by Eric Vall
“What?” Tara asked. “You don’t like that one?”
“How about, to us?” Paige said.
“I can deal with that,” Tara said with a shrug, then she held up her glass, and we all touched ours to hers. “To us, to all of us.”
“I really am proud of all of you,” I said after we had taken our ceremonial drink.
“We know,” Bailey said, and she smiled at me.
“How about some dinner?” Tara asked.
“Yes please.” Paige grinned.
“I’m starved,” Anna said.
“I brought the propane stove up here,” Rolly said, and he gestured to the corner of the roof. “It’s a nice night, we could have dinner up here.”
“You’ve been up here all day, Rolly,” Bailey said with a frown. “Are you sure you want to stay up here? We can go downstairs?”
“Nah,” Rolly chuckled, and he waved his hand at her. “The stars are beautiful tonight, it’d be a shame to miss them.”
“Yes, it would,” I said, and I grinned at the old man.
“Let’s play rummy!” Paige said excitedly.
“You’ll have to teach me,” Bailey said.
“It’s easy,” I told her with a wink.
“Get ready to get your ass kicked,” Tara said with a grin as she retrieved the propane stove.
“Bring it on,” Paige chuckled.
“Okay,” Anna said, and threw her hands down as if she had been waiting forever for something. “I have to ask, how did it feel to stab that guy in the dick?”
“It was awesome,” Tara answered with a grin.
“Should I be concerned here?” I asked with a raised brow.
“No,” Paige said, and she shook her head. “I was curious too, honestly.”
“You were?” I chuckled.
“Well yeah,” Paige said with a shrug. “We’ve all been stepped on by guys at one point or another, so the thought of stabbing them in the dick has crossed all our minds at one point.”
“Bailey?” I asked. “Is this true?”
“Uh,” the blonde blushed, and looked down. “I plead the fifth.”
“So that’s a yes,” I laughed, then I looked at Tara. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself today.”
“Oh, I did,” the platinum blonde said, then she turned to the other girls. “You guys have to try it when it you get a chance.”
“Let’s make a deal,” I said. “We’ll only stab really bad guys in the dick.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Paige chuckled.
“What about shooting them in the dick?” Bailey asked quietly, and we all laughed.
My team had kicked some serious ass, and they deserved a nice night with some drinks, laughs, good food, and a few games of rummy. I looked around at each of their faces, and I was more proud than ever of their tenacity and bravery. I was even prouder to be able to call them my own, these fierce women were mine, and I was theirs. That alone was something to celebrate.
Chapter 13
I was on the last guard duty of the night, so I stood on the roof and watched as the sun just barely broke the horizon. I figured it was time to wake up the girls, but I waited just one more moment in the quiet of the morning.
The air was crisp and smelled damp from the morning dew, and the birds in the trees around us had just woken and began to chirp happily. The moon was still high in the sky, waiting for the sun to replace it, and the horizon was lit with the beautiful oranges, pinks, and blues of the new day. I smiled as I took in the beauty of my home.
Even before the world changed, I liked early mornings. There was something about the calm before a new day that made me feel at ease.
I turned to head inside and wake the girls and Rolly, but then I saw the propane stove on the corner of the roof and figured that making them a nice breakfast would go over well, so I snuck down to the gym and brought up some supplies to get things going. I even brought up some coffee grounds, though I didn’t dare try to prepare them. I’d wait for Rolly to get up.
I started up the small stove and tossed some venison on to fry up. The smell made my mouth water, and I realized how hungry I was.
“Good morning,” Rolly greeted me as he made his way out onto the roof and took a seat across from me.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Fixing breakfast?” he asked. “It smells good.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Would you mind making the coffee? I brought all the stuff for it up, but I know Tara will kill me if I try to make it.”
“You got it, boss,” the old man chuckled, and he reached for the pot.
“Thanks.” I grinned.
“You all going to head back to the woods today and see what all those people had?” Rolly asked as he got the water boiling for coffee.
“That’s the plan,” I said with a nod. “Would you like to go?”
“Oh, no,” the old man said, and he waved a hand at me. “You all go, you earned it. Winchester and I will stay here on guard duty.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “You’ve been left on guard duty a lot lately, I don’t want you to feel left out.”
“You know,” Rolly said with a sigh. “When all this started I tried to protect the girls. Of course, Anna helped a lot, and I tried to let her take the lead, but I did my best to look after them.”
“They know that,” I said with a soft smile.
“I know,” the old man said, and he smiled back at me. “But now that we have you, I don’t have to worry about them as much. And these old bones aren’t what they used to be. What I’m getting at is that I don’t mind staying here on guard duty, it’s nice to have a bit of a rest sometimes.”
“You’ve definitely earned it,” I told him. “You’ve done a lot for everybody.”
“Thanks,” Rolly said, and he dumped the coffee grounds into the boiling water.
“Oooh, is Rolly making coffee?” Tara asked as she walked out onto the roof with the other girls.
“Hey, boy,” Rolly chuckled as Winchester ran over to greet him with morning kisses.
