Kyle Pratt - Through Many Fires

“Come on. Let’s get her. We need to get moving before the bandits decide to come back.” Caden ordered the men to finish clearing the barricade then regroup in the convenience store parking lot. “Keep an eye out for shooters and be ready to move when we come out of the church.”

His father retrieved a pump shotgun from the soldier beside him and pulled a flashlight from his pocket. Caden followed as his dad led across the street and through the church parking lot. As they went his father asked questions. “How’s your mom? Have you seen Lisa? Has there been any more looting?”

Caden did his best to answer the questions. Near the convoy there had been sufficient light, but as they approached the church darkness closed in. He turned on his own flashlight. “Do you think Peter was too close when they detonated the bomb?”

“I hate to think about what might have happened to him. Susan and I were almost too close to the blast. I can’t see how your brother would have survived. I saw the flash and then both of us heard and felt it before seeing the mushroom cloud rise over a line of trees to the north. My old truck was the only auto that was still running. It amazed me how many people were in the area. As we sped away from the growing mushroom cloud, everyone ran in a panic toward my truck.”

The front doors to the church had been broken open. Caden pulled his pistol from the holster as he crossed the threshold. Automatically he flipped a light switch inside, but nothing happened. By flashlight the two men proceeded. Trash and debris were scattered on the floor of the lobby.

“This way,” his father whispered as he moved to the left.

Looking at the empty water bottles, beer cans and food wrappers that littered the way, Caden asked in a low voice, “Are you sure no one is in here?”

“I checked earlier. We were going to spend the night here and then push on to Hansen in the morning.”

“If it’s deserted why are we whispering?”

His father chuckled. “I don’t know. By-the-way, Sue is armed with a pistol.”

As they passed a lavatory the smell of human waste hung heavy in the air.

Reaching the middle of the hall his father stopped. “Susan it’s me. I’m with Caden.”

There was no answer. Slowly he opened the door.

Susan stood just inside. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing a heavy old army coat, but Caden was focused on the pistol she was only slowly lowering to her side. With her free hand she put one finger to her lips and said in a barely audible whisper. “There are other people in the building.”

The two men stepped in the dark room. Caden stayed near the door and watched the hall.

“How did I miss them earlier?” his dad wondered out loud.

“They came in after all the shooting,” she said. “They ran down this hall, but I don’t know where they are now.”

“They must have circled back,” Caden said. “They probably left supplies or something else important here.”

“You don’t have a radio on you do you?” his father asked.

“No.” Caden thought for a moment then said, “I’ll lead the way out. Whoever is in here is either avoiding us or hoping to trap us. Either way, I don’t want to encounter them, but if we do I’ll shoot. That should bring the soldiers.”

“Why not just shoot now and alert them?” Trevor asked.

“I don’t want to pull them away from the convoy unless it is necessary. We have three trucks full of food, ammo and medicine and a fueler out there.” He took one more look down the hall then said, “You two stay low.”

“That’s a little hard to do right now,” Sue said.

Caden wondered what she meant, but he pushed it from his mind and focused on the immediate task of getting out of the building.

His father picked up a bulging army backpack and slid it on. Caden turned to the hall, looked both ways, then carefully stepped from the room. With Susan in the middle the three moved silently toward the lobby.

Arriving at the end of the hallway, Caden leaned slowly forward leading with his pistol.

A shot rang out splintering the wood just above his arm, but not hitting him. He dropped and fired two shots at a figure silhouetted by light from the convoy.

A man screamed in pain.

Another shot hit the wall near Caden.

His father stepped to the corner and fired his shotgun.

Caden heard running and then a muffled shot. He waited several seconds and then cautiously looked around the corner. Two headlights now illuminated much of the lobby. Caden used his flashlight to fill in the dark areas and discovered a body on the floor near the entrance.

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.”