I put an arm around her and she laid her head on my shoulder.

“We’re going to find her,” she said, more to herself than to me.

“Don’t worry, babe, we will.”

Several times we had to stop and get out to look for the tracks. For whatever reason, they wandered off the dirt road from time to time. At one of these spots, Ted found the tracks heading off the road. Ted, Mike, Mel, and I followed them off the road for about fifteen feet. We could clearly see Little Bit’s footprints in the sand, then a wet spot.

“Looks like someone took a leak,” Ted said.

Mel started to cry again. “She’s afraid to pee in the woods.” She looked at me. “You know she doesn’t like to do it when we go camping.”

Little Ashley had a thing about it, often requiring a detour to a real bathroom somewhere. The thought of her being forced to relieve herself out here in front of a stranger, a malicious one at that, sickened me. I wrapped my arms around her. “We’ll find her, babe, don’t worry.”

But even as I said it, a part of me feared the worst.

S
hane’s face and chest hurt. Niigata had been repeatedly slapping them in turn. The skin on his chest was now bright red, as was his face. Niigata had paused the assault. One of his gloves had ripped.

“You can’t do this shit to me. I’m an American citizen!” Shane shouted, his face stinging as he yelled.

Niigata turned, smiling. “So you are, but you are also now classified as an enemy combatant, which means I can do what I want to you.”

“Enemy combatant?! We were defending ourselves! Your people opened fire on us without warning!”

“Let’s not quibble over the details,” Niigata said, delivering a savage slap to the right side of Shane’s head. He slowly turned back to face Niigata. “Fuck you.”

In his pain, Shane hadn’t noticed the object in Niigata’s right hand. Niigata brought the stun baton up quickly, jamming it into Shane’s neck and triggering it. The hundred thousand volts caused his body to convulse and jerk in the chair as a long, loud moan escaped him. When Niigata finally let off, Shane’s body went limp, his head hung on his chest.

“Now, where were we? Ah yes, your meeting—what was the purpose of it?”

Shane’s head rocked back and forth. “I told you, we were just riding around and ran into them.”

Niigata stuck the end of the baton under Shane’s chin and raised his face. “No one just
goes out for a ride
these days. Fuel is precious, and the fact alone that you have a running vehicle and fuel says a lot about you. Now, who did you meet with?”

“There’s nothing to tell!” Shane yelled.

“If you were just out for a ride, as you say, then why were you armed? Under martial law you are not supposed to have weapons.”

“Come on, everyone’s armed!” Shane exclaimed.

“I can see this is going to require a little more effort. You may be telling the truth, or you may not, but we’ll find out.” Niigata took the gloves off and tossed them on the table.

Shane heard the door open. Niigata spoke to someone then returned with two other men. The hood was once again pulled over his head, and the two men set about removing the restraints that secured him to the chair and reapplying the ones he’d worn coming into this torture session. Once he was secured, the men pulled him to his feet and led him toward the door. Shane was thankful to be getting away from Niigata, though he didn’t know what would happen next.

Once outside, the sun’s rays warmed his entire body. This reminded him that he was still naked, being trotted around the camp with just a hood. He was led back into the building containing the cells—he could tell it was the same one from the smell. A cell door was opened and he was led in. The cuffs were disconnected from the waist chain and his arms lifted over his head as a clicking sound filled the room. Before he realized what was going on, his arms were pulled high over his head, then the clicking changed in pitch as he was lifted to the balls of his feet. He was barely supporting any of his weight with his legs, and his wrists ached.

“What the fuck?” Shane shouted.

“Here, this’ll make you feel better,” a voice said, a second before he was hit with a bucket of water.

The water was so cold, it caused Shane to yelp. Reflexively, he tried to turn his body, but before he could even react, he was hit with more water. The door was slammed shut, and one of the men said, “We’ll be back.”

