As soon as the group steps from the treeline, we all have our weapons up except for Remi, who’s holding hers half-heartedly with a wary look on her face.
“Don’t come any closer,” Madix barks out, and I see the group of guys freeze. They squint and turn in our direction, noticing us with our guns trained on them, and immediately hold their hands up. “We’re armed, and we will fire if you try to come any closer,” Madix says. “What do you want?”
The five guys look from one to another, and the shortest of the group clears his throat. “We’re not here to cause any trouble. Our campsite got trashed by a moose. We saw your fire and wanted to ask if you had any supplies to spare, or medicine we could have.”
At the mention of medicine, Madix tenses even more.
“Why do you need medicine?” he asks, his tone turning flat. It’s not a warning sign unless you know him, but he’s already going full Jiminy Cricket.
“Our friend twisted his ankle running from the moose, and another one of our friends is just...having some stomach problems.” As soon the short guy finishes saying this, a couple other guys in their group share a look, and it sends alarm bells blaring inside of me.Fuck.They’re sick, and any one of these guys could be contagious. I want to pull the neck of my shirt over my mouth and nose in an extra effort for protection, but I don’t take my hands off my rifle or divert my focus.
“Turn back around,” Madix says in that deadly empty voice of his.
The shorter man runs his gaze over all of us. “You guys military?” he asks.
None of us answer. He starts to say something else, but a lanky guy in his group talks over him. “Just help us out, and we’ll be on our way,” he demands, and then he starts looking over our things like he’s making a mental tally of what he wants.
“I didn’t hear a please with that request,” Madix monotones, glaring at the lanky, entitled asshole.
“Fuck you,” the guy retorts, and takes a step towards us. One of his buddies tries to grab his arm to pull him away, but the man just shrugs him off and points at Madix. “We know you got supplies, and you’re gonna help us.”
Shit. This is gonna go bad.
Brant and I tighten our grips on our guns, but Madix tips his head back slightly and laughs. It’s not a nice sound. It’s a dark, humorless laugh that is full of menace. And even though he looks like he’s not giving these guys the time of day, he’s watching them like a hawk. “That’s big talk for a little guy like you,” Madix says with condescension. “We aren’t giving you shit. This is your last warning. Turn around and go back the way you came. You’ve all been exposed to your buddy’s illness, and any one of you could be contagious. So I’m gonna tell you one last time. Leave. Now.”
Two of the guys in the group look like they want no part of this showdown, but the other three take another step forward. All friendly pretense is dropped as each of them raise their guns on us. I hear Remi curse under her breath and try to step forward to intervene, but Madix’s hand shoots out and clamps her around the wrist. “Don’t.”
The tone of his voice must bely how fucked this situation is, because she actually backs down.
“Everyone just calm down,” I say evenly. “No one wants to get shot.”
“We won’t be the ones with a bullet in us,” Madix says darkly, and the twisted fucker actually sounds excited about this whole turn of events.
“Don’t be a bunch of fucking dicks! Give us some supplies. First aid kit and some extra medicine if you have it. Food, too. Then we’ll leave.” I’m not sure if the guy is just an idiot, or if he’s desperate, but I’m guessing it’s a bit of both.
In answer, Madix fires.
Wet dirt flies up from the ground directly next to the lanky guy’s right foot. I release a mumbled curse, because taking warning shots at people who also have their weapons pointed at you is a good way to get shot. What the fuck is he thinking? Thank fuck these idiots don’t start pulling triggers in fear or retaliation. All five of the guys flinch, and two of them turn tail and run.
“Fucking crazy asshole!” the short man yells. “We just need some fucking help! He’s puking his guts out, man! He’s dehydrated, can’t keep anything down. You want that on your conscience if he dies?”
Stupid motherfucker doesn’t realize—Madix doesn’t have a conscience right now.
“Everyone is fucking dying,” Madix says evenly. “But you’ll be going to ground first if you don’t leave now. I gave you one warning shot. I won’t give you another.”
The guy stares Madix down hard. My heart is pounding, and my grip on my rifle is getting clammy. Remi is breathing hard beside me, and Theo’s jaw twitches with tension. For a split second, I see the desperation on the other man’s face, and my stomach plummets. This is what the world has become. We’re already turning on each out of fear and desperation. Is this what the future holds for all of us, just more of these showdowns of take or get taken?
Madix is completely still, his legs spread with confidence, the guy in his sights. Finally,finally,the man lowers his gun and his two friends follow suit. With a sneer, he spits at the ground. “Fuck you. I hope you all get fucking sick out here and die.”
Without another word, he stomps away back into the treeline, and the other two follow behind him.
None of us move or relax, just in case it’s a trap. After a very long five minutes, when the group is long out of sight or hearing distance, Madix says, “Brant and Remington, pack up. Theo and I will keep watching.”
Remi and I move and start packing up camp in record time. “That scenario was a bit intense,” she mumbles.
I snort humorlessly. “You think?”
Thank goodness Madix didn’t actually shoot one of those assholes. I’m even more surprised that one of their group didn’t get trigger happy and shoot at us. That whole thing could’ve gone much,muchworse. I want to get the fuck out of here before any of them decides to retaliate out of anger.
