War Dogs No One Left Behind

by A J Newman

  I felt something warm hit me on the left side of my face and turned to see my dad didn’t have a face anymore. A blast of gunfire from inside the truck deafened me. I turned and saw Pat and Darla shooting back at the moonshiners. I was in shock and denial as I grabbed Dad’s pistol, opened the door, and shoved it outward. I rolled on the ground, and low crawled a few feet until I had a clear line of fire. I started shooting, and people fell. I was blind with rage and killed everything in sight. Something hit my chest like a sledgehammer and knocked me backward. I ignored the pain and charged forward. Lucky for me, there were no kids at the BBQ. I would have killed them in my blood lust.

  The shooting from the truck slacked off, and there was only a shot every now and then. The asshats thought my bullets were coming from the inside of the truck, so they concentrated their fire on the truck. By the time, the fight was over, there were fourteen men and eight women lying dead on the ground. I saw one crawling to get away and placed a well-aimed bullet in his butt. My body armor saved my life twice that day because another round struck me before I could kill the last of them.

  I walked through the dead and dying and didn’t shoot any of them to put them out of their suffering. I took their weapons and pitched them off into the weeds. The bastards had killed Zack Walker, the best man on the face of the earth and my dad. Several begged for mercy, and I kicked them in the side. I wanted to piss on them, but I heard a feeble cry for help from the ambulance.

  “Uncle Jason, help!” cried my nephew, Jerry.

  I left the slaughtered men and women and forced the back door open to reveal a grizzly sight. Darla was dead with a bullet hole above her right eye. Pat was slumped over the top of little Sally. She had a huge hole in her back where a large caliber bullet had exited. I rolled her off Sally to see something that chilled me to the bone. My niece had two bloody holes in her chest. She’d died instantly. I can’t stand to think about children being hurt in any form or fashion.

  I sat there crying with Jerry sitting in my lap. I saw Heather tending to a graze on her left arm and remembered we had to get the heck out of there before someone else came to the sound of the shooting. I gave my nephew to Heather and moved Dad’s body to the back.

  I held back the tears as my military training kicked in and told me that I had to get the rest of my people away from the carnage. Everyone within a mile had heard the gunfire. The ambulance started, and I drove through the brush back to the highway dodging trees and throwing everyone back and forth in the back.

  Heather yelled, “The radiator was shot up! The engine will seize if you keep going!”

  “Hang on! We’re getting as far from this place as we can before the engine craps out.”

  We made it several miles before the clunking started. I aimed the truck off the road and into the trees for a second time. I stopped the truck as soon as I couldn’t see the road behind us and laid my head on the steering wheel. My eyes watered as I realized that I was responsible for my dad, sister-in-law, and niece’s deaths. I was still in a daze but realized that I hadn’t seen MMax. I was in a panic. I turned and crawled into the back to find my dog with his head on Jerry’s lap. MMax was okay and trying to sooth my nephew.

  I patted MMax’s head and said, “Good boy.”

  I tried to sooth Jerry and at the same time, I patted MMax and rubbed his ears. I barely felt Heather tear my sleeve and tend to my wounded arm. I’d lost friends in battle before but had never lost someone close to me. My mind was fuzzy and my thinking cloudy when a flash of sanity happened. I had to suck it up and get my nephew and Heather home to safety. I had failed my dad, Pat, Sally, and Darla, but I would not fail these two.

  I opened the back doors to the ambulance and said. “Heather, take several of the extra 9mm pistols and ammo. Reload your magazines and prepare to leave here after I bury the others.”

  I looked my nephew in the eyes. “Jerry, life just dealt us a crap sandwich. We have to shut the tears off for a while and fight back. Help me bury my dad and your mom and sister. You’ll have to grow up much faster than any normal eleven-year-old. I need your help. Come on with me.”

  The boy wiped his eyes and followed me to the driver’s side of the ambulance where a shovel was attached to the side. I removed the shovel and started digging three graves. The boy asked, “Don’t we need four graves?”

