The Dragons of Men (The Sons of Liberty Book 2) (50 page)

Sarah took a deep breath and reached over, her fingers brushing his as she grabbed his hand. He paused for a moment—walking next to her so silently that she wasn’t sure he was aware of her hand. After a pause, Eric gently wrapped his gloved fingers around her tiny hand. Tears watered in her eyes as her hand felt both alive and afire. Though Sarah had grown fond of him, Adam was still alive inside of her. She had hoped she was ready to move on, but the touch of Eric’s skin on hers only summoned memories of Adam, proving her hope was nothing more than an illusion. Reluctantly, like a woman dying of thirst who refuses a glass of cold water, she pulled her hand away.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, avoiding looking at him as though it might actually kill her. “I can’t—”

“Eric!” Trey shouted, “Visual on the gate.”

“Is it still there?” Eric asked, eyeing Sarah as Trey raised a set of binoculars to his eyes.

“Is what still there?” Sarah asked.

“What I’ve been praying for,” Eric said. After a pause, Trey glanced back with a smile.

“It’s still there,” he said.

“Then let’s get going,” Eric said, glancing over at Sarah with a smile as he quickened his pace. “Anyone foolish enough to still fly the American flag is a friend of mine.”

Judah Reinhart slowed as he, his family, his friends, and the girl who now loathed him approached a monstrous steel wall. The overpass was actually two separate bridges—one for the southbound lane and another for the northbound. The blockades were made of shipping containers that had been stacked two levels high, dividing each bridge in half. The colorful ramparts spanned the width of the bridges that stood a hundred feet above a river. There were only two narrow passageways through the center of each wall and both of them were obstructed by a pair of school buses that would have to be moved before entry was possible. A dozen armed men sat atop each barricade, their heads half concealed by the reflective glass of a rifle scope.

Whoever and whatever was on the other side of that wall, it was well-protected and they wanted to keep it that way.

“That’s far enough,” a voice cried out over a megaphone as Judah and the others slowed to a halt a hundred feet from the wall. A man crouched atop the wall, a bullhorn at his lips and a sandbag protecting the majority of his body. “What’s your business?”

“We saw your flag,” Eric shouted back as he stepped forward a couple paces. “We’re looking for food and lodging. We can work for it all if you’ll have us.”

“I’m sure you would,” the man replied. “Where are you from?”

“Out east,” Eric said. “We passed through Memphis nine days ago and—”

“We’ve heard all about Memphis,” the other man replied. “So did you actually
pass through
or were you partaking in their idea of fun?”

Before Eric could reply, Sarah stepped forward, standing next to Judah with a fury in her eyes.

“They tried to make us part of that fun,” Sarah said, her voice raised. “We lost a lot getting out. I’d ask you show a little respect for those who weren’t so fortunate. There is no fun going on in Memphis. There’s only the wicked and their victims.”

The man paused for a moment, glancing over at his men and muttering something Judah couldn’t understand. He hesitated a moment longer before raising the horn back to his lips.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean fun like…well, we don’t agree with what those bastards are doing over there. I apologize for any offense taken.”

“So you’ll help us?”

“I didn’t say that,” the man replied. “We’re low on trust and tight with food. I don’t think—”

“But we can work,” Eric cut in. “I’m a trained soldier and this man here is a brilliant coder capable of fixing and hacking about whatever you want.”

“Listen. I’d love to help you out, but it’s not going to happen. We have plenty of soldiers and a good amount of techies already. Best we can do is give you a bit of food and say a prayer with you before you go on your way.”

“Say a prayer?” Sarah replied, shaking her head as she laughed. “You want to say a prayer to help us out? Listen, I’m all about praying, but at some point you—”

“Nadia Andreou,” Alexandra shouted quickly, stepping forward. “Is she here?”

The men crouching behind the sandbags paused, glancing at one another in confusion before raising their weapons, aiming them at Judah and the others. Judah’s heart raced and he stepped forward, placing himself in front of Alexandra and almost raising his own weapon before Eric shouted.

