Borders: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Aftershock Series Book 3) Read online

  He extended his hand. “I’m Charles Grayson.”

  “A pleasure, Governor. You can call me Morgan.” He took the governor’s hand. “I have something for you.” He motioned for his men to bring their captives forward to the fire.

  Davis and Damon were roughly brought to where Grayson stood and forced to their knees. Davis’ chin dropped to rest on his chest, tears streaming down his face. Damon tried to get back to his feet, but was struck with a blow to his kidney. He yelled out in pain and collapsed back to the ground. Quickly, he crawled to Grayson, his hands still bound in front, grabbing Grayson’s pants leg. “It’s not me you want, it’s Davis. I only followed his orders.”

  Those around the fire who knew Damon were shocked. He was acting out of character and definitely unexpected. It was almost humorous.

  Davis lifted his head, his eyes wide open with shock, as surprised as everyone else. Damon was throwing him under the bus. Now it was every man for himself. “That’s a lie. It was Damon’s idea to shoot your men.”

  Blake took two quick steps toward them with rage on his face and his rifle raised. Davis shrunk down, expecting to either be struck or shot. Grayson held out his arm to stop Blake.

  “What about the five years leading up to now?” asked Grayson, kicking Damon away and stepping back.

  Damon fell back, sitting on the ground, looking up at Grayson without any indication of fear, instead quickly recovering from his fit with an obvious sneer on his face.

  “Gag them so I don’t have to listen to either of them anymore,” instructed Grayson.

  Blake was handed a rag from behind. He tore it in half and roughly forced the pieces into their mouths.

  “I know what you’ve done,” said Grayson, trying to control his temper. “You’re both guilty and you’re both going to pay for it.”

  More tears came down Davis’ face as he mumbled, trying to be heard. Grayson only saw anger in Damon’s eyes.

  “What are you going to do with them?” asked Morgan.

  “I haven’t decided yet, but I guarantee it’ll be something special. Do you care?”

  “No. Just curious. Now, how about our payment?”

  “Your man said you wanted supplies. Is that right?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Then, I’ll take you to them,” said Grayson. “I assume you want them now?”

  “Lead the way.” He turned to Jake. “Stay here and keep an eye on those two.”

  “If you don’t object, I’d like to take them with us,” Grayson told Morgan. “I have a place in mind to keep them secure. We can’t have them taking off again.”

  Morgan hesitated. Davis and Damon had been his bargaining chips and he wasn’t sure he was ready to give them up so easily until he had what he’d come for. He was no longer on his own turf. Right now, the numbers were to his advantage, but he doubted if that would be the case closer to the compound. At least taking them along would keep them within his reach for a little while longer.

  Grayson saw his hesitation. “I’m a man of my word. I promised you supplies and I plan to deliver.”

  “That’s fine, but I don’t know you. I’d like to trust you, but I’ve been burned before. How about if your man …”

  “Blake.”

  “How about if Blake stays here with my people while we go and take a look at what you have to offer?”

  Grayson looked over at Blake. Blake nodded that he’d be alright. Grayson had no reason to believe his good friend would be in any danger. He didn’t intend to do anything to put him at risk.

  “Deal,” said Grayson. He turned to Ryder. “Do you think you can come up with a horse and wagon?”

  “I’m pretty sure there’s one around here somewhere. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Could you bring them to the freight dock?” asked Grayson.

  Ryder nodded. Before leaving, he looked at Morgan as a courtesy to make sure it was alright to go. He received a nod and a smile.

  Grayson led the way to the prison followed by Davis and Damon with two of Morgan’s men. Morgan stayed a step back, wary of what might lay ahead. Davis and Damon, still bound and tied together, were pulled along by a rope in Grayson’s grasp, prodded along every few steps by Morgan’s two men. Damon had to help drag Davis along to keep from falling down himself. Davis continued to break down with tears flowing freely, evidently expecting the worst punishment his mind could conceive. He became more frantic, kicking and struggling the closer they got to the prison. Gagged, he couldn’t even beg aloud, only whimper. Fortunately, it was late and there were no bystanders to witness the spectacle.

