THE VALUE OF JADE (Mace of the Apocalypse #2) Read online

  "Shit!" Mace swerved the vehicle as a lone plunk hit their car roof and a small dot of sunlight appeared. "Anybody hit?" he yelled as he punched the gas, turning the vehicle right as he ducked down in his seat and the vehicle's left wheels jumped over a parking curb.

  Jim, seated on the rear passenger seat, looked at the hole in the car upholstery inches from his leg and said excitedly, "No, but get out of here! They're firing from the roof!"

  Shawn and Paul had their handguns out, trying to view the rooftop when a body came crashing down, hitting the ground with a thud to the left of them. The rifle clanged off the concrete a second later, bouncing a few feet away.

  "What the fuck?" Shawn yelled as they all jumped in surprise.

  "Did he jump? What just happened?" Paul was swerving around in his seat, confused and panicked.

  "There!" pointed Jim towards the two men who suddenly appeared in the street to the right of them. They were both heavily armed and waving them towards them. The men ran back towards some trees for cover.

  "What do we do?" said Paul with a greater sense of urgency.

  Mace swerved the vehicle towards them, bouncing it off more parking curbs as he tried to get out of the parking lot. "Head towards them. I think they just saved our asses."

  A 4x4 suddenly came skidding from around the back of the store as Mace bounced off the curb, leaving the lot. He caught a glimpse of the men who had waved as he raced by them with the 4x4 gaining ground quickly. As he cleared them the men jumped back out again, firing a volley of shots at the approaching truck. Mace watched in the rear view mirror as the truck tried to swerve away from the gunfire and ran full speed into a large tree, crushing the hood and lifting the rear tires off the ground by the speed of the collision. A man catapulted out of the rear bed of the truck, flying twenty feet until he smacked against the concrete, head first, and rolled like a rag doll to a stop. The men fired another volley at the disabled vehicle until they were sure there was no further threat.

  More gunfire rang out from the grocery store as a group of eight men appeared from the store itself, zigzagging across the parking lot and firing as they ran. The two men who had fired on the truck took cover again and Mace hit the brakes hard, bringing the SUV to a skidded stop.

  "We've got to help," he yelled as he pulled his 9mm from its holster and jumped out of the vehicle, running full speed back towards the men and firing two rounds at one of the attackers.

  Shawn grabbed the Marlin and ran across the street, diving behind a car before rising up to line up a shot through the scope. He fired, dropping one of the men with a shot to the chest. The approaching men suddenly halted at the sight of backup, ducking behind a few abandoned vehicles parked at an angle at the edge of the lot.

  Mace caught up with the men behind the trees. One was older, probably close to sixty, and the other one was in his early twenties. They nodded quickly in recognition and Mace tried to catch his breath. "Thanks for the cover," he said.

  "Likewise," the younger man said, looking back at the parking lot from behind the tree. "You were as good as dead. Those guys don't play."

  Jim came up from behind and ducked behind the rear of a car.

  "Who are they?" Mace asked as he aimed and put a hole in one of the vehicles the men hid behind. "And how many are there?"

  "Not really sure. At least a dozen but they rotate so often it's hard to say," the younger man explained. "We've been watching the store for a few days trying to figure out a weakness. We're starving."

  "Did they know you were here?"

  "Not until you showed up," the man said without a hint of bitterness.

  "No other stores close by?"

  "Gangs rule the whole north section. This was our best bet. We were just trying to figure out how to steal enough to survive."

  A shot rang out and bark splintered off the tree the guy was behind.

  "Mexican standoff isn't good with all the freaks still running around," the older man said as he peeked out to return fire. He scanned the area quickly. "Maybe we should make a break for one of the houses before they start showing up."

  All of a sudden they heard a "whoosh" sound and something large whizzed by their heads. A second later the car Shawn had been behind exploded and burst into a ball of flames. Shawn emerged behind them a second later, running full sprint to their position.

  "They got a grenade launcher!" he said, exasperated. "I saw them lift it and I boogied the hell out of there." He looked around quickly. "We can't stay here."

