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.
“You got food in those trucks?” one of the men on the barricade asked.
“We sure do,” the driver replied.
Caden had his men pass out one MRE for each guard on duty. Everyone seemed happy.
When the last truck was safe behind the barricade Caden told the senior man, “I’m going to take my family home. Go to the armory and unload the Ammo, communications gear and the first truck of MREs. We’ll distribute the remainder to the town and refugee camp in the morning after I arrive.”
“Yes sir,” the soldier replied and soon the convoy was moving along the road.
Ten minutes later Caden’s SUV rumbled up the long dirt driveway to the farmhouse. Maria and Lisa stepped out on the porch as he slowed to a stop. Trevor stepped from the car first.
“Mom,” Lisa yelled, “come here you’ve got to see this.” Then she leapt from the porch into her father’s arms.
Walking out the front door his mother stifled a scream and nearly fell down the steps as she joined Lisa in hugging Trevor. Then Sue emerged from the car and the excitement spread.
Caden walked over to Maria and hugged her then stood with his arm resting on her shoulder while the three others got reacquainted and came to terms with the fact that Peter was not with them.