The Harvest (Book 1) (16 page)

“So we’re part of their diet? We’ve become prey to a more powerful predator?”

“Yeah. Something like that.” She hesitated.

“But?”

“But, I think they keep people alive for some time, you know before killing them. And I think there must be a lot of people still alive.”

“Why do you think that?”

“There weren’t enough dead people. I mean the population of the United States alone was close to 400 million when the killing started. So unless they’re dropping people in uninhabited places or out at sea you’d expect to see more bodies. And another thing, at the initial drop it was mostly men. Some looked like inmates. Others looked like cops or soldiers. It was kinda weird.”

“Maybe they killed anyone who they thought was a threat first.” Austin offered. It’s what he would do in a hostile takeover.

“Yeah maybe. But the bodies dropping now are all old people. Except for Lamar. Which I can’t place that piece of the puzzle. But they have to be keeping them somewhere. Like a base or a camp or something.”

“Why not a space ship or space station?”

“Could be, maybe, but that would have to be a long distance to travel at regular intervals.” She shook her head. “Wherever they are, they have medical equipment or something to that effect. I saw track marks on the children’s arms, like where an IV would be inserted.”

“Intelligent and brutal. What a combination.” He remarked offhandedly. 

“And numerous. There must be thousands of them. How else could they’ve wiped out the planet in less than forty eight hours?”

“You’re assuming the rest of the planet’s been eradicated.” He pointed out.

“Aren’t you?”

“Never assume or leave anything to chance.”

“Marine motto?”

“My motto.” He said, checking his watch. “It’s almost time to get on the road.” He stood up, extended his hand to Madison.  “Let’s keep our theories between us.”

Madison took his hand, letting him pull her up. They stood a foot apart. “You make a good interrogator.” She smiled. “But next time, just ask what I think. I don’t mind sharing.”

“I’ll remember that.” He smiled in return.

With some of the weight he’d been carrying around lifted off his shoulders, Austin felt better than he had in months. He went about the task of waking up Luke and Edward. Luke took longer to shake the night off than usual, but he didn’t complain so no one noticed. Both Ed and Luke were puzzled by Austin’s less than dark demeanor, but contributed it to him getting closer to Cheyenne and the military, to his own kind. They packed up while Madison and Austin went to fetch the ATV’s from the garage down the street.

13 TAKING A RISK

Two hours outside of Fowler they stopped at a highway gas station to refuel. Madison, who never missed an opportunity to use the restroom, disappeared around the side of the building. Austin topped off the tanks, the gas cans and checked on Edward. Fifteen minutes later they were ready to hit the road.

Austin looked around. “Where’s Luke?”

“He said he was going to get something to drink.”

Austin jumped off his ATV and ran to the station, pulling out his weapon before he burst thru the door. “Luke?” He yelled out when he didn’t see him. He ran to the back of the store, towards the drink coolers and stumbled over Luke, who was slumped on the floor.

“Luke. Luke.” Austin pulled Luke’s face mask off. “Shit.” His hair was drenched in sweat. Austin placed his hand to Luke’s forehead. “Shit.”

Luke moaned.  His eyes fluttered open. “I think I’m dying.” He mumbled.

“You’re not dying. You have a fever.” Austin used a softer tone than normal. “Maybe the flu.” He added, more to assure himself than Luke.

“Austin?” Madison called from the front of the store.

“Back here. By the coolers.”

When she saw Luke, Madison had the same reaction as Austin, but masked her dismay. “You ok buddy?”

“The flu. I got the flu.”

“He’s burning up.” Austin told her. “Can you get me one of those bottles?”

Madison grabbed a bottle of frozen water from the cooler. Austin held it to Luke’s forehead and the side of his face. “How sure are you about finding this bunker?” He asked Madison.

“Pretty sure. Why?”

“He can’t travel far in his condition and we can’t stay in here tonight, there’s no protection from the cold. The heater’s about out of propane.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Find the bunker and then come back for us. I can’t risk taking him out there if we don’t have solid shelter for the night.”

“Should only be an hour’s drive from here. I’ll unload the ATV…” She headed for the door mentally checking off items for the trip, “to save on gas.”

