Tribulation Read online

  “Yeah, but the rest of that bunch is still around somewhere.”

  “I doubt they’ll come back though. They had plenty of time to get pretty far down the road, if what the girl told me was true.”

  Bart thought that was a big if. Considering how that professor had duped Eric with that story about another injured party in their group, he wouldn’t believe anything that any of them said. One thing was for certain after Keith told him what happened to Lynn and he heard of Eric’s little adventure today: the situation on the ground here was every bit as bad as it was in Florida, and like in Florida, the destruction left by the recent hurricane made matters worse. With the power grid down in addition to communications, it followed that there would be desperation and lawlessness after so many weeks with no outside help. Interstate 10 was a major east-west corridor running straight through Keith’s jurisdiction, and it was bound to bring unsavory characters like those Eric had just met into the parish on a regular basis.

  Bart had seen enough on the Caloosahatchee River before Eric showed up to make him consider any trespassing stranger the enemy. If he’d been in Eric’s shoes that morning when the riders showed up, he probably would have fired warning shots and then followed up without asking questions if they went unheeded. But he could understand Eric’s decision. His son had been fighting insurgents and terrorists all over the world, and there was no doubt he’d often been faced with split second decisions regarding the combatant status of both men and women who might or might not have been innocent civilians. He didn’t want to make the wrong call here at home, but after today he might think differently. Few men could have extricated themselves from the predicament Eric had been in just a few hours ago, and Bart had to smile when he thought of the look that must have been on that professor’s face when he turned around and saw his ‘victim’ back from the dead.

  “After I get a few hours of sleep, I’ll go back over to the house with Keith in the morning. He’s going to want to check everything there anyway, after I tell him what happened. If he wants to go after the rest of the gang, the woman probably knows where to find them. They must have had a plan to meet up somewhere since the four of them stayed behind to load the truck.”

  “Probably. If they were traveling mostly at night though, they might not have been far from the house when you got there. They may have even heard the shooting. Even if they didn’t, they might come back looking when their friends don’t show up with the loot.”

  “You must be dead set on keeping me awake all night, Dad. I’m already running on fumes.” Eric looked at his watch. “I’ve been on the go nearly 29 hours. Yeah, I could have made her talk and I probably could have tracked down the rest of them, but I was trying to get back down here because I thought you might need my help. I’m hoping the bodies I dumped in the road will be warning enough to keep them away.”

  “Maybe. I suppose there’s no use worrying about it now anyway. Like you said, we can go by there in the morning with Keith after you get some sleep. The important thing is to get this boat to Vic’s dock and get it tied up so we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

  “I agree, and it’s a good thing Vic’s place is available. After seeing the bayou behind Keith’s, I doubt we could get Dreamtime in there—at least not without clearing a lot of debris first.”

  “That’s what I figured, and Keith confirmed it. The only bad thing about Vic’s is that it’s visible from the road, and it’s a road that gets more traffic than the one in front of Keith’s. It’s still probably better than any other option we have though, and being right beside his neighbor’s house there’ll be more people to keep an eye on it.”

  “Leaving it anywhere is a risk, but I can’t sail to Colorado. It’ll be great if it’s still here when I get back with Megan, but if it isn’t, I’ll worry about coming up with another plan then. One thing I can tell you though, after seeing what I’ve seen here so far, not to mention what happened to Lynn, I don’t want to waste anymore time getting moving. I’m going to pick Keith’s brain tomorrow to find out what he knows about the conditions west of here, so I can make a decision about how best to proceed. I don’t know if I can afford the time it’ll take to go farther up the waterways or not. The river certainly isn’t the most direct route.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s probably a hell of a lot safer than any road.”

  “Probably, but I want to see what Keith thinks. He’s got a better perspective of the situation, having been here through it all. We’re mainly basing everything on what we know of Florida and the rumors you heard before I arrived. The problem is, even if any of that was true, it could have changed a lot since.”

  “Oh I agree. Keith will have a lot to tell us. I wish I could have talked to him more today, but we had our hands full at the time. And when he told us about the hospital being open in Lafayette, it made sense for him to go on ahead with Shana. I was really surprised to hear it was open, and I’m sure you were too. I’m glad they were able to help that kid. I hate those damned cottonmouths.”

  “Well, you’d better watch where you step, then. I can tell you from what I saw today on my little trek that this swamp is crawling with them.”

  “I’m always careful in snake country, son, but the truth is, it’s the two-legged snakes we’ve got to worry about. This just goes to show it don’t take much to wipe away any trace of civilized decency people might have had when they were well-fed and content.”

  “Are you surprised by that?”

  “No, of course not! I just figured it would take a little longer, that’s all. But I guess it don’t matter. It seems like it’s been a long time already, but I suppose the longer things go on like this, the worse it’ll get, because the meanest of the lot are going to be the only ones left.”

  “Well then, we’ll just have to make sure that’s us, won’t we, Dad?”

