Small Town EMP Box Set [Books 1-3], page 56
part #1 of Small Town EMP Box Set Series
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After seconds more of running, her reason got through to him and he slowed, his breathing ragged with stress and exertion. She caught up quickly, Drew right behind her. This was Amanda’s area of expertise. She was battle-trained, and he had to follow her lead. He forced himself to breathe slower and fall into step alongside her as she continued moving towards the lodge, but at a much slower pace.
“It’s not the lodge,” he said when more shots rang out, realizing the noise was coming from lower down the mountain.
“No, it isn’t, but those shots are way too close for comfort,” Amanda said.
Austin moved faster, hoping Savannah and the others hadn’t left the house yet. The idea that the gunshots could have been directed at his little girl made him sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to think of them being somewhere in the middle of the shooting just because they’d gone looking for berries.
A sharp whistle pierced the air. He looked to the right and immediately saw Mike gesturing to them. Austin pivoted to head his way, up a small, rocky outcropping.
“Where’s Savannah?” he asked when he reached the other man.
“I’m here,” Savannah said, standing up from where she’d been crouched low behind some green bushes. Gretchen stood beside her, waving a distracted greeting as Tonya stepped into view from behind another tree. They’d only been hiding.
Austin breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where’s the shooting coming from?” Amanda asked.
Mike shook his head. “We’d been out maybe five minutes when we heard the first shot. It came from down the hillside a bit. I couldn’t tell you exactly how far, but the other shots, those are moving in this direction.”
“Sarah’s still in the lodge,” Savannah said quietly.
Austin’s relief disappeared. They couldn’t risk losing Sarah. She held the key to everything—at least, he hoped she did.
“We need to find Ennis and the others,” Amanda said.
“Who’s shooting, though?” Drew asked.
“I think it’s those other groups fighting each other,” Austin answered. “Has to be. Let’s move. Mike, take them higher. We’ll go after Ennis and the others.”
Mike nodded, leading the way up the steep hill, away from the action happening further down the mountain. Austin followed Amanda’s lead, taking a wide berth around the lodge and staying high above whatever was happening below.
“Austin,” he heard, immediately recognizing his brother’s voice.
“Ennis?”
“Here,” Ennis replied, emerging from the trees about twenty feet away.
“Is everyone okay?” Austin asked, watching as the others came out of the trees.
“We’re good. We didn’t get far.”
“Neither did we,” Amanda muttered.
The sound of gunfire seemed to be getting closer.
“We need to see what’s happening. It could be a hunting party,” Austin suggested, though the words didn’t ring true to any of them.
Ennis just looked at him. “You know what it is.”
“No, I don’t. Not until I see it with my own two eyes. But we need to get Sarah out of there if she’s still inside the lodge, too,” Austin said, not willing to back down. “And the laptop,” he added as an afterthought.
“Let’s split up. We’ll fan out, moving towards the lodge and trying to see what’s happening. We can’t up and leave if there’s no real danger,” Amanda said, looking from one brother to the other.
“Then we make it fast. I don’t want to risk getting caught or getting hit by bullets meant for someone else,” Austin replied.
“Let’s go,” Amanda said, taking the middle position.
The rest of the group fanned out, forming a flat V as they moved downhill towards the lodge. As they moved closer, the gunshots grew louder. Austin could see the lodge through the trees. It was Malachi who raised his hand, giving a short whistle and drawing the attention of the others. He pointed to the small parking lot in front of the lodge. There was a man lying on the gravel.
“They’re coming,” Dr. Bastani’s deadpan voice commented from behind them.
Austin spun around and saw her standing next to a tree, the laptop and its charger cradled in her arms. “What?” he asked.
“One of them came into the lodge. He didn’t know I was there. I heard someone rustling around in the kitchen and went to investigate. He didn’t seem like a bad person,” she said flatly, her eyes wild.
Shock, he realized.
