Charges (43 page)

Forrest moved closer, looming over Vincenzo like an angry, dangerous god. “What you
have
to do is get those kids to Charity.” He stabbed Vincenzo in the chest with one finger. “
You
picked ’em up. They’re
your
responsibility, not mine. Not ours.
Yours
.”

“And what happens if I get taken out? What happens if those marauders catch us on the road? I know what happens to me, Forrest, but what about them?” Vincenzo spread his arms, no easy feat while perched on the Blazer’s front bumper. “I know how to hunt turkeys, but aside from that, I’ve got no skills, man.”

“You say you managed to kill a few people in a standup,” Forrest said.

“Yeah, and that was by luck and because I shot first.”

Forrest stepped back a bit, his expression cloudy. He regarded Vincenzo with suspicious eyes then motioned toward the Blazer. “You almost finished up here?”

Vincenzo replaced the dipstick and wiped his hands on a rag. “Yeah.” He hopped down off the bumper.

“Then come with me. I want to show you something.”

Forrest led him to a training area complete with shooting range behind the concrete building. He showed Vincenzo how to shoot the M1A and his pistols and how to purify water with bleach. He explained the basics of camouflage and showed him some hand-to-hand combat techniques. He showed Vincenzo how to use a knife to kill a man, how to fight off someone who was going for his pistols, how to break an opponent’s fingers and wrists and collarbones. None of it was easy, and by the time darkness fell, Vincenzo felt beat up and battered. Forrest was hardly a gentle teacher when it came to the hard arts of combat.

Forrest finally slapped him on the back, signaling the instruction was at an end. “There. Now you’re a little more ready for the road. You remember this stuff, you’ll be all right. Remember, be smart and avoid contact wherever possible, but if it comes looking for you, be aggressive and act first. You won’t get much in the way of second chances, especially as time goes on.”

“Thanks for the tips,” Vincenzo said.

“Don’t thank me. I didn’t do it for you. I did it for the kids.”

“I know,” Vincenzo said, already thinking about having a nice bowl of milk and Tylenol. “Thanks anyway.”

Forrest grunted and looked back at the squat concrete building in the growing gloom. “Come on. Let’s get back. It’s dinnertime. You guys can bunk with us tonight, but after that, you’re on your own.”

###

The kids seemed happy to see Vincenzo when he got back to the building, as if they’d had their fill of consorting with strangers. Gabby clung to him like a second skin, and even Daniel stuck close by, softly babbling to himself as he favored Vincenzo with a sweet smile. Vincenzo patted him on the head then ushered both kids to the dining area. They ate food he brought in from the Blazer. Daniel had more macaroni and cheese, while Gabby had a can of soup. The rest of the folks in the survivalist camp made small talk with him and the kids, but Vincenzo could tell they’d worn out their welcome, except with Missy. She watched the kids, especially Daniel, with sad eyes. Vincenzo wondered how long she could survive in a world where pain was going to be her constant companion. Then, he remember how Jessie had been wasting away in Los Angeles, and he realized there was nothing that could be done for Missy. She would either get through the coming months of darkness, or she wouldn’t.

After eating, Vincenzo went out to rearrange the gear in the back of the truck. Even though the preppers hadn’t helped themselves to anything, Terrell’s search had been thorough, and the supplies were haphazardly tossed around in there. It took Vincenzo an hour to organize and repack everything, and by then, it was full-on dark.

The sleeping quarters on the second story were full, so Vincenzo spread their sleeping bags in a corner on the ground floor. He helped the kids brush their teeth and get ready for bed. Gabby was easy, since she had the routine down cold even at her young age. Daniel kept turning his head away from the toothbrush. Missy tried to help, but surprisingly, Daniel was even less open to her than to Vincenzo. Vincenzo finally grabbed the boy’s chin and held his face in place. Daniel became a little more compliant, though he still whined throughout the process. He smacked his lips when Vincenzo finished.

“See, that wasn’t so bad. Was it?” Vincenzo asked him.

Daniel made a raspberry and waved his hands in front of his face. “Pawty, please.”

Vincenzo took him to the small restroom and sat him on the toilet. That was a struggle, as well. While Daniel had no problem standing in front of a toilet to pee, sitting down on one was apparently a different matter. He kept trying to get up and leave, and he squawked and cried when Vincenzo refused to let him. It took the better part of an hour, but eventually Daniel did what he had to do. Once the boy was finished, Vincenzo wiped him clean then washed his hands and face. The kids changed into some pajamas that had been laundered by the preppers, free of charge. Gabby was able to dress herself, but Vincenzo had to take care of Daniel. He put on a fresh diaper and helped him step into his pajamas, then pulled the top over his head. Vincenzo found himself getting angry at this point. The boy just wasn’t able to do anything on his own.

