Pandemic: The Beginning (Pandemic Book One) Read online

  Panicked that it was Matt, Jessica nearly called out that he was in danger. Then it occurred to her that he would have no reason to knock. If it wasn’t Matt, who could it be?

  “It’s Chris,” a voice called out.

  Jessica’s eyes widened. Chris was the man who’d come to their house earlier that day to take their food. Matt had told her Chris was the head of security for the neighborhood cooperative. What was he doing there? Were more men from the cooperative on their way?

  The man who’d slapped Jessica pulled the door open. She couldn’t see what was happening outside the door—it was too dark—but she saw the man grin like he’d just been handed the prize he’d been waiting for.

  As a sense of unease swept over her, Jessica kept her gaze riveted to the door. A moment later Matt stepped through, his face downcast and his arms bound behind him.

  Jessica gasped.

  Derrick was right behind Matt. He looked defiant, but his arms were behind his back as well.

  Chris followed them inside, his gun pointed at them.

  They’d been captured.

  Hope shattered around Jessica like a fragile vase being dropped on concrete.

  “Where’s Jeff?” Emily whispered, her tone frantic with worry.

  Jessica shifted her eyes to Emily. Where was Jeff? Had he been killed?

  Heart in her throat—if they’d killed Jeff, would Matt and Derrick be next?—her gaze shot to her children. What would these men do to them? To Emily? To her?

  Stomach roiling with terror, she turned her attention to Matt, trying to catch his eye, but he stubbornly stared at the ground like he’d already been defeated.

  “Another of their group is in the area,” Chris said to the four men holding them captive, then he gestured to two of the men. “Find him and bring him here.”

  “Jeff,” Emily whispered.

  “Yes, sir,” both men said before heading out the door.

  If Jeff was still out there, maybe all hope wasn’t lost.

  Chris focused on the two remaining men. “Any progress here, Nate?”

  Nate, the man Jessica thought was in charge, shook his head. “She,” Nate pointed at Jessica, “refused to tell me where the keys are.” He grinned. “Even after I roughed her up.”

  That’s when Matt finally looked at her. Even though her cheek still throbbed from where Nate had slapped her, she tried to smile to show she was okay. Matt smiled back, but she could tell he was livid. He shifted on his feet like he was doing all within his power to keep from striking Nate.

  Don’t do it, don’t do it she chanted in her head, terrified that if Matt tried to retaliate he would get hurt or worse.

  When Chris nodded like he approved of Nate’s methods, Jessica’s fear notched up several levels. What were they capable of?

  “Now that these men have been captured,” Chris said with a glance at Matt and Derrick, “maybe we’ll get somewhere.” He grinned at Nate. “Take this one,” he gestured with his thumb toward Derrick. “Somewhere private and have a little talk with him. Todd and I will chat with Matt.” Chris’s grin turned into a smirk. “He’s the owner of this lovely RV.”

  A smile of anticipation curved Nate’s lips. “Works for me.” He grabbed Derrick by the upper arm and led him to a corner of the barn out of Jessica’s view. She was surprised Derrick hadn’t resisted. It seemed out of character for him. But when Chris and Todd each took Matt by an arm and practically dragged him in the other direction, she forgot about Derrick.

  “Matt!”

  He looked at her over his shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. But she wasn’t reassured. Not when both of those men were going to no doubt beat him until he gave them the key to his truck.

  Dread clogged her throat, and when she looked at her children, who looked more frightened than she felt, she forced aside her distress and focused on them. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered. “Dad will give them what they want and they won’t hurt him.”

  Eyes wet with tears, Kayla nodded. Dylan looked angry and Cleo alternated between whimpering and barking. Emily, on the other hand, looked determined, like she believed Jeff would save the day. Jessica desperately hoped she was right.

  A man cried out from the direction Matt had gone. Tears flooded Jessica’s eyes. The thought of her sweet husband being hurt devastated her.

