Darkest Days Read online

  Darkest Days

  Boyd Craven III

  Copyright © 2019 Boyd Craven III

  Darkest Days, Still Surviving Book 3

  By Boyd Craven

  Many thanks to friends and family for keeping me writing!

  All rights reserved.

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  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  About the Author

  Prologue

  There comes a time in every man’s life when he makes a mistake, he’s not sure he can live with. I’ve reached that point in my life, and I know every decision that got me to this moment. If I could have done everything over, I didn’t think I would have, or could have, changed what had ended up happening. Something dark, like fate, or Murphy, had a heavy hand controlling events. I had ended up going back to the farm where the little kids were… I’d had to do it. I had killed or been the reason for their father’s deaths as much as the fathers themselves. I couldn’t stand by and know in my heart that they would be taken and used by men of evil intent, or worse—starve, alone, not knowing.

  So, I’d gone back, I’d done what I could. It hadn’t been enough. Not even close to being anywhere near close enough. Emily and Mary had been kidnapped by Lance’s crew, despite everything. I’d done my damnedest to break them out, catching a bullet and getting my skull cracked in the process. Jessica had been burned trying to save the prisoners that the Hillbilly Mafia was starting to stockpile, and I’d managed to piss off almost all of her entire group.

  To make matters much, much worse, I found out her family was in a precarious position with Henry, the real leader behind the MAG group they were part of. They were worried about losing their place in an area that Henry had leased—on paper at least. I didn’t think it mattered now that TSHTF, but they did. I was effectively a prisoner until I’d made the choice to do something about it. Henry had lied and was going to hold me, Raider, Emily and Mary until I had been indentured to them long enough. He’d lied about the reasons, and he’d lied about having my grandparents protected; he’d lied about everything.

  I’d sicced my dog on him instead of catching a bullet. In the interim, several people had been shot, two of them by me and one by Jessica’s father, Dave. In my bid to protect myself and my freedom, I made a horrible mistake, one I don’t know if I can live with. Losing her, it guts me, and I’m not sure if I’ll survive this mistake.

  I’d pulled the trigger once, in the same heartbeat David had fired. Almost simultaneously I’d felt something hit me, whether it was physical or mental. Did I pass out? I couldn’t have passed out, I was dreaming. But the dreams didn’t stop the memory. My shot had gone through, just as Jessica jumped in front of her father, screaming. Her head had snapped backward, and both of them fell spinning, as if in slow motion. Dave’s gun went off again as he fell, and in my peripheral vision, I saw Mary fall, scarlet exploding from her throat. Blood everywhere, the smell of iron, cordite, and evacuated bowels.

  Dead.

  I wanted to be dead. Maybe I was dead. Maybe I was dreaming, maybe this didn’t happen. I prayed this hadn’t happened. This was hell. I was in hell.

  1

  “He’s coming to,” I heard a voice say as something acrid assaulted my nose.

  “It’s about time. Get him tied up,” Henry’s voice snarled.

  I opened my eyes as two sets of hands were roughly picking me up by my shoulders. Jimmy’s hands were strong, and I felt my shoulder sockets ready to crumble, my injured shoulder screaming in pain.

  “Don’t make it worse,” Carter yelled, bumping his massive chest into Jimmy’s side.

  “I ought to drop him down the hill,” Jimmy said, his voice full of emotion.

  “Jimmy, we don’t have time for this. I need to get to work on the ladies with Duke.”

  “I said lock him up,” Henry yelled, his voice shrill, “and somebody shoot this damned dog.”

  My eyes opened, and I focused them. Jimmy and Carter had gotten me to my feet. Henry’s arm was crimson where Raider’s teeth had sunk in deep, his entire arm hanging loose at his side. Raider was sitting between me and the leader of the local militia, at attention.

  “Nobody is shooting the dog,” Carter said, drawing a handgun and holding it at his side. “And if anybody is going to get locked up here, it’s both you and Wes until we get things sorted out.”

  Henry was flabbergasted. I noted his gun was laying between Raider’s paws. The two men saw me looking, and I felt Jimmy’s hold on me loosen.

  “Henry, you’re coming with me,” Carter said, walking over and roughly jerking Henry, almost off his feet.

  He pushed the older man face first against the wall and did a quick frisking, throwing things behind him. A spare pistol at the small of his back and several knives, including a small folder that he had in one of the cargo pouches of his pants. If I wasn’t so horrified by what had happened, I might’ve enjoyed the show. He’d lied, he lied, and he was responsible as much as me for the injuries here today. What had happened to me? After I’d fired my gun, I’d fallen. Passed out, hit my head?

  “Wes, you better come with me. Don’t give me any problems. There’s a way too much tension going on right now,” Jimmy said, holding onto one shoulder as if to steady me.

  “Raider,” I said harshly as if to call him to my side. “What have I done?”

