by Eric Vall
I followed the stairs up and found Betty sitting in an old office chair looking out the window of the attic.
“Betty,” I said as I entered the room.
“I thought you were on your way up to see me.” Betty turned around to smile at me. “What can I do for you?”
“I just have a couple of questions,” I said.
“Now you’re sounding like one of those detectives on television,” the old woman chuckled.
“I suppose I am,” I laughed.
“Well, what are your questions?” she asked.
“Did you see anyone on the road this morning?” I asked seriously.
“I saw some people walk by,” she said with a nod, and her curly gray hair bounced around her face. “Did you run into them?”
“We did,” I said.
“How did that go?” she asked in a low voice, and I realized that she was expecting a bad outcome.
“We let them pass through,” I said.
“Did you talk to them?” she asked. “It looked like they were women maybe, but my eyesight isn’t what it used to be.”
“They were all women.” I nodded. “We spoke to them, and they said they were headed south.”
“Okay.” Betty nodded, but I noticed she pursed her lips as well.
“I felt that there was something off about them,” I said, and I gauged from her reaction as I spoke that she didn’t appear surprised.
“I thought that as well,” the old woman said. “Not that we spoke, but it seemed strange that they were walking in the open in the middle of the day.”
“I agree,” I said.
“Especially women,” Betty added. “There’s plenty of people who would take advantage of them.”
“They didn’t seem scared when we spoke,” I said. “And they looked like they had plenty of supplies.”
“I find that strange as well,” Betty said. “I couldn’t tell from this far what they had on them, I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize,” I said. “Just let me know if you see anyone else pass through.”
“Roger that.” The old woman smiled at me, and I turned to leave. “Oh! and tell Rolly hello from me.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” I chuckled. It had barely been a day since they last saw each other, but I found her fondness for him quite adorable.
I made my way out to the truck and found Dan missing, and the girls were all giggling.
“What’s so funny?” I asked as I approached.
“Oh, nothing,” Tara chuckled, and I raised an eyebrow at the group.
“Really,” I said, and I narrowed my eyes on the platinum blonde. “Are you giving away our dirty secrets?”
“I would never,” Tara said, and she feigned a look of shock and offense.
“Then why is Bailey bright red?” I asked, and I gestured to the blonde hippie who stood looking at the ground with a noticeable blush to her face.
“She always looks like that,” Tara said with a shrug.
“I’m unconvinced,” I chuckled. “But we have work to do, so let’s head to Briar’s.”
The girls all giggled again, but they hopped in the truck, and I waved to them as we drove off.
“Do you want to tell me what that was about now?” I asked with a raised brow.
“Jenny and Joanna were asking about our relationship with you,” Paige said.
“Mhm.” I nodded. “And what might you have told them?”
“Oh, just how good you are in bed,” Tara said.
“You told them about our threesome,” Bailey burst out, and she death glared at the platinum blonde.
“Yeah,” Tara said with a roguish smile. “About how awesome it was.”
Bailey groaned and put her face into her hands.
“Tara,” I said gently. “Apologize.”
“You’re right,” the platinum blonde sighed. “I’m sorry Bailey, it just slipped out.”
“They seemed to like the story,” Anna said, and she grinned at the blonde hippie. “If that’s any consolation.”
“Not really,” Bailey said dryly, and then she turned to Tara. “But I accept your apology.”
“Next time I’ll just tell them about my own personal fun,” the platinum blonde said.
“Isn’t that my fun too?” I asked with a wry smile.
“Yeah,” Tara said with a shrug. “But I didn’t think you cared who I told that I like your cock.”
“I don’t,” I laughed. “I’m just gently reminding you to consider others when you tell people about our escapades.”
“But what’s the point of having all that fun if I can’t make anyone jealous?” the platinum blonde pouted, and we all laughed.
“How about just having the fun?” Paige chuckled.
“Yeah,” the platinum blonde said. “But when it’s that good you just wanna brag about it.”
“You are too much,” Anna laughed.
“I think I’m just enough,” Tara said, then she stuck her nose up, and crossed her arms across her chest.
“Definitely too much,” the redhead chuckled, and she rolled her eyes.
As we drove, I looked at the fields around us and the changing colored trees, but I also kept an eye out for the women we had ran into earlier. I didn’t want any surprises from them, and I wouldn’t put it past them to attempt an ambush, though they’d be stupid if they did.
We pulled up to Briar’s home, but I didn’t see him outside, so I shut the engine off and scanned the area.
“What’s wrong?” Paige asked, and her eyebrows pinched together as she looked at me.
“It’s quiet,” I said, and all the girls listened. There was no sound, and that in and of itself was an eerie sound.
“I don’t like this,” Tara piped up, breaking the quiet.
“Neither do I,” I said, and I opened my door.
“Where’s Briar?” Anna asked, “I figured he would meet us out here.”
“Briar!” I yelled, but I got no response.
“It’s us!” Anna added, but still nothing.
“The house,” I said hurriedly, and I pointed to the door. “Go, now!”
