by Eric Vall
“Okay,” the redhead agreed. “What are you going to do?”
“Right now they’re all spread out around the truck,” I said. “I’m going to lure them out, and then you all take the shot.”
“What if they try to shoot you?” Bailey asked with concern.
“They might,” I said. “But I have my vest, and I have both of you.”
“Last time we saw them it looked like they only had a shotgun,” Anna said.
“Right,” I said. “Even if they got a few more in the meantime, they’re not nearly as strapped as we are.”
“Okay,” Bailey said with a tone I had never heard from her before. “Let’s do this.”
I headed around back with the girls to make sure there was roof access, and once Bailey was up on the building, and Anna had made her way around the back, I slipped out the front door with my pistol in hand.
“Hey!” I called to the women.
“What the fuck?” I heard red bandana mutter, and she straightened up from where she was crouched trying to hotwire our truck.
“What are you doing with my truck?” I asked, but it wasn’t really a question.
“We told you we were heading south,” red bandana said, and she took a few steps toward me. “You’re in our territory now.”
“Really,” I raised my pistol at the woman. “Seems to me you’re in my territory, and you need to get the fuck away from my truck.”
“What are you gonna do about it?” another woman in the group asked.
My plan was working, they were all walking toward me and away from the vehicle. That would give my girls a clean shot, but I needed to get them a bit closer together.
“Ladies,” I said in my best condescending tone. “We all know you’re outmatched here.”
“I don’t think so,” red bandana said, and she gestured to the girl in the yellow tank top that had the shotgun around her back.
“Yeah,” yellow shirt said, and she whipped the shotgun around.
“Is that supposed to scare me?” I asked, and I kept my eye on the one woman who was straggling back by the truck.
“It should,” red bandana said, and she took a few more steps forward, and the other women followed. “Especially since you don’t have your girls here to protect you.”
“Now,” yellow shirt said. “You can hand over the keys, or you can get a slug to the face. Your choice.”
“I guess it is my choice,” I said, then I held up my fist which was the signal I had given Bailey and Anna.
Immediately a shot rang out, and before I could even blink yellow shirt‘s head exploded like a watermelon. Another followed quickly, and the other women screamed and tried to run.
I smoothly pulled out my pistol, aimed, and took down red bandana with one shot to the forehead as she tried to turn around.
“What the fuck!” one of them yelled, but before she could turn around she was taken down with a shot to the neck.
The whole thing was over quickly, and I stood looking at five dead bodies on the ground. I scanned the corpses and noticed two shots in the eye, one in the throat, and another two in the chest.
“Good work ladies,” I called out, and Anna came running around the corner to me.
“What the fuck,” Anna breathed. “I don’t think I got a single shot in.”
“What?” I asked. “Were those all Bailey?”
“Yeah,” Anna said. “I think she was really pissed about the other day.”
“I thought I heard your gun too,” I said.
“I let off a round, but it missed, and the chick went down right after,” Anna said as she scanned the bodies. “They were all down before I could even line up another shot.”
“I only got one,” I chuckled.
“Whoo!” I heard Bailey yell, and I turned around to see her climbing down from the roof of the general store.
“Bailey,” I chuckled. “Anna said you didn’t let her get a shot in.”
“Oh,” the blonde breathed as she stopped by us. “Shit. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Anna said with wide eyes. “That’s fucking impressive.”
“I agree,” I said with a nod. “But why the chest shots?”
“I figured a couple of them deserved to suffer for a second,” the blonde said with a shrug.
“Bailey!” Anna exclaimed. “You’re a badass.”
“I thought I was already a badass,” Bailey said, and her blonde brows pinched together.
“You were,” Anna agreed. “But this is like a whole new level of badassery.”
“It was nothing, really.” The blonde blushed.
“Even I find this impressive,” I chuckled.
“Do you feel better?” Anna asked with a wry smile.
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “I was really pissed.”
“That’s what I figured,” the redhead laughed. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
“I would never shoot you,” Bailey said with wide eyes, offended that Anna might even think that.
“No,” I chuckled. “But you could if you wanted to.”
“Well, yeah,” the blonde said. “But so could any of us.”
“No no no,” Anna shook her head, and she pointed to the bodies. “You’re the only one who could do that.”
We cleaned up the bodies and threw them into a nearby field, but we didn’t bother to burn them. Then we filled the truck and trailer with feed from the general store and poked around the other buildings. There wasn’t much to find, but we were able to get some condiments and sodas from the restaurant, and some liquor from the liquor store, and I stopped by the post office and grabbed a few notebooks and pens.
“I’d say that was a successful run,” I said once we were back in the truck.
“I’d say so,” Anna chuckled. “I can’t wait to tell the girls about what Bailey did today.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Bailey said, but she blushed once more. “I just thought about what they did to Briar and I was so mad, I didn’t even think about aiming, I just started shooting as soon as Tav put up the signal.”
“I’m glad you waited for it,” I laughed. “Sounds like you were in rage mode.”