Shane pictured how he must look: cold, wet, naked, hanging like a side of beef. He began to shiver. The building was cold to begin with, but now that he was naked and wet, Shane knew he was about to experience a level of cold he’d never known existed.

 • • • 

Kay was busy in the kitchen, humming to herself. The next lunch service would start in twenty minutes. She was stirring a large pot of red beans and rice and thinking of the girls. She was worried about them, and whatever cruel fate they were experiencing in detention. She had heard rumors about what happened there, but she didn’t even want to think of what those three were going through given the crime they’d committed. She smiled, thinking about how they would banter in the kitchen. Those girls had been different from most of the other women who worked for her, and she really cared for them. But there was nothing she could do for them now. Any attempt to help would land her in detention with them. Kay tilted the big pot and started raking the beans and rice out into a serving pan. As she carried the pan to the dining area she was greeted by the usual racket from the crowd.

Kay set the pan in the warmer and turned back to the kitchen. Before she made it through the door, someone called out to her.

“Hey, Kay!”

She stopped with one hand on the door to the kitchen and looked back. “Oh, hi, Aric.”

Aric approached and nodded for her to go into the kitchen. He followed her in then motioned for her to go to the dry storage room. Kay led the way. He took a look around the kitchen and closed the door behind them.

“Is everything all right?” Kay asked with concern in her voice.

Aric turned to face her. “Oh yeah, everything is okay. I just wanted to talk to you in private.”

“About what?”

“Fred and the other girls. Have you heard anything about them?”

“Oh no, I’m the last person who would find out about them. You’d probably know something before I would,” Kay said.

“Well, you know how it is. Everyone around here seems to have a source of their own. I was just hoping you’d heard something.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Kay said, lowering her eyes to the floor. “I wish I knew something. I’m so worried about them.”

“Tell me about it. I know they did what they’re accused of, but I also know he deserved it,” Aric said, running a hand through his hair.

Kay looked up at him and grabbed his arm. Her eyes were pleading. “Then why don’t you say something? They’ll believe you! You’re one of them.”

“Pfff, they wouldn’t listen to me. If I said anything, it’d go badly for me, and I don’t want to end up where they are. It wouldn’t help at all.”

“They wouldn’t do that to you!” Kay protested.

Aric shook his head. “You’re right, they might just kill me.” Aric could tell from the look in her eyes that Kay didn’t believe that. “These people don’t play around, Kay, believe me.”

Kay nodded in understanding, thinking about some of the cruelty she had witnessed. “You’re probably right.”

Without thinking about it, Aric reached out and hugged the old woman. It surprised him nearly as much as it did her. After a pause, Kay wrapped her arms around him. Aside from the girls, Kay hadn’t hugged anyone since her husband had died. And in the Before, her husband was one of few people she ever showed affection to, for that matter. Aric was the same way. He’d never been a very affectionate person. Hugs and saying
I love you
were not very common in his house growing up. But in this moment, they needed each other’s comfort.

“Thanks, Kay,” Aric said as he turned to leave.

“Thank you,” Kay said. “I knew you weren’t like the others.”

Aric gave her a weak smile then left the kitchen. He was going to find a way to get to Fred, he decided. He knew what her future held and, in that moment, he decided he was going to do something about it.

 • • • 

Calvin listened as Shane was brought in. While he couldn’t see him, hearing him yelp confirmed it. It was the same cry he’d made many times as a kid when Calvin would prank him. Calvin would creep into the bathroom quietly and stand there for a moment, then he would dump a glass of ice water over the top of the shower curtain. While that was a fond memory of Shane as he grew up, when he heard that splash he knew they’d just soaked his son. He also knew that the cold in the building would certainly lead to hypothermia. He waited for the men to leave. Once he heard the door close he called out. “Shane? Is that you, son?” The effort required to call out was incredibly painful. Calvin slumped back against the wall holding his side.

Shane’s arms were already burning and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. “Y-yeah, I’m h-here.”

“You okay, son?”

“I’m c-cold. They t-took m-my clothes and threw water o-on me.”