  * * *

  Eric felt like a walking zombie by the time they finally brought the schooner alongside the dock at the house neighboring Vic’s place. Vic and Jonathan tied up the trawler first and then met them to catch their lines as Bart and Eric approached. Even in the dark, Eric could see that the road was too close for comfort, and he didn’t like it, but he didn’t know a better alternative. Having a dock to tie to at all was a luxury, even if it was somewhat exposed to view from passerby on the road. Whether it was safe here or not was irrelevant now anyway. The schooner had fulfilled its primary purpose, getting them across the Gulf of Mexico from south Florida, but to continue his quest to get Megan, Eric had known all along he would have to leave it behind. If all went as planned, he hoped to need it again. Until then, his father and the others would watch over it as best they could, and that was all anyone could do. Eric wasn’t one to dwell on the what-ifs that far into the future. Considering the present situation and conditions and the unknown obstacles that were surely standing between him and his objective, it would be pointless to do so. Staying focused and in the moment had served Eric well on countless special ops missions in many different environments, and he knew the same strategy was the key to dealing with the rapidly evolving situation in which he now found himself immersed. The adventures of the long day behind him were but one more reminder of this, as if he needed any reminders.

  After Dreamtime was secured to the pilings, Vic told them that the patrol truck Keith had left parked there was gone, but that Keith’s boat was tied up to a smaller dock on the other side of the Miss Anita, so he and Shauna had apparently made it here. Presumably, they were still at the hospital, which was not unexpected if they had to wait for a doctor to see Shauna’s hand. There was nothing else that urgently needed doing at the moment, so without another thought or worry, Eric fell into his bunk down below and immediately drifted away into oblivion until the early morning sunlight streaming into the cabin and voices in the cockpit woke him. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was nearly 0800. He could have used another two hours, but he’d catch up next time. One of those voices from on deck was his bro
ther’s, and Eric was anxious to greet him. He rolled out of the bunk and ascended the companionway steps.

  “Eric!”

  “What’s up, brother?” Eric said, as the two of them embraced in a bear hug, each trying to out-squeeze the other. If they’d been somewhere other than the confined cockpit of the sailboat, the bear hug would have probably ended in their usual wrestling match, but as it was, Eric relented and then Keith relaxed his grip too.”

  Eric saw that Keith had been talking to Bart and Vic. Jonathan, Daniel and Andrew were probably still asleep. “How’s Shauna? Did you get her to the hospital?”

  “Yes. We finally saw Dr. Taylor, the surgeon who has been taking care of my partner, Greg. He wanted to keep her there overnight but may release her today. I was surprised to find out you’d been there already too. Greg told me. You’ve been getting around a bit since you got here, haven’t you, bro?”

  “More than I planned, that’s for sure. I guess Dad’s already told you what happened at your place after you and Jonathan left that morning, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s unreal! I can’t thank you enough for taking care of the situation the way you did. I’ve known it was just a matter of time before someone came along and cleaned me out there. The only reason it’s taken this long is because most people wouldn’t expect to find a house down that little road. It’s a good thing you were late getting back and just happened to be there.”

  “I’m sorry I let them fool me. They made a mess of your place while I was trying to get back across the swamp. I should have known not to trust them from the start, but they didn’t look like the type, you know?”

  “Most of them don’t these days, bro. And they probably weren’t the type before all this bullshit started.”

  “I don’t know what to say about Lynn, Keith.”

  “I know. There’s nothing you can say, Eric. She’s gone because I wasn’t there to stop her from getting on that bridge, or to stop the shooters that did the killing.”

  “I know you’ve heard it before, but I’ll say it again anyway; you couldn’t have protected her from every possibility with all that’s going on now. No one could have. I can already see that it’s worse here than I figured. Getting into two gunfights the first day I’m on the ground is as bad as a lot of the worst hot spots I’ve worked—worse really—because I don’t even know who the hell the enemy is or what the hell they’re fighting for. I know the first two dudes I shot were just thugs that saw a helpless woman for the taking. But that other guy with the gang of college kids in tow had a serious vendetta against cops—all of them—not just the ones that shot some of his students because of the riots they were involved in.”

  “It’s not just cops they hate,” Keith said. “It’s authority in general. Once the ball got rolling and the mobs started gaining momentum, it just kept building, and they got bolder and bolder. I’m kind of surprised though that such a small group, traveling so far from home, would try something like that, killing a stranger just because they thought he was a sheriff.”

  “They thought they had an easy target of opportunity when they saw me go by in the truck. I’m sure they’ve been stealing supplies all along the way as well, and they were probably on the lookout for an isolated house like yours to raid. I got the impression there were more of them when they started out. Some of them must have gotten killed along the way. I don’t know why they were going all the way to Austin though, other than the professor said they had friends there.”

  “There are a few hubs around the country where some of the dissident factions are joining forces. That’s probably the reason. That, and to escape the cold. When winter comes, places like Chicago are going to be tough with most of the power and other infrastructure down.”

  “Maybe we can get some answers from the girl, not that it really matters to me. I figured it might to you though; that’s why I didn’t let her go.”