  I choked up but said, “I’m burying your sister with your mom, so she won’t be lonely. Is that okay?”

  He said, “Yes, and please let me dig for a while.”

  While he dug, I carried the bodies to the gravesite. An hour later, they were in the ground, and we said prayers over them. Heather had packed three backpacks with food, ammunition, and survival gear. I looked at my nephew and handed him a loaded Sig 9mm saying, “I know you can shoot. I also know that I helped your dad teach you gun safety. This is your gun. Don’t draw it or point it at anyone unless you intend to kill them. Kill anyone threatening the people you love.”

  I took the time to show Jerry more about his new Sig and how to safely load and handle the weapon. Heather’s face turned red, and she dragged me off to the side. “Jason, he’s just a boy and …”

  I placed my hands on her shoulders. “Heather, Darla is dead, his grandfather is dead, his mom is dead, and his sister is dead. I want him to have a fighting chance if we run into trouble. He has to grow up and be ready to defend himself.”

  Heather avoided me as much as possible on the rest of the trip to my home.

  I looked back as MMax, and I led them away from my father’s grave. I vowed to visit it once a year and always bring Mom with me. At the time, I thought that day was the worst day of my life, and things would get better. They didn’t.

  ☆

  Chapter 21

  The Walker place, Walter Hill, Tennessee.

  The morning started before the sun came up as usual. A few birds were chirping along with the shrieks of the tree frogs. A raccoon was on top of the garbage can by the barn stymied by the tarp strap that held the lid on. A dog barked, and Kat’s eyes opened. She sniffed the air as MMax had done so many times when he’d led Jason and her to safety. The fragrance was powerful and beckoned her. Kat stumbled out of bed and walked to the kitchen in her shorts and one of Jason’s huge t-shirts that hung loosely from her slender body. “Coffee, I smell coffee. Is it someone’s birthday?”

  Jan and Michelle raised their cups. “Serve yourself, if you can open your eyes long enough,” Michelle said.

  Jan chuckled and patted Kat on the back as she passed them. “Our men should be back any day now. I feel it in my bones.”

  “It was cool last night for the first time since spring. I sure could have snuggled up to Jason to keep me warm. I miss him.”

  Jan had a thoughtful expression on her face. “My Zack keeps me warm when it’s cold outside. My feet are cold, and he lets me put them between his legs to warm them. He’d better get back before it gets cold.”

  Kat said, “Tina used to snuggle up to me at night, and now she stays in the barn with her pups. By the way, I want the one that has Tina’s body and long ears but has MMax’s colors. I know he looks a bit weird, but I fell in love with him at first sight.”

  Jan laughed. “You do know Jason owns both dogs and I guess you have a claim on Jason, so it’s us who need to ask you for a pup.”

  Kat said, “You know Jason wants you two to have any of the pups you want. I suspect that Zack will want one. Back to the cold feet discussion, I want my Jason back because a dog can warm your back, but a man can warm your soul.”

  No one said anything while Kat poured her coffee. They knew if the men didn’t come back in the next few weeks, the chances of them ever returning dropped every day afterward.

  Kat sipped her steaming cup of black coffee and sat down at the table. Jan and Michelle joined her. Kat said, “Mom, Michelle, mornings with you two are very special to me. I would probably be dead now, if it weren’t for Jason and my two special women. Living alone and having to fight ever
y day for survival is no way of life, and you can’t have a long life. Thanks for taking me into your lives.”

  Later that morning, Jan felt a cold chill run down her spine and attributed it to old age. She’d always heard old people’s blood was thin and they hated the cold. She loved snow and had even talked Zack into taking her to a fancy ski resort one winter. She looked across the front yard into the woods and hoped Zack and Jason would come down the driveway with Michael and his family. She’d watched for them every day for the past three weeks. She knew they couldn’t rush but also knew if they didn’t find their loved ones on the way up along the highway, they would never be found. Searching for them away from the road would be long and arduous. It would also expose them to dangers beyond belief. She almost wished they hadn’t left the farm.

