III - Not Home
Christmas afternoon lacked the spirit of the previous years ever since the civilians found out about the fight between two of their liberators. It's been more than four months since they an incident in Houlton.
The Louds were in the infirmary. Haley looked over Lynn who lied bitterly on the bed. Her left shoulder was wrapped with a large bandage and she wore a sling. She held an ice bag on her head.
Before Lori entered the room, David asked to see her.
"What is it?" asked Lori.
"We gotta talk about what the hell happened out there," said David. "The people out there are scared. I need to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"Are you suggesting punishment?" asked Lori. "Lynn didn't start it… I hope."
"It's hard to tell who started it," said Sandy. "There were two arrows on the ground next to Richard and a large cut on his face, coming from an arrow. There was a knife on Lynn's body. Two gunshots went off."
"Even if Lynn started it, there had to be a reason why she did," said Lori.
"She will tell you a reason. And so will Richard."
"It doesn't matter who started it," said David. "Whoever poses a threat to this community WILL BE punished."
"Let's check on the girl," said Sandy.
Lori, David, and Sandy walked into the infirmary. Lori's parents tried to speak with Lynn, but she didn't want to talk about what just occurred. She then looked at David and grabbed his attention.
"I bet you guys wanna know why I got into the fight? I got a good re–"
"Lynn, I told you not to go after Richard," said Lori. "I told you how dangerous it was to go after someone like him! I told you but you didn't listen! Do you even think sometimes?"
"I'm thinking about shutting you up," replied Lynn.
"Responding with your fists instead of your brain? Look where that got you."
"You'll be sitting in a bed next to me if you–!"
"Woah, woah, relax, kids!" interrupted Rita. "Everyone's tired, I know I am. But if we can just listen to each other and not cause another scene, that would be great."
Lynn and Lori nodded. However, Lynn refused to talk. Lincoln stepped in.
"Look, the way Lynn approached this was wrong. But she did have a good reason to suspect Richard was a threat. Lynn, tell them."
"Lisa's glasses. As you know, they can record videos and shit."
"Language!" said Lynn Sr.
"Sorry. Anyways, this is what we saw…"
Carol cleaned Richard's wound on his calf and wrapped another bandage around it. Richard continued to look at Carol while George and Sergei stood next to the door.
"Look what she did to me. You're hearing this, George?"
George stared at him without moving his head.
"Looks like someone believed in false accusations. This is exactly what I feared. So stupid. I should've talked to Lynn first. But I don't think it would've helped. Her mind was made up. In her eyes, I killed the boy back in Medway."
George looked away.
"Hey, George. Look at me. You believe me, right?"
"You're not lying," replied George.
Carol grabbed a small flashlight. She leaned close to Richard and pointed it at his eyes. Lisa then entered the room.
"Destroy glasses," whispered Richard. "Don't make it obvious. Seven o'clock."
Carol turned off her flashlight and moved her body around, rubbing her own eyes.
"Looks like your eyes dilate just fine–"
Carol bumped into Lisa, causing her glasses to fall. She then stumbled around and walked over her glasses.
"Oh my god! I'm sorry, Lisa!"
"Ow. Don't worry about an accidental occurrence. I'll be able to repair the lenses on my spectacles. Take a break before you suffer from burnout, Carol."
"Oh. Is it that obvious?"
David walked around. His blind eye caused him to ignore the most dangerous threat to his community. He considered exiling Richard, but without proof, he wouldn't be able to convince the Houlton civilians. Still, he didn't want to exile Richard. Part of him wanted to believe that it was just a huge misunderstanding.
He waited for Lisa to arrive with her glasses so he could see for himself. Lisa then entered the room.
"Am I in the correct room?" Lisa asked Sergei. "Okay. Apologies, everyone. My lens have shattered, therefore you, David, are unable to see the video clips for the time being. It will take me a week to completely repair the lens to its full functionality."
"That son of a bitch!" yelled Lynn.
"Lynn!" exclaimed Rita.
"No, I know Richard did this! Go, David, find out!"
David, Lori, and Sandy walked to the room where Richard was held. Richard smiled and waved at the three of them.
"Didn't think you guys wanted to see me," said Richard. "Especially you, Lori."
"Cut the crap," said David. "You knew. You knew what was in those glasses."
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Richard.
"You broke Lisa's glasses, that's what the fuck I'm talking about!"
"David!" exclaimed George. "He didn't break her glasses. He lied in the bed this whole time. Carol broke 'em, but it was an accident."
"Doesn't seem like an accident to me," said Lori.
"What?" chuckled Richard. "You think I knew Carol was going to be exhausted? That I remained here, hoping she would break Lisa's glasses? Kinda lucky of me, don't you think?"
Lori walked away. Richard looked at David.
"You're a menace to these people," said David. "The people are going to decide whether you should be exiled or not."
