"Why not?" Mary said with a shrug.
They threw themselves at the donuts and had a couple each, not worrying the least bit about calories or gluten or sugar. Mary gulped hers down, licking the chocolate off her fingers afterwards. She wasn't very hungry, but somehow, she thought eating the donuts would make her feel better, at least for a few seconds.
It didn't.
The sound of the marching soldiers outside ruined the pleasure. Mary stared at them when suddenly she saw something. A soldier, not in the line, was walking towards the bank. In front of him walked Mrs. Zetterman who worked at City Hall. She pointed at the bank and the soldier followed her closely.
Mary had barely swallowed the last bite of her donut before the door was opened and they both stepped inside.
Mrs. Zetterman looked accusingly at Mary. The soldier stomped his feet and started to yell something Mary didn't understand.
"Mayor Stephenson?" Mrs. Zetterman said, sobbing.
Mary swallowed and nodded. "Yes?"
"The Chinese want to talk to you. They came to City Hall and asked for the person in charge. I told them it was you."
Chapter Thirty-One
Ridge Manor, Florida
"Mom? I’m scared."
Joanna grabbed Ellie Mae and held her close. "Me too, baby. Me too."
"And I’m hungry."
"Who's hungry?"
Joanna jumped at the sound of Wayne's voice. He came rushing out of the kitchen, gun in his hand, hair standing out in all directions, an apron wrapped around him with the words KISS THE COOK written on his chest. Joanna stared at the gun, little pearls of sweat starting to shape on her upper lip.
"We have plenty of food," he said. "Follow me."
Joanna and Ellie Mae stood like statues, staring at the gun in Wayne's hand. Joanna pulled the girl closer.
"What do you want from us?" she asked.
"What? No, no I'm serious. Come eat." He waved the gun around to signal them to follow him.
"We better do as he says," Ellie Mae whispered and Joanna agreed. There was no use in arguing with a madman with a gun.
"I made pancakes early this morning before the power went out," Wayne said as they came into the kitchen. It was so dark everywhere in the house it felt like it was still night.
Wayne lit a few candles and placed a plate with pancakes in the center of the table. "Dig in."
Ellie Mae looked at her mother, who signaled it was all right, then dug in. Joanna wanted to assess the situation first.
"Say…Wayne, what exactly is going on here? What's with all the boxes of food?" she asked.
"Oh, those. I’ve been out buying food all night. I’m exhausted. Haven't slept at all. But I managed to get all those boxes full. Had to drive to the neighboring towns. Not much open except for the gas station in Ridge Manor after midnight."
"But why, Wayne? Why did you need to buy all this food?"
"Well, I didn't really know how long we would have to stay in here. It could be months, so I thought it best to be on the safe side. I know it’s a little much, but better safe than sorry, right?"
"Months?" Joanna's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean months?"
What the heck is this guy up to? Has he been planning this all along?
"Easy now, Joanna. I know it sounds like a lot; if we're lucky, it won't be that long," he said and handed her a glass of orange juice. "We should probably drink this before it goes bad."
"What do you mean if we're lucky? What the heck is going on here, Wayne?" Joanna said, finally losing her cool. "And why is the front door barricaded so we can't get out?"
He turned and looked at her. "I’m sorry. I haven't explained. I’m talking about the Chinese."
Joanna shook her head, a sense of desperation emerging from her stomach. She wrinkled her forehead in worry.
"The Chinese?"
Wayne sat down at the table in front of her. "Yes, the Chinese. No one in town wanted to listen to me as I tried to tell them they were coming, so I had to act. To make sure we at least remained safe. And we will be. Anyone gets close to this house and I'll kill them."
Joanna stared at Wayne as he poured syrup over his stack of pancakes. The syrup overflowed the plate and dripped out on the table.
So, I was right. He has gone mad as a raven. He's lost it. He has finally lost it completely.
"So, you're saying you did this to…protect us?" she asked.
He nodded as the first mouthful landed in his mouth, syrup seeping down his chin. He spoke while chewing and Joanna could see the half-chewed food in his mouth. "Yes. And I will protect the both of you with my life if I have to."
"Against the Chinese."
He pointed at her with his fork and followed the gesture with a wink. "You've got it."
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ridge Manor, Florida
Josh floored the pedal as they accelerated down Mockingbird Drive. He was going the other way this time, trying to get out of town in another direction than earlier, keeping away from downtown, staying on the outskirts of town.
"If you go left down here, you'll hit Lakewood Drive, and then you can take the State Road 50," Nick said. "There's an exit that will lead you out on 301 northbound. Should get you out of town shortly after. Meets the I-75 a couple of miles out of town. I go that way every time I go to visit my sister in Leesburg."
So, he has a sister. Guess I should have known that after eight years of being neighbors across the street.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Josh said and took the turn.
They drove for a few minutes longer and soon approached the city limits where Cortez Boulevard met 301 by the old motel. On the horizon, they spotted something coming up the road. Josh leaned forward.
"What the heck is that?"
