The McClane Apocalypse Book Five (60 page)

Simon lowers Sam to her feet, and she follows
Cory into the cabin.

“Good,” he declares. “Nobody’s been here.
That’s a good thing.”

“There isn’t any electricity here,
sis,” Simon informs her as he leads her inside. “No
gennie
, either. Sorry. It’s definitely
what you’d call roughing it.”

“This is a lot better than many of the places
my friends and I stayed, so don’t worry about us,” Paige answers as
she looks around.

“But there’s water. Just pump it into
the sink. Same in the bathroom.
There’s
a toilet and sink in there. We try to keep it stocked with
soap and towels. You girls can get cleaned up while we’re gone,”
Cory offers kindly as he slings rifles and packs onto the single
table.

Paige looks around the small, one room
shack. A wood-burning stove, slightly smaller than the one in their
cabin back at the farm, stands in the far corner.
A wide
, ceramic farm sink is connected
to two base cupboards and a short countertop. The
well
pump is mounted to the top of
the
sink
.

“I’ll start a fire,” Cory says and darts to
the stove.

Simon calls over to him and says, “Thanks,
man.”

Her brother is still tending to
Samantha, who he has moved to sit on one of the two beds; one of
which is a small twin size and the other perhaps a queen. There is
an oak nightstand separating the two beds. A lantern rests on the
stand. She’s thankful for the three
lanterns
and quite a few candles she spies spread
around the small, dimly lit cabin. It’s going to be dark soon. It’s
going to be pitch dark in this cabin without those. With her
brother and Cory about to leave her, she’s feeling especially on
edge at the idea of being alone and being in charge. Her bravado-
what little she ever had- is waning. She’s never been here before,
so she’s not sure what to expect. Plus, she has the added
responsibility of looking after Sam. It’s not like she could just
run if something bad happens because Sam is in no shape to run with
her.

“Paige, get me some towels,” Simon
requests without looking up from Sam where he
is knelt in front of her
. “They’re in the cupboard
in the bathroom.”

Paige moves quickly to the bathroom
after she drops her pack on the bed. The bathroom is
simple like
the rest of the log cabin. A
pedestal sink, a
toilet
and an
antique claw-foot bathtub are the only fixtures other than the
cupboard for linens and towels. She grabs a few of the towels,
likely brought by the family from the farm or found on a run for
supplies to Nashville. She rushes back to the main room and hands
them to her brother.

“Grab me some cleansing fluid from my medical
bag,” he instructs as he unwraps the gauze from Sam’s hands.

“Sure,” Paige says in a rush and kneels on
one knee beside him where his bag has been placed.

Cory takes one of the towels to the sink
where he pumps water onto it. He wrings it out and brings it back
to Simon.

“I’ll fetch a bucket of water for ya, Doc,”
he says to her brother.

Simon sends an impatient look in Cory’s
direction. He hates it when anyone calls him a doctor. He turns
back to
Sam,
who is sitting
stoically while he tends to her.

“Do you want me to get some soap?” Paige
asks. “You know, so that you can wash that blood off?”

“It’s mostly hers, the blood on her hands,”
he explains as he tosses the one bandage to the floor.

“Really? What happened, Sam?” she asks her
friend.

Sam just shrugs as if she doesn’t know. Her
shoulders slump again and she goes back to watching Simon work
diligently. Cory returns a moment later with a small bucket of
water.

“It’s cold,” he tells Simon as he places it
near his knee.

Her brother looks up at her and says, “She’s
cut herself.”

Cory touches Paige’s arm and nods over his
shoulder to indicate they should talk elsewhere. She follows him to
the sink where he rinses the bloody rag Simon surrendered to
him.

“She cut her hands when she was stabbing that
guy,” Cory explains.

“Really. How?”

Cory sighs softly and says, “It happens.
There may have been a struggle and she was cut on her hands. Or
once she stabbed him once or twice, his blood would’ve got on her
hands. It made her hands slip on the hilt and then they would’ve
slid forward. She probably didn’t even feel it. Simon will check
her cuts to see if any are deep enough for stitches.”

“Oh my gosh,” Paige exclaims. “I pray she’s
ok. I hope she isn’t in pain.”