  Grayson pointed out the freight doors and dock to Morgan as they went by. “This is where Ryder will bring the wagon.”

  “And where are we going now?” asked Morgan as Grayson led them to the front doors.

  “To put these two in a secure location and get them out of our hair for now. Okay?” asked Grayson.

  “Sure.” If something went wrong, he was only a step away from the chief governor.

  Grayson led them inside, through the foyer to the end of a hallway where a doorway opened to a stairwell. They didn’t see or hear anyone. Grayson knew from talking to Roy, some of the people had moved into the old Guard quarters in Cell Block C. At this hour, they should all be asleep.

  Grayson had decided even the maximum security cells of Cell Block A were too good for Davis and Damon. Grayson flipped on the light switch at the top of the steps. A string of dim lights followed them down. At the bottom was a row of cells once used for those prisoners who needed an attitude adjustment, placed in solitary confinement. It was damp and cool with a slight musty smell. A single dim LED light was above each of the six cells. The cells were eight feet wide with concrete walls instead of bars and solid steel doors with only a slot for a food tray.

  Davis had to be dragged, refusing to walk on his own. He’d never been in this area before. During the five years he’d been governor, he’d rarely left his suite or office. He’d even had his meals brought to him. Contact with anyone other than Damon had made him feel uncomfortable and dirty, and it still did.

  Morgan remained quiet, taking it all in.

  Grayson opened two of the doors. Just looking inside the cells made Davis feel claustrophobic. His chest heaved with labored breathing. He tried to back away, but was stopped by one of Morgan’s men. Pulling out a pocket knife, Grayson cut their bindings. Both immediately pulled the gags from their mouths.

  “You won’t get away with this!” shouted Davis hysterically.

  “How long do you plan on keeping us in here?” asked Damon in a calm voice.

  “Until I’m ready to take you back to Springfield,” replied Grayson.

  “And when will that be?”

  “Soon.”

  “You know it’s going to take manpower to watch and feed us,” stated Damon. “Is it worth it?”

  “For a dictator and a murderer, yes. But don’t worry about it; you won’t be around that much longer anyway.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough. I plan to make sure you don’t cause any more problems here or anywhere else ever again. This was supposed to be a place where people could come for help. You both abused your power and countless people lost their lives. Instead of helping them, you turned this place into a labor camp. Fortunately, we’ll be able to recover and begin again.”

  “So, you’re saying no permanent harm was done,” reasoned Davis.

  Grayson couldn’t help losing his temper, shoving Davis into one of the cells and slamming the door shut. Damon looked at Grayson and stepped inside the other cell on his own. Before Grayson closed the door, Damon calmly commented, “I will make you pay for this.” Grayson didn’t bother to respond to the empty threat, closing the door and latching it.

  “There’s no light in here!” shouted Davis.

  Grayson opened the food tray slot to allow a narrow beam of light to enter. He did the same for Damo
n. “I’ll send someone down with water later.”

  “Don’t forget the bread!” shouted Damon sarcastically.

  Grayson turned to Morgan. “Now, how would you like to see about those supplies?”

  Morgan nodded.

  As they headed back up the stairs, they heard whimpering coming from one of the cells and pounding on one of the doors. Grayson reached for the switch to turn off the lights, but withdrew his finger, thinking it might be unnecessarily cruel to bathe them in total darkness. Then he remembered the deaths these men were responsible for and flipped the switch. The stairwell went pitch black.

  ***

  Daniel and John returned to Ryder’s campfire, upset at letting Peck escape. Several people, men and women, stood around the fire. They only recognized Blake. Slowly they approached. Morgan’s people noticed them coming, stepping back into a defensive stance, hands on their weapons.

  “It’s okay,” Blake said to everyone. “We’re all friends here.”