“Bastards,” Calvin moaned. “Let your body shiver, don’t try and stop it. It’s generating heat.”

“N-not enough.”

“Jess, hey, Jess!” Fred called in a loud whisper.

Jess whispered back, “What?”

“Is it day or night?”

“How should I know? It’s always dark.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. I get dizzy if I stand up too long,” Fred said, leaning against the wall.

“That’s why I spend so much time on my ass,” Jess replied. It was a weak joke, but the first joke heard in a while. Fred’s laugh echoed through the building.

“I-it’s daylight out,” Shane said.

Fred looked in the direction his voice came from. “I’m so sorry they did that to you. I wish I could help.”

“M-me too.”

Mary was lying on the floor of her cell in a fetal position. She didn’t hear the whispers of those down the hall from her. Her head was filled with voices. Despite her best efforts she couldn’t stop them and they were driving her mad. Curled up like she was, she was able to get her hands over her ears. She clasped them tightly and rocked back and forth. In an effort to drive the voices out of her mind, she started to hum.

“Mary, is that you?” Jess called out.

There was no reply, and after a moment Fred called out, “I think it is. It sounds like she’s humming.”

A key sliding into a door caused everyone to stop talking. Fred moved along the wall away from her door. The sounds of boots scuffing and grinding the concrete filled the air. At least two people were there, the faint sounds of their voices echoing down the halls.

A key sliding into the lock of his cell caused Shane to look up. When the door opened he was immediately blinded with the light again. Closing his eyes, he tried to turn his head away. Once again, he was doused with cold water. He let out a howl as the water hit him.

“How you holding up there, sport?” one of the guards asked, moving into the cell. “We’ve got a little something here for you, to take your mind off the cold and all. That is, unless you want to go back and talk to Niigata?”

“F-f-fuck you.”

“Gonna play tough, huh? That’s all right, I like it better this way.”

Shane heard the man step toward him, but he couldn’t anticipate what would happen next. The man delivered a forceful slap to the bottom of his scrotum, causing his stomach to instantly knot. What little weight his legs had been supporting was now entirely on his shoulders as his knees buckled.

The guard laughed. “Looks like it’s cold in here.” He laughed again. “That thing ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, you ready? I don’t want to be in here when this shit starts up,” another guard said. Jess’s mind raced, trying to anticipate what torture they were going to inflict next—and on who.

“Just a sec,” the guard said, fiddling with something. “All right, you fuckers, we’re going to play you a little music!” he shouted.

Before the words stopped echoing off the concrete, music began to blare. The sound was so loud it took a minute for it to even register what it was that was assaulting their ears.

Fred immediately sat down to cover her ears. “Fucking polka music!” she screamed. Even if someone had been in the cell with her, they couldn’t have heard her.

Though it was torturous for all, the music was even more torturous for Shane. The speakers were facing his cell and the sound bore into his head. He was freezing and his shoulders and arms were now numb—for that at least he was thankful. The music, if you could call it that, was so loud that it overwhelmed all other senses. He couldn’t believe that just a day ago, he was out roaming free, and now he was hanging like a sack of meat, beaten, bruised, and defeated.

W
e bounced down the road in the buggy, following the tracks to a paved road. Mike stopped and got out to inspect the tracks.

At the paved road we got out again. “Which way did they go?” Mel asked.

“Hard to say,” Ted said as he circled the sand at the edge of the pavement.

Mike pointed to the east. “What’s that way?”

“Nothing for a long ways. The river is over there, then several miles of open forest,” Danny said.

“Let’s start out this way,” Ted said, pointing to the west. “How are we going to find them?” Mel asked, her voice cracking.

“They couldn’t have been too far if they were on foot. You take the left and we’ll take the right,” Danny said.

Mike nodded and we got back in the buggy. Perez was on the left side, scanning the edge of the road as we drove. Seeing the M4 in his lap made me realize that I’d left mine by the fire pit. Here I was, out looking for someone who’d taken Little Bit, and I didn’t even have my rifle. At least I had my pistol.

