G Hopf - Sanctuary

Seeing a grouping of abandoned cars ahead of him on the freeway, he slowed and pulled in behind one of the cars.

“Here’s your pit stop,” he said to Brandon.

“It’s about time,” Brandon mocked. He opened the truck and stepped out. “It’s as cold as a witch’s tit,” he said, then slammed the door.

“That boy is incorrigible,” Annaliese said.

“What am I supposed to do, put him over my knee?” Sebastian asked.

“Actually, he needs a good spanking. I bet he was a spoiled as a child,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to go too,” Luke said, jumping out.

“They couldn’t be any more opposite,” she remarked.

Laughing, Sebastian joked, “I know, good and evil.”

Sensing he was a bit tense, she reached out and touched his arm. “What’s the matter, hon?”

“Oh, we’re a bit behind schedule, that’s all. Do me a favor. In the glove compartment there should be a map and a paper with coordinates and frequencies.”

She rustled around and grabbed what he needed. They both discussed a more realistic travel plan for the day. After a few minutes, they noticed that the boys hadn’t returned.

“Stay in here. Keep the truck running and the doors locked,” Sebastian ordered and stepped out.

The cold wind was whipping down the dead freeway. He looked in both directions, but he didn’t see them. He saw Brandon’s footprints and began to follow in earnest. He pulled out his pistol and peered around a tractor trailer. Nothing. The tracks led down the length of the semi until they disappeared into a clump of wrecked cars.

From the looks of the cars and their arrangement on the road, they had collided with each other.

“Argh!” a voice screamed out.

The scream came from the cars in front of the tractor trailer. Not hesitating, Sebastian sprinted as best as he could.

He came up just behind the group of cars with his pistol outstretched when a snowball hit him in the face.

“Ha, ha! That was awesome!” Brandon laughed.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Sebastian yelled.

“Oh, now it’s okay to curse?” Brandon asked sarcastically.

“I thought someone was in trouble!” Sebastian yelled at him. Anger overcame him as he marched over to Brandon. “Don’t fuck around, ever again!”

Brandon stepped back when Sebastian got in his face. “Chill out. Just trying to have a bit of fun.”

“What are you, a fucking child? Stop your bullshit, Brandon. I don’t need it, nobody needs it.”

Holding up his arms, he said, “Sorry. Just thought a bit of fun would be fine.” Brandon walked around as Sebastian headed back to the truck.

“Where’s Luke?” Sebastian asked, looking around.

“I think he’s over there,” Brandon said, pointing to another group of cars about twenty feet away. Then under his breath he said, “Dick.”

Sebastian walked to the group of cars and there he found Luke crying, kneeling next to a car.

“Luke, are you all right?”

Startled by seeing Sebastian, Luke wiped the tears from his eyes and cheeks. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He stood up, brushed by Sebastian, and walked away quickly.

Sebastian looked at the car. The front end was crushed from a collision with the car in front of it. The engine had been pushed back into the cab. He looked inside and saw two corpses. Their bodies hadn’t completely decomposed; the cold air partially mummified them. Their hands were clasped together in what must have been their last demonstration of love and devotion. He then glanced in the back and saw an infant carrier and the body of a baby. Seeing this repelled him. He looked back toward Luke, who was shuffling toward the truck.

“Luke, wait up,” he called out. He jogged to catch up. A dull throb from his leg slowed him.

“Leave me alone,” Luke said, his voice still showing the signs of his crying.

“Want to talk?”

“What did I say? Leave me alone.”

Sebastian let Luke proceed, understanding that he wasn’t in the mood to talk about what he just saw.

Sebastian stood out on the cold, windy freeway and watched Luke get back in the truck. He could only imagine that seeing this family had brought up painful memories for Luke. It was a shame that this new world had inflicted such horrors on young minds. Sebastian didn’t know if he could ever provide the home that Luke desperately sought, but in that moment, he promised himself that he would try.

The compound was immense. From Gordon’s count there were eight large permanent structures and one massive barn that he estimated was 25,000 square feet. The area didn’t look like a compound used by crazed religious leaders, but it was now the home of one.

Gordon and his group had arrived late yesterday. They established a campsite north of the compound and took advantage of elevation to scout and recon. The recon was a success and had given them the necessary information about the compound and its structure. It was nestled in a small valley, with six roads leading into it. The number of roads forced Rahab’s groups to be scattered over a much larger area than was necessary in his desert compound.

“How many people did you count?” Gordon asked Lexi after she returned from her recon to the north.

“He’s got two men on each road leading into the compound, so twelve right there. On the grounds themselves, I counted eight men walking the perimeter and only a handful milling about,” she said.

“Where do you think he’s keeping the prisoners?” Gordon asked.

“It’s a guess, but he only seems to be using that main building and the barn. He might be keeping everyone close,” Lexi theorized.

“Here’s a sketch of the area. From here to here, it looks to be about a thousand feet,” Gordon said, pointing to the square that represented the main building and the barn.

“So a rough head count is…?” Rubio asked.

Gordon and Lexi looked at each other.

“Go ahead, smarty-pants, what do you think?” Lexi joked with Gordon.

“I’d say we’re looking at about forty to fifty people down there. This is based on what we’ve seen and my memory of what he had before.”

“Has your girlfriend started talking yet? Maybe she could help firm up those estimates,” Rubio asked Lexi. He was referring to the woman they had picked up yesterday, who had woken up to discover all of her friends were dead.

Lexi pointed her middle finger at Rubio, then blew a kiss. “She hasn’t said a damn thing. So far she’s been useless.”

“So, based on your estimates, we’re looking at upwards of forty armed people and we have three men, one pissed-off lesbo, and Jonesy, who’s now a gimp.”

“You know I probably would turn gay if I had to look at your little dick all the time,” Lexi cackled.

Jones chuckled loudly.

“Guys, enough bullshit, we have a job to do here. Let’s focus,” Gordon said firmly. “We have five of us, we’re all well armed, well trained, and we can do some serious damage if we plan this right.”

“It’s not going to be a cakewalk, but Van Zandt is right, we can put a hurting on them,” Rubio said.

Gordon led the conversation and presented his ideas. His plan called for a night raid. He, Lexi, and Rubio would enter the valley from the south. Their assumption was that Rahab was located within the main building. To the south, a hill sloped very close to the front entrance. From there they would enter directly into the front. McCamey and Jones would position the Humvee on the hill to the south but in a hide. Jones was healthy enough to shoot the M40 bolt action rifle and he’d take out anyone who came in and out of the buildings. If any vehicles started to exit or move into support, McCamey would light them up with the machine gun.