No Ordinary Mission: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller Read online

  Out of an abundance of precaution, John grabbed the rifle before opening the door. He hobbled toward the fire, trying his best to ignore the discomfort.

  Emma smiled up at him. “Good morning sleepyhead. Or should I say good night? Feeling any better?”

  John eased down onto a fallen log beside her. “A bit,” he lied.

  “You don’t look any better.” Raymond poked at the fire with a charred branch. “You look like hell.”

  John ignored the accurate assessment. “Thank you again for patching me up.”

  Raymond jabbed the fire again and sparks crackled in the air. “Don’t mention it.” Based on the tone, John guessed he meant it.

  An energy bar and a bottle of water entered John’s field of vision and he turned to find Emma holding them out with a smile. He took them with a grateful nod and nibbled on the bar in silence, letting the conversations around him fade into the background. It took all his strength to stay upright and conscious. If he didn’t start to improve by the morning, he would have to break down and take the antibiotics Raymond offered. He’d taken a handful after the bullet wound but hated to waste them. A single bottle of pills wouldn’t last long among six people.

  They needed to conserve, and he could tough it out. Usually.

  Raymond’s raised voice cut through John’s thoughts, and he blinked back into the moment.

  “You need to smash it. Now.”

  Vince held what appeared to be a satellite phone in his hand. John raised an eyebrow. Vince didn’t seem like the type to have high-tech equipment just laying around. “Where’d you get it?”

  “It’s that murderer’s.” Raymond’s shoulders bunched and his nose wrinkled in frustration. “I thought you destroyed it.”

  Vince reached up and adjusted the cowboy hat on his head. “Didn’t seem like the right thing to do. I figured it might come in handy, with the cell phone’s not working and whatnot. We know this works. We saw Willy use it.”

  Emma leaned toward John. “Do you think it’s tracked? Will they know where we are?”

  John thought it over. “I don’t think so.” He pointed to the scab on his arm where he’d removed the microchip. “They had other means to keep track of us.”

  Raymond leaned back and crossed his arms, face still marred by a scowl. “If it’s all the same to you, I’m not going to take your word for it. You don’t have the best track record.”

  John held up a hand. “Fair enough.” He turned his attention to Vince. “If you don’t want to destroy it, then keep it powered off for now.”

  “Unless everyone disagrees, that’s exactly what I intend to do.” Vince waited, glancing at each member of the group in turn. When no one voiced an opinion, he slid the phone back in his bag beside him.

  After a few minutes, Raymond relaxed and the conversation around John resumed. While they all talked over and around him, trading stories and planning the next day’s drive, John stared at Vince’s bag, a plan percolating in his mind.

  Chapter Five

  EMMA

  “What do you mean it won’t start?” Ray palmed the fender of the old truck, leaning over the engine as Vince pointed to the radiator.

  “That shot those kids took at us, pretty sure they clipped the radiator. Thing’s been leaking all night.”

  “Any way to fix it?”

  “Here?” Vince glanced around at the grove of trees. “Not unless there’s a Napa Auto Parts on the other side of that field.”

  Raymond swore. “I knew taking the trailer was a mistake.”

  “How much can that SUV of yours tow?”

  Ray glanced up. “The Explorer?” He ran a hand over his hair. “It might be able to handle the trailer, but it won’t be fast. We’d be sitting ducks on the road.”

  Emma busied herself with cleaning the handful of utensils used at breakfast and packing the uneaten food back into the vehicles. She’d already come between Raymond and Vince the day before, advocating for the trailer. She couldn’t step in again. The door to the Jeep opened and John eased down onto the ground. He still favored his leg, but his color seemed a bit improved from the ashen pallor of the day before.

  He reached for a bottle of water as Vince spoke again. “We have to think long-term. These animals could be the difference between surviving and not.”

  “Or they could be our death sentence.”

  “What’s the issue?” John spoke between mouthfuls of water.

