Borders: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Aftershock Series Book 3) Page 14

  Peck, temporarily forgetting about his hunger, stepped up and looked into the hole. It was pitch black and he didn’t know how far back it went. There wasn’t any reason to go in, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. He jumped, startled by the sound of Davis dropping his empty tin can onto the concrete floor. Davis let out a deep sigh, evidently satisfied for the moment, followed by a loud belch that disgusted both Damon and Peck. Davis proceeded to thoroughly lick each finger clean with a satisfied smile on his face and then took a swig from his water bottle. “You know, that wasn’t half bad.” He leaned back in the chair, crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

  “Glad you enjoyed it and you’re welcome,” said Peck. He looked back at the black hole. Unable to resist, he crawled into the opening. “I’ll be back.”

  “There’s plenty of time,” commented Damon. “It won’t be dark for quite a while.”

  ***

  When John and Daniel left their valley, it had been with the belief they would only be gone long enough to help with the rescue of Ryder and Levi. That had been weeks ago. Since then, Adam and Aaron had returned home with news of everything that had happened. Ryder and Levi had been rescued, but Davis and his counselor, Damon, had killed the chief governor’s men. On the run, they had been a threat to Sector 4 and any other community in the area. John and Daniel had taken on the responsibility to hunt them down. Their families hadn’t heard anything from them or about them since.

  Sarah and Donna tried to be strong for their children as they settled into their routines at their new homestead, but it wasn’t easy while being distracted by constant worry. Christopher, Cindy, Aaron, and Adam did as much as they could to help out. But, with their dads gone, they were falling behind with construction and tending the crops. Tension was beginning to show. The initial happy and constant conversations between new friends Sarah and Donna had diminished until there was almost total silence between them. They were both frustrated at not knowing whether their husbands were alright or not and why they had been gone so long.

  Sarah didn’t like how things had become awkward between her and Donna. She decided to do something about it and approached her. “Can we talk?”

  “Of course, Sarah.”

  “I’ve got to know what’s happening with John, and I’m sure you’d like to know about Daniel.”

  Donna nodded. “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’d like to hitch up the buggy and go to Paradise. It’s not that far, and maybe Samuel will know something.”

  “Are you planning on going alone?” asked Donna.

  Sarah smiled. “I was hoping we could all go together.”

  Donna threw her arms around Sarah.

  ***

  Morgan and his four hostages entered a clearing of tall grass just before reaching the camp. There was no sign of activity and all was quiet. He held out his arm to bring them to a stop.

  “Carla, go take a look,” directed Morgan.

  “They were in the tree row when I left,” she explained.

  He responded by glaring at her. He didn’t expect to enter into a discussion. He just wanted his orders followed.

  Without further hesitation she took off to the spot in the trees where she had last seen their people. She stopped short of the camp, looked about, and then began to walk backwards as she returned to Morgan.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “There’s movement in the grass. I think we’re about to be ambushed.”

  Morgan sighed. “Okay, we’ll all go check it out together.” He once again stood next to Grayson and held his pistol to the governor’s head where everyone nearby could see clearly.

  “What about the ones hiding in the grass?” she asked.

  “They don’t matter as long as we have the governor and his friends.” He poked Grayson with the pistol. “Move it!”

  They continued to the camp. The fire had died but was still smoldering. Carla closely watched the area in the grass where she’d seen movement. As they neared the camp, Jake stepped out of the cover of the trees, the rest following his lead, pulling Blake out with them.

  “We were beginning to worry,” said Jake. “When we were attacked …”

  “Everything is fine,” assured Morgan, cutting him off. “Get the horses. We’re leaving here…now.”

  “What about the supplies?” asked Jake.

  “I told you I would get them. Two wagon loads are already on the road headed home.”

  That brought hoots and hollers from Morgan’s people as they began to celebrate.

  After Morgan had calmed them down, “What about them?” asked Jake, referring to the captives.

