EMP Crash (Book 5): Hostile Grounds Read online

  “I'm sorry,” Luis offered. Will smiled at him.

  “What's done is done, I guess. What about you? Are your family back where you came from?”

  “Yeah, at least that's where I left them, but I don't know...I never really was close with them. I feel guilty about it, really, because so many people have lost those closest to them, and I haven't even tried to find out. It's like Mack is trying to get back home to find his wife, but I don't have that driving force. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I've always liked to think that you can choose your family, and the people around me are that to me now, especially Mack and Grace.”

  “I've noticed the two of you getting close.”

  Luis blushed a little and turned his head away. “It's still a new thing, and I don't think either of us know exactly what we're doing, but it feels good.”

  “That's the most important thing. I'm hardly an expert on love, but it's always supposed to be an adventure and, let's face it, with the way things are you have to get happiness where you can find it.”

  Will's words resonated with Luis. “I think she'd have preferred it if I had stayed at the settlement rather than put myself in harm's way by coming out here.”

  “Do you regret it?”

  Luis thought for a moment, and then shook his head. “I've always been restless. I can't stay in one place for too long. But why do you do it? It's dangerous coming out here so much. Why do you patrol when you could be staying safe behind those barriers?”

  “I'm not entirely sure. It' not like I had the training for it, I owned a coffee shop in my old life. But the people in that community need others to step forward and show bravery and strength. I guess I just want to keep people safe because I couldn't keep my family safe. It's a way of trying to make it up to them, I suppose. Besides, it turns out I have a knack for it. At the start, there weren't too many people who knew how to ride a horse. So, I was the natural choice.”

  “Why are there horses in the city anyway?”

  “There was a company that offered horse-drawn carriage rides around town, their headquarters was just by us. We got lucky, really. These horses are used to being around people. I'd hate to try breaking a wild horse under these conditions.” He noted Luis' puzzled expression and elaborated, “My mom used to be a show jumper, so I was around horses a lot when I was younger. I couldn't really get away from them,” Will said, and then that sad smile appeared once more as he remembered his mother.

  After that they rode on in silence, the horses’ feet clopping against the ground, sending soft echoes around them. Their eyes peered into every shadowy place, into every nook and cranny, to try seeing any sign of Bob, or Mack, or Maggie, but, as yet, there were no signs of any of them. They rode on deeper into the city and Luis asked Will if he knew for sure where the other faction was. He said he had seen them around and he knew the general direction, but he never had been that close to their camp, and had assumed that it was a little closer. Of course, he added, they may well have been nomadic and changed the location of their camp since he was last in this part of the city.

  The two men were beginning to get uneasy as the sun descended and they had to decide whether to return to the settlement or stay out in the city at night. Neither of them had brought camping gear and, although the night would be warm, it also would be uncomfortable to sleep. Yet, they already had traveled this far, and it seemed a waste to turn back now. Will was sure the camp was close, but as night beckoned they saw a figure walking with purpose through the city, and at first glance both of them knew it to be Bob. His long trench coat billowed behind him with every step and he moved forward like a weapon of destiny, a storm of anger and chaos. Will and Luis rode their horses up to him and looked down. At first, he ignored them, his face set into a grimace, his eyes looking directly ahead, never wavering from his target.

  “Bob, stop being a stubborn old fool and talk to me,” Will said in an exasperated tone.

  When again Bob didn't respond, Will glanced at Luis with a helpless look. Luis took hold of the reins and made his horse trot forward, blocking Bob's path. Finally, Bob glared up at the two of them.

  “The two of you better get out of my way. I've got something to do,” he growled. Will sighed and jumped down from the horse. Luis stayed on his.

  “Bob, come on. It's me. You know me.”

  “I thought I did, but the man I knew was loyal,” Bob said spitefully. Will placed his hands on his hips and blew out his cheeks.

  “What is this anyway? Did that young upstart send you here to drag me back so she can humiliate me more?” His cheeks reddened and it was clear he had been holding onto a lot of anger since Grace had usurped him.

  “No, Bob, she sent us out here to look for you because she's worried about your safety. We all are.”

  “Why are young people always such naive idealists?” he asked of nobody in particular. “You've found me. I'm fine. Now let me get on with what I have to do.”

  “We can't do that, Bob. We have orders. She wants you to come back.”

  Bob arched an eyebrow and a wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Oh, she does, does she?”

  “Yes.”

  “And why, pray tell, does she want me back? Is it so she can parade me around again and tell everyone I'm just a warmonger who wants to send them all to their deaths? I thought you would have known me better than that, Will. I can't believe you stood by her,” he spat out, a look of genuine betrayal on his face.

  “I'm sorry for acting against you, but you had to admit you were getting more aggressive.”

  “Because I had to be!” Bob shouted.