“What happened, Sarah?” Amanda asked, her voice offering a calm that Austin didn’t remotely feel.
“He said it was theirs. He said he was taking the lodge,” Sarah replied, devoid of emotion.
“Who said that?” Austin asked.
Sarah pointed through the trees to the man lying in the gravel. “Him, the man I shot. He said we had to move, that his wife wanted a real house and not a camper. He followed someone here. He wasn’t a bad man,” she repeated, shaking her head.
“Then what happened?” Amanda asked.
Sarah looked at the man and then back at Amanda. “I killed him,” she said. “I stabbed him in the jugular vein. I told him he would die in a matter of minutes. He tried to run, and that’s where he landed,” she added, looking to the man’s body once again.
Wendell cursed nearby, as shocked as the rest of them. For once, Austin didn’t blame the man for his reaction. No one said anything for a few moments more. Austin was stunned. The woman barely spoke, barely showed any kind of emotion besides irritation, and now she’d just explained how she had stabbed a man.
“Are you hurt?” Amanda asked.
Sarah shook her head. “No. But they’re coming. We have to go.”
“Who’s coming?” Austin asked, wanting to shake the woman out of her stupor.
“His family. He said they were moving into the lodge. They’re going to be very upset when they find him dead,” she added casually.
Austin looked to his brother, then Amanda, the two people he relied on the most. “Who’s doing the shooting?”
“I’d guess that guy was planning on moving his family to the lodge and someone in the other camp got wind of it. Either way, they know about the lodge,” Ennis said with a sigh. “Now… I’d bet you ten to one they’re fighting over it.”
“We can defend it,” Wendell argued.
“At what cost?” Amanda replied.
“She’s right,” Ennis said, though disappointment sounded in his voice. “We need to leave for now. We can’t get into a gunfight. We risk someone being hurt or killed. We hide out and maybe they’ll kill each other off.”
Austin agreed. A gun battle was too risky. “Okay.”
“Leave the lodge?” Wendell asked, his voice high.
“We move now,” Amanda said, taking charge. “Grab everything you can. Roll silverware, food, supplies, everything into the blankets. We’ll all carry a bundle. Take two blankets if you can,” she finished, already moving back towards the lodge.
They burst into the lodge as one, half of them rushing upstairs to strip the blankets from the beds while the others raced into the kitchen, grabbing the knives and rope they’d found along with the box of foil and sandwich bags. The rushed packing was hectic, but the gunfire was getting closer—they could all hear it. They only had minutes to get what they could and run before they’d be sucked into the war happening in the woods.
“The horses!” Amanda called out suddenly, whirling to see Austin coming down the stairs.
“Right. Get out now—head up the mountain to Mike and the others,” Austin ordered the rest of their group as he and Amanda headed outside.
The bar wasn’t far, and he heard the others already moving uphill as they reached it.
“We can’t ride them out of here. The terrain is too rough,” Amanda said, bridling Raven hurriedly.
Austin took charge of Charlie, all but throwing on the saddle and reins before following Amanda out of the small structure. He breathed once they got into the trees. The others, with their bundles in their hands and the backpacks they’d been traveling with on their backs, were already on the move.
“You! Stop! We’ll shoot!” someone shouted from behind them, but a quick look backwards told him that the order hadn’t been directed at them. At least for now, they hadn’t been seen.
“Hurry!” Austin pressed Amanda. Thankfully, the horses were sensing their urgency—they were all but pulling him and Amanda along now.
Several shots rang out behind them, and Austin guessed they came from the lodge’s front porch. “This is ours!” someone shouted.
“Left! Go left!” Amanda called out. They’d caught up to the rest of their group, who were moving uphill just ahead of them now, packs in hand.
With Amanda directing them, they moved fast and quiet. The sounds of gunfire faded behind them and eventually stopped. The groups had either killed each other or one had taken possession of the lodge. Either way, Austin knew they weren’t going back.
