Read Online Storm Tide Rising: Blackout Volume 2 by D W McAliley - Free Book Online

hers. Joe held her for a moment, then whispered in her ear and handed over all three of their bags before shutting the door softly.
    As Joe was stepping off the last step of the porch, Chris came trotting up from the direction of the river. He seemed barely winded and nodded to Joe in the gathering gloom. "We're clear," he said softly. "I stayed back and watched that crowd until they got tired of waiting and kicked down the front door. The pharmacy won't be much of a pharmacy for a while, though. They busted out all of the windows, emptied the place, then torched it. The crowd scattered once the fire got really going. I think it got a lot bigger a lot quicker than they thought it would."
    "We got a problem, though."  Joe said softly, casting a glance at Eric. "Did you see the burning farm house?"
    Chris frowned. "Yeah, I took a peak. I was gonna ask you about that," he said, a bit confused. "It was too dark to make out much through my scope, but looked like three pretty young guys, a tent, and a burning house. I didn't try and go closer, though."
    Joe nodded. "We know the family," he said after a moment, and Chris sucked his breath in through his teeth in a hiss. "Yeah. Eric was close with their son. We're heading back to see what happened."
    Chris thought for a moment before speaking. "You need more bodies? I can get Tom and we'll be five. Extra man might make the difference."
    Joe shook his head. "No, just us. We go fast and light, and if anything looks the least bit hairy, we come straight back. We're not looking for a fight if we can avoid one."  He said that last bit looking Eric in the eye with a serious glare. "You got me, son? You follow my lead, and when I say move you move, or we don't go at all. Got it?"
    Eric's answer was quick and firm. "Yes sir, "I understand."
    Joe shook his head. "I already told your mother. She didn't even argue, which really makes me nervous....but we'd better go anyway."
    "I'll keep an eye on things here, Captain," Chris said as he patted Eric on the shoulder. "I hope your friend's okay."
    Before Eric could find the words for a response, Chris and Henderson had both turned and were halfway to the back porch. Joe took a long drink of water from a bottle he pulled out of his small rucksack, and he handed the bottle over to Eric, who drained the last of it.
    Joe asked softly. "You sure you want to do this, son?"
    Eric nodded without hesitation. "I spent as much time at Brant's house growing up as I did at ours. I've got to know what happened in case he asks one day. I know he'd do the same if it was our house he'd seen half-eaten with flames."
    Joe saw the determination in his son's eyes and nodded. "Okay, I just had to ask. Now, you've gotta know, it could get ugly. I mean real ugly real quick. I gotta know that if I ask you to pull that trigger, you will."
    "Whatever you need me to do," Eric replied without hesitation. "You know that, Dad."
    Joe shouldered his rifle and patted his son on the shoulder. "Well, we'd better get to it."
    Joe took the lead this time as he and Eric jogged down the hill through the muscadine vineyard and past the old, dark hog house. The road ended at the river where a series of irrigation pumps had sat for as long as Eric could remember. Joe turned to the left and headed downstream toward the junction with the creek that would take them toward town and the Thompson's place. The woods were dark, but Joe used his flashlight only for brief flashes to cross fallen logs or navigate the occasional cross creek or runoff ditch.
    Eric was impressed with how quietly his father could slip through the shadows and how quickly he was able to cover ground. They stuck to game trails and the random ATV paths as much as they could to make good time, and before long Joe found the fence line of the Thompson's lower pastures. Despite his general good health, Joe was more than a bit out of breath and paused to lean against the fence post for a moment before catching Eric's eye.
    "If