The New World: Book 7 of the After The Event Series Page 11

“I’ve fought by your side since New York. You’re a soldier and a damn good one.” Ben placed his hand on Ty’s shoulder. “You focus on the here and now. Aim, breathe, fire and don’t get shot.”

  “I will,” Ty said.

  “You owe Chavez, Dex and me a round when we get back.”

  Ty looked up and smiled. “It’s not my turn.”

  Ben slapped him on the shoulder and turned to walk toward the front of the compound. “It’s already been decided.”

  Ty’s face grew serious and he nodded toward Ben. Ben did the same.

  Ally

  Ally stood outside their old house and stared up at it, waiting for some kind of feeling to bubble to the surface. Nothing came. This building was simply a place she would go for rest and to resupply, nothing more. Adam and Dena stood off to the side, holding hands, with tears in their eyes. To them this place was more than just a building. They found it, built it up and turned it into a home, and now they were leaving it. Ally gave the building one last look and then headed into the safe zone. The zone was alive with activity as most of the inhabitants gathered their things and prepared for the move to the new settlement. There were a handful that had decided they were going to stay and continue what they had started there. The military made it clear they would no longer support or protect the safe zone and those that were staying said they understood.

  Her new bow bounced on her back as she jogged through the middle of the town towards the outskirts. There it was quiet, or it usually was. As Ally jogged the sound of kids playing became louder and louder and soon she realized there was a group of five kids, most of them no older than seven or eight years old, out playing around the dilapidated buildings. They turned to her as she approached and she noticed the familiar face of Coby. The boy turned a shade of red and reluctantly nodded at her.

  “Hey Ally,” Coby said.

  Ally looked everyone over before turning her attention back to Coby. “Out a little far, aren’t you?”

  “Uh, no, maybe, I guess,” Coby said, dropping his head.

  “That’s just Ally,” said a girl with dark black hair and rosy red cheeks. “She’s ok, she won’t tell on us.”

  “You still shouldn’t be all the way out here,” Ally said with a frown mainly directed toward Coby.

  “You’re not going to tell on us are you?” Coby asked, but it sounded more like a plea.

  Ally heard steps coming up from behind her.

  “She won’t have to,” said one of the peacekeepers as he approached. Ally didn’t remember the man’s name but she recognized his face. He was a man of close to fifty, balding and slightly pudgy but well-meaning. “You all need to head home before you get left behind.”

  “My mommy said we aren’t going. We’re going to stay here,” said a boy in blue tank top.

  “I don’t care if you are staying or moving, just get your butts back to town.” The peacekeeper saw Ally standing there and gave her a wink.

  “Fine,” the kids said in unison as they began to collect their things.

  Ally gave Coby a stern look and he nodded back at her. She jogged off toward an old convenience store that she used for target practice. She stood at the back where she had several bulls-eyes painted on the rear wall. She let the first arrow go and it struck the wall with a solid thwack just a few inches from the red bulls-eye. Ally frowned. She was still getting used to the new bow. It was longer and slightly heavier than her old one. As she continued to grow it would last longer than her last one, but she was still getting used to it. As she pulled another arrow out she heard a shout.

  “There is nothing here for you,” came the voice of the peacekeeper.

  “We’ll see about that,” came a gruff voice.

  Ally kept the arrow in her bow and crept over to where the peacekeeper and the children were. The peacekeeper stood in front with the children huddled behind him. In front of him were two large men dressed in nothing more than rags, with brown crusty beards covering their faces. One man had a hatchet at his side, the other a knife.

  “Those are some pretty cute kids,” said the man with the hatchet. “I’m sure their parents are just waiting for them to come home.”

  “There are armed army men a shout away from here,” the peacekeeper said. “They have guns and won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your heads.”

  “You can shout, but we have enough time to make sure you and at least a couple of them little ones don’t make it back alive,” the man with the hatchet said. “What do you have to trade for their lives?”

  The peacekeeper stood there for a moment then reached in his pockets. He pulled out a few bags of jerky and threw them at the ground next to the men. It was then that Ally realized the peacekeeper must be unarmed.

  The man with the hatchet bent down and picked up the bags of jerky. “This is good for maybe…one….two of the kids?”

  “That’s all I have. Let the kids go and I’ll make sure I get you more.”

  “I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed but I’m not that dumb. Hand over one of the kids.” The man with the hatchet looked directly toward Coby.

  Ally stepped forth, the bow pointed at the man with the hatchet. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

  The man with the hatchet stopped and turned toward her. His eyes flashed from the bow to her face, a look of uncertainty on his face. “What is this, the Old West? You know how to use that, sweetie?”

  “Turn around now or you’ll find out.”

  The man with the knife took a couple of steps away from the man with the hatchet. “Even if you hit one of us, you won’t be able to hit us both.”

  “Try me.”

  “Can do.”

