Liberty or Tyranny (18 page)

Mexico, south to Costa Rica, were hit hard by the plague, leaving few alive. Only those who lived deep in the jungles of South America, away from any contact with the outside world, had been spared. They too, had been forced to isolate themselves even more and live off the land completely, the same as those in the Alaskan bush.

No one in government seemed to have any idea if the plague had been a product of nature or if it had been a doomsday weapon produced in some laboratory. Opinions and guesses were plentiful, but solid information was impossible to find. Not only had the U.S. Government not yet come to any conclusion on the source of the plague, other than the fact it started in Israel, the UK, France, Germany, and other allies of the U.S., Washington had nothing to say on the subject. Rumors were plentiful, and varied from reasonable to fantasies from the Twilight Zone. If it had been a terrorist attack with intentions of harming only the U.S. and its allies, their plan had backfired, killing almost everyone on the face of the earth. But then, that too could have been their intention. A doomsday weapon. A weaponized disease designed to wipe out the human race. After all, there were people just that crazy. Speculation abounded, but facts were few.

Nate purposely led the group into the rougher country north of Mel’s bunker. Mel’s cave wasn’t the only one in the area, and he knew exactly where one was that would be perfect for the others to hide in while Deni and he went on to scout the area around Mel’s bunker for any sign of danger. Caves were generally not a good place to hide, as there was no exit in most cases. If an enemy discovered you, the cave would become a grave. But Nate was most worried about aircraft equipped with forward looking infrared, or FLIR. Their heat signature would not be detected in a cave.

“Take your time. Don’t rush it,” Brian admonished his father. “If they have a trap set, it might not be so easy to see on first glance.”

“That’s good advice,” Nate said, his rough voice echoing in the cave. “Everyone stay back from the entrance while we’re gone and be as quiet as possible.”

Deni hid any worries she might have had behind a smile. “If everything goes well, we’ll be back by nightfall with our packs full of food.”

“Just be careful, and you’ll be all right,” Brian said.

Tyrone and Atticus wished them both luck, as they slipped out of the cave entrance.

With their packs empty of everything but a little water and ammunition, Nate and Deni slipped into the woods light on their feet. Unlike most of Florida, this area was hilly and marred by deep ravines that slowed their progress. Sinkholes and springs were also common, as were limestone outcroppings that had to be climbed over or skirted around. While keeping their eyes and ears on full alert for danger in the woods, they also listened for aircraft in the sky. Their enemy had all the advantages. Their only shield was stealth.

The two stayed back in the shade of tall pines as they navigated around a large sinkhole. Both scrutinized the mud at the water’s edge for any boot tracks. To their relief, they found none. Nate noticed something in the clear water. A stone in a peculiar shape. His mind wasn’t really on the puzzle it presented, since he was more concerned with walking into an ambush than such trivial matters, but it flashed in his mind that he had just seen a fossilized mastodon tooth. He didn’t bother mentioning it to Deni. They had more important things to worry about. He hoped that some day in the future during more pleasant times, he would mention what he saw in the clear water and perhaps make a joke about it. At the moment, his main concern was living long enough to experience those more pleasant times.

Because of the necessity of stealth, their progress was slow, and morning grew into afternoon before they were within half a mile of Mel’s bunker. Nate motioned for Deni to come closer. He whispered, “Stay back ten yards. We’re going to be moving extremely slow from now on.”

Deni nodded. “Slow it is. We’ve got nothing but time.”

As they made their timorous progress, the tree shadows all around them grew longer and the warmth of the afternoon faded along with the light. The dying sunless afternoon found the couple peering through brush and out into the small clearing around Mel’s bunker. They had yet to find any sign that a human being had been in the area lately, not a single boot track. Still, they didn’t let their guard down and stayed in the darkening shadows of the tall forest, skirting around the clearing and heading for the cave.

The tree Nate and Brian had planted so long ago was still alive and had grown to a height of five feet, completely hiding the entrance. Anyone walking by would never have noticed the olive drab painted steel door behind it.

Though it appeared safe, they did not move in and approach the cave entrance until they had circled around the entire area and found no sign of danger.

Keeping his voice low, Nate said, “You overwatch while I go on in. I don’t want to expose myself in the clearing until I’m over by that big pine.” He pointed. “When I come out of the cave, I’ll head over in the other direction towards that big rock and enter the woods that way. There’s no point in me coming straight to you and focusing their attention on your position.”