It wasn’t long before they met up with Mike and the others, and Austin didn’t hide his relief when he finally got to hug his daughter close again, the latest brush with guns behind them.
“What do we do now?” Dr. Bastani asked, holding the laptop against her chest.
Austin looked to Amanda before glancing over to Ennis. He was open to suggestions.
“We have to move,” Ennis grumbled. “Just when we were settling in, we have to move.”
“At least it isn’t the NWO we’re running from right now,” Ezra commented.
“This area is too populated,” Amanda said quietly, sounding as if she was being forced to admit it to herself as much as anyone.
“Too populated? There’s nothing but trees for neighbors,” Wendell scoffed.
Austin glared at him, wondering why the guy bothered talking when he could never seem to be helpful. He added no value to the group.
“We need to move,” Amanda reiterated.
“Where?” Austin asked.
The group fell silent, none of them having an answer.
“We could follow the mountain range north,” Ennis suggested. “Maybe Canada is in better shape?” he offered.
“Back to the Oregon Trail,” Tonya offered half-heartedly.
There were a lot of groans, no one interested in the idea of another grueling trek over rough terrain, and with no protection from the elements or any place to rest their weary bodies. The miles on their feet were taking their toll.
“We need shelter. We need access to food and water,” Amanda said, eyeing her horses.
Austin nodded, knowing her well enough to know she was going to suggest something. “What? What are you proposing?” he asked.
“We split up,” she said simply, and then she kept going before he could argue. “Two groups. Half of us will go north and the other half south. We’ll meet at that huge Douglas Fir with the clearing on one side,” she said. “Where we made camp the night before we found the lodge. Most of us have gone back to forage often enough that we know where it is in our sleep and won’t have trouble meeting up there.”
“Amanda,” he started.
She shook her head. “It makes sense. There’s enough of us to split up. There’s no point in all of us going one way only to turn around and go the other. We save time and energy by dividing into two groups. The sooner we find a safe place, Austin, the sooner we get on the path to steady food.”
“We don’t know that the lodge is lost,” Wendell argued.
“It’s too dangerous. We already know there are warring factions near the lodge. Even if the lodge isn’t taken over this time, it will be. Do we really want a repeat of what happened at the house? I wanted to stay in the lodge as much as anyone,” Amanda admitted, looking around, “but it’s no longer safe.”
The group went quiet.
“She’s right,” Ennis said, breaking the silence. “Better to abandon the lodge than lose more friends. We need to move, and meeting in the clearing makes sense.”
Austin hated the idea of splitting up. No matter how much sense it made. And what if it backfired on them?
But he couldn’t think of anything better, and a quick glance around told him that too many of the group were waiting on him to decide the vote. So be it. “Okay,” he said on a sigh.
“I’ll lead one group, and you take the other,” Amanda suggested.
“No,” he answered immediately.
“Austin, it’s better that way,” she said, her eyes meeting his in that silent way she had of telling him to be reasonable. When it came to her and Savannah, that was hard. Harder every day, in fact.
He tried to think of a good reason to keep her with him, but he couldn’t. She was right. She was a natural leader, and had the skills to lead a team back safely should there be any fighting. She’d already proven herself, and everyone, not counting Wendell, trusted her and her ability to lead.
“I’ll go with her,” Ennis said.
Austin nodded, feeling a little better knowing that his brother would have her back. “Good. Sarah, you’re with me,” he said, looking at the doctor.
“It isn’t safe out there,” she mumbled.
“It isn’t safe right here,” he retorted. “Savannah, you’re with me, as well,” he said, leaving no room for argument. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
The rest of the group was divided as equally as possible, along with the weapons. Wendell was the only one who hadn’t declared what group he wanted to be a part of, but Austin assumed he’d go where Ennis went.
“I’ll go with Austin’s group,” Wendell announced, as if reading his mind.
Austin looked at Ennis, pleading with him to take his friend with him. Ennis just gave a slight shrug, earning him a glare from Austin.
