Chương 120

The final prayer ended, and the barn emptied in minutes. Men took coats and weapons from the walls. Women gathered children, blankets, food packs, and water jugs. Behind the barn, two crew-cab pickup trucks sat under a lean-to roof, facing the trees. One was green under the mud. The other was gray, with primer patches over old rust. Each carried a mounted gun fixed in the bed behind the cab under a torn canvas cover. Men pulled the covers off. The guns had been oiled and kept ready.

Ammunition boxes came out from beneath floorboards and from behind stacked feed sacks. Men loaded them without speaking much. Louis stood beside the barn door. Savannah leaned against the wall near him. Nicholas stood a few feet away with the M14 in one hand while a young man handed him a fresh magazine. Brother Amos came out last. The lamp above the door showed the hollows of his face and the pale scars across his fingers. He looked at the two trucks, then at Nicholas.

"Take them home," he said. A man by the green pickup looked toward Louis.

"All the way?"

"All the way," Amos said.

"Brother Nowak brought the storm. The prince called it down. See them to the farm." Amos turned to Louis.

"Your father's fire will fall before dawn. Until then, keep your heads down. We will pray for you." Louis nodded. He felt Savannah shift behind him. Nicholas climbed into the bed of the first pickup and sat with his back to the cab. Savannah followed. Louis climbed in after her. Three armed men joined them. One took the mounted gun. One crouched near the tailgate with a rifle. One sat against the side with a shotgun across his knees. In the second truck, more men loaded in around ammunition boxes and fuel cans.

The engines started. The barn disappeared behind the trees almost at once. The trucks moved without headlights at first, following a narrow track by memory. Branches slapped the sides. Mud struck the undercarriage. The mounted gunner stood with one hand braced on the gun mount and his head lowered against the wind. Savannah sat beside Louis, her shoulder touching his when the truck pitched.

"You alright?" he asked.

"No." He looked at her. She added, "But I can still shoot." The track opened onto a gravel road. The lead truck's low beams came on, yellow with age and dirt. The second truck followed close behind. Ahead, a faint light showed through the trees, vanished, then showed again. The man at the tailgate leaned forward.

"Post ahead." The first checkpoint came around a bend: a lantern, a wooden barrier, and one man with a rifle. The driver did not slow. The man by the lantern raised one hand. The mounted gun opened fire in a long burst before the gesture finished. The lantern burst. The barrier broke and fell. A man ran from the far side of the checkpoint. The gunner cut him down before he reached the trees. The trucks drove through the broken barrier, wheels grinding over shattered wood, and kept going.

Savannah looked back over the tailgate. Her face did not change.

"These men done this before." Nicholas spoke from behind them.

"We have done much worse." Louis looked at him. Someone had given Nicholas another hat. Its brim hid most of his face. The M14 rested across his knees.

"You're going to fight," Louis said. Nicholas nodded.

"The Lord wills it." The trucks drove faster after that. The gravel road dropped through low woods, crossed a dry wash, then climbed again. From the second truck someone shouted forward. The driver spat out the window and turned right where Louis saw no road until the pickup was already on it. They cut through a pasture track and came out behind a line of trees overlooking a wider road. Below, the second checkpoint stood under two lamps. The men there had heard something.

A truck had been pulled half across the road. One militia man stood near the hood with a rifle raised. Another dragged a spike strip across the gravel. A third ran for a field telephone nailed to a post. The driver said, "Hold." The trucks dropped from the pasture track together. The mounted gun opened fire before the militia could turn fully toward them. The lamps burst. The gun swept across the roadblock and the men around it.

The second pickup followed close behind, its men firing from the truck bed as they passed. The lead truck hit the militia vehicle near the front quarter and shoved it sideways far enough to open the road. Metal tore and scraped. The driver forced through. The second truck followed. The trucks kept moving. Nicholas looked at Louis then. Louis could not read his face in the moving light. Blood from the cut on his cheek had dried black at the edge.

"My boy died on a road," he said.

"For doing what you just did." Louis did not look away. Nicholas added, "Sometimes a father needs to know his son died for something." Savannah looked at Louis, then back toward the road. The truck bounced through a pothole. The gunner behind them shifted his weight and sighted along the barrel toward the road ahead. Nicholas continued.

