365 Days At War Read online

Rhys had a long rifle that was strung across his back. The other two were holding what appeared to me to be semi-automatics.

  Taller than when I’d last seen him, Rhys was also much thinner. Like the rest of us he was all grit and muscle now. He was wearing dark jeans and a t-shirt, and his head had been shaved. When he turned, I saw that there was just enough hair on the back of his head to create a giant ‘L’ that stretched from his crown to the nape of his neck.

  The biggest difference to Rhys, however, was how he held himself. There was a confidence to him—a sense that he wasn’t just a ‘little brother’ anymore.

  I wondered if Jacob saw it.

  * * * *

  Even as the three guys were reaching for the reins of their horses, I noticed that they couldn’t stop looking at me or the rest of the girls. It made me a little uncomfortable, but I tried to remember that we girls were covertly doing the same thing to the guys.

  Let’s face it—this was the first time any of us had seen a member of the opposite sex for 365 days.

  What exotic animals we had become to each other!

  * * * *

  “Dude…you rocked it back there!” Jacob’s voice was filled with pride, as he waited for his youngest brother to finish mounting his horse.

  Rhys gave Jacob a big grin. “I was supposed to create as much chaos as I could—to make it easier for you to escape. That’s why we waited until you were out of the cage. Brent told us when the best time would be, because we had to get the rest of the guys into position.”

  We were waiting for the blond kid to mount his horse. It was a little shy and kept dancing away—all skittish.

  Jacob turned toward Kieran. “But you only brought five guys, right?”

  “We did,” said Kieran, impatient to get moving. “Those other shooters you saw were Stars—that’s why they were all wearing masks. So, the Crazies couldn’t recognize them.” Kieran finally spurred his horse over to the blond kid, grabbing the reins of his horse and holding it steady. “Come on, Nate…get your skinny butt up!”

  The kid—Nate—managed to latch his foot into the stirrup. A moment later, he was in the saddle.

  “There’s someone coming!” Still holding tightly to Cherry, Jay was turned around, staring behind us. “I hear the hoof beats…it’s someone on a horse!”

  With the exception of Jacob—who was weaponless—every one of the guys turned and aimed their guns toward the oncoming rider.

  “Don’t shoot!” I cried, recognizing the white horse as it came shooting out of a long driveway to turn onto Driver. “That’s Cammie!”

  The guns were slowly lowered.

  As Cammie closed the distance between us, I heard Nate quietly ask Kieran, “Who’s Cammie?”

  “Some librarian,” Kieran answered. “Think sexy Pippi Longstockings.”

  * * * *

  “Ohmigod!” screamed Cherry. “Ohmigod!”

  Cammie had finally reached us, her horse turning slightly, so that we could see the second rider behind her—the archer.

  It was Shawnee…

  She had lost almost twenty pounds in the two months since we’d seen her last, and there was a long scar across the side of her neck. She was wearing a dark jean jacket and pants; her bow and quiver of arrows strung across her back.

  Cherry’s sister looked fierce—a warrior—until she smiled.

  And then it was just Shawnee…our Shawnee.

  The once little chubby girl none of us ever really believed in—who had probably just saved all of our lives.

  Once again, the trumpets blared…there was yelling from back on the road…the sound of more hoof beats.

  “They’re coming!” yelled the brown-haired guy (Josh—I would find out later). “We need to get across the 101 and up into the hills…HURRY!”

  I could see that Cherry desperately wanted to reach out to her sister, but—like the rest of us—she immediately wrenched her horse around and began galloping toward the end of Driver. She kept her horse close to Cammie’s, though—never more than a few yards away from where Shawnee was riding shotgun.

  * * * *

  Moving up Driver Avenue, toward the small overpass that would take us over the 101, we heard more trumpet blasts, this time from the other side of the freeway. Riders on horses were just visible between the buildings there, barreling down Agoura Road, racing in our direction.

  “They’ve got us boxed in!” yelled Kieran, as we all reigned in our horses. “We’ll have to find another way.”