“Fine,” he muttered. “What about the horses?” Austin asked Amanda.
Amanda grimaced. “I don’t think they’ll be helpful in this situation. But I’m not abandoning them!” she added quickly, as if anyone would have suggested it.
“How about leaving them in the clearing?” he suggested. “My group will be headed just past it. We can take them up there and leave them overnight till we get back to them and the clearing tomorrow. We’ll meet then, no later.”
Amanda chewed her bottom lip. “I guess that’s safer than taking them with either group. Make sure you tie their lead ropes loosely enough that they can get to that stream. They should be okay just for the night.”
“Okay, then it’s settled,” Austin said. “We’ll leave them by the stream near the clearing.”
“Keep your heads up and we’ll meet at the clearing tomorrow,” Amanda said. “If not before. If you find something promising for the group, just head back to the clearing. Or if something stops you,” she added pointedly, all of them knowing that was more likely.
Guns could stop any of their journeys early, to where they might as well head to the clearing and brainstorm what would come next. Splitting up for now made sense, and Austin knew it, but that was assuming they’d find anything of promise. It was far more likely, he thought, that they’d end up back at square one. He knew what Amanda and Ennis would say if he brought that up, though. And they were right. They had to try.
Austin looked at Amanda, meeting her eyes and saying all that he could without speaking. She offered a small smile in return before walking away. He watched her for a few seconds before collecting himself and turning to face his group. Wendell was looking at him in a way that sent a shiver of apprehension down his spine, but he didn’t let it show in his voice when he spoke.
“Let’s go. And, pay attention. There could be more people with guns out there just waiting to shoot,” he warned them.
Ezra nodded. Austin was going to be counting on him to be his back-up. He didn’t have much hope of Drew or Wendell being quick enough to eliminate a threat and keep his daughter safe.
4
Amanda knew she was pushing them hard, but she had to. They’d managed to stumble into a mid-sized town that seemed more industrial and factory-based than anything, but with plenty of trailer parks that had been burned to the ground, leaving only the skeletons of the trailer homes standing. It was a grim sight that held no real promise for them, but they had to keep moving through before they could set up camp for the night.
“What’s that building?” Malachi asked from her left. Ahead of them, the huge square of a factory loomed above smaller businesses and houses that had been left to rot. It looked sturdy enough in comparison, if foreboding.
“Looks like some kind of factory; notice the huge stacks?” she asked, studying the building.
“We should ignore it,” Harlen said. “I don’t like it here. It’s dark, dirty… and I can smell death.”
“That could be a good thing. Empty is good. Safer,” Ennis commented, “and we need a place to set up camp for the night, right?”
“It would be nice not to sleep outside,” Tonya pointed out.
With that, the group spread out, staying far enough apart that, if they were ambushed, they wouldn’t all be taken out in one sweep. Amanda remained a little surprised to have found the town deserted. It was an eerie sensation to walk down a street devoid of all signs of life, as if something had swooped in and snatched up the people who’d once lived and worked in the town. As they moved, she couldn’t help but feel like they were being watched; from where, she couldn’t immediately identify. They passed small stores that had been burnt out along with what had once been a clinic. There was no point in going in to scavenge—it was clear to all of them that anything left behind had been burned to a crisp.
“Why?” Malachi whispered.
“The burning?” Amanda asked.
“Yes, why would someone burn everything? What’s the point?” he asked.
She shrugged, not bothering to stop walking. “I don’t know. Control? Maybe it was the people who lived here… if they were being run out of town, they weren’t going to leave anything behind. It’s hard to say.”
“It’s so sad,” Gretchen said as they passed another building that had been reduced to a pile of rubble.
Coming up on the building Malachi had originally pointed out, Amanda had to agree it looked pretty intact—more so than anything else they’d found anyway. “Okay, listen; Harlen, Tonya, and Gretchen, you three stand watch while the rest of us make sure the factory is empty. Since it’s one of the few buildings standing, it might be occupied.” Amanda directed them to the side, and then headed to the main entrance, holding her gun at the side of her leg. So far, it seemed as deserted as everything else in the town.
