Lone Survivor (Book 1): All That Remains Page 14

  “Someone traveling to Maine.”

  “Anyone else?”

  “No.”

  “And the problem?”

  “Broken legs.”

  The man sucked in air. “Oooooh, that’s gotta hurt.”

  He cocked his head to one side and stared at Gregory as if contemplating. Gregory looked over at Nancy and tried to reassure her that everything would be okay.

  “So who told you about this patient?”

  “A friend.”

  “Male. Female? Young, old? What are we talking about here?”

  “Look, is there something you want? Because you’re scaring my wife.”

  He laughed. “Oh we are? You scared, Nancy?” he asked as if expecting her to tell him the truth. She nodded her head.

  “At least remove the gag in her mouth.”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Her name’s Beth Sullivan, okay? She’s seventeen. A friend of the family.”

  That must have caught his attention as he saw the way the man’s eyes lit up. In a small town, reputations traveled fast and anyone who was anyone in the town knew her father. “Rhett and Sierra’s kid?”

  “Yes. You know them?” Gregory’s eyes widened wondering if they were friends.

  The man dodged the question. “Look. Did this patient tell you where the plane went down?”

  “No. I was there to help, then I left.”

  The man walked over to the table and scooped up an apple out of a fruit bowl and took a huge bite. He munched it in a sloppy fashion “Okay. So where is this patient?”

  A knot formed in Gregory’s stomach. Why did they want to know? He was hesitant to say anything out of fear for Beth’s safety. If men would barge into his house and do this, what would they do to her?

  “Does it really matter?”

  The man paused in mid-bite. He turned to his two pals and laughed. “He wants to know if it matters.” He looked back at him. “Gregory, you’re a doctor, would you open up someone if it didn’t matter?” He waited for a response but he didn’t give him one. “Why the hell would we be in your home if it didn’t matter?” His voice got louder. He tossed the apple at the wall and it exploded, chunks raining down. “Where is this patient staying!?” he bellowed, leaning forward and getting in Gregory’s face. “Or would you like us to ask Nancy?”

  “She doesn’t know.”

  “Exactly. But I’m sure she can convince you.”

  His face went blank. When he didn’t reply immediately the man pulled a handgun from the back of his waistband, marched over to Nancy and pointed at her head. From behind the rag she screamed. Gregory went to get up but was quickly thrust back into his seat by one of his pals. “An address, Gregory!” he yelled. “Or I’m gonna repaint this room with you beloved wife’s brain matter.”

  “I can’t give you an exact location because I don’t know it. But I can draw you a map.”

  The man uncocked his revolver. “Perfect. Tommy, get this man some paper and a pen.”

  The Chinese fella got up and went over to where the phone was and snatched up a pad of paper and a pen. He handed it to Gregory and they stood over him while he sketched out the directions from his place to the turn-off road. “It’s not easy to find. She guided me to it in a damn snowstorm. This is the best I can offer,” he said handing the pad back. He glanced at Nancy and gave a strained smile.

  “Well, I would thank you, Gregory, but now I’m starting to wonder, can I really be sure unless I take you with me?”

  “I just got back. I don’t remember.”

  “I think you do. You made it back on your own which tells me you didn’t have any difficulty finding the way.”

  “It’s a lot different coming down a mountain in the day than at night.”

  “Well I guess we’ll just have to see. In the meantime, one of us will stay with Nancy until we confirm.”

  “No, I can’t go with you.”

  “Oh but you can,” he said. He pointed to the one called Tommy. “Get him up.”

  Gregory knew that this wouldn’t end well. Leaving Nancy alone with one of those animals. He didn’t want to imagine what could happen. He eyed the gun in the front of Tommy’s jeans as he walked over. If he could just… Tommy reached out to grab him and in that moment he went for it. As Tommy pulled him up, he lunged forward, going for the gun. He fell on top of Tommy and felt the brunt force of someone striking him on the head while Nancy screamed.

