Pandemic: The Beginning (Pandemic Book One) Page 16

  Subtly shaking her head, she focused on the conversation.

  “We should move anything of value,” Matt said, “like food and water, out of this house. There’s no telling what they’ll do to our house.”

  What did he mean? Did he think those men would destroy her house? Angered and saddened all at the same time, she didn’t know what to say.

  “What about the RV?” Dylan, who’d been taking it all in, asked. “Should we move that? It’s pretty valuable.”

  “Absolutely,” Matt said with a smile.

  “I know a safe place you can store it,” Derrick said. “There’s an older house at the end of my street with a barn in the back. One of those houses that was here way before they built our neighborhood. Unfortunately, the man who owns the place didn’t make it. But that means it’s up for grabs. I, uh, I checked it out a few days ago and there’s some old junk in the barn, but there’s enough room for your rig.”

  Matt nodded. “Great idea.”

  Derrick turned to Jeff and Emily. “Our houses could be targets as well. We ought to gather our food and supplies and stash them in the barn too.”

  “Works for me,” Jeff said.

  Knowing they were all in this together gave Jessica a feeling of being on a team—a very experienced team.

  Derrick stood. “Let’s check out the houses next door. We need to get ready asap.”

  Chapter 39

  Matt

  Grateful they weren’t in this alone, Matt stood as well, then he turned to Jessica and the kids. “Gather all the food in the house, as well as the things we got from Costco and Amazon last week, and put them in the RV. Then we’ll have everything in one place.”

  “What about our seedlings?” Kayla asked.

  Matt pictured the dozens of trays of seedlings they’d planted. Where would they put them? The RV had limited space. Food had to take priority. “I’m sorry, Kayla. We’re going to have to leave them.”

  Her face fell.

  Not wanting to remove all hope, he said, “When this thing with the co-op is resolved, we’ll come back and they’ll still be here.”

  Her face tightened, then she shook her head before looking away. “Whatever.”

  Jessica put her arm around Kayla. “We can get more seeds.” She threw a small smile at Matt before leading Kayla, Brooke, and Dylan toward the kitchen.

  Matt turned to Jeff and Derrick. “Do you think it’s wise to put everything in one place? I mean, what if Russ, Eric, and the rest steal it from the barn while we’re here?”

  “Unless they see us moving it, they won’t have a clue that it’s there.” Derrick paused. “What about having your kids stay in the barn with a walkie talkie? They can keep an eye on things and if there’s a problem they can let us know. We’d be there within a minute.”

  Matt looked toward Jessica, who was listening from the kitchen. “What do you think?”

  Grimacing, she said, “I don’t know. Seems risky.”

  Derrick looked her way. “There are plenty of places to hide in that barn if they need to stay out of sight. Besides, they’d be safer there than here where I expect the fight to take place.”

  Jessica looked at Matt. He nodded. Derrick made sense.

  “Okay,” she said, though her tone held reluctance. “But the safety of the kids comes first.”

  “You could stay there with them,” Matt said. Having her far away from the fight would be a bonus.

  She nodded. “True.” Then she paused. “Let me think about it.”

  Good enough.

  “Let’s go,” Derrick said.

  With that, Matt, Derrick, Jeff, and Emily masked and gloved up and walked out of the house.

  “Matt,” Derrick said, “you’re with me. Jeff and Emily, you search those houses.” He pointed to the house on the north side of Matt’s as well as two houses across the street.

  Jeff and Emily headed one way while Matt and Derrick headed the other.

  They went to the neighboring house on the south side. A red X was painted on the door.

  Great. Another body.

  Derrick motioned to the door in a You do the honors motion. Matt frowned, but he put his hand on the knob and turned. To his surprise, it was unlocked and the door swung inward. The stench was worse than it had been at Tony’s. Trying to control his gag reflex, he turned to Derrick. “I don’t know if any of us can stay in these houses if they smell like this.”