“Okay,” Deni said. “There’s no harm in being extra careful, even though we’re pretty sure there’s no one out here.”

Nate touched her face lightly, as if he were thanking her for not giving him any grief for keeping her out of danger as much as possible while exposing himself to any sniper who might be waiting for him to walk into the clearing. “If all goes well, I’ll take your pack and return to the cave for another load.”

“Any shooting starts while you’re out there in the open, just dive for cover. Shouldn’t take me long to find him and take him out. The clearing’s not very large, so he couldn’t be far away. Just stay down so he can’t get a bullet into you.”

Nate smiled. “Listen to us. We’re 99.9% sure there’s no one out there.” Before Deni could respond, he stood and walked away, slipping into the wall of flora and sinking into the darkening gray woods.

She swallowed and said to no one, “Can’t be too careful.”

An outcropping of trees that protruded into the clearing more than ten feet afforded Nate a little more concealment and cover before he was forced to bolt out into the open and rush to the entrance to the cave. He squeezed past the tree he and Brian had planted, and pressed in behind it to get at the entrance to Mel’s cave. He had to fish around in his pockets for the key. Reaching around behind a limestone boulder, he withdrew several hidden bolts that prevented the door from opening even when unlocked. The hinges were rusty and protested when he pulled it open, taking most of his strength to do so. The door probably weighed over 200 pounds, since it was made of cold rolled steel.

Even with the door swung wide open, little light entered the cave because of the tree growing in front of the entrance. He lit a match and used the light from it to help him find a kerosene lantern sitting on a small table. The same match lit the lantern, but he did burn his fingers a little while doing so.

Nate stepped past the five gallon buckets of wheat, rice, and dried beans and headed for the cans of freeze-dried food and quickly stuffed his pack full of a variety of meals. In less than five minutes he was out of the cave and rushing toward the tree line near the large limestone rock he’d told Deni he was going to head for.

He slipped into the shadows, ten feet back from the edge of the clearing, and caught his breath, relieved that no one had taken a shot at him while he was in the open. Moving on to Deni, he dropped to one knee and grabbed her pack. The two exchanged glances, but neither said a word. He stood up and moved to a different location before darting across the clearing again and disappearing into the cave. A few minutes later, he came out with her pack bulging with more freeze-dried food. Before emerging from behind the tree, he took the time to lock the cave door and reinsert the hidden bolts.

This time Deni saw him coming. She grabbed his pack and walked the last 20 yards to him. Together, they slipped farther back from the edge of the clearing and carefully snuck out of the area. An hour and a half later, they were with the others and enjoying their first real meal in days.

“Don’t eat too much, guys,” Deni warned. “We’re going to be hitting the trail again in a few minutes, and full stomachs will weigh you down.”

Brian swallowed his last spoon full of lasagna. “So you two have decided it’s safe to check out the farm now?”

Nate folded the can opener on his Swiss pocketknife and put it in his pocket. “We’ll ease back down into the low country on the edge of the river valley and then make our way south until we get within a few miles of the farm. Then Deni and I’ll leave you three and go on in the rest of the way alone. Won’t be time to do all that before dark, so we’ll be camping out in the woods again tonight.”

“And if there’s trouble at the farm, then what?” Atticus asked. “Are we going to be living out here in these woods for the next ten years?”

Tyrone stopped chewing, but didn’t say anything. He looked at Atticus in a way that revealed he was worried about him.

“If there are soldiers at the farm, there’s no point in picking a fight with them,” Nate answered. “They won’t be there forever. In a week or two, they’ll be called away. They might burn down my house and barn before they leave. But they’re not likely to find our caches buried out in the woods nearby. It’s those caches we need at the moment. We can always go to one of the many hunting shacks out here in the woods and stay there a few months. But we need supplies to do that. We already know Mel’s place is safe at the moment. So we can go back there and get more food before leaving the area and looking for one of those hunting shacks to stay in for a while. Either way, we won’t be sleeping on the ground out in the woods for much longer.”

Deni tried to encourage Atticus. “You’ve been standing up to all of this well so far. It looks like it might be over soon, or at least the worst part of it.” She put on a brave face and rubbed her stomach. “My spirits are a lot brighter now than they were when I woke up this morning. A full stomach will do that for you.”