Mike was driving slowly and everyone, except for Mel, was looking at the side of the road.

“Morg! Are those your dogs?” Mike said, pointing in the distance. I looked up to see Meathead and Little Girl standing on the right side of the road. Meathead’s ears were up and he was looking right at us, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Relief flooded me, just for a moment.

“Yeah, that’s them,” I said excitedly. If the dogs were here, that meant Little Bit couldn’t be too far away.

Mike sped up as the dogs darted off into the woods. As we got closer to where they disappeared, I realized we were almost at the entrance to Alexander Springs.

The dogs were nowhere to be seen, but I started to have a feeling that I knew who we were looking for. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Remember that guy who was living back in here?” I asked Ted.

“Yeah, weird little dude,” Ted replied, then rubbed his chin. “Didn’t he shoot at us when we were coming back from our meeting that day those guys gave us the map?”

“That’s the one,” I said. I remembered how dirty he was, with that disgusting tangled beard. And he had a dog—Drake was its name, if I remembered correctly.
He probably lured Little Bit over with him
, I thought angrily.

“I’m not going to look for the dogs—screw it. I remember where that guy was staying,” Mike said as he sped up through the parking lot, heading for the snack bar.

I jumped out of the buggy as Mike slowed to a stop, leaving Mel in her seat. Ted was right behind me, along with Jamie and Perez. Danny and Doc rode past us and up toward the small building. Rounding the building, I was both enraged and relieved. The hermit weirdo was sitting in front of a smoky fire under the canopy of old oaks with Ashley on his lap. He looked up as we ran toward him, a crooked smile on his face. I drew my pistol and started yelling.

“Let her go! Let her go you sick fuck!” The filter in my brain for my choice of words around the kids was not functional at the moment.

“She’s my friend,” he replied, grabbing her tighter. It was then that I actually looked at Little Bit. She was crying, obviously scared.

“She’s not your friend!” Mel screamed as she ran past me and everyone else, not even considering whether or not he was armed.

Ashley reached out, crying and screaming for Mel. The man stood and started to turn, to block Mel. Mike, Ted, Danny, and I were moving in an instant. Mike and Ted were screaming at him to put her down, to show his hands. When Mel got close, the man pushed her aside, yelling something about how she wanted to visit him, to play together. Danny made it to him just before I did and grabbed Ashley. Her eyes were wide in terror as she reached out for him. As Danny started to pull her away, the guy fought back. It was like a tug-of-war, with my daughter in the middle.

Coming in between the two at a run, I brought my right leg up hard and fast and kicked the bastard in the balls as hard as I could. He let out a loud groan as he started to fall. Danny scooped Ashley up and moved her out of the way, and Mel quickly intercepted her. Doc shielded Mel and Ashley and pushed them out toward the buggy, sheltering the two as he quickly guided them down the walkway to the parking lot. Mike and Ted moved in and pinned the creep to the ground, searching him for weapons. Seeing he was under control, I went to Mel and Ashley.

They were sitting in the buggy in the leaf-littered parking area, on the other side of the concession stand. I walked toward them, my mind racing a mile a minute. I was thankful we’d found her and yet was worried about what we didn’t yet know. Ashley had her face buried in her mom’s neck. I tried to lift her head to look at her, but she was clinging on with surprising strength. Her little form was racked with sobs, as was Mel. I patted Ashley on the back as Mel looked up, tears soaking her face.

I leaned in and kissed Ash’s head, then Mel, and looked back toward the concession stand. I could hear the guys shouting at that son of a bitch. Without hesitation, I headed back toward them.

When I returned, the guys had him sitting in the chair. Stings of spittle stretched from his beard to his shirt, and he’d vomited on himself. He was obviously in a lot of pain, clenching his eyes shut, leaning forward at the waist with his knees together. Mike stood behind him, one hand on his shoulder. They’d bound his hands with a set of cuffs. Ted was in front of him, pacing and asking questions.

