Broken Safe Haven - Chapter 2

Click here to read Chapter 1

The light of the morning sun gently brought Katelyn into consciousness. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, then looked around the room. In her groggy state, the mess of the room felt emotionally draining. She sighed, then forced herself out of bed. A shiver made her realize she had slept in her swimsuit. Luckily, the men who came had left her clothes, though they were scattered about the room. She changed into some jeans and a punk rock t-shirt. She also changed the bandages on her feet. They were swollen and ached from the cuts she had endured the day before. Unable to get shoes on them, she settled for a pair of brown fuzzy slippers that looked like dogs.

She took the bag of protein bars and counted them. There were five, realistically enough to sustain her strength for only a day or two. She would need to find some other food. She trudged out of the room toward the kitchen. She noticed broken glass on the floor in the short hallway and wondered if she had stepped on it last night.

The cabin was tiny. Two bedrooms, a small bathroom, a small storage closet that also contained the water heater, and an open space that the kitchen and dining area shared with the living room. The cabin had power at some point, but Katelyn’s dad had not managed to get it working in the three weeks they spent here. They did all of their cooking over a fire pit outside or in the small fireplace in the living room. It looked even more cramped with all of the furniture overturned and tossed haphazardly.

She noticed the front door was wide open, and suddenly was overcome with an uneasy feeling that she had been visited in the night by an animal, or worse, by a human. A block of knives was tipped on its side on the countertop. She grabbed the largest one and scanned the room for any sign of an intruder. It appeared safe, so she turned around and backtracked down the hallway. First, she checked the bathroom. The drawers from the vanity were in the tub, and the broken mirror made it clear where the glass in the hallway had come from. The men had also done the terrible disservice of smashing the toilet; chunks of porcelain lay on the floor in a puddle. Somehow, the tank was still intact, however. The closet was equally devoid of life and just as messy, as were the two bedrooms. Satisfied that she was alone, Katelyn relaxed and returned to the kitchen.

“Fuck yeah!” she whispered to herself as she noticed a small bag of coffee grounds the men had dropped on the floor. She picked it up, found a kettle, and started a small fire in the fireplace to boil some water. She flipped a chair over and found a blanket while she waited for the water to boil.

She sat in her chair, enjoying her allegedly peanut-butter-flavored protein bar and sipping her barista-approved bean essence. Neither of them tasted very good, but she wasn’t in a position to be picky. Despite sleeping past her usual wake-up time, she felt an exhaustion that seemed to velcro her to the chair. She was trying very hard not to think of the prior day’s events. In her mind, the world may be broken, but her family wasn’t. At any moment, her parents would walk through the front door and be appalled at the mess. Her mom would scold her and yell, her dad would sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose under his glasses, and they would all take part in putting everything back in its place. She swallowed the lump in her throat and refused the notion that this might just be a fantasy for a few more minutes.

She took another sip of her coffee. Her other hand held the empty wrapper of the protein bar, intent on tossing it in the trash can under the sink, except now that trash can was somehow on top of the fridge. Then she heard something that sent a chill through her: voices outside. Her gaze darted to the door, and she saw a man carrying a rifle walk past. She whispered a curse and dropped the wrapper on the floor, then peeled herself off the chair as quietly as she could. She quickly squatted and hid herself behind the kitchen cabinets, grabbing the knife she had wielded earlier on the way. The voices moved outside the kitchen window. Katelyn slowly stood up, only halfway, and used the knife as an extension of her arm to part the curtains just enough to see out the window.

Five men were standing around the SUV. One had his rifle slung over his back while he poured the contents of a red gas can into the SUV’s tank. Another was sitting in the driver’s seat, fumbling with something below the dash. He popped the hood, and a third man lifted it and propped it up. The other two stood near the rear end, passing a cigarette back and forth. Katelyn recognized them as the men from last night, well, not all of them, but the one in the driver’s seat was definitely the man who shot at her. The man who opened the hood spoke with a slightly Australian accent.

“Thought he was being clever, pulling the starter relay. I know your tricks, mate,” he said. He pulled a small plastic piece from his pocket and did something with it under the hood, then said, “Aight, try her now.” The man in the driver’s seat turned the key. The engine turned over but sputtered and whined without really coming to life. The man tried it again, holding the key for longer this time.

“Give her some gas, mate!” the man at the front shouted. The driver tried again, but the vehicle refused to start. Katelyn suddenly noticed gas can guy had set the can down and was looking at the kitchen window. “Shit,” she whispered as she dropped back into a squat behind the counter. The man came over to the window and tried to look through, but saw nothing but curtains. His concern ended, and he joined the two who were trying to start the vehicle, speaking in a deep gruff voice.