  Moments later Derrick appeared, alone. Then Matt and Chris walked into view. Matt looked unharmed. He was even smiling. Confused, Jessica stared, her mouth hanging open. Matt hurried to her and wrapped her in his arms. After a long embrace, he pulled away and cradled her face in his hands. “Does it hurt?” In the confusion, she’d forgotten about her throbbing cheek.

  “A little.”

  Chris came up behind Matt and said, “I’ll be back in a few.”

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  Matt grinned as he cut the zip ties from Jessica’s hands, then he cut the zip ties from Kayla and Dylan and Emily’s hands. “Chris is with us now.” He glanced at Derrick, who ejected the magazine out of a gun he was holding, looked inside the magazine, then reinserted it. “Derrick and I weren’t really tied up. It was a ruse.”

  Overwhelmed with happiness, she smiled. Then she remembered Brooke. “Brooke’s missing.”

  Matt helped her stand. “Brooke’s fine. She’s the one who told us what had happened.”

  Jessica nearly staggered with relief.

  “What about Jeff?” Emily asked as she stood.

  “He probably disabled those other two men when they came out the door. That’s what Chris is checking on.”

  “What did you and Chris do to that man?” Jessica asked. Though she didn’t like the idea of them hurting him, what else could they have done?

  “He’s, uh, going to take a long nap.”

  She didn’t want to know anything else. The important thing was they were safe. For now. “Is anyone else from the co-op going to come?”

  Matt glanced at Derrick, who said, “Don’t know.”

  That wasn’t good enough. She hated the unknown. “Does Chris know?”

  Derrick shook his head. “He didn’t even know about the barn until we told him. Sounds like Russ and Eric didn’t keep him completely in the loop.”

  A fresh spark of fear lit within her. “What if Russ and Eric come here?”

  Matt put his arm around her. “They’re dead.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Dead?! When? How?”

  “At our house. Which is burning to the ground as we speak.”

  Even though she’d heard Matt report on the walkie that their house was in danger of being burned down, knowing the men of the co-op had succeeded tore a hole of sadness right through her heart.

  “They burned our house down?” Kayla asked as her face crumpled.

  “Derrick and Jeff’s too,” Matt said.

  What was wrong with these people?

  Chris came back into the barn followed by Jeff and Brooke.

  Jessica ran to Brooke and threw her arms around her. In the short time she’d been with them, she’d come to feel like another daughter. Jessica pulled away and smiled softly at her. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

  Brooke smiled brightly. “Me too. When I saw those men going into the barn, I was so scared.”

  “But you found Matt and the others and told them what had happened.” Warmth and appreciation for Brooke swept over Jessica. “If you hadn’t done that…” She shook her head. “You saved us, Brooke.”

  Brooke beamed. “Just like you saved me.”

  Jessica hugged her again.

  Cleo was prancing around bedside Brooke, who drew away from Jessica and knelt beside her dog, hugging her.

  Kayla and Dylan joined Jessica and Brooke.

  “Mom,” Dylan said, his eyebrows bunched with worry. “If our house is gone, where are we going to live?”

  She put an arm around his shoulder. “It’s just a building, Dylan. The important thing is that we’re all okay.”

&nb
sp; Brooke stood from hugging Cleo. “You could move into my house.”

  Jessica looked at Matt, who raised his eyebrows like he was asking what she wanted to do.

  “Uh, guys,” Jeff said, coming to stand near them, Emily at his side. “We have a problem.”

  Chapter 45

  Matt

  Their plan had gone off without a hitch. They should be good to go. What was the problem now? Matt turned to Jeff with a frown. “What’s wrong?”

  Derrick and Chris joined the loosely formed circle.

  Jeff’s gaze swept over each of them, stopping on Chris. “When I was waiting for your two men to come out of the barn—"

  “They’re not my men,” Chris said with a frown, interrupting him.

  Jeff shook his head and sighed. “Regardless, I overheard them talking about how long it would be until the rest of their group could move in and take over the neighborhood. As you can imagine, I was curious to know what they were talking about, so when I, uh, incapacitated them, I decided it would be a good time to get more information.” One side of his mouth quirked up like he’d enjoyed this task.

