by A. American
“Yeah, I can see the light,” Thad said, squinting his eyes against the dark. “What is it?”
“Looks like a little fire. But I can’t really tell.” We were sitting in the road, the truck was idling. I started to creep forward, giving the truck just enough gas to move. As we slowly got closer, I started to realize what it was. There was an overpass ahead.
“It’s an overpass over 75, but it looks like there is a roadblock on it,” I said, keeping my eyes on the light of the dancing flame. It looked like it was a burn barrel, and I saw two men on this side. Who knew how many were on the other side?
“I know where we are now. On the other side is 441. We make a left, and our house isn’t far,” Jess said.
“That’s great, but there’s a highway, and this overpass, between us and it. How the hell are we going to get around these guys?” Thad asked.
“I don’t know,” I said absentmindedly.
If we were this close to Jess’s house, we really needed to get across this bridge. I started to come up with an idea. “Let’s try this,” I said.
“Jess, you get out and walk up there. I’m going to follow you off to the side with the goggles. I’ll be close. Try and talk to them, and see if we can get through. If anything hinky happens, I’ll be right there.”
“I’m not going out there in the dark—no freakin’ way, man,” she protested.
“Look, we’re close to your house. There could be someone you know up there. If anything happens, I’ll be right there. We have to get across this. It’s our last barrier.” I was trying to reason with her.
“What about me?” Thad asked.
“You stay with the truck. If it’s clear I’ll flash my light at you three times, then you can bring the truck up.” This could work, depending on what happened on the bridge.
“I don’t want to, and I’m telling you now this isn’t going to go well,” Jess complained.
“Fine; let me out,” Jess said, so Thad opened his door and got out. Jess followed him. I got out of my side and took the carbine with me. Thad got in the driver’s side, and Jess and I started down the road.
“You better be right behind me,” Jess said with an edge to her voice.
“I’ll be right behind you, just don’t be looking back, and call out to them as you get close. You don’t want them to think you’re sneaking up on them. If there is any shooting, hit the ground.” I moved farther off the edge of the road, trying to stay in shadows as best as I could. Trying to move with some stealth, Jess got out ahead of me, not far, but there was now enough distance that it offered me a little protection from being sighted.
When Jess was about thirty or forty yards from the roadblock, she called out to them. I immediately took a knee behind a clump of wild grapevines.
“Hello!”
The three men at the roadblock instantly jumped, grabbing up their rifles. I don’t know where that third one had been, but we were pretty far away when I first saw them. What I hadn’t expected was the damn spotlight they turned on. It instantly caused the goggles to shut down. Moving very slowly, I took them off and laid them at my feet and readied my rifle, turning the safety off.
“Who’s there?” a voice called out.
“It’s just me. Can I come closer?” Jess was shading her eyes with her hand from the intense light.
“Are you alone? Who are you?” The voice from behind the light came again.
“Yes, I’m alone. Can I come up?”
“Come on up,” the spotlight said again. I heard the three men talking but couldn’t really understand them. From my position I saw one of them run down the embankment of the overpass to the left, opposite my side of the road. Jess was walking up with her hand still over her eyes.
“That’s far enough. Raise your jacket and turn around,” the spotlight said. Jess lifted her jacket and did a little circle.
“Is that a gun?” the voice called out.
“Of course it is. Who in the hell would be out without one?” she answered. They saw her pistol that she had stuck in her back pocket.
“You just keep your hands where we can see ’em and stay there. Mark, go out there and check her out. See what she wants.” The man that had run down the embankment came out from the brush at the side of the road. He held a shotgun at waist level and walked out to her. As he got closer, he lowered his weapon and rushed forward. Jess turned toward him and wrapped her arms around him, and he, his free arm around her. They stood there for a moment in an embrace before they released one another and began to ask rapid questions of each other. After a moment of animated talk, Jess turned and called out, “Morgan, come over here!” I walked out from behind the clump of vines I was hiding behind, slung my rifle, and walked over to them.
“Morgan, this is my brother, Mark!” she said in an animated tone. “Mark, this is Morgan. He helped me get home.” The young man stuck out his hand, and I shook it.
“Nice to meet you. You guys had us worried,” I said.
“Well, to be honest, you scared the shit out of me. I didn’t even see you,” he replied.
I pulled the flashlight from my cargo pocket, pointed it down the road and flashed it three times. The headlights on the truck came on, and it started to move forward. Mark looked down the road. “There’s more of you?”
“Yeah, that’s Thad. He helped too,” Jess said. She was holding her older brother’s hand and bouncing on the balls of her feet. Thad pulled up and climbed out of the truck. Mark’s eyes got wide. “Damn, you’re a big dude!”
“So I’ve been told. Thad.” He stuck his huge hand out, and Mark’s hand disappeared into it as they shook.
“Looks like you had plenty of help to get back,” Mark said to his sister. “I hope she wasn’t too much trouble for you guys.”
Thad looked at me and started to laugh. “You have no idea,” I slowly replied.