  Derrick raised his eyebrows and slowly shook his head as if to say We’ll do what we have to do.

  Right.

  Matt stepped inside.

  Derrick pointed to the kitchen. Matt followed him, and when Derrick opened the pantry and Matt saw that the shelves were bare, he looked at Derrick in mild surprise.

  “The co-op’s been here,” Derrick said.

  There was no way to know for sure if that was who had cleaned the place out, but it seemed like the logical answer.

  They quickly went through the rest of the house before heading to the house across the street from Matt’s. That house didn’t have a red X on the door, which gave Matt hope that it wouldn’t smell like death.

  The front door was locked.

  “I don’t want to kick the door in,” Derrick said. “Might make it obvious we’re inside. Let’s go around back instead.”

  They found the sliding glass door unlocked. After making sure the house was empty—no bodies or stink of death this time—they checked the pantry. No surprise. It was empty.

  “This house will work,” Derrick said.

  They checked the house next to it, which was a little farther from Matt’s house. Two dead bodies and nothing in the pantry.

  They went back to Matt’s house where they met up with Jeff and Emily. Derrick reported on what they’d found, then they listened to Jeff and Emily’s report.

  “House to the north is clear,” Jeff said. “The house across the street had one body. The location was stellar though, so we dragged the body out back. The house north of that was clear.”

  Matt’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of dragging out a body. When he saw that Derrick wasn’t bothered by the notion, he forced himself to relax.

  “Okay,” Derrick said, looking at each of them. “We have a selection of houses.” Then he turned to Jeff. “Did you happen to check for food?”

  “Of course. And you were right. Completely empty.”

  “Uh-huh,” Derrick said with a scowl and a shake of his head.

  Jessica and the kids joined them. “We loaded all the supplies into the RV.”

  “Excellent,” Matt said. He gazed at her a moment. “Have you made a decision? About the kids staying in the barn?”

  She nodded.

  “We’ll do it,” Dylan said with complete confidence.

  Matt looked at Brooke and Kayla. They nodded too.

  “Can we keep Cleo with us?” Brooke asked.

  That was a good idea. She would protect them. “Of course.”

  A smile of relief curved Brooke’s lips.

  Matt looked at Jessica. “What about you? Will you stay in the barn with the kids?”

  Jessica looked at Emily. “How comfortable are you with guns?”

  Emily laughed. “I’m with this guy,” she jabbed a thumb in Jeff’s direction. “In other words, very comfortable.” She smiled. “We target shoot all the time and I’ve been hunting with him a fair number of times.”

  Jessica bit her lip. “Would you be willing to go with me and the kids to the barn? I, uh, I wouldn’t mind having someone who has experience shooting a gun with us.”

  Emily looked at Jeff, who said, “It’s up to you, babe.”

  Frowning, Emily said, “But then it will just be the three of you against how many?”

  Jeff chuckled. “We can handle it.” He paused. “Go with Jessica.”

  Matt would feel better knowing someone with more experience was with Jess and the kids.

  “All right,” Emily said, “but we’ll keep in contact and I can
come if you need me.”

  Once that was settled, Matt and Jessica worked together to hitch the RV to his truck. Then Jessica, the kids, and Cleo loaded into the truck and they followed Derrick to the barn, doing their best to make sure no one had followed them.

  When they reached the barn, Matt backed right in. No reason to leave the RV in sight any longer than necessary. There were two man-doors, one in the back and one in the front. And just as Derrick had said, there was plenty of room for his rig. And lots of good places to hide if necessary.

  Once Jessica and the kids and Cleo were situated, Matt left the RV hitched to his truck and walked with Derrick to his place to help him gather the supplies he wanted to stash in the barn. He put several containers of gas in the back of his truck. By the time they got back to the barn in Derrick’s truck—which they parked just outside the doors—Jeff and Emily had arrived with their supplies. They had a small utility trailer behind Jeff’s truck, which they parked in the barn.