“She’s tougher than you think,” he tells her
as the blood water swirls down the drain.

“I know. It’s just hard to remember because
she’s so tiny and sweet, too,” Paige says sadly. Her heart is
broken for what’s happened to her friend.

Cory turns toward her and places a large hand
on her shoulder. Then he says, “All women, you included, Red, are
tougher than we give you credit for.”

Paige grins and replies, “Wow, you sound like
a feminist.”

“Does that mean I like sexy, feminine women
like you?” he whispers with an ornery smile.

“No, shh!” she scolds. “That’s not what a
feminist is.”

The way he is smiling, Paige knows that he
understands the meaning of the word and that he’s just messing with
her.

Static comes across the radio on Cory’s hip.
It’s his brother back at the farm.

“Rendezvous with the Mechanic is a go,” Kelly
tells him.

She takes the wet rag from him and returns to
her brother’s side so that Cory can continue his conversation with
Kelly.

“Here, Simon,” she says, extending the cloth
to her brother. “Is she ok? Does she need stitches?”

“No, the cuts are very shallow. I’ll patch
her up. You’ll just keep an eye on her for me while I’m gone. I’ll
check her hands again when I get home later,” he says.

She doesn’t even like to think about
him leaving again or the reason for their trip. She wants to
go
home
to the farm where it’s
safe. Her flight or fight instincts are kicking in and telling her
to fly.

“Sure, no problem,” Paige tells him and sits
on the bed next to Sam.

“Maybe you can get water heated on the
wood-burner and help her get washed up in the tub later this
evening while we’re gone,” Simon says, meeting her eyes for the
first time. His are troubled and angry.

“Absolutely. We’ll both get all dolled up and
have some girl time without you lugs around,” Paige declares,
trying to be light and casual. She has no idea how to handle this
situation with Sam. She mostly feels like breaking down and bawling
like a child over what’s happened to her little friend.

Simon washes away the blood splatters on
Sam’s hands, applies a cream and re-bandages them carefully.

“Do it just like you watched me bandage them,
all right, Paige?” her brother asks.

“Yes,” she says confidently, but she’s not
sure she can do it quite so professionally or perfectly as
Simon.

“You eat some food and let Paige help
you, ok, honey?” Simon
says softly
to Sam.

Samantha gives him a barely perceptible
nod.

“I need to use the bathroom,” she finally
says as Simon stands.

“Sure,” Paige says quickly. “Do you want me
to come with you?”

Sam shakes her head and goes to the small
bathroom by herself where she shuts the door quietly.

“Shit!” Paige
hisses
.

“She’ll be ok, sis,” Simon tells her
gently.

“We need to roll soon, brother,” Cory says as
he enters the cabin again from wherever he’d gone.

“On it,” Simon agrees with a nod.

Paige watches with great fascination as the
men ready themselves and their weapons for the coming night
assault. Simon whips off his shirt, tossing it onto the floor.

“Oh, um… should I go outside? Do you
guys want some privacy?” Paige
mumbles
uncomfortably. It doesn’t bother her that Simon is changing
in front of her. He’s her brother. But Cory is another thing
altogether.

“You
’re
fine
, sis,” Simon consoles her.

Cory laughs obnoxiously at her and says,
“Really?”

She sends him a warning scowl. Simon changes
without shame in front of her, pulling on black pants and a
matching hoodie. Cory goes to the other side of the table where he
throws down his pack and does the same. Only he doesn’t pull on a
hoodie or a jacket. He seems content to wear a tight black t-shirt
and camouflage pants.

“Aren’t you going to be cold?”
Paige
inquires
from her spot on
the bed.

He turns toward her as he buckles his belt
and says, “I’m pretty hot-blooded.” With his next comment, he
winks. “Don’t you know that by now?”

Paige blushes and turns away.

“Leave her alone, man,” Simon says, falsely
defending her. “Get your head in the game.”

“My head’s always in the game, Professor.
Remember?” Cory says with a grin.

Paige doesn’t want to think about that. She
knows he’s killed a lot of people, and she’s also fairly confident
he’s always ready to do so again.