“It’s not the lodge,” he said when more shots rang out, realizing the noise was coming from lower down the mountain.
“No, it isn’t, but those shots are way too close for comfort,” Amanda said.
Austin moved faster, hoping Savannah and the others hadn’t left the house yet. The idea that the gunshots could have been directed at his little girl made him sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to think of them being somewhere in the middle of the shooting just because they’d gone looking for berries.
A sharp whistle pierced the air. He looked to the right and immediately saw Mike gesturing to them. Austin pivoted to head his way, up a small, rocky outcropping.
“Where’s Savannah?” he asked when he reached the other man.
“I’m here,” Savannah said, standing up from where she’d been crouched low behind some green bushes. Gretchen stood beside her, waving a distracted greeting as Tonya stepped into view from behind another tree. They’d only been hiding.
Austin breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where’s the shooting coming from?” Amanda asked.
Mike shook his head. “We’d been out maybe five minutes when we heard the first shot. It came from down the hillside a bit. I couldn’t tell you exactly how far, but the other shots, those are moving in this direction.”
“Sarah’s still in the lodge,” Savannah said quietly.
Austin’s relief disappeared. They couldn’t risk losing Sarah. She held the key to everything—at least, he hoped she did.
“We need to find Ennis and the others,” Amanda said.
“Who’s shooting, though?” Drew asked.
“I think it’s those other groups fighting each other,” Austin answered. “Has to be. Let’s move. Mike, take them higher. We’ll go after Ennis and the others.”
Mike nodded, leading the way up the steep hill, away from the action happening further down the mountain. Austin followed Amanda’s lead, taking a wide berth around the lodge and staying high above whatever was happening below.
“Austin,” he heard, immediately recognizing his brother’s voice.
“Ennis?”
“Here,” Ennis replied, emerging from the trees about twenty feet away.
“Is everyone okay?” Austin asked, watching as the others came out of the trees.
“We’re good. We didn’t get far.”
“Neither did we,” Amanda muttered.
The sound of gunfire seemed to be getting closer.
“We need to see what’s happening. It could be a hunting party,” Austin suggested, though the words didn’t ring true to any of them.
Ennis just looked at him. “You know what it is.”
“No, I don’t. Not until I see it with my own two eyes. But we need to get Sarah out of there if she’s still inside the lodge, too,” Austin said, not willing to back down. “And the laptop,” he added as an afterthought.
“Let’s split up. We’ll fan out, moving towards the lodge and trying to see what’s happening. We can’t up and leave if there’s no real danger,” Amanda said, looking from one brother to the other.
“Then we make it fast. I don’t want to risk getting caught or getting hit by bullets meant for someone else,” Austin replied.
“Let’s go,” Amanda said, taking the middle position.
The rest of the group fanned out, forming a flat V as they moved downhill towards the lodge. As they moved closer, the gunshots grew louder. Austin could see the lodge through the trees. It was Malachi who raised his hand, giving a short whistle and drawing the attention of the others. He pointed to the small parking lot in front of the lodge. There was a man lying on the gravel.
“They’re coming,” Dr. Bastani’s deadpan voice commented from behind them.
Austin spun around and saw her standing next to a tree, the laptop and its charger cradled in her arms. “What?” he asked.
“One of them came into the lodge. He didn’t know I was there. I heard someone rustling around in the kitchen and went to investigate. He didn’t seem like a bad person,” she said flatly, her eyes wild.
Shock, he realized.
“What happened, Sarah?” Amanda asked, her voice offering a calm that Austin didn’t remotely feel.
“He said it was theirs. He said he was taking the lodge,” Sarah replied, devoid of emotion.
“Who said that?” Austin asked.