  The last was directed toward Jimmy as much as it was for me. Raider stood, looked at the gun and then looked back at us before running to my side. He pushed his big head under my hand and then licked my wrist. Carter was pulling on my shoulder, but I looked at the area where the shooting had taken place. There was a form crumpled on the floor, and it wasn’t Henry who was going into fits as Carter used his strength to hold him still. It looked like Jess’ father, Linda’s husband, was on the floor. A large hole had been opened just above the jawline behind his eye.

  It was gruesome, and I didn’t linger long, looking at the body. There was more blood on the ground in a different area, it’d been obvious that it’d been stepped through and someone with bloodied hands had been crawling around. The bloody handprints were the first evidence I saw, but to my left was what really had me scared. It looked as if someone turned on a hose, but instead of water the contents were red droplets, sprayed all over the polished concrete floor. They were now starting to dry, turning a brownish color.

  “Where’s Jessica?” I asked as Jimmy tugged at me again, leading me toward the stairs.

  “Duke’s performing surgery, and if Carter can handle Henry there…”

  “Henry, dammit,” Carter said, squeezing the man then using his bulk to push Henry against the block wall. “If you don’t knock it off—” He holstered his pistol to use both hands to hold the struggling man.

  “You’re out of here, you’re all out of here,” Henry said, his words a snarl.

  “You can’t throw anyone out,” Carter told him, “and we’re all going to have a town hall meeting over what happened here today. I wouldn’t be
surprised if you’re the one thrown out of here, so if you don’t stop fighting me, I’m gonna bash your brains in.”

  Henry went silent for a moment and then tried once more to break out of Carter’s grip. Carter squeezed harder and pushed Henry into the wall with a sudden burst of speed. There was a sickening thud as his head hit first, and Henry dropped bonelessly to the ground. Carter knelt over him, feeling for a pulse and then pulled out zip ties from a pouch in his belt. Once he was secure, he picked him up over one shoulder and motioned for Jimmy to start moving.

  Jess was in surgery, but she was alive. I’d seen her take the bullet. I’d seen her head snap back. What about Mary, what about the little girl? And Emily, where had she gone? There had been a lot of people in the room when I’d fired that bullet, but where did everyone go? Why had I lost so much time again?

  I was placed into one of the bedrooms on the first floor that Jessica had pointed out to me before. It actually was just an empty 10 x 10 room with a secure door that was locked behind me. I heard the door next to mine open and shut and someone work the lock as well. At least I had Raider, at least I had my buddy. Everything was going dark and fuzzy around the edges again. Was this anxiety, panic, had I hit my head again? I didn’t know; I had lots of questions but no answers. My face felt chapped, and I reached a hand up feeling the wetness on my cheek. I looked at it, seeing that my hand was damp, and realized that I had been crying for some time now.

  Somewhere I heard a radio go off, and I could hear a woman screaming. Was it Jessica, Linda, Emily, Mary? I sat in a corner and put my back against the wall. Raider came over and pushed his head under my left arm. I heard voices talking, men’s voices. And then I realized I’d heard something I hadn’t been expecting: a vent fan had come on, and warm air was blowing into my face. I looked up at the drop ceiling that had been installed here and saw that there was a four-inch plastic vent that had been put in place.

  The sounds became more muted with the fan blowing, but I strained to listen anyway. Raider pushed himself further until I finally let my legs go down flat on the concrete floor, and he crawled into my lap, the way he used to when he was a lot smaller.

  “She’s alive, buddy,” I told my dog. “Thank you for what you did. I might’ve screwed everything up here. She has to be okay. She has to be okay.”

  Raider made a chuffing sound through his nose and then rubbed his big head against my chest. I worked my fingers through the fur on his neck, relaxing him as much as me, and listened. The screaming stopped, the voices were muted. For the first time in a while, I closed my eyes, let the tears come, and prayed to God.

  2

  I woke up to someone knocking on the door. Carter was there, and he had smears of dried blood on his temple and cheek. He had two metal folding chairs in one big hand, and he opened the door with the other. He came inside, let the door shut behind him, and it locked itself with a click. Raider stood and stretched, and at the same time he growled. His guard hairs started standing up along the ridge of his spine. Carter took a step back, so his back was to the door and put the chairs in front of him.

  “Easy big guy, I’m in here to give news, I’m not here to hurt your buddy.”

  “What’s the news?” I asked, my voice feeling raw and scratchy.

  “How much do you remember?” Carter asked me.

  “Too much,” I said softly. “Tell me how everyone is doing. Are Mary and Jessica okay?”

  Carter just looked at me for a moment and then grunted, looking at his feet. “Aren’t you even going to ask about Linda?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I know Henry was blackmailing them, I know he lied to all of you to try to keep me here, but when he pulled… When Dave pulled a gun and was going to shoot my dog, I had no choice.”

  “You really think … you really value your dog’s life more than a human’s?” His words were soft, almost thoughtful sounding.