  “We need to go back,” said Cherry. “Turn left on Colodny Drive and head to the 101 that way. It’ll be the fastest way anyway, if we travel on the freeway.”

  Josh shook his head. “The 101 has a chain-link fence and walls around it. We’d never get on it by going up Colodny.”

  “Trust me,” said Cherry. “There’s a break in it where we can get in. I used it all the time when I skipped out of school.”

  “I know what she’s talking about,” added Kieran. “I’ve used it, too.”

  “You were skipping out of school?” asked Jacob, frowning.

  “Bro,” chided Kieran, turning his horse around. “You really think this is the time?”

  * * * *

  We made it onto Colodny Drive just as the Crazies rode by on Driver Avenue. If they had only looked to their right, no doubt they would have seen us as we crested the rise of the street’s small hill.

  But—they didn’t.

  Instead, they rode on, straight down Driver, to where they would eventually meet up on the overpass with the Crazies coming along Agoura Road. No doubt, they would quickly figure out that we had somehow evaded them and turn around to search us out.

  I figured that we had minutes…if that.

  * * * *

  The break in the containment fence was exactly where Cherry and Kieran had said it would be—hidden between two bushes on the far side of the frontage road. Nate and Rhys held back the branches while everyone rode their horses through. There was a small cement riser on the other side, just high enough that the horses had to take a running start to jump it.

  Jay squealed in terror as Cherry expertly steered her horse over the small wall.

  “Seriously, Jay!” Cherry growled. “You’re blowing out my ear and you’re letting them know where we are at the same time.”

  “Sorry,” Jay apologized. “It’s just—I’ve never been on a horse before.”

  “And lighten up on your grip. You’re squeezing the crap out of me!”

  With everyone through—Rhys let the bushes fall back into position behind him. Hopefully, that would be enough to camouflage the entrance, so that the Crazies wouldn’t be able to use the opening to follow us onto the 101 Freeway.

  “Which way should we go?” asked Kieran.

  Behind him, the boy called Pauly had unslung his semi-automatic. Even with his arm in a cast and seated on a horse, the kid moved quickly—pulling out his gun’s empty magazine and slapping a new one into position.

  When he saw me watching him, Pauly grinned. “I like your ponytails.”

  “Thanks,” I answered—not quite sure about this wild-looking kid. “Lily did them for me.”

  He didn’t ask who Lily was—just nodded as if he understood.

  “Direction?!” Kieran asked again, this time more forcefully.

  “We head north,” Jacob ordered. “Toward Oxnard.”

  “That’ll take us right under the Kanan overpass,” warned Kieran.

  “I know,” Jacob nodded. “But I don’t think we have a choice. The Crazies have the 101 locked up going south. Brandon has guys all along it—and at the Sheriff’s Station.”

  Cammie and Shawnee rode up to us. “We’ve got company!”

  Behind us—on the freeway overpass—at least four guys on horses could be seen galloping toward the far side, no doubt hoping to catch us on Agoura Road.

  “They haven’t figure it out, yet…that we’re on the 101,” said Kieran. “But if we stay here any longer, they will!”<
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  “Let’s boot it, then,” commanded Jacob. “Everyone stay right behind me and keep the noise down. I’m going to try and keep us hidden as long as possible.”

  * * * *

  With the horses at a steady trot, Jacob began to thread us through the vehicles on the freeway, using the bigger trucks and SUV’s to hide behind.

  As we reached the Google car—now rusting and covered in bullet holes—I turned around and caught Jay’s eye. She looked terrified, hanging on tightly to Cherry’s waist, but she still managed a thin smile.

  A few seconds later, we heard the trumpets blast again.

  This time—from behind and in front.

  They had found us!

  * * * *

  As we neared the Kanan Road overpass, Rhys yelled over to Jacob. “They’re up on the bridge!

  About 100 yards away, I could see two guys running along the overpass, unslinging rifles. As they leaned over the edge to take aim at us, I cringed—waiting for the sound of the shot, the sting of the bullet.

  But—the only bullets fired were the ones from Pauly’s semi-automatic.