“Undo Ed would ya? And bring the heater.” Austin turned back to Luke, who was fading in and out of consciousness.

Madison hurried outside. She helped Ed up while explaining to him about Luke’s condition. Ed carried the heater inside the station, leaving Madison to unpack the gear from the ATV. She hauled their stuff over to the door. Austin would bring it inside if she didn’t come back before dark. She shoved a thermal blanket into her backpack just in case.

She jumped on the ATV, turned the key and engine purred to life. She was about to shift into gear when from the corner of her eye she saw Austin jogging towards her. She pushed her goggles up.

“You have your gun?”

“Yep.”

“The map?”

“In here.” She tapped her head. “And here.” She pointed to her backpack. “And a thermal blanket just in case.”

“Madison,” he paused, “don’t take any chances ok? If anything isn’t right about this guy, you get out. If he tries to stop you put a bullet in his head and get back here as fast as you can. Got it?”

“Yes Captain.” She saluted him.

“I’m serious.” He grabbed hold of her arm. “I don’t want to come looking for you.”

“You’d do that?” She asked, unable to mask the surprise in her voice.

He was about to say he wasn’t about to lose her too, but pressed his lips together and nodded instead. He let go of her arm.

“I’ll be ok.” She lowered her goggles. “Wish me luck.”

“I don’t believe in luck.”

“Right. Never assume or leave anything to chance.” She revved the ATV’s engine. “See you in couple of hours.”

He gave her a thumbs up and watched as she drove away, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. When he could no longer see the ATV, Austin went back inside the gas station.

Not until she was five miles down the road, did Madison’s heart stop threatening to jump out of her chest. She focused on navigating the terrain in front of her. This was no place for an accident. It was no place for a lot of things, including her feelings for Austin. She made a vow to put her heart in check and keep a healthy distance between them.

The miles flew by without event. At mile marker one fifty one Madison eased the ATV off the highway onto the uneven terrain of what used to be a long driveway. Parts of the fence, that had at one time contained thousands of cattle, could be seen intermittently along the way. A hundred yards in she slowed to a stop.

Using the binoculars, she peered out across the vast white nothingness. Panic rose in her throat after she swept the horizon twice and came up empty. She had to find that bunker. Pushing her goggles up off her face, she mentally crossed her fingers and once again raised the binoculars to her eyes, careful not to touch the metal to her skin.

“There you are.” She said out loud.

She stuffed the binoculars in her pack, shifted into gear and sped off towards a ranch house half buried by a snow drift. Underneath that ranch house, through the cellar, was the entrance to the bunker. Austin would have laughed if she had told him she thought it a clever idea. Not that his opinion mattered. She gunned the ATV, hit a bump and almost lost control of the machine. She quickly corrected the tires and slowed down to a reasonable speed.

“Don’t be an idiot Maddie”. Her mother’s voice chastised. “I’m not an idiot momma. I just have bad luck with men.” She could picture her mother nodding her head in agreement.

At twenty five yards out Madison stopped to take a closer look at the ranch. She could see an old barn not too far beyond the house. At first glance there appeared to be no signs of life. No tire tracks that she could see or any indication the place was occupied.  She zoomed in on the front entrance, noticing right off that a path had been cleared through the snow to the steps. The door was painted a dark brown color and was windowless. The side lights looked to be painted over in the same brown as the door. Brown shutters covered the windows.

Movement to the right of the door caught her eye. Stuck on top of a snow mound sat a small yellow flag. On the flag, in bold green, was a picture of a marijuana leaf. “This must be the place.” She felt elated. The flag was new, which meant someone had to put it there very recently. She pushed her goggles back in place and eased the ATV towards the entrance, stopping short of the path leading to the steps.

Snow drifts five feet high flanked both sides of the walkway and spilled onto the porch. Madison backed the ATV into a position where, if she got into trouble, escape wouldn’t be a problem. However, trouble didn’t seem likely. If what the article said was true, Zack Londergan was your typical free loving, free spirited stoner. Madison dealt with the type often in Tampa. Never once had she met a violent pothead. Stupid yes, but definitely not dangerous. Free loving or not, the world had changed and people like Paulson always seemed to be the ones to survive. So, taking nothing for granted, Madison put her gun in her pocket for easy access. 

