EMP (The Districts Book 1) (13 page)

Mike wasn’t around when Nick woke up, so he took the rare opportunity to just pull his blanket up over his eyes and try to get some more sleep. It was something he no doubt would have been able to accomplish in his previous life, but there was a woodpecker going to town on the side of the cabin.

Nick sighed, tossed the blanket back and finally got up. He went outside and looked at the side of the cabin just in time to see the crazy bird take flight and disappear into the trees. He debated going back to sleep, but knew the bird would probably just appear again the moment his head hit the pillow.

“You’re awake.”

Nick spun around and faced Mike, who was sitting on a stump next to the side of the cabin with his knife in one hand and a piece of wood in his other.

“Yeah….”

Nick wasn’t sure what to say, it wasn’t really a question… but the way Mike said it made it sound like he was surprised.

“I just figured you might take the chance to sleep in since we don’t have anything planned for today.”

Nick nodded, walked closer to Mike and leaned against the wall.

“I… I was trying, but there was this fucking woodpecker.”

Mike chuckled and turned his attention back to the piece of wood. Nick wondered if the man ever relaxed... Mike was always doing something. That and he seemed to place a life or death importance on the smallest things.

“So,” Nick said, “is there anything we need to do today?”

Mike pushed the knife blade against the wood twice more before he pulled his hands apart and looked up at Nick.

“I want you to go out by yourself and practice your shooting.”

Mike smiled at the surprised look on Nick’s face and turned his attention back to his carving.

“Like… just shooting at stuff?”

“Yeah. Take the Glock and a box of shells from the supply shelf.”

“Alright….”

Nick waited for Mike to say something else, to give him more specific directions… but he didn’t utter another word. Nick went inside, grabbed the Glock and put the box of ammo in his pocket.

Nick headed outside and walked toward Mike. He didn’t even acknowledge Nick’s presence, seeming to be supremely focused on whatever he was carving. Nick was at a loss for what he was supposed to do… so he just started walking.

After about an hour of following the stream he felt far enough away from the cabin to shoot. Nick knew there was a possibility of someone hearing the shots, but he didn’t plan on being out there for very long.

Nick crossed the stream and wandered through the woods for a few more minutes until he came across a small clearing. It wasn’t much, perhaps twenty feet across, but it would give him a chance to practice. He shook his head as he thought about Mike making the long distance shot with the Glock. Nick knew he would never be that good with any kind of firearm.

Nick looked around for a minute until he found a green pine cone on the ground. He set it on a fallen tree, making sure it would stay balanced, and retreated to the other side of the clearing.

He raised the pistol, took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The bark of the fallen tree exploded as the bullet slammed into it and Nick frowned. He was close enough that he figured it would be an easy shot.

Nick fired another shot and missed again. He lowered the pistol, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“This shouldn’t be this difficult.”

He shook his head, doing his best to not get himself worked up, and raised the Glock again. He fired and the pine cone was bounced off the tree and disappeared into the thick grass.

Nick smiled. He found another pine cone, put it in the same place and went back to his spot. He fired the pistol and hit it with his first bullet. He was pretty pleased with himself… sure, he knew it was an easy shot compared to what Mike could do, but he thought he did pretty well for a beginner.

Before he even lowered the pistol Nick heard something he hadn’t expected—a gunshot. He listened, thinking at first it might just be an echo of his own shot… but as he waited there was a second and then a third shot.

Nick hoped he was wrong, but he thought it sounded like it was coming from the direction of the cabin. He pulled the magazine out of the Glock, ejected the bullet from the chamber and started to run.

It took him twenty minutes to get back, but he hadn’t heard any more gunshots on his way. Nick slowly approached the cabin, trying to not make too much noise as a precaution.

“Nick?”

It was Mike, but Nick didn’t see him anywhere. He spun in a full circle, but the man remained hidden. Mike finally stepped around from behind a tree with his AR-15 in hand.

“Is… is everything alright?”

Mike nodded and started walking toward the cabin.

