Troop of Shadows Read online

  Maddie says we need more protein despite the abundance of beans in our pantry, the side effects of which we have both grown weary. So tomorrow we will forage to the south in search of a less gaseous protein source, and along the way, if we encounter a jewelry store, I will make a quick trip inside...alone.

  Pablo’s Journal, Entry #77

  It has been a week since the ill-fated journey south, and I can only now bring myself to write about it. I don’t know how this human body can contain so much pain...perhaps if I document the events I will garner some small relief.

  Perhaps.

  Maddie and I had decided to travel during the day because the roads are even more treacherous to navigate at night, and the few people we’d been encountering when away from the city always avoided us, which was fine with me. About thirty minutes outside of Prescott, we’d reached the outskirts of the National Forest. I’d remembered there was a Walgreens store in the area, and we pulled into the parking lot. Of course I had my shotgun, and Maddie had slipped a knife into the satchel she always carried on our outings.

  The lot was empty when we arrived. Maddie stayed in the Jeep while I conducted a quick reconnoiter. The glass door panels were broken, so access wouldn’t be a problem. I gestured for her and Bruno and I turned on my flashlight. The three of us stepped into the store. Staying together and alert, we determined the place had been effectively ransacked, but because of my experiences in the past, we did a final check of the back stock room. An industrial metal dustpan and a few packages of Benadryl were scattered about the floor; nothing else. While Maddie collected the items and stuffed them in her bag, Bruno’s ears pricked up and he emitted a low growl.

  The next moment, our human ears were able to detect the sound of a car engine coming from the front. Maddie suggested we hide somewhere in the store, but with Bruno, that didn’t seem like a good solution. Besides, I had the shotgun. I elected to investigate.

  We headed to the front of the store. A Toyota Tundra was now parked near the shattered doors, and three men emerged as we watched from the shadows. All carried guns.

  I ushered Maddie and Bruno back to the stock room as one of the men began yelling.

  “You folks better come on out of there! Keep your hands up and nobody will get hurt!”

  We ignored the directive and kept running for the back, where I knew an exit would be found. It was our best option, unless we wanted to take our chances on the benevolence of the men in the truck. I could see in Maddie’s eyes she would never do so.

  I struck the release bar of the door and poked my head out. All clear. I motioned for her to follow; Bruno was right on her heels. I knew that if we timed it right, we could make a run for the Jeep when the men went inside looking for us. We edged up to the corner and I sneaked a glance around the brick wall. They were gone. I could hear them bellowing again from inside now.

  We ran. We had almost made it to the Jeep when the men emerged from the store front. At that moment, Bruno changed course and headed toward them, barking more ferociously than I have ever heard before.

  I yelled for him to come as I flung myself behind the steering wheel. Maddie leaped into the passenger seat, saw Bruno running toward our assailants, and went after him.

  Bruno stopped ten yards from the men and continued to bark furiously, saliva dripping from his jaws. One of the men lifted his rifle and aimed it at him. As the shot was fired, Maddie darted in front. The bullet struck her in the shoulder, making her right side snap backward. Even though she wasn’t facing me, I could tell the second round hit her in the chest. A third appeared to strike her abdomen as she fell.

  I stood by the Jeep unable to move. Bruno stopped barking and ran back to me. I have a vague memory of screaming something, but the voice didn’t sound like my own. All three men raised their guns and pointed them at me.

  I can’t recall what happened next, and I now realize I was in shock. I must have climbed into the driver’s seat and somehow escaped with only a few bullet holes in the plastic windshield.

  Bruno and I arrived home an hour later, unscathed but in utter despair.

  A week has passed, but the loss is as fresh as it was the day I saw Maddie perish. It is agony so intense as to make eating impossible. I’m barely able to get Bruno fed and watered every day...the exertion is almost more than I can bear. I wonder if it is possible to die from a broken heart.

  Poem — Fireworks

  I said it couldn’t be, wasn’t written in the stars

  Or chiseled in some divine daybook

  She replied, in that sleepy smiling way that slays, slices right to my soul:

  Dear boy, of course it wasn’t written or chiseled

  We are too prodigious for plans, our love too colossal

  For orchestration from the meager heavens

  It cannot be predetermined, corralled, nor sustained

  An errant Roman candle on the fourth of July

  She proved me right and was gone in a flash of barium and copper

  Leaving the scent of black powder in her wake

  Pablo closed the notebook, remembering the despair of that day as if it were yesterday. A fresh wave of shame washed over him as it had done for weeks after what he believed to be Maddie’s death. Eventually he’d managed to stuff it down into the depths of his subconscious mind. Regret was pointless, he’d told himself. But at random moments during these past months, it would surface: gut-wrenching remorse for his cowardly behavior. At the time there had been no doubt that her injuries were fatal, but he should have at least avenged her death, even if it had cost him his life.

  As he studied her face, which seemed troubled even in sleep, he was overcome with anguish. What had he subjected her to by driving away that day? She’d survived the gunshot wounds, only to be victimized further. He cradled his head in his arms and let the sorrow and guilt build to a crescendo. How could he live with himself now, knowing what his cowardice had done to Maddie? What kind of a man was he?