“Judah, no!” Eric shouted. “Keep it down.”

“Do you know her?” Alexandra shouted again. “Her name is Nadia Andreou. That’s A-N-D—”

“I suggest you all leave now,” the man replied over the bullhorn. “And tell your boys down south that we’re not for sale. We’ll die before we see them take this place. I don’t care what sorry-ass group and sappy tales they send next time.”

“Come on,” Sarah said, grabbing both Alexandra and Judah by the arms. “We need to go before—”

“Let go!” Alexandra shouted, ripping her arm free before turning back to the wall. “Please! She’s my sister!”

“Alexandra,” Judah said, grabbing her gently by the arm. “I don’t think—”

“Stop!” the voice cried out over the bullhorn. A few tense seconds passed, the man on the bullhorn glancing down behind him as Judah readied himself for a fight. After a lengthy pause, the man atop the wall turned back to them. “If you or anything on the road behind you moves, we’ll spill your blood across this bridge right here, right now. So put your weapons on the ground and keep your hands where we can see them.”

Judah paused briefly before dropping his rifle. He stuck his hands in the air as the rest of his family and friends did the same. The man atop the wall disappeared out of sight. Another thirty seconds passed before the cranking of gears rumbled from the gate. Two steel cables attached to the front of the school busses pulled tight and the massive vehicles began to part. As it did, wooden beams that blocked the gate behind it rose like an old garage door, revealing the open bridge behind it and at least ten more armed men. Five of those men began walking forward; the man who had been speaking with them at the center. Determination lined their eyes while guns filled their hands.

Despite the growing springtime heat, the men each wore filtered masks that covered half their face while black tactical gear protected the rest of their bodies. Only the top halves of their faces were uncovered, giving them the look of desert warriors ready for battle. The man at the front halted twenty feet from Judah and the others, shifting his concentrated eyes between each of them before clearing his throat.

“Nadia doesn’t have family,” the man replied. “Not outside of me. I suggest you—”

“Wait!” Alexandra said quickly. “I’m her sister. If she’s alive, you have to take me to her. Please!”

The man hesitated a moment, his eyes narrowing above the dark mask as he gazed back intently. Judah tensed, trying to decide just what he would do if they tried anything. He looked to the side of the bridge ten feet to his right, thinking about grabbing Alexandra and diving over. Still, he knew he wouldn’t have made it three steps before death caught up. He knew he would die if it came to that, but that was a truth he had accepted weeks ago. Sooner or later, something was going to demand his life and he’d be powerless to do anything but oblige.

“What’s your name?” the man asked.

“Alexandra,” she replied. “Is Nadia alive? I haven’t spoken to her in over a year and—”

The man held up a hand, cutting Alexandra off. He shook his head as he glanced over at the other guys. The man shifted his gaze back to Alexandra and raised his hand to tap an earpiece. “I don’t want another word from any of you.”

Alexandra nodded back, looking over at Judah with the first thing that resembled joy since leaving Memphis. Judah smiled back, though it dissolved into a forced smile that he knew she would see right through. If by some miracle her sister Nadia was alive, then Judah doubted Alexandra would go back on her words from earlier. She’d abandon him and his family. He was on the verge of losing her completely and yet his pain was an unbridled joy.

Judah desired only her happiness.

“Hey, it’s Tyler,” the man said. “Where are you?” The man—Tyler—paused, smiling as he glanced down at the road. “Yeah? You flirting with the guys at South Gate again?” He paused a second time, his smile growing broader until he let loose a chuckle. “Well, I can’t wait to take you up on that. Hey listen, that sister of yours that you told me about—the one out east—what was her name?” He glanced to the side, looking at the other men before glancing over at Alexandra. “Uh huh. You know, I never saw a picture of you two. What did she look like again? Uh huh…yeah…really? And what happened to her?” He paused, looking up at Alexandra as concern masked his face. “You sure? No reason, I was just thinking about you and your family. But hey, why don’t you come up to North Gate as soon as you can. No, nothing’s wrong…no, really. Hey, can’t a guy just want to give his new bride a kiss?” Tyler beamed, stepping backward to join the others. “Alright. See you in five.” He placed the phone in his pocket, grinning again as he hesitated.