  Before they pulled him off, he managed to get the gun out of the waistband but Tommy had hold of it. They rolled and then it erupted. The sound echoed loudly and he felt fire in his gut. It was undeniable. Agonizing pain but with shock his scream caught in his throat. Tommy rolled him off and stood over him as he bled out on the ground. He heard Nancy screaming and watched the world around him fade to black.

  19

  “How did your mother die?” He cut her off as she spoon-fed him soup and was telling him how she’d carved the bowl by hand. She couldn’t believe he’d asked the question. Was he delirious from the medication? Who asked how someone died? Wasn’t that a taboo area that anyone with a lick of common sense stayed clear of? It was something she wouldn’t even discuss with her father let alone a complete stranger.

  Beth stopped feeding him and got up and walked away.

  “I’m sorry. I…” he said.

  With her back turned to him she dropped the bowl into a sink of murky water and looked at her reflection. Beth gripped the counter tightly trying to hold in the fresh grief that had overlapped the past. She still hadn’t told him that her father was dead, maybe because she didn’t believe it herself. Beth looked at her father’s jacket hung on the back of the door. She was expecting him to walk in any minute. She could hear his voice as clear as day. It was quickly replaced by Landon’s. “Beth.”

  Beth didn’t look at him but snatched up her jacket and bow, whistled to Grizzly and headed out letting him feel the stupidity of his question. Outside with the door closed, she sucked air in fast. Stop crying. Stop crying. Her father’s words rang in her ears, the memory of the day came back to sting her heart. You need to be strong now.

  How could she be when he wasn’t here to guide her, care for her or show her the way forward? The bleakness of her own situation far outweighed the one facing the town. Living without electricity had been a way of life for so long that it didn’t bother her to learn that an EMP had occurred. It was the loss of parents that pained her. No one would get to see her graduate. No one would be there to walk her down the aisle. But worst of all, no one would be there for her to show the same kindness in their old age as they had with her while she was young. It wasn’t meant to be like this.

  Beth and Grizzly trudged through the snow making their way back to the wreckage. She’d promised to see if she could find a brown satchel he’d been carrying. He wouldn’t go into why he needed it, only that it was important. In addition, she’d already promised to see what had become of his daughter even though she knew Ellie was dead. Grizzly looked like he was bouncing on a trampoline as he led the way. The plane or what was left of it was located a few miles southeast of the cabin. The sky was bright, the snow almost blinding as the last of the sun dipped behind the surrounding pines. It had been a miserable walk with gusts of wind churning up the powdery snow. Whatever warmth she felt before leaving the cabin was now gone. Her jeans were once again soaked.

  If it wasn’t for the trees that had been torn asunder, she was certain that finding the plane would have been near impossible. The forest was so dense and thick it was easy for the trees to swallow a small charter plane.

  Her eyes spotted it covered in snow, the inner guts still exposed but now filled with a slope of snow. Great, she muttered to herself. Digging through snow when she was already chilled to the bone was not ideal but a promise was a promise.

  Beth created a path in the snow using her machete like a paddle to push snow behind her. She crawled on her hands and knees until she was inside the plane
and near the seat Landon had been in. He said the satchel had been shoved under the seat. Using her hands she scooped out snow until her fingers caught on leather. Finally. She tugged it until it came loose and she fell back against the remains of the pilot. Startled, Beth placed a hand over her heart and took a second to catch her breath. A wintry gust of air blew in and she lowered her face to avoid its bite.

  It was then she saw it.

  The handle of a bag sticking out of snow. Curious, and wondering if it might have belonged to Landon, she crawled forward and began raking at the snow to reveal the rest. It was a large green duffel bag. Once she managed to pry it loose, Beth sat back on her knees and unzipped it. Upon opening it her jaw went slack. She fished in and retrieved a brick of white wrapped in cellophane and tape. She used the tip of her machete to stab it and investigate further. Beth already had an idea of what it was but she wanted to be sure. She dipped a finger in and smelled it. The same familiar sweet, pungent, almost flower-ish smell. It was damp and sticky powder. Beth dabbed a finger of it onto the tip of her tongue to taste it, then grimaced at how bitter it was.