  Raymond turned a critical eye in John’s direction, sizing up his health before motioning at the truck. “Thing’s a brick. Vince wants to hook the trailer up to the Explorer. It’ll tow it, but barely.”

  John glanced at Emma. “We’re not far enough away from the farmhouse to be in the clear.”

  “We can’t just leave the horses here.” Emma shoved the last of the case of water back into the Explorer. “We’ve come this far with them; I say we see it through.”

  John stepped forward, face unreadable. “It puts you at risk.”

  A goat bleated and Holly’s laughter echoed through the trees. Leaving the animals behind would kill her. Emma refused to be a part of that disappointment. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” She turned to Raymond. “If Gloria disagrees, then we can figure out a different solution, but I agree with Vince. We need to bring the trailer.”

  Raymond stalked off to find his wife and Vince set to work detaching the trailer from the truck and removing the hitch.

  Emma turned to talk to John, but he’d already moved away, using a fallen tree branch as a crutch, he hobbled away from the vehicles and into the woods. She frowned after him. He’d been quiet all night at the fire, barely responding with more than one-word answers, never asking a single question. Now he walked off without a word.

  Were his injuries bothering him more than he let on? The bruising around his nose settled into a purple and yellow pattern and the swelling had reduced enough that his voice lost the nasal edge. But he didn’t seem himself. Not the John she’d grown to care for, anyway.

  “Hey, Emma?”

  She turned.

  “Any chance you can help me with this hitch? We need to move it to the Explorer if we’re going to tow the trailer.”

  Emma shoved her worry about John into the back of her mind as she stepped forward to help Vince. “Whatever you need, I’m happy to help.”

  “Good.”

  They worked together, first prying the tow hitch out of the slot on the truck, before hauling it over to the Explorer. Vince eased it down to the ground and rested his weight on the bumper as he caught his breath.

  “Water?” Emma held out a half-empty bottle.

  “No, I’m fine.” Vince pushed off the vehicle and stretched to his full height. “Just not as young as I used to be, that’s all.”

  Silence stretched between them until Raymond’s raised voice carried from somewhere beyond their vision. Emma peered through the trees, straining to catch a glimpse of Gloria’s purple shirt or Raymond’s broad shoulders.

  “How’s John holding up? To be honest, I’m surprised he’s conscious.”

  Emma pulled her attention away from the out-of-sight argument long enough to answer. “He’s not acting like himself. Withdrawn, quiet. I think he’s in pain.”

  “You care about him.”

  It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact. She nodded. “I do. Is that so terrible?”

  He smiled and the wrinkles around his mouth deepened. “Not at all. In fact, I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”

  “Why do you say that?” Defensiveness rose up inside her and she wrapped her arms around herself. “Am I that obvious?”

  Vince chuckled. “I meant after all you two have been through together. You saving his life, him saving yours. High-stakes situations tend to bring people together, that’s all.”

  Emma thought about her parents. How they met on the bus going to elementary school, her mom in fourth, her dad in sixth. How her father stood up to a bully on the bus, a hardscrabble kid
from a farm a few miles down the road, and protected her mom. They became fast friends and started dating in high school. It wasn’t a shootout with hired killers or the end of the modern world, but it was high stakes to a ten-year-old little girl.

  “Is that a bad thing?” She looked up at Vince through watery eyes. “Meeting someone like that?”

  “It’s not good or bad. It just is.” He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “Trust your instincts, Emma. They’ve served you well.”

  She swallowed down a wave of emotion. The story of how her parents met brought with it an ache nothing would fill. Were they surviving? Were they staying safe on their farm in Idaho? Or had people come for them, too? She sniffed and wiped her nose.

  “Was it something I said?”

  “Oh, no.” Emma smiled up at Vince, catching a tear with the back of her hand before it tracked her cheek. “I was thinking of my family. My mom and dad. I hope they’re all right.”

  “If you’re anything like them, then I’m betting they are just fine.”

  Emma tucked her chin. “You’re probably right.”

  “About what?” Gloria smiled as she approached with Raymond trailing a few paces behind.