"You went all the way for a negro girl you met on the run. That means something. You understand?"

"Yes," Louis said. Nicholas nodded. Then he leaned back, closed his eyes, and said nothing more. The trucks turned again. Louis recognized the road only when the lane narrowed and the trees opened enough to show the fence line and hill. The Nowak farm lay ahead in darkness except for one shaded kitchen lamp. The moment the trucks rolled into the yard, the kitchen light went out. Someone moved behind the barn window. Someone else stood near the mudroom. The side porch door opened no more than an inch and stopped.

Gladice's voice came from the dark near the barn. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"One more move and you are all dead." Nicholas stood in the truck bed.

"Hold your fire."

"Nicholas?" Rita's voice came from the porch.

"It's me," he said.

"Do not shoot." The trucks rolled the last few yards and stopped near the barn. Men jumped down at once and fanned toward the tree line without being told. The mounted guns remained pointed back toward the lane. Louis climbed out, then turned to help Savannah. She took his hand and stepped down. Her face was tight, and she kept her injured wrist close to her body. Angelique came out of the mudroom with his M1911 in one hand, her hair pulled tight from her face.

Gladice emerged from beside the barn with a pistol raised, then lowered it the instant she saw Savannah.

"Jesus Christ." Gladice crossed the yard fast. She took Savannah by the arm, careful of the wrapped wrist, and looked at the blood on her face.

"I thought they got you." She swallowed.

"I was going to kill all of them." Savannah smiled once, dry and quick.

"You wouldn't have got 'em all."

"Try me." Only then did Gladice look at Louis.

"What the hell happened?"

"Long story." Louis turned toward the house.

"Is everyone else safe?" Willa came out behind Angelique. Donya followed and stayed close to the doorway. Louis exhaled." Good."

"Let's go inside," Rita said.

"All of you." They moved quickly. The two pickups stayed outside near the barn. Men from the church stayed with them. Cherish stood in the kitchen doorway in her nightdress and cardigan, one hand gripping the frame. She looked from Nicholas to the armed men outside, then stopped on Savannah's blood. Rita shut the door behind them and turned the lock.

"Cherish," she said.

"Go fetch the first-aid kit." Cherish hesitated, then nodded and left the kitchen. Rita gestured them to sit down at the table. Angelique and Gladice helped Savannah into a chair. Donya began working at the knot in the cloth around Savannah's wrist. Louis sat beside Willa. Nicholas sat with the M14 across his legs.

"What happened?" Rita asked. Her voice was controlled, but her hands trembled as she set mugs on the table. Nicholas told her everything: Savannah's capture, the transport, the fuel stop, the escape, the church, the radio calls, and the night strikes ordered through Louis's father. Cherish returned while he was talking. She set the first-aid box on the table and opened it without being asked. Donya took out bandages and alcohol and cleaned the scrape on Savannah's face. Her hands shook, but she kept working.

When Nicholas finished, Rita looked at Louis.

"Your name is not George Harris."

"No," he said.

"It is Louis Collins." Rita's hand stilled on the table. She glanced at Cherish. The girl had not moved since Louis said his name. Then Rita looked back at him.

"You are the son of the Dominion's leader."

"Yes."

"You have your father's eyes," she said." Just like in the movies. I should have seen it." Nicholas watched him.

"The world is smaller than we think."

"Indeed," Rita said.

"And tonight you made it smaller for all of us." She stood and poured coffee into the mugs she had set out. Her hands were steady now.

"We have done what the Lord requires," Nicholas said.

"We have warned the faithful and sent the fire to the enemy's house. Now we must endure what follows." Rita looked from him to the window.

"And what will follow?"

"The county will send men. Montgomery will send more." Nicholas shifted the M14." We will give them hell."

"God helps those who help themselves," she said.

"He does," Nicholas agreed.

"He also helps those who strike first." Rita closed her eyes. When she opened them, she turned to Cherish.

"Get dressed." Cherish blinked.

"Mama?"

"Now." Cherish did not move.

"What's happening?" Rita spoke more gently.

"Go put on clothes. Shoes. Bring your Bible." Cherish looked at Louis, then at her father. Nicholas nodded. Cherish turned and walked out of the kitchen slowly. Rita watched her go. Then she looked at Louis again.

"Nicholas said your father would come for you."

