by A J Newman
“Sorry, the lovemaking couple was startled by the gunfire, dropped what they were doing, ran at you half naked and you had the mother of all gun battles. You shot the lady twice in the chest and the man once in the stomach. They both were dead before Roger got down to the roadblock. He thought that you were dead at first. A head wound bleeds like a stuck pig. You were covered with blood from head to toe.”
Mike, then Roger, Joan, and Paul gave me accounts of the battle for Ohio County as it was known from then on. Then they threw a hell of a barbecue with me lying on a couch that had been brought out into the yard. Callie took Joan’s place and helped me sit up so I could see what was going on. I looked at my little girl and saw the bandage on her arm.
“Callie, did you get wounded during the fight?”
“Yeah, a guy tried to stick a rather large knife into me, but I taught him the error of his ways. Mom doesn’t like me saying that I ripped his stomach open on the way to his heart. I must be more lady like.”
I heard a muffled giggle, looked up and saw Ally covering her mouth.
“Come on over a girl and sit down beside me and tell me your story of the battle. Everyone knows more than I do. I know you were assigned to take out the four guards at the roadblock. How did that go?”
Ally told me, “I guess it went as planned. I’ll never get used to taking a human life, but after we had freed those women and children, I know we did the right thing killing those animals. They were abusing the young girls and raping the women. They set up a brothel and were charging men to abuse the women.”
“Wait a minute. Do you mean local men?”
“The women said that they were from Anderson and over towards Madison. The gang even sold women for the men to take with them. They said that the gang prized young teen girls because they sold for the highest price. The gang took silver, gold, ammunition, drugs and medical supplies for them.”
My God, how perverted is this world?”
“After helping those women, I can attest to the fact that there are 63 fewer perverts in the world and I’m proud to say I sent thirteen to hell myself.”
I placed my arm around her, gave her a hug, and said, “Don’t think too much about the deaths of those perverts. We probably have to kill a bunch more. They got what they deserved. I won’t lie to you and say that this will get any easier.”
“Zack, what I worry about is that these men were probably doing this before the lights went out and no one did anything about it.”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing myself. Perhaps this is a planned cleansing by God. I’m not a religious guy, but I have been wondering about this.”
I must have fallen asleep because I woke up with my head in Ally’s lap and found myself looking up into her eyes. We talked for over an hour with my head in her lap, until the meal was ready. Roger and Mike helped me to the picnic table, and I was surrounded by the people who meant the most to me. All of them were heroes that day, and I knew that we would survive and make it through these rough times. Tears came to my eye when I wondered who would be missing from the table this time next year.
Chapter 9 - Trucks and Trains
Central Kentucky
Mike’s team looked at every farm, junkyard, and back of every mechanic’s garage to build a list of old trucks that were sound enough to get back into operation. They were able to jumpstart five and get them back running. The farmers who owned them immediately put three into use. The other two were driven to the farm to be serviced and placed into operation towing another fifteen that wouldn’t start, back to the farm to be repaired. Mike asked for and received help from many of the mechanics in the area and quickly had another seven serviced and up and running. Most had gummed up carburetors and bad batteries; they were easy to get running. The rest had either a blown engine or transmission. They found the best parts and made whole trucks that would run. They made sure the whole community knew what trucks they were looking for and brought the trucks or parts to the farm if possible.
Mike spent several days each week fetching parts and whole vehicles back to the farm. He expanded his acquisitions to farm equipment, cars, camper trailers, cargo trailers, several bulldozers, an old backhoe, and a bi-plane. I told him he needed to get more selective or he would have to find another storage lot. He had five acres of junk vehicles back behind the lake. Roger took another crew and hit every service station and Wal-Mart to get batteries, tires and auto parts.
Mike told me, “You gave me orders to get trucks running. I have 28 trucks in operation, a bulldozer and a large backhoe. The bi-plane has to wait awhile. I also found a large VW graveyard and Roger thinks we can get several of them running. We won’t have up to date show cars, but we won’t suffer for transportation. You need to find us some gas.”
“I’ll work on that as soon as I can get in to see Bert. He told me Owensville has millions of gallons of gas and diesel in the tanks down by the river. We can trade them food, trucks, and cars for fuel. I’m going to give Bert the two Ford panel wagons and the city that two-ton green Chevy you got running yesterday. I hope the Mayor will want to work with us. Bert floated past her that we could deliver vehicles for gas and diesel. I’ll follow up on that myself if the bitch will talk to me after her rant at the Food Bank. How are Carrie and Sally holding up to the mechanic’s training?”
“Great, Sally is doing very well, and Carrie is a star. We will be able to turn her loose in a few months. The older vehicles are easy to maintain. Both started out gapping plugs, setting points and cleaning carburetors. Both of them can now build an engine from parts, replace worn brakes and replace parts that are bad with someone directing them. It will take much longer for them to develop troubleshooting skills.
“Great.”
“I want you to know Sally, and I are seeing each other, and I think she may be the one I’ve been looking for.”
“Seeing means………..?”
“Seeing means dating. I’m taking her on a picnic on Saturday and on Sunday we will be hunting for some redbud trees to replant at the farm.”
“So dating is not dead in this post-apocalyptic world. I’m starting to think I need to find someone to settle down with myself.”
“I’m glad that you are moving on. Sister Joan?”
“Not unless I can get over her leaving me for Todd.”
“Zack, to forgive is to forget. She knows she messed up and would do anything to rewind history and go back to before that happened, but she can’t. After all, she is my little sister, and I want the best for her even if she had her head up her ass on the Todd crap. Try to forgive her for Callie’s sake.”