  He felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder and raised his face to Maddie’s. She sat down beside him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Silent, glistening rivulets slid down her cheeks as she brushed away his tears.

  “I’m so sorry, Maddie. I thought you were dead.” He hated the tremulous way his voice sounded. It was the voice of a weak man, not a man who deserved to be her protector.

  For the first time she spoke.

  “I know, Pablo. Of course, I know that.” She took a deep breath. “This is the only time we’ll speak of it. Agreed?”

  He nodded.

  “It was the metal dustpan that protected me from serious injury. It was in my knapsack and two of the bullets hit it before they entered me. It must have deflected the energy just enough to keep them from going in very far. The shoulder wound was actually worse and took longer to heal.”

  “What about those men?”

  Maddie laughed, a bright tinkling sound tinged with sorrow.

  “As it turned out, those men saved me. The one who shot me said he’d been aiming at Bruno and hadn’t meant to hurt me. They took me to their compound and some of the women there nursed me back to health. Later, our small group was ambushed and I was the only survivor. As it turns out, I’m an excellent hider. The parts that came after that, I don’t want to talk about. The man who held me captive for a period of time was the one you met last night. We fled to the desert, as you must have done, to escape the barbarians in town. We watched you outside of your cabin for a day while he devised a strategy. The rest you know.

  “Now do we have a deal? The past will forever remain in the past. No more guilt, no more regret, no more sadness. We are alive and safe for the moment, and I am happier than I have been in a very long time.”

  She sighed. It was the type of deep, all-encompassing sigh that unburdens the soul. Shackled to that breath were whatever nightmares Maddie had endured these past months, plucked from their dark hiding place, and exhaled into the crisp air.

  “We have a deal.
I will never leave you. Never.”

  “Good. Now what’s for breakfast?”

  The playful grin was back and Pablo didn’t think the sun could ever make him feel warmer than that smile.

  Chapter 14

  Colleyville, Texas

  “Isaiah, you’ve made a compelling argument. I’ll cut to the chase and assume you’re recruiting Sam and me for your cause. I must say that I’m intrigued. I can’t deny there’s safety in numbers, and even though we’ve been doing pretty well on our own, the idea of belonging to a well-ordered community is appealing.”

  Dani struggled to maintain a respectful tone, and keeping the sarcasm from her voice required intense concentration. They had one chance to get out of this alive, and it relied on this crazy bastard buying her load of crap.

  “Most excellent!” The full force of Isaiah’s smile was undeniably compelling. Dani suspected people like Saddam Hussein, Attila the Hun, and Joseph Stalin had similar smiles.

  “So we are in agreement?” he continued. “You two will join our illustrious ranks, and together we will build a society of productive, law-abiding citizens, yes?”

  She paused before she answered, appearing to think over the proposal.

  “We’re in!” Her exuberance would only have appeared fake to anyone who knew her. She extended her hand, ready to seal the deal.

  Isaiah’s laughter washed over her like a warm summer rain.

  “I’m afraid we’ll need something more permanent than that. Not that I’m questioning your sense of honor, but in times such as these, a handshake is woefully inadequate to express true commitment. Andrew, please illuminate.”

  The young man stepped closer to the patio table, displaying his left arm, palm up. In the glow of the LED lantern, she could see a raised red scar which resembled the wheel of a boat — a circle with eight spokes fanning out from the center. It was large and well-healed; probably had been carved into the flesh at least six months ago. She got a sickening feeling in her stomach.

  “A handshake or a signed legal contract would have sufficed in the old world, but no longer. I admit the process is a bit barbaric, but I think the result is the perfect representation of our new society. It’s a Dharmacakra, the Buddhist symbol for order. The fact that it’s incised onto the body without benefit of numbing agents or pain killers makes it the ideal method for proving one’s sincerity.”

  The man was insane but certainly no idiot. Of course he wouldn’t have accepted a mere verbal agreement. They would have to allow the tattoo torture or take on all five at once.

  Before she could make the decision, Sam pushed up his shirt sleeve and extended his arm to Isaiah.

  “Let’s get this over with. The speedier the better.”

  Dani cringed. This time Sam’s cliché mangling wasn’t amusing. Not even a little.

  ###

  “Mother FUCKER!” Dani hissed as Sam held her arm over the kitchen sink. The thin stream of hydrogen peroxide converted to bubbling foam as it cleansed her wound. He dabbed at it with a paper towel, applied a heavy coating of Neosporin, then covered it with a large waterproof Band-aid from their medicine kit, as she had done for him minutes earlier.

  “What the hell were you thinking? We’ll have these sonofabitches for the rest of our lives. Now I know how all those farm animals feel when they get branded.”

  “There was no way we could have beat them...not all at the same time and without the elephant of surprise. They had guns and knives. They were young, but I could tell they had some skills by the way they moved. And that crazy guy scares the heck out of me. I think he has more teeth than humans are supposed to.”

  Dani barked a laugh through the pain.

  “Yeah, you may be right about that. He sure is one scary dude.”

  “Yep, he sure is.”

  She had never seen Sam fearful until now. He had picked up on the same sociopathic vibe that she had.