  Even as Rhys spurred on his horse, Pauly half-stood on the back of the saddle, firing his gun at the two guys on the bridge.

  They scattered quickly—racing to either side.

  We continued on—galloping under the overpass. As we did, Pauly turned around and began blasting away in the opposite direction, covering our escape.

  “Jacob!” yelled Kieran. “I think one of the guys on the overpass was Mateo.”

  “Dammit!” growled Jacob. “I was hoping he was dead.”

  We need to get off this freeway!” cried Josh, spurring his horse up beside us. “We’ve got guys waiting on Encinal to keep it free all the way down to the Point. We need to find a way to link up with them.”

  “Reyes Adobe Road is coming up,” Jacob yelled to him. “We can take that exit, then follow Agoura Road to Lindero Canyon. That’ll link up with Encinal down in the mountains.”

  I quickly tugged on Jacob’s shirt to get his attention. “You can’t take Agoura Road! There are guys on it! I can see them coming up between the buildings! We’d never make it!”

  He turned in the saddle and looked back over his left shoulder. “They’re trying to outflank us! Which means Agoura Road is out. We’ll need to find another way to Encinal Canyon! Or at least get to a place where we’ll be safe until all the craziness dies down.”

  “Let me lead!” Cammie yelled over to Jacob. “I can get us to a safe place…I swear!”

  With a nod from Jacob, Kieran and he both slowed their horses slightly, allowing Cammie and Shawnee to shoot forward.

  “You’ve got to trust me,” cried Cammie, as she passed by. “Because it’s going to be a matter of timing.”

  And she slowed her horse down to a fast walk.

  “What the…” Kieran sputtered, slowing his own horse down even more, to match her gait.

  “Remember,” Cammie called back to the rest of us. “It’s gotta’ be timed perfectly.”

  The riders Jacob called the Crazies were slowly gaining on us—moving along Agoura Road on our left, on the other side of the freeway.

  Meanwhile, Cammie slowed us down even more.

  “You better be right, Pippi Longstockings,” warned Kieran.

  Cammie frowned back at him. “Like I haven’t heard that one before. Got anything original, pretty boy?”

  Kieran just grinned.

  * * * *

  Waiting until the Crazies were hidden from view, Cammie suddenly spurred on her horse, veering us off the 101 freeway to barrel up the Reyes Adobe off-ramp.

  She timed it perfectly.

  Now—if we were lucky—the Crazies would think that we were still on the freeway.

  At the top of the ramp, we halted, gathering behind a large truck. Cammie, Jacob, and Kieran jumped off of their horses and raced toward the front of the vehicle, peeking out to see if the ruse had worked. Meanwhile, Shawnee and the other guys got their weapons ready—just in case.

  The rest of us stayed on our horses—and waited.

  “They’re almost at the junction,” Cammie said to Jacob. “I can hear them coming. If they turn onto the overpass, that’ll mean they saw us get off the 101.”

  Somewhere, back around Kanan Road, I heard the faint bleats of a trumpet. I looked behind—all around us—searching for the source, but saw no one.

  “Crap!” groaned Cammie, suddenly. “They’re coming onto the overpass!”

  “No, they’re not,” said Kieran, pointing. “Look—they’re just using it to get to the onramp. They’re heading down it onto the freeway. They must think we’re still on it.”

  The trumpet sounded again—much louder than before.

  “Guys,” called Josh—agitated. “I think we’ve got Crazies coming up behind us!”

  This time, when I turned to look, I saw a group of six riders threading their way along the 101 Freeway. They were about a quarter of a mile away, but moving fast.

  “They must have entered at Kanan Road,” said Cherry.

  Cammie, Kieran, and Jacob didn’t move.

  “Uh…seriously, guys,” called Josh again—this time more urgently. “We really have to go!”

  Jacob held up a hand, not taking his eyes off of the riders heading down the off-ramp on the opposite side of the freeway from us. “Wait for it.”

  Cammie leaned in then and whispered something into Jacob’s ear. I felt an irrational stab of jealousy lance through me. Before I could do anything about it, though, Jacob nodded and stood up.