As they approached the top of the small hill and could finally see better, they realized it was soldiers. Little green figures in the distance soon grew into men, thousands of men, shaping a wall, blocking the road, weapons directed at them.
"STOP!" Tim screamed. "Stop the car."
Josh hit the brakes so hard they all flew forward. The car skirted sideways before finally coming to a halt. Out the window, Josh stared at the many green-uniformed men and their weapons directed at him.
Where are their tanks and trucks? Why is it only soldiers blocking the road? Where are their planes and drones? Don't all the military use drones these days?
"Guess we're not going that way, then," he said as he turned the wheel and floored the pedal once again, hitting Cortez Boulevard leading back to town.
"Did you see how many they were?" Nick exclaimed. "It was like a wall of humans. It looked like a darn scene from Lord of the Rings man. Don't think I’ve ever seen so many soldiers in one place before."
"I tried to go south of town earlier, so that's a no-go, how about we try west?" Josh said.
"Anything," Tim said, "to get us out of this place."
Once again, Josh rushed the car forward down Cortez Boulevard and past the Shell Station towards the west part of town, towards city limits. These parts, he knew well since he had a client out in Tampa that he often visited. It was strange to see the road so void of cars. It was usually a very trafficked trip, one he was often hesitant to take because it would take most of the day, but today not a car was seen.
It was not a good sign.
They didn't make it very far before they realized this road too led them right into the hands of another batch of soldiers. Josh stopped the car as they spotted them. The sun was reflected by their weapons.
"So, we tried north, we tried south and west. Guess there’s only east left?" Tim said.
"That's the swamps," Josh said with a deep sigh. "We can't drive through the swamps. Not in this car."
"Of course not."
"So, how are we going to get out of here?"
Marley, who had been very quiet all this time, suddenly lifted her head and looked at her dad.
"We can't."
"What's that a
gain, sweetie?"
"We can't get out of here."
Josh swallowed hard as he looked at his daughter. The silence in the car was painful, mostly because all of them knew she was right.
"Then what the heck do we do?" asked Tim.
Josh started the car back up and turned it around.
"We go back."
"Yeah," Nick said. "We go home and wait till this blows over." He paused and no one spoke for a while. Not till Nick, once again, opened his mouth and almost with a whisper, said, "It will blow over, won't it?"
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ridge Manor, Florida
Mary followed the soldier through the doors to City Hall. More soldiers by the doors opened them for her as she entered. The foyer was packed with them. Never had she seen so many people gathered in her small City Hall. Mrs. Zetterman was right behind her, still sobbing.
"They're waiting for you in there," she said and pointed at the door where Mary had sat through countless city council and committee meetings.
Two soldiers guarding the door held it open for her as she walked in. The door was slammed shut behind her with such force it made her jump.
In the room, she found four Asian men in green uniforms. Their hats with the red stripe were placed in front of them on the table. They gazed at her with stern eyes and had an almost robotic look to them. At the end of the meeting table, where Mary usually sat, she found a woman. A woman wearing a green shirt buttoned up all the way to her neck. It was hard to tell her age, but she was a lot older than the others, Mary thought. Her hair was cut short and pulled back. The look in her eyes gave Mary the chills. Her eyes rested on Mary. It felt like she was trying to look into her very soul. It made Mary feel even more ill at ease than she already was.
"What do you plan on doing with us?" Mary finally gathered courage enough to ask.
The man on the right started to yell in what Mary guessed had to be Mandarin. They all carried the emblem of the People's Liberation Army and behind them, they had hung up the red flag with five golden stars, the same kind that the soldiers had paraded through town.
"You in charge of this town?" the woman asked, ignoring Mary's question. Her English had a heavy accent.
Mary nodded. "Yes. I am the mayor."
One of the men hit his fist on the table while yelling, "People's Republic of China in charge now."
Mary recoiled.
The woman nodded. "I am Major General Li Xiaoyan. I am in charge of this town now. You understand?"
Mary nodded. Is she both major and general?
"You understand?"
"Yes."
"Good."
A million thoughts rushed through Mary's mind. What do you want from us? Why are you here? But she didn't dare to ask them. They didn't seem like people you could reason with. They had brought Mary there for a reason and she would wait for them to reveal it to her.
The officer from earlier hit his hand on the table again. "We own this country. We take back what is rightfully ours."
Mary tried to calm herself down, but it was getting harder and harder. Up until now, she had somehow believed there was hope.
So, it is true, then. It's not just here?
Mary's heart sank as she slowly realized the seriousness of the situation and all courage left her, replaced with nothing but deep despair.
We have been invaded. By the Chinese. And the worst part is, I was warned. I knew this was coming, yet I did nothing. How am I ever going to live with myself?
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ridge Manor, Florida
"Mom? What is happening?"
Ellie Mae was whispering. Joanna took her on her lap and held her close. She was on her third soda while Wayne was running around securing the house even further. Joanna caressed her daughter's hair while speculating like crazy how the heck they were going to get out of this mess.
