A New Dawn (Surviving the Fall 12)

Dianne walked quickly through the woods, heading for the driveway and a clear view on the side of the truck where she had spotted two men—one of them the leader of the group—hiding while they continued to shoot up her home. Nealson held his breath as she came close, his outfit concealing him neatly amongst the dead foliage. When she came within a few feet of him he lunged forward, ignoring the burning pain in his shoulder and arm. Dianne felt something grab onto her leg and for an instant thought she tripped on a branch. The loud growl as she fell to the ground and the feeling of someone jumping on top of her dispelled that thought, doubly so once she looked up and found herself staring into Nealson’s face.

His bloodshot eyes stared down at her as she recoiled, turning her head from his rancid breath and body odor, and he sneered at her, keeping his pistol pressed firmly against the side of her head with his good hand and arm. “Got you now, bitch.” He spat as he spoke, and though Dianne was terrified by him, she couldn’t help but make a face of disgust.

“You really need to brush your teeth.”

Without thinking, Nealson used his injured arm to strike her across the face, which caused him to grind his teeth together in pain. Dianne choked back a laugh, suddenly incredibly amused by the situation.

“Guess my son managed to wing you, eh? I bet that hurts.”

The pistol dug deep into her temple, sending waves of pain through her head. “Bet this’ll hurt more. Got any last words?”

A branch snapped behind Nealson and Dianne’s eyes flicked to the source, widening as her mouth fell open. “…you?”

A single shot rang out through the woods and Nealson’s eyes rolled back in his head before he could turn to see what Dianne had spotted. His limbs went limp along with the rest of his body and he sagged forward, rolling off of Dianne as she pushed him to the side.

She scrambled backwards through the leaves and dead underbrush, shaking her head and muttering, “no, no, no,” the whole time. After a few feet of backwards crawling she hit a tree that she pressed her back against, still shaking her head, unable to accept that the face she had seen in her dreams for what felt like eternity was finally real. It was still a dream; it had to still be a dream. For it to be reality would be asking far, far too much.

But her dreams had never spoken to her. At least not until now.

“Hey babe,” the figure was caked in dirt and sweat and spoke with a crooked grin and tear-filled eyes. “Miss me?”

Chapter 19

The Waters’ Homestead

Outside Ellisville, VA

Rick’s hand was rougher and older-looking than Dianne remembered. She stared at it as he held it out to her, standing over her wearing a pair of blue jeans and a thick jacket with a Capitol Police symbol emblazoned on the chest and shoulder. She took his hand slowly, feeling its warmth envelop her own as Rick pulled her to his feet. They stood there, standing and looking at each other for a long moment before she punched him hard in the shoulder, then grabbed him in a tighter hug than she had ever given in his life.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For taking so long!”

Rick chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in an embrace that she had dreamt of nearly every night since the event. This time, though, there was no waking up in a dark room with a cold space next to her while feeling frantically for her pistol in case there happened to be someone in the house. There was only Rick, her husband and love who had somehow found his way back home. They stood there, together in the woods near the drive, until the sound of an engine and the snapping of more branches around them alerted Dianne. She let go of Rick and started diving for her rifle when he caught her and held her fast.

“Whoa! Easy there; these guys are with me.”

Dianne hesitated, still not completely convinced that she wasn’t having some sort of ultra-realistic dream. From the woods around her walked several more men wearing jackets like Rick’s and carrying rifles. One of the closer men looked at the body next to Rick and Dianne before glancing

at Rick.

“She okay?”

Rick nodded. “Thanks, Captain.”

A squawk came from Captain Lance Recker’s shoulder and he pressed a button on his radio. After a moment he turned back to the pair. “Ma’am,” Captain Recker looked at Dianne and nodded, “we’ve got two bodies in the woods on the east side and three more we just captured on the west side. There anyone in the house?”

Dianne’s heart flew into her throat and she gasped. “The kids! Jason, Sarah and—do you have a medic? We have multiple injuries inside!”

Recker glanced at Rick. “Lead us to them, ma’am.”

“Mom?!” A shout went out from the front door and Dianne turned to see Mark poking his head out, with Jason right behind him. “See,” he looked at Jason, “I told you I saw cops!” He burst out the door, his rifle slung over his back, and headed towards Dianne. When he was nearly there he stopped short, eyes wide at the sight of who was standing next to her.

“…dad?”

Seeing Dianne had filled Rick’s heart with joy, but hearing his son’s cracked voice whispering to him nearly broke his heart. Rick held open his arms and Mark ran forward, embracing his father and mother together, scarcely able to believe that the moment he had been hoping would come had finally arrived. Still standing at the door, Jason watched the commotion around the house with a slack jaw for a few moments before shaking off his surprise as two of the Capitol Police approached him, asking where the injured inside the house were located.

As Jason led the officers into the house, Mark finally let go of Rick and took a look around at the uniformed men and women who were traipsing through the yard and woods. Going from a frantic gun battle to being surrounded by—presumably, anyway—a veritable pack of allies was overwhelming, and the only thing he could think to ask was the obvious question.