“Jung, we don’t even know who that was. It could be a recording from weeks ago,” Mike said.
“But shouldn’t we at least try? What if it’s true? What if the power is on in Cincinnati? We have the Jeep. We can send a few people,” Tom said.
“The only highway around here that leads to the interstate has to go through Carrollton. That means dealing with the biker gang that’s down there. A gang that’s killed most of the townspeople,” Mike said.
“We have to try something!” Jung screamed.
The group members around Jung separated themselves from him. His body was shaking. His eyes were desperate, pleading to the group. He had the look of a man who was willing to do anything to save his wife.
Mike understood. It was a feeling he had the entire walk from Pittsburgh to here. He was willing to do whatever he needed to get to his family, but just because Mike understood Jung’s pain didn’t mean he could let him take the Jeep.
“We’ll keep the radio on, Jung. See if anything else comes through. Okay?” Mike said.
He placed his hand on Jung’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. Jung jerked Mike’s hand off him and headed back to his room.
“Okay, everyone. Sitting around won’t make the radio magically work again. Back to work,” Ulysses said.
As the crowd dispersed, Ken let out a whistle.
“Looks like not everyone’s happy to have your hospitality,” Ken said.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Mike said.
The two men shook hands, and Ken headed out the door. Once Ken was gone, Anne came and wrapped her arms around Mike.
“I didn’t think you wanted to bring him back here.” Anne said.
“I didn’t, but it was part of his agreement.”
“You think we can trust him?”
“I’m not sure yet, but we’re going to need the food, so I don’t have much of a choice.”
“What are we going to do about the radio? You think it’s real?”
Mike found it hard to believe the power would come back up that fast, especially after what he saw in Pittsburgh. He figured by next spring the country would be in a better position to rebuild, but maybe it was happening faster than he thought.
“We can’t worry about that right now. We have supplies here that will last us a while, and with Ken helping me hunt, we’ll have a fresh supply of food coming in. How’s the garden coming?” Mike asked.
“Good. We’ve got peas, squash, and corn in the ground,” Anne said.
Mike gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I’m gonna keep the radio in our room. We don’t need it being a distraction for anyone. Where’s Kalen?”
“She went out to the old shooting stand with Mary.”
Mike raised his eyebrows.
“Did she say why?” Mike asked.
“Mary’s been having some trouble dealing with what happened to her mom. Kalen thought that if she showed her how to handle a weapon, it’d make her feel… safer.”
Mike was worried that the girls had gone out alone, but he felt a surge of pride about his daughter helping Mary.
“Okay, I’m going to get things ready for the morning. I’ll be in the basement if you need me.”
It was getting dark and Kalen and Mary still hadn’t returned. Mike was getting worried. He grabbed his rifle and decided to head out to the hunting stand where the girls said they were going.
Mike kept his ears open, but the closer he moved to the stand, the more concerned he became. He’d been walking for almost fifteen minutes, and he hadn’t heard a single shot go off. He quickened his pace, his boots smashing the forest dirt underneath.
The stand was only forty yards away, and from what he could see, it was empty. He brought his rifle up and flicked the safety off.
“Kalen?” Mike said.
He circled the stand. There weren’t any shell casings on the ground, no foot tracks in the dirt, no sign the girls were ever here at all.
Mike’s pulse quickened. His breathing accelerated. The irrational panic of his daughter not being here rushed over him.
“Kalen! Mary!”
They’re not here. They never came here, but why? Why would they need rifles if they weren’t-
“The bikers,” Mike said.
Mike sprinted back to the cabin. It was a two-mile hike and usually took close to forty minutes on foot for a one-way trip. He made it back in less than twenty-five minutes.
Ulysses was the first to see Mike burst through the trees into the cabin’s front yard.
“Michael?” Ulysses asked.
“Mary and Kalen? Did I miss them?”
“No, I thought you were going to get them.”
“They never went to the stand.”
Mike could see Ulysses’s eyes make the connection. He was the one who brought Mary and her sisters back to the cabin after he found them in town. Mary’s mother was raped in front of them, and they watched their father die. Wherever the girls went with the guns wasn’t good.
Mike gathered Erin and Nancy, Mary’s sisters, in the living room. The rest of the group lingered in the kitchen and hallway, letting Mike speak to them in semiprivacy.
“I just need to know where they went, Nancy. I’m not mad; I just want to know where we can find them. I want to make sure they’re safe,” Mike said.
Nancy looked up at him, her eyes wide and wet.
“I don’t know. She never told me anything,” Nancy said.
Mike lowered his head. He believed her. The girl didn’t know anything.
“Why did she leave us? She promised me she wouldn’t leave us,” Nancy said.
Nancy broke down crying. Mike scooped her up in his arms. The little girl buried her face into Mike’s shirt, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Anne came over and peeled the girl off of him, rocking her back and forth. The younger sister, Erin, didn’t say anything. She kept her head down, twisting the edge of her shirt. Mike gently rested his hand on the top of her head.
Mike didn’t make eye contact with anyone as he headed for the basement. Ulysses followed. The two of them started gathering as much ammo and weapons as they could carry.
They said nothing to each other as they collected bullets, loaded magazines, attached scopes, and threw holsters around their waist and shoulders. It was an unspoken agreement between a father and grandfather. Their offspring were in trouble, and they were going to get them out.
Fay, Tom, and Clarence crept down the steps. They watched Ulysses and Mike in the glow of the candlelight. Each of them had bullets and guns strapped around their waists and shoulders. They didn’t look like normal men anymore; they were soldiers preparing for war.
“So you’re just going to go in there guns blazing?” Tom asked.
Mike shoved a magazine into his Smith and Wesson .45, holstered it, and looked up at the two of them on the stairway.
“I don’t expect you three to come. It’s going to get bad,” Mike said.
Fay grabbed one of the rifles and started loading shells into one of the empty magazines. She said nothing. She didn’t look at Mike until he put his hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you,” Mike said.
Fay gave a half smile. Clarence was the next to join. He picked up one of the shotguns and found a case of 12-guage shells and started loading.
Tom let out a sigh at the top of the staircase.
“Fine, but I want the biggest guns you have. With my aim, I’ll need all the help I can get,” Tom said.
It took them thirty minutes to gather everything they needed. At least everything Mike thought they would need.
They were loaded to the teeth with weapons and ammo. Mike also thought to pack some medical supplies, which he hoped he wouldn’t need.
Anne didn’t say much. When she walked up to Mike she placed her hands on his shirt, twisting his collar.