“Yes,” I answered Tara’s question. “Rolly is making coffee because I was afraid of getting stabbed in the dick if I tried.”
“That is a rational fear,” Tara said, and she took a seat next to me.
“Breakfast smells good,” Paige said.
“Thanks,” I said.
“So we’re going to go back to the hillbillies’ place today, right?” Bailey asked.
“That’s the plan,” I said.
“I’m excited to see what all they have up there.” Paige grinned.
“Me too,” Anna said softly, and I could tell that she was still upset about the mistake she had made yesterday.
“I think that guy in the tower had a working CD player,” Tara said. “That would be amazing.”
“Oh my God,” Paige groaned. “I can’t even think about having music back.”
“I’m more interested in the generators,” I said. “I wonder how they got them to work.”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Rolly said.
“Did you bring up any breakfast for Winchester?” Bailey asked.
“Yeah,” I said, and I smiled at the pretty blonde and handed her the deer leg bone with meat that I had brought up for him.
“Perfect,” Bailey said, and she took the bone and made Winchester sit before she gave him his breakfast.
“Do you think we can get those generators up here?” Anna asked.
“Yeah,” Paige said, and her eyebrows pulled together. “How are we going to get a vehicle out there through the woods?”
“They have to have a driveway of some sort,” I said, and I tried to think of if I had seen one the day before. The girls were right, we would need a truck to haul anything out of there.
“I bet Betty knows,” Rolly said. “It might be a bit grown over by now, but I’m sure she could tell you how to get up the mountain.”
“Good idea,” I said, and I clapped Rolly on the shoulder. “We
’ll swing by and ask her before we leave.”
I finished cooking us breakfast as the girls chatted about what treasures they hoped to find at the hillbilly compound, then I headed out with Anna to check the traps for the day.
“Hey,” I said as we walked, and I gave her a small smile.
“Hey,” Anna said back, but she was being far more distant than usual, and her eyes were fixed to the ground.
“It’s okay to be upset,” I said.
“I know,” the redhead sighed. “I just feel bad. You were right, I didn’t think about my team yesterday.”
“I won’t say that’s okay,” I said. “But I will say again that I don’t think you’ll make that mistake twice.”
“Definitely not,” Anna said with a fervent shake of her head.
“You’re still my major,” I told her with a grin. “We all make mistakes, but it's owning up to them that matters.”
“Okay,” the redhead said, and she gave me a small smile. “I really am sorry.”
“I know,” I told her, and I pulled her against me for a hug.
“Alright,” Anna chuckled after I had held her for a moment, and when she pulled back, I saw her wipe tears from her eyes. “Let’s go check these damn traps.”
I knew that being second in command meant everything to Anna, and I wouldn’t let her ruin all that she had accomplished over one mistake. She was a good leader, one instance didn’t change that, and I didn’t want it to alter her view of herself either. She was still a warrior, she just had more to learn before she could be the captain.
Anna and I found one rabbit in our traps, and three fish, so we brought them back to campus, prepared them, and then put them in the smoker.
“You all about to head out?” Rolly asked as I came out onto the roof.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “The girls got the horses and chickens fed, and the traps are checked, but we put a rabbit and a few fish in the smoker, so if you could keep an eye on it today that would be great.”
“Of course,” the old man said.
“Is someone coming up the drive?” I asked, and I cocked my head to listen, I was sure I heard a vehicle.
“Yeah,” Rolly said with a nod. “I saw them on the road below, it’s one of ours.”
“I think it’s Betty,” I said as her military truck came into view.
“Really?” Rolly asked, and he looked closer at the truck.
Just then Betty waved out the window, and the girls and Winchester ran over to greet her.
“How do I look?” Rolly asked, and he smoothed his shirt.
“You look great,” I chuckled. “I forgot she had said she wanted to see you today.”
“Maybe she’ll spend the day with me,” the old man gushed.
“Well, let’s go see,” I laughed, and I headed downstairs.
Betty stood with the girls chatting as I walked over to her vehicle.
“Hey, Betty,” I said as I walked up with Rolly.
“Hey, Tav,” Betty said, and then she pushed past me to Rolly to give him a hug.
“What are you doing here?” the old man asked with a grin.
“I figured there was a lot going on and Tav might have forgotten to tell you I wanted to see you,” Betty said.
“Uh, you might be right about that,” I said, and I rubbed the back of my neck. “Sorry.”
“No worries,” the old woman chuckled. “If it’s okay with you, though, I’d like to spend the day with Rolly.”
“I’m on guard duty today,” Rolly said with a frown.
“I don’t mind,” Betty said, and she smiled at him. “I’d just like to spend some time with you.”
“If it’s okay with Rolly, it’s okay with me,” I said. “Just keep a lookout. We’ll try to make our trip quick so someone can take over for you.”
“Thanks,” Rolly said, and he clapped me on the shoulder.
“I do have a question,” I said to the old woman.
“Shoot,” Betty said.
“Do you know where the driveway is for the people who lived up in the woods?” I asked.
“Hmm,” Betty said, and she thought for a moment. “It’s on Canyon Road, I know that, but I’m not sure where exactly it is from there.”