  “We’re taking them with us,” said Morgan, “at least until we’re safe.”

  Grayson tried to talk, but was still gagged. He mumbled until Morgan pulled it out of his mouth.

  “You okay?” Grayson asked Blake.

  “Looks okay to me,” stated Morgan flatly.

  Blake nodded.

  “Why not let the others go?” asked Grayson. “You still have me. You don’t need them too.”

  “For our safety’s sake, if one is good, five is better.”

  John, Ryder, Daniel, and Blake stood silent. There was no point in arguing or trying to reason with him. They weren’t the pleading type and Morgan was going to do whatever he wanted, regardless. He was holding all the cards.

  “But …,” Grayson began.

  Morgan quickly stuffed the gag back into the governor’s mouth. “Your persistence is becoming monotonous. Evidently, you don’t have a clue what 'no' means?”

  The horses were brought to them, saddled and ready to ride. Ropes were tied to the prisoners and looped around the saddle horns.

  “You’re going to make us walk?” asked John. He couldn’t believe it. “We’ll just slow you down. You can get away faster without us.”

  Morgan and his people swung up into their saddles, giving tugs on the ropes. “You’re not going to slow us down that much,” he said. “Either keep up, or be dragged along.”

  ***

  Once Sarah and Donna had agreed to go to Paradise, they immediately broke the news to their children. All were excited and eager to go. Sarah, Donna, Christopher, and Cindy hadn’t seen anyone outside of the valley since they had arrived. Adam and Aaron, sent home from Sector 4 by their dad, hadn’t been back all that long, but were just as eager as the others, always up for an adventure.

  That evening they prepared to leave by packing the necessities for their trip. It was only a half-day ride by buggy, but they didn’t know how long they would be there. They were determined not to leave until they had answers. There was a noticeable and immediate change in attitude around the homestead. The awkward silence was replaced by constant and excited chatter.

  None of them slept well that night. Excited about the trip, all were up early, ate a bite, and were ready to go by the time the sky was light enough to travel. The trip would be simple. There was only one main trail from their valley to Paradise, making it unlikely they would get lost. Besides, Adam and Aaron had been on the trail three times now and were familiar with the way.

  While Christopher harnessed one of the horses to the buggy, Adam and Aaron hobbled the two remaining horses near the pond and tall grass so they could freely roam to eat and drink without straying too far. They didn’t know when they would be back. After loading the buggy they were finally ready to go. They eagerly climbed into the buggy with three in front and three in back. The children were all adult-size now, making it a bit tight. Christopher had volunteered to take the reins, sitting in the middle with his mom and Donna on each side of him. Cindy sat in the middle in back between Adam and Aaron. The twins began to talk constantly, each attempting to impress Cindy, both vying for her attention. She didn’t seem to mind. To the contrary, she seemed to love it.

  For some reason, listening to them was driving Christopher crazy, giving him a headache. From his constant sighs and glances back, Donna could tell it was
bothering him. She couldn’t help grinning.

  “Okay, boys, can we have a few moments of silence?” she asked them.

  “We’re just talking,” explained Aaron, exasperated.

  “Yeah, Mom, what’s the big deal?” asked Adam.

  She didn’t answer, her silence was her answer. Sarah couldn’t help a smile of her own.

  Amazingly, the chatter from the back did stop. Christopher sighed relief. But once the boys had figured it had been a few moments, as requested, they started up again.

  Sarah whispered to her son, “They’re just talking. Why do you care anyway?”

  “Because she’s my sister and they won’t leave her alone.”

  Sarah glanced back. Cindy was smiling, chatting back and forth to both Adam and Aaron. “I don’t think she minds.”

  ***

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Peck, what do you see?” asked Damon.

  “I can’t see anything. I need a flashlight.”

  “Hold on.” Damon looked around the room, then went to the supervisor’s desk and checked the drawers.

  “Sorry, nothing out here.”

