Read Online Behind Our Walls by Chad A. Clark - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Chad A. Clark
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gas cans. Seventeen more people had agreed to go and were already departing. Sophie thought she could see her father's gait as he walked off into the horizon.
"Come on," Rowen said to her, "we still don't know that much about our host, and we kind of got off on shaky ground. Let's introduce ourselves properly and see if we can start making ourselves more at home around here."
-18-
"I was in the Marines for about twenty years," Lot said, leaning back against the rotting tree stump. The three of them had been talking for nearly two hours, and Sophie and Rowen had only just gotten him to start talking about himself. It wasn't that he was hiding anything, but they found his good nature quickly winning them over.
"You see any combat?" Rowen asked. The look in his eye suggested to Sophie that he was asking from personal experience himself.
Lot stuck out a lip and shook his head. "Nope. Came close once or twice, but nothing ever really came of it. I've been retired for about five years, would have been six years next week actually." He smirked to himself, likely thinking about how easily time got away from them anymore. Shaking his head, he carried on with his story. "My family was always set up pretty good. The folks were loaded to the gills, but I never really got on with my old man. I split by the time I hit my seventeenth birthday and enlisted as soon as I could. Never looked back."
"You must have seen them again at some point," Sophie said but Lot just shook his head.
"Never did. I don't want to get into the specifics, or go on and on about my sob story. Mostly because I just don't care anymore, but also because they've been gone for a while now. No sense in tramping all over the dead."
"Oh...I didn't—"
He waved her off. "No need. Like I said, we weren't exactly close. They died in a car accident of all things. Limo driver coming the other direction had taken down a few too many martinis at his boss's birthday party. Anyway, I was the only surviving heir and I ended up inheriting all their money. Even after all the bullshit regulations and red tape and lawyer's fees, I still ended up bringing in a figure with about eight zeroes after it."
Rowen whistled and Sophie shook her head, trying to imagine what it would be like to have such an earth shaking change come about so abruptly.
"I never really had what I would call an expensive lifestyle. I paid off my debts, gave a bunch of money to charities, invested some of it. I paid off the houses for everyone on my block. Things were going pretty good, or at least I thought they were."
"Talk about paying it forward," Rowen remarked.
Lot shrugged. "Figured they didn't do a damn thing worthwhile with all their money, I might as well put it to some good. Not that it ended up mattering in the long run."
"How many were in your group originally?" Rowen asked.
"A few dozen. These yahoos had taken over a small hog farm. They'd taken people hostage, making them do work around the farm while they got to take it easy and play games with everyone, torturing people. Sick, fucking...sorry..." He glanced awkwardly at Sophie but she ignored it. "I managed to spring everyone, and we've been together ever since. We picked up the RV's from a local dealership and along the way, our numbers just sort of swelled. We've ended up with nearly fifty people in all, counting the four of you."
"We appreciate you taking us in," Sophie said. "I know we weren't exactly polite when we first met."
"No need to apologize."
"So what was your big plan?" Rowen asked. "Where are you going from here?"
"I still don't know. I'd like to get these people someplace safe and more permanent. We've been doing all right just moving from place to place, but I can tell that it's wearing down on people. There comes a point where you move around enough and you just stop feeling safe, no matter where you are. Problem is, I just don't know where that place is. Until we find it though, we'll just have to keep on
"Come on," Rowen said to her, "we still don't know that much about our host, and we kind of got off on shaky ground. Let's introduce ourselves properly and see if we can start making ourselves more at home around here."
-18-
"I was in the Marines for about twenty years," Lot said, leaning back against the rotting tree stump. The three of them had been talking for nearly two hours, and Sophie and Rowen had only just gotten him to start talking about himself. It wasn't that he was hiding anything, but they found his good nature quickly winning them over.
"You see any combat?" Rowen asked. The look in his eye suggested to Sophie that he was asking from personal experience himself.
Lot stuck out a lip and shook his head. "Nope. Came close once or twice, but nothing ever really came of it. I've been retired for about five years, would have been six years next week actually." He smirked to himself, likely thinking about how easily time got away from them anymore. Shaking his head, he carried on with his story. "My family was always set up pretty good. The folks were loaded to the gills, but I never really got on with my old man. I split by the time I hit my seventeenth birthday and enlisted as soon as I could. Never looked back."
"You must have seen them again at some point," Sophie said but Lot just shook his head.
"Never did. I don't want to get into the specifics, or go on and on about my sob story. Mostly because I just don't care anymore, but also because they've been gone for a while now. No sense in tramping all over the dead."
"Oh...I didn't—"
He waved her off. "No need. Like I said, we weren't exactly close. They died in a car accident of all things. Limo driver coming the other direction had taken down a few too many martinis at his boss's birthday party. Anyway, I was the only surviving heir and I ended up inheriting all their money. Even after all the bullshit regulations and red tape and lawyer's fees, I still ended up bringing in a figure with about eight zeroes after it."
Rowen whistled and Sophie shook her head, trying to imagine what it would be like to have such an earth shaking change come about so abruptly.
"I never really had what I would call an expensive lifestyle. I paid off my debts, gave a bunch of money to charities, invested some of it. I paid off the houses for everyone on my block. Things were going pretty good, or at least I thought they were."
"Talk about paying it forward," Rowen remarked.
Lot shrugged. "Figured they didn't do a damn thing worthwhile with all their money, I might as well put it to some good. Not that it ended up mattering in the long run."
"How many were in your group originally?" Rowen asked.
"A few dozen. These yahoos had taken over a small hog farm. They'd taken people hostage, making them do work around the farm while they got to take it easy and play games with everyone, torturing people. Sick, fucking...sorry..." He glanced awkwardly at Sophie but she ignored it. "I managed to spring everyone, and we've been together ever since. We picked up the RV's from a local dealership and along the way, our numbers just sort of swelled. We've ended up with nearly fifty people in all, counting the four of you."
"We appreciate you taking us in," Sophie said. "I know we weren't exactly polite when we first met."
"No need to apologize."
"So what was your big plan?" Rowen asked. "Where are you going from here?"
"I still don't know. I'd like to get these people someplace safe and more permanent. We've been doing all right just moving from place to place, but I can tell that it's wearing down on people. There comes a point where you move around enough and you just stop feeling safe, no matter where you are. Problem is, I just don't know where that place is. Until we find it though, we'll just have to keep on
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