"I can't believe you choose to believe a bunch of kids over me. She attacked me first. I defended myself. If anything, Lynn should be exiled. But you won't do that right? 'Cause if you do, Lori will leave, then her family would leave, and you know you need them. They became your friends, David. But what have I become?"
"I truly don't know," said David.
-Six Days Later-
The community gathered together at the park in the center of town. David stood next to Dr. White, wearing a blue long-sleeve button-up shirt under a waxed-brown field jacket. Lori and the rest of the gang gathered up in the front of the crowd with their winter clothing.
David looked around the crowd. He sighed and began speaking. He told them the complete story and answered all the questions the civilians had. He tried to stay unbiased, but found it hard to trust Richard at his word.
"Now that you all know all the details about what happened, I need you to decide."
"Wait!" yelled Richard.
Richard limped around with a wooden cane while George stood next to him.
"Everyone, look at me!" he yelled. "Are you just going to believe the words that came out of David's mouth? In case, you haven't noticed, I had two arrows stuck into my body. Lynn, my attacker, had the intent to kill me! I mean, how many of you believe I'm an actual threat?"
Richard looked around at the crowd. All of them stared at him, but did not express an answer.
"There's no evidence that I caused harm to anyone maliciously! Hey, you, Sandy! If someone pulled shot you with an arrow and clearly intended to kill you, are you just going to let 'em do just that? You guys are telling me I'm in the wrong for trying to defend myself? Let me ask you guys this! What would you do if someone attacked you?"
The crowd murmured among themselves.
"Is that how you're going to survive?" added Richard. "Just 'cause she's a little girl doesn't mean shit! Now, you, David! What say you? Boot me out or kick out the real threat?"
The crowd looked at David. He looked at them and knew that they weren't going to make the choice. They were looking up to him.
"You're staying… for now," he said. "But you're not getting off that easy."
Lynn looked down. Richard grumbled.
"Everyone can go home now," said Dr. White. "David, I'll make sure Haley keeps him in line."
The people left the park slowly. Even Richard walked away from the field, heading back to the infirmary. The Louds stayed.
"No," replied David. "I'm thinking about placing him in the prison. You too, Lynn."
"What? Why!" she yelled.
"It's just until Lisa fixes the glasses. Once I see evidence, you'll be set free."
"Please don't do that!" exclaimed Lynn Sr. "There's gotta be another way to approach this!"
"House arrest!" gasped Lincoln. "Please let us keep her inside the house! We promise she won't leave until you decide to free her!"
Lori crossed her arms and looked at David. He exhaled deeply and nodded. He walked away from the park.
The Louds went home. Rita and Lynn Sr. walked to their bedroom. They closed the door and lied on their bed.
"It's what we feared," said Rita.
"Things aren't going to normal," whimpered Lynn Sr. "Are my girls too far gone?"
David arrived at the infirmary at nighttime. He walked to Richard's room. George and Sergei stood by the door, knowing what David was going to do. Punishment arrived for Richard.
Richard stood up from his bed.
"I know what's gonna to happen," he said. "The confrontations won't stop. Everyone's out to get me and I don't even know why."
"No one is out to get you," said David. "It's your behavior. It changed. It makes people feel uncomfortable. You became somewhat… unpredictable."
"You don't know what it's like to lose the one you love. Sandy is still alive and well. Look, David, I want to spare you some time and effort. You ain't gonna punish me. Can't punish someone who doesn't belong to the community. I don't belong."
"Not true."
"I'm leaving. No one's exiling me. No one's punishing me. I'm going out there and I'm going to live my life. I'm sorry, but I cannot live here under your weak leadership. You're a soldier, David, not a leader."
"Might not be a leader, but I'm a Marine, Richard. That's what I am," said David. "You're leaving now?"
Richard walked out the door with his wooden cane. George prepared to follow him, but David grabbed his shoulder and shook his head. Before leaving the infirmary, Richard made a quick glance at David.
"You'll learn you ain't a good leader when you lose the love of your life," he said before leaving.
Richard grabbed his clothes and his revolver from his house. He opened a drawer and grabbed a lighter. Then, he grabbed Bill's Ruger 10/20. He limped out of his house.
Richard left the town after going through the same gate that allowed him and his former groupmates to enter Houlton for the first time. After walking for half an hour, he came upon a car. He opened the passenger door and took a seat, placing his bag and cane in the back seats.
Carol started the car and drove into the road. She and Richard headed west, leaving Houlton behind.
-One Day Later-
David and Dr. White stood in the exact spot as yesterday with the exact clothes and with the same crowd of people listening to them. Only now, it was snowing harder. David held Lisa's glasses on his right hand.
"I have to update all of you on some… changing events," stated David.