  A surge of anger rose. A flood of memories.

  She gritted her teeth as she shoved it back into the bag and zipped it up. She slung the bag over her shoulder, and carried the satchel. She was determined to have words with Landon once she got back. She had a good mind to go back immediately but first the girl, if only for her sake.

  Beth scanned the hilly terrain, and the path of destruction that had cut through the forest. How far had it traveled, clipping the trees before the fuselage broke apart and the tail disappeared? The back end could be anywhere. “C’mon boy,” she said pointing west and squinting. So much snow had already fallen, at least two feet and it was still coming down, not as hard but it was enough to hide a body. Along the way pieces of steel stuck out from the snow. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it must have been like to die that way. Had it been fast? Would his daughter have passed out or felt everything? Did she die instantly or suffer for a while until taking her last breath?

  Lost in thought she almost overlooked it. It was Grizzly’s bark that alerted her, then him returning with something in his mouth. “What you got there, boy?” She crouched and took out a piece of what looked like a skirt. She gazed around. A mound of snow farther down, just off the path where the plane had cut into the forest, appeared out of place.

  It was only when Beth made her way over and reached out to touch the snow that that she realized what it was. A large chunk slid off and she turned her head and closed her eyes. It was a seat upside down, sticking out of the snow. Beth pulled the machete from a sheath around her back and used it to dig into the snow. As ice had fallen with the snow the previous evening, some areas were harder than others. As she shoveled, a gust of snow erased her hard work. The wind howled in her ears as she continued digging until she saw a hand. It wasn’t much bigger than her own.

  She wanted to stop right then and walk away but Ellie deserved better.

  Grizzly got involved pawing at the snow, hurling it back beneath his legs while she dug deep to release the seat. The more she saw of the young girl, the harder it was. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as she sat back on her knees to catch a breath.

  Death was hard to see.

  She remembered the first time she saw her mother.

  She recalled stepping into the building and making her way up to the casket. It was the strangest thing ever. Her mother looked just as beautiful as she did in life. But this, this body before her now was awful. Though the cold had preserved the body, some small animals had managed to burrow their way in and chew flesh from the bone.

  Another gust of wind blew in her face. “I’ll get you out,” she said as if Ellie could hear her. Beth cut the seat belt that still held the girl. Her body was frozen into a position of horror. Her face agape, terrorized by her final seconds.

  Beth continued digging until she was able to drag the body a short distance. She shrugged off her backpack and pulled out a large black plastic bag and covered her frozen body as best as she could before beginning to drag her back up the slope. Of course she wouldn’t let Landon see her like this. No one deserved to see their loved one in this horrific state. Once her body had thawed, she would remove the clothes and dress her in something of her own, cover her face in makeup and then place her in one of the sheds before having a funeral. It felt morbid, nothing like dragging an animal carcass home. Beth kept stopping every few minutes and asking Ellie to forgive her.

  What was she like? she wondered. What had been her dreams?

  Her own loss soon subsided at the thought of what Landon would never get to do. He would never walk her down the aisle, hold her children or see what she would make of her life. In some ways they were the same, and yet so different.

  As she made her way up, she heard the ricochet of a gun, and two more rounds.

  Was it hunters?

  She was tempted to go and see but she didn’t want to leave the body out. Animals were prone to dragging away meat. Beth pressed on, thinking of what the future would hold now that both of them had lost loved ones.

  20

  They were too late.

  Forty-eight hours, that’s all it had taken to wipe out the store. It reminded her of the aftermath of Black Friday at the Walmart Supercenter. Bare shelves everywhere including behind the counter. It wasn’t looters, just straight up cash purchases from locals. They were all too familiar with how things worked in a power outage. Survival depended on it. She recalled seeing two people almost end up in a fight over a case of water last year. It was nuts. They could have traveled half an hour to Hannaford Supermarket in Bucksport or fifty minutes to the Walmart near Ellsworth but that would have meant going out of their way, and why do that when they could fight over meager pickings?

