The Sabbath Read online

  “We don’t need food, we have lots of that. We need water. I think two five-liter bottles will do,” Lana informed Doug as they climbed into the first truck, joining Cory.

  “Yeah, there’s water in the back there. I even got some vitamin water – all types of flavors. I saved those for you,” Doug smiled.

  Cory shook his head, trying to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth. He hated the man, but he had to control his temper. Doug was an asset – a valuable one at that.

  The second truck had weapons as well as cameras and other devices to update Lana’s systems and maintain their fortress of a home. Cory wasn’t too keen on the details of how Lana maintained everything - he surveyed the truck once and then sat at the door waiting for Lana to take what she needed.

  “Hey, Cory,” Lana drawled, “why don’t you check the last truck with Doug. I have a few things to collect here, and you’re not doing anything. When I have what I need, I’ll come over to you guys.”

  Cory wasn’t thrilled with her suggested, but complied, mostly because Doug would be with him. Doug ordered two of the raiders to watch Lana while he took Cory over to the last truck.

  “Well, I hope you’ll find something interesting in here. Lana was specific about what she wanted…she’s smart, and for some reason, she thinks you are too. I don’t see it, but hey, what do I know,” Doug jeered as they hopped inside.

  Smart-ass! - Another reason Cory hated him! A quick glance at the two armed men standing behind them made Cory think twice about making Doug eat his words. Regardless, he would not let some low-life commando wanna-be insult his intelligence. Puffing up his chest, he turned to face Doug, as the pair of armed men inched closer.

  They stood there, glaring at each other, refusing to show any sign of weakness. They were the same height, but Cory’s physique was more imposing, and he wanted Doug to know it, and in front of his gang. He wanted to remind Doug he was superior to him in every way. He stood there and watched as Doug’s grin faded bit by bit, before chuckling to himself.

  “Just like I thought - now move along, so I can see what’s inside,” Cory snarled.

  Feeling disrespected, Doug grunted loudly as he crossed his arms, challenging Cory to act.

  Great! Another tough guy, Cory thought as he assessed the situation. He wanted nothing more than to pummel Doug’s face until it turned blue. But the MGP-84 machine pistols Doug’s men had pointed at his head, ready to fire if he even flinched at Doug the wrong way caused him to show restraint. Cory chuckled and brushed past him as he walked toward the wooden crates, stacked from the floor to the ceiling.

  Cory spotted a smaller crate toward the back that appeared out of place. It had unusual markings on the side that heightened his suspicions. The top of the box read in big, bold red letters: To Damian Phillips, CONFIDENTIAL and HANDLE WITH CARE.

  Well, this looks promising, Cory thought.

  “Pass me the crowbar,” he barked at one of the armed thugs.

  He’d hoped this crate would give him an idea of what was in the other boxes, avoiding having to go through them one by one. Prying off the top, the box did nothing, but instill more confusion. Inside the crate, were blueprints, neatly rolled and placed one on top of another in an organized fashion.

  “What is all of this?” Cory said, unrolling the first blueprint from the box.

  He couldn’t help feeling he had stumbled on something important. At first glance, they appeared to be floor plans for a building, but it seemed far too complicated to be a mere sketch of a construction site. They were more like the blueprints Lana would make when she created new devices. Decrypting the formulas printed in white ink would be difficult, if not impossible. Frustrated, Cory rolled the blueprint back up. No point looking at it further, it would take Lana to figure out what the drawings represented.

  Looking for more general clues, he opened some of the bigger crates. Inside were small black rectangular devices, each in a clear protective plastic. They looked like USB flash drives that plugged into computers. Cory took a device and held it up to get a better view.

  After removing the plastics, he massaged it. Sliding his fingers across one side of the device while twirling it between his fingers, he was startled as it popped open to reveal a tiny computer chip. The chip was very thin and rectangular and looked like the SIM cards found in cell phones. It had two slender, smooth flat surfaces - one white and the other black. The white side had tiny green wires in patterns.

