Quality and Quantity Page 5

would use his life to protect her.

  “Hey boys, so what’s the plan?” Kyra asked. The girls sat around the small, warm fire.

  “We’re going down to the cabin for supplies. We have to do it before dark.” The girls didn’t argue with Will. They knew it would be useless.

  “Ok, but we pick the pairs.” Amanda said as the girls dressed. “Harold and Kyra will get the transportation for supplies. Nate and Helen can get the scoop on the tunnel. Will and I can get the supplies and map.” So it was agreed. They would risk their necks to save each other.

  “So which one do we get?” Harold wondered. Kyra and he hid behind an overturn bus. They needed a four wheel drive, durable, large vehicle to hold at most six people. “There it is!” Harold pointed to a lifted Jeep in the middle of the junk. It was a faded yellow color with 38 inch tires, but no roof. Bullet holes covered the hood and rear. The back seat was missing, making more trunk space. “Wait until the others are inside.” They watched as the others successfully entered the cabin undetected. “Let’s go.” They jumped over the bus and headed toward the Jeep across the yard.

  Inside, Nate and Helen searched for a trap door. “Is this it?” Helen found a hole and blood stained flooring where the hook snagged Sam. “Help me pull.” The four of them tugged and the wood started to crack! Snap! “Ouch!” A hole big enough for them to go in one at a time appeared. “Hurry, we don’t have a lot of time.” Helen and Nate slid down the hole into darkness.

  Upstairs, Amanda and Will searched for supplies. Amanda walked past dried blood and the hole the wall. She entered the room and got chills. “Don’t they eat? They have no food.” The house was empty of even a small cracker. She checked the closet. It creaked open. “Ah!” Crash! Will raced to the room to see Amanda soaring across the room and hitting the bed. It flipped, sending bodies flying all over the room. Mark stood with his gun in the holster and knuckles bloody.

  “Back away!” Will tackled Mark and threw away his weapon. “Put me down!” Mark picked him up and tossed him into the closet. Crash! Will smashed through the wall and landed on a pile of tires. “A hidden room?”

  In a torch lit tunnel, Helen and Nate found dust and bugs. “Crates?” Piles of crates lined the walls behind them. Nate opened one. “Weapons, jackpot!” Nate loaded two pistols, a rifle, and all the ammo he could carry. He handed Helen a pistol and an automatic machine gun. “Aim and fire.” The faced around and met with Ken! “Oh man!” As Nate reached for his pistols, Ken tossed him aside. “Run!” Helen dived past him and followed Nate down the tunnel. Ken chased them down carrying a shotgun!

  “How far does this go?” Helen wondered. “Am I going to die down in this tunnel? Rotting away with bugs crawling inside me?” She tried to block it out and focus on running.

  Upstairs, Mark was on a rampage! Amanda dodged punches and kicks while Will scurried inside the secret room. There were boxes of everything they needed. Food, drinks, medicine, first aids, tents, chairs, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, gas, oil, firewood, climbing gear, binoculars, guns, ammunition, clothing, everything.

  “AH!” Amanda was tossed into the room. Mark climbed in after her.

  “Get back!” Will grabbed a baseball bat as Mark was entering. Crack! It bounced off of Mark’s skull. The impact sent pain in Will’s arms and the bat dropped. Mark dropped with a cracked skull. He was barely alive and crawled toward the door. “NO!” Will picked up the bat and went wild. He couldn’t control it.

  “Will, he’s dead!” Amanda shouted.

  He calmed down and looked at Mark. He had killed him. He has murdered somebody. What was he to do now? “Let’s get these boxes.”

  Outside, Harold tried to start the Jeep. “Morons let the keys in.” He turned the key. Nothing happened. “Of course, no gas.”

  “Harold!” Kyra shouted. Coming toward them was Bert and his hook and brass knuckles.

  “Run through the cars!” They separated and ran through the maze of cars with Bert following. The ducked under cars and jumped over buses. Harold slowed down a bit as he ran around a bus. He found it familiar and knew the bus. It was the bus that dropped them off into this nightmare. He returned to see Kyra jump over an SUV with Bert closing in.

  Inside, Will and Amanda loaded a grey Hummer parked in the room hidden from the rest of the house. It was in great shape with lots of space. They loaded a crate of cookies, chips, pickles, crackers, bread, a crate of Coke, beer, water, juices, two first aids, two boxes of medicine, three tents, five chairs, three sleeping bags, pillows, three gallons of gas, three cases of oil, rope, wood, weaponry, and four bags of clothing. There was still plenty of room.

