The Returners (9 page)

Jessica turned and ran to the front door of the cabin to see Jacob coming out, his shotgun raised.

"What the hell's going on Jessica?" Jacob said as she came into sight.

"There were two men in the woods. I shot both of them. I don't know if there's any more of them or not. I'm out of ammo. I fired my last five rounds."

Before Jacob could reply to her a shot echoed out of the woods in front of the cabin, striking right next to his head. He felt splintered wood pelt his face.

A man's voice followed the shot from the woods. "I suggest you both put your guns on the ground right now. We can do this the hard way or the easy way. I suggest the easy way, cause you wouldn't like the hard way. We've got you surrounded.”

Jessica and Jacob looked at each other, both knew they didn't stand a chance if they were surrounded. She was out of ammo and all he had was the shotgun. Both of them slowly laid their weapons on the ground.

"Good, now I want you both to take a couple steps forward and put your hands up in the air," The man said.

Both Jessica and Jacob complied. They stood there for a moment as two men came from the forest towards them. The figures were dark and they were unable to make out what either of them looked like, but they could tell both men were armed. 

"Kyle you get the girl out of the cabin, I'll make sure these two don't do anything stupid," Ray said as they got closer to Jessica and Jacob.  

They could now make out what both men looked like. One was older with dark gray hair and a round face. He looked like your typical jolly grandfather type. He had a smile on his face that was both calming and eerily creepy at the same time. The other was much younger, probably in his late twenties with dark stubble on his face. His long black hair was tied back into a ponytail beneath a Boston Redsox baseball cap. He was carrying a machete.

The younger of the two walked past them into the doorway of the cabin, while the older man stood there with a revolver pointed at Jacob's head. 

"Young man, you get face down on the ground. Young lady, you stay still or I swear I'll put a bullet through his head faster than you can blink," Ray said as he moved to the side of Jacob.

Jacob got down and laid on the ground face first. He immediately felt a boot connect with his ribs. He cried out in pain. Tears began to run down Jessica's face. 

"You find that girl Kyle?" Ray hollered.

"I can’t find her Ray."

"Find her and bring her out here, she's got to be in there." He looked at Jessica. "Now about my boys you shot." He pistol-whipped the side of her head and Jessica dropped. Out cold before she even hit the ground. "That's for them."

Jacob grimaced as he saw Jessica hit the ground beside him, her body limp and unmoving. The man pressed his boot down upon the back of his neck. He could feel the air in his lungs starting to escape as he began to choke.

“I've got no use for prisoners, and I've decided I don't like you. I'm going to make you suffer, slowly,” Ray said with a sick tone of enjoyment as he continued to press his boot down on the man's neck.

“Put your gun down," Kyle said from inside the cabin.

A second later a shotgun blast rang-out and immediately Jacob felt the pressure from the man's boot release from his neck. Gasping he couldn't focus on anything but getting air into his lungs.

Ray spun around to see Kyle coming out the doorway. There was a huge hole in his chest, blood and gore covered his shirt. Kyle looked up at Ray before collapsing to the ground. Ray could see the young girl standing behind where Kyle had been. A shotgun raised to her shoulder, her face blank and emotionless.

Joe watched the events as they unfolded from his hiding spot. It had only been a few minutes since all hell had broken loose, but it seemed like hours to him. The 30-30 was leaned across a fallen log so he would have a steady shot if he needed to make one. Things were not going as planned, but there wasn't anything he could do at this point.

What was going on made him sick to his stomach. He didn't want to be a part of this, but he didn't know what else to do. He peered down the sights of the gun training it on the man laying on the ground. A gunshot rang out and he watched Ray lift his foot from the man's neck and spin around towards the cabin. Ray now had his revolver pointed at the young girl standing in the doorway. Joe couldn't believe Ray would gun down a child, but it looked like that was going to happen right now. The girl couldn't be much younger than him or Briella, Ray's own daughter.

Taking his gun off the man on the ground he aimed at the back of Ray's head. This had to end, how much longer could he let this sick bastard kill innocent people? He couldn't be a part of it any longer. No matter how much Ray or the others tried to justify what they were doing, it was wrong and he knew it. Killing Returners was one thing, living people were something entirely different all together.