  “What is this?” Cory asked once more, hoping his question wouldn’t go unanswered.

  “Not sure what it is. They’re sending out about a hundred and fifty trucks just like this - with the same stuff inside - to every major city across the country. Rumor has it that they’re distributing these things all over the world. I thought this would be something Lana would be interested in,” Doug informed.

  “All right, ” Cory sneered, still showing his animosity.

  After opening five more boxes, he realized they all had the same small devices inside. This is crazy, Cory thought for the hundredth time. It didn’t take rocket science to recognize that he had stumbled upon something important, and he wanted to figure out what these mysterious chips were, and why they were being delivered to every city in the world.

  When Lana entered the truck, Cory was sitting on the floor rubbing the tiny computer chip in the palm of his hand.

  “Whoa! What’s that?” she said, intrigued.

  “Beats me…some sort of computer chip,” Cory replied as he stood up and turned to the others. “We’re taking whatever Lana has and these two boxes,” he ordered, pointing at the smaller crates with the blueprints and one with the computer chips. “Doug, you know anything at all about what these are and what they do?”

  He looked straight at Doug to determine the level of honesty in his response.

  “Nope, I just have their delivery information. They began distribution about two days ago. They’re pretty well guarded - more so even than water. Oh, and they go to every city - about the same number as the registered population. That’s all I got,” Doug responded, shrugging his shoulder before turning his full attention to Lana. “So, for all the stuff you guys are taking, and the risk I took to get them here…how will my services be paid for?”

  “How much do you want?” Cory answered.

  He scanned Cory up and down with confidence before he said, “$2,000 for the crates, $3,000 for my resources.”

  Five thousand dollars was a lot of money, especially now the majority of the population was living on only pennies a day. Lana had almost that much left over from what her grandmother had sent, and Cory had $1,500 saved up from previous raids. But no way was he going to give Doug as much as he wanted.

  “I don’t have $5,000, Doug.”

  “Well, what do you have?”

  “I have $1,000,” Cory lied.

  “Well, that will get you two crates of water, but everything else stays here, and it’ll go to the highest bidder,” Doug smirked.

  Especially with the attitude Cory gave him, Doug enjoyed the ultimate leverage he had when it came down to negotiating for the merchandise he had just stolen.

  “Come on, man, how about if I give you the $1,000 and then you wait till we sell the other stuff, and I’ll give you 80% off that?” Cory pleaded.

  Doug thought about the offer. Of course, he would accept it, but he was having fun toying with Cory’s sudden interest in the merchandise.

  “Okay, I’ll take it. But only if Lana upgrades the security system in my new house,” he said with one eyebrow raised.

  As much as Cory hated the thought of Lana going to Doug’s house, it was more than reasonable for what they were getting in return. They shook hands in agreement and Lana and Cory headed back to their car. Doug ordered his armed raiders to carry their crates to the Audi.

  “I look forward to hearing from y’all real soon,” Doug smiled as he watched them climb back into their vehicle.

  “Cory, let’s do his security
as soon as possible. Doug isn’t someone who should be played with,” Lana cautioned.

  “Yeah, tell me about it. I’ll hit him up tomorrow.”

  Cory drove silently as they began their long trip home, giving Lana plenty of time to reminisce how organized the raids had become. Most of the risk had been reduced, and the quality of merchandise had increased.

  ***

  It certainly didn’t start that way. In the beginning, going on raids was stressful and filled with life-threatening situations. Most times the items they got didn’t justify the risk. Cory started raiding alone and had no clue how to go about it. Others were overtaking convoys as they drove from city to city, but many people got hurt on those raids too. Not only were there armed servicemen, he also had to factor in the other raiders who weren’t going to share the items in the trucks.

  To participate in raids, you needed information about what each truck contained, the roads the convoys traveled, and what times they would go through certain cities. It was all but impossible to get that kind of information.

  Cory proved resourceful by getting David, a friend from the days of playing basketball, to share his information. David was one of the few people Cory still talked to after The Sabbath.