  Both Derrick and Jeff had their own walkie talkies. They put theirs and Matt’s on the same channel, which gave them enough walkies for each adult in the group and one for the kids to share.

  “It’ll be dark soon,” Jeff said to the group. “I’m gonna head over to the blue house across the street from Matt’s place. I’ll take a walkie and let you know if I see anything.”

  “Sounds good,” Derrick said. “We’ll be along soon.”

  Jeff gave Emily a kiss, then he trotted out of the barn.

  Chapter 40

  Matt

  Ten minutes after Jeff left the barn, the walkies squawked. “COMM check.”

  “It’s Jeff,” Derrick said. He pressed a button and held his walkie to his mouth. “Copy.”

  “In position.”

  “Roger that.” Wearing his game face, Derrick looked at Matt. “We leave in twenty.”

  Matt felt out of his league, but at least Jeff and Derrick knew what they were doing because he was sure things were going to get rough. All the more reason for Jess and the kids to be here, far, far away from the action.

  Twenty minutes later, heavily armed, he and Derrick got in Derrick’s truck. Derrick parked one street over from Matt’s house. They went the rest of the way on foot. When they arrived at the blue house, they checked in with Jeff.

  “No sign of anyone,” Jeff said with barely a glance before his gaze went back to the window that overlooked Matt’s house.

  Derrick nodded. “It’s getting dark. If I were in charge I’d hit when it’s full dark.” His jaw tightened. “And you know they would’ve put Chris in charge.”

  “Yeah,” Jeff said.

  “What do you want me to do?” Matt asked.

  Pointing to the house on the north side of Matt’s house, Derrick said, “Stake out your house from the second story of that house. If you see anyone, give us two squawks on the walkie like this.” He demonstrated. “It’s an open line, and although we’re using a random channel, there’s still a possibility that the wrong person will join our party line. Then squawk once before squawking how many people you see.”

  They discussed other signals and code words they would use. Matt just hoped he would remember everything. He nodded. “Got it.”

  “I’ll be in the house to the south of this one,” Derrick said.

  At that, they split up. Matt made his way to the house next door to his, staying close to the tree line. When he reached the front porch, it occurred to him that someone from the co-op could already be inside. What if they’d come early to stake things out as well?

  Heart slamming against his ribs, he turned the knob and pushed the door slowly open. When nothing happened, he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. His eyes had already adjusted to the dim light outside, but it was much darker in the house.

  Pausing a moment with his eyes closed, listening, he reminded himself that he was not alone in this. That Derrick and Jeff were fully on board, that they had combat experience, and that the men of the co-op didn’t know that Matt and his family had left their house.

  Not a sound. He opened his eyes and could make out the furniture and the shape of the room. Much better.

  Feeling more confident, he cleared the first floor using his .45 the way Derrick had shown him when they’d checked the other houses earlier. With his .45 in his hand and his rifle strapped to his back, he climbed the stairs to the second floor. After quickly clearing that floor, he went to the bedrooms to find which one had the best vantage point. The one in the back had a clear view of his backyard. He opened the window and removed the screen, then slid the window closed. Getting comfortable, he parked himself in front of the window, letting his eyes sweep every inch of his property that was within view.

  As he waited and watched, he wondered if the men from the co-op would strike tonight or wait for another night when Matt and his family would be relaxed and unprepared. As the minutes ticked by he began to think their plan was the latter.

  Until he saw two men appear at his backyard neighbor’s fence.

  Startled, he stared at them for a full second before grabbing the walkie and doing two short squawks. He followed it up with one squawk, a pause, then two more squawks. The men hopped the fence, landing in Matt’s backyard. Two more men appeared at the fence line, climbing the fence to join their buddies. Matt squawked once, then two more times. Would Derrick know what he meant?

  Straining to see if he recognized any of the four, when his walkie squawked once, then twice, he jerked. That’s when he saw a pair of men coming into the backyard through the gate. Derrick or Jeff had seen them. Good.