Between gulps of air he spoke. “I told you, she came to visit me.”

Ted knelt down and looked at his face. The man’s eyes were closed, so Ted slapped him in the side of the head. “Look at me.” He half opened his eyes at the command, his mouth hanging open. “You took her from by the river, didn’t you?”

He shook his head, the strings of spit swinging as he did. “No, I didn’t take her! She wanted to come. We’re friends.”

I stepped toward him. “She’s eight years old, you sick fuck. She’s not your friend.”

Leaning forward he looked up, a disturbing smile on his face. “She
is
my friend.”

“This guy’s lost his fucking mind,” Ted announced as he stood up.

“What are you going to do with him?” Jamie asked.

The man laughed. “She’ll come back, you’ll see. Next time you won’t find us.”

Hearing those words, I lost it. I put the muzzle of my pistol an inch from his head, just above his ear, and fired. His body fell out of the chair as the .45 bullet tore the top of his head off.

“Oh my God!” Jamie screamed.

“Shit, Morgan!” Mike yelled as he stepped back. “Give me a frickin’ warning next time. Look at my pants!” Mike was looking down at the specks of blood, tissue, and small shards of bone that covered his left leg. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” he shouted as he knelt down and grabbed a handful of leaves to wipe it off.

Jamie had her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. She was looking at the corpse, smoke still coming from the side of the head. Perez simply stood there, no expression on his face whatsoever.

“Well, so much for that,” Ted said as he knelt down and took the cuffs off.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Jamie said.

“Yeah, Jamie, Morgan’s a little . . . different,” Mike said.

I spit on the body and went back to the buggy. Danny was sitting beside Mel in the backseat, rubbing Ashley’s back while Mel rocked her from side to side. Doc was trying his best to examine Little Bit, but she was really clinging to Mel. Danny climbed out and stopped beside me.

“Has she said anything?” I asked.

He shook his head and nodded toward the snack bar. “That taken care of?”

Doc climbed out. “Morg, she looks all right, but I’ll really need to do a more thorough exam when we get back.”

“Thanks Doc,” I said, looking at her and Mel. “I hope you’re right.”

Danny patted me on the back and walked toward the other vehicle. The dogs came trotting up, tongues still lolling out of their mouths. I smiled at Meathead and thought to myself,
Thanks, ole buddy.
Mike started up the buggy as Danny pulled up beside us. It was a quiet ride back to the cabins, the few miles seeming like many more. No one said anything during the trip. Gone now were the sobs and tears. A tempered sense of relief filled me—tempered because there was still one question to answer.

Pulling up to the cabins, we were met by Thad, Ian, and Jeff, whose looks of relief reminded me how good of friends they are. Mel quickly got out and headed for the cabin with Ashley. I caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

“When you go in and clean her up, check her clothes . . .” I didn’t know exactly how to say what needed said. “. . . for, you know.” I left the terrible thought unsaid.

Mel stared at me blankly, spun on her heels, and went into the cabin. Bobbie was right behind her.

“I’ll go check her out,” Doc said quietly.

Taylor and Lee Ann were sitting by the fire. It was clear that both of them had been crying.

“Is she all right?” Taylor asked.

I nodded. “She’s going to be okay.”

Lee Ann looked up. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“I know, no one’s blaming you,” I said.

She started to cry and quickly stood up and ran off.

“Hey! Lee Ann, come back!” I called to her, then looked at her sister. “Go keep an eye on her.”

“She shouldn’t have left her alone.”

“True, but it’s not her fault—and you better not be saying it is.”

Taylor walked off after her sister, passing Thad on her way. He put his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. “Lee Ann is pretty upset. She’s blaming herself.”

“She shouldn’t have left her little sister alone, but it’s not her fault,” I replied, still looking at Taylor.