“Is that a real thing?” the blonde asked.
“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “It’s like when you get so angry that everything goes red, you can’t think, you just attack.”
“That’s what it felt like.” Bailey shook her head. “I don’t think I liked it.”
“That sounds like what happens when people find their partner in bed with someone else,” Anna said. “And they shoot them and then they don’t remember doing it.”
“It’s kind of like that,” I laughed.
“Geez.” Bailey looked at the redhead with wide eyes.
“What?” Anna said. “You never watched True Crime documentaries on TV?”
“No,” Bailey said with a shake of her head.
“Oh, man,” Anna chuckled. “You missed out. They were so good.”
“They sound really fucked up,” Bailey said.
“Oh, they totally were,” the redhead laughed. “But that was the fun of it.”
“How is that fun?” I asked with amusement.
“You watch it and feel better about your own life not being so fucked up,” Anna said with a shrug.
“So you just watch it to judge people?” Bailey asked with a raised brow.
“Kinda,” Anna said with a nod. “But sometimes you think, like, I’d have killed somebody too over that.”
“Remind me not to make you mad,” Bailey chuckled.
“Fair point,” the redhead laughed. “I do like some pretty weird shit.”
“Hey,” Bailey said once we were almost back to campus. “Should we swing by the Millers and ask about Briar?”
“Good idea.” I nodded and I kept going past the turn to the campus.
“I hope he didn’t change his mind,” Anna said with a frown.
“I already decided I wouldn’t let that happen,” I
chuckled. “That old grump is coming to the campus whether he likes it or not.”
I pulled into Marla and Justin’s driveway and tried to keep a slow pace so nothing got too rattled in the back of the truck.
Once we were far enough up the driveway, Anna stuck her head out and shouted to the civilians so nobody was alarmed.
“Hey,” Justin said after I parked the vehicle. “I thought it was Betty and them who was gonna help us herd today.”
“They are,” I said with a nod. “We just came back from a run, and we wanted to check up on Briar.”
“He’s at his house,” Marla said with a frown. “Isn’t he?”
“He never came over?” Anna asked.
“No.” Justin shook his head. “What happened?”
“He got beat up,” Bailey said in a soft voice.
“What?” Marla looked alarmed. “Is he okay?”
“He’s alright,” I said with a nod. “We got there shortly after, and the women who did it have been dealt with.”
“Women?” Justin asked with wide eyes. “I wouldn’t expect that from females.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Some Canadian women.”
“Briar said he wanted to come to the campus for winter,” Anna said.
“Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “He was going to come over here and get a ride from you guys.”
“We haven’t seen him,” Justin said.
“We were thinking he might have changed his mind.” I pursed my lips.
“He couldn't have been happy about being attacked by women,” Marla said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he felt embarrassed.”
“How can we help?” Justin asked.
“We’ll go check on him,” I said. “No need to worry yourselves, you have plenty to do today.”
“Okay.” Marla nodded, but she was still frowning. “Please let us know that he’s safe.”
“We will,” Anna said.
“I told the girls he’s coming to the campus one way or another,” I said. “I can’t have him getting hurt again.”
“It does seem that he’s quite the target being there alone,” Marla said with a nod. “First the Guard, and now this.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “So even if he’s changed his mind we’ll figure out a way to get him up there.”
“We’ll help if you need it,” Justin said. “He’s a stubborn one.”
“That he is,” I laughed. “Let us know if y’all need any help herding. We’re gonna head over to Briar’s.”
“Okay,” Marla said. “Remember to let us know you have him home safe.”
“Will do.” I smiled, and the girls and I hopped back in the truck and headed back down the drive.
“I can’t believe he would do this,” Anna said as we drove.
“I can,” I said. “Marla’s right, he’s probably embarrassed.”
“Yeah,” the redhead said. “But we would never make him feel bad about what happened.”
“We wouldn’t have to,” Bailey said. “He probably feels bad for his own reasons.”
“I get that,” Anna said. “But I’m mad that he didn’t show up and just didn’t tell anybody. I worry about the old grump.”
“We all do,” I said. “But we’ll bring him back with us today.”
“Alright.” Anna frowned, and she looked out the window as I made the turn up the old farmer’s driveway.
“What the hell,” I said as I pulled up by the house and saw the front door wide open.
“That can’t be good,” Anna said with a hard tone.
“It’s not,” I agreed. “Anna left, Bailey right.”
The girls didn’t hesitate, they hopped out of the truck and followed me to the front door with their pistols at the ready. We cleared the entrance, then the kitchen, living room, and the bedrooms, but there was no sign of Briar. The house was in total disarray, books had been thrown off the shelves, the mattress in one of the rooms had been pushed off its frame, drawers all over were pulled open, and I didn’t see an ounce of canned goods anywhere.
“This place looks like a tornado hit it.” Bailey frowned as she looked around at the papers, clothes, and tools that littered the floor.
“Let’s check the back,” I said, and I led my girls toward the back door that was in the kitchen.