  To be fair at least their vehicles were working last year.

  This was completely different.

  Sara sighed, could this day get any worse? She stood there wide-eyed in T & C Grocery looking at what remained. There were no large chain grocery stores in Castine, Maine, nor in Penobscot nearby. Castine only offered one choice, a tiny mom-and-pop store that provided a small selection of foods including breads, meats, cheeses, pizzas, and sandwiches, plus cigarettes, liquor and so on. After spending most of his life in Florida, Landon would joke that it reminded him more of a convenience store than a grocery, and he wasn’t that far wrong.

  Still, it was local and the owners were friendly.

  However, that was of no use to her now.

  “There is a pack of cheese Doritos. You want those?” Jake laughed finding humor in the moment. “I told you we should have stopped at the Walmart on the way back.”

  He’d wanted to get in line with a massive crowd of five hundred people, and most of those were outside, but she wanted to get back to her son. And anyway, she figured by the time they made it into Walmart, the shelves would have probably been stripped. Sara believed that T & C would have enough. It didn’t.

  “Sorry, Sara,” Meg Cullen said. “There was a surge of people earlier today. I certainly made my money. Gotta love these storms.”

  Meg was a feisty woman with pink spiky hair who posted videos online of people attempting to steal items from her store. According to her she actually made some good money from it, and had gained a lot of subscribers.

  “It’s not just a storm,” Sara said before Jake put a hand up to caution her. She waved him off. If there was one thing that mattered to her it was this small town and if he was right, and this was a countrywide disaster, she felt it behooved her to give others the heads-up. She wouldn’t have wanted to be left in the dark.

  “What? Of course it is.”

  “Meg, you tried starting your car?”

  “No, I figured it was too cold.”

  “Well, you’ll see,” she said heading for the doorway.

  “Hey uh, Sara.” Meg raised a finger. “I do have a few items in the back you might be interested in b
ut the price tag will be a lot higher.”

  “How much higher? You already charge an arm and a leg.”

  She grinned. “Gotta make a living.”

  There was no one else in the store, otherwise she figured Meg wouldn’t have said anything.

  Sara forced a smile. “What have you got?”

  “That depends, you got the green?”

  Sara held up a wad.

  Excited by the opportunity to make more cash, she hurried to the front door and locked it before turning the open sign to closed. “Can’t be too careful. Had a few people in here earlier on that were irate.”

  She shoved a large set of jangling keys into her jeans before eyeing Jake as she led them out back. In the rear were a few boxes of canned goods, mostly vegetables, tuna and some pasta. “It’s not much but it’s yours for the right price.”

  “What are we talking?”

  “Twenty bucks a can.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “The last can of beans I sold went for fifteen. Supply and demand, baby, supply and demand.”

  She blew out her cheeks and looked at Jake and he nodded. Not one to be ripped off, he tried to get her to reduce the price but she wouldn’t budge so Sara thumbed off the cash and paid for twenty cans, five bags of pasta and a bottle of red wine as she planned on getting drunk, and that was something she rarely did. “Nice doing business with you,” Meg said placing the cash into a safety box that she secured with a key on a chain before placing that chain over her neck. They watched it drop into her breasts.

  Jake gave Sara a hand carrying out the box.

  “What a rip-off.”

  “Ah the cash won’t be much use to her.”

  As they stepped outside, two guys and a girl in their early twenties were attempting to break into the Scout. “Hey!” Jake yelled, hurrying over. They dropped a Slim Jim lock pick. The long strip of metal clattered on the ground. Jake placed the box on the ground and took off after them leaving Sara to look at the damage. It was minimal. A few scrapes. Fortunately they hadn’t managed to unlock it. Jake returned a few minutes later, cursing under his breath. “They steal anything?’