Suck it up and get him to his mother, guy,
he told himself.
Just get through the next couple of days.

At one point, Gabby became a bit weepy. She asked Vincenzo how he thought her father was doing. Vincenzo said her dad was just fine and that she see him when they got to her mother. He had no problem telling the lie. It was certainly preferable to passing on that her father’s cold corpse was probably feeding thousands of bugs and birds and raccoons back in Pennsylvania.

They got into their sleeping bags and got comfortable. There was an armed guard on the floor with them, and more patrolled the grounds outside. When the generator was cut off for the night, Daniel reached out and touched Vincenzo’s lips in the darkness. Vincenzo tried to dissuade him from that, but there was no stopping the boy. Daniel apparently needed the contact in order to wind down for the day. Gabby was already asleep, her breathing deep and heavy. After a few minutes of rustling about, Daniel slipped into sleep as well.

Vincenzo lay on his back and listened to the sounds of the building as it cooled in the night, his thoughts on the trip before him, and of his family.

Sleep took its sweet time in finding him.

35

Vincenzo awoke hours later to the sounds of people running through the concrete building. At first, he thought he was dreaming, so he just lay there between the two kids, blinking in the semi-darkness.

A shape crouched over him. “Tony?” Missy whispered.

Vincenzo rubbed his eyes then got up, glad he had slept in his clothes. Missy led him a few feet away, where several men were in the midst of arming themselves. A grim-faced Terrell was among them, but Vincenzo didn’t see Forrest.

“What’s up?” Vincenzo asked.

“The OP to the south was overrun,” Missy said, her voice tight. “The same place where we found you and the kids. Some force rolled up on them and took out all but one of the guys. He’s hunkered down, keeping them in sight, and it looks like they’re heading up here.”

Vincenzo swallowed as a bolt of fear cut through his sleepy torpor. “Okay. Now what?”

“You need to take the kids and get out,” Missy said. “Forrest says the sooner you get gone, the better. Once things get hot and those bastards make it up here, you might be out of chances.”

“Well, are you sure they’ll make it here?” Vincenzo glanced at his watch. It was two minutes past five in the morning.

“Tony, if I didn’t think they were, we wouldn’t be talking. From what I know, it’s a big force. Forrest is heading out now to check on it. If I were you, I wouldn’t wait around to see what he has to say when he makes contact. If they’re big enough, they could put up a perimeter around the entire building.”

Vincenzo didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Yeah, okay. Let me get the kids, and then we’re gone.”

###

“But I don’t want to go,” Gabby whined, tears spilling from her eyes.

Vincenzo could barely hear her over Daniel’s howling. Both kids had been extremely upset to be roused from perhaps the first comfortable, deep sleep they’d had since the event. Vincenzo was sympathetic, but there was nothing else to do. He rolled up their sleeping bags and tossed them into the back of the Blazer.

Missy stuck around long enough to help him get the kids buckled into the backseat. “You need to get some car seats,” she told Vincenzo. “Remember that. You’ve got to protect these kids.”

“I know, I know,” Vincenzo said. “Listen, is there any chance that you can ask Terrell about this missile silo? He said it was on High Point Road, but is there anything more specific?”

“What, you mean like an address? No, Tony. The Air Force didn’t really publish street addresses and driving directions to their nuclear missile silos. But all that said, High Point Road near Kansas City in Pettis County, Missouri, sounds pretty solid. Even a limousine liberal like you should be able to find that, right?”

“Sure, no problem,” Vincenzo said through clenched teeth. That was one thing about the preppers that grated on him, the whole conservative, holy-roller attitude they sent in his direction.

Somewhere not too far away, a ferocious volley of gunfire broke out. Vincenzo and Missy spun in that direction and listened. It went on for several seconds, vicious and intense.

Missy pulled the AR-style rifle slung over her shoulder into her hands. “Sounds like they’ve got more than their fair share of automatic weapons.”

The radio on her hip chirped, and Forrest’s voice came out of its small speaker. “Home plate, you’ve got about two hundred goblins headed for the fence. We’re not able to slow them down, and we’re falling back! Over.”

The radio call was acknowledged by Terrell. Missy looked up at Vincenzo with wide, fearful eyes then she turned back to the kids. Gabby was quiet, while Daniel cooed, sounding nervous but not yet in the meltdown stage.