Chapter 6
We were escorted across the bridge over I-75. There was a roadblock on the other side with a couple more guys there. This was a real ad hoc affair with no clear picture of what they were actually up to. I hopped into the back of the truck and let Mark and Jess ride up front, with Thad driving. We turned north off the little road not far from the overpass. Apparently, though, this wasn’t Jess’s house. We pulled off into a nice little hammock of oaks. There were a couple of houses under here and what looked like a damn campground. The truck pulling in brought some people running up and others fleeing in the opposite direction.
Jess and her brother got out. He was talking to a few people in the crowd. Jess looked a little confused. “What are we doing here?” she asked as she climbed out.
“We had to move here. It wasn’t safe at our house. There are some bad dudes running around,” Mark replied. About that time, an older man came running up, and Jess threw her arms around him. He grabbed her in his and lifted her off the ground, spinning her around. They hugged for a moment until an older woman came up; he released her, and she and the woman embraced. A small crowd was around them. I assumed they were her mom and dad.
While they were saying their hellos, I looked around the area. What looked like family campsites were scattered around under the trees, with a few houses spaced around the little area. From the looks of things, a number of these folks were accidental residents. Some of the shelters were like shanties from the slums of Rio or some other third world hellhole. Several small fires were burning, some with pots over them, and some with children and adults sitting around the flames. There appeared to be an attempt at order to all this, but it was weak.
The old man I took to be Jess’s dad walked up to me and stuck out his hand. “I want to thank you for getting my daughter home to me. We were so worried about her. We didn’t know what to do. We were scared we’d never see her again. Thanks.” We shook hands. He had tears in his eyes, and it was obvious his words were heartfelt.
“No problem
. It was quite a journey, but we made it. I’m Morgan.”
“Name’s Jim,” he replied. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. Looks like you have quite a few folks here,” I said, looking around the area.
“Yeah. It’s been hell. We had to leave our house. There’s a band of brigands running around, taking what they want, raping, killing. A bunch of us came here to kinda help each other out. That house there belongs to my friend Bill Higgins.” He pointed to a nice little house sitting in a patch of the trees. A smokestack jutted out from the side of it before turning up above the roof.
“So all these folks are from the area?” I asked.
“No, not all of them. Some of them came off the interstate. They didn’t have anywhere to go, so we took them in. Most of them are in the camps. We just had to make do with what we had.” He nodded toward some of the shanties. “There’s a bunch of kids here, too; they’re having a hard time with all this. There isn’t enough food, water, clothes, or anything, for that matter. We can’t really go look for anything because none of the cars around here run, but now that you’re here with that truck, we can.” He was looking at our truck expectantly.
“Well, Jim, we aren’t going to be around here long. Thad and I want to get home as soon as we can.” I looked over at Thad.
“What? You guys can’t leave. Those animals out there will kill ya. You should stay here with us. We could use the help, and you need a safe place to stay—just makes sense.” He had an earnest look on his face. He believed in what he was saying, but it just wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t want to try to get into this discussion right now, so I just dismissed it.
“How are you guys fixed for security?” I was curious about this, as I didn’t see anyone armed in the camp.
“We have the roadblocks at both ends of the overpass you saw. Then at the end of the road, down here at 441, there is another. It has more men because that’s where most of the trouble comes from. We have enough guns at those places that no one has tried anything yet. There’s been one of them big, older army trucks that cruises by every now and then with a bunch of guys in it.” He was cut off by Jess’s mom walking up.
She came up to me with tears in her eyes and wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing me tight. Thad was behind her with that big grin on his face. She finally let me go. “Morgan, I can’t thank you enough for bringing Jessica home to me. I have been worried to death; I couldn’t sleep. But she’s here now. The Lord provided you two to bring her back safe and sound.”
“You’re welcome. We all helped each other. I’m just glad we made it here. There were a couple of times we were really worried.” I gave her a smile.
“Well, you’re safe now. You’re here with us. You made it,” she said in return.
“We are here, ma’am, but Thad and I will be on our way soon. We both want to get home also.” The look on her face was the same one Jim had given me.
“You know what it’s like out there; you need to stay here with us. It’s just too dangerous,” she countered.
“Yes, ma’am, I know what it’s like out there, but I have a family that I need to get home to.” I gave her another smile.
She just looked at me and smiled. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow after you’ve had some rest. By the way, I’m Beth. Thank you again,” she said.
With that she walked away and headed toward the truck. Thad came up beside me. “They seem awful set on us staying here with ’em.”
“Not nearly as set as I am about getting home. How about you?” I cocked my head toward him.
“I’m with ya. I’m ready to leave right now. But they keep talking about the bandits out there. They shore are scared of ’em. Must be a bad bunch,” he replied to me.
“Maybe. Let’s check things out and get a feel for this place. Maybe we can refill our water. I say tomorrow night we head out.”
“Sounds good to me,” Thad replied.
We walked over to the truck, where a small group gathered around it. We made our way through it to find people pulling our packs out of the bed. “Hold on there; I’ll take that.” I grabbed my pack from a guy in his twenties. Thad had to grab his from another.