  Peck continued to feel his way along, crawling through the corrugated metal tube, his knees aching from the hard steel ribs. Not sure how long the passage was, he moved slowly to prevent running headlong into its end. His hand came in contact with a blockage. He felt over it with both hands. It was smooth and didn’t have a handle. Turning around and sitting down with his feet toward it, he braced himself and kicked. The light flooded in as the panel door flew open.

  He found himself in another maintenance room, but only had a vague idea of where he was in the building. Curious, he swung his feet down and stepped into the room. He opened the door to find he was in Cell Block A. He had guessed correctly. This was where Ryder and his brother had been kept. This had to have been how they had been rescued. It made perfect sense now. But who could have known about the passage? It had to have been one of the Guard. But why would any of them help the brothers escape? Then a name popped into his head. Gant. Master Gant. He had total access to the compound. He must have stumbled across it, but then why did he keep it to himself and not disclose it to Davis or Damon?

  Peck closed the door to the room and re-entered the tube, closing the panel door behind him. Damon heard scraping in the tube as Peck returned. It had to be Peck. But, just in case it wasn’t, he prepared for the unknown. He pressed against the wall next to the opening. Peck could see into the room. Davis was still sitting in the supervisor’s chair, but Damon wasn’t visible. Peck saw Davis’ eyes dart to his right side of the panel.

  “It’s me!” Peck called out, loud enough for Damon to hear him clearly.

  Damon stepped out into the room where he could be seen.

  “You had me worried for a second,” said Peck as he crawled out.

  “What did you find?” asked Damon.

  Davis interrupted him before he could answer. “Did you find a way out of here?”

  “It comes out in Cell Block A,” said Peck, “into a room just like this one. It has to be the way they got Ryder and his brother out.”

  “Makes sense,” replied Damon.

  “I asked you a question, Master Peck,” demanded Davis, upset at being ignored.

  Peck turned to face Davis directly. “No, it wasn’t a way out, just a passage from here to there, like I just said.” He pointed with his finger for emphasis.

  Davis wasn’t satisfied. “Would it be easier to get out from here or from there?”

  “We wouldn’t be any better off than where we are right now,” answered Peck. “Worse actually. Here, we’re close to food and water.”

  “But we’re still trapped,” insisted Davis.

  “Just until dark,” added Damon, “when we’ll have our best chance of escaping.”

  “What if they discover we’re not in our cells?” asked Davis. “They said they’d bring us water. When they discover we’re not there, won’t they come looking for us?”

  Damon was getting tired of this ‘what if’ game. “Let’s just worry about one thing at a time. Okay?” suggested Damon. “No one is going to look for us here. So, for now, try to relax and get some rest.”

  ***

  Jeremy and the others watched as Morgan and his people rode away, their hostages pulled along at the end of ropes. There was nothing they could do without endangering them.

  “What do we do now?” one of the group asked Jeremy. Just because he’d asked for their help, most looked at him as their leader.

  “We’ve got to follow them. I don’t trust Morgan to release them. And if he doesn’t, we may have to take them by force.”

  There were nods of agreement and some faces of concern. He was surrounded by five of the original group. A few had wandered back to their families, the danger becoming more than they’d bargained for. On foot, the six took off on a parallel course, keeping close enough to keep an eye on them, determined to hold Morgan to his word, one way or another.

  ***

  Sarah, Donna, and their children pulled up to the edge of the valley, looking down on the community of Paradise. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Sarah was especially eager to see Samuel and Emma. They’d become close during their time in Paradise Smiles spread across the faces of the Thomas family. Donna and her boys were a little apprehensive. They’d had a very different experience the last time they were there.

  “Maybe one day we’ll have our own community, like this,” Sarah said wishfully.

  “I hope we don’t have this many people though,” stated Christopher.

  “If all you kids have families, it won’t take long for it to grow,” explained Donna.

  “I’d like to have a family,” said Aaron, as he gave Cindy a playful poke with his elbow.