Emily stood frozen in the doorway of the cabin, her gun still aimed at where she had fired. She couldn't move or speak, tears ran down her face. The man standing over her mother and Jacob now had his gun aimed at her.

"That was a bad mistake young lady," Ray said, pulling the hammer of his revolver back.

Emily closed her eyes and began to sob harder and dropped the shotgun to the ground. This was it and she knew it, anger began filling her mind as she stood there waiting for the man to end her life. Opening her eyes she now stared at the man pointing the gun at her. If he was going to kill her in cold blood he was going to have to do it with her eyes locked with his.

“Go on you coward!” Emily screamed as the man stepped forward towards her.

Joe took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger of the 30-30 as Ray stepped towards the girl  The bullet slammed into the back of Ray's head, a shower of blood spraying through the air. Ray's body didn't fall immediately, staying upright for a moment as it began to spasm and  fall.

Jacob finally caught his breath and was getting ready to try and take the man down. He never got that chance, from a distance he heard a gunshot and then felt warm blood hit his skin. He looked up as the body of the old man standing above him came crashing to the ground. Getting to his feet, he could see Emily standing in the doorway her gun laying on the ground beside her. 

"Emily, are you okay?" He forced the words out as he moved towards her. His ribs screaming out in pain from where he had been kicked.

Emily saw Jacob stand up and come towards her, she ran to him, her arms out. She sobbed as his arms wrapped around her.

“I thought you were dead. Mom, is mom dead?”

“I don't think so, he hit her, but we need to check on her.” Right then something occurred to him. The gunshot didn't seem like it came from the cabin. "Emily, did you shoot that man?"

"No." She blurted out, her voice racked with sobs.

If she hadn't shot the old man, then who had. His eyes peered off into the darkness, trying to see who had fired the shot.

"Help me get your mom into the cabin."

The two of them together managed to get Jessica inside, laying her down on the bed. Jessica was breathing, that much they could tell. Blood ran down her head from a huge gash where the gun had hit.

Jacob knew there was someone else outside and he needed to find that person. Emily would have to take care of her mother while he went back outside. He didn't want to leave her alone, but what choice did he have?

"If you didn't shoot that man, that means someone else is out there. I have to go back outside. I need to find out what’s going on. You lock the door and load your gun, don't let anyone else but me in here. Do you understand?"

Emily nodded her head. Her sobs began to lessen as she followed Jacob to the doorway and picked up her gun. Taking a shell out of her pocket she replaced the spent round. As soon as Jacob exited the cabin she latched the door, shaking it to make sure it had shut tight. Once she was positive it had she walked to the kitchen and grabbed a cloth, as well as a bowl of water and headed back to her mothers side.

Joe sat there unable to move, he couldn't believe what he had just done. He'd just killed a man that had saved him all those months ago. If it wasn't for Ray, he wouldn't be alive today. A sickening feeling came over him as he turned and began to wretch. Once he was done spilling his guts he stood up and sat on the log he'd rested the gun on. Facing the cabin and contemplating what he should do.

He couldn't go back to the camps, but people would ask questions. If he went to the cabin, they would probably shoot him. Neither idea seemed very feasible at the moment. After several minutes he saw the man come out of the cabin, grabbing the gun he laid down earlier. Joe knew what he had to do.

"Mister, I'm coming out of the woods, I'm leaving my gun up here. Please don't shoot me," Joe said as he stood up. Putting his arms above his head he walked out of the woods towards the man.

Jacob's head snapped in the direction the man’s voice came from. He could see the outline of a figure walking through the woods toward him. The man had his hands in the air. Was this some sort of trick? He wasn't about to take any chances and raised his shotgun, pointing it at the man's head.

"You keep moving towards me slow, keep your hands up. Do anything stupid and I'll make a hole where your head used to be." Jacob's voice trembled with anger.

The man was only a few feet from him now. Jacob could see he couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen, nothing more than a teenager. It was easy to tell, the kid had a baby face. His hair was shaved off and It didn't look like he was even old enough to grow facial hair. The front of the kid's shirt was spattered with vomit.

"How many of you are left in the woods? Don't lie to me, tell me!” Jacob yelled as he stepped forward and got closer to the young man. The barrel of the gun now pressing against his head.

"None, I think everyone's dead except me. I swear mister." 

The look of absolute terror on the kids face told Jacob he wasn't lying. This kid was scared shitless and he could tell. 