  His eyes were riveted on the action below. Five of the men were holding things in their hands, but from this distance and in the dark, he couldn’t tell what they were holding. Only one man had empty hands. Matt couldn’t tell who it was, but he was the only one wearing a ball cap.

  A sudden bright flame nearly blinded him. Then another and another. Then two more.

  Before he had a chance to react, every man but the one in the ball cap were throwing Molotov cocktails at the windows of his house. Glass shattered, but with the security bars on the inside, the flaming bottles fell back to the ground outside.

  Panicked that they were going to burn his house down, Matt completely forgot the protocol they’d set up. Instead, pressing the Talk button, he said, “They’re trying to set my house on fire!”

  What if he and his family had been inside? Would those men care? Or were they trying to draw them out so they could shoot them?

  Fury, powerful and black, surged through him. These men were ruthless. First trying to steal their food, and now trying to burn them out. He had to do something, had to stop them.

  He set the walkie on the ground, then after sliding the window open, he used his rifle to sight in on one of the men, sliding his finger to the trigger. Then it hit him. He would be killing in cold blood. Was he really prepared to take that step?

  Derrick must have known the way Matt would react—maybe the way he’d seen him nearly blow Charlie’s head off the week before had clued him in—because the walkie squawked and one word came across. “Hold.”

  Chapter 41

  Matt

  Matt’s gaze shot to the walkie as his finger slid away from the trigger. Derrick was right. He needed to reign in his emotions and focus on what was happening.

  The Molotov cocktails had been a failure. His house didn’t appear to be on fire.

  Staring at the men, Matt watched as they seemed to wait in ambush for Matt and his family to come running out. When no one did, the men went into a loose huddle. What would their next move be? Had they figured out that Matt and his family weren’t inside?

  Matt felt a light tap on his shoulder while at the same time he heard Derrick’s voice beside him, “It’s me.”

  Heart thumping at Derrick’s unexpected appearance—could anyone else have snuck up on him?—Matt turned to Derrick with a frown before both men looked out the window. Then, to Matt’s stunned surprise,
one of the men broke off from the group, pulled out a gun, and blasted the sliding glass door to bits. The men rushed inside. Except the man in the ball cap. Was he their lookout?

  Matt turned to Derrick. “Should we take him out?”

  Derrick stared at Matt. “Not yet.” Then he smiled. “Won’t they be surprised when there’s nothing worth taking?”

  Though that may have been true, it still made Matt’s blood boil to think of those men ransacking his home. “We should go in there.”

  Derrick’s eyebrows rose. “And do what? Get into a gunfight? Over what?” He shook his head. “I only risk my life when something of value is at stake.”

  But it was his house. Then he pictured his family. Was keeping those men out worth dying over? No.

  Frustration building, he stared at the house, waiting to see what would happen next.

  It didn’t take long.

  Five minutes later the men poured out of the broken sliding glass door. Moments after that, smoke followed. They’d set the house on fire from the inside. Then the five men who’d gone in the house pulled out their guns and began shooting out all the windows.

  Matt didn’t care what Derrick said, these men had to be stopped. They’d killed Tony and now they’d set his house on fire. Did they think Matt and his family were asleep upstairs? Were they trying to kill them?

  Without looking to Derrick for approval, Matt rested the rifle barrel on the frame of the open window and sighted in on one of the men shooting at his house. Expecting Derrick to stop him, when instead Derrick pointed his gun at the men and said, “I’ve got the one on the far right,” Matt slid his gaze to Derrick in surprise before saying, “Far left.”

  Half a second later, the blast of Derrick’s gun filled Matt’s ears. The man on the far right dropped and the other five men looked around in confusion, searching for where the blast had come from. Soon they would know exactly where to aim their guns. There was no time to hesitate. Their position had been revealed. Forcing all unnecessary thoughts away, Matt turned his focus to aiming true, sighting in on the man on the far left. He pulled the trigger. To his stunned surprise, the man fell.