Free Broken Roads: A Tale of Survival in a Powerless World (Broken Lines Book 2) by James Hunt Page A

family ever again. If it came down to it he would sacrifice the lot of them to reach his family.
     
    After dinner, it was time for Mike to relieve Fay of her watch. She was posted in the corner where she was supposed to be, vigilantly staring into the night.
     
    “Grab some dinner,” Mike said.
     
    “Thanks.”
     
    Fay put her hand out and Mike helped her up. She handed him the rifle, but before she turned to go he stopped her.
     
    “You sure you never used a rifle before?” Mike asked.
     
    “No. That was my first time.”
     
    “Well, it was quite a shot.”
     
    “Thanks. And thanks for saving us.”
     
    “I haven’t saved anyone.”
     
    “Well, you’re doing more than most would… More than I would.”
     
    The last words were said to herself, and Mike could see from her reaction they weren’t meant to be said aloud.
     
    “Do you know why I took off today after I hit the can?” Fay asked.
     
    “No.”
     
    “It was because I saw the look on everyone’s faces. They saw that I could do something that they couldn’t. They saw that I could be someone to protect them. They thought I was someone who could keep them safe.”
     
    “Why did that make you run?”
     
    “Because if I didn’t keep them safe, and I knew how to do it, then I failed. So, that’s why you’ve already saved us. You’re not afraid.”
     
    Mike sat down as Fay turned to leave. He stared out into the night. The moon was full, so he could see clearly. He thought about what Fay had said. She was wrong. He was afraid, but it wasn’t the type of fear that comes with indifference, it was the fear that comes with action. He knew what he was capable of. He remembered how easily he had pulled the trigger on the neighbors attacking his house. He could see the blood spilling onto the grass of his lawn, turning everything crimson.
     
    He cradled the rifle in his lap and rested his head back against the wall. He pushed the rest out of his mind with one single thought: get to my family.
     

Day 9 (The Cabin)
     
    “Damnit, Ulysses, will you let me finish what I’m saying!” Ray screamed.
     
    Ray propped himself up on his elbows from the couch. Sweat beaded on his forehead. Anne tried to ease him back down onto the couch, but he pushed her away.
     
    “You have no idea what’s in that town. It could be overrun,” Ray said.
     
    Ulysses put in a few bottles of water and a days ration worth of food into the satchel. He pulled the strap of the bag over his head and let if fall across his chest. A holster rested on the counter, the pistol’s grip sticking out. He slung it around his waist and clipped the belt together.
     
    “Maybe I don’t know what’s in town, but I do know what’ll happen if your fever keeps going the way it has,” Ulysses said.
     
    Ray’s arms were shaking from the exertion of keeping himself upright. His elbow gave way and he collapsed back on the couch. The room felt like it was spinning. His head swayed back and forth. He tried to collect his thoughts. Before he could come up with a rebuttal he felt a hand on his chest and Ulysses’ face came in and out of focus.
     
    “I’m going, Raymond,” Ulysses said.
     
    “Remember what I told you,” Anne said.
     
    “I’ll be fine.”
     
    Ulysses walked out of the door and down the dirt path that winded up to the cabin. The town was only a mile and a half away.
     
    The morning sun wasn’t yet hot and the trees around him provided nice shade. His boots crunched the twigs and leaves on the ground. Along the way he saw a deer and a few turkeys. Good hunting.
     
    Once Ulysses made it out of the tree line and back onto the highway, he headed west to the town of Carrollton. He could see the small outline of the buildings on Main Street in the distance. The tall fields of grass surrounding the town stretched out to the forest tree lines surrounding it. 
     
    The road was completely clear with the exception of a tractor that had shut down in the middle