  “There was an attack on the camp,” Luis interjected, feeling as though the argument between the two men wasn't going to get them anywhere, “Grace had a plan to take one of them captive. She hoped it would lead to them talking, but it only made them angry. We think they're going to attack again, and that this time they're not going to be satisfied with stealing. Grace is sorry for what happened, and the way it came about, but she wants to make amends. She knows you have something to offer the community, and she wants you to come back and help. She's ready to apologize. In fact, if you hadn't come out here alone you would have heard it for yourself.”

  Bob's eyes lingered on Luis and then moved to Will, who nodded to affirm Luis' statement. Bob snorted with derision. “I knew it. Everyone should have listened to me. Now that you realize the old man was right, you think you can just placate me with sweet words and I'll be happy to come back. Well, that ain't the way I roll. Grace can do whatever she likes. She's in charge now, and it's not my problem. I have my own mission. I'm an army of one.”

  “And what's that? To take them on yourself?”

  “If nobody else is going to, then yes, it falls to me. But at least I can do some damage. At least I'll be taking the fight to them and be giving them a bloody nose this time,” Bob said grimly.

  Will threw his hands up in the air. “You're crazy! You can't take them on yourself. You know it's only going to end up one way.”

  “I know,” Bob said quietly, and a silent moment of understanding passed between the men.

  “You should come back with us and talk about it. We can form a plan and you don't have to do this by yourself,” Luis said.

  “There's no more time for plans. I'm going to do this, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Go back and tell Grace that I accept her apology, but that she'd better toughen up if she wants to survive in this world because there are plenty of people who aren't going to be willing to sit down and talk over their problems. Sometimes you have to deal with things the old-fashioned way.” As he said this he clenched his fists and carried on walking ahead, moving past the horses. Will walked up to Luis and the two of them exchanged worried looks.

  “I know Grace wanted us to come back and not do anything foolish, but we can't let him go there by himself. He'll be a dead man for sure,” Will said, and Luis agreed. They caught up with Bob once again.

  “
I told you two to go home,” he said.

  “We're not going anywhere, Bob. We can't let you do this alone. If you're going, then we're going with you,” Will said.

  “Fine. Just don't cry about it if things get rough.”

  The three men continued on. To speed matters up Will helped Bob onto the back of his horse so they could move at a faster pace. Night soon cloaked the world again, and they now were cast in the moon’s shadows. They traveled a short distance until they heard a raucous noise and saw a burning orange glow that was surely the base they were looking for.

  “What do you hope to accomplish by this?” Will asked.

  “I'm not sure, but I want to make them scared. I want them to feel like we felt. I want to show them that they can't just bully other people,” he said, a look of determination on his face.

  Luis didn't agree with Bob that this was the best course of action, but he certainly didn't envy those who had angered the older man, for Bob was not someone Luis ever wanted to mess with. He was a grizzled, hardened warrior, and Luis only hoped that Grace would forgive him for going this far into enemy territory when she had expressly asked him not to do so.

  Like the Lost Children and the settlement, this faction also had erected a barrier around the edge of their camp, but it was far more rudimentary than the others and it was easy to find weak spots where they could enter. They alighted from the horses and tied the animals to the side, hiding them from plain sight, just in case anyone came along. A large building towered over them and seemed to be where their enemies were located. Through the windows on the top level they could see a fire burning, and smoke billowing out through the open windows. They also could hear loud chanting and other indiscriminate sounds. The voices numbered in the hundreds, sending a chill through their bones as they now realized the sheer strength of the faction. Luis and Will were about to discuss a plan of action, but before they knew it Bob had clambered through the barrier, for he was surprisingly spry for his age. Luis and Will grimaced at the reckless actions of the older man, and then followed him through to the other side.

  CHAPTER SIX

  MACK, Maggie, and Tristan still were walking through the city. Because of the direction from which they had left the territory of the Lost Children, it was taking them longer to walk back than on their first foray to the settlement. Mack thought back to that moment and how elated he had been finally to reach the city, but it hadn't turned out exactly as he had hoped. The community did show him that people could work together and try reestablishing civilization, but there was still so much devastation and violence around. He wondered if they ever would be able to escape it, but then he looked at how closely Tristan and Maggie were walking together and he remembered that even in the bleakest of times there was always hope.

  They had been walking for a long time and their throats were beginning ache from thirst, and their bellies were starting to groan from hunger. Mack wanted to push on and get back to the settlement as quickly as possible, but he saw that Tristan was faltering, so at every store they encountered they slowed down and looked for food. Occasionally they found a scrap, but the city had been picked clean, and the hole in their bellies never was filled properly.

  For Mack, it was a stark contrast to the forest that had been his home during the initial aftermath of the apocalypse. There had been food in abundance there, and once they had found the river, they didn't have to worry about water either. But here, even though there were buildings to offer shelter, there was no wildlife to hunt or trees from which they could pluck fruit. It was a dead husk that now only served to take up space. It saddened him to think that the mark humanity left on the planet was one that offered nothing aside from a grim reminder that their civilization ultimately meant nothing.

