by Robert Boren
“We’ll shoot at them,” Clark said. “I’ve still got something left.”
“New Mexico needs to get their frigging act together,” Glenn said. “It’s the wild west over there, and it’s slopping over here.”
“It’s not much better around here,” Howard said. “Especially now that the damn militias are taking their side.”
“That’s still just rumor,” Glenn said.
“No it’s not,” Clark said. “The sheriff in Duncan knows about it.”
“Says your brother-in-law,” Archie said. “He on the wagon?”
“Yes, dammit,” Clark said. “He’s not saying this because he’s a drunk, okay?”
“They’re already starting to fight after one drink?” Trixie asked, shaking her head.
“I don’t want to fight,” Clark said. “Archie, believe what you want.”
“Sorry,” Archie said. “We should do some things to prepare.”
“Like what?” Howard asked.
“Like carry our guns around,” Archie said.
Glenn laughed. “Hell, those guys will just take them away and shoot you.”
“They’ll try,” Archie said.
“Getting a little thick in here,” Trixie said.
The doors flung open, and a group of men in their twenties and thirties rushed in.
“Grandpa,” one of them said, rushing over to Archie. “Figured you’d be here.”
“Matthew, what’s up?” Archie asked, looking up at the tall young man, his hair already receding at thirty-three.
“We’ve been contacted by the folks who blew up the bridges on I-25,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “They’re recruiting people to join them. They’re coming up Highway 191 to take out I-40 and Route 60.”
“How are they recruiting?” Archie asked.
“Social media,” Matthew said.
“Oh, you mean like AOL?” Archie asked.
One of the younger men burst out laughing, and Matthew shot a glare at him.
“No, grandpa. Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, 4Chan, and other places,” Matthew said.
“In English,” Archie said.
“Archie, it’s a lot like the message boards on AOL and Prodigy,” Glenn said from behind the bar. “Better technology, but same basic thing.”
“Okay, I got it,” Archie said. “Why are you here?”
“We want to help, and you’ve got your gun collection,” Matthew said. “I wanted to ask if I could borrow guns and ammo.”
“Show us the messages,” Clark said. “You can do it on your phone, right?”
“Yeah,” Matthew said. “Show them, Mike.”
A muscular young man nodded and pulled his phone out, several of the older gentlemen gathering close to look.
“Hell, he’s right, Archie,” Howard said. “Maybe we ought to join in.”
“Yeah,” Clark said. “I still got some fight in me, and I have a few pieces in my collection too.”
“You guys are gonna get yourselves killed,” Trixie said.
“Who cares?” Clark said. “If my country needs me and I’m still drawing breath, I’m there.”
Archie sat on a bar stool facing Matthew. “You know some of my weapons have limited ammo, right? The Sturmgewehr 44, for instance. I’ve only got about two hundred rounds for that thing, and you can’t just walk into Walmart and get more.”
“You’ve got a Sturmgewehr 44?” Glenn asked. “You know how much those are worth?”
“My gunsmith has been trying to buy it from me for a few years now,” Archie said. “Said he’d pay me twenty grand. I checked. It’s worth more like forty.”
“Have you guys been talking to the authorities?” Trixie asked, “or are you just going off half-cocked by yourselves?”
“Yeah, what good will your ten or fifteen guys be against the enemy?” Howard asked.
Matthew chuckled. “You guys don’t get it. This has gone viral, like we saw in Texas a few times recently.”
“Yeah, like what happened on the Austin state capitol grounds, remember?” Mike asked.
Glenn came around from behind the bar, getting close to the others. “How viral?”
Before anybody could answer, the door burst open again, a huge man walking in, sizing up the room as he made his way to the bar, noticing the huddle in the middle of the room. He walked with a chip on his shoulder.
“What, we gonna play craps or something?” he asked.
“Sach, there you are,” Archie said. “Tried to call you.”
“I was tied up,” he said. “What’s up? What’s your kid doing here?”