  David got his information from his older brother, Mike, who had just gotten a job as a serviceman. When he heard Cory wanted in on the raid, he was willing to do more than help them.

  He met up with Cory and talked him through how the raids operated. Concerned for his safety, he explained how dangerous it was and how the majority of people who went on a raid got hurt, and over half of those people ended up on the brink of death.

  Mike took a liking to Cory - so much so, that he provided Cory with intel on future raids at no charge, as long as he was careful and trusted none of the other raiders.

  Cory, knowing the danger, made sure Lana and Isabel knew the proper use of firearms - not just for raids, but for their safety at home as well. He figured it would relieve some of the anxieties he felt when he had to leave the girls at home alone.

  Lana smiled as she remembered getting ready for her first raid. Isabel had refused to go. She was uncomfortable with fighting, and she couldn’t stomach the grotesque things she might see. The first raid Lana went on was with Cory and David. That night, David and two of his friends, Jamal and Jeremiah, drove a black SUV van to Cory’s house. Lana heard them coming. They had the Wu-Tang blaring through their speakers, shaking every single house they passed. They parked in the driveway and waited for Cory to come outside while Lana was inside begging Cory not to go.

  “Come on, Cory,” she begged. “David is an idiot, and he’s reckless. He’s always been this way, getting into fights, abusing girls and drugs. What if something happens to you?”

  “Cory,” Isabel added, “this guy is bad news. I don’t want you to go tonight, please.”

  “Look, you’re both being ridiculous. Have you noticed how we’re living right now? We need water and food. If I have to eat ramen noodles one more time, I will die - literally just curl up and die,” Cory yelled at the both of them out of frustration.

  “Well, why can’t we go by ourselves? Mike already told you what to do,” Lana reasoned. “We can do it ourselves.”

  Cory took a deep breath as he shook his head.

  “Lana, I’m going with them,” Cory affirmed. “If you want to come, grab your vest and your gun. If you continue to complain with Isabel, then stay home. I don’t need any more stress.”

  Cory marched toward the door, and without saying another word, Lana followed. She turned to Isabel and mouthed, “Bye.” As the door shut, she saw tears streaming down Isabel’s face. She was heartbroken, but she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if anything happened to Cory and she wasn’t there. Walking to David’s van, Lana said silent prayers, one for her and Cory, and one for Isabel.

  “What’s up guys?” Cory said as they hopped in the car.

  “About time,” Jamal replied as he sped down the street. “We’re on a tight schedule.”

  Lana settled in next to Cory. She put her head down as she texted Isabel, and out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jeremiah peeking down her shirt. Pervert, she thought, crossing her arms, blocking his view. She had never met him before. If she weren’t so disgusted, she would have even considered him handsome. His cheekbones made him pretty and dangerous, but it was his lips and his smile that were the real charmers. His smile was a spell that could put a girl into a trance.

  While Jeremiah was watching Lana, Jamal explained their game plan.

  “Okay, listen up, because I’ll say this once. We’re hitting up two trucks. One has food and the other has water. The one with food will be easy. But the one with water will be challenging. David’s brother is guarding the food truck and he agreed to hook us up – so let’s pray the other raiders haven’t gotten to him first. The second truck will be old school.”

  “Old school is my type of party,” Jeremiah cackled.

  “Focus,” Jamal scolded. “Now, we will attack from the front. The trucks are hard to run over, so we will park in the middle of the road and force the driver to stop or at least slow down. When he does, Jeremiah and David will exit the van and pretend that we have a flat tire. We have tools underneath that we will use to burn the engine of the truck. This way they can’t drive off.

  “Now, the second truck has two servicemen guarding the water in back. The serviceman with the driver will be David’s job. David, make sure you bust his ass before he can do anything. Jeremiah, you will take care of the servicemen in the back.”

  “So what do we do?” Lana asked Jamal.

  “Follow Jeremiah. If he needs backup, the two of you will help. It’s simple. Don’t get fucked up - you do the fucking up. Got that, Princess?”