  In his mind, Mack saw a vision of the future, tens of thousands of years in the future, where nature would have reclaimed its supremacy and coiled itself over these tall, strong buildings. If humanity was to survive, it would have to adapt and find a way to be symbiotic with nature rather than seeking to hold dominion over it. The buildings offered a window into another life, a life that the three of them knew all too well. They all had had a role in the old world, and although things had changed, they now were falling back into those roles. Maggie and Mack still used their training and acted in accordance with their roles as protectors, while Tristan now was back in the role of a son, looking to his mother for guidance and protection.

  Since Mack had found them huddled together after being confronted by the man with the rifle, Maggie and Tristan mostly had been quiet. It seemed as though they had worked through their major issues at the moment, although Mack was sure there would be more to come as drama between families was never-ending. He thought back to his own youth and how troublesome he had been for his own parents. If they could see him now they barely would recognize him. In a way, he was glad they didn't have to live through this world. He wasn't sure if they would have been able to take seeing the world they knew and loved descend into anarchy and chaos. Mack himself didn't like it at all, and hated that the government to which he had given his life's service wasn't able to hold onto the country and keep it safe, and that it had fallen to him to make the moral and ethical decisions that would shape the future.

  When he was in the military, he knew he was part of a brotherhood who used collaboration and cooperation to make the right decisions for the safety of the country, but now people were out there having to fend for themselves, and democracy was dead. There were those, such as Mack, who had a firm sense of right and wrong instilled within them, but there were others who would prey on the frightened, vulnerable people and it was likely they would get away with it. Mack felt the anger at the injustice rise within him, but he made an effort to push it aside as it was wasted energy. He had to focus on getting back to the settlement. He needed to warn them about the danger the Lost Children posed.

  In fact, Mack noticed how Tristan kept twisting his head back over his shoulder, trying to do it when he didn't think his mother or Mack were looking. Mack could tell he was scared of the Lost Children following them and making him pay for his betrayal. Although Mack didn't know him well, he admired Tristan for having the courage to stand up for what was right. It couldn’t have been easy for him to go against the wishes of his king, even though Mack winced at using that term to describe Peter, especially at such a young age, when acceptance from peers was craved. He resembled his mother in more ways than one as Mack had come to admire Maggie's determination and persistence. However, he was well aware that he was fortunate to have been with Maggie, as he doubted Tristan would have performed such an act of betrayal for anyone other than his mother.

  “We'll keep you safe, Tristan, don't worry,” Mack said as he noticed the young boy looking over his shoulder again.

  Tristan looked shocked at first that Mack had noticed his worried glances, but smiled back as he felt reassured. Mack and Tristan hadn't had much opportunity to talk since Mack had wanted to give the mother and son some space, but just by the mere fact of being a strong presence around him Mack was making a good impression.

  Night began descending and none of them wanted to be out in the city at night, at the very least because it would have been easier to get lost without the streetlights showing the way. Instead, they found a nearby building, checking that it was empty before entering. It was morbid using another person's home for shelter, especially when there still were family photographs hanging on the walls, but their basic survival needs had to take precedence. They arranged the bedding so that they all were in the same room. Mack closed the door and arranged a watch schedule. Being in a place like this was a reminder about what life used to be like, but they tried not to focus on that as they settled down in the safety of the building for the night.

  Everything was quiet, and the only things they could hear were the sounds of each other breathing. Mack looked around the room, for the starlight shone in through the windows and made everything glow. From what he could te
ll, the people who used to live here left in a hurry. They must have realized what was going on and tried to leave the city. How far they got Mack did not know, but the likelihood is that they did not make it very far. After a time of guarding their safety, and finding it difficult to relax, he looked over at Tristan and saw the boy staring out of the window. Maggie had yet to fall asleep, too, and Mack thought he would use this opportunity to get to know the young man a little better. Furthermore, Tristan was someone who had been in the city when it all began. Mack wanted to get his take on things, if only because, in some strange way, it made him feel connected to his wife, who surely had gone through a similar thing in his own home.

  “Tristan, what do you know of the city?” he asked softly, and even though his voice was but a whisper, it was still as loud as thunder in the still of the silent night.

  Tristan turned his head away from the window and looked at Mack in the darkness. Tristan's face was silhouetted, but Mack could tell the boy was shocked he was engaging him in conversation at this hour. Maggie turned over on her side and listened, but she did not take part in the conversation with them. Mack wondered if this was because she would rather not hear about how everything had fallen apart in her absence.

  “In what way?” Tristan replied.

  “You've been here ever since this apocalypse started, I'm sure you know a lot of useful information about the city.”

  Tristan inhaled deeply. “I don't know, really. The truth is we didn't really leave our territory too much. After we got together we found a place in the city that was untouched and made it our own. It all happened pretty quickly. We knew we didn't want to deal with adults, so we shut ourselves away. Of course, other people came into our territory and we dealt with them, and sometimes we did venture out into the city, just to see what was happening...that's what that man was talking about...but we tried to keep to ourselves.”

  “If the Lost Children want to stay in their own place, why are you afraid of them following you?”