“Hello to you too, Sach,” Matthew said, shaking his head.
“We were just looking at social media messages,” Clark said. “There’s gonna be action on Highway 191. The team that blew up the bridges on I-25 is coming here, and they’re recruiting.”
“All right, back to this,” Glenn said. “How viral are we talking about?”
“They’ve had about thirty thousand people agree to join in,” Matthew said. “Up and down 191.”
“What?” Archie asked.
“No way,” Howard said.
“No, man, he’s right,” Sach said. “That’s why I was tied up. Talking to my son. He’s gonna join up.”
“No shit,” Matthew said. “With who?”
“The rest of the police department, and a bunch of the fire fighters,” Sach said. “We should be getting together with them. Why are you guys here, anyway?”
“Matthew wants to borrow my weapons collection,” Archie said.
“Oh really,” Sach said. “How much of that stuff works?”
“All of it,” Archie said. “Need more ammo for the German stuff, except the pistols.”
“Where’d you get that stuff, Archie?” Mike asked. “Matt told me about it.”
“My cousin,” Archie said. “He snuck it back here after the war.”
“You weren’t in the war?” Trixie asked.
“Just how old do you think I am, woman?” Archie asked. “I joined between Korea and Viet Nam. Was an adviser in Nam during JFK’s Administration.”
“But you had a cousin in world war two?” Trixie asked.
“Yeah, he was a lot older than me,” Archie said. “He left me the stuff.”
“What do you have, other than the Sturmgewehr 44?” Clark asked.
“A few pistols and a sniper rifle. My cousin was on his way out with two Schmeissers, but got caught with them. Pity, because they use 9mm like the pistols. Plenty of ammo around for those.”
“I’ve got some guns,” Sach said. “Hell, all of us have at least something.”
“Hunting weapons and military weapons are two different things,” Howard said.
“True, but numbers can overcome that,” Matthew said.
“The kid’s right,” Sach said. “I say we postpone my party and go meet with the others who are joining up.”
“Invite them over here,” Glenn said.
“You’re going to invite cops and firemen over here?” Trixie asked. “They’d better not fight again. Remember last time?”
“The things going on right now are bringing people together,” Matthew said. “I think it’ll be fine.”
“I’m calling them,” Sach said. “Somebody pour me a drink. Got to force that damn video out of my head.”
“You saw that?” Trixie asked. “It was just on TV.”
“My son sent me the link to the YouTube video,” he said. “I was watching it right before I came in here.”
“Here’s your drink,” Glenn said, sliding him a shot, which he tossed back.
“Thanks, I needed that.” Sach walked away with the phone to his ear.
“If we become a meeting place for the resistance, this place will get blown up,” Trixie whispered to Glenn.
“Maybe,” Glenn said. “Willing to take the risk.”
“I think you guys are nuts,” she said.
“Got them,” Sach said. “They’ll be over here in
about an hour. Something’s going on. They’ve got to hang out at the station for a little while.”
“What’s going on?” Clark asked.
“He wouldn’t say,” Sach said. “Worries me. How many of you guys are packing?”
“I am,” Archie said, “in my car. Just one of my pistols.”
“One of your collector pieces?” Glenn asked.
“Nah, I’ve got other guns,” Archie said. “Those old relics are too valuable. I’ve got my .45 auto out there.”
“I’ve got my wheel gun,” Clark said. “In the car. If there’s anything going on, it’s not going to be much good.
“You guys ain’t thinking about bringing a bunch of guns in here, I hope,” Trixie said.
“I say it’s okay,” Glenn said.
“I’m going home to get something better,” Howard said. “Anybody want to go along? I’ll make stops at your places.”
“I’m game,” Archie said. “Matt, you and some of your friends should follow us. I’ll get you stocked up.”
“I’ll go too,” Clark said.
Sach’s phone rang. “Dammit, what now?” He walked away with the phone to his ear, then froze and turned around to the others. “We’re about to get hit.”
