The Gathering Storm (Surviving the Fall 2)

“Had to have been someone out here.” Dianne whispered to herself as she crouched next to the truck. Inside, Jacob and Josie had climbed into the front passenger seat where they were squished together watching the house burn with slack-jawed expressions.

“Kids,” Dianne said, keeping her voice low. “Back in your seats now. Mark, stow the rifle and get back in the front. We’re getting home right now.”

After her children were in their seats, Dianne got back into the driver’s seat and started up the truck. She backed down the driveway quickly, wanting to get away from the house as quickly as possible. The nervous feeling that was gnawing at the back of her mind when they pulled up had erupted into full-blown fear as she thought about the implications of the house going up in flames so quickly.

“Mom, what about Mrs. Carson? Shouldn’t we check on her and Mr. Carson?” Jacob piped up from the back seat. “Or do you think they were inside the house?”

“I don’t think so, bud.” The truck skidded as Dianne pulled out onto the road and she threw it into drive. “The Carsons like to go on trips a lot so I bet they weren’t even home.”

“Their house was fine when we drove by earlier.” Mark kept his nose pressed up against the window watching behind them as they hurtled down the road back towards their home. “What happened to it?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t think it just randomly caught fire and went up like that so quickly. We were only at the Statler’s place for half an hour. Somebody had to have set the house on fire.”

“Was it an accident, do you think?”

Dianne shrugged. “No idea. But I don’t want to take any chances. As soon as we get home I’m going to check our house out to make sure everything’s safe inside. I want you three inside once I’m done. Mark, I’m putting you in charge of keeping everyone safe until I get back. Take the rifle and keep a lookout, got it?”

Mark nodded. “Where are you going?”

Dianne chewed on her lip as she zig-zagged along the road, trying to hit as few potholes as possible. “We’re back in the woods far enough that I don’t think anyone will be coming out here. The Carson’s house was pretty close to the road, so if somebody was trying to break in or do… I don’t know, whatever they were doing, it was a pretty easy target. I want to check out all the buildings and make sure we start locking them anytime we’re not actively outside and using them. At least for the next few days or until we find out more about what’s going on.”

Mark, Jacob and Josie stayed quiet as Dianne drove the rest of the way home. She, meanwhile, spent the whole way home thinking about how she was going to clear the house, barns and outbuildings. She and Rick had spent a few weeks years ago taking intensive home self-defense classes that included instructions from former Marines and special forces operatives as part of their survival and preparedness mindset. It had been long enough that she had forgotten a few of the details, but the general principles were still firmly lodged in her mind.

Clearing a house with only one person was ill advised, but despite Mark’s knowledge and handiness with firearms she wasn’t willing to expose him or his siblings to any potential dangers inside. After unlocking and relocking the gate on the driveway, Dianne stopped the car short of the house by a good fifty feet and turned off the engine. She then hopped out, grabbed the rifle and magazines from the back of the truck and passed them to Mark who had followed her around.

“Remember what we taught you, kiddo. And if you hear shots, I want you to take your brother and sister off to your fort in the woods, okay? Don’t come up to the house until you get an all-clear signal from me. Got it?”

Dianne could see the nervousness written on Mark’s face as she gave him his instructions, but he nodded obediently and took the rifle. “Yes, ma’am. Got it.”

Dianne nodded and took off toward the house, keeping to the tree line as far as she could before making a break for the back door. She peeked through the window before unl

ocking and entering through the back, confirming that the living room was empty. Everything appeared to be untouched and she proceeded from the living room into the kitchen, taking fast but deliberate steps along the way.

Each corner she approached was quickly scanned with her eyes and the barrel of the rifle, her finger resting on the trigger guard and her thumb on a small switch that would engage the flashlight attached to the rail. After the kitchen was cleared she moved through the rest of the rooms on the ground floor, finding no signs of disturbance nor any indication that anyone had broken in. The doors were all secured, the windows were still locked and nothing had been moved or touched.

With all appearances pointing to the house being secure, Dianne relaxed substantially, but still proceeded upstairs and cleared each of the bedrooms and bathrooms before heading back downstairs and going through the basement. She was still on alert, but after double checking every room she finally felt comfortable with declaring the house secure.

After unlocking the front door and stepping out onto the front porch, Dianne looked out at the truck and saw Mark, Jacob and Josie staring back at her expectantly. She gave Mark a thumbs up and jogged out to meet the children as they all got out of the truck and started walking toward the house.

“Jacob and Josie, I want you two upstairs in Mark’s room until I get back. Mark, stay upstairs next to a window and make sure it’s open. If you hear any vehicles or strange voices outside I want you back in your room with them. Lock the door and do what we taught you, okay?”

Mark nodded and the three children raced inside and up the stairs. Dianne went in after them and locked the front door, then went out the back door and locked it after her. Clearing the house was merely the first step in ensuring that no one was on their property, and she still had quite a bit more work to do. The fact that the house was safe was a big relief, though as she headed down toward the lake and barns with her rifle at the ready, she couldn’t shake the image of the Carson’s burning house from her mind.

Chapter 7

Las Vegas, NV

The sun had nearly set in the sky by the time Jane regained consciousness. She had passed out just as Rick brought her inside the lumberyard and found a few cushions from lawn furniture to lay her on. Her skin was flushed and she felt hot to the touch, and Rick figured that the combination of her injury and them walking in the hot sun for so long had caused her to suffer from heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

“Should’ve paid more attention in that emergency training course.” Rick mumbled to himself as he poured more water onto a rag and dabbed it across Jane’s face. He had thought more than once about what the extra time delay might mean in terms of getting safely through the city and to the Air Force base, but he wasn’t about to leave Jane behind, especially after what had happened to Jack and Samantha.

“You did a good job.” The faintly spoken words surprised Rick and he glanced up at Jane to see her eyes open.

“Hey! You’re awake!”

Jane smiled weakly and nodded. “Thank you.”

“No problem. By the way, you should probably stay still and keep resting. I think we need to stay here for the night. I don’t like the look and sound of the city right now and you’re in no condition to travel.”