  The man with the knife charged her. Ally swung her bow to the man with the knife and the arrow sliced through the air and struck him square in the chest. The blow knocked the man off his feet. The man with the hatchet was already charging as she reached back for another arrow. He let out a scream as he raised his hatchet back above his head, but before he could send it crashing down through her, the second arrow struck his right shoulder. The hatchet flew from his hand and he stumbled and crashed into the ground in front of her. The man fumbled around at his side and started to pull out a knife when another arrow cut through his hand and pinned it to his leg. He let out a scream of pain. Ally walked over to his friend and saw his face frozen in a look of fear and pain. The man was dead.

  “I warned you,” she said calmly as she turned back around.

  All but Coby had run off when the first man charged. The boy stood there with a large stick in his hand, ready to jump in and help her out. The peacekeeper was next to him, standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

  The wounded man looked from her to the peacekeeper. “I wasn’t going to actually hurt anyone. Shit’s hard out there, I was just looking for a little help.” He looked down at his pinned hand and then back to Ally. “How the fuc…what the hell are you?”

  Coby dropped the stick and folded his arms across his chest. “That’s Ally; she protects us from bad guys.”

  Ally smiled at Coby and then turned her attention back to the man. “You heard him. Now are you going to sit there until they come to arrest you, or do you want to continue helping me with my target practice?”

  The man dropped his head back and closed his eyes.

  The peacekeeper smiled. “Smart choice.”

  Alec

  The vehicle envoy showed up at Centralia the next day.

  Two jeeps led the way. They were heavily modified, with a machine gun stand installed in both and men manning the guns. Behind them was a large SUV with windows so heavily tinted it was impossible to see who was inside, but they knew there was only one group around with enough resources to accomplish something like this. Noah stepped out of the SUV and nearly a dozen men came out with him, all fully armed. Despite the show of force, Noah stepped out, all smiles, and shook hands with everyone he met. When he spotted Alec his smiled brightened and he rushed over to
shake his hand.

  “Sorry to come over under these circumstances but good to see you again,” he said.

  “You too,” Alec said warmly.

  “You all have a place where we can meet?”

  Alec and Whitford led him and his men into the town hall.

  “I’m not one to beat around the bush. I’m sure you all know why I’m here,” Noah said as he took off his jacket and sat down on one of the lunch tables in the corner. Landon stood off to the side, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

  Whitford, Alec and Trevor sat down around the same table.

  “We’ve had several run-ins with people in one of the nearby towns,” Whitford said first. “At first it was just a war of words, then we had some livestock go missing over the winter and just yesterday there was the incident I’m sure you’re already aware of.”

  “Is that what these people are after, food?” Noah asked, frowning.

  Whitford nodded.

  “And I take it you all have tried to trade with them, just as you did with us?”

  “We have,” Alec said. “They are led by a man, Dante, who doesn’t seem too interested in working with us.”

  “I know those types. I’ve been told you all would also like to keep this between your two groups; is that correct?”

  “We would,” Alec answered.

  “Which is very respectable. The problem is that I understand one of the fields was badly burnt?”

  “It was,” Whitford said.

  “While I understand that the trade agreement is between us and New Hope, it can’t be ignored that your two towns share a symbiotic relationship wherein if one of you is in need the other steps in to help. So if a field in Centralia is damaged and food is lost, then it is likely that New Hope will step in to assist.”

  Alec looked to Whitford, who shrugged and nodded his head yes.

  “So the more food that New Hope provides to Centralia, the less food you would be able or willing to trade.” Noah leaned back in his chair.

  “While it’s not exactly that simple-” Trevor started.

  “It’s not entirely off base though,” Noah said, sitting back up. “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you all planning on doing?”

  “Dante is the problem,” Whitford said. “If he’s out of the picture we can take on the rest.”

  Noah raised an eyebrow. “Out of the picture, huh? How long have these people been following this Dante?”

  “Not sure, quite a while. Probably shortly after the world turned to shit,” Whitford said.

  “The reason I ask is that tough times can either spilt a group apart or make the bond nearly unbreakable. You take this Dante out of the picture, whether it be by throwing him in a jail cell or something more…permanent, but it doesn’t mean the problem goes away. The people that are loyal to him aren’t going away; if anything they are going to become even more of a nuisance. They will do everything they can to free him or avenge his death.”

  “What exactly do you suggest then?” Trevor asked, a look of distrust plastered all over his face.

  “I don’t know enough about the situation to make an informed decision on the matter. Outside of my fear of losing a valuable trading partner, I’ve grown to know quite a few of you, and would rather you all not get hurt.” Noah smiled and straightened his sleeves.

  “We can send them a warning,” Trevor said. “Let them know they won’t get another chance.”

  Landon snorted and shook his head. For a moment a look of annoyance appeared on Noah’s face but it disappeared just as quickly.

  “Something you wanted to say?” Noah asked, not turning to him.

  “Your warning won’t mean shit to them. They’ve been stealing from you all winter despite your threats. They just burnt down an entire field worth of crops and you want to tell them to stop, or else? They don’t fear you, otherwise it would have stopped by now,” Landon said.

  “I don’t believe these people are dumb,” Noah said slowly. “A show of force could let them know you mean business. We could help with that.”

  “What do you mean?” Alec asked.

  “We have a lot of vehicles, men and guns. If we were to pull up to their town and let them know further attacks will not be tolerated, that should give them something to think about.”