“Hit?” Glenn asked. “Here, at the damn VFW?”
“No, the town,” Sach said. “We’d better get armed right away.”
“Maybe they all should just go home,” Trixie said. “Maybe we should shut this place down for the evening.”
“Shit,” Matthew said, looking at his phone. “It’s happening. They’ve already reached the outskirts of town.”
“Who’s telling you that?” Mike asked.
“Ripley, over at the truck stop. They rolled in a couple minutes ago.”
“Islamists?” Glenn asked.
“And some militia folks.”
Trixie looked around the room, then over at Glenn. “That’s only two miles away. I’m out of here. Fire me if you want to.”
“No problem, get the heck out of here,” Glenn said. “Lock yourself in your place.”
Gunfire erupted, sounding about half a mile away.
“Hear that?” Sach asked. “Let’s get armed and place ourselves.”
“Yeah, he’s right,” Clark said.
More gunfire floated in, sounding closer now, and they could hear vehicles racing on the highway in front of the bar. Then there was an explosion. Glenn rushed to the window and looked out. “Dammit, they just blew up a police car. It was on its way to the truck stop.”
“They’re right outside?” Trixie asked. “No!”
More gunfire sounded. Clark and Sach looked at each other, then bolted for the back door.
“Where’s your car, man?” Sach asked.
“In the back,” he said. “Archie’s is in the front next to Howards. Not going out there.”
“Mine’s in the back, and I’ve got my 30-30 out there.”
They bolted out the door, and were hit by machine gun fire before they got ten yards.
Trixie screamed as the back door busted open, several Islamists with AK-47s rushing in, pointing their guns at the group.
“Hands up, go to back wall,” one of the Islamists shouted. Mike bolted for the door and was hit in the chest and neck by machine gun fire. A couple militia men rushed in with more Islamists. Glenn ducked down behind the bar, grabbing for his pistol, but a militia man saw it and fired his shotgun, hitting Glenn in the face, killing him instantly. Trixie screamed again.
“Should we take them out and move on?” asked one of the Islamists in a heavy Arabic accent.
“No, wait,” a militia man said, looking at Trixie. “Remember me, honey?” He pointed his shotgun at her.
“Charles, we don’t have time for this,” the other militia man said.
“Shut the hell up, Jeff,” Charles said.
“Leave her alone!” Archie shouted.
“Nah,” Charles said. “She was rude to me here. I’m gonna make her pay, and you guys are gonna watch.”
Matthew rushed forward, and one of the AK-47s spit lead, dropping him on the floor in a bloody heap. Archie yelled and rushed towards the Islamists, getting shot by several guns at once. Howard and several of Matthew’s friends were all that were left other than Trixie, who tried to rush for the door. Charles dropped his shotgun and grabbed her, pulling her over to one of the booths, ripping her top off as she struggled.
“Watch it, bitch,” Charles shouted as he tore the rest of her clothes off and pushed her down onto the booth cushions. He mounted her, raping her violently as she kicked and screamed, some Islamists queuing up behind him to take their turn as the others held guns on the scene. All Howard and the others could do was watch as the enemy fighters took turns. Jeff was the last to take her. He finished as she lay quietly, the fight out of her.
“Anybody want seconds?” he asked as he laid on top of her.
“Not now,” Charles said. “Get out of the way.”
Jeff moved off Trixie and Charles shot her in the face.
“Hey, what you do?” an Islamist asked.
“What, you wanted to take this old broad?” Charles asked. “We’ll find plenty of ripe young chicks in town. Trust me on that.”
The Islamists raised their weapons, aiming at the remaining men.
“No,” Howard said. “Please!”
They opened fire, killing everybody, and then left the bar. Smoke and bad smells hung in the quiet room as gunfire continued outside.
Chapter 18 – Pie Town
“We’d better start packing up,” Sydney said, walking up to the table that Don was working on. He looked up at her, shaking his head, taking the ear buds out.