“Gabby, take care of your brother,” Missy said. “You’re going to be all right. Listen to what Tony says, okay?”

“I want my mommy and daddy,” Gabby whispered. More tears were building up in her eyes.

“You’ll be with them soon. Tony’s going to take you there. Be strong, okay?”

Gabby sniffed and nodded. “Okay.”

“I hope you have the time to find your way back to the Lord. His strength will help you through everything,” Missy said.

A blast of full automatic gunfire rippled through the air to the south.

Will He save you from being shot and raped, Missy?
Vincenzo thought.

Missy leaned in, kissed Daniel on the top of his head, and cupped his cheek with one hand. He regarded her for a long moment then gave her a small smile. Missy smiled back, and when she straightened, there were tears in her eyes as well. “He’s helpless,” she told Vincenzo. “Protect him. Both of them.”

“I will,” Vincenzo said.

A muted explosion tore through the air, deep and resonant. It was time to get the hell out of Dodge.

Vincenzo pulled the M1A off his shoulder and laid it across the front passenger seat. “Is there another way out of this place?”

“We have another gate in the back. You’ll have to cut across a trail to the north, but it’ll take you to a road. If you turn left, you’ll find your way back to Route 40. That’ll take you toward Columbus. If you go right, you’ll head north to 22, but that takes you down to 40, eventually.”

Vincenzo nodded. He’d already researched the route, and Route 40 was what he wanted. “I know. All right, we’re on our way. Best of luck to you guys, Missy.”

She nodded and, after another long look at Daniel, backed away from the Blazer. Vincenzo thought she looked like a woman who knew she was walking right into the jaws of death, but she put on a strong face for the kids. He swung into the Blazer and started it. Vincenzo dropped the engine into gear and, after one final wave to Missy, pulled away from the concrete building.

Did I lead the bad guys here?
he wondered as he drove around to the back of the
 
property. No one had been following him, at least as far as he had been able to tell. And the preppers had found him and the kids, not the other way around.

The people manning the back gate waved for him to halt while they opened the exit, then they motioned him through. They looked hard-faced but nervous, and Vincenzo couldn’t blame them.

“Enjoy your day. Hope you appreciated our hospitality,” one of them snapped as Vincenzo pulled the Blazer through the opening.

Without responding, Vincenzo goosed the accelerator and sent the Blazer bumping down the trail outside the fence.

“Chock it, I want chock it,” Daniel said.

“In a bit, pal. In a bit.”

The Blazer bumped its way down the trail, which eventually led them to a back country road. Vincenzo turned right, away from the direction of US 40. He didn’t know how big the marauder force was, but it was certainly of a good size if it had passed through Wheeling. It was obvious to him that they were following the same route he was, so he wanted to add some separation. If they were going to attack Forrest’s group of preppers, they would be held up for at least a couple of hours. By then, Vincenzo would be long gone.

He drove through the brightening morning, and for once, the kids were quiet in the back seat. In that moment, Vincenzo thought it was almost like they were a family, setting out on an early morning road trip.

Even if it was a road trip through Hell, where fathers were shot dead for what they carried on their backs and their little kids raped by two-legged monsters that Vincenzo had never really prepared himself to meet.

Not too late to leave them on the side of the road,
paisan
,
the snarky little voice inside him said.
Go on, do yourself a favor. Save yourself the trouble. Boot them out of the truck, and keep heading west. They’re not your people. Get rid of them. They’ll only slow you down. Get in the way. Get you killed.

Vincenzo sighed.
Please fuck off and die,
he urged the voice.

Sure thing,
paisan
. Just as soon as you do. We’re in this together, buddy-boy.

Vincenzo gripped the steering wheel tightly as he fought to keep the dark thoughts at bay. There was something seductive about that little voice, that definitely id-driven little voice that counseled nothing but smooth sailing and the easy path. And he was surprised at how receptive he was to it. For an instant—and only an instant—he actually contemplated doing its bidding. Stopping the Blazer, getting out, hauling out the kids, and driving away. If he could figure out a way to do that and still live with himself, then that’s what he would do.

Instead, Vincenzo continued driving. In a truck that wasn’t his, carrying along two kids that didn’t belong to him. He would deliver the kids to their mother, and then he would find his way across the remaining expanse of the United States to find his own family. There was no other option right now.

He would do it all, or die trying.

The Blazer rolled down the road, trailing fallen leaves in its wake.