  “It’s nothing.” Emma lowered her voice and leaned closer. “Are you two okay?”

  Gloria waved her off. “Of course. Ray’s not thrilled about towing the trailer, but he’s agreed to give it a try. I told him we’ll move as many cases of food to the Jeep as possible. Help lighten the load.”

  Emma exhaled in relief. Finally, something she could handle. “I’ll get started.” She hurried to the back of the Jeep and opened the rear door. If she shifted a few things around, they might squeeze in three of four. Dust kicked up beside her as Tank barreled past, Pringles on his heels. The little dog yipped and nipped at Tank’s ankles and Tank barked in response before twisting around to bow in play.

  Having each other meant a word of difference for the two dogs, easing the anxiety of traveling to new places and dealing with unexpected threats. Emma flicked her eyes up to stare out at the trees where John had disappeared. Did she mean something to him? Was she the difference between a bad day and a good one?

  She reached inside the Jeep and tugged a half-empty case of canned beans over to make room. Once they reached Vince’s cabin in Texas, they would have time to breathe and relax. Time to get to know each other better. Maybe she could find out how he really felt.

  Chapter Six

  EMMA

  The horse trailer brake lights lit up and the vehicle slowed. Emma straightened up in the seat. She’d been driving in silence for hours, with John sleeping in the back with Tank curled up beside him. Holly had intermittently dozed in the passenger seat, waking long enough to confirm the scenery hadn’t changed before twisting around and nodding off.

  They needed the sleep, John especially, and Emma didn’t begrudge them, but as the hours stretched on, her mind wandered. From John’s withdrawal into himself, to Dane’s repeated attacks, to a future without power. They had been running non-stop ever since the grid collapse and Emma had shoved down any thoughts about the future, focusing instead on the immediate moment. The ever-present danger.

  If they survived… If John found a way to neutralize Dane… What would the future look like? Would Gloria and Ray go back to their cabin in North Georgia? Would Vince take Holly in and live out here in the woods? She glanced at the sleeping girl as she turned down an unmarked dirt road to follow the Explorer.

  A thicket of weeds on the side of the road gave way to a hardwood forest. Smaller understory trees competed for sunlight, crowding the dirt tire tracks leading deeper into the property. A quarter-mile in, the dirt track curved and the Explorer slowed to edge around the corner, horse trailer bumping and swaying over the rough terrain. A worn metal ladder led twenty feet up a tree to a deer stand perched over the small clearing.

  Emma couldn’t see Holly making this place a home. As the Jeep traversed the ruts, Holly stirred. “What’s happening? Is something wrong?” Her eyelashes fluttered as her head bumped against the passenger side window.

  “We’re off-road, on Vince’s land.” Emma smiled as Holly leaned forward to peer out the windshield. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Fine, I guess.” The girl’s mouth hung open as she looked around. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

  “I think that’s the point. He said he used the place for hunting, remember?”

  Up ahead, the trees thinned, and the Explorer pulled off into a patch of weeds. A cabin, if you could call it that, perched at the edge of the clearing. A combination of cedar shake and corrugated metal lined the exterior walls, with more metal covering the roof. A pair of mismatched windows flanked a faded front door, paint peeling and flaking off the wood.

  “Is this the place?” Holly braced herself against the dash as she stared.

  “I’m guessing, yes.” Emma exhaled as she shifted the Jeep into park. “Although I was hoping for a little bit more, to be honest.”

  “Same.” Holly turned to her, eyebrows dipped in worry. “I don’t see how we can stay here.”

  Emma put on a brave face. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe the inside is nicer than the outside.” She glanced at the dash. “Besides, we’re almost out of gas. Even if this turns out not to be habitable, we have to stay for a while. At least until we can fill up again.”

  She opened the driver’s side door as Vince climbed out of the Explorer. He rested his hands on his hips as he surveyed the property. “Like I said, it’s a bit primitive, but this is it.”