Katelyn tried to imagine how she could escape. Would they notice her if she snuck out the front door and ran into the woods? Maybe she could climb out a back window and stay out of sight? She glanced at the fuzzy slippers on her feet. How far would she get without real shoes? She decided to sneak to her room, grab her shoes, and climb out the window. She was about to move when she heard footsteps inside the cabin.

“Fuck, you guys really fucked this place.”

“Yeah, they didn’t hide their shit well, but you know, you gotta find it all.”

Katelyn tried to control her breathing as she remembered the fireplace. She hadn’t put much wood in it; it was probably burned out by now, but would still be smoldering.

“Think they’ll get that car started?”

“Shit, who knows, man. It could’ve been sitting there for a while for all we know.”

One of the men outside loudly cursed. There was some shuffling noise, as if the men were turning to leave, then they stopped.

“Hey, hold up.”

“What?”

“Do you smell... coffee?”

“How the fuck you smell coffee, ain’t nobody here.”

“No, no, smell,” Katelyn heard the other man sniff. It was loud and unsteady, as if his nose was messed up from a past injury.

“You’re right... I kind of do smell coffee.”

Before Katelyn could think of something to do, one of the men came into the kitchen and looked right at her. She felt vulnerable squatting there below the counter with nothing to defend herself but a knife. Despite their actions the day before, the man stood there unthreatening; his rifle was still slung over his shoulder, and he appeared somewhat surprised to find her there. He had a short beard and mustache, and wore a bandana to hide his receding hairline. He glanced at the knife in Katelyn’s hand, then back at her face.

“Well, hello there, miss,” he said to her. The other man walked over and stood next to him. He was slightly more slender and perhaps two inches taller than the first man, with a widow's peak that he stylized by standing it up straight. His face was clean-shaven, aside from some slight scruff. She could see he was the one with the messed-up nose. It was crooked, as though it had been broken in a fight and never properly healed.

“We’re not gonna hurt ya,” the first man said, “as long as you don’t do something stupid with that there knife.” The second man remained silent.

“My name’s Cade, this ‘ere is Josh.” He pointed to the second man with his thumb as he introduced him. “How ‘bout you put the knife down and come have a chat with us.”

Katelyn stared at the man. She couldn’t be certain that he had put a bullet in one of her parents, but she knew he was complicit. She wanted to kill these men, all five of them, but fear paralyzed her from jumping up and stabbing Cade and Josh.

“I’m asking nicely this time, but” he put his hand on his rifle, “it won’t happen again.”

Katelyn hesitated for a long moment, then finally started to stand up.

“Ah ah!” Cade put his hand up in front of him, “Set the knife down first.”

Katelyn relented and set the knife on the floor next to her, then stood up. Cade kept his hand on his rifle.

“Josh here is gonna check ya for other weapons, then we’re all gonna go outside.”

Josh came around the counter and gave Katelyn a quick patdown. The whole situation was uncomfortable, but she was glad he didn’t make it worse by touching her inappropriately or more than necessary.

“She’s clean,” he said as he backed away. Cade motioned toward the cabin door with his head. Josh led the way, Katelyn followed, and Cade brought up the rear.

Outside, Cade said, “Hey Marty, look what I found.” The man in the driver’s seat got out of the SUV and walked over.

“Holy shit. You’re the swimmer girl from yesterday.” Marty said, “I’m usually a pretty good shot, but,” he wagged a dirty finger at her, “yer fast.”

Marty looked at the SUV, then back at Katelyn. “You know how to start this thing, don’t ya? Art over there,” he gestured to the man with the Australian accent who was still working under the hood, “he’s a mechanic. That trick with the starter relay ain’t fooled him. But now he’s suspectin’ y’all did something else to it.” He put his hand on the revolver in his hip holster, “and yer gonna tell us what it is.”

Katelyn looked at the SUV, then back at Marty. She was too nervous to think clearly, but she knew she hated these men and wanted to make their lives as difficult (and short) as possible, so she said nothing.

“Look,” Marty approached and spoke more quietly now, “I’m real sorry about yer parents. The boys and I here, well, we’re just tryin’ to survive like everyone else, and sometimes that means ya gotta take what someone else has. It’s nothin’ personal. I’d offer to bury ‘em for ya to help ease grief, but it seems the scavenger critters got to ‘em last night and, well, there ain’t much left to make ‘em recognizable. Now, I’ll tell you what. Our group, we got a little place a few miles south of here. There’s clean water, food, shelter, safety. You get this truck started, we’ll take you there. Or, you can join your parents.” He patted the revolver on his hip.