  “What’d you find out?” Derrick asked.

  “Evidently,” Jeff said, his expression going deadly serious, “they belong to one of those gangs we’ve heard about. The ones who kill with impunity.” He shook his head in disgust. “Those two moved into empty houses and pretended to be the residents. When the cooperative started up, they were right there supporting it, happy to help, happy to set the rules.”

  All eyes shifted to Chris, who shook his head. “Honestly, I didn’t know half the guys who were part of the co-op so I can absolutely see them getting away with it.”

  Matt found that alarming. Who knew how many members of the co-op were legit and how many were outsiders? “Why’d they bother? I mean, why not just take what they want and leave?”

  Jeff’s eyebrows rose. “They said they were looking for a place to settle their families. Somewhere they could eventually take over. When the cooperative was formed they offered their services in exchange for food.” He swept his hands together. “Problem solved. For them.”

  “So,” Derrick said with a disgusted snort, “what you’re telling us is that an entire gang is preparing to move in to our neighborhood?”

  Eyebrows rising, Jeff said, “It’s worse than that. Over the last couple of days most of their gang has already moved in to abandoned houses in our neighborhood.” He grimaced. “They’re here now and they won’t leave without a fight.”

  “How many men are we talking about?” Chris asked.

  Jeff pursed his lips. “At least twenty.”

  Deeply troubled, Matt considered the implications. If twenty gang members and their families had moved in, presumably in need of food, living in this neighborhood would be extremely dangerous. Especially now that word had gotten out that the Bronson’s had food. After what they’d gone through that night, he had no desire to face violent gang members.

  “Now that you mention it,” Chris said, his forehead furrowed, “a few of my men—ones I know are legit neighbors—reported seeing a few unfamiliar faces over the last day or two. We were planning on paying them a visit when all the crap with Matt and his family took precedence.” He frowned at Matt. “I’m still really sorry about what happened. It was all kinds of wrong.”

  Ready to move past that—Chris had more than proved he was on their side—Matt smiled. “It’s all good.”

  “So, now what?” Jessica asked, fear plain in her eyes.

  “We bug out,” Derrick said, his expression set.

  Everyone was quiet.

  Jessica touched Matt’s arm. He turned to her. Worry etched deep lines in her forehead. “Where will we go?”

  That was a good question. They had their RV, which would allow them to go anywhere, but they needed a place to land.

  Matt looked at Derrick and Jeff, who’d known each other before the crap had hit the fan. If they had a place in mind, that didn’t help him. Yes, he’d been on the same team as them, but that didn’t automatically mean he and his family were invited to wherever they were going—if they even had a place to go. His gaze switched to Chris. He had a wife and two small children, and from what Chris had said, they were about out of food. What were they going to do? Stay here? Word would get out that Chris had double-crossed the cooperative. That would be the end of them getting food from the co-op. And with the gangs moving in, it wouldn’t be safe for anyone.

  Matt didn’t want to poke his nose where it wasn’t wanted, but he had to ask. He turned to Derrick and Jeff. “Just curious. Do you have a place you’re headed?”

  Jeff and Emily grinned at each other, then turned to him with a smile. “Yeah. We do.”

  Nice for them, but it wouldn’t do Matt or his family any good.

  “My aunt and uncle have a spread in the San Joaquin Valley,” Emily said.

  “Where’s that?” Dylan asked.

  “Central California,” Emily said as she turned to him. “The soil is rich there. Lots of agriculture.”

  Surprised they were willing to travel so far, Matt said, “That’s a long way to go.”

  One side of Jeff’s mouth tugged up, “Yeah. Like, seven hundred miles.”

  Going so far in today’s world seemed insane, but if that’s what they wanted to do, more power to them.

  Derrick’s eyebrows shot up. “You sure you want to do that?”

  Jeff chuckled, then looked at Emily before facing Matt, Jessica, Derrick, and Chris. “Actually, we were hoping all of you would come with us.”

  “What?” Chris asked.