“It is now,” Mike said.

“What happened?”

“I’m assuming you heard the shots… and that’s why you’re back and out of breath.”

“Yeah… I ran back as quickly as I could.”

They went into the cabin and Mike locked the door before propping his AR-15 against the wall of the cabin. Nick put the Glock back on the supply shelf. Nick sat down on the loveseat as Mike sat down on his bed and kicked his hiking boots off.

“The shots were close… maybe a quarter of a mile off.”

“Is there anything in that direction?” Nick said.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Maybe it was just someone hunting.”

“No,” Mike said, shaking his head. “The shots sounded like an AK-47.”

Nick felt himself getting sick as he thought about the man with the blood spatter across his shirt.

“Do you think… it was the same guy we saw?”

Mike shrugged. He got off the bed and grabbed his water before sitting back down.

“Maybe… maybe not. What I do know is I don’t want to take any chances. If those guys are near here we need to really be on our guard at all times.”

Nick nodded. He wasn’t sure what that was going to entail, but he was ready to completely trust Mike.

“I’m going to get a pack together, a survival pack, and hide it in the woods a little ways from here. If we have to get out of here quickly one of us needs to get it.”

The tone of Mike’s voice scared Nick more than the idea itself. He knew Mike was just over-planning, like he always did, but Nick detected a small quiver in the usually rock solid man’s voice… which made him nervous.

“It’s not going to be a lot of stuff... maybe a spare water bottle, a couple cans of food, a blanket and the Glock with a box of rounds.”

Nick was a little surprised Mike would put the Glock in a backpack and leave it in the woods, which only served to reinforce the fear Nick was feeling.

Mike shook his head and took a long drink of water.

“I hope it doesn’t come down to it,” Mike said, “but if I tell you to run… I want you to run and get the pack and run away from here as fast as you can. It doesn’t matter where you head… just get away.”

Nick nodded and swallowed. He prayed it would never come down to that… he was already scared of just the prospect. Nick looked down and took a deep breath. It was a whole new fear he never imagined would be a part of his life… he had to worry about murderous raiders with automatic weapons.

Anthony pulled the truck up to the loading dock at the back of their base and put it into park. He turned it off, pulled the keys out of the ignition and put them in his pocket. The back door opened and Rick poked the end of rifle out, which was quickly followed by his head.

“Hey… didn’t recognize the truck,” he said.

Anthony smiled as he walked toward Rick.

“What… what happened to your leg, man?”

“Got shot.”

“Are you alright?”

Anthony shrugged and walked by Rick, who held the door open.

“There’s some stuff in the truck,” Anthony said. “Can you have Ned and Fred bring it to my room?”

“Sure….”

Anthony turned and walked down the hall. His leg was throbbing and he needed to get off his feet. He got to his room, took off his pants and pulled the gauze away from his leg to check on his wound. A little blood was dried around the outside of it, but from what he could tell the bleeding had stopped. Anthony sat down on the bed, kicked his shoes off and put his head on the pillow. There was a knock on his door just a few moments later.

“Come in.”

The door swung open and Ned and Fred came in. Fred had Beth by the feet and Ned had her by the shoulders.

“Where… where do you want her?” Ned said.

“On the floor.”

Fred had a shocked look on his face, but Ned… Anthony could tell what little mental power he used was being exhausted as he tried to figure out how Anthony had come by such a good looking young woman. They set her down and retreated to the door.

“What should we do with the truck?” Fred said.

“Just cover it with a tarp. There are some things at the farm where I got it that I want you to go pick up, but that can wait until tomorrow. I need to… rest… now.”

They both nodded, walked out of the room and Ned closed the door. Anthony sat up in bed and looked down at Beth. Her eyes were wide and tears were still streaming down her face. Anthony smiled at her and lowered his head in her direction.

“You’re safe now… I’m going to take good care of you.”

The muscles in her slim arms flexed as she tried to pull her hands free. It was obvious to Anthony she wasn’t excited about being with him, but he knew with a little time he could make her see why it was the safest place to be in the fucked up world they lived in.