Sarah pointed through the trees to the man lying in the gravel. “Him, the man I shot. He said we had to move, that his wife wanted a real house and not a camper. He followed someone here. He wasn’t a bad man,” she repeated, shaking her head.
“Then what happened?” Amanda asked.
Sarah looked at the man and then back at Amanda. “I killed him,” she said. “I stabbed him in the jugular vein. I told him he would die in a matter of minutes. He tried to run, and that’s where he landed,” she added, looking to the man’s body once again.
Wendell cursed nearby, as shocked as the rest of them. For once, Austin didn’t blame the man for his reaction. No one said anything for a few moments more. Austin was stunned. The woman barely spoke, barely showed any kind of emotion besides irritation, and now she’d just explained how she had stabbed a man.
“Are you hurt?” Amanda asked.
Sarah shook her head. “No. But they’re coming. We have to go.”
“Who’s coming?” Austin asked, wanting to shake the woman out of her stupor.
“His family. He said they were moving into the lodge. They’re going to be very upset when they find him dead,” she added casually.
Austin looked to his brother, then Amanda, the two people he relied on the most. “Who’s doing the shooting?”
“I’d guess that guy was planning on moving his family to the lodge and someone in the other camp got wind of it. Either way, they know about the lodge,” Ennis said with a sigh. “Now… I’d bet you ten to one they’re fighting over it.”
“We can defend it,” Wendell argued.
“At what cost?” Amanda replied.
“She’s right,” Ennis said, though disappointment sounded in his voice. “We need to leave for now. We can’t get into a gunfight. We risk someone being hurt or killed. We hide out and maybe they’ll kill each other off.”
Austin agreed. A gun battle was too risky. “Okay.”
“Leave the lodge?” Wendell asked, his voice high.
“We move now,” Amanda said, taking charge. “Grab everything you can. Roll silverware, food, supplies, everything into the blankets. We’ll all carry a bundle. Take two blankets if you can,” she finished, already moving back towards the lodge.
They burst into the lodge as one, half of them rushing upstairs to strip the blankets from the beds while the others raced into the kitchen, grabbing the knives and rope they’d found along with the box of foil and sandwich bags. The rushed packing was hectic, but the gunfire was getting closer—they could all hear it. They only had minutes to get what they could and run before they’d be sucked into the war happening in the woods.
“The horses!” Amanda called out suddenly, whirling to see Austin coming down the stairs.
“Right. Get out now—head up the mountain to Mike and the others,” Austin ordered the rest of their group as he and Amanda headed outside.
The bar wasn’t far, and he heard the others already moving uphill as they reached it.
“We can’t ride them out of here. The terrain is too rough,” Amanda said, bridling Raven hurriedly.
Austin took charge of Charlie, all but throwing on the saddle and reins before following Amanda out of the small structure. He breathed once they got into the trees. The others, with their bundles in their hands and the backpacks they’d been traveling with on their backs, were already on the move.
“You! Stop! We’ll shoot!” someone shouted from behind them, but a quick look backwards told him that the order hadn’t been directed at them. At least for now, they hadn’t been seen.
“Hurry!” Austin pressed Amanda. Thankfully, the horses were sensing their urgency—they were all but pulling him and Amanda along now.
Several shots rang out behind them, and Austin guessed they came from the lodge’s front porch. “This is ours!” someone shouted.
“Left! Go left!” Amanda called out. They’d caught up to the rest of their group, who were moving uphill just ahead of them now, packs in hand.
With Amanda directing them, they moved fast and quiet. The sounds of gunfire faded behind them and eventually stopped. The groups had either killed each other or one had taken possession of the lodge. Either way, Austin knew they weren’t going back.
It wasn’t long before they met up with Mike and the others, and Austin didn’t hide his relief when he finally got to hug his daughter close again, the latest brush with guns behind them.
“What do we do now?” Dr. Bastani asked, holding the laptop against her chest.