The heavy snow has not yet taken its toll on southern Maine where Jace walked his motorcycle. He scanned the city of Portland, finding flattened fences, bodies of Maine State Guard soldiers, and weapons in the ground. Many body of roamers with stab wounds in their skull lied outside a certain apartment building.
Jace set his motorcycle in the sidewalk outside of the apartment building. He grabbed his bag and flashlight.
He walked inside the building and found an empty ground floor. There were empty bottles and cans lying in the ground. He walked to the patio in the middle of the building and found a burnt out campfire.
Upstairs, Jace found the hallways clear of roamers and the rooms neatly kept. After checking the entire building, he set his bag down in the ground floor and grabbed his crowbar.
He walked to the department store and smiled as he remembered shopping here once with his older sister.
The door was open. Bones sat on the sidewalk and the fluids of the roamers stained the entire floor of the store. Jace peeked inside and only found clothing.
He decided to scan the perimeter of the building before looting it. He came across an alleyway and found ripped clothing on a corpse. The entire front part of its head and body was ripped off. Bullet casings and a bag lied next to the body.
Jace felt the hair in his arms raise up as he leaned close to the bag. His eyes were fixated on the body until he took the bag.
He quickly walked out of the alley and checked inside the bag. He found MREs and boxes of ammunition. The boxes were marked with the seal of Maine.
He brought the bag inside the apartment building. The snow fell quickly, leading Jace to make a decision.
"We're going to stay here for the winter," Jace told his lizards in his backpack.
Jace set his backpack against the wall, allowing his pet lizards to crawl out. He lied in the floor and closed his eyes. He had little hope that his family were in Portland.
The heavy snow finished its torment on the community in Houlton by afternoon. Many of the civilians shoveled snow out of the roads inside of Houlton. Some civilians, like the Louds, were shoveling snow outside of the town. Their goal was to clear the snow out of the hill so that the cars were able to pass through it easily.
"You know, according to Lisa, today is the first day of 2017," said Lori.
"2016. What a year. It went to a bloody shambles," mumbled Luna.
"It wasn't half-bad," said Luan.
"Stay positive, guys," reassured Leni. "Maybe this year won't be so bad."
Leni looked at her parents and noticed they didn't listen to her. Or any of the girls. They shoveled the snow without saying a word. Leni looked down and continued to shovel the snow with Lori.
Lynn and Lincoln were in the woods. Lynn only carried a knife while Lincoln carried an M9 pistol. Lynn looked around the snowy woods and exhaled a large breath of cold air.
"Lynn, there's no use in looking for him," said Lincoln. "He left yesterday. He's gone already!"
"You don't think he'll just leave like that, right?" replied Lynn. "That it's all over?"
"No, but do you want to get in more trouble?"
"As long as he is out there, the Santiagos will always be in danger! You don't have to be here, you know. Just hand me your gun and go."
"No, I only came with you to make sure you don't do something stupid," explained Lincoln. "Now, why don't you sit down and relax like you said you would?"
Lynn continued to tread around the woods. Lincoln shook his head and followed her. She looked at the ground and attempted to find tracks. And she did.
Lynn followed the footprints in the snow and found out that she moved back to where she originally started every few minutes. She stopped and tapped Lincoln while looking up at a hill.
"Give me your gun," whispered Lynn.
"No! There's no one here, Lynn!"
Lynn pulled Lincoln back. A rogue soldier revealed himself from the top of the hill and shot at the kids. The snow puffed like ash and chunks of bark flew out of the trees. Lynn and Lincoln ran away from the hill. Two more rogue soldiers slid down from the hill.
"Here you go!" yelled Lincoln, handing Lynn his gun.
Lynn grabbed the gun and shot two bullets behind her. The rogues let off more shots near the kids, frightening them back to the town.
"You hear that?" asked Rita.
Lori grabbed a small revolver from inside her jacket and walked to the woods.
"Lori, where are you going?" cried out Lynn Sr.
"Mom! Dad! Leni! Follow Luan! Luan, get 'em inside Houlton! Now! Luna, come with me!"
Luan and Luna nodded. Luan unsheathed her katana and ditched her shovel. Lori and Luna ran into the woods, leaving their shovels behind on the road.
A few rogues appeared from above the hill in the road and fired onto the civilians. One of the rogue soldiers tossed a smoke grenade near the front gates before his squad fired at it.
"This way!" shouted Luan.
Luan led her parents and Leni into the woods to her left. She knew which way was going to get her to the other gate, the west-rear gate.
David ran to the front gates with George. He heard gunshots going off outside of the fences and saw smoke in front of the entrance gate.
"George, run to the gates and make sure people get in here safely!"
David ran around ordering some of the civilians to guard the gates. Many of them were either unarmed or too afraid. More gunshots went off.
Sandy, Buck, and Pike ran towards David with their tactical gear. David held Sandy closely and looked at the smoke growing higher.