The girls rushed to the front door, they had their pistols out by the time we got there, then they flanked on each side of the door, and I came up the middle and kicked it open. The girls came in hot on either side of me, and we cleared the front hallway.
“In here,” I heard a small voice call out, followed by a coughing fit.
The girls and I kept our side arms raised, and I slowly walked into the living room where the voice had come from. As I rounded the corner I saw Briar sitting on the floor leaning against the couch with blood around him.
“Shit,” Paige breathed, and she holstered her weapon and rushed to the old farmer.
“Is anyone still here?” I asked.
“No.” The man shook his head. “They’re gone.”
I did one more glance around then I lowered my weapon.
“Who did this to you?” Anna asked as she rushed over to crouch down by Paige, who was poking and prodding at the old man.
“Some women,” Briar coughed.
“No talking for a minute,” Paige ordered, then she looked to Briar as she pushed on his stomach. “Nod if this hurts.”
The brunette poked and prodded him for a moment, then she stood up.
“I don’t think he has any internal bleeding,” she announced. “But he was beaten pretty badly, I need my kit.”
I looked to the old man, his breathing was ragged, and he leaned against the couch like he had just run an entire marathon. It angered me to see him in a similar condition to how we had first found him when we met, this old man was a grump, sure, but to beat on the elderly was something I would not tolerate from anyone.
“Briar,” I said, and I crouched down next to him. “How many women were there?”
“Four or five,” he breathed. “I’m not really sure.”
“Do you remember anything else about them?” Anna asked
, she was right by my side with her serious face on.
“One of them had a red bandana,” he said, and he turned slightly, then winced in pain. His bald head had splashes of blood on it, and his lip was busted on the side. I was confident in Paige’s ability, but I still wanted to get him to Marla to get checked out.
“Let me see him,” Paige said, and she pushed past us with the kit she had retrieved from the truck.
“I think he should go see Marla,” Tara said with a frown.
“I agree,” I said.
“That’s not necessary,” the old man said.
“I think they’re right.” Paige smiled softly at the farmer. “But for now, let me clean you up.”
“Can you tell us what happened?” I asked.
“I don’t really know.” Briar frowned as Paige cleaned his cuts with alcohol. “I was out back feeding the chickens, then all of a sudden I just got hit.”
“Hit with what?” Bailey asked with a frown.
“I’m not sure,” he said.
“A rock, it looks like,” Paige said as she inspected the back of his head.
“I went down,” Briar continued. “And when I looked back up, they were standing over me, kicking and punching.”
His story was making me seeth, and I looked around to see that Tara’s fists were clenched tight, and Anna’s jaw was set hard, Paige was busy being a good doctor, and Bailey looked like she might cry.
“How did you get them to stop?” I asked.
“I pulled out my pocket pistol,” the old man said, and he patted the front pocket of his overalls.
“What’s a pocket pistol?” Bailey asked.
Briar pulled out a Smith & Wesson model 640 revolver and handed it to the blonde.
“It’s so small,” Bailey said with surprise.
“It’s a pocket pistol,” Briar repeated. “Bought it back in the 90s.”
“It’s so cute,” Tara gushed, then she looked up to see my stern face and immediately grew red. “Sorry.”
“It is damn cute.” Briar smiled, but he winced when Paige dabbed another cut.
“They can be quite effective too,” I said with a nod. “Did you get any of them?”
“I don’t think so,” the old man sighed. “But they ran off after I shot at them.”
“Did they take anything?” Anna asked with narrowed eyes.
“I’m sure they did,” Briar said with a frown. “They ran inside after I shot at them. Who knows what all they stole.”
“You’re alive,” Paige told him. “That’s all that matters.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Briar waved a hand at her, and I was happy to see that he hadn’t lost much of his grumpiness.
“We saw the women,” I said and I saw Bailey look down out of the corner of my eye.
“No shit,” Briar said, and he clenched his jaw.
“Yeah,” Anna said. “They said they were heading south so we let them pass.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’re heading south alright.” Briar shook his head.
“We’ll take care of them,” I said in a low voice that surprised even myself. I was livid at this abuse, and those women wouldn’t get away with it. They were on foot so they couldn’t have gotten far, and I was ready to hunt them down like the animals they had proven themselves to be.
“We should really get him to Marla,” Paige said.
“Yeah.” Anna nodded. “We have a truck, we can catch up to those bitches.”
“I don’t want to go to Marla’s,” Briar said.
“Briar,” I said gently. “You need to get looked at.”
“Paige already did that,” the old man said. “But I do have a favor to ask.”
“Anything,” Bailey blurted out, and I knew she was feeling bad about what had happened with the women.
“Well, uh…” the old man started, and he reached back to rub his neck but winced when he lifted his arm. “I’d like to come to campus.”
“Of course,” Anna said. “We can have Marla look at you there.”
“No,” Briar shook his head. “I mean, I’d like to come for winter.”
“That’s not a favor,” I told him. “You were always welcome to stay with us.”
“I haven’t been a lot of help in preparing though.” The old man looked down. “And now I’m askin’ for your help.”
“You’ve been plenty of help,” I said. “And even if you hadn’t, we’d still welcome you as one of our own.”