Austin looked to Amanda before glancing over to Ennis. He was open to suggestions.
“We have to move,” Ennis grumbled. “Just when we were settling in, we have to move.”
“At least it isn’t the NWO we’re running from right now,” Ezra commented.
“This area is too populated,” Amanda said quietly, sounding as if she was being forced to admit it to herself as much as anyone.
“Too populated? There’s nothing but trees for neighbors,” Wendell scoffed.
Austin glared at him, wondering why the guy bothered talking when he could never seem to be helpful. He added no value to the group.
“We need to move,” Amanda reiterated.
“Where?” Austin asked.
The group fell silent, none of them having an answer.
“We could follow the mountain range north,” Ennis suggested. “Maybe Canada is in better shape?” he offered.
“Back to the Oregon Trail,” Tonya offered half-heartedly.
There were a lot of groans, no one interested in the idea of another grueling trek over rough terrain, and with no protection from the elements or any place to rest their weary bodies. The miles on their feet were taking their toll.
“We need shelter. We need access to food and water,” Amanda said, eyeing her horses.
Austin nodded, knowing her well enough to know she was going to suggest something. “What? What are you proposing?” he asked.
“We split up,” she said simply, and then she kept going before he could argue. “Two groups. Half of us will go north and the other half south. We’ll meet at that huge Douglas Fir with the clearing on one side,” she said. “Where we made camp the night before we found the lodge. Most of us have gone back to forage often enough that we know where it is in our sleep and won’t have trouble meeting up there.”
“Amanda,” he started.
She shook her head. “It makes sense. There’s enough of us to split up. There’s no point in all of us going one way only to turn around and go the other. We save time and energy by dividing into two groups. The sooner we find a safe place, Austin, the sooner we get on the path to steady food.”
“We don’t know that the lodge is lost,” Wendell argued.
“It’s too dangerous. We already know there are warring factions near the lodge. Even if the lodge isn’t taken over this time, it will be. Do we really want a repeat of what happened at the house? I wanted to stay in the lodge as much as anyone,” Amanda admitted, looking around, “but it’s no longer safe.”
The group went quiet.
“She’s right,” Ennis said, breaking the silence. “Better to abandon the lodge than lose more friends. We need to move, and meeting in the clearing makes sense.”
Austin hated the idea of splitting up. No matter how much sense it made. And what if it backfired on them?
But he couldn’t think of anything better, and a quick glance around told him that too many of the group were waiting on him to decide the vote. So be it. “Okay,” he said on a sigh.
“I’ll lead one group, and you take the other,” Amanda suggested.
“No,” he answered immediately.
“Austin, it’s better that way,” she said, her eyes meeting his in that silent way she had of telling him to be reasonable. When it came to her and Savannah, that was hard. Harder every day, in fact.
He tried to think of a good reason to keep her with him, but he couldn’t. She was right. She was a natural leader, and had the skills to lead a team back safely should there be any fighting. She’d already proven herself, and everyone, not counting Wendell, trusted her and her ability to lead.
“I’ll go with her,” Ennis said.
Austin nodded, feeling a little better knowing that his brother would have her back. “Good. Sarah, you’re with me,” he said, looking at the doctor.
“It isn’t safe out there,” she mumbled.
“It isn’t safe right here,” he retorted. “Savannah, you’re with me, as well,” he said, leaving no room for argument. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
The rest of the group was divided as equally as possible, along with the weapons. Wendell was the only one who hadn’t declared what group he wanted to be a part of, but Austin assumed he’d go where Ennis went.
“I’ll go with Austin’s group,” Wendell announced, as if reading his mind.
Austin looked at Ennis, pleading with him to take his friend with him. Ennis just gave a slight shrug, earning him a glare from Austin.
“Fine,” he muttered. “What about the horses?” Austin asked Amanda.
Amanda grimaced. “I don’t think they’ll be helpful in this situation. But I’m not abandoning them!” she added quickly, as if anyone would have suggested it.