  "Stay," Mace said quickly, "and when you hear me coming lay down some serious suppression fire. I don’t want them to have a clue as to what’s going on."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "End this."

  Mace ran back to the SUV and when he jumped in the drivers side Paul suddenly popped up from the back seat, appearing pale and guilty. Mace fired it up, said "buckle up," and made a quick u-turn, scraping up a Porsche parked on the other side in his haste. He almost laughed at the cold sweat that flashed across him out of a reflex fear of what it would cost his insurance to fix it.

  "What are you doing?" yelled Paul, fumbling with his seat belt as Mace gained speed. Mace ignored him. Mace's party stepped out and fired rapidly at the abandoned vehicles, plunking enough holes in them to keep the men pinned down.

  Jade's voice could be heard over the Walkie Talkie, "Mace! Anybody! Are you okay? What is going on?"

  Flashing a quick glance in the rear view mirror, Mace didn't need to ask if Paul had already heard Jade's pleas. He pushed down harder on the gas.

  When the SUV showed no signs of slowing a high whine rose out of Paul's throat. As it raced towards the parked vehicles without slowing down it was replaced by a high-pitched squeal, and as it hit the curb and jumped it became a bellowing scream. The SUV plowed directly into the vehicles, full force. The sound of the crash was deafening and the men on the other side were either instantly killed or flung away by the force of the hit.

  The driver’s side airbag instantly inflated, protecting Mace, but the rear one malfunctioned and Paul's head smacked hard against the back of the front seat headrest. Mace fought against the airbag to jump out of the vehicle while Paul clutched his face and nose. The rest of their party raced to the parking lot. None of the assailants had fired a single shot. None of them had even seen it coming. None of them had survived.

  Back at the motel, Jade was biting her lip as she watched the smoke rise from the car fire and heard the continued crackling of gunshots. "Shit!" she said nervously, pacing. She knew they had run into trouble. All the women stood in a panic in front of the motel, unsure of what to do.

  "We have to help them," Jade said weakly. Lisa and Yvette nodded in agreement. Chelsea held on tight to Lisa's leg, staring at the smoke in the distance. She couldn't understand the situation but understood that everyone was scared.

  Jacqueline and Noreen both shook their heads. "We can't," said Noreen. "We have no idea what they're facing. We just have to wait."

  Jacqueline agreed. "They've been mighty resourceful so far. All we can do is hope they make it back."

  Melissa and Hannah stayed quiet.

  "We can't just leave them. We have to do something." Jade had a look of iron resolve on her face. "I need to use your car," she said to Jacqueline, holding her right hand out for the keys.

  "And if you don't come back? What will we do then? We need to stick together! We've got two kids, you're pregnant, and we are carrying the antidote inside of us!"

  Jade chewed on her lip some more. "Shit!" she exclaimed in frustration.

  A few seconds later Mace's voice came over the Walkie Talkie gripped firmly in Jade's left hand. "We're okay. We'll be back in a few minutes. Just hold on tight."

  Fifteen minutes later two strange vehicles drove swiftly towards them from the area of the grocery store.

  "It's us," said Mace into the radio as they approached. The men immediately piled out of the cars, excited and jovial, except for Paul, who rem
ained very quiet. As he drew closer, the women could see his nose was puffed up and a bright shade of red. Stuffed inside his nostrils were two tampons with the strings dangling out.

  Mace saw the attention he was getting and slapped him on the back. "Our hero here got his nose busted fighting some bad guys. We took care of it for him, though. We found plenty of what you ladies need."

  Everyone, including his wife and daughter, couldn't help but burst out laughing. Mace leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Just remember, you ever bail on us again you're on your own." He smiled at him and introduced the two men in the trailing truck to the women.

  "This is Bill and his son Mike. They saved our lives and decided to join us. Let's make them as welcome as possible."

  As greetings were exchanged he walked to the rear of their new vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and opened the back. "And this," he said, pulling out bag after bag of groceries, "is our spoils."