You trusted a stranger, Joanna. Has life taught you nothing? Well, to be fair, he wasn't a complete stranger, but you should have seen the warning signs. The fact that his wife left him and took the child, the barricaded windows, the phone calls at night, and him pretending they didn't exist. This guy is wacko and you just walked right into his trap. Right into it. How stupid are you?
Joanna sipped her soda with another sigh. Ellie Mae hid her face in her mother's chest. "I wanna go home, Mommy. I want Daddy."
"I do too, baby. I do too."
"Why did God take him away from us?" she asked.
Joanna sighed. It was a little early and inconvenient for the deep existential questions. They had had those a lot since Jack died and one thing she had learned was that they never came when you were prepared for them.
"I don't believe God took him. I think Daddy just got sick, very sick, from all that smoking he liked to do."
Ellie Mae sniffled. Joanna thought briefly of all the thousands of times she had begged him to stop smoking, yet she still felt guilty for not succeeding. She wondered if Ellie Mae felt that from time to time too.
"But why didn't God cure him?" Ellie Mae asked.
Joanna shrugged. "I don't know, baby. We all have to go at some point, some a little earlier than others. But, tell you what?"
"What?"
"I think that God is just as sad as you are about it. I don't think he likes to see you cry. And tell you something else?"
"What?"
"You'll see him again one day," she said. "We'll both get to see Daddy again once we get there."
Which might be a lot sooner than expected if I don't get us out of here soon.
"I’ve changed my mind," Ellie Mae said.
"About what, sweetie?" Joanna looked at the kitchen window and lifted the curtain. A little sunlight came in from a crack in the plywood. Could she look out? Joanna moved her head back and forth and realized that if she was at the right angle, she could see a little. Not much, but a little.
"I don't want to stay in this town."
Joanna kissed Ellie Mae on the cheek. Wayne was rustling around in the living room, making all kinds of noise. Joanna had no idea what he was up to and, frankly, she didn't care. She was starting to plan for their escape. If not during the day, then at night. The guy had to sleep at some point, right?
"Me either. It was silly to come here. I am sorry for that."
"It's okay, Mom. You didn't know better."
Joanna sighed and finished her soda, thinking maybe she should have. There was a reason she and Jack left this place and never looked back.
She rubbed her eyes when suddenly she heard a sound. It was coming from outside. It was the wonderful sound of footsteps. And they were approaching the house.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ridge Manor, Florida
Joanna put Ellie Mae down and rushed to the window to peek out through the small crack. She couldn't really see details, but there was definitely a person out there.
Someone's out there, someone's there! This is our chance.
Joanna rushed to the front door, and soon after there was a small knock. She started to move sandbags to get closer, while yelling, "Help! Help, we're in here."
She then hammered on the barricaded door from the inside, yelling. "Help us. Please, he's keeping us trapped. Help!"
Ellie Mae soon joined her and knocked on the wood covering the door. "Heelp. Heeeeelp. HEEEEELP!
"Please, help us," Joanna screamed desperately, trying to grab the wood and pull it off the door, but it was nailed down. Joanna grunted and screamed when suddenly she felt a hand around her waist and she was removed from the door and placed on the floor. Wayne stood above her, gun in his hand.
"No!"
Joanna screamed again as he grabbed Ellie Mae and moved her from the door. Now, Ellie Mae was screaming too.
"Don't you touch her."
"What are you doing?" Wayne yelled, letting go of Ellie Mae.
"Heeeelp!" Joanna continued. "He's got a gun; he's keeping us trapped in here, heeelp."
Wayne grunted, annoyed. "You're
leading them straight to us. They'll know we're in here. Why would you do that? You don't know who’s out there. It could be one of them."
"There is no them, Wayne. Only you and your sick imagination, you paranoid freak," Joanna screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping the person outside would hear her, deliberately mentioning Wayne's name so this person would know who they were up against.
"What are you talking about?" Wayne said. "I told you what was going on out there. I told you."
"Let us go, Wayne," she said.
Wayne wrinkled his forehead. "You think I’m keeping you here? Against your will?"
"Well, duh. You barricaded the doors and windows, you're holding a gun on us, if it looks like a duck, then guess what?"
Joanna was panting heavily. Sweat sprang from her forehead and upper lip. Wayne stared at her like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, then touched his hair and pushed it back. He moved away from her, shaking his head.
"I never…I never meant to…"
He disappeared for a few seconds and Joanna looked at her daughter to make sure she was all right. He returned, holding a crowbar. He handed it to Joanna, who hesitated at first.
"Here. Take it. Go, if that's what you want to do."
Joanna grabbed the crowbar and stood up. She stared at the gun in Wayne's hand, wondering if he was going to use it on her when she turned her back on him. Wayne saw it and put it away. He put his hands resignedly in the air and backed up. Joanna approached the door, put the crowbar to the wood, and started to rip it off.
Shortly after, she grabbed desperately for the door handle, then her daughter's hand and opened the door to freedom.
The eyes that met her on the other side made every fiber in her body freeze. She had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing things right. She was. The person in front of her seemed as paralyzed as she was, till she finally managed to get something across her lips, "Josh?"