“Hey, man, we were just going to go put this with all the other stuff. We have to share everything so we all have enough.” He reluctantly released his grip on my bag.
“That’s fine and dandy, but this is mine, and we don’t plan on staying here. We’ll be on our way tomorrow,” I said to him. He obviously didn’t like what I had to say.
Cutting his eyes toward the cab of the truck, he said, “Yeah, well, you’ll have to leave your guns in the house. No one carries guns around here. It keeps people from fighting and getting out of hand.”
“So who sees to that?” I asked.
“We have security. They carry guns.” He gave a sideways glance to the man that had been holding Thad’s pack.
“That’s all fine and good, but we are keeping our guns,” Thad said. I nodded in agreement.
“We’ll see what Bill has to say about that,” the guy said over his shoulder as he walked off.
“I’m gonna grab the key to the truck and keep it with me. I don’t trust these folks.” I walked around to the driver’s side and pulled the key out and pocketed it.
Jess came walking up. “Hey, guys, y’all come with me. You’re going to stay with us tonight. Mom’s making dinner, and there is a spare room you two can sleep in.”
“Sounds good to me. I’m hungry,” Thad said, patting his belly.
“You’re always hungry. I bet you ate like a horse when you were a kid,” I said as I shouldered one strap of my pack and picked up the carbine with my other hand.
“Yeah, Momma said she felt like she was feeding the entire football team,” he said with a smile.
We followed Jess into the house; it was another typical little Florida house built of cypress board siding, with a wraparound porch on two sides and a metal roof. It was a nice little house. Inside, the walls looked like the same cypress paneling, only these were sealed. The floors were heart pine boards. A fireplace occupied a corner of the small living room, a nice fire of oak logs burning in it. Beyond the living room was the kitchen; a plump older woman was in there at work on a propane stove. Jess’s mom was there as well. Another man came out from a door off the living room. He walked up and offered his hand.
“Bill Higgins, nice to meet cha,” he said in a thick southern drawl. “That’s ma wife, Mary, thur in the kitchen.” The round-faced woman looked up and gave us a smile with her lips pressed hard together. Thad and I introduced ourselves, and we all shook hands. “Come on in and have a seat. You can set yer gear by the door thur.” He motioned to the kitchen; a nice butcher-block style table with side chairs took up a prominent place.
Thad and I set our packs down and took off our coats. I took off the small pack on my waist and laid it down but pulled the XD out and placed it in my waistband. Thad had his pistol in a nylon Uncle Mikes holster on his waist. Jim came in behind us with an armload of wood. He set the wood down by the fireplace and came into the kitchen. We all took a seat around the table. Mary and Beth were still at work in the kitchen. Mary came over and set a coffee percolator on the table along with several mugs. She went back to the counter and returned with a can of powdered creamer, a jar of sugar, and a spoon, and laid it on the table without saying a word.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Thad said. She looked back with another tight-lipped smile, and I raised my mug to her and tipped my head. She turned and went back to the counter with Beth.
Bill passed the pot around. We all poured a cup except Jess. After everyone had their cups filled, Bill looked at Thad and I. “How was the trip?”
“About what you’d expect. Things are getting worse,” Thad said as he took a drink of black coffee from his cup.
“They sure are. That’s why we’re al
l here,” Jim said, looking at Bill and nodding his head. I was getting the distinct feeling that Bill was the man around here.
“Y’all run inta any bandits or have trouble with anyone?” Bill asked.
Thad and I took turns giving a rather vanilla version of our trip. We gave them the basic facts but didn’t elaborate. When Thad shared the part about my head wound, Jess dropped her head and stared at the table. Bill and her dad both looked at her. As we were winding down, Mary carried a large pot over to the table and sat it on a pot holder. Beth carried over a stack of bowls and, using a large ladle, poured a scoop into each bowl and passed them around. Mary returned with a cake of cornbread, the bright yellow kind from the mix sold in small boxes. Mary and Beth disappeared from the kitchen. Bill put his hands out to Jim and Thad, “Let’s say grace.” We all joined hands around the table. Bill closed his eyes and began to pray.
“Lord, thank you for the food we are about to receive. Thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon us, and thank you for bringing little Jessica home to us. We thank you for these two men, Morgan and Thad, who didn’t abandon her in her time of need. We pray that you will watch over us and give us your blessing. In Jesus name, amen.” There were a few amens from around the table, and everyone took up their spoons.
The stew, soup, or whatever it was, was rather tasty if a little watery. It was obvious these folks were trying to stretch everything. Bill was chewing a spoonful of stew when he looked over at me. “From what ya’ve told me, y’all ran into some hard times. Did you have to kill?” He was looking at the pistol on Thad’s side.
“Yes, sir, we did. I took no joy from it. I pray I never have to again,” I said to him, directly to him.
“That’s a hard thing,” he said. He was looking through a spot on the table. “We have taken in a lot of people here. Some of them are far from home and have no hope of ever seeing it again. We gotta do what we have to to survive. You boys are welcome here. You’ll be a big help to us. With that truck we can go out and find more food and be able to bring back more water at a time.” He took another bite of the stew.