  “How do we get it out of here?” Amanda wondered.

  Will searched for a door, but found none. “Get in and buckle up!”

  Amanda sat in the passenger side and buckled up. Will locked the trunk and turned the key. The engine roared as they heard gunshots. “Here we go!” He slammed on the gas.

  Below, Nate and Helen were low on ammo. “Now what?” Nate looked ahead to see light. It was actually a vent in the ground. “That’s how they get around so fast.” He climbed the ladder and pushed open the vent. They were on the side of the valley about half way up. The sun was setting. “Helen, go up!” Helen climbed up first and Nate followed. “AH!” A hand grabbed his leg and pulled him down. He fell on his back as Ken kicked his side. “AH!” Nate puked blood and reached for his pistol. Boom! Ken dropped with a bullet in his right eye. Nate couldn’t believe it. He had just killed a famous murderer. He felt good, yet disgusted. He climbed the ladder and ran down the valley.

  Harold grabbed Kyra’s waist and jumped over a tire. Crash! A Hummer plowed through the rear of the house, nearly hitting them. “Will!”

  “Get in!” he shouted.

  They got in the back amazed by the supplies. “We going on a road trip?” Harold joked.

  “Funny.” Will wasn’t amused.

  “Will, up on the ridge!” Nate and Helen were running down toward them with Bert behind them.

  “Hold on!” Will jerked left and ramped a flipped car. They left the yard and stopped in Nick’s path.

  “Come on Helen!” Nate was ahead of her as he saw someone behind a tree. He slowed down as Rosa stepped out. “No!” She threw a knife and it hit Helen’s back. “NO!” Helen dropped with blood dripping from her mouth. Her top and bikini was soaked in blood. Rosa was nowhere to be seen and Bert was closing in on them.

  “Get in!” Will screamed, but Nate didn’t move. “Nate, we have to go.” Harold jumped out and dragged Nate into the Hummer. “GO!” Will blasted up the valley side and vanished into the woods.

  Inside, Nate bawled in the back seat. “Helen!” he cried, “I left her to die!”

  Harold held Kyra as she sobbed too. Amanda and Will were up front with watery eyes too.

  “Now what?” Harold pushed out.

  “We find a private area and refuel. We’ll have to stay in the car for awhile.” They had room, being one short. It kept playing in Nate’s mind. Him, helpless, watching his love dying before his eyes. For four hours, he cried it out.

  By the time it was dark, they had three small tents set up. A small fire was burning and they were somewhere on a hill miles from the valley. They left with a full tank and it was three fourth empty. Since they stopped, Nate was completely silent. He was alone in his tent with only a broken heart.

  “Hey, a map!” Harold found a map in between the chips and cookies.

  “Well you boys can talk, we’re changing.” Amanda and Kyra went into the back of the Hummer and ripped open a bag of clothes.

  “So what does it say?’’ Will unfolded the map. It started from the end of the lake to the nearest town. “Here is the valley.” Will pointed to a spot six miles from the lake. “The camp was over here.” He pointed to a spot twenty-four miles from the dirt road. “We’re here.” He pointed to a point five miles from the lake and fifteen north of the valley. “We try to head up the
road. Three gallons won’t last us until Monday morning.”

  Harold was scared. “There are two alive.”

  Will was shocked. “Mark is dead. I hit him with a bat.”

  “Nate shot Ken dead.”

  “Bert and Rosa are out there. I bet a million bucks one is at the valley and one is at the lake. We have a clear chance for the road. If they are there, we got fire power.”

  Inside the Hummer, Amanda and Kyra were trying to cheer up. “Let’s see what we have in here.” They dumped out the first bag. Kyra pulled out a pair of short shorts. “Pretty blonde wore these I bet.” She took off her blood and dirt stained skirt and put the shorts on. She put on a new white bra and a Steelers jersey.

  Amanda found a mini skirt and nice pink t-shirt. She threw off her bikini and changed. They came out feeling refreshed.

  “Looking good, Daisy.” Harold joked.

  Amanda sat on Will’s lap blushing. “How is Nate?”

  “Quiet still. Just let him alone until the morning.”

  Kyra unloaded four pillows and two sleeping bags. “Looks like we have to share.”

  “Good night.” Will placed the key in the ignition, filled the tank, and went to bed.

  In the tent, Amanda took off her shirt and stripped off her shorts. “Get in here, I’m cold.” Will threw off his shirt and climbed in the bag with Amanda. He zipped it shut and held her close. It was a chilly night, but their warm hearts kept them cool.