  “So what do we do now? I don’t think we can stay here much longer.” The wistfulness in his voice was unmistakable. They had created a surprisingly comfortable life together in just a few short months, and now they would have to leave it.

  “You’re right. We can’t stay even one more night. These bloody boat wheels bought us a few hours — enough time to get the hell out of Dodge. They saved our asses, thanks to you. That was quick thinking.”

  “Where will we go?”

  “I’ve been pondering that. Logic would dictate we go south to warmer climates, but something tells me the place to be when all the groceries run out is in one of those bread basket states.”

  Sam’s quizzical expression prompted another pained laugh.

  “The bread basket states are in the Midwest. They’re where most of the country’s food is grown. Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Also Minnesota and North and South Dakota, but it’s way too effing cold there.

  “What do you say? What strikes your fancy?”

  The thought of leaving their sanctuary and traveling out in the open distressed her, but there was no choice now.

  “I remember watching The Wizard of Oz with my mom and brothers when we were little. I think Kansas is where I’d like to go. There might be a yellow brick road we can follow once we cross the border.” He grinned at his own joke.

  Dani smiled fondly at her friend, wondering if he held out a smidgen of hope for just such a road.

  “You got it. Kansas it is. Let’s get geared up. I want to leave Colleyville in a dust cloud within two hours.”

  “Okay. Hey, maybe we can find some mountain bikes along the way.”

  He trotted out of the kitchen. She could hear him rattling around in the living room where they kept most of their supplies.

  Bikes were a brilliant idea.

  She liked Kansas as their destination for one specific reason, plus a lot of other reasons she couldn’t articulate. Something about relocating there felt right. When there was time, she’d contemplate why that was. But for now, they needed to put as much real estate as possible between themselves and the psychopath with the beautiful voice and too many teeth.

  Chapter 15

  Stanford University

  Julia knew it was time to leave the sanctuary of her lab.

  Her supplies had almost run out. She’d been subsisting on a diet of slightly rancid peanut butter and stale crackers for several days now, and the bottled water was gone. She’d been raiding from the toilet tanks in the building’s bathrooms for a week, and now they were almost empty. She hadn’t allowed herself the luxury of using any of the water for clothes or hair washing for two weeks, and the Wet Wipes she’d been bathing with were almost gone. She sniffed an armpit and winced.

  Her attention shifted to the tabby who didn’t appear to be missing any meals. He’d refused to even consider the Skippy, so she’d been letting him out at night to hunt for his own food. Every morning he’d be waiting outside the door for her to let him back in, and since he seemed to be putting on weight, she assumed his predatory skills were adequate. Too bad she couldn’t teach him to share his spoils.

  “Brains, I think it’s time for us to leave. I know, it’s a pretty sweet gig you’ve got here, what with the snuggly bed to sleep in and the crazy lady to pet you, but I’m hungry. It’s time to head to Steven’s.”

  After that phone call a year ago when she’d told her brother about the Lixi molecule, they’d devised a ‘just in case’ plan. When Chicxulub began to emerge, they’d refined it. When Steven’s wife died, followed by Julia’s husband shortly thereafter, they’d solidified it. While they were still able to communicate via the campus ham radio, Steven had outlined the specifics of how she would travel from Palo Alto to his house. They’d agreed on a date by which she would leave and had calculated, almost to the hour, when she would arrive in Liberty.

  Now it was time to implement the plan. Because Julia knew her brother better than anyone, she knew he and her nephew were alive, despite not having heard his voice in more than two months.
Compared to most of the other survivors, herself included, they were probably thriving, because Steven would have planned for every possible contingency.

  She spread a spoonful of peanut butter on a saltine and studied it with disdain. “Should have left a bit sooner while I still had decent food.” She took a bite and grimaced. “Hopefully, the stuff at my house is still there, right, Brains? I see canned salmon in your future if you play your cards right.”

  The cat was curled up on the floor in a rectangular patch of a sunlight.

  “Sleeping off a squirrel binge, huh, big guy?”

  She squatted down to stroke the orange fur. He opened his eyes and blinked up at her through the dust-moted sunshine streaming through her office window.

  “I wonder how well you’ll travel. Do I need to put you in a crate, or will you behave yourself and sit politely in the passenger seat?”

  The feline purred and closed his eyes, too sleepy to make such important decisions at the moment.

  “Okay, we’ll try the seat first, but we’ll take the crate just in case. I can always store stuff inside it if I need the space. The first order of business is to haul some of the diesel from the shed.”

  It would be a journey of more than sixteen hundred miles, which would begin first with a quick side trip to her house in Palo Alto. She would need more than fifty gallons of gas. Steven had instructed her on the finer points of gasoline siphoning, which she would be forced to do after she used up all three of the five-gallon plastic cans she would take with her.

  Apprehension blossomed in her belly. She’d worry about the siphoning business later. Besides, if she even managed to survive long enough to use all the fifteen gallons she’d be starting out with, it would be a minor miracle. She had no delusions about that. After all, she knew what type of people were out there, and she figured her odds of surviving the journey to Kansas were about the same as teaching Brains to share his squirrels.