  “And if it doesn’t?” Trevor asked.

  “Then you tried diplomacy. But I can’t believe their leader would want to lead them to destruction, no matter how proud or stubborn he may be.”

  Landon dropped his head but didn’t say anything.

  “It’s something to talk about,” Trevor said, looking to Whitford.

  “What is there is talk about?” Landon asked. “The longer you go without responding the more likely they are to think you are scared. If they smell blood in the water then this will only get worse.”

  Noah raised a hand in Landon’s direction and the man froze. “This is their decision to make.” Landon huffed and walked out of the building. After a few brief moments of silence, Noah took in a deep breath. “He is a good man, but he sometimes has a hard time seeing things from other people’s point of view. You all have a decision to make and I won’t pretend it is an easy one. Just let me know if you need my assistance and we will be glad to help.”

  Noah stood up and shook everyone’s hands before leaving the room.

  “I would like to get the Council together and discuss this,” Trevor said to Whitford.

  “You all can talk to your people and I’ll talk to mine,” Whitford said. “This last attack was focused on us. I’ll listen to what your people have to say, but this affects us even more.”

  Trevor opened his mouth to say something but Alec caught his attention and shook his head.

  “We understand,” Alec said. “We will be quick.”

  Ben

  They were coming.

  The sounds of dozens of vehicles approaching caused the stirring in the compound to cease. Every person was in position, waiting. Nearly as loud as the vehicles were the footsteps of hundreds of people as they made the trek from the city up the hill to their walled-off compound. Ben looked over his assault rifle, wiping away a smudge of dirt on the side of the barrel and checking the safety. He peered out of the Iron Gate toward the approaching army. Four Humvees led the pack, with over a dozen trucks following behind, moving slowly. The first few lines of infantry tried to position themselves directly behind the vehicles while the rest walked freely behind with seemingly not a care in the world. The distance between the city and their walled-off community was approximately four football fields and just as the front line of the Forgotten army crossed the barrier from the city to the open road, the first explosion hit.

  It was time.

  The first collection of pipe-bombs went off on the right flank of the approaching army, sending one of the trucks careening onto its side. Dozens of lives were lost in an instant. Within seconds the second collection went off on the left side of the army. This explosion didn’t damage any of the vehicles but it hit a large collection of their infantry. Ben saw several bodies sail through the air and heard screams ring out from the crowd. His hope was that this collection of inexperienced civilians would have turned and fled, but they continued marching. They were believers, a brainwashed collection of individuals hell-bent on saving a man that wasn’t worth saving. As two of the Humvees got within 150 yards of the compound the .50 caliber mounted machine guns mounted on top of their vehicles opened fire.

  Ben dove back behind the brick walls as the bullets peppered the ground and wall all around him. He listened as the bricks began to chip away and the debris flew through the air. The walls wouldn’t hold up long against those weapons. A few of the men stationed atop the wall began to fire back and within seconds one of their bodies was flung from the wall and landed on the ground near Ben; he was gone. The bullets continued to pound into the brick wall until they suddenly stopped. They were reloading.

  “Fire!” Ben screamed as h
e turned from cover and aimed down his sights.

  The Forgotten infantry was nearly even with the Humvees and as Ben pulled out, they opened fire. Ben got off a couple of shots before he had to roll back into cover as the ground all around him exploded in a hail of bullets. There were too many. Another soldier fell from the wall and landed on the ground a few yards from him. The woman had several bullet wounds to the chest and she was writhing in pain. Ben glanced out into the open road in front of their compound. They had pulled several of their own vehicles out into the open strategically throughout the front of the yard and just as they had assumed, the Forgotten began to use the vehicles as cover. Ben pulled out his pipe bomb and lit it with the switch lighter that Banner had given him. He took a deep breath, said a silent prayer and then turned from cover and threw the pipe bomb. The metal cylinder flew end over end through the air and landed a few feet from a large sedan, rolling underneath it.

  “Fire in the hole!” Ben screamed over the sounds of bullets hitting all around them.

  The soldiers on the wall dove down and everyone around him hid behind cover as the world seemed to explode around them. The explosion took his hearing. All he could hear was the ringing of his ears. Of course that’s what happens a sedan packed with over a dozen pipe bombs and all the gas left in the community. The ringing stopped him from hearing the sound of the thousands of nails they had packed the vehicle with being thrown throughout the air, striking any- and everything in sight. The wave of the explosion blurred his vision and for a moment all Ben saw were the images in front of him weaving in and out of focus. When his vision fully returned he looked to the iron gate and saw several nails driven fully into the metal bars.

  Ben pulled out of cover again and saw the destruction in front of them. Body parts were spread throughout the opening. Dozens of people were writhing in agony but instead of their screams all he heard was the ringing of his own ears. The two Humvees were no longer manned; blood splatter was the only evidence they had once been. Dozens more people were fleeing down the hill, signs of blood covering the entirety of their bodies. For a brief moment Ben felt a rising of hope, then he saw a streak of white approaching. His mind registered the rocket just as it hit the far side of the wall and exploded.