“How about leaving them in the clearing?” he suggested. “My group will be headed just past it. We can take them up there and leave them overnight till we get back to them and the clearing tomorrow. We’ll meet then, no later.”
Amanda chewed her bottom lip. “I guess that’s safer than taking them with either group. Make sure you tie their lead ropes loosely enough that they can get to that stream. They should be okay just for the night.”
“Okay, then it’s settled,” Austin said. “We’ll leave them by the stream near the clearing.”
“Keep your heads up and we’ll meet at the clearing tomorrow,” Amanda said. “If not before. If you find something promising for the group, just head back to the clearing. Or if something stops you,” she added pointedly, all of them knowing that was more likely.
Guns could stop any of their journeys early, to where they might as well head to the clearing and brainstorm what would come next. Splitting up for now made sense, and Austin knew it, but that was assuming they’d find anything of promise. It was far more likely, he thought, that they’d end up back at square one. He knew what Amanda and Ennis would say if he brought that up, though. And they were right. They had to try.
Austin looked at Amanda, meeting her eyes and saying all that he could without speaking. She offered a small smile in return before walking away. He watched her for a few seconds before collecting himself and turning to face his group. Wendell was looking at him in a way that sent a shiver of apprehension down his spine, but he didn’t let it show in his voice when he spoke.
“Let’s go. And, pay attention. There could be more people with guns out there just waiting to shoot,” he warned them.
Ezra nodded. Austin was going to be counting on him to be his back-up. He didn’t have much hope of Drew or Wendell being quick enough to eliminate a threat and keep his daughter safe.
4
Amanda knew she was pushing them hard, but she had to. They’d managed to stumble into a mid-sized town that seemed more industrial and factory-based than anything, but with plenty of trailer parks that had been burned to the ground, leaving only the skeletons of the trailer homes standing. It was a grim sight that held no real promise for them, but they had to keep moving through before they could set up camp for the night.
“What’s that building?” Malachi asked from her left. Ahead of them, the huge square of a factory loomed above smaller businesses and houses that had been left to rot. It looked sturdy enough in comparison, if foreboding.
“Looks like some kind of factory; notice the huge stacks?” she asked, studying the building.
“We should ignore it,” Harlen said. “I don’t like it here. It’s dark, dirty… and I can smell death.”
“That could be a good thing. Empty is good. Safer,” Ennis commented, “and we need a place to set up camp for the night, right?”
“It would be nice not to sleep outside,” Tonya pointed out.
With that, the group spread out, staying far enough apart that, if they were ambushed, they wouldn’t all be taken out in one sweep. Amanda remained a little surprised to have found the town deserted. It was an eerie sensation to walk down a street devoid of all signs of life, as if something had swooped in and snatched up the people who’d once lived and worked in the town. As they moved, she couldn’t help but feel like they were being watched; from where, she couldn’t immediately identify. They passed small stores that had been burnt out along with what had once been a clinic. There was no point in going in to scavenge—it was clear to all of them that anything left behind had been burned to a crisp.
“Why?” Malachi whispered.
“The burning?” Amanda asked.
“Yes, why would someone burn everything? What’s the point?” he asked.
She shrugged, not bothering to stop walking. “I don’t know. Control? Maybe it was the people who lived here… if they were being run out of town, they weren’t going to leave anything behind. It’s hard to say.”
“It’s so sad,” Gretchen said as they passed another building that had been reduced to a pile of rubble.
Coming up on the building Malachi had originally pointed out, Amanda had to agree it looked pretty intact—more so than anything else they’d found anyway. “Okay, listen; Harlen, Tonya, and Gretchen, you three stand watch while the rest of us make sure the factory is empty. Since it’s one of the few buildings standing, it might be occupied.” Amanda directed them to the side, and then headed to the main entrance, holding her gun at the side of her leg. So far, it seemed as deserted as everything else in the town.