  “Sure, I’d like to talk to her. I don’t know that anything I get from her will do much good though. It’s not like I can pass the information on to other agencies or collaborate with them. It’s like the Old West everywhere now, Eric, a sheriff here and there in isolated pockets of civilization, trying to hold off the outlaws and protect the townspeople, hoping the cavalry will show up, but knowing they won’t. I never thought I’d see anything like this in America, bro.”

  “I hear you, brother. I’ve certainly seen it in the shitholes I’ve worked, but I’m with you. I didn’t expect it here. I hope it’s not as bad around Boulder, but I’m not betting on it. That’s why I want to get there as soon as I can.”

  “I know you do, Eric. I want to hear about your plans and you know I’ll do anything I can to help you. Vic wants to make us breakfast. Let’s eat first and then ride over to the house, if you’re up to it. I’ll have a chat with that female and then we can talk about it.”

  “Sure, that sounds good.”

  “I hope you boys don’t mind if your old man rides along,” Bart said. “I’d like to get off this boat for a bit.”

  “Of course not, Dad. We’ll make room for you. We shouldn’t be gone all that long. When we get back, I’ll go back over to Lafayette and check on Shauna. Maybe they’ll let her leave by then.”

  When they’d finished eating, Eric got his gear off the boat and met Keith and Bart at Greg’s truck. “You gonna let me slide with this, little brother?” he asked as he squeezed in with the M4 barrel-down between his knees, after Bart slid to the middle.

  “Select fire? I could have you sent away for 15 for that, bro.”

  “I figured. I’ll be good and try to keep the fun switch off while I’m in your jurisdiction,” Eric grinned.

  “From what I’ve heard about some areas, it wouldn’t matter if it was a damned flintlock or a sharp stick. You’d get shot on the spot for even having any weapon. You’re going to have to keep a low profile, traveling as far as you’re going, because the rules have changed and no one knows what they are.”

  “I planned on that. We’ve been running some ideas back and forth on the way here. The trick is going to be balancing the low-profile part with getting there in a reasonable time. I’ve been thinking about that a lot, and yesterday’s little incident gave me some more ideas I want to run by you.”

  The short drive from Vic’s to the turn-off to Keith’s house didn’t give Eric time to get any further into his conversation about the proposed journey. As soon as they were on the gravel headed south, a large plume of dark smoke rising into the sky from the trees ahead interrupted the discussion.

  “That’s about where the house is!” Keith said, as he punched the gas and sped up.

  Eric rolled down his window and brought his rifle up to ready. He had a bad feeling already and knew he had screwed up. When they came to the place where he’d dumped the three bodies, Eric saw they were still there, and Keith stopped the truck a hundred feet short of them. Then the three of them exited, Keith and Eric armed with their M4s and Bart carrying the shotgun he’d brought along. Without words, they spread out and cut through the woods on foot, making the final approach to the house from within the concealment of the trees, as they didn’t know what they’d find there. Eric signaled to his brother and dad that he would take point, and then he slipped quietly on ahead until he came to the edge of the yard where he could see the house.

  The sight that greeted him confirmed the worst, and was exactly what all three of them suspected but didn’t mention when they first saw the smoke. The home Keith and Lynn had built with their own hands had been reduced to a pile of burning rubble that had collapsed to the ground-level slab among the blackened stumps of the smoldering pilings. Eric noted immediately that Keith’s patrol truck that he’d left parked in the front yard was gone, but the Jeep Cherokee and the disabled Toyota truck were still parked where they’d been. He could also see three of the four bicycles that were there earlier before he killed the three looters. The fact that one of them was missing suggested that the woman he’d left chained t
here had gotten out before the house burned. Had she somehow escaped on her own and done this by herself? Or did the other five riding with her return and set her free before torching Keith’s house? The fact that the truck was missing suggested the latter was the case. Eric glanced over his shoulder and saw that Bart and Keith had moved in behind him. Keith was staring in disbelief, at what had once been the home he’d built and shared with Lynn. Eric cursed himself under his breath for being so stupid. All of this was his fault.

  Seven

  KEITH HAD BEEN THROUGH so much already that seeing his home reduced to ashes wasn’t going to devastate him now. Compared to losing Lynn, material things like houses meant very little. The fact that they’d built it together had given him some comfort and a feeling of closeness to her at times since her death, but without her to share it with him, it was really just an empty shell and not a home. It had served him well as a base of operations over the past several weeks, but Keith spent so much time on the go, responding to one crisis after another, that he hadn’t even had time to repair all the damage the hurricane had done. He’d expected his place would get looted sooner or later, while he was away, but setting the fire was clearly retaliation for Eric’s actions the day before, and had probably happened sometime during the night. Upon seeing what happened, Keith and Eric and Bart split up again and cleared the perimeter before advancing into the yard to better assess the destruction, but the perpetrators were long gone. Eric, of course, felt terrible, and couldn’t stop apologizing for letting this happen.

  “It’s not your fault, Eric. You did the right thing. I wouldn’t have shot that unarmed girl either. Her friends probably helped her do this, and if you had killed her along with the other three, they would have still burned the house. If you had let her go, then she would have told the rest what happened, with the same result. The simple fact is that I couldn’t be here at all times to prevent stuff like this from happening.”