"Those must be the rogues," said Sandy.
"Where do you want us?" asked Pike.
David looked at the east part of town and noticed that some civilians were scrambling to defend their homes. He then turned to the west part and noticed that the other civilians were firing aimlessly at the fences.
"He ain't saying anything yet!" exclaimed Buck.
"Alright, you go up the platform. Puck, go to military zone. I'll make sure you have backup!"
Buck and Pike ran to their positions. David looked at the front gates and noticed Lynn and Lincoln running back inside Houlton.
"Honey! Get some members of your group to cover Pike! Honey! David!"
"Oh, uh… I'm sorry."
He turned on his walkie-talkie and ordered Becky to cover Pike and spread the news to her friends.
Lori and Luna continued to search for the source of the gunshot. Luna found footprints and followed them, splitting away from Lori. She noticed that the footprints ran along the direction back to Houlton.
The rogues shot at Luna, pushing her further and further away from Lori. They also shot near Lori, forcing her to run up the hill in the woods.
"Ah, you bloody cunts!" yelled Luna as she ran out of ammo in her pistol.
She tried to look for Lori in the white woods, but a gunshot to a tree next to her forced her to run back to Houlton.
Lori trudged up the hill and looked below for the rogue soldiers. However, she was tackled by one of the attackers and she dropped to the snowy base of the hill. Groaning from the fall, Lori found herself surrounded by three rogue soldiers.
Luan lead her parents and Leni towards the west-rear gate. She found a roamer attempting to attack her, but the snow proved to be a hurdle for the undead monster. Luan walked close to it and slashed its head off.
"We're close," said Luan.
"I'm sure you are," said Brick, one of the rogues.
Luan held her katana in front of her and stumbled around only to realize that the rogues surrounded her parents, Leni, and her.
Another rogue, Hoover, grabbed Luan and placed his arms around her neck. Placed under a rear naked choke, Luan immediately dropped her katana and clawed Hoover's arm.
"No! Let go of her!" yelled Lynn Sr. "Stop!"
Rita held Leni close to her while they watched Luan struggle to set herself free. She then lost consciousness and Hoover dropped her to the snow-covered ground.
"Move," said one of the rogues.
Rita and Leni looked back at the barrel of a gun and began following the rogues. Brick grabbed Lynn Sr.'s back and forced him to move while Hoover carried Luan away from the west-rear gate. Another rogue took Luan's katana and brought it with him to the trip back to their camp.
One of the rogues blindfolded and gagged Lori while another tied her hands with a zip tie. They picked her up to her feet and held her arms, leading her to a truck.
Lori struggled to set herself free until she felt the cold barrel of an M4 carbine. The rogues climbed up the hill and signaled their buddies to cease their fire.
David and Luna ran together to the military zone with the intent to guard Houlton using the guard towers in the Units. Luna used David's M110 sniper rifle which she found herself using it more than David.
David on the other hand used his M40 sniper rifle that Sandy held in the armory for him.
Both Luna and David found it time-consuming to place armor on themselves but they knew it was necessary if they didn't want their organs shot out. After they were done, they climbed up the guard towers in Unit A and aimed into their scopes.
Luna looked into the smoke and only found a few heat signatures, one she assumed was George.
David scouted around the smoke, on the hill, and the woods. However, he couldn't find anyone.
The ceasefire left both David and Luna on edge as they waited for the crack of a gun. Time dragged on and they still couldn't find a rogue soldier. And they also couldn't find Lori, Leni, Luan, and their parents.
"David!" shouted Luna from her guard tower. "They left! We gotta go after them!"
"What did you say?" shouted David.
"What?" shouted back Luna.
David patted his gear and noticed that he didn't carry his walkie-talkie this time around.
"Shit!" yelled David.
"I'm not going to sit!" yelled Luna.
David and Luna met up with the rest of the community. Unrest grew by the hour as Bobby and Becky proposed to search for Lori and the others.
"No, you can't go!" said David. "It could be– it is a trap! They're waiting for us on the other side!"
"They got Lori!" yelled Bobby.
"Leni and Carol are gone as well!" cried out Becky.
"Luan and her parents! I don't see them anywhere!" shouted Benny.
"If we go out there now, we'll die!" exclaimed David. "You know how unprepared we are? We have to stay united right now! Defend Houlton! We don't know when the next attack will occur!"
"But what about–!" cried out Bobby.
"They're gone, Bobby! We go out there now, we'll be putting more lives on the line of fire!"
"They can't be dead!" exclaimed Lynn. "They weren't shooting to kill! Otherwise, Lincoln and I would've been corpses on the ground! They're still alive and we gotta save 'em now!"
"They're gonna have to hold on for now," said David. "I'm sorry but defending ourselves is our goal right now. We'll save them soon! They'll be back here before you know it, everyone!"