He then glanced up, drew his side arm, and pointed it at Eric.

“What the hell are you doing?” Eric said as he held his hands up.

“I’ve been getting to know my wife quite well over the past couple of years. We might have been married all of two months now, but I know when she suspects something of me. Her knack for finding the truth hiding in this chaos is half the reason she’s running this place. Without her, we would not have seen what was coming before it was beating down our front door. She foresaw things like the food shortage that would have starved us to death, the disease that might have wiped us had we not barricaded ourselves in, or the Texan traitors who’d try to infiltrate our ranks. I say all that to say that my wife clearly suspects something from that little conversation of ours. All I’m saying is if you’re lying about all this, she’ll see through it and we’ll do what we have to do.”

“You’re Nadia’s…husband?” Alexandra said.

“I said not a word,” Tyler replied.

A few minutes passed with Judah standing quietly on the road, shifting his weight back and forth from his bad leg as he held his hands in the air. He hoped this woman was in fact Alexandra’s sister. Not only because failure to be so would likely result in a shootout that would end their journey, but because he truly wanted the best for Alexandra. He wanted that joy and hope he saw on her face earlier to stay there and never go away. If being by her sister and leaving them behind was the only way to achieve that, then so be it. He didn’t know if that was love—he suspected it was stupidity. Whatever it was, it was most definitely selfless and therefore he knew it was right.

An electric car approached silently, slowing to a halt on the other side of the gate before the front passenger door opened. A woman—tall like Alexandra with brown hair and a mask of her own stepped out onto the road. She walked forward, her eyes finding Tyler first and smiling behind her guise.

“So, what was all this….” The woman slowed, looking past Tyler to Alexandra. Her eyes grew wide and though he couldn’t see it behind her mask, Judah could tell the woman’s jaw had dropped. “Alex?”

“Nadia!” Alexandra shouted, lowering her hands as she ran for her sister. Nadia ran forward too, tears streaming from both their eyes by the time they embraced. The two wept as they embraced and fell to the road, holding each other tightly as though they were afraid they might lose one another if they let go. Tyler turned to Judah and the others, nodding his head and motioning for them to put their hands down. After a few more moments of hugging and joyful weeping, Nadia stepped back.

“Where did you…how did you…Alex,
how
are you here?” Nadia said, wiping her tears away. “How
are you here? Where are dad and Micah?” Nadia looked over at the group, searching them quickly for a sign of her family.

“They didn’t make it,” Alexandra said, the smile on her face shrinking. “Dad died when they attacked the base three months ago and Micah died later that night. I’m sorry. It’s just me.”

Nadia paused, staring back at her sister before nodding her head. She took a deep breath before looking back up at her sister, her eyes still smiling though they continued to glisten with tears. “Don’t be sorry. You’re here and this is not a time for grieving. But you didn’t answer my question. How are you here?”

“I…I’m here because of them,” Alexandra said, turning to Judah and the others. “That’s Eric Corsa, Elizabeth Holt, and Trey Webster. And the rest…they’re the Reinhart family. That’s Sarah and her kids—Eva, Grace, and…Judah. Their dad was Adam Reinhart, the congressman that almost stopped all of this from happening, but he died in DC when the president took over. Adam’s parents and a few Army Rangers were with us, but they died in Montgomery. Nadia…these people saved me. I told them we’d find you in Arkansas, but I’m not sure I even believed you’d still be here. They walked me from North Carolina to Alabama to Memphis and here just because I was alone and without family.” Alexandra hesitated, her eyes flickering over to Judah and searching as though she were debating what else to say. Finally, she frowned and looked back at Nadia. “They’re going to Texas soon, but they could use whatever help you can give them before they go. Without them, I would have died long ago.”