Atticus laughed quietly, keeping his voice low. “Yeah, I know what you mean. But there ain’t any of us likely to be gaining weight anytime soon.” He glanced at Tyrone. “Don’t worry, I haven’t given up yet.”

Adding to Deni’s efforts, Nate added, “There’s a good chance there won’t be anyone at the farm.”

Brian blew dust off the lens of his Aimpoint sight and adjusted the brightness of the red dot while aiming his rifle at a tree. “That don’t mean we can just move back home though. We’re still being hunted by the government.”

Atticus sighed and pretended to be devastated. “Shit, Brian. Don’t you know Deni and Nate were trying to cheer me up? You just spoiled all their efforts.” He shook with laughter and scratched at his grizzled beard.

Nervous release soon had everyone rolling on the ground laughing.

“Might as well laugh as cry,” Atticus said.

It was Nate who put an end to it. “Okay guys, quiet. We
are
still being hunted.” He slipped into his pack and grabbed his rifle. “You have a minute to make sure you don’t leave anything behind. Then we’re moving out.”

Deni cleared her throat. “He’s worried. We’ve had people hunt us before, but when it’s the government after you, you’re basically at war.”

“We’ve had the Army after us before,” Brian reminded her. “And he’s been in a real war.”

She put her hand on Brian’s shoulder. “I know,” she said softly. “We’ve all been in a kind of war since the plague, and it’s wearing us down. Before we got ourselves into this last jam, he was hoping we could go back to the farm and find some peace, at least for a while. Everyone here has lost friends and family, so I don’t have to tell you how he feels.”

~~~

Nate purposely chose a route that provided them the best cover from the air. Highflying drones could not be seen or heard, and newer attack helicopters could spot targets on the ground from over the horizon, long before their targets knew they were in danger. They moved silently through a heavily forested area, staying in the shadows as much as possible and always undercover, skirting any clear area they came across.

By nightfall they were where they wanted to be and set up a simple bivouac camp.

Nate quickly ate and grabbed his rifle. “Deni and I’ll take first watch. That way we’ll get plenty of sleep before leaving early in the morning.”

Deni wiped her hands on her dirty pants and stood. “Just so you know. Nate and I have decided that if we run into trouble at the farm, we’re not heading back this way. We’ll lead anyone hunting us in the other direction. So we’ll be heading south.”

Atticus and Tyrone exchanged furtive glances.

Brian started to protest. “That’s bullshit.”

Nate had walked away from the others, but he turned and came back. “Just sit tight, keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t make any noise. Don’t build any fires. Stay right here and wait for us, unless you know danger is coming close and you have to leave. If that happens, move upriver and wait it out. When you think it’s safe, go back to Mel’s cave and get more food.” He handed a ring of keys to Brian. “Don’t come looking for us. If we don’t make it back here in a couple days, it means you can’t do a thing for us.”

Brian fumed, but remained quiet. Finally, he looked at Deni and Nate and said, “Just come back.”

Deni tried to smile. “We will.”

~~~

False dawn turned the dark and brooding forest gray. Though winter had finally released its cold grip on the land, the early morning hours still brought with it a cold that seeped through a jacket and left anyone standing watch shivering. Atticus felt the cold the most, but even the youngest one among them was not immune to it at this early hour.

Thankful to be able to move again and get his blood circulating, Brian emerged from heavy brush where he had been hiding while on watch and stepped over to Nate where he slept beside Deni. He reached down and shook his father’s shoulder and quickly stepped back while calling to him in a low voice just loud enough he knew Nate could hear. “Time to wake up.” Past experience had taught him it could be dangerous to wake his father from deep sleep. “Combat veterans are like that,” his late mother had told him when he was five. She went on to explain that she always woke Nate by poking him with a broom handle. That put her at a safe distance, or at least out of reach. By the time the plague hit, Nate’s demons had nearly gone away, or at least that’s what those closest to him had thought, but Brian and Deni both had noticed a change in him over the last few months. He had come close to losing Brian and Deni too many times, and the stress was starting to show. The horrible death of Kendell had affected him as much as Brian. His mood, words, and actions told Brian especially that something had changed within him. Nate’s old saying that if you keep kicking at rattlesnakes, sooner or later you’ll get bit was his way of saying that he was becoming ever more worried their luck was running out. Yes, they had lost friends, close friends, but Nate was still fighting on only because he still had Brian and Deni. If he lost them, he might lose the will to go on. Mentally and physically exhausted himself, Brian understood the feeling.