  By late afternoon, everyone had completed their chores and went to their classes. Maria conducted a course in hand-to-hand fighting, which Jan, Michelle, and Kat attended along with five of the others. Murph led a lesson in how to move and shoot using a couple of pellet rifles. Father James turned out to be proficient with a pellet gun, but Sister Grace wouldn’t even touch a pellet rifle.

  During their break, Jan addressed the group. “I have to say I’m very impressed with our progress. As soon as Jason and my husband get back, we need to intensify our training.”

  Several folks groaned. “I know. I know, but remember we have also been very successful with our gardens and small crops. This will be the first winter since the disaster, and people will be starving. We will have to protect our farm and prevent them from taking our food.”

  Sister Grace said, “Can’t we share with them. I’d hate to think little kids would starve because we won’t share our bounty.”

  Kat stood up and spoke. “I don’t like to talk in front of a crowd, but anyone out there could have worked as hard as you did since the crap hit the fan. Most didn’t. If you start giving food away, others will hear about it and soon this place will be overrun by starving people, drug addicts, and thugs. The farm will be ruined, and we will be dead or driven from this place of refuge. Jan owns this place. She has been very Christian like in bringing in as many people as she has. Most people wouldn’t have done as much.”

  Kat sat down, and there was silence. Jan walked over to Kat and patted her on the back. “I’m sorry, but Kat is right. We’re helping all of the people we can now. Zack and I plan to add Michael and his family plus two more families during the next year. We will expand the farm out to include any abandoned property, but the larger we grow, the larger the target we become. Never, ever, mention our farm to outsiders. We can’t help anyone if this is taken from us.”

  ***

  Ray saw them having their meeting and put the first step of his plan in motion. He knew that damned dog was in the barn and he wanted the dog to chase him, so he made sure he approached with the wind blowing upwind from him to the barn. He stopped several times along the way to listen for barking. He didn’t want the dog to catch him by surprise and have to fight it off. He stopped about a hundred yards away so he could stay ahead of the vicious mutt. He was about to give up when he saw the barn door open slightly and heard the dog barking. He took off, running for his blind.

  He arrived at his tree stand a couple of minutes before the dog burst through the tall grass. He was ready and raised his compound bow. He drew the bow back and took aim. The dog was only thirty feet away, and the arrow’s flight was accurate. The arrow pierced the dog below the front shoulder and through the lungs. Tina looked up at the man and growled. His was the last face she ever saw.

  Ray laughed as the liver and white Springer Spaniel writhed in pain before becoming lifeless. He picked the dog’s carcass up in his arms and carried it away from the cabin down below. He saw some thick brush and hid it. He walked away thinking about the next phase of his plan. Now, he could sneak up on the others without that pesky dog biting at him and alerting the others.

  ***

  The morning was colder than expected, and I missed Kat lying next to me. MMax was warm against my side, but it wasn’t the same. I rolled over, and MMax laid his muzzle on my chest. I scratched his ears and behind his head. I wrapped my arm around his neck and gave him a gentle hug. He pulled his head out of my grasp as if to say, “Don’t get too emotional with me.” I couldn’t help it because I loved my dog as much as most people loved their kids.

  The sun was barely showing above the tree line, and I rose from my pile of leaves even though my feet and legs still hurt from two days of walking. I was in great physical shape, though I was an emotional wreck. MMax stood beside me for a second then ran over to a tree to do his part in watering the vegetation. I said, “MMax, watch them,” and walked into the brush to perform my morning ritual.

  The air was thick with a dense fog, since the ground was much warmer than the air around Percy Priest Lake. Without the fake hazmat truck, we couldn’t drive down the road as if we owned it. I decided to head east, which would allow us to walk the back streets through LaVergne and Smyrna to my folk’s home.

  I stood there looking down at Jerry and Heather as I yawned and stretched. The one thing I liked about the apocalypse was there was silence. Well, I loved the absence of machinery and human noise. It wasn’t silent at all, if you listened. A whippoorwill belted out a tune over by the lake accompanied by tree frogs. A couple of crickets chirped down by the creek, and an owl hooted somewhere in the distance. The sounds almost took my mind off the deaths of my family and a new friend. The thoughts pissed me off, and I yelled for the others to get up and prepare to leave.

