Home: A Stranded Novel (15 page)

“I’m not looking forward to being out in that rain
, but it will feel good to be contributing. I kind of feel like we’re getting spoiled in this truck.”

Quinn smiled at her. “I was just feeling guilty about that
, but you’re right. We’ll be just as wet and miserable once we get to the south side.”

Using the bikes only worked on this side of town where it was mainly farm fields and country roads. The south side of town backed on to forest land with a golf course in between and only one main road running through it to enter the town. They had decided to scout out the golf course to see if the gang was using it for gardens like they had with the park. They needed to know if they were holding people in that area. They would leave the truck in the forest on one of the oil
well lease roads and walk in on foot through the trees. The entire group planned on scouting it out and they would split up and circle the golf course before checking the main highway’s roadblock for numbers.

Lisa broke into Quinn’s thoughts
, “There they are!”

Josh and Emily rode towards them and dismounted
from their bikes. Quinn flipped up his jacket’s hood and stepped out to give them a hand loading the bikes back into the truck. Once they were secured, Quinn suggested that Josh and Emily get into the cab to warm up. Josh could drive them to the next pick up spot and get warmed up.

Josh shook his head. “Thanks
, man, but we’re soaked through. We would just get the seats wet. Besides, you need to keep that leg warmed up for when we hit the south side. After that, we’ll all be wet, and I’ll take you up on that offer on the way home.”

Emily agreed by
hopping into the bed of the truck and making a “let’s go” motion with her hand. Quinn frowned in guilt, but agreed and got back into the truck and started it up. He knew how bad his leg would be aching after they scouted out the golf course on foot. The damp weather was already aggravating his leg injury and he was in for much worse.

David and Alex were already waiting by the side of the road when they came to pick them up. Josh waved Quinn back into the truck and
he and David loaded up the next pair of bikes. With a bang on the side of the truck to let him know they were ready, Quinn drove them to the last pick up spot. The four in the back huddled together for warmth as they waited on the side of the road for Cooper and Dara to make an appearance. It didn’t take long before they were spotted heading back towards the truck and their bikes were quickly loaded up. Quinn did another U-turn and headed away from the roadblock area. They would have to do a large circle around it to keep the sound of the truck’s engine from being heard.

Once they had gone around far enough, Quinn turned on to a road that would take them back west towards the town. They had been driving for ten minutes and were getting closer to the area they were going to hide the truck
in when a sign came into view that had him slowing the truck. He pulled over to the side of the road and hopped out to talk to his friends in the back. Dara and Lisa jumped out of the cab and joined him.

“Hey guys, I know we were going to park back in the trees and walk in to the golf course but I just remembered that the dump’s
northwest end backs almost against the eighteenth hole. What if we park in the dump and walk from there? It would put us a lot closer.”

Josh lifted his hood up so he could meet Quinn’s eyes. “I’m up for anything that will mean less walking in this miserable weather. There’s a bunch of junked cars in there that David and I pull parts from. We can put the truck back between some of them and it should go unnoticed. I doubt these
guys are using the dump anyway, so let’s do it.”

Everyone else agreed so Quinn jumped back in behind the steering wheel and took off. He made the turn on to the access road to the dump and followed it to the gates and past the small office shack. He didn’t give much thought to the gates being opened and drove deeper in on the dirt pathways that led to different dumping areas. When he saw the junk cars and trucks he drove slowly past until he found an opening between an abandoned school bus and a rust covered cargo van.

They all jumped out of the truck and walked back on the pathway they had driven on. Josh led the way and they followed him through the area towards the northwest corner. Every now and then a gust of wind would hit them that brought the faint smell of rot and the girls would wrinkle their noses. They came to the perimeter fence and Josh pulled a pair of wire cutters from his pack. They knew they might have to deal with fences on this trip so they had come prepared. It was easier to cut through the fences than to try and have everyone climb over them and risk being seen. The perimeter of the dump was separated from the golf course by fifty feet of trees and they all were happy with the coverage.

When they came to the tree line
, it was clear that at least this end of the course hadn’t been cultivated for growing. The once manicured lawns were starting to go wild, but they still looked like a golf course. The group split up with each team going separate ways to scout the whole course. Lisa, Emily, David and Cooper headed north towards town and would use the trees that had been planted between the backyards of houses backing on to the course for cover as they moved west. The others would travel south and circle west to check out the clubhouse and further on, the road that ran beside the course into town for a roadblock.

Lisa’s group stayed in the trees until they merged with the strip that protected the homes backing on to the course from any wild golf balls. They headed west and tried to stay in the middle of the narrow strip of trees
in case there was anyone in the houses that might look out and see them. They had been traveling for a while without seeing anything, when Cooper came to a stop and raised his hand so the others would stop also. He looked back at them and then pointed ahead towards the backyard of a house further on. There was a trail of smoke from some sort of fire coming from one of the homes. Lisa squinted through the rain and let out a small gasp. When all eyes swung her way she swallowed hard.

“That’s my house! That smoke is coming from my backyard!”
she exclaimed.

Cooper frowned and looked back at the smoke trail. “Is there a fire
pit in your backyard?”

Lisa nodded. “Yes, my
dad put it in a few years ago for company parties. My mother hated it and had it replaced with a decorative propane model though. She hated the smell of woodsmoke getting in her hair and clothes.”

“Well
, it’s a wood burning fire now. What kind of fence runs along the back?” Cooper asked.

Lisa though about it for a minute before replying.
“It’s a chainlink fence with plastic wooden strips woven through it. It’s only about five feet tall though and it has a wrought iron gate in it.”

