Emp disaster box set boo.., p.65
EMP Disaster Box Set | Books 1-3, page 65
part #1 of EMP Disaster Series
“Everyone stay back,” she said, grabbing the rope. “Stay well clear of the ledge. I’ll do this quick.”
She was afraid that she might pull the rope and feel it go taut in her hands as someone on the other end began pulling back. However, it came readily. She didn’t bother winding it up in any orderly fashion. Instead, she just flung it onto the ground beside her.
“They’re not getting away, I swear to God!” Sue Ellen again. She’d lost her voice from all of the shouting. She sounded like some kind of croaking monster now.
Suddenly, Melanie saw a flash somewhere out among the trees. At the same exact moment, a bullet hit the trunk of the tree about a foot above her head. Bits of bark and splinters rained down on her. She dropped flat to the ground, still grasping the rope.
“That almost hit you,” Rita said, crawling up beside Melanie. “Now they’ve taken a shot at both of us. I say we return the favor.”
“Not necessary,” Melanie replied.
But Rita drew her .38 pistol, thrust it out over the drop, and immediately opened fire. She fired off half a dozen shots, as men shouted and scattered below. Then she dropped back.
“I think I got one,” she said. She glanced at Melanie and shrugged. “If you return fire, they’ll be forced to retreat and regroup. It’ll buy us more time to get away.”
Melanie could see the wisdom in it, so she pulled the rifle off her shoulder.
“It’s reckless,” Mark said, grabbing at Melanie’s coat again. Fortunately, he didn’t pull her this time, because she’d had quite enough of that.
“It’s not reckless if we all fire together,” Melanie said. “Ready your weapons. On the count of three, we rise and fire a quick burst. Just a few shots, and then we duck back down. Okay?”
She looked at Mark, but he just stared back at her. Oh, now he was going to be overly cautious? The injured man who had insisted on climbing the cliff. Lizzy grabbed her AR-15 and approached, though she looked none too happy about it. Lizzy had lost her taste for combat somewhere around the time of the first factory fight, but apparently, she was willing now to do her reluctant duty.
“Drive them back,” Mr. Turner said, creeping up to the cliff’s edge, his rifle in his hands. “You’ve got the right idea. It’ll buy us more time to escape.”
With a grunt, Mark removed his Remington 700 and crouched beside Melanie. “Okay, fine, count me in. Let’s just do it fast, so we don’t make ourselves easy targets.”
Shona and Nathan tried to approach then as well, but Melanie waved them back. “No, you two stay together. Stay with Dusty.”
Shona didn’t have to be told twice, quickly retreating, but Nathan hung his head and frowned. Mark, Melanie, Mr. Turner, Lizzy, and Rita were all lined up now, rifles in their hands. Melanie traded a look with Rita.
“Open fire as soon as you start to rise,” Rita said. “Three quick shots, then drop down again. Don’t give them a chance to aim. Ready?”
Melanie nodded, getting one of her knees beneath her.
“Now,” Rita said in a hiss.
Melanie pushed herself up, a burst of fiery adrenaline burning through her guts. As she rose, she brought her rifle up, trying to find an immediate target. She saw men standing between the trees, like roaches ready to scatter. Dozens of them. Sue Ellen and the horse were off to her left. Melanie wanted to study the group below, to see what they were doing, but she knew she didn’t have time. She caught a glimpse of a body being dragged by the feet back into the forest.
And then Rita fired—one, two, three—in quick succession, sweeping her rifle from left to right. Melanie pulled the trigger as well, but in her addled state, she wasn’t really aiming at anything. She saw tree branched dancing below, leaves falling. Others were firing on either side of her. The noise was fierce, painful, awakening all of the bumps and bruises on her head.
Another militiaman fell, then a third. Even as they fell, others began to return fire. Melanie had absolutely no idea how many bullets she’d fired. At least one. Maybe twenty. Whatever the case, it was over.
“Get down,” she cried, dropping to the ground.