“We’ve got a problem.”
Chloe and Alyssa shook their heads in agreement.
“What’s the matter?” Sydney asked.
“Remember that small stream of enemy fighters that was coming up from the border?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“They just went through one of the towns we’ve been working with, and now I can’t raise any of the people.”
“I’m finding the same thing,” Alyssa said.
Chloe nodded. “Same here.”
“How many were there?” Sydney asked.
“A couple hundred,” Don said.
“One of the people I was chatting with said militia guys were leading the Islamists through town, killing people in front of their homes and taking young women,” Chloe said. “This is bad.”
“There weren’t that many enemy fighters in the group,” Sydney said.
“It’s grown,” Alyssa said. “There’s a flood coming up from I-10.”
“This is going to be hot,” Sydney said. “Maybe we should reconsider going in there.”
“The militia guys have chips, don’t they?” Chloe asked.
“Yeah, General Hogan said they do,” Don said. “Let’s shut down, but talk to Jason right away. He needs to know about this.”
“Yep,” Alyssa said. “We have to tell him.”
“I’ll send him a text while you guys take things apart,” Sydney said, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
“Dad, this is scaring me,” Alyssa said. “The last guy I was talking to had just checked on some friends at the VFW in St. Johns. Everybody was dead, and the cocktail waitress had been raped before she was shot.”
“Dammit,” Don said. “You get Jason?”
“He’ll be right over,” Sydney said.
Jason rushed in the door, with Kyle and Stanton Hunt by his side. Eric followed with Kelly and Junior.
“You have eyewitness accounts?” Jason asked.
Don nodded to Alyssa, who relayed the story about the VFW hall to Jason and the others.
“Son of a bitch,” Kelly said. “Frigging heathens.”
“It’s the militia guys too,” Chloe said.
“St. Johns is north of Highway 60,” Junior said, looking at his phone. “Looks like there’s still a lot of enemy fighters
there, and more on the way.”
“Yeah, I checked on the way over here,” Eric said. “They don’t appear to be going north.”
“Those bastards are setting up in St Johns just like they did on I-40,” Kyle said. “They’re trying to cut us off at the pass.”
“How many patriots did we recruit?” Jason asked.
“It was about thirty thousand,” Don said. “Most of them are southwest of St. Johns, though.”
“How many in St. Johns?” Eric asked.
“Couple hundred,” Chloe said. “More outside of town, to the west and to the east.”
“I see about ten thousand enemy fighters between Duncan and St. Johns,” Junior said. “More coming up, but not that fast. If we have thirty thousand fighters, even with the St. Johns people gone, we’ll still be in a decent position.”
“This is bad,” Sydney said. “We might be rushing headlong into an ambush.”
“We can still see all of them,” Don said. “We still have that advantage, and it’s sizeable.”
“Yes, it is,” Jason said, “assuming we really have the people on our side that we think we do.”
“Maybe we need to scout it before we bring the entire group,” Stanton Hunt said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Kyle said.
“We could just chuck it and head back home,” Kelly said.
“Yes, we can always do that,” Jason said, “but the reasons we had against that are still valid.”
“So what do we do?” Don asked.
“Let’s get on the road as if we’re going,” Jason said, “but keep a careful watch, and we also go south from Highway 60 and blow up Highway 191. That should at least stop more from rushing north along that corridor.”
“This is interesting,” Junior said, watching his phone screen. “The bad guys are spreading themselves out. They’re probably occupying houses around the town.”
“Those poor people,” Sydney said.
“They’re trying to hide out until we show up,” Junior said.
“Yep,” Kelly said. “We show up, and they come out of the woodwork.”
“Let’s do this,” Junior said. “Take off now as planned, but stop in Pie Town. It’s about half way between I-25 and Highway 191.”
“Yes, then we can hang out and watch a little bit longer,” Eric said.
“There’s a huge RV Park in that town,” Junior said.
