Camp Zero (Book 2): State of Shock by Jack Hunt Page B

don’t think they actually work for the government. Perhaps they were military that went AWOL when this thing kicked off. Maybe they knew about the plan for martial law and decided they would use it to their advantage.”
    “What advantage would that be?”
    “Human slavery.”
    Luke snorted. “Are you serious?”
    “Why not? There is no one to stop them around here and without weapons they are a law unto themselves.”
    We continued listening as he told us that the best way to get in would be by foot, at night from the north by cutting through Kaniksu National Forest, which surround the north end of the town.
    “There is an outcropping that overlooks the town. If you wanted to observe what they were doing for a day or two, that would be the best place to begin but you are going to need some binoculars, night vision ideally.”
    “Billy, in the truck, go check and see if those binoculars are still there.”
    He raced off to find out.
    “Now, they have a checkpoint at the east and west. They are using vehicles to block it off. They have begun erecting a makeshift fence on the north and south sides.”
    “Great. We’ll have to dig our way in.”
    “I didn’t say it was going to be easy.”
    “Are we even sure they were brought there?” Ally asked.
    “It’s the closest town. It’s just a guess right now. But…” I turned to Keith. “You must have seen them bring in people from the outside?”
    “Yeah, they returned with people that were zip tied.”
    “You don’t have a photograph of your father, do you, Ally?”
    Keith breathed in deep. “Even if she did, I didn’t pay attention every time a truck rolled in.”
    Over the following six hours we discussed the different ways that we could get in without being detected. We didn’t stay at the gas station long. Mainly because we assumed that they would eventually send another truck out to find their buddies, if they hadn’t already. Before leaving we dragged the dead into the woods and covered them in loose leaves in the hopes that no one would find them. At least it would buy us some time. The last thing we needed was to have them on high alert.
    Once it was dark, it took us a little over forty minutes to reach the overlook that Keith had mentioned. He had turned back and decided to stay with the truck until we returned. He said he would park just inside the forest area, off the main road. That way even if people drove by they wouldn’t see the pickup truck.
    “I don’t like the idea of leaving him back there with the truck,” Luke muttered.
    “That’s a risk we have to take.”
    We settled and lay prone on the granite rock overlooking the town. Fire torches had been inserted in the ground at various places, illuminating the streets. Billy handed me a pair of night vision binoculars and I peered through them. Everything was lit up in a hazy green. I could see soldiers moving back and forth. All of them were armed. It was hard to tell how many there were as they kept disappearing out of view but it seemed like a lot.
    “Do you see him?” Ally asked. I handed her the binoculars and she spent several minutes scanning the town. She sighed and handed them back.
    “We’ll find him, Ally. I promise.”
    She nodded and got up and walked away. I wished I hadn’t made that promise. For all I knew they could be dead.

Chapter 13
    M aybe our success in Mount Pleasant had given us a false sense of bravado, or perhaps we felt as though we owed our lives to Murphy but everything inside me was telling me this was a bad idea.
    “I don’t think Murphy would want us to do this.”
    “You afraid of pissing your pants again?” Luke mocked Billy.
    “I’m just saying that we don’t even know how many are in there. Are these actual soldiers or weekend warriors?”
    “Does it matter?”
    “Well, I like to know who I’m going up against, don’t you?”
    “If you have a problem with it, you hang back here.”
    “What, by myself?”
    “No, you can keep Kiera