  Later that day, Heather and Jerry were tired. “Jason, Jerry, and I are exhausted. I know we’re only four or five miles from your place, but we can’t walk any further. We’ve been walking since five o’clock, and it’s now three. We’re not soldiers,” Heather said, and then she plopped down on the side of the road. Jerry joined her and then both looked up at me with dirty faces.

  “Look, the longer it takes to walk home, the more we’re exposed to danger. I can’t lose any more of my friends and loved ones.”

  Heather said, “Jason, we get it. We do, but we’re exhausted and need to rest. If you go on, we’re staying here until the morning. Let’s get up early and head to your place.”

  “Okay, I know when to retreat. Let me go check out that building over there and see if we can stay there for the night. It looks like rain clouds are blowing in on us.”

  Jerry said, “Thanks, Uncle Jason. I’m worn out.”

  I told them to hide in the bushes while I checked out the building. I walked around the perimeter of the structure and found it to be an older cinder block building with a huge pole barn added to the back. The front of the building had a brick façade and a fancy sign that said “VFW and Post 1234.”

  I didn’t see anyone around, so I peeked into several of the windows. One in the back was already broken. The front part of the building was a bar and meeting place for veterans and their guests. I tried the door and found it was locked. This surprised me because most buildings had been ransacked by now. I tried the other doors and found the other two locked as well. That left only one thing to do.

  I went to the window in the back and caught a whiff of a rotten odor. Then I reached in and raised the window, so I could get in without being cut. The familiar stench of rotting bodies hit me hard. I backed up and tried not to puke my dang guts out. I pulled out a handkerchief, wet it from my water bottle, and tied it over my mouth and nose. The stink was horrible but bearable to me.

  I pulled myself through the window and raised the blinds on the other windows to reveal a mass murder. Men, women, and children were strewn around the room. There were no signs of foul play except the dried white froth on their mouths. I was sure the glasses on the table contained cyanide. I guessed they couldn’t face the apocalypse and tricked the kids into drinking the poison first, and then committed mass suicide.

  I left the large room containing over fifty bodies and now knew why n
o one had tried to enter the building. They’d all looked through the broken window and gagged. I had the misfortune to have been around death and dying for over four years. I was used to the stench of a bloated, rotten body.

  I explored the rest of the building and only found a few pistols, a bottle of whiskey, and some candy bars. I walked out the front door and saw a small pavilion that overlooked Percy Priest Lake. From there, I saw a couple of houseboats floating in a cove. I checked them out and found them deserted. We could spend the night there.

  ***

  The sun had set below the trees, and several of the team sat on the deck with Jan, Michelle, and Kat. The ladies reminisced about the days before the grid went down and what they missed the most. Maria and Pete walked up to them. “Karen, get your partner and take your turn. Hey, has anyone seen Tina? I saw one of the puppies wandering out behind the barn.”

  Karen responded, “I’ll get Murph and be ready in five minutes. We’ll keep an eye out for Tina while we make our rounds. She probably went rabbit hunting.”

  Kat was mad at herself for not noticing Tina was missing. “Jan, please look after the puppies, and Billie and I will go look for Tina. Karen is probably right about Tina going rabbit hunting, but I have a creepy feeling that someone has been watching us for quite a while. Tina looks into the woods and barks but never wants to leave her pups.”

  Karen fetched her rifle and joined Murph as they took their turn walking the perimeter of the farm while Father James and Sister Grace watched over the house and barn. Karen heard something rustle in the bushes. “Murph, I think a deer just ran into the brush over there. Let’s check it out.”

  Murph’s training kicked in, and he said, “Not so fast. I’ve seen the enemy make a noise just to lure us into an ambush. Let’s take our time and keep an eye out for strangers. I’ll take the point, and you watch our rear and the left. I’ll take the right side. Let’s go.”