  The women were amazed as they looked through the bags.

  "Canned peaches. Oh my God." Jade had been getting huge pregnancy cravings for the fruit. Mace had a full bag just for her.

  "You've got enough for your butt to turn fuzzy."

  Chelsea squealed with delight when she discovered the bag of candy. "Gummy Bears!" she yelled out in excitement.

  They had even thought of Buster. He had a few bags of dry food and some rawhide bones.

  Jade studied Mace carefully as everyone celebrated the bounty. "Just what happened back there?" she asked quietly.

  "We had to kill quite a few men," he said with deathly seriousness. "We shouldn't be celebrating but it's our new reality." There was a certain coldness in his gaze. "It's kill or be killed out here, simple as that. We can't dwell on it. We had no choice."

  She looked at him with concern. "Are you sure it's safe to stay here?"

  Nodding solemnly, he said quietly, "We found a chart inside the store. Every man was accounted for. No one will be checking on them until morning."

  He looked up at the darkening sky and said loud enough for everyone to hear. "We'd better get inside. It's going to be dark soon. I'm on first watch."

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Travis was exhausted as he drew within a hundred feet of camp. Panting heavily, he was greeted by a series of pops that kicked up dirt clumps around his ankles. He glared at the encampment, finally making out the figure of Brett hunkered down next to a trash bin taking pot shots in his direction.

  He quickly dropped to a knee and lifted his rifle, lining up the scope, and he could see the stupid grin on Brett’s face. He squeezed the trigger and a pockmark appeared on the garbage bin six inches from Brett’s head.

  The grin disappeared. As Brett turned his head to gape at the bullet hole, Travis squeezed the trigger again, and another hole appeared no more than an inch away from Brett’s nose. Brett turned back in his direction, mouthed, “You’re an asshole!” then stood up to wait for his comrade.

  “You’re back sooner than I expected,” Brett whispered loudly as Travis approached.

  “You weren’t even supposed to know I was gone,” Travis whispered back defensively. “And I don’t like having to kick up my heels worrying about your sorry-ass aim.”

  “Don’t go getting your little pink panties into an uproar. I always check your side of the patrol. My grandmother could provide better guard duty and she’s half blind.”

  “Yeah, and she takes it up the ass,” said Travis, thinking the remark a clever retort. He looked back over his shoulder then turned back and shook his head. “They’re communicating somehow. I almost got ambushed. Those fuckers came close to taking me out.” He leaned in and said, “They are evolving, man. We need to do something now!”

  Brett ignored the comment, thinking it more of Travis’s usual paranoia. Looking at the blood smeared all over Travis he said, “You’re lucky I didn’t really cap your ass. I saw the blood on your shirt and thought you were fucked.” He got a mischievous smile and continued. “Even after I saw your ugly mug, I thought about it for a second. With a face like yours, infection would be an improvement.”

  “Fuck you, Alice. I could have blown that beak of a nose off if I’d felt like it. Might have improved your luck with the girls and saved you from spraining your wrist.” He made a masturbatory gesture with his right hand.

  The exchange finished and they sized each other up before continuing.

  “We need to go out and bring more firepower. I’m tired of playing this waiting game every fucking night.”

  “We’ll put together a team. Just don’t go out alone again, dumbass. You left us exposed.” Brett looked at the blood splotches that covered Travis’s clothes, shook his head, and pointed his finger at Travis’s face. “You’re dangerous. You need to quit playing Rambo before you get us all killed.”

  “I’m trying to make this a safe place to live.” The anger began creeping up and his voice started rising. “But as long as we take a fucking pussy approach to what’s out there, every day we’re just playing with fire.” His face was growing red and his lip began to quiver with tension. “We need to find out where they hide. Once we figure that out, we can start making this place safe again.”

  Brett had three inches and thirty pounds on Travis, but still felt the power in the smaller man, respecting his courage and wisdom. He backed off and nodded. “Well then let’s just convince them it needs to be done. I’m on your side, alright?”

