Through Many Fires (Strengthen What Remains) (17 page)

Bang!

Caden
jerked his head about.
What? A blown tire?

The
driver cursed loudly.

The
car skidded to a stop slamming Caden into the belt.

Throwing
the car into reverse the driver weaved the car backward.

Muzzles
flashed.

Caden
rolled the window down and returned fire.

The
Humvee pull back to the curve, stopped across both lanes, and the soldiers
jumped out and returned fire.

Glancing
quickly to his side he realized they were at the off ramp to Hansen. “Pull in
there,” he ordered. The other three trucks followed them into the empty parking
lot. Everyone was out of their vehicle in a second.

Caden
tossed the M4 to the young soldier and pulled his pistol from the holster. “You
guys,” he said pointing to the men from the trucks, “stay here and guard the
supplies.” With the soldier from his car he moved forward into the forest.
“Radio the others and tell them we are on the right flank in the woods.”

The
young man nodded and reported in with the others at the Humvee.

Minutes
later Caden was just off to the side of the makeshift roadblock. “Have the men
hold their fire.”

When
the shooting stopped, Caden crawled up to the barricade. There was blood, but
no bandits.

Turning
to the man with him he said, “Tell everyone we’ve secured the blockade. Have
them clear it from the road and secure the perimeter. Also tell them I’m
heading back that way. I don’t want to get shot.”

Caden
jogged along the highway to the lot. Throwing up the back hatch of the car, he
pulled ammo boxes toward him grabbed several magazines and reloaded others. Out
of the corner of his eye he glimpsed two of his soldiers escorting a civilian.
“Are you guys okay?” he asked without turning.

“
Yes
sir. The shooters appear to have run off. The only one we captured is this old
guy.”

Caden
turned and locked eyes on a grey-haired man that, weeks earlier, would have
been dismissed as a bum.

The
old man’s eyes widened. “Son?”

“
Dad?”

The
face was gaunt, the beard scraggly. Disheveled grey hair topped his head and he
wore a heavy tan jacket that needed a wash. But under the dirty hair and grime Caden
could see the face of his father, Trevor Westmore.

The
older man stepped forward and embraced his son. “I’ve been worried about you
ever since that first horrible day.”

Caden
hugged his father. “I was worried about you too, Dad.”

“
I
thought…I, well…you’re alive, thank God.”

Stepping
back from his father, Caden asked, “What are you doing here? I expected you to
be somewhere along the North Road. You didn’t shoot at us did you?”

“
No!
Well, not exactly. I was up on the hill there,” he said pointing, “watching the
guys at the blockade from behind. I had only been there a few minutes when I
heard the sound of trucks coming. I was certain they would ambush whoever came
down the road. When the lead Humvee rounded the bend I knew I had to act and
fired my shotgun. At that range I was sure it wouldn’t hurt anyone, but that
you would hear it and probably see the muzzle flash. By-the-way, when did you
go back in the Army?”

“
I’ll
tell you all about it later, but right now I need more answers, like did you
find Peter and Susan?”

Suddenly
his father looked much older. “I never found Peter, but I did find Sue. She is
in a backroom of the church,” he said with a nod toward the building across the
street. “I left her there while I checked out the blockade.”

“
Come
on. Let’s get her. We need to get moving before the bandits decide to come
back.” Caden ordered the men to finish clearing the barricade then regroup in
the convenience store parking lot. “Keep an eye out for shooters and be ready
to move when we come out of the church.”

His
father retrieved a pump shotgun from the soldier beside him and pulled a
flashlight from his pocket. Caden followed as his dad led across the street and
through the church parking lot. As they went his father asked questions. “How’s
your mom? Have you seen Lisa? Has there been any more looting?”

Caden
did his best to answer the questions. Near the convoy there had been sufficient
light, but as they approached the church darkness closed in. He turned on his
own flashlight. “Do you think Peter was too close when they detonated the
bomb?”

“
I
hate to think about what might have happened to him. Susan and I were almost
too close to the blast. I can’t see how your brother would have survived. I saw
the flash and then both of us heard and felt it before seeing the mushroom
cloud rise over a line of trees to the north. My old truck was the only auto
that was still running. It amazed me how many people were in the area. As we
sped away from the growing mushroom cloud, everyone ran in a panic toward my truck.”