“You’ll need to talk to her. Taylor gave her some trouble about it, which didn’t help.”

I shook my head. “I’ll talk to both of them.”

Thad nodded and went over to the fire pit and sat down. I followed him. Everyone was gathered there and I could feel them looking at me, though no one said anything. I’m sure the word had already spread and they all knew. On the table was a muffin pan full of soap. Thad had finished his project while we were gone. People started talking, but my attention was focused on the pan. I watched the soap as it began to harden before my eyes. It was a necessary distraction for my mind at the moment.

Taylor and Lee Ann had come back and were sitting in chairs by the fire. Danny was knelt down between them, talking in a low voice. I was thankful Danny was there. He was offering the comfort I couldn’t at the moment. He and Bobbie were so close to us, part of our family. I couldn’t imagine not having them.

Doc sat down beside me as Danny propped a foot up on the bench across from me. I looked at Danny, then at Doc, hoping beyond hope.

“We looked at her clothes.” He paused for a moment. “We didn’t see anything, you know, that would show—” I raised a hand to stop him. I’d heard what I needed to and didn’t want that thought to enter my head again, ever.

Doc left and Danny sat down. “As bad as it is, it could have been worse. Thankfully, she’s okay.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Doc.”

Danny folded his hands, laying them on the table in front of him. “Between you, me, and the other guys, nothing will ever happen to one of them again.”

I’d been staring off at the tree line across the river. I looked him in the eye. “I hope not.”

“You gonna be all right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m gonna go check on her,” I said and stood up.

No one in the group stopped me, which was good. I appreciated the concern and the help, but I didn’t want to keep hearing their sympathy. Thad was standing at the fire, eyes locked on mine. Several large pieces of pork were sitting on the grill, the fat snapping and popping as it dripped into the flames. He gave a quick knowing nod, then went back to tending his meat. I smiled at him. The circumstances that had brought the two of us together were certainly interesting, and I was incredibly thankful to have him in my life as well. Besides Danny, there was no friend I trusted more in this world.

I stopped by the fire for a moment and knelt down between the girls, asking if they were all right. They said they were and asked about their little sister again. I told them they needed to be especially nice to her and to look out for her. I also told them she probably wouldn’t want to be alone and they would have to tolerate her hanging around with them. She was surely about to become their ever-present shadow. They nodded silently, agreeing with me. When I got to the cabin, I found Mel lying with Ashley, who was asleep. Mel was running her fingers through her hair, watching her.

“How is she?” I asked.

“She’s fine now,” Mel said without looking up.

Ashley’s eyes opened. “Daddy?” she said, reaching a small hand out.

I grabbed her hand. “Right here, Little Bit, right here.” She wrapped her hand around my thumb and closed her eyes. Soon her breathing settled into a slow rhythm. I rubbed her hand and settled in beside Mel. Soon we were all asleep.

When I woke up, it was dark. Little Bit was sitting up. “I’m hungry, Daddy.”

Mel sat up and looked around. “How long did we sleep?”

“I don’t know, but she’s hungry. Let’s go get her something to eat.”

Little Bit walked between us, holding our hands. Everyone was out at the table with a couple of kerosene lanterns set out for light. They were talking and laughing.

As we came into the light Mike called out, “Hey, glad to see you’re up, there, Sleeping Beauty. Enjoy your nap?”

Little Bit smiled. “I did. I’m hungry.”

Mike smiled back. “I bet you are, Ashley, but I was talking to your daddy.”

She laughed. “He’s not Sleeping Beauty.”

“You’re right, no beauty there,” Danny said.

Room was made for us and we sat together on one end. “What’s for supper there, Grandpa?” I asked Thad.

He laughed. “Grandpa?”

“Yeah, remember the old show
Hee Haw
?
What’s fer supper, Grandpa?
”

“Oh damn, you’re really dating yourself now, Morg,” Ted said with a chuckle.

“What’s
Hee Haws
?” Little Bit asked.