Mark dropped down beside her, and Lizzy scrambled back from the ledge. Mr. Turner dared a couple more shots, until a bullet hit the ledge in front of him, kicking dirt into his eyes. Sputtering and cursing, he dropped his rifle to one side and flung himself away from the ledge. Rita took a final shot and turned away, even as the guns continued to crackle below, bullets cutting through the trees along the ledge.
“We got at least three of them,” Rita said, swiping some debris off her shoulders. “One was a head shot. Did you see them drop?”
“I saw it,” Melanie replied, her heart racing so fiercely, she felt dizzy. “Let’s get away from here. Grab the gear. Come on.”
She slung the rifle back over her shoulder. The barrel was hot. She could feel the warmth against the back of her head.
“That’s called having the high ground, you scum,” Rita shouted, loud enough for the men below to hear. “It’s like shooting snakes in a ditch. I hope you enjoyed it!”
She grabbed the duffel bag, laughed, and dashed away from the ledge. Mark grabbed the backpack before Mr. Turner could get it, putting a strap over his right shoulder. The sound of the guns had startled Dusty. Nathan and Shona were holding him tightly, as he strained to get away.
“Rita, do we have any more smoke bombs in that duffel bag?” Melanie asked.
Rita worked the zipper down and reached inside. “Two or three.” She pulled out a small white canister and tossed it at Melanie. “Have fun.”
Melanie pulled the tab, and immediately thick, white smoke began to pour out. She tossed it underhanded toward the ledge. It just cleared a knot of tree roots and fell below, clattering on the rocks a couple of times on the way down. She heard the men yelling. The horse gave a loud whinny, spooked by the smoke. Melanie was tempted to look over the edge and see what was happening, but she decided not to risk it.
The others were moving farther from the ledge now, heading up the rocky slope toward the dense line of trees a short distance away. Mark waited for her, but she waved him on. After a moment, she heard Sue Ellen’s raspy voice.
“Don’t scatter! Stick together! Stick together, you fools!”
She sounded farther away. The militia had retreated back into the woods.
“This isn’t over!” Sue Ellen managed to muster up a little strength, turning her croak into a monstrous roar. “Do you hear me, you cowards! It’s not over! I will repay blood for blood. Mark my words!”
Melanie couldn’t resist responding, so she turned back. “Nathan is with us now!” she shouted. “He doesn’t want to be in your militia. He’s told us about the abuse!”
“I will never stop coming for you!” Sue Ellen howled. She was farther now, somewhere deep in the woods. “I will never stop chasing you until I get back what belongs to me! And once I have my hands on you, I’m going to bury you. I’m going to bury all of you to pay for the blood of my Andrew. You killed him, and I’ll take it out of you in tears and suffering!” She was ranting now, wailing like a maniac far below. “Then everyone will know. They’ll know you don’t cross the Wolverine Militia! Your day is coming! I swear to God and the devil below, you will all die!”
Melanie turned to follow the rest of the group. They’d kept moving up the slope toward the trees. All except for Nathan, who was standing out in the open. Though he was staring at the ground, she had the distinct impression that he was waiting for her. When she caught up to him, he shuffled his feet, kicking idly at the ground, then fell in beside her.
“Thanks,” he said.
“For what?”
“For…you know, saying that. Talking back. I’m glad she heard it. I want her to know.”
She gave him an encouraging smile. At the tree line, Mark turned around, looking wildly from left to right before spotting her and beckoning her. Sue Ellen’s voice gradually faded behind them. Eventually, she was little more than a hint of crazed human echoes, like some hateful spirit haunting the treetops.
“Why did you have to taunt her like that?” Lizzy said. “We drove them back so we could escape, right? Don’t we want them to give up the chase and leave us alone?”
“Ideally,” Melanie replied.
“Well, if you taunt that Sue Ellen character, she’s just going to be even more determined to catch us,” Lizzy said. “It’s like poking a bear with a stick. You’re going to make it angrier. Did you hear what she said? She’ll never stop chasing us. I think she meant it.”
“Liz has a point,” Mark said. “Maybe we could have reasoned with her. Maybe we could have…what’s the word? De-escalated.”