On the top step, she paused to inspect the porch. Next to the door someone had placed a stuffed gray squirrel. Sitting on top of an upside down flower pot sat a raccoon. A handmade wood sign above the door read ‘Casa de La Redención’. She glanced up and was startled by a large owl perched on the porch rafters.

“Shit you scared me.” She said to the owl, realizing it was also stuffed. 

The owl blinked in response, but Madison had looked away. The eyes of the owl and the raccoon followed her as she moved about the porch. At the far end, sitting on the porch swing, Madison found a medium sized stuffed black bear wearing a yellow t-shirt with a marijuana leaf on the front. The bear’s eyes blinked and followed her as she inspected the windows before moving back to the door.

Standing at the door, Madison wasn’t sure what to do next.  The windows were covered with metal shutters and the door was made of solid steel. Even the side lights were solid metal. She reached up to knock on the door, when the whirring sound of a small motor caught her attention. At her feet the squirrel had begun to gnaw on a walnut. Then the raccoon stood on its hind legs, which despite knowing it was stuffed, startled the crap out of her. In the rafters the owl flexed its wings in and out. She looked back at the bear, expecting it to move as well, but it sat motionless.

Madison shook her head. The animals were a clever disguise for spying on people, but hardly inconspicuous once you began moving them about like a circus act. Madison stepped closer to the raccoon. She couldn’t tell if it was reacting to her motion or if someone was controlling its movement.

“Hello.” She waved to the raccoon. “Hello. Is anyone in there?”

“He doesn’t talk.” A man’s voice spoke from behind her.

“Shit.” Madison jumped around to face the voice. A handsome young man, dressed in jeans, a turtle neck sweater and untied boots, stood at the bottom of the steps pointing a shotgun at her.

“Didn’t mean to scare you.” He offered, but didn’t lower the shotgun.

“Didn’t hear you come up or out.” Where in the hell had he come from? “I don’t want any trouble.” Madison raised her hands in the air.

“What do you want?”

“Help. My friend is really sick. He needs medical attention.”

“Where’s your friend at?”

“A gas station about thirty miles from here.” 

The man stood thinking. He seemed impervious to the cold.  Lowering his shotgun to hip level, he walked up the steps. “Would you mind taking off your mask so I can see your face?”

Madison did as he asked.

“Wow. Are…were you a model? Actress maybe?” He asked, genuinely surprised.

“What? No.” She stammered. What kind of crazy question was that to ask?

“Sorry. You surprised me.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “Haven’t seen a chick since I kicked Mandy out of my bed.”  

Losing her patience with the young man, who she determined was harmless, Madison used a sterner tone. “Look, are you Zack Londergan?”

“How do you know Zack?”

“So you’re not Zack?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Please. I really need help for my friend.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s sick. High fever. I don’t know. I’m not a doctor.

“What if he’s contagious?”

The possibility hadn’t ever crossed her mind, but she shook her head anyway. “It’s probably the flu or pneumonia.”

“The flu’s contagious.” He countered.

“Only if you plan on kissing him.” She angrily responded.

The man laughed out loud. “Got a name?”

“Madison Capra.”

“Zack Londergan at your service.” He lowered his gun. “Nice to meet you Madison.”

“Will you help us?” She persisted.

“Sure. We could use some company.”

“We?”

“Me, my brother Colin and our dog German. The only canine left alive.”

“That’s it?” She couldn’t help being disappointed.

“Sorry to disappoint.” He shrugged. “Is it just the two of you?”

“No. There are two others. Edward and Austin.”

“So you’re the only chick?” It was his turn to sound disappointed.

Madison sighed. “I am. But I’m sure there are more chicks out there somewhere.”

“Do you really believe that?” He asked in a tone that came close to sounding serious.

“Look, I don’t have time to discuss demography with you right now. If I don’t get back soon they’ll come looking for me.”

“Hold tight Maddie. I got just the thing.” He pulled out a walkie-talkie, clicked the button. “Colin you there?”

“I told you it was a chick.” A boy’s voice responded.