  John noticed someone was missing. “Grayson?”

  “He’s taking Davis and Damon to the prison to put in a cell,” said Blake. He could see the surprise on both of their faces. “These folks delivered them while you were gone. After that, Charles was going to show Morgan the lower level.”

  “Morgan?” asked Daniel.

  “Their leader,” said Blake with a jerk of his head to the others.

  “What about Ryder?” asked John.

  “He’s getting a horse and wagon for them. They’re getting supplies in exchange for Davis and Damon.”

  “Then, they could probably use a hand loading,” suggested John.

  “I need to stay here with them. It was the deal,” explained Blake.

  John faced one of Morgan’s people. “Mind if we go and help.”

  A woman shrugged. “Go ahead. It’s just that much less we have to do.”

  “You be okay?” Daniel asked Blake.

  “He’ll be fine,” the woman answered.

  Blake nodded.

  ***

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The whimpering from the cell turned into screams and a string of verbal assaults directed at Grayson’s family. They abruptly ended as the door at the top of the stairs was closed.

  Grayson was vaguely curious what Morgan thought about his treatment of Davis and Damon. When he looked at Morgan, trying to read him, there was no sign of emotion. Grayson had to assume he didn’t care one way or the other. Perhaps his reaction would have been so indifferent if he’d been aware of the way Davis and Damon had treated these people. Placing them in cells was actually better than either one deserved. Grayson knew what he’d like to do to them, but as the only unofficial authority in the region, he felt obligated to do what he thought was the right thing and put them on trial.

  They again crossed the foyer, walking past the front door, taking the steps down to the lower level and the stockpile of supplies.

  “Here we are,” announced Grayson, motioning for Morgan to enter first.

  There was still a question of trust. “Please. You first.” Morgan had his hand resting on his sidearm.

  Grayson smiled and swung the doors open, stepping inside. Jeremy met them immediately, visibly startled to see Governor Grayson and the three armed strangers in the middle of the night.

  “Governor?”

  “We’ve come for supplies.”

  Grayson turned to Morgan. “Take a look around.”

  Morgan and his men split up.

  “Excuse me, sir,” asked Jeremy, “but is this okay with the Council?”

  “Don’t worry, son. It’s alright,” assured Grayson. “They knew we might need to do this.”

  “They didn’t say anything to me.” Jeremy was confused. He didn’t want to do anything to disappoint the Council, but at the same time, this was the chief governor.

  “It’s probably because they didn’t know it would ever happen, especially not tonight, and neither did I,” Grayson explained. “These men brought us Davis and Damon.”

  “The Council still needs to be told,” insisted Jeremy.

  “I understand,” said Grayson. “You go tell them if you feel you need to. I’m sure we’ll still be here when you get back.”

  Jeremy looked over the men with Grayson. There was something about them that made him uneasy. “Here,” he whispered to Grayson, handing him his pistol. “You may need it.”

  Grayson refused it. “That won’t be necessary.”

  Jeremy set it on the table and headed to the door, looking back over his shoulder at Grayson, almost apologetically. He hated to leave the chief governor with these strangers, but he had a responsibility to the Council. They had given him this job because they believed in him and he didn’t want to let them down.

  ***

  John and Daniel arrived at the main entrance as the eastern sky was beginning to lighten along the horizon. As they were about to enter the building, Jeremy ran out the doors and into Daniel, almost being knocked to the ground.

  “What’s wrong?” asked John.

  “Armed men are in the lower level with Governor Grayson and they’re taking supplies,” Jeremy said excitedly. “I have to notify the Council.”

  “It’s alright,” assured Daniel. “The supplies are payment for delivering Davis and Damon.”

  “I know, that’s what Governor Grayson said. But the Council didn’t tell me anything about it. They need to be informed.”

  “Do what you have to do,” said Daniel. “But if Grayson says it’s okay, they’re not going to argue with him.”