Melanie shrugged and pushed past them. Shona, Rita, and Dusty were waiting for her deep beyond the tree line
“It had to be said,” Melanie replied. “Someone had to speak up for Nathan, so I did it. Sue Ellen needs to know that we’re aware of how he feels about her and her friends.”
As she stepped past them and took the lead, Rita gave her a big pat on the back. It was just a bit too hard, and it rattled Melanie’s already aching skull. Now that the adrenaline was passing, she felt sick to her stomach as well, so she grabbed her belly.
“Did they retreat?” Lizzy said. “Did we drive the militia back, at least?”
“They’ve gone back into the woods for now, yes,” Melanie replied, “but you said it yourself. Sue Ellen’s not going to give up. Even if we handed the kid over to her now, she wants revenge for the deaths of her men, particularly the one named Andrew.”
“I remember that guy,” Mark said. “Andrew was the old guy with the gray beard and the big forehead. He seemed to be her right-hand man. She said his name during our showdown in the break room.”
“I’m pretty sure he was one of her boyfriends,” Nathan said. “One of many.”
“Well, apparently, we killed him just now,” Rita said. “And I think it was your shot that did it, boss. Not sure. There were a lot of bullets flying around, but he got hit right near the end, when only you and I were still shooting.”
“It was a lucky shot, then. I was barely aiming, to be honest,” Melanie said, “but I’m sure that won’t matter to the Wolverines.”
23
The climb and confrontation had taken its toll on all of them, even Rita. That became clear within the hour, as they got progressively slower and quieter. Finally, no one was talking. They’d all fallen into sullen silence, walking with heads down, backs bent. Melanie was aware of this, and knew it was bad for group morale, but she couldn’t rouse herself to do anything about it. A hundred different things about this whole situation were weighing on her.
Killing people has become entirely too easy, she thought.
Indeed, memories of past violence were bright in her mind. She clearly recalled her own hand pressing a gun to Brian’s forehead weeks earlier, even as he’d locked eyes with her. Pulling the trigger, seeing his body lurch, his head rock back, the spray of the exit wound. It was no small thing to befriend a man and then kill him, but she’d done it without batting an eye.
Shouldn’t it be a whole lot harder to pull the trigger even when we’re in danger?
She didn’t know if similar thoughts were weighing on the others. No one bothered to share, and she didn’t ask. Of course, it wasn’t just the killings that haunted Melanie. Sue Ellen’s threat was ringing in her head.
Blood and suffering! I’m going to make you all pay!
It seemed they managed to transform Sue Ellen from a determined, violent woman into a crazed, bloodthirsty maniac, and Melanie couldn’t help but think that they would come to regret it soon. How were they supposed to get away from this militia? Nothing would stop them from climbing the cliff as soon as the smoke cleared, if not before.
Finally, the group was moving so slowly, they were almost at a standstill. The trees up here on the higher slope were not as dense as the forest below, with plenty of gaps between the trunks. The ground was rocky but firm. That should have made walking easier, but they’d turned into a group of shambling zombies.
“Okay, I think we have to stop for a little while,” Melanie said finally. “Not long. Just enough to collect ourselves.”
There was nowhere especially comfortable to rest. Melanie chose a spot that was a little more open, but it wasn’t a clearing. No one disagreed with her suggestion. Mr. Turner practically dropped to the ground, catching himself against the smooth trunk of a tree and sliding to his knees. Lizzy groaned and sat down beside him. Shona sat down with Dusty, pulling the panting dog into her lap
“I’m breaking out the canteens, guys,” Rita said, sitting down and sliding the straps of the duffel bag off her shoulder. “Give me a second.”
“We didn’t have time to untie the rope from the tree,” Melanie noted, as she sat down on a large rock. “Do we have any more rope in the supplies?”
“Yes, there’s a smaller rope in the backpack,” Mark said, sitting beside her and putting the backpack on the ground between them.
Rita handed the canteen to Shona. “Here. Pass this around. Just one big gulp, guys. No more than that. We might have to make it last.”