"You've got a lot of explaining to do! I want answers! You and I are gonna stand right here and have a little talk." He lowered the gun and pointed it towards the ground. His finger still wrapped around the trigger. “You do anything funny and your dead. Do you understand?" The young man nodded. "What's your name boy?"

"Joe... my name’s Joe," He stammered.

"Joe, what exactly were you guys planning on doing here?" Jacob asked.

"We came to get supplies. That's what Ray told us," Joe said.

"Who's Ray?" Asked Jacob.

Joe pointed at the body of the man who had the revolver. "That's Ray."

"Why did you shoot him?" Jacob said as he looked at the body lying on the ground. The young man began to cry. "Answer me!" Jacob was becoming agitated.

"Because I couldn't do this, I knew it was wrong. We didn't have any right to do what we were doing. I...I...I didn't want to see anyone else get hurt." Something about this kids words struck Jacob. The tone of his voice was terrified, but sincere when he spoke. He was obviously upset about what happened.

"You can put your hands down," Jacob said.

Joe lowered his hands and just stood there as Jacob approached him.

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Jacob asked as he patted him down and searched for weapons.

"No, just my rifle and ax that I left up in the woods."                                                          

Jacob stepped back from Joe. The kid didn't have so much as a pocket-knife on him.

"So here's what's going to happen, we're going to go into the cabin. You're going to answer my questions. Then we're going to figure out what to do from there. If you do anything suspicious, if you look at Emily or Jessica wrong I swear I'll end you. Do you understand me?" Jacob said in a calm collected voice, reiterating his earlier comment to make sure the kid understood he was serious.

"Yes sir, I promise I won’t do nothing," Joe said. His voice relaxing a little as he knew he'd at least avoided being shot for now.

The two men walked to the cabin door and Jacob knocked.

"Emily let me in. I've got someone with me, don't shoot them." He saw Emily peering out through one of the window slits, then heard the latches unbolt on the door. The two men entered the cabin, Emily shutting and latching the door behind them.

Over an hour had passed since Joe first began to tell Jacob about himself, and the story about how he had wound up with Ray's group. He told them how they found the camps and the whole situation with Ray's sadistic viciousness towards anyone he felt threatened by. He told Jacob about Briella and how much she wanted to get away from the camps and how he had feelings for her. He felt there was no point in holding back, that he might as well lay it all out there.

Jacob sat across from Joe listening intently, pondering what the kid had just told him. It was a pretty heavy story for a sixteen year old to tell. Knowing what his life had been like the last few years, he couldn't imagine going through something like that at this kids age. He wondered if it had happened to him if he would have even survived this long. If everything he had been told was true he truly felt sorry for Joe.

The story didn't seem like it could be made up, even in this day and age with the chaos going on around them. 

"You stay put, I need to go check on Emily and Jessica." Jacob walked over to the bed where Jessica was still lying unconscious. "How's she doing Emily?"  

"She hasn't come to yet, the bleeding’s stopped and she's breathing steady now."

Jacob could see Emily had ripped up an old shirt and put it around the wound on her mothers head. It was slightly stained with blood, but wasn't soaking through, which was a good sign.

"Listen, that man and I need to go somewhere. I don't want to leave you alone, but if what he told me is true there's something we have to do.  If we're not back here by noon tomorrow I need you to get your mom and yourself out of here. Do you understand?" Jacob hoped she was able to handle this, the girl was tough, but he wasn't a hundred percent sure of her current mental state.

Emily stood up, tears running down her face and threw her arms around Jacob. "I understand, but I don't want you to go. Don't leave us!"

It broke his heart to see the young girl so upset, but he knew deep down this was something he needed to do. She let go and stood there looking at him with sad puppy dog like eyes. He took his hand and wiped away her tears.

"It'll be fine, I promise." He waited for a moment and made sure Emily was going to be alright. When he was sure she was okay he walked back to where Joe was sitting. 

"I'm going to help you, but if we're going to do this, we need to be quick about it. The first moment I think you're leading me into a trap or screwing me over..."  He paused. "Lets just say it wont be a pleasant experience on your end." Even though he felt he could trust the kid, there was still a seed of doubt. He wanted to be sure the kid knew where he stood.