The five men were now in a circle around Katelyn. She glanced around at them. One of the men, whose name she didn’t know yet, was facing away from her, holding his rifle across his chest. She guessed he was watching to make sure nobody snuck up on them. The other men were staring at her, waiting for her to reveal the SUV’s secret.

“We’re taking this vehicle one way or another,” Marty said. “you can start it for us and, we’ll get you some hot food, clean clothes, a warm shower. Or we can leave you here for the critters and bring another truck to tow this one back. It’s yer choice.” Marty drew his revolver, but kept it by his side.

“Are there... other women there?” Katelyn asked shakily.

“Oh yeah, there’s lots of ‘em!” Marty answered, “In fact, Art here just got himself a wife a couple weeks ago.”

“She’s a good cook too; she makes a mean squirrel stew.” Art added.

Katelyn was still wary, but she wasn’t sure what else she could do. If she’d had a chance to escape, she missed it already. She hesitantly took a step toward the SUV. Marty and Art parted the circle and allowed her to pass. She opened the rear liftgate and popped a rubber cover off a hole about the size of a quarter near the passenger side taillight. She stuck her index finger into the hole, flipped a switch, then replaced the rubber cover.

“Try it now.” She told Marty. Marty looked at Art, then went to the driver’s seat and started the vehicle. The engine roared to life, then settled into a healthy rumble. “We’re good! Load up!” he shouted.

Art gripped Katelyn’s arm. As he led her to the SUV’s rear passenger door, he asked, “Fuel pump kill switch?” She replied with a simple “yes” as she climbed in and sat in the middle seat. One man entered the cargo area and closed the liftgate, while the others took the passenger seats. Katelyn put her seatbelt on and noticed that only Marty and Cade did the same.

“Nice slippers!” Josh said as the vehicle began to move. “My daughter had a pair just like that, different color though, I think they were... pink? Yeah, that sounds right, pink. Might have been cats rather than dogs. I guess not just like those, pretty similar though.”

The dirt road up to the cabin was long and rough. Getting there put Katelyn’s father’s off-roading skills to the test, which is why her parents thought it would be a safe place to stay for a while. How the men found the cabin, especially on foot, is a question Katelyn thought might never be answered.

Cade was sitting in the front passenger seat. He fiddled with the radio. He had enough time during the climb down from the cabin to try almost all of the FM radio spectrum. A few emergency broadcast messages were still playing on a loop, but nothing new. The men didn’t talk much during the ride. It didn’t strike Katelyn as an awkward or tense silence, rather it seemed that they had been together for so long that they had nothing left to talk about. The silence was comfortable for them.

When they reached the main road, the men seemed to grip their rifles closer and watched out the windows like they were expecting to see something they didn’t want to miss. Marty turned right to head south and accelerated quickly. It was a small, two-lane road that wound through hills and valleys in the shadow of the mountains. The speed at which Marty weaved around the bends made the SUV sway and tip so much that it made Katelyn nervous.

They had traveled on the main road for nearly thirty minutes before the man in the cargo area said loudly, “Oh shit, we got company!” Everyone except Marty looked out the rear of the vehicle. Gaining on them was a large truck with a push guard on the front.

“I can’t go much faster without rolling us, you’re gonna hafta take ‘em out!” Marty shouted.

Josh, Art, and Cade all rolled down their windows. They turned backwards in their seats and leaned out with their rifles, taking shots at the truck while the truck’s passengers fired back. Katelyn tried to make herself as small as possible in her seat to avoid catching a bullet. The rear windshield shattered, and the man in the cargo area joined the firefight.

“Dammit, I was looking forward to having one vehicle with all its windows intact.” Marty cursed.

A shooter from the truck managed to blow one of the SUV’s rear tires, and Marty lost control of the vehicle. At first, it fishtailed for a brief moment, then Katelyn was whipped sideways in her seat as the vehicle pivoted and flipped up into the air. Her face smashed against Josh’s thigh just before his boot plunged into her abdomen. She was suddenly and violently pulled toward the SUV’s ceiling as the vehicle crashed down on its roof; her seatbelt stopped her from splattering her head on the ceiling. As the SUV continued to roll (they were going nearly 60 MPH at the time of the crash), Katelyn began to feel lightheaded. A rifle passed in front of her face as her vision began to fade. Something heavy with a sharp corner hit her arm and caused immense pain. Then, the world faded away

To be continued...