Linda Andrews - The Meltdown

“That isn’t right.”

Trent scanned the crowd until he found Gary Everett leaning against the tree, cleaning his nails with his knife. “Gary perhaps you can teach that woman some manners. It isn’t polite to interrupt when someone is speaking.”

“You can’t do this!” she yelled at him.

The girls cowered in a heap to the right. Most of the boys fell back but a few remained blocking the path.

Not moving forward, Gary twirled a knife in his hand.

Trent’s fingers curled into fists. He eyed the man with the gold cross. “Jake.”

Jake brandished one of the rifles they’d collected after tossing aside the soldiers. He fired off two shots. The crowd ducked and covered their heads. “Trent is our leader and you will do as he says.”

The boys moved aside.

Gary sauntered closer to the woman.

She raised her hands. “Stop right there.”

Gary slashed at her palms.

She turned on her heel and sprinted for the woods.

Gary pounced on her before she made ten feet. With one hand, he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the pines. She kicked him until he backhanded her. Once. Twice. On the third time, crimson sprayed the snow. He kicked her once then reached down, pulled her up and slung her over his shoulder.

There. Much better. Trent smoothed his clothes. “Now, I know some of you are under age so this next bit is going to be a treat.”

His audience still faced Gary and the woman. What is wrong with them? Trent clapped his hands. A few heads turned. “Jake.”

The man fired two more rounds.

Finally his people gave him their full attention. “As I said, your new orders will be a treat. I want you all to pick a car and drive it off the road. Crash them up a little if you want.”

A pimply face youth in front raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“When do we eat?”

Trent smiled. Yes, he had the power here. “After we’re through and… the person who clears the most vehicles gets two MREs and the person who clears the fewest gets none.”

Brilliant motivation, if he did say so himself.

They didn’t move.

“Get to it.”

The boys dashed forward. The girls were slower to respond. Useless females—only good for one thing.

“We’re going to need warmer clothes.” Resting the barrel of his rifle against his forearm, Jake Turner loped toward Trent.

Trent’s skin itched. He didn’t trust the man. The air practically stunk with his ambition. No doubt, Jake lacked the vision to build a new society but not the drive to take it over once it was established. Trent flicked a snowflake from his shoulder.

Jake Turner was temporary help only but he could be exploited.

“Are you familiar with the area?”

Jake pointed across the East bound interstate. Buildings jutted up through the gloom. “That looks like a mall to me.”

Trent recognized several clothing chains. Asshole. “Let’s go.”

“What about them?” Jake jerked his chin toward the teenagers.

They trickled between the lanes of cars. A few even climbed behind the wheel.

“They’ll be fine.” Light winked off the rifle. Then again, Trent didn’t plan on this being a one-way trip. “Give Ernest the rifle in case anyone gets ideas.”

Like shooting me in the back .

Jake nodded, pivoted about and ran back to the twin brothers. He climbed into the driver’s seat as Trent secured his seatbelt. Heat blasted from the vents when he turned the ignition.

Trent rubbed his hands in the warm air. He deserved this small luxury.

Slamming the truck into gear, Jake grinned. “I always wanted to take one of these things off-road.”

Jake gunned the engine. Metal crunched as he plowed the truck through the stopped cars.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Trent strangled the seatbelt and braced his legs on the floor.

“Relax.” Jake cranked the wheel. The truck rumbled through the snow, half on the shoulder half off. “I’m in control.”

Manny rose on his toes to see above the crowd. Where was this leader guy? Maybe if he could speak to him, he, Rini and Beth would be allowed to wait for the soldiers. He didn’t want to be part of the new society. He wanted to be with Wheelchair Henry and the niños.

Shifting to the right, Manny felt his jeans slip below his hips despite the rope tied around his waist. He glanced down.

Rini had hold of his belt loop. “What do you see?”

“Nothing.” At five-ten he was too damn short. He hitched up his jeans then shifted left. Again his pants dropped. Now what? He looked down.

Beth had hold of the loop on the other side.

He tugged up his pants and held them with one hand.

The taller kids in front of him swayed, blocking his view. When the man yelled at them to get to it, they scattered.

And Manny got his first look at the leader. Blond hair, blue eyes and tall. His breath lodged in his throat, choking him. Oh God. No! He spun on his heel. It couldn’t be him!

Beth collapsed against Manny, curling around his body.

He caught her. His fingers dug into her back as he raised her. God, he was shaking so much, her teeth practically rattled.

“Wow!” Rini released his pants. “He’s kinda good looking.”

“What?” Manny checked over his shoulder. Maybe he imagined it. Maybe the man wasn’t his nightmare come true. He blinked and watched the man move away.

No mistaking. It was the man from Wheelchair Henry’s neighborhood, the one who’d murdered his wife. The one Manny witnessed throwing a woman’s bloody body from a balcony.

“What’s wrong with you?” Rini poked him in the shoulder. “Just cuz the guy is hawt doesn’t mean I’m sticking around. We’re going to stay and wait for the soldiers.”

Stay? Hell no! They were going to run away. They weren’t safe here. Manny opened his mouth.

A woman screamed.

The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up and his stomach clenched. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about what that man is doing to her.

Rini latched on to his arm. “You don’t think—”

“He’s raping her.” Beth clawed up his chest to stand. “That—That man, the speaker, he’s the one who…” Her hands moved up and down her bruised body. “He tried…”

Manny dragged his hands down his face. He could handle being a target but not Rini and Beth.

“Oy!” One of the men pointed his gun at Manny. “Get to work clearing the cars or you don’t eat.”

Manny grabbed the girls’ hands and pulled them through the lines of cars. “We need to get out of here.”

“Uh, yeah.” Beth wrapped herself around his arm, squeezing between two sedans at his side instead of behind him. “Do you think he’s seen me?”

“I don’t think so.” Manny watched the lead truck shove cars out of its way.

Another scream pierced the air.

He could practically taste the pain behind it. In front of him, two teenagers wrestled a body from behind the wheel of a red Chevy. A blue PT cruiser bumped down the incline into the stand of pines.

“I can’t believe he’s a rapist.” Rini jogged behind them. “I mean he’s cute.”

Cute. Cute! How can she be so stupid. Manny stopped and turned. He crowded Rini against the side of a Ford pick-up. “He’s a murderer, Rini.”

Her blue eyes widened in her mottled green and yellow checks.

“He’s the man I saw dump that woman into the garbage pile. He’s the one the soldiers think killed his wife.”

Rini shook her head. Her spiky blond hair fluttered with the motion.

Didn’t she see? Didn’t she understand that he was a monster? “He’s the reason we had to leave the neighborhood and find the soldiers.”