  “They’ve made the freeway…let’s go!”

  I moved back slightly on Beauty, to allow Jacob to mount. He settled into the saddle and—reaching around—pulled on my arms, so that they’d encircle his waist.

  My jealousy immediately evaporated.

  * * * *

  We wound up hiding out in a house that fronted Lake Lindero—a tiny, man-made lake, just off of the 101 Freeway. It was surrounded by mid-size houses, all of them—as far as we could see—silent and deserted.

  Cammie took us to a 2-storey that had a small path that led down to the lake. There was a boathouse there, large enough to shelter the horses.

  “They’ll be able to drink from the lake,” Cammie assured us. “Plus, the lawn’s big enough for them to graze at night. We just need to make sure to keep the horses in the boathouse during the day—in case anybody comes looking.”

  “Smart,” said Jacob. “Good work, Cammie.”

  “It’s my friend’s house. I used to come here for barbeques a lot.”

  “Where is she?” asked Kieran. “Your friend?”

  Cammie shrugged. “I was at her eighteenth birthday party two weeks before the thing happened.”

  * * * *

  Finally released from the back of her horse, Cherry couldn’t keep her hands off of her younger sister. She kept reaching out—touching Shawnee’s hair, her arm—as if to make certain that she was really there.

  “I still can’t believe it,” said Cherry, proud. “I mean, if mom and dad could see you now!”

  Shawnee looked down at the ground, embarrassed. “I lost some weight.”

  “You look great. And you saved our lives with that bow of yours.”

  “Cammie told me what to do. She said I was to look for my chance. But I was supposed to shoot Tray…not those other guys. They just showed up…those boys…like from nowhere.”

  “You did what you had to do,” said Cherry, giving Shawnee a big hug. “You were a hero today…a real hero!”

  Shawnee shook her head. “I just took my chance.”

  * * * *

  Dinner was both amazing—and awkward.

  We didn’t cook any food because we were afraid of the smells attracting any Crazies who might be in the area. So, instead, we feasted on what was in the house’s pantry—cans of pork and beans and chili and—luckily for Jay and me—a box of granola bars.

  Because the dining area was in a wi
ndowless room, we were able to eat by candlelight. It might have been romantic except that—by unspoken word—we separated into two groups—girls at one end of the table, guys to the other.

  I think we still didn’t know how to act around each other.

  Indeed, the guys seemed to be exceedingly polite. They ate slowly, with their mouths closed—and when Pauly burped, the guys all turned and looked at him as if they were appalled.

  Meanwhile, at our end of the table, we girls were silent—somewhat confused about how to talk around guys anymore.

  It was Kieran who finally brought us all together. “I like your new ‘do’, Cherry,” he said. “Grow it a little longer and we’ll shave an ‘L’ into it.”

  Cherry grinned, running her hand over her stubble. “I wish my brother could see it. He’s got a thing about hair. Right now he’s got these dreadlocks that I only wish I could wear.”

  “Your brother,” said Kieran, turning to give Jacob a curious look. “How old is he?”

  “He’s eight…well, I guess he’d be nine, now.”

  “What’s his name?” asked Pauly.

  “Wester.”

  At their end of the table, all the guys broke into big smiles.

  Cherry looked offended. The guys, seeing her response, began to laugh out loud. Kieran actually had tears in his eyes, he was laughing so hard.

  “It’s not that funny!” growled Cherry. “His name is quite popular in Haiti where he’s from.”

  “I like Wester,” added Shawnee. “It’s a nice name.”

  Kieran laughed even louder.

  Angered, Cherry rose from the table, preparing to stalk off.

  Jacob immediately rose and came around the table to stop her. He put a hand on Cherry’s shoulder and leaned down to look into her eyes.

  “Be calm, Cherry,” he told her in a quiet voice. “Wester is with us.”

  * * * *

  With the exception of Jude, I had always imagined Cherry to be the toughest of us girls. But when Jacob told her that her little brother had survived, Cherry collapsed in his arms—sobbing uncontrollably.