  “Raider, stand down,” I commanded, and Raider sat next to me. I didn’t answer his question, letting my silence be all the answer he needed.

  I motioned for Carter to come closer, which he did. He watched my dog warily, and then undid one of the big folding chairs and sat. He opened another one and put it across from him. I was still sore all over, but I made it to my feet on my own and pulled the chair back against the wall then sat facing him. When we were both sitting and staring at each other, he bit the side of his cheek and then nodded.

  “Dave’s shot ricocheted. The piece that hit Mary had flattened out and acted almost like a knife. The cut in her jugular was bad, but if Duke hadn’t been where he was, we would’ve lost her. He was able to get a finger on the bleed, and you know how we are here—we have just about everything we need in a pinch. Between Duke and I, we were able to get the cut sewn shut. She lost a lot of blood, Westley. I can’t even tell you how much blood that little girl lost, but she’s hanging on right now. I don’t know if she’ll make it, but without knowing her blood type and finding her some more blood, it’s going to be touch and go. We’re pumping her up full of fluids to bulk up the volume, but…”

  “So little Mary’s alive?” I asked rhetorically. “What about Jess? I heard you say she was in surgery.”

  “Wes, what you have to understand is you were already falling backward as you pulled the trigger. I don’t know why you were collapsing or passing out, but your bullet traveled on an upward trajectory. It went in through one side of Jessica’s cheek and out the other side, taking several teeth. Her father caught the rest of the lead in the face. Her entry wound was really easy to repair. Duke and I had to use some of the anesthetic you made for us to halfway knock her out. We were able to get the broken sections, the shattered remains of the tooth and some of the bone, out of the exit wound. We sewed her jaw the best we could, and we got the other cheek cleaned up as well.”

  “When can I see her?”

  “Right now, your safest place to be is right here. I know you’ve been needling Linda Carpenter, and she might even deserve some of it from what I’ve been hearing about everything. But you just killed her husband and shot her baby girl in the face.”

  “That’s the last thing I wanted to do, but I’m so glad she’s okay,” I said softly, feeling moisture running down my cheek again.

  “Actually, though, I’m not here to give you news, more like ask a question. What’s your blood type?”

  “Why? I thought you didn’t know her blood type?” I said, thinking of Mary.

  “I want to find out, but Emily won’t talk to us. I want to bring her here, with you. I want to see if you can find out Mary’s type. She’s…”

  His words trailed off, but his big hands were folded together, and he was staring at his shoes. She was probably in a rage, probably half mad from wondering whether her daughter was alive or dead. I was already nodding as he had been explaining it, but he looked up and then nodded back at me.

  “I’ll be back with her soon. I’m to leave the chairs in here. No matter what happens, stay away from Linda. Henry’s not the only one who wants you dead right now.”

  I felt horrible, but I nodded in agreement. I’d never wanted to kill him, but I’d never wanted him to kill Raider either. The chair protested as he got up, and he headed to the door. Two quick steps and he was gone. The door clicked shut behind him, and I heard what sounded like a deadbolt being thrown from the other side. I hoped Linda didn’t have a key, almost as much as I hoped Jessica could forgive me. I was tired—Lord, I was tired—and nauseated. Raider was sitting by my side, and I heard his stomach grumble. Mine grumbled back, almost as a response. How could I be hungry at a time like this?

  I was zoning out, alone in that room, and I had no idea how long I waited, but I could hear Emily screaming and cursing long before I saw her. There was a sharp knock at the door, and then I heard the locks being thrown before it opened, and Emily was pushed through. She was cursing and screaming, almost spitting with rage, clawing at the closing door. I heard the locks once again, and she turn
ed around and saw me. Her eyes went wide, and she took two quick steps, reaching for the folding chair. She’d quit cursing, and something calm seemed to have come over her. When she picked the chair up and raised it over her head, Raider let out a surprised bark, and I rolled out of the way as the chair came crashing down on the spot where I had been sitting just a moment before.

  Raider let out a yelp and then a growl. He made half of a rush at Emily, growling, snarling, and barking. The echoing of the walls made him sound like he was demonically possessed.

  “Emily, dammit.”

  I was already dodging to my right when the chair came crashing down again. I grabbed onto Raider’s collar and pulled him back as well, until we were in the corner I’d fallen asleep in earlier.

  “Emily wait, it’s me Wes.” I was almost begging.

  I pulled Raider into my lap and leaned over, fighting to hold him down, covering him with my head and shoulders and my arms around him. He didn’t like that, and he wanted to protect me. I got a painful bite on my arm but held on. He didn’t break the skin, but he was definitely letting me know he didn’t appreciate what I was doing.

  “I’m going to kill everyone here,” Emily snarled, “if my little girl dies.”

  “Emily, don’t.”

  “The only person who’s not to blame here is me,” she said, the chair raised over her head.