“I’m just glad you changed your mind,” Anna muttered, then she looked at the old grump. “I’m sorry this caused it, though.”
“I appreciate that.” He nodded. “I’ll head up there tomorrow if that’s okay, I’d rather not stay here by myself.”
“Of course,” I said. “We’ll come get you tomorrow.”
“Nah.” The old man waved his hand again. “I’ll get Marla and Justin to give me a ride.”
“Okay,” Paige said. “But only if you promise to let her look at you.”
“Scouts honor,” he said, and he raised a hand like he was swearing on the bible.
“You’re all cleaned up for now,” the brunette said, and then she frowned. “Is there anything else we can do for you while we’re here?”
“I’d like my pocket pistol back,” he chuckled.
“Oh,” Bailey said, and she looked down at the Smith & Wesson she still held, then quickly set it on the coffee table. “Of course.”
“Take a couple of these,” Paige said, and she fished out some ibuprofen from her kit.
“Thanks, doc.” Briar nodded, and he popped the pills into his mouth.
“We’ll see you tomorrow then,” I said, and I looked the old man in his eyes. He had committed to the campus for winter, and I wasn’t about to let him get out of it later when he was less frightened. I was damn mad already that this shit had happened, but it damn sure wouldn’t happen again.
“I’ll be there.” He gave me a hard nod.
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll be expecting you.”
“Take it easy,” Paige ordered, and she and Anna helped him up onto the couch.
“I will,” he said, then he looked down for a second. “Thanks.”
“Of course.” The brunette smiled gently at the old man and squeezed his shoulder.
I led my group outside and walked with heavy feet to the truck. We all hopped in, and I slammed my door, started the engine, and tore down the road.
“What the fuck!” Tara exclaimed, and I looked over to see her with clenched fists. “That shit makes me so mad!”
“Why would someone hurt an old man,” Paige shook her head. “I just don’t get it.”
“They’re fucking savages,” Anna seethed.
“They won’t be for long,” I said, and I whipped the truck toward the college and the way the women had gone.
“It’s my fault,” Bailey said quietly.
“What?” Paige looked at her with wide eyes. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I shouldn’t have tried to talk to them.” The blonde hippie shook her head. “I said we should talk to them, and the whole time they had just come from Briar’s house after they beat him up.”
“Bailey,” Tara said softly, and she reached over to touch the other blonde’s arm. “It’s not your fault, those women are monsters. You couldn’t have known.”
“I underestimated them,” Bailey said. “They were women, and I underestimated them.”
“The girls are right,” I told Bailey. “You didn’t do anything wrong. None of us knew what they had done.”
“You all said you felt like there was something off, though,” she said softly. “I didn’t feel that, and if I did, I overlooked it because I felt bad for them.”
“Do you feel like you made a mistake?” Anna asked very seriously.
“Well, yeah,” Bailey said with disbelief. “I can’t believe I--”
“What do we do when we make a mistake?” Anna cut her off.
“Uh…” the blonde hippie stu
ttered, so Anna grabbed her by the chin and looked her in the eyes.
“What do we do when we make a mistake?” the redhead asked once more.
“We fix it,” Bailey said with a soft, hesitant voice.
“Once more,” Anna shook her head. “What do we do?”
“We fix it,” Bailey said, and I could hear she was more confident that time.
“One more time,” Anna said, and her voice had grown louder. “What do we do!”
“We fix it!” Bailey exclaimed, and we were all quiet for a moment so all I could hear was Bailey’s ragged breath.
“Damn,” I said and I looked over to Anna. “That was good.”
“A little trick I learned as team captain,” the redhead said with a shrug.
“Are you feeling better?” I asked, and I glanced over to Bailey.
“Yes.” The blonde gave a hard nod. “Because we’re going to fix it.”
“Yes, we are,” I said, and I pressed my foot harder on the gas.
The trees sped past us as I rallied down the road in search of these women, but after a few miles I was beginning to think maybe they had wandered off the road, and if that were the case, then there wasn’t much chance of us finding them.
I pulled the truck off to the side of the road and closed my eyes while I clenched the steering wheel tight. I was mad as hell that those women had taken advantage of an old man, they had beaten him, and for what? There were five of them, they could have easily overpowered him and taken his supplies if that was what they wanted. Why did they have to be so brutal about it?
“Is he okay?” I heard Tara whisper.
“He’s pissed,” Anna whispered back.
“Yes,” I sighed, then I opened my eyes and turned to the girls. “I am upset.”
“I think we all are,” Paige said softly.
“I know,” I said with a nod. “But we’ve gone a few miles already, I don’t think we’ll find them.”
“They could’ve cut through the woods,” Bailey said, and she pursed her lips.
“I was thinking the same thing,” I told her.
“So what do we do now?” Tara asked.
“We go home,” I said darkly. “We protect our own and make sure nothing like this happens again.”
“Okay,” Paige said, and I could tell she was trying to be easy with me.
“I know I don’t get upset very often,” I said. “At least not to this degree, but it’s alright, I don’t need you to baby me.”
