Isolation by Jones, Nathan (the first e reader .TXT) 📗

Jay grinned in a way that was almost disturbing at that, ducking around him to saunter towards the camp. He pretended not to see everyone's eyes on him, but his words were louder than necessary. “It was always part of the plan. I just told you the part you needed to know.”

Larry grit his teeth and chased after him. “You think we didn't need to know that you were going to use the trucks as a distraction to straight up murder two people? I couldn't even get behind driving bombs towards their barricades, even though you told us the sentries would be able to get to cover in time and nobody would be hurt. Which didn't happen, judging by the screams I heard.”

He paused, looking around the camp at all their friends. “But this, Jay? This is so far over the line I don't think you can even see it anymore.”

“How is it over the line to end the war by killing their leaders, the people responsible for all this, instead of a lot of innocent people in the fighting?” Jay snapped, whirling to face him. “It's the entire cutting the head off the snake thing. The smart way to do things.”

“This is crazy,” Larry said quietly. “I'm starting to think you're crazy.”

His friend's eyes flashed, but he turned away towards the watching crowd and raised his voice. “How about you guys? Any of you have a problem with me putting a bullet into that POS Darrel, or that weaselly thief Darby? Doing what it takes to end this war. Anyone?”

Larry turned to look at their friends, and felt a leaden sense of defeat when they all just stared at the ground and fidgeted. Aside from those like Chuck who either smirked at Larry or glared murder at him.

Jay shook his head sadly and clapped Larry on the shoulder. “I don't like the bloodshed any more than you do, man, but we're doing what we need to do. If we keep this up, before long Stanberry will give up and give us what we want.”

What do we even want? Larry thought hopelessly. It had been a while since Jay had even mentioned getting back what Stanberry stole from them, or any other sort of reparations. Not since the beginning, actually.

Because their leader didn't care about any of that. He wanted vengeance, and it almost seemed like he enjoyed making the people he viewed as his enemies suffer. It scared the heck out of Larry.

Maybe that was why he gave up there and let Jay and Chuck continue on to settle down around the fire, while he stormed over to his tent. He half expected Liza, who'd been watching the confrontation from nearby, to come and get on his case, demand he keep trying to talk sense into someone who refused to see it. Or she'd want to complain about the state of things with him, with both of them seeming powerless to do anything about it.

But the young woman didn't make any move to follow him; maybe it was the forbidding scowl on his face.

As he unzipped the door of his tent he snuck a glance behind him, wanting to see if anyone was even sympathetic enough to his argument to be staring after him. But it looked as if they were all either intent on their own thing or listening to Jay, who was regaling everyone around the fire with the grisly details of how he'd snuck up and murdered two men, then successfully escaped.

Larry watched it all with a sense of crushing weariness, tired down to the depths of his soul. He knew he should be doing something, stopping Jay or convincing anyone who'd listen to leave or something, but it just felt like he'd lost his chance. Lost it back when Stanberry burned down their houses and Jay spurred everyone back into this war.

Why bother, now? People wanted to do it Jay's way, no matter how insane the man got.

Larry had thought better of his lifelong friends and neighbors. But then, he'd thought better of himself, too.

And here he was, huddling in his tent like a coward as his friends became . . . whatever they were becoming.

Nothing good.

✽✽✽

Nick had noticed that Jay had a tendency to do something big, then sit back for a while and let them stew.

You could never be sure with that nutjob, but he had a feeling the Wensbrook thugs wouldn't do anything else today. He didn't let down his guard, of course, but he wasn't too surprised that there'd been no further trouble by the time he finished his shift and headed back to the camp.

On the way he visited Ellie and Hal. Their honeymoon, such as it was, had been disrupted by Jay's attack, so they'd spent the afternoon shoring up the defenses in their small camp. They'd also put in a good hour practicing shooting at their little range alongside the two bigger ranges.

“How you holding up?” Nick asked his ex-wife and son.

“Feeling vulnerable in our location,” she admitted, hugging Ricky a bit tighter.

Ricky nodded, frowning. “I really wish they'd let us into town.”

Nick started to suggest they might try asking again, since Darby and Darrel had been the main ones opposing people who'd been through their quarantine period being let into town, then decided that even if it was true, it would be in bad taste.

Besides, the Mayor was still hanging in there, thankfully.

“I'll be out here looking out for you,” he promised his son.

Ricky shifted uncomfortably. “Can't you go out and stop them? Even though you try really hard, Jay always wins with his attacks.”

Ouch. What was even worse was that Nick knew Ricky was right. “Well, we know where their camp is,” he said. “I'm going to go talk to Denny right now . . . maybe we can think of something to do.”

“Good,” Ellie said fiercely, surprising him. “I know I've been on the side of deescalating the conflict, but