Raven acted before she had time to think. Climbing atop the counter and swinging her axe wide, she hit the man in the side of the face. Blood sprayed in a wide arch, spattering her coat with wet plops. The man did not go down. Henry struggled in his grasp, prying at the man’s arm with his fingers. He’d kept hold of the knife but had nowhere to aim it. The blade sat useless in his grasp. His eyes were wide.
Raven lifted the axe above her head and with a strong downward swing, brought it down again on the man’s head. This strike hit gold, splitting his skull and cleaving his brain in two. He slumped forward, grip loosening and Henry turned in his grasp. Pushing the man’s body backward, Henry moved away, gasping.
Raven sat abruptly on the table, relearning how to breathe. She absently flicked the congealed blood and brain from her blade.
“Thanks,” Henry panted, catching his breath. “I didn’t even see that dude!” He waved his arm emphatically at the body.
We need to get better at clearing buildings, she thought. “He was a big fucker!” Raven grinned, hopping to her feet.
Henry smiled back. There was a shuffling noise from upstairs and he groaned.
Raven glanced past her brother. There was a set of wooden stairs that led to the upper level. In front of a closed door sat a heavy looking metal drum, like a vat for holding a large quantity of liquid.
“No worries,” Raven said, pointing to the stairs. “It’s blocked.”
“Oh, good,” Henry said, seeing it.
A loud thud sounded from the other side of the door and the drum scooted an inch along the ground.
“Oh, fuck,” Henry spoke. “Let’s load up what we can and get the hell out of here. One of those things is enough for today.” He gestured at the corpse.
Raven could only agree. They grabbed plastic bags from the register area and headed down the aisles to pilfer.
Back at the Cabin
They pulled up to the cabin and Raven let out a sigh of relief. She could hear Rocky barking inside and there were no footprints or tire tracks that didn’t belong.
“Seems like our hideout is still safe,” Henry spoke. He pulled around to the back of the cabin, parking behind a cluster of evergreens.
“Thankfully,” Raven agreed. She looked out at the surrounding forest to make sure they were alone then opened the door.
Henry did the same, pulling bags of supplies from the truck bed.
“We got quite a haul,” he said. His hands were laden and there were myriad bags left, full to bursting with food and amenities.
“Sure did,” Raven agreed. She let the tailgate down and pulled the veggie crates to the edge. “We’ll be set for quite a while. Though we should eat as many of the perishables as we can before we set out.”
Henry nodded. “The first meeting on December first is in ten days so we have plenty of time.” He shouldered open the door and Rocky burst out. Henry dodged him expertly. “I think we should get there at least a day in advance to scout it out.”
“Get down, Rocky,” Raven chided, kneeing her dog lightly in the chest to back him up. He’d jumped up and was clinging to the crates she carried. “Get out of the way, doofus,” she said, laughing. Rocky barked and ran back inside, racing through the cabin insanely.
“Watch out!” Henry yelled, having nearly been knocked down by ninety pounds of crazy Pit Bull.
Rocky raced past him and up the stairs. The floor pounded beneath his exuberance.
She set the crates down on the kitchen table with a groan, rubbing her lower back. “Those are heavy fuckers,” she said.
“I’ll get the others,” Henry spoke without turning around. He was starting a fresh pot of coffee.
“What are we going to do when the power finally cuts out?” Raven asked him. “I don’t think either of us can survive long without coffee.”
Henry glared at her mockingly, grabbing his chest. “Don’t even joke about that, sis.” He smiled.
Raven scoffed. “All right, joker,” she said laughing. “Let’s get the rest of the shit from the truck. I’ll start dinner once we’ve unloaded.”
“Good,” Henry said. “I’m starved.”
“Just stick the perishables in the fridge. We can sort through it all after we eat.”
“Sounds good to me,” Henry agreed.
Rocky came bounding down the stairs, tongue lolling, and out of the front door. A long line of drool hung from his smiling mouth. He danced across the dirt, running in silly circles. Henry and Raven unloaded everything from the truck, but they were not alone.
There was a rustling in the mulberry bush just east of the clearing. It wasn’t a windy day yet the leaves shook and jittered, knocking rotting berries to the ground.
Chapter Five
The Eavesdropper
The Eavesdropper
The evening was getting colder and Elizabeth — she preferred Liz — shivered, zipping up her ratty sweatshirt. Not that it would do her much good, there were holes in it and the material was thin.
Liz hunkered beneath a large fir tree and dug herself a trench in the needles that covered the ground. The dirt was damp and it didn’t