The
front doors to the church had been broken open. Caden pulled his pistol from
the holster as he crossed the threshold. Automatically he flipped a light
switch inside, but nothing happened. By flashlight the two men proceeded. Trash
and debris were scattered on the floor of the lobby.

“
This
way,” his father whispered as he moved to the left.

Looking
at the empty water bottles, beer cans and food wrappers that littered the way,
Caden asked in a low voice, “Are you sure no one is in here?”

“
I
checked earlier. We were going to spend the night here and then push on to
Hansen in the morning.”

“
If
it’s deserted why are we whispering?”

His
father chuckled. “I don’t know. By-the-way, Sue is armed with a pistol.”

As
they passed a lavatory the smell of human waste hung heavy in the air.

Reaching
the middle of the hall his father stopped. “Susan it’s me. I’m with Caden.”

There
was no answer. Slowly he opened the door.

Susan
stood just inside. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing a heavy old army
coat, but Caden was focused on the pistol she was only slowly lowering to her
side. With her free hand she put one finger to her lips and said in a barely
audible whisper. “There are other people in the building.”

The
two men stepped in the dark room. Caden stayed near the door and watched the
hall.

“
How
did I miss them earlier?” his dad wondered out loud.

“
They
came in after all the shooting,” she said. “They ran down this hall, but I
don’t know where they are now.”

“
They
must have circled back,” Caden said. “They probably left supplies or something
else important here.”

“
You
don’t have a radio on you do you?” his father asked.

“
No.”
Caden thought for a moment then said, “I’ll lead the way out. Whoever is in
here is either avoiding us or hoping to trap us. Either way, I don’t want to
encounter them, but if we do I’ll shoot. That should bring the soldiers.”

“
Why
not just shoot now and alert them?” Trevor asked.

“
I
don’t want to pull them away from the convoy unless it is necessary. We have
three trucks full of food, ammo and medicine and a fueler out there.” He took
one more look down the hall then said, “You two stay low.”

“
That’s
a little hard to do right now,” Sue said.

Caden
wondered what she meant, but he pushed it from his mind and focused on the
immediate task of getting out of the building.

His
father picked up a bulging army backpack and slid it on. Caden turned to the
hall, looked both ways, then carefully stepped from the room. With Susan in the
middle the three moved silently toward the lobby.

Arriving
at the end of the hallway, Caden leaned slowly forward leading with his pistol.

A shot
rang out splintering the wood just above his arm, but not hitting him. He
dropped and fired two shots at a figure silhouetted by light from the convoy.

A man
screamed in pain.

Another
shot hit the wall near Caden.

His
father stepped to the corner and fired his shotgun.

Caden
heard running and then a muffled shot. He waited several seconds and then
cautiously looked around the corner. Two headlights now illuminated much of the
lobby. Caden used his flashlight to fill in the dark areas and discovered a
body on the floor near the entrance.

Suddenly
the headlights blinked out.

Caden
ducked back into the hall and then cautiously peeked around the corner.

Two
soldiers burst into the lobby sweeping their rifles back and forth.

Moving
back behind the wall, Caden called to them and, only after they acknowledged
him, did he step out.

“
We
heard shots,” one soldier said. “A man ran out with a gun. We shot him and came
looking for you.”

“
You
did well. Check that end of the church. Dad, keep watch back down the hall.”

“
You
killed him,” a woman screamed as she ran in the lobby from the sanctuary. The screamer
was followed by a second woman and two small children.

The
crying and cursing woman collapsed in sobs on the body by the door. A young boy
stood beside her with tears streaming down his face.

Caden
kept watch while the soldiers checked the rest of building. The woman continued
to cry while cradling the body in her arms. The other woman sat on the floor
with the children. Their faces looked gaunt and miserable.

After
several minutes the two soldiers returned. “We found one body on a pew in the
sanctuary. I suspect he was the one wounded at the barricade. The rest of the
building is empty.”

Caden
nodded. “We need to get the supplies to town. Let’s get moving.” Approaching
the two women he said, “You can come with us, but….”

“
Look
at all you’ve got, trucks that I bet are full of food, but we’re starving. See
him,” she said as she yanked the arm of the boy beside her, “my boy hasn’t
eaten in days.”

While
the women continued to loudly curse and shout, a soldier pulled back the sleeve
of one of the shooters. “These are gang tattoos.”