“Don’t be foolin’ around,” Simon chastises
like he’s Cory’s big brother. Cory just chuckles at him.

He loads many magazines of ammo into
his cargo pockets. Her brother doesn’t load as many
mags
but does take ammo for his sniper
rifle. Then they both remove a small tub of black grease from their
packs and smear the sticky contents around on their faces. Seeing
them perform this final preparation makes Paige’s stomach do flips.
She is
truly
frightened she’ll
never see them again.

“Do you want to eat before you go?” Paige
asks, preparing to dig food out of the crate and make them
something.

“Nah, we’ll take some stuff with us,” Cory
answers for them.

Sam emerges from the bathroom and just stands
there staring at Cory slapping his ammo mag into the bottom of his
rifle. Both men load packs onto their backs.

“I don’t want you to go,” she says
directly to
Simon
as if they are
the only two people in the room.

Her brother
sighs,
furrows his brow and crosses the room to
her. He gathers tiny Sam into his arms and holds her close before
kissing the top of her dark head.

“I’ll bring him back in one piece, kiddo,”
Cory offers to give her hope.

It doesn’t seem to work. Sam clings
tighter.

“I’ll be back soon,” Simon says to her. “Stay
inside with Paige. Lock the door when we leave. Keep an eye out.
You’ll both be safe here.”

“We’ll be careful, Simon,” Paige says to her
brother.

He dislodges himself from Sam, places her on
the bed again, and leads Paige outside of the cabin where Cory is
now waiting.

“Got your rifle and handgun?” Simon asks.

The setting sun behind him is spinning gold
through his dark auburn hair before he pulls a black stocking cap
over it. She also doesn’t want him to go, but she also knows there
isn’t a damn thing she can do to stop them.

“Yes,” she answers with a frown.

“Get her to eat something. It’ll help settle
her nerves. Take your time with her. She’s in shock,” Simon tells
her.

“Oh,” Paige says with surprise. “I didn’t
know that.”

Her brother lays his hand on top of her
head. Paige rushes
into
him, hugs
him close.

“You’ll be safe here. Anyone but us comes,
then shoot them through the door. Don’t even bother opening it. Be
careful they don’t flank the cabin. Then get to the Suburban with
Sam and go home. We’ll meet you at the farm. But I don’t think
anything will happen or I wouldn’t leave you two here.”

“When will you be back?” she asks
nervously.

“Sometime in the middle of the night I
suspect. It’ll take us a while to run all the way to that end of
the city,” he says.

“Ok, I’ll wait up. I’ll take care of Sam.
Don’t worry about us. Just come back safe, Simon,” she pleads
softly, trying not to cry, although she feels the tears piling up
and threatening to spill over.

Simon kisses her cheek, touches her shoulder
again and turns to go.

“Ready?” he asks Cory, who has been standing
a few yards away to give them some privacy.

“I’ll catch up,” he answers, earning a
distrustful look from Simon.

Her brother relents and jogs away.
Watching her brother disappear into the forest around them starts
her heart beating too quickly for its own
good
. She twists her hands together nervously.
Paige then presses both hands to her mouth to stop herself from
calling him back.

She turns back toward the cabin, thinking
Cory’s forgotten something. However, he’s just standing there
looking at her. He’s pulled his hair back into a tight ponytail.
The look in his dark eyes is feral and barely controlled. He’s
ready for this fight. She can see it in him. He’s out for blood
tonight. He doesn’t say anything, which makes her shift her weight
uncomfortably to her other foot.

She shakes her head at him with confusion and
says, “What?”

He doesn’t answer but stalks forward,
grabs her shoulders roughly and hauls her up against him for a
searing kiss that burns her lips against his. Cory’s hands move
from her shoulders to sink deeply into her thick hair. His
tongue
plunges
into her mouth,
taking from her some small piece of Paige’s inhibitions. His arms
wrap around her and Cory lifts her clean off the ground. Her heart
is pounding even harder. Her hands rest against his chest,
exploring the broadness, the deep grooves of his pectoral muscles,
and the hard planes. He breaks the kiss as quickly as he started it
and sets her back to her feet. Then he steps away from her and
chucks her under the chin with his fist.