  “You’re probably right, but I’m going to tell them anyway. Could you keep an eye on the governor? He’s alone in there with them. Something’s not right.” Without waiting for a reply, Jeremy ran off toward Tent City to notify the Council.

  A noise drew their attention. They turned to see a wagon approaching. When it was close enough, they recognized Ryder alone on the seat.

  “We’ll open the freight doors,” John called out. He and Daniel rushed through the main entrance and swung the freight doors open from the inside, just as Ryder pulled the wagon up to the dock.

  “Are we ready to start loading?” asked Ryder.

  “I believe so,” replied John. “Jeremy said Grayson is with Morgan in the lower level. Let’s go check it out.”

  Ryder jumped down from the wagon and all three headed downstairs. There was no urgency other than to get Morgan and his people loaded and gone as soon as possible. If the armed group knew how vulnerable the community was, the group could easily take control of the compound.

  Daniel went through the doors first, stopping abruptly in his tracks. John and Ryder were puzzled, still outside the room. Daniel tried to motion to them with one hand behind his back to stop, but they didn’t catch the meaning.

  “Let’s go, Daniel,” coaxed John.

  Morgan waved for Daniel to step on into the room while also motioning for him to be quiet with a finger to his lips. Daniel took two steps forward until Morgan held up his palm for him to stop.

  John and Ryder followed Daniel through the doors. They immediately saw why Daniel had stopped. The man they believed to be Morgan had a 9mm pistol pressed against Governor Grayson’s temple with the governor’s hands bound, sitting in a chair facing the door.

  “Come on in fellas,” invited Morgan. Looking Daniel over, he commented, “You must be the big one Jake was talking about. All of you, put your weapons on the table.”

  There was hesitation as all three checked out their situation, observing everything around them. Morgan had his two men at both sides of the door, weapons pointed at them. It appeared they had no options.

  “Don’t make me ask again,” said Morgan, jabbing the gun’s muzzle hard against the governor’s head, Grayson wincing from the pain.

  “Okay! Enough!” said Daniel forcefully. He nodded to his companions. They removed their weapons and placed them on the table.

  “Why are you doing this?” asked John. “The gove
rnor already agreed to give you a wagon load of supplies. This doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It makes perfect sense,” stated Ryder. “Why take part when you can have it all? It’s a scavenger’s mentality. Isn’t that right?” he asked Morgan.

  Morgan smiled. “Well said. Now we understand one another. So then, Ryder, I need you to go and bring back as many wagons as you can find. And in the mean time, you,” referring to John, “can find more help to start loading. I assume a wagon is sitting outside right now. Ryder?”

  Ryder nodded.

  “Well, get going,” he told John. “You’re wasting time.”

  Daniel turned to follow Ryder and John out.

  “No, not you big fella, you’re not going anywhere. I need to keep a close eye on you.”

  ***

  Ryder and John rushed out together. The sun was just beginning to peek above the Tent City barrier wall.

  “What are we going to do?” asked John.

  “Exactly what he said. We can’t risk doing anything that will endanger the governor or Daniel.”

  “Good luck finding more wagons,” said John.

  “I’ll find wagons. You get as many people as you can to help load. The sooner we get them out of here, the better off we’ll all be.”

  “Do you think he’ll let Charles go then?” asked John.

  “I doubt it. He’ll probably keep him as a hostage until they’ve put plenty of distance between us.”

  “Blake will be furious,” stated John.

  “I’m sure he will be. Meet you back here as soon as I can,” said Ryder as he ran off to look for more wagons.

  John had to decide where the best place would be to find help for loading. There were camps spread all along the south road, mostly made up of the old Guard and their families. It would take too long to gather the manpower they needed by going camp to camp. His best bet was probably at Tent City where the greatest consolidation of people lived, which would make it easier and quicker to gather the help he needed. Many of the residents had stayed there to be near friends even after they’d been liberated. This was about the time they would be getting up. He headed straight there.