  Adam reached behind Cindy and slapped his brother on the back of the head. Sarah looked back at her daughter, who was blushing a bright red. Christopher just shook his head, not understanding the attraction. Adam and Aaron seemed to become idiots when they were around her.

  “Let’s go find Samuel and find out if he knows anything about your dad,” commented Sarah as she took the reins from Christopher and began the slow descent through the switchbacks to the valley floor.

  The church bell began to ring.

  “Someone must have seen us coming,” said Donna.

  Before they reached the bottom, curious people were beginning to gather at the edge of the community. At first, they looked concerned at the appearance of strangers, but then, as they recognized their friends, smiles began to appear on their faces. Samuel made his way to the front of the growing crowd with a warm enthusiastic smile.

  Emma hurried to catch up to him. Her arms were outstretched as she ran to meet Sarah as she stepped down to the ground, giving her a huge hug. Emma grabbed Christopher and Cindy too. “I’m so glad to see you,” exclaimed Emma. She then realized she had overlooked Donna and her two sons. She went to her and gave her a hug too, even though it was slightly awkward.

  Sarah and Emma had become close during the time they’d spent together in Paradise. Donna and Emma hadn’t had the same opportunity since her family had been asked to leave soon after their arrival. Nevertheless, Emma did her best to make Donna and her sons feel just as welcome.

  Samuel came up to Sarah. “I’m guessing this isn’t a social call.”

  Donna and the children gathered around Sarah. “In part, it is, but mostly we want to know if you’ve heard anything about John or Daniel.”

  Samuel looked at the crowd as it continued to grow. “Maybe we should go inside,” he suggested.

  Emma hooked her arms with Sarah’s and Donna’s arms, leading them back to her house, asking a flurry of questions about their new settlement.

  Samuel stepped up onto his porch to address the crowd. “You can all talk to them later,” he announced. “Let’s give them a chance to rest first.”

  “It’s good to see you all,” Sarah called out to their friends bef
ore she went inside.

  It was close to midday and Emma intended to take care of her guests. “Sit yourselves down around the table. It won’t take me long to fix you something to eat.” They had no intention of arguing, they were famished, and Emma was the best cook around. She began to busy herself in the kitchen.

  “First, what about our husbands,” Sarah asked again. “Do you know if they’re alright?”

  Emma continued to prepare a meal while Samuel attempted to ease their worries. “I want you to know we owe your husbands a great deal. Thanks to them and your sons,” he looked at Donna, “my sons, Ryder and Levi, were rescued.”

  “Adam and Aaron already told us about that,” said Sarah. “Have you heard from them since then?”

  “I’m sorry, we haven’t.”

  Sarah stood up quickly, frustrated. She wasn’t getting the answers they had come looking for. “Then we’re wasting our time here. We’re going to have to go to Sector 4 and find out for ourselves.”

  Donna, her sons, Christopher and Cindy looked at each other and then slowly stood to join Sarah.

  Emma was busy in the kitchen, but she’d heard Sarah’s frustration. “Oh, honey, you don’t want to do that,” said Emma in a calming voice. “I’m sure they’re just fine. They’re probably on their way back right now.”

  There was an awkward silence around the table.

  “It’s been three weeks since we’ve seen them,” declared Sarah on the verge of crying, “two weeks since Adam and Aaron came home. I can’t and I won’t wait any longer.”

  Emma started to argue, but saw the determination in Sarah’s eyes and decided it was no use. She had made up her mind. “Won’t you at least eat and spend the night? Then you can get a fresh start in the morning. These children look famished.”

  Sarah looked at Donna and their children. Donna placed a hand on her shoulder, smiled, and nodded.

  “Fine, but first thing tomorrow morning we’re going,” Sarah announced, as she plopped back into her chair. The others followed her lead and again sat. Sarah placed her head into her hands and began to sob. Donna reached over to comfort her, but Sarah immediately raised her head, straightened her back in the chair, and wiped away the tears. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, “I’m not being a very good guest, am I?”