  Gloria eased out of the vehicle next, and she caught Emma’s eye. They didn’t have to say a word to come to the same conclusion. Primitive was an understatement. Emma turned to Vince with as big a smile as she could muster. “How about you give us a tour?”

  “Sure thing.” He pointed toward the cabin. “Up here’s the main structure. It isn’t much, but the roof doesn’t leak and there’s enough room for everyone to sleep.” He climbed the three wood steps, waving his hand in broad arcs in front of his face to pull away the cobwebs as he reached for the front door. “I haven’t been here for a few months, so it’ll need a good cleaning.”

  Vince opened the door and stepped into the dark interior. Everyone else lingered outside. Emma walked over to Gloria who stood with her hands in front of her, worrying them back and forth. “We should have an open mind, don’t you think?”

  “Of course. It’s just—” Gloria looked back at the Explorer and her husband who still sat inside. “Ray is going to freak out. All he’s going to think about is what we left behind at our place.”

  “It still beats dying, though, doesn’t it?”

  Vince called out from inside. “Found a lamp, y’all should be able to see a bit better now. Come on in!”

  Emma tucked her chin and made her way toward the cabin, willing herself to look on the bright side. They were alive, with food and water and a roof over their heads. It would have to be enough. She stepped into a tiny room no bigger than 200 square feet. Half of the space was mostly empty, with a cot snuggled against one wall and a wood stove perched in the opposite corner.

  The other half consisted of a worn table, a handful of chairs, and what passed for a kitchen. An oversized cooler sat on a bench with plastic bins tucked away beneath. A metal table with two sink basins and a Coleman camp stove sat beneath another window, a five-gallon jug of water upside down and leaning over the basin.

  Vince pointed at it. “Don’t have running water out here, but the jug does the job. Just open up the spigot and it’s like a faucet.” He loped forward and pulled back a makeshift flannel curtain to reveal a bit of plumbing and a five-gallon bucket. “I dump the gray water out back. Sometimes use it to wash up the place, get the spiders down, that sort of thing.”

  “Is there a bathroom?” Holly stood at the entrance to the cabin, head on a swivel.

  Vince stood and lifted the oil lamp in his hand until it cast a warm arc of light across the floor
. “Outhouse out back. But I better give it a once-over before anyone uses it. Spiders like to hide in all the nooks and crannies when it’s not in use.”

  The teenager visibly shuddered.

  “If you’ve really got to go, there’s always the woods.” Vince tipped his hat back and smiled, but Holly didn’t reciprocate. Vince’s face fell in slow motion, jovial, look-on-the-bright-side attitude replaced with hurt feelings and doubt.

  Emma chastised herself. Stomping all over his generosity would get them nowhere. So it wasn’t the Taj Mahal? So what? They were alive and far away from Dane’s men. She stepped forward. “I bet those horses could really use a break from that trailer.”

  “You’re right. They sure could.” Vince managed to tuck his emotions away and wave the oil lamp toward the door. “Holly, do you think you’d be able to help with that? Cornflower’s really taken a shine to you.”

  “Sure thing.” She ducked outside without another word.

  Emma watched her go before reaching out to give Vince’s arm a squeeze. “Don’t mind her. She’s tired and out of sorts.”

  Vince reached up and pulled his hat off. His matted salt and pepper hair stuck up in a clump and he smoothed it down. “The cabin’s not much, but it should be safe.”

  “I know. And we’re grateful, Vince. Truly, we are.” Emma wished she’d talked to Holly more and tempered her expectations. But she’d been so wrapped up in John and Dane and escaping the threat, she hadn’t had much time for a teenager and her unpredictable emotions. Emma watched Holly unlock the trailer and swing the door wide. “She’ll come around. She just needs some time.”

  “If I’d known it would be a problem—”

  Emma turned back to Vince. “It’s not. Or at least it won’t be for long. Teenagers are funny that way. Even small things are monumental in the moment. Don’t you remember?”

  “To tell the truth, not really. It’s been a long time.” He set the oil lamp on the dusty table and fingered the brim of his hat, running it around in his hands as he focused on the floor.