I went down the middle toward the garden, and Bailey hooked to my right toward some trees while Anna flanked left toward the barn.
“I got blood,” Anna hollered from her position on my left, and I ran over to take a look.
“Fuck,” I said as I stared at the small pool of deep red on the gravel, then I pointed ahead. “Those are wheelbarrow tracks.”
“And footprints,” Bailey said, and she pointed around the area.
“Are they the same footprints from by the campus?” Anna asked with wide eyes.
“Without them side by side I can’t say for sure,” I said and I leaned down to inspect the prints. “But it looks like they are. But there’s not just one set, there’s two.”
“What the fuck is going on,” Anna whispered as she leaned down once more to inspect the scene.
“They took him,” Bailey seethed.
“It appears so.” I nodded, and I scanned the area looking for any other signs of who might’ve done this.
“Why?” Bailey asked, dumbfounded. “I mean, he’s just an old man. I could see robbing him, but who would want to take him?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “It would’ve been easier to just kill him.”
“What?” Bailey asked with wide eyes.
“He’s right,” Anna said. “They have to have a reason to keep him alive.”
“Right,” I said. “If this was a simple burglary, then there would be no need for a hostage.”
“I don’t think they want him,” Anna said seriously. “They’ve been watching us. I think we’re the real targets.”
What Anna said made sense, and it sent a cold shiver up my spine. I was used to dealing with cunning enemies, but whoever this was, they were sneakier than the asshole’s I had gotten used to dealing with, though I couldn’t be sure of what their motives might be.
Everyone else we’d dealt with so far had a simple motive, be the boss of the area, get more supplies, etc.. But not whoever this was. What possible reason could they have for taking an old man? If we were the targets, why didn’t they attack the campus?
“Come on,” I said and I started into the woods and followed the wheelbarrow tracks.
“Should we go get Paige and Tara?” Bailey asked as she ran behind me.
“No,” I said sternly. “We don’t have time.”
“We don’t know when they took him,” Anna said. “But that blood looked fairly old.”
“They could’ve killed him by now,” I said. “We need to find them, and fast.”
“I thought you said they took him hostage,” Bailey said with alarm in her voice.
“They did,” I said. “But if he couldn’t give them what they want, then they’ll have no use for him.”
“Well, what the fuck do they want?” Anna breathed.
“I don’t know,” I said with a low voice. “But we’re about to find out.”
I carefully followed the tracks that led through the woods, and my girls were right behind me. I wished that Winchester was with us, he was a good tracker, and it would make my job easier, but for the time being we had to make due. I couldn’t let Briar get injured, or worse, killed, on my watch. That had already happened one too many times.
The footprints and tracks led up the mountain to an area I knew we hadn’t explored yet, so I had no idea what was in store for us, but we needed to be on guard.
“Have your weapons ready,” I told the girls, and I looked back to see that they already had their pistols in hand.
“We’re on it,” Anna said with a hard nod.
“You see anybody, let me know immediately,” I ordered.
“Okay,” Bailey said, and she scanned the area with her eyes, but k
ept following me.
As we walked, I grew angrier and angrier. Who the hell would do this? Were those stories Rolly had heard about the hillbillies in the woods true? And if so, what did they want with Briar? What did they want with us? We had a good setup, but there were a lot of us, and it didn’t seem wise to try to attack us. That was probably why they went after Briar, he was technically our weakest link being at his place all alone. Still though, did they want us to surrender our camp to them? Did they just want our supplies? None of it made sense.
Whatever it was that they were after, they had fucked with the wrong group of people.
Chapter 7
We had been walking for about half an hour when we ran across our first booby trap. It was a fishing line strewn low to the ground, so I held up my hand for the girls to stop behind me.
“What is it?” Anna whispered.
“It’s a trap,” I said.
“Is that wire on the ground?” Bailey asked.
“It’s fishing line,” I answered.
“I would’ve walked right into that,” Anna said.
“That’s the point,” I said. “Fishing line is incredibly difficult to see.”
“What’s the trap though?” Bailey inquired, and I looked around the trees.
“There,” I said, and I pointed to a rock to our right that sat at an unnatural angle. “Follow me and be careful.”
I led the girls over the tripwire to the deadfall.
“Is that an airhorn?” Anna asked with wide eyes as she took in the well-made trap.
“Yes,” I said roughly.
“So if someone pulls on the wire it causes the stick that holds up the rock to move,” Bailey explained.
“And the rock lands on the air horn,” Anna added.
“Yes,” I agreed. “And then the whole neighborhood knows you’re here.”
“What the actual fuck?” Anna asked.
“Yeah,” Bailey said with a frown. “This is getting stranger by the second.”
“I know we have spike strips and stuff,” the redhead said. “But this seems intense.”
“Whoever we’re following definitely doesn’t want anyone to know where they are,” I said.
“Do you think there are more traps like this?” Bailey asked.
“Without a doubt,” I said. “We need to watch every step we take and keep an eye out for rocks like this one.”
