Page 17 of Desiderium (Devil Dogs of the Apocalypse #2)

I look up to the skeletal remains of the house, remembering it’s less sandy from here to there, and instantly cringe at the mud we’re going to have to traverse to get there. Thankfully, I don’t get to dwell on that little nugget of information too long as we make it to the shed.

We fan out in front of it and wait while Jax opens the door. He starts to throw everything out of the small outbuilding as if none of it matters. Which it doesn’t, but that’s all that was in the shed… Right?

“No fucking way…,” Hawk whispers in awe next to me as Jax kneels on the ground and removes a piece of the floor. Then another… and another. Soon enough, a set of stairs becomes visible, making the rest of our jaws drop at the discovery.

“You didn’t know this was here?” I ask Cole and Hawk.

“Fuck no! Remember what we said happened when we escaped here last autumn? Jax was pulling out weapons from his own asshole by the time we were done!” He points over to the walking trail that runs on the side of the lake.

“He hid fucking thermobaric rockets in those gaudy ass trail markers for crying out loud.” He points to Jax accusingly.

“This is where the helicopter is, huh? Deep underground, just like Batman would have designed it. Some kind of Justice League man-cave, full of boom boom sticks and caped crusader merchandise type shit. Isn’t that right Jax? Or should I call you Bruce ?”

Cole steps in front of Hawk, halting his interrogation.

“Ok, we get it. You’re pissed he didn’t tell us about all the hidden shit.

But at least he has the hidden shit. We would have been fucked over six ways from Tuesday if he didn’t.

So shut the fuck up and let the man do what he does best and dig up his buried treasure like a fucking pirate.

” He looks to me and Jax, winking and smiling.

Jax pauses his disassembly of the shed and smiles back, unfazed. “You know Aly has a thing for pirates. I have no problem taking that as a compliment.” He turns back around and starts his descent down the steps. Hawk, Cole and I take one last look at each other before we follow him down the hole.

The room at the bottom definitely isn’t big enough to hold a helicopter, but it is large enough to hold multiple MRE’s (meals-ready-to-eat) as well as water, fuel, a tiny propane grill, and a tent amongst other things.

We take about an hour to bring up what we can use and, since there’s no way we’re staying the night here, bring it to the front of the house, stacking it all in a large pile.

Yeah... There’s no way that’s going to fit in any of our packs. I don’t care how massive they are. I’m not even sure Mary Poppins could take on this tower of gear without busting a seam or two in her carpet bag.

I originally assumed we were going to find and use Jax’s old truck but after looking at the nonexistent state of his garage and everything that was in it, that option’s officially off the table.

Gathering around our newly formed mountain of supplies, we look to each other for a solution before turning toward the entry gate.

The large metal fencing has been knocked over in some places, and mangled in others, but that’s not what catches each of our gazes.

Dozens of trucks and cars litter the grounds, scattered amongst the entryway, driveway and former garden area.

These must have been left by Earl’s brother during their takeover attempt.

I wonder...

“I’ll go check ‘em out. Maybe we’ll have some luck and one will start up.” Cole walks up to the first one, before shaking his head and heading to the next.

I turn to ask Hawk or Jax what I can do but notice Hawk is missing. “What in the fuck are you doing, dick for brains?” Jax yells to Hawk. Unable to curb my curiosity, I follow his gaze and see why he’s asking that.

“Every time you touch something a secret passage opens up—the shed, the fucking trail markers. Now, I might be wrong but these fucking trees look mighty suspicious.” He walks up to another one and kicks it, hurting his foot in the process.

“Motherfucker!” He shakes his foot off and clenches his hands into fists, collecting himself before stubbornly kicking another. “Son of a bitch! ”

Jax pulls me into his side, murmuring to me as Hawk kicks another.

“Did you know he went to college after he got discharged and has a degree in engineering?” I open my mouth in shock as he continues.

“Yeah, no shit. Engineering. But he thinks kicking a tree will open up a secret cave of wonders.” He lifts his head to the sky, probably asking a higher power to grant him patience, while raising his hand to get Hawk’s attention.

“Bro!” Jax yells to Hawk, getting him to stop harming the darn trees.

“I promise you, there are no more hidden caches on this property. The shed and the trail heads were the only hidey holes. That’s it. ”

Hawk looks around the property one last time and points to the side yard. “So that big ass boulder, that has no right being there, doesn’t secretly open into anything?”

Jax looks over and shakes his head. “That’s a cover for the electrical box, numb nuts. It’s not even a real boulder. It’s decorative for fucks sake.”

Hawk, curious and suspicious now, runs over to the boulder in question and kicks that too, upending it and revealing the hidden electrical box underneath. Hawk points at it accusingly. “Still hiding shit, though!”

Jax closes his eyes and huffs out a breath of irritation, grinding his jaw for a moment before smiling and laughing as Hawk runs back over.

The startling sound of a vehicle turning over draws our attention to the far end where Cole pulls around a large pick-up truck, parking it right in front of the pile we made. “Found one! Let’s load her up!”

It takes a bit but we manage to fill the truck with the items salvaged from the waterfront shed. I’m honestly surprised it all fit in the back but hey, road trip Tetris for the win.

Once done, Jax turns to the rubble that once was his home. “Before we leave, let’s see if anything survived the explosion. Take some time, see if there’s anything of sentimental value that you might want to keep.”

We all fan out and start to dig through what’s left. It’s like sifting through a demolition site. Cement, mortar, wood beams, piping, wires, and a slurry of memories converge to make a muddled mass of chaos.

Eventually, everything starts to look like nothing.

And nothing becomes everything.