“That’s good enough,” I said. “Thank you.”
“I’ll look it up on the map,” Paige said excitedly, and she headed toward the library.
“Are you all going up there to check out their supplies?” Betty asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “We’ll need to take the truck up there to get the generators and we’ve only gone through the woods so we need to figure out how to get up there.”
“I’m sure Paige can handle that,” Rolly said. “She’s an excellent navigator.”
“That she is.” I smiled at the old man, and then I smiled even harder at the sight of Rolly and Betty together.
“Why are you looking at us like that?” Betty asked, and she took her hand off Rolly’s neck.
“Oh,” I chuckled. “You two are just a cute couple.”
“Totally cute,” Tara said, and she grinned at them.
“Well, thank you,” Betty laughed.
“I got it!” Paige yelled as she came running out of the library.
“Looks like it’s time to go then,” Anna said.
“Looks like it,” I said, then I turned to Betty and Rolly. “You two good here with Winchester?”
“Of course,” Betty said. “We’ll keep a good lookout.”
“I appreciate it.” I smiled, then I turned to the girls. “Let’s go.”
The girls and I hopped in the truck while Betty, Rolly, and Winchester headed inside.
“You sure you know where we’re going?” I asked Paige, and I turned the truck on.
“Positive.” The brunette grinned.
“Alright,” I said, and I took off down the driveway.
Paige gave me directions that led us past the farmers’ houses and to a dirt road where I turned right. The road was surrounded by fields, and the morning sun was bright in the sky as the dust from the road blew behind us. It was an oddly beautiful path considering the place it led to, and I savored in the warmth of the sun as it shone through the window.
We soon came to a large hill, and at the top the demeanor of our path changed. We entered the woods, and the sun disappeared under a canopy of trees above us.
“This got weird fast,” Tara said.
“Yeah,” Anna said. “This is definitely scary movie material.”
“Haven’t we had enough of that lately?” Bailey chuckled.
Somehow the woods around us seemed damp and cold, and moss grew on the trees around us.
“Tav, can we, like, speed up?” Tara asked.
“Not really,” I said. “The road is really uneven up here.”
“Yeah,” Paige said, and she pointed ahead. “Don’t you see these giant holes?”
“Yeah,” Tara said. “But this place is giving me the willies.”
“Double willies,” Bailey said, and she shivered a bit.
“We aren’t too far away,” Paige said. “Just bear with me.”
“Does this road lead right up to the hideout?” I asked.
“Near in a mile or so you’ll bear right,” the brunette said.
“Okay.” I nodded, and I kept going on the uneven road. It was like a little roller coaster the way the road dipped up and down, and it almost made me nauseous.
“Right here,” Paige said, and she pointed to where the road forked ahead.
I took the road to the right, and the trees got even more dense. The road was overrun with weeds, but it was still visible enough to see.
“Jeez,” Bailey said. “It makes me wonder where that other road leads.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “There could be more people living up here.”
“God I hope not,” Tara groaned. “One group of crazy inbred hillbillies is enough for me.”
“I think it’s enough for everybody,” I chuckled. “But
we need to be careful still.”
“Let’s just get the stuff from this place and go home,” the platinum blonde said. “This place is creepy as hell.”
“Is that it up there?” I asked, and I pointed to a break in the trees where some sunlight was shining through.
“It should be,” Paige said with a nod.
“Okay,” I said, and I pulled the truck to the side of the road. “Let’s make sure.”
“Good plan,” the brunette said. “I’m sure this is it, but I don’t want to risk it.”
“Good thinking,” I said, and I winked at Paige. “Let’s clear this place.”
The girls and I hopped out of the truck and headed toward where the tree break was with our pistols raised.
As soon as we broke through the trees I recognized the area, this was definitely the place we had attacked yesterday, but we cleared the area just in case there was somebody else we had missed the day before.
“There’s nobody here except the dead guys from yesterday,” Tara said, and she kicked at one of the bodies on the ground.
“Alright,” I said, and I holstered my side arm. “Start looking around, I’ll pull the truck up.”
As I walked back to where I had parked the truck I thought about the other road around here and who might live up there. We really would have to be careful, this couldn’t be the only crazy inbred family around here, and if there were more, we might have just pissed them off by killing off their cousins.
“Tav!” Tara yelled as I parked the truck. “You gotta come look at this!”
“Where are you?” I asked, and I looked around, but I didn’t see any of the girls.
“We’re in the house!” she called out, so I headed inside.
The place had the same musk as the day before, but somehow it had gotten worse, and I about gagged as I entered.
“What is it?” I asked when I saw the girls crowded around something.
“It’s a photo album,” Paige said, and she turned to look at me with wide eyes.
“A photo album?” I asked, and I looked over the girls’ heads to see an old album splayed out on the coffee table.
The pages were filled with the ugliest, creepiest baby pictures I had ever seen. The children in the photos looked deformed, with strange proportions and blank stares. The parents were obviously related, and they held the babies with happy smiles of dark yellow and black teeth.