"He will."

"When?"

"Soon." Louis hesitated.

"But I am afraid we don't have time until then." Rita lowered herself into a chair. Nicholas reached out and put his hand over hers.

"The county will become a battleground before sunrise," he said.

"We will stay and fight." Rita nodded.

"Yes." Gladice looked from one to the other.

"What do we do?" Nicholas looked at Louis.

"You should leave. Take the girls and go east, then north. Cross West Virginia and get to the Great Lakes Alliance. Take Cherish with you." Louis looked toward the hallway where Cherish had gone.

"You want me to take your daughter?" Nicholas met his eyes.

"Listen to me. She is my child." His voice lowered.

"I cannot get her out. You can." Rita turned her hand in his and gripped it hard.

"The Lord will keep you." Nicholas looked up at Louis.

"My son died getting his parents and sister out of a roadblock. I could not save him. I can still save her." Louis looked around the table. Angelique nodded first. Gladice and Willa gave the same answer. Donya bit her lip before she joined them. Savannah, her face half-cleaned, gave a short, bitter smile. Louis turned back to Nicholas.

"We will take her to the Dominion. You have my word." Nicholas closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his hand tightened over Rita's.

"Thank you." Cherish returned in jeans and a shirt. She carried a Bible in one hand and a small cloth bag in the other. Rita stood and went to her. She took Cherish's face in both hands and kissed her forehead. Then she whispered something Louis could not hear. Cherish's mouth opened and closed. She stared at Rita and shook her head.

"No," she said.

"No, I am not leaving you." Rita pulled her close.

"You must. The Lord has opened a way." Cherish shook her head against her mother's shoulder.

"I can stay and fight." Nicholas stood. He came to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him with wet eyes and did not back down.

"Cherish." He said her name once.

"We do not always understand the Lord's will." Her lips pressed together. Tears fell. He said, "But we obey." She nodded. Nicholas pulled her into his arms and held the back of her head with one hand. Rita turned away and gripped the edge of the table. Angelique lowered her eyes. Gladice turned her face away and kept watching. Nicholas let Cherish go. He wiped her face with his thumb.

"Take your bag. Go with them." His voice was steady.

"We will meet again in the Kingdom." Cherish swallowed hard. She took a breath and stepped back. Her hands trembled as she put the Bible into her bag. She looked at Louis and the others, then back at her parents.

"Come with me," she whispered.

"Please."

"This is our home. This is our church. This is where we serve," Nicholas said.

"You go where God leads you." She bit her lip to keep it from shaking. Then she nodded again. Willa stood up from the table.

"We should move before the war starts." Louis rose. He went to Nicholas and offered his hand. Nicholas took it and held it hard.

"Take care of her," Nicholas said.

"Treat her as your own."

"I will." Louis swallowed.

"And I will tell my father about you. You are an honorable man." Nicholas released his hand.

"The Lord be with you." Louis turned to Rita.

"Thank you for everything." Rita looked at him, then at Cherish.

"Go with God." Angelique handed Louis his M1911. He took it, glanced at the engraving, and tucked it into his waistband.

"Let's go," he said. The others took their backpacks from beside the wall and followed. Cherish was the last to leave. Nicholas and Rita led them out toward the barn. The pickups waited near the yard, facing the lane, with armed men still posted around them. Nicholas called to the men by the nearest truck.

"They need a vehicle." The driver looked at Nicholas, then at Rita, and nodded.

"Take this," he said.

"Full tank. Spare gas in the back." Louis nodded.

"Thank you." The driver opened the door and stepped out, leaving the engine running. Gladice climbed into the driver's seat. Willa sat beside her. Angelique took the back seat with Donya and Cherish. Savannah climbed into the truck bed. Louis looked once more at Nicholas and Rita. They stood close together under the barn light. He raised his hand. Nicholas and Rita raised theirs. Then he climbed into the truck bed beside the mounted gun and pulled the canvas cover over it. The engine started. The truck turned.

He did not look back again. Then light flashed above the ridge. At first Louis thought it was lightning behind the clouds. Then a white streak crossed high above the eastern ridge. A second followed it. A third followed after them, silent until the sound reached him. A low rumble came from beyond the ridge. More white streaks followed, all heading the same way. The strikes had begun.