Nathan was the only one still standing, digging the toe of his shoe into a soft spot on the ground. Shona took a sip of water and gave Nathan a concerned look. The kid seemed exhausted, bent and wobbly, eyes half-lidded, but he wouldn’t sit down. When the canteen finally reached Melanie, she took a small swallow, then rose and brought it to Nathan.
“Take a drink,” she said, thrusting it at him. “We all have to stay hydrated.”
He resisted for a couple of seconds, but she held it there. Finally, he grunted and grabbed it out of her hand.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Melanie said.
Nathan glanced up at her, then quickly turned away. She didn’t think he was going to answer, but finally he sipped at the canteen and cleared his throat. “One of you is going to get killed. Maybe all of you. And when it happens, it’ll be my fault.”
“Why would you say that?” Shona said. She seemed close to tears.
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” he replied sullenly. He thrust the canteen back at Melanie without looking at her. “If I just surrendered and went with my mom, everyone would be safe. You guys would probably still be living in the factory with plenty of food and clean water and nice beds to sleep in. I’m being selfish. I caused all of this by defying my own mother.”
“No, we made a decision to keep you out of an unsafe environment,” Melanie replied. “We all agreed to it. Don’t forget, Sue Ellen blasted the door off the factory before we ever took a shot at her people. She’s the one who made this violent, not us. Not you.”
“Mom just wants me to become part of the militia,” Nathan said, kicking a stray rock. “That’s all. Is that so bad? She wants me to be like her. And like Grandpa. And like the rest of the men and women in that group. All of those people I hate. I should give in, even if I don’t like it, for the sake of you guys.”
“Nathan…no,” Shona said. “You can’t go with them. Your mom will punish you for defying her. They’ll hurt you.”
“Yeah, probably,” he said, “but they won’t kill me, and that’s the thing. I’ll survive, and you guys will live.”
Melanie stepped around in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. “Hey, Nathan, you told me there’s a lot of violence and bullying in that militia. You told me people are threatened, beaten, mistreated. I’m not sending you back into an environment like that, not against your will.”
“I might get whipped, or locked in a shed, or deprived of food,” he said, “but I’ll have other chances to escape. At least you guys will be able to go somewhere safe without being chased by Mom and her crazy friends. Once I get away, I’ll come and find you.”
“We are not going to let you sacrifice yourself like that,” Melanie said. “Forget it.”
Finally, he pulled out of her grasp and turned away. Shona gently set Dusty aside and rose to meet him, but he pointedly walked away from her.
“Mom said she’s going to kill all of you. Well, you better believe she means it. My mom doesn’t make idle threats, and she’ll kill anyone without batting an eye if they get in her way. She will never give up. Never. But maybe, just maybe, if I were to leave right now and head to her, you guys would have enough time to get far, far away.”
Rita groaned. She was sitting with her back against a tree, her hands clasped on top of her head, black hair sprouting between her fingers like weeds through cracks in a sidewalk. “We didn’t come all this way and take all of these crazy risks just to let you wander off in a fit of self-pity, kid.”
“You don’t understand,” Nathan said. He was standing at the edge of the group, facing back in the direction they’d come from. “Mom is upset about Andrew, but once she has me back under her thumb, I don’t think she’ll waste the manpower to keep chasing you.”
Melanie was afraid Nathan was on the verge of bolting, taking off back toward his mom while everyone else was too tired to stop him, so she approached and stepped in the way. He still wouldn’t look at her.
“Nathan, I don’t care what Sue Ellen said. Her threats won’t sway me,” Melanie said. “She’s crazy. I’m sorry to say it, but your mom is a psycho.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Nathan said with a sigh. “It’s funny. I used to think it would be better if I lived with her instead of my dad. Maybe I’m the one who’s nuts.”
“Stop that,” Melanie said. She grabbed his shoulders again, and this time clamped down just hard enough to make him look up. Finally, his teary eyes met her gaze, his lower lip trembling.
“Sue Ellen is not someone you negotiate with,” Melanie said. “That’s clear. Nathan, if you really wanted to be with your mom, I would let you go, but I can see that you’re terrified. I will not send you back into a place that scares you this much. Whatever happens to us, it won’t be your fault.”