  “Yes, I got it. Take their stuff, and don’t get hurt. Not rocket science,” she boasted, trying to mask her anxiety.

  David, along with his friends, had dark chocolate skin with well-defined facial features, making them look more like fashion models than petty thugs. Each had a broad muscular physique - as Lana thought more about it, it made sense. David was on the football team at school; where he likely met Jamal and Jeremiah. But despite their looks, Jamal was by far the scariest in the crew. There was something about him that struck fear into her heart.

  Jeremiah interrupted her thoughts. “Did you guys bring weapons?”

  “Yeah, we’re prepared,” Cory responded.

  “Do you know how to use them?” he asked.

  “Yes, we’re good,” Cory added. He had watched Jeremiah staring at Lana and didn’t like him.

  They were zooming down a one-lane highway in the middle of nowhere. It was dark except for the faint light of the few scattered lampposts revealing only trees and bushes for miles. The car had slowed down to twenty-five miles per hour instead of the ninety it had been doing.

  “Okay, get ready - here comes the truck,” Jamal barked. “Oh, and Princess, be careful, you’re too pretty for all this.”

  With Jeremiah staring at her as if he wanted to pounce on her and Jamal’s blatant teasing, Lana’s fear had turned to aggravation. As the van came to a screeching halt, the truck pulled up behind them.

  Full of adrenaline, Lana’s heart was beating rapidly. The time had come. David and Jeremiah jumped out of the van. They gave each other a nod and walked toward the back right tire.

  David stooped down and reached under the van; meanwhile, the passenger door of the truck opened and a serviceman hopped out.

  “Hey, get the fuck off the road,” he hollered, waving his gun in the air.

  David jolted up and swung as if he was throwing a baseball, something shiny flew and landed between the serviceman’s eyes. Another followed and landed in the center of his forehead. Lana gasped as the serviceman stood in the middle of the road, eyes wide and bulging.

  Blood ran down the middle of his face. He made a soft grunt and fell to the ground. Before she could process what had just happened, J
eremiah was at the hood of the truck. He stuck a device onto the hood and within seconds, smoke poured out of the truck’s engine. The truck made a popping sound, and then BANG. Lana jumped from the thunderous sound, but Jeremiah didn’t flinch. He moved to the driver’s side of the truck, and placed a second device near the door handle. Within seconds, he had the door open, and dragged the driver out. He called to Cory.

  “Shoot him,” he ordered.

  “What? No. Don’t do it, Cory,” Lana yelled. “This isn’t us.”

  “Quiet, Lana!” Cory replied, then turned his attention back to Jeremiah, “Why do I have to shoot him? Look at him, he’s no threat to us.”

  “It’s a lesson you have to learn. You can’t spare anyone on these raids. You think he’s not armed; he’s waiting for the perfect time to grab his knife strapped to his ankle. He will cut your throat and watch you bleed out. Do you know what it’s like to bleed out but not die?” Jeremiah asked.

  Cory shook his head.

  “Well, you will if you don’t shoot him,” Jeremiah added.

  Cory worried on what would happen if he didn’t follow through. He wouldn’t risk putting Lana’s life in jeopardy. Grabbing his gun, he aimed it at the driver’s head. But he couldn’t pull the trigger. This man had done nothing to him.

  The driver looked at him, his eyes narrowed.

  “He’s right. If you let me go, I’ll gut all of you like fish and then fuck her while you all bleed out…”

  Jeremiah pulled the trigger before the driver could finish his sentence. His brains splattered on the side of the truck.

  Monsters - was the only word that came to Lana’s mind when she thought about Cory’s filthy friends.

  ***

  The memory was still as vivid and shocking as it had been during her first raid. She wondered once more what happened to the driver, and if he had recovered from that shot to his head. Shaking it off, she breathed in deeply and turned toward Cory, wanting to talk to break out of her painful recollections. His face was set and eyes straight ahead. He was still wrapped in his own thoughts as he continued to drive in total silence.