“
How
do you know?” Caden asked.

“
I’m a
police officer in Seattle, or I was....”

“
You
were lucky,” another soldier said.

“
Yeah,
I guess. Well, anyway, I’ve seen these tattoos before. I suspect there are
warrants out for the males. If they went to a FEMA camp they would have been
identified and arrested.”

Caden
turned and stared at the women. He had planned to deliver them to the sheriff,
just in case, but if this soldier was right they might not come willingly.

During
his reflection the woman continued to yell and curse.
In the last two weeks
I’ve had too many guns pointed in my direction and too many angry people in my
face.
“Shut up woman and….”

“
No! I
deserve to eat. And you know what? You deserve to die!” She yanked a pink
pistol from inside her coat.

Shots
rang out.

Caden
wasn’t sure, but it seemed like everyone, the two soldiers, his dad and Sue all
fired at nearly the same moment. The impact of the shots spun the gang woman
around and now she lay across the body of the man she had loved.

Kneeling
beside her, Caden checked for a pulse, but found none. He saw multiple gun and
buckshot wounds, but not much blood.
She was dead before she hit the ground.
Standing, he looked around the lobby. “Where’s the boy?”

“
He ran
off,” the other gang woman said. “He’s good at that.”

I’ve
got to get the supplies secured in the armory. I don’t have time to hunt for a
kid that doesn’t want to be found.
Turning to the woman Caden said, “You’ve
committed no crime that I know of. You’re free to go, but I suggest you come
with us.”

She
shook her head. “They’ll take away my kid.”

Exhaustion
swept over him like a wave. Caden shook his head slowly then turned to his men.
“Move out ASAP.” Turning to his father and Sue, he said in a softer tone,
“Let’s go home.” He marched from the church.
Death has become common, too
common.
Clear of the carnage he paused, looked back and then turned to his
men. “Move the bodies outside, and cover them with something.” It wasn’t
enough, but it was all he could do. “Get their weapons and put them in the back
of the SUV.”

Minutes
later, Caden walked past a young soldier washing his bloody hands with a bottle
of water. “You drive,” Caden ordered and sat in the passenger seat. His father
and Sue climbed in behind him. As the convoy pulled away from the church,
thoughts of the firefight mixed with joy at finding his father and Susan. All
of this was tempered by the uncertainty about Peter. Caden felt drained and
knew that he was coming down from a combat-induced adrenaline high.

As a
teen, he had wanted nothing more than to get away from the small town of his
birth. College, ROTC, the army, and a job in D.C. all seemed to set up the
small town boy for a career in the big league of Washington politics. Now he
could think of nothing better than all of his family being reunited in Hansen.

Turning
to his father he asked, “Why didn’t you travel back the way you went, along the
North Road?”

“
At
first I did, but after the blast it became a big parking lot. Nobody was moving
except for some guys on motor cycles. Someone tried to steal a bike and got
shot and that led to more fighting and shooting. I got off that road when I
could and headed toward the freeway, but even on the back roads the going was
slow. It took us the rest of the day and most of the night to get to the
outskirts of Olympia.

“
It
was late at night…early in the morning really, when we reached the Nisqually
River outside of Yelm. Troops had set up a check point at the bridge to keep
people from going north toward the red zone….”

“
People
were trying to get in?” Then Caden recalled the night of the Washington D.C.
blast and how some people headed into the city.

His
father nodded. “I had set out for Tacoma earlier that day and would have gone
even after the blast. Anyway, at the check point, troops had set up a field
hospital. Sue was feeling nauseous and I was concerned because we had been
close to the blast.”

“
Were
you exposed? Are you sick?” Caden asked.

“
No
I’m fine, not ill.”

Satisfied
that there was no immediate problem, Caden said to his father, “What happened?
Why did it take so long to get this far?”

“
When
we stopped at the med station, I got out a gas can and filled the tank. Later,
when we came out, the truck started and then died. Someone had punctured the
gas tank and drained it.”

“
I’m
surprised you couldn’t fix a puncture hole.”

“
I
could patch it, but where would I get more gas? By that time you couldn’t buy
any, so we walked.”

They
continued talking until they reached the Hansen blockade. Caden and his driver
got out of the car and walked up to the guards. “We have three trucks of
supplies and a fueler,” Caden said.