“The Darkness,” Stephens said.
“Yeah, it was them. They come out and filled the street. They were pushing at the vehicles; you know, crowding around them and trying to open the doors to get in. But the trucks didn’t stop; they just kept going, slowly pushing them out of the way. Then it was like… shooting from everywhere. The trucks tried to speed up through the crowd, but more of ’em—these different ones with guns—they started shooting. The army guys, they started shooting back.
“Well, one of them things had a bazooka or something because it blew a hole right through one of those tanks out there; the one out front.”
Stephens nodded. “Yeah, and then what?”
“Well, mostly the vehicles kept going right through it, leaving that one out front to burn. Later, some helicopters flew by and I waved to them from the roof, but they didn’t stop. When I looked back at the street… they were all gone… every last one of ‘em.
“I still been seeing them. Right before you showed up, a group moved down the street, all carrying rifles. A woman ran to them for help… they tackled her and drug her off.”
“Where did they take her?” Stephens asked.
“I don’t know. Just gone… up the street somewhere.”
“You think you can get us to Northerly Island through all of that?” Murphy asked.
“No… no way. Not through the city—too many people and too many places for them to get at us. You’re talking ten miles on foot. If it was that easy, I would have already tried.”
“So, think about how you would go now. How would you go if you had to, without being seen?”
“Go to the lake,” Nana said.
Murphy looked at her. “Yes, ma’am, that’s where we want to get.”
“No, I mean straight to the lake; you could go through the Oak Woods Cemetery and then to the harbor,” Nana said.
Murphy looked at her, then back to Tyree.
Tyree nodded his head. “She’s right. It’s only a couple miles if we cut through the graveyard.”
Stephens chuckled. “For real man? You want to go through the friggin' graveyard? In the middle of the night?”
Murphy put up a hand, silencing Stephens as he got to his feet and stepped toward Tyree. “Take me to the roof and show me the route.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jacob followed the others back down the hallway, into the stairwell, and out a roof access door. Jacob used a sleeve to wipe his forehead; it was raining again and hot. The humidity made the air feel heavy and sweat instantly built up under the vest on his back. The rain drizzled in and tapped at the rubber and pea-stone surface of the roof as Tyree led them to the north corner. Just before he reached the end, he crouched low and waited for them to gather around.
“I’ve seen them down there all around those streets. So, watch yourself,” Tyree said, before turning back and moving slowly toward the edge. He moved right to the end, and then squatted back on his heels behind a stubbed wall that ran the perimeter of the roof.
Jacob hung back as Murphy scooted next to Tyree and looked out over the edge. “What am I looking at?” he whispered.
Tyree reached into a light backpack he’d carried with him up to the roof and pulled out a red collapsible toy telescope that he handed off to Murphy. Murphy looked at it in his hand. “Really? How old are you, man?”
“Gimme a break, I found it in one of the apartments,” Tyree said.
Murphy grinned and extended the scope. He looked out over the edge of the building and down at the dark streets. Jacob watched him scanning from left to right before lowering the scope and looking back. “Okay, again, what am I looking at?”
Tyree pointed in the distance. “See out there at the end of this road—the bridge? We gotta go all the way down this street about five blocks, under the Skyway, and then under the el tracks. After that, we’ll get to the cemetery wall; it’s about eight feet high. There’s lower spots than that, but there’s barbed wire at them places.”
“Walls and barbed wire? What kind of cemetery is this?” Jacob whispered.
“Come on, man, it’s Chicago. Don’t act like you never heard of fences to keep folks out,” Tyree said.
“Okay… back on topic. What’s it look like inside?” Murphy asked.
“It’s big, man—like a park; lots of places to hide, trees, and small lakes. A road goes right down the middle, almost all the way to Jackson Park. From there, it’s right to the golf course and lakeshore.”
Murphy scanned with the scope and handed it off to Stephens, who took his spot near the edge of the roof. Murphy moved away, pulling Tyree with him. “This harbor; you sure there will be boats there?”
Tyree shrugged. “It’s a harbor, ain’t that where they stay? Summertime, docks should be full this time of year. Papa used to keep a boat there; he used to take us out all the time before he went in the chair and had to sell it. But I ain’t exactly been out fishing lately, ya know.”
“Okay, so you and your brother, you have weapons?”
Tyree shook his head. “James ain’t my brother; he’s my cousin… and no, just the pump gun and we can’t take that. Nana wouldn’t give it to me, anyway.”
Jacob reached down and un-holstered his pistol. He looked at Tyree and held it to him. “Take this; I’m no good with it,” he said.
Murphy nodded. “Okay, good, but you’ll need to find a bat, bar, or whatever; you and your bro—cousin need to be able to fight. Let’s get back downstairs. I want to be moving while it’s still quiet.”
The old woman stuffed bags of food and bottles of water into their already over-stuffed backpacks. Jacob looked away while the boys hugged her and promised to return. He didn’t want to be torn again by thoughts of his wife and daughter… where they may be,