“I’m going to take the tape off your mouth now.”

He yanked on the tape and ripped it off. She screamed from the shock and pain, which quickly turned into more tears. Anthony waited patiently for her to calm down some before he got off the bed and sat next to her on the floor. He let his eyes roam her body, making a mental note of each and every curve.

“You’re very pretty.”

Fire filled her brown eyes as she stared up at him. Anthony watched as her chest heaved with each breath. He wanted to touch her, to run his hands up and down her.

“What… what did you do to Paul?” she said, her voice shaking as each word left her mouth.

“Who?”

“Paul… my husband.”

Anthony lifted his hand to her cheek and brushed her hair out of the way.

“You have beautiful eyes… has anyone ever told you that?”

She kicked her legs in a futile attempt to free them from the duct tape.

“Where is he?”

“I shot him. He’s dead.”

Her eyes grew wide and eventually began to fill with tears as she realized Anthony was telling her the truth. She rolled onto her side and her body began to heave with each powerful sob.

“I’m sorry,” Anthony said, “he didn’t give me a choice. I was just walking toward your house… I didn’t know anyone was there… and he shot me. I fired back, as a reaction, and I hit him. I rushed inside to see if I could save him, but he was dead by the time I reached him.”

She didn’t respond. Anthony put his hand on her shoulder, which she promptly shrugged off. He wrapped his fingers around her upper arm and made sure she couldn’t shake them.

“It’s for the best. He was never going to be able to provide for you and protect you in the long run. Me… I can do that. You’ll be safe here and I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”

Anthony put his other hand on her shoulder and rolled her onto her other side so she was facing him. She sat up and spit a wad of saliva, which hit him right on his cheek. Anthony raised his hand and brought it down across the side of her face.

He stood up and looked down at her. Beth looked mad, but he could also see the fear in her eyes. Anthony knew it was only a matter of time before he could break her and she wouldn’t even remember who Paul was. She would be faithful to him by the time he was done with her.

“Don’t make this any harder on yourself than it has to be,” he said.

~~~

Anthony walked out of his room, closed the door behind himself and slipped the key into his pocket after locking it. He smiled, glad he had changed out the lock on the door and replaced the simple handle with one that was meant for the front door of a house.

He walked into the store, looking for Ned or Fred, but didn’t find them.

“Ned? Fred?”

“They’re in sporting goods,” Rick said, poking his head around the corner of an aisle twenty feet from Anthony.

Anthony shook his head. He was getting a bit tired of them never seeming to be around when he had work for them.

“What do you need?”

“Well… the girl… I got her from a farm not far away. I wanted them to go back and see if there’s anything useful there.”

“I can go if you want,” Rick said.

Anthony shook his head as he walked toward Rick… he didn’t want Fred or Ned to hear what he was about to say.

“I need you here… them… they need to actually pull their weight around here.”

Rick shrugged. He knew exactly what Anthony was saying, the twins could be a handful… but they were still part of the crew and didn’t see Anthony doing anything to compromise that anytime soon.

“I understand,” Rick said, “why don’t you tell me where this place is and I’ll go find them and make sure they get it through their thick skulls that work comes before play.”

Anthony nodded… that was exactly what he wanted. They walked over to the section of the store with maps and Anthony found one that was detailed enough to have the surrounding area on it. He walked to the closest cash register, grabbed a pen and drew a large x where the house was.

“Here… it’s a farm… the only one around… they
shouldn’t
miss it.”

Rick chuckled at the emphasis, knowing there was a distinct possibility the twins might get lost.

“Anything in particular you want them to get?”

“Nah,” Anthony said, shaking his head, “just have them take the truck I brought back and fill it up with as much stuff from the house as they can get.”

Rick nodded and cracked a wicked smile.

“I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing,” Rick said.

Anthony smiled back, shook his headed and started to walk back toward the office he had turned into his living quarters.