Joe stood up and extended his hand, Jacob looked him in the eyes for a few moments. His father had always told him you could tell a lot about a person (including whether they were telling the truth or lying) by looking them in the eyes. Right now all he could see in this kids eyes was sincerity. He took the boys hand and shook it.

"I promise I'm telling the truth. I just want to get Briella out of that place. I know she'll come with us, she wants out as bad as I do. I need to be the one to tell her what happened to her father, she needs to hear it from me," Joe said. He wasn't sure how she would react, but it was something he needed to do.

"I can respect that, now let’s get going. We're going to be pushing it to make it there before it gets light out, we can stop and get your things on the way through." 

The two men headed towards the door, Jacob grabbed his shotgun. He wasn't taking anything else. They needed to travel quickly and the more gear they had the slower they would go. Before he exited, he turned to look at Emily and Jessica.

Emily looked up and saw him standing there looking back at her and her mother. "Be safe."

Jacob smiled, hoping it would reassure the young girl things would be fine. Emily forced a smile as tears welled up in her eyes. Jacob knew he had to go and couldn't wait any longer. It was a difficult decision, but if what Joe had told him was true, it would be in their best interest.

He turned as Joe went out the door and followed behind him. The two men headed towards the camps to get Briella, Joe leading the way. They would figure out what their next step would be after that task was accomplished.

Jessica's mind swam in a sea of blackness. All she wanted to do was open her eyes, but it felt like weights were being placed upon them. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to open them. She could hear the muffled voices of Jacob and Emily and another voice she didn't recognize, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion right now. The last thing she remembered was the old man standing before her and the crack of the gun across her temple. She could feel the dull throbbing where it had hit.

Suddenly the weights felt like they were lifting from her eyes. The darkness began to turn to a smokey-gray color. She felt a cold dampness across her temple where the gun had stuck. Breathing became difficult and it felt like she was drowning. She struggled for air and darkness began to block out the light once again. She wanted to scream, but couldn't. She was going to fight and wouldn't let this defeat her, her daughter needed her. 

Emily sat next to her mother cleaning the wound on her head before she changed the bandage. Her mother had been out for almost four hours now. Jacob and the other man had left a little over an hour ago. She was in the middle of changing the bandage when she noticed her mother’s breathing changing. Jessica began to gasp for air and her arms began to flail. Emily panicked, she didn't know what to do or what was happening.

"Mom! Mom!" Emily shook her mother, her voice filled with worry. 


Through the darkness Jessica could hear her Daughters voice. It wasn't as muffled as before. She could tell Emily was upset, all she wanted to do was make sure her little girl was okay. Light once again began to overtake the darkness that had consumed her, a brilliant flash of white filled her mind. A feeling of being pulled upward grabbing ahold of her, her daughter's voice becoming clearer.

"Mom, wake up!  Please wake up!" Emily screamed through the tears that were now almost choking out her words.

Her mother's breathing steadied and began to return to normal. Emily grabbed her mother's hand and put her head on it. She began crying harder than she had ever done before, her tears splashing against her mother's skin.

"Mom, please, please wake up. I can't lose you." She was barely able to speak through her sobs, her words broken. "I love you, don't leave me." She didn't know what she would do if she lost her mom, the thought made her cry even harder.

The sound of her daughter’s cries were too much for her. She fought to get to her through her mental fog, everything began to move faster and faster. A warmth came over her, the weight releasing from her eyes. Slowly she opened them, letting them adjust. As they did she could see Emily's head pressed against her hand. Feeling the tears on her skin, Jessica took her free hand and ran her fingers through Emily's hair.

"It's alright sweetheart, I'm here."

Emily lifted her head up and looked at her mother. Jessica smiled as Emily threw her arms around her, letting all her emotions pour out. Jessica didn't need to say anything else. She comforted her daughter as much as she could while the girl broke down. Tears of her own began to fall at the sound of her daughters. After several minutes Emily let go and sat back trying to wipe the moisture from her eyes. 

"I thought I was going to lose you Mom." Emily's voice was hoarse and raspy from crying.

"I wouldn't do that to you, help me up I need to talk to Jacob," Jessica said as she extended her hand. Emily took it and helped pull her into a sitting position. Her head immediately began to throb, but she threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She was a bit wobbly, but managed to get her bearings. Emily held on to her hand the entire time.