  Matt looked at Jessica to see her reaction. She seemed uncertain. Smiling softly, he said, “Where else can we go?”

  Fear filled her eyes once again. “I don’t know.”

  Emily put an arm around Jessica. “You’ll love it there. Best of all, no snow.”

  Jessica looked from Emily to Matt and back again. “I don’t mind the snow.”

  “When we have a working furnace,” Matt said, thrilled to think one of his worries could be resolved.

  “But the trip…” Anxiety flashed in Jessica’s eyes. “Won’t it be dangerous?”

  Yeah. It would. But did Matt want to confirm that? No. But he didn’t want to give her a false sense of safety either. “You know what they say. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. Besides, we won’t be alone.” He glanced at the other men. “Right?”

  Jeff looked at Derrick and Chris with raised eyebrows.

  Grinning, Derrick said, “Count me in.”

  That alone sent a burst of relief through Matt.

  “I’d have to check with Amy,” Chris said, “but it sounds like a good place to go.”

  “Hold on,” Matt said as he thought of something else. He turned to Emily. “Do you think your aunt and uncle will be okay with you bringing all of us?”

  She smiled. “I’m sure they’ll be fine with it.”

  That sounded less certain. “When was the last time you talked to them?”

  She looked at Jeff before facing Matt. “About a week and a half ago, I guess. They were worried about the way things were unfolding and invited us to come out. Things spiraled out of control before we could head out there, of course. So I know they’d be thrilled to have us.” She smiled. “All of us.”

  Good enough. He looked at Dylan, Kayla, and Brooke. They would be in as much danger as the rest of them. They should have some say. “What do you guys think?”

  Kayla and Brooke looked at each other, then at Matt. Smiling tentatively, Kayla said, “I don’t really want to leave, but I know we have to. So, yeah. Let’s do it.”

  Brooke nodded in agreement.

  Proud of Kayla and Brooke for their willingness to go along with the plan, he smiled, then looked at Dylan.

  “Yeah,” he said without hesitation. “I’ll go.”

  Matt raised his eyebrows at Jessica, who nodded with a tentative smile, then he turned to Emily and Jeff. “Looks lik
e we’re going.”

  Emily smiled. “Awesome.”

  “We’ll leave at first light,” Derrick said. “No reason to venture into the unknown in the dark.”

  Jeff nodded. “I agree. We’ll sleep here tonight and take turns keeping watch.”

  “Hang on,” Jessica said.

  Everyone looked at her.

  “I think we need to warn our neighbors—our real neighbors—about the gang members. Give them a chance to get out before things turn ugly.”

  Heads nodded all around.

  “Anyone have an idea of the best way to do that?” Matt asked.

  Chris held up a finger. “I need to head home and talk to my wife about leaving. On my way, I’ll talk to a few men I trust and give them the word. They’ll pass the message around to the right people.”

  That made Matt feel better. “Sounds good.”

  “Okay,” Chris said, “I’ll be back soon with my family.”

  Jeff clapped Chris on the back. “Glad to have you on board.”

  Chris smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate all of you making me part of your group despite, well, despite everything.”

  No one said anything, just nodded.

  At that, Chris slipped out the rear door.

  Chapter 46

  Matt

  A moan sounded from a corner of the barn. Matt looked at Jeff and Derrick, who shook their heads.

  “Someone’s waking up,” Derrick said with a smirk.

  Matt had forgotten about the man they’d knocked unconscious. The man Derrick had taken care of would be waking soon as well. He turned to Jeff. “Do we need to, uh, worry about the men you talked to?”

  With a grim expression, Jeff shook his head. “They won’t be causing any more trouble.”

  Derrick and Matt brought the two men—Nate and Todd—into the main space. After making sure their hands and feet were firmly bound, and after slapping duct tape over their mouths, they secured them to a post in the barn.

  “That ought to hold them,” Derrick said.

  Frowning, Jeff said, “We’ll have to guard them tonight.”

  “Better to guard the known than guard against the unknown,” Derrick said. “We’ll leave them here when we take off tomorrow.”