  After they both had gotten some sleep, they approached the house where Bo and Sarah were staying. Sarah answered the door, greeting them warmly, although dark circles hung under her eyes. “Travis, Brett, come in. There is a discussion going on right now. I’m sure Bo would love your opinions.”

  They walked in to hear Bo addressing seven other men, standing or sitting around their dining room table. “We need to take this to the next level. Our level of security is minimal at best. We need to start thinking longer term.”

  In the middle of the table was a map showing their existing boundaries. Bo pointed to a few areas outside the dots. “It’s crazy not having a medical facility within our compound. If we stretched this out by several more blocks we could become completely self-sufficient.”

  Travis was almost bursting with excitement and bitterness at the words. He moved forward and interjected. “Well it’s about time you paid attention to what I’ve been saying. We could make this place a hell of a lot safer.”

  The men gathered around the table looked up, and Travis could see the immediate look of annoyance at his presence. Travis ignored them and walked straight to the table, jabbing his finger down in the middle of the map. “Fuck a few more blocks. We need to stretch this out at least two miles. You want a safe zone that is at least two miles in circumference. We need not only a hospital, but some farm land. Grow our own shit. Raise our own food.”

  He looked up at Bo, and then pointed to the map again. “We need to build a fence, figure ten feet high with razor wire running along the top, electrified throughout, with spotlights and guard towers at regular intervals. Car batteries can power it all. We build the first two sides with this right here as the apex. We build during the day and keep moving the fire troughs out on the other sides to keep the freaks away. Search and fucking destroy missions at night. Night vision goggles and all that good shit.” He looked at the men and shook his head. “It’s about time we took our shit back.”

  Sarah sat in the kitchen, replaying the latest vision in her head. She hadn't told Bo about it. She had seen him bloody.

  Ever since the nightmare she'd been getting flashes of images. They were unconnected, like a movie reel that had been poorly spliced, but she knew what they were. She had thought, and hoped, that the gene had skipped her.

  Her family had psychic tendencies on the women's side. Her mother could see future events through touch. Her grandmother had been a medium and clairvoyant. Her sister had moved out of the country to try to escape the curse, as she called it. It was now happening to her. The family had always
kept it a secret. She realized now that her Truth could not stay hidden.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Lisa stayed outside with Chelsea. It had just turned dark and she knew she should go back in, but the warmth of the evening and the fresh air were a welcome respite from the confinement of the cars. Sitting quietly in front of their door on the second floor balcony, she gently stroked Chelsea’s hair as her daughter began to fade off to sleep.

  Mace stood silently about ten feet away, his arm hairs tingling as he sensed something approaching in the darkness. It was a moonless night and jet black. He was about to voice a hushed warning to Lisa when a low moan emanated from the street below. Chelsea bolted up and clutched onto her mother, crying out in fear, “Mommy!”

  Mace, who was trying to zero in on the noise in the darkness, found the source after Chelsea’s small scream. He could see the red glow of the eyes in the darkness turn in their direction. Chelsea’s cry had alerted it to their position.

  Mace felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as it moaned again, and he could tell that it was now slowly shuffling in their direction. “Shit,” he said under his breath. He pulled his 9mm out of habit, aiming it in the direction of the threat, but thought better of it and holstered his weapon. He didn’t want the noise attracting others.

  From somewhere further down the street he could hear a second moan, and he knew he couldn’t wait. He turned and caught eyes with Lisa, who had a look of guilt stretched wide across her face. He swiftly moved beside her and whispered, “Spread the word: we need to be ready to move.”

  They had set up a few coded knocks before they’d bunked down for the night: Two small knocks with a space, followed by two more meant be prepared, locked and loaded. Three knocks meant it was time to go, guns at the ready.

  Lisa quickly went to each one and rapped the code as Mace carefully crept down the stairs to the street. He reached the SUV and could see the glow of the eyes staring at him in the darkness no more than fifteen feet away. He had to take it out quietly without getting too close.