"Take it easy Mom, you took quite a knock," Emily said as she helped her mother steady herself.

Jessica looked around the cabin, but couldn't see Jacob. She began to fear the worst and started to panic. "Where's Jacob?" Her concern evident.

"He went with another man, the one who saved us. I thought I overheard his name was Joe, but I'm not sure. I don't know where they were going, he just told me if they weren't back by noon we needed to leave here," Replied Emily.

It took a second for Jessica to process what her daughter was telling her. She stood silently trying to make sense of it. Her eyes went to the door as if she expected Jacob to be standing there.

"Mom, are you alright?" Emily asked, concerned about her mothers current mental state.

"How long have they been gone?" Jessica asked.

"A little more then an hour," Replied Emily.

"They didn’t say where they were going at all?" Jessica asked, her voice slightly agitated.

"I was busy taking care of you, I overheard things, but it was just bits and pieces. I think those men came from some camps near a pond. There was a girl the other man wanted to go and take away from there. I'm sorry, I don't really know." Emily began to cry again. Frustrated she didn't know more and fearful her mother was upset with her.

Jessica hugged her daughter. "Its alright hon, but I think we need to start packing our things just in case Jacob doesn't come back. He was obviously concerned for us, so we'll do as he asked if they aren't back before noon."

Emily let go of her mother's hand and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. Jessica was proud of how she'd handled all of this, especially for being so young. Emily went to the old chest near the foot of the bed and grabbed two backpacks. She walked back over to her mother and handed her one. The two women quickly began to fill them with things they might need if they had to leave the cabin.

Jacob and Joe moved quickly and silently through the forest with the ease only two experienced woodsman would be able to do. They had been keeping up a brisk pace for almost two hours now. The moon had made it easy for them to do so as it illuminated the forest in a pale light. Joe stopped a few steps ahead of Jacob and crouched down. Jacob did the same, moving quietly and cautiously to his side.

Joe pointed down a small drop off that was a few hundred yards away. Even in the dark Jacob could see the outline of a pond through the trees.

"Is that where the camps are?" Jacob asked in low whispered voice.

"Yes, It would be easier for me to get in and out of there with Briella by myself. I know the layout and most everyone will be asleep outside of a few guards. I know how to get around them. Like I told you before, as far as I know no one outside of the group with me knew where we were going. Ray wasn't the type of person to tell everyone his plans. The only one he may have possibly told is Chris Dodge, but it's unlikely he did. Ray didn't trust anyone other than himself."

Jacob thought about this, he still wasn't a hundred percent sure he could trust the kid. If he was leading him into a trap he was going to be screwed whether he was with him or not. The kid had saved them and that had to count for something towards trust.

"I'm putting a lot of faith in you, but I'll wait here. We've got about two hours tops before it starts getting light out. You've got to do this quick and get back here without anyone knowing what's going on." 

Joe put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder before he moved down the slope towards the pond. Jacob appreciated the gesture, even as simple as it was. Soon Joe's silhouette disappeared amongst the trees and he was alone.

Briella's dreams had often been filled with nightmares since the start of this madness. Watching friends and family get ripped apart before her very eyes, the sound of their screams haunted her. Every time she closed her eyes she relived those horrible moments over and over. Tonight had been no exception.

Unable to sleep she sat in the kitchen looking out at the pond through a large double window. She was glad the camp was high enough off the ground that there was no need to board the window up. Looking outside and enjoying the view was one of the few things that helped her relax. The moon cast a calming glow off the water, you could see the outline of the mountains in the distance. It was very tranquil and she could see why the people who had built the camps had chosen this spot.

Her father and the others hadn't come back yet. There wasn't anything abnormal about that though. When they would go on scouting missions and supply runs they often didn't return for days. Not that she was worried if her father came back or not. Often she felt bad about that, but wondered if it would be easier for her and the others if he didn't.

Moving to the front door of the cabin she stepped onto the porch, the cool morning air greeting her, it was refreshing. She enjoyed the freedom of the early morning hours. No one was around to tell her to go back inside or watching her every movement. Sitting down in an old rocking chair she saw movement along the waters edge. It didn't move like a Returner, but there was no doubt it was a human shape. Watching intently as it moved towards her she began to feel nervousness overtake her, but she wasn't scared.