Cooper looked at the others. “Ok
ay, let's get closer but move to the golf course side of the trees. There doesn’t seem to be anyone on the course so we should be good from that direction. We’ll take a look and see if anyone’s in the yard from there.”

The closer they got to Lisa’s yard
, the tighter her stomach got with nerves. She had no idea why the gang would be using her family’s home when so many others sat empty. When they were directly behind her yard’s fence, they crouched down and waited for any sounds to be made from the yard. When nothing happened for a few minutes, Lisa moved a few feet forward and over to look through the gate. From her angle she could see that the backyard was empty, but there was a fire going in the pit with a large pot suspended over it. She couldn’t smell any food being cooked in the air but there was steam rising from the pot. Movement caught her attention as the back door opened and slammed shut. A teenage girl crossed the deck and down the stairs. She walked straight to the fire and picked up a long wooden spoon and dipped it in. When the girl flipped her long bangs away from her face, Lisa’s eyes grew large. She flinched when Cooper put his hand on her shoulder from behind.

“Do you know who that is?”
he asked, almost directly in her ear.

Lisa nodded. “It’s Payton Abrahams. She
… was my assistant Captain on the cheerleading team. I have no idea why she’s at my house though.”

They stayed crouched down and watched the girl stir whatever was in the pot. Lisa studied her
former teammate’s face. They were not what you would call friends, as Lisa never really had any close friends, but the two girls had spent a long time together on the cheerleading team. Payton absently stirred the pot while looking blankly into the distance. The slump of her shoulders was a far cry from the confident cheerleader who used to walk the halls of the high school. When the girl reached a hand up and wiped away tears, Lisa moved forward. Cooper tightened his hand on her shoulder to stop her but she shrugged it off and moved closer to the fence.

All that separated Lisa from her back fence was
a strip of overgrown lawn and a paved walk way. Lisa scanned the back windows of her house and saw that every one was covered by closed blinds. She looked back at Payton and saw her chest hitch in a silent sob. Without even looking back at the others, she stepped out of the trees and dashed across the pathway, and crouched down behind her fence. She duck-walked forward until she was at the edge of the gate and she could peek around it. Checking the windows one more time for movement and finding none, Lisa made a “Psst!” noise.

The girl in the yard reacted like she had been hit and flinched violently before looking at the house and frantically searching the yard for the source of the noise. She spotted Lisa’s head peeking around the gate and did a double
-take with her mouth gaping open.

“Payton…it’s me, Lisa. What are you doing here?” Lisa called softly.

The girl looked desperately back at the house before hissing in the direction of the gate. “I don’t know how you got back here, Lisa, but you need to get away! Your mother…”

The sound of the back door opening cut her off and she frantically started to stir at the pot in front of her
, keeping her eyes down and away from the gate.

Lisa yanked her head back from the gate. Her heart was pounding and her eyes flashed to the trees but she couldn’t see any of her friends. The voice calling across the yard cut straight through her.

“What is taking so long out here, Payton? I know you are upset but you still have many more chores to do before our guests get here tonight!”

Lisa had no control over her legs as they st
raightened her into a standing position. She stepped in front of the gate and faced her mother. She was mildly surprised by her mother’s appearance. The woman looked exactly the same as when she had driven Lisa to the airport a month ago. Flawless makeup, and not a hair out of place complemented the designer dress and high heeled shoes. It was like her mother hadn’t been living without electricity for the last month.

Lisa’s mother was alerted by her movements
and her head turned to meet her daughter’s gaze. They stood facing each other like that for what felt to Lisa like hours before her mother’s expression altered slightly with raised eyebrows and she walked closer to the gate.

“Lisa…this is unexpected.” After a brief pause she continued. “I wouldn’t personally have chosen such a style for your hair
, but thankfully you have the eyes and cheekbones to carry it.”

Lisa’s mouth dropped open in shock as her mother studied her before she sputtered out,
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say to me after all this time? Mother, what is going on?”

The woman frowned
, “Please, Lisa. You know how I feel about dramatics. Of course I’m relieved to see you made it home safely. If you wish to discuss your trip then come in to the house. It will take some work to get you cleaned up and ready for later.”

“What are you talking about?! Why aren’t you at the school with the ot
hers? Who’re these guests you’re talking about?” Lisa asked in confusion.

Payton made a horrified sound
, bringing the woman’s focus back to her. “Payton! Go inside and get to work. Oh, and Payton? Not a word to anyone about this,” Lisa’s mother ordered.

Payton dropped the spoon and raced for the backdoor. When she reached it
, she turned back and behind the woman’s back, violently shook her head at Lisa in warning before slipping back into the house and closing the door.

Lisa refocused on her mother with a look of confusion. Before she could ask another question, her mother started to explain.

“As you know, I’m not accustomed to manual labour, so I made an arrangement with the men who are now in charge of our town. I get to live here in our home with a few other women and enjoy some extra privileges and luxuries in exchange for certain services. You would do well here with me. Come into the house and we can start getting you ready.”

Lisa stared at her mother. She wasn’t even surprised
, but just to be clear she asked, “You started a whorehouse and you want me to be one of your whores?”

Her mother frowned and waved her hand dismissively. “Really
, Lisa, don’t be ugly about it! I did what I had to do to survive. Now make your decision. Either come in to the house or leave the area and find someone else to take you in.” She looked back at the house and checked her watch. “Hurry up! I’m expecting some men to come and remove…some garbage. If you aren’t interested, I suggest you leave the area before you don't have a choice.”