“Sorry old buddy, but I’m just not able to do that at this time. Falling for Geena showed me there was life beyond Joan and I intend to not look back and get on with my life.”
“So you’re going to see Ally?”
“Maybe. I may ask her to go on a ride.”
“Be careful, she is getting very good with that AR and her 9mm. I don’t have to remind you she took out four of the creeps over in Ohio County at the roadblock. She also saved my ass when a couple of those scumbags caught me from behind during our little skirmish. She needs some practice with the AR but is getting there. She’s our second best sniper.”
“Should I be scared?”
“You were just shot twice, and the vest saved your life. Don’t piss her off. By the way, how’s your head and chest doing?”
“Okay until I cough or twist or laugh.”
***
Jacob, his son, and Callie spent a week building a mobile repair truck. They took the bed off a service truck from a diesel repair business and placed it on a two ton 1975 Ford F350 with a 460 cubic inch V8 that had plenty of horsepower to haul the bed and tons of equipment. They added a gas powered air compressor to run air tools, oxyacetylene torch to weld and cut with and a host of tools that Jacob thought would be helpful in getting a locomotive running.
“Callie, the trick to welding is to keep the rod making small c
ircles as you make the weld. Always wear protective clothing and gloves so you won’t be afraid of being burned. You will get burned.”
Callie continued welding the two scrap pieces together and said, “Can you teach me to solder and braze? I’ll need to be able to do them for some of my inventions.”
“I’ll be glad to as soon as we get the engine back home. I plan to head over to Sailsberg in two days. We will check out the locomotive, determine what it will take to get it running and if we have a way to drive it back here. I also want to check out the Old Timer’s Engine Museum to see if we can get some smaller engines to power equipment. By the way, does Grant always complain all the time and hide when there is work to be done?”
“Yes, that sums up his contribution to our group. Dad needs to make him disappear.”
“Ally, how would you like to ride shotgun on a trip over to Sailsberg? Mike says you are more comfortable with your shotgun and pistol and you are ready for guard duty. I’d like you to back me up if we are attacked. The rail crew will be armed, but we will be their guards while they concentrate on the steam engine.”
“I’d be happy to help out any way you need me. It will be great to get away from the farm and see new territory. Do you think it will be dangerous? Hey, are you well enough to travel that far?”
“My chest still hurts, but I’m okay. Thanks for asking. Everything is dangerous these days, but I haven’t heard of any serious threats over that way, besides you handled yourself very well over in Ohio County. I know you weren’t in the actual firefight, but I know you killed over a dozen of the SOBs and saved Mike’s life. I wouldn’t take you if I thought we were walking into a battle. Actually, I have a personal reason for bringing you on this trip. I want to get to know you better. I want to ask you out on a date when we get back to the farm.”
Ally replied, “Thanks for the compliment. I’d like to get to know you better also, and I can’t imagine a date these days. Dinner and a movie?”
“That’s funny. I was thinking of a picnic, going swimming in the river or maybe just picking wildflowers. We have to start thinking as our ancestors did back in the 1850s. Perhaps horseback riding every now and then. Damn, I don’t know, I just got up enough courage to ask you out and hadn’t thought it completely through.”
She took my hand and replied, “I’m flattered you are asking me out. I have been interested in you since I realized I had to move on after my husband’s death. You are so good to Paul, and he comes to me every day mentioning something you have taught him. I just thought you and Joan would get back together. She is trying hard to get back in your good graces. Are you sure you are over her?”
“I’m definitely over Joan. Honestly, I’m still grieving a bit over Geena, but I realize that in this new world you can’t make it alone, so yes I’m ready to date. Yes, Joan still wants me back. Joan and I grew up together and will always be friends, but the day she dumped me for that bastard over in Anderson was the day I wrote her off forever. Frankly, she has tried to get back with me and has even jumped in bed with me while I was asleep several times. I didn’t touch her and ran her off. Don’t get me wrong, I want female companionship, but not with her. Every time I think of her, I see her and Todd and get sick.”
“I wouldn’t take kindly to her flirting with you if we start seeing each other and I sure wouldn’t want her to be in your bed. It would hurt and be a deal breaker.”
“I will make sure she gets the message and besides I’m setting her up with Chuck.”
“That makes sense. I see him flirting with her every time he gets close.”
“So are we seeing each other and do I need to give you my high school ring?”
“We are now going steady, and you can keep the class ring. I am not a loose woman so we will be going very slowly until I am sure you are ready to go forward. If we go swimming, it won’t be skinny dipping.”
We laughed at her comments, and her smile was contagious. A smile spread across my face as I thought about the skinny dipping comment.
I replied, “I’m ready to move on, but I guess I have to convince you now. I’ll go as slow as you want.”
“Our kids could be a small problem between us that could go either way. Paul and Callie are getting to be thick as thieves. I expect them to fall in love any day.”
“Sorry, it’s too late. They are in love. I had a great talk with Callie the other day. My problem is I just don’t think of Callie as being a woman, but she would be an old maid if we were back in the 1850s. The heart wants what the heart wants. I tried to give Callie an updated sex talk and let her know that I trust her to make the right decisions, but she ended up giving me a sex talk.”
“That must have been awkward. I’ll do the same with Paul, and I’m confident that he’ll be too embarrassed to give me any hints about sex. I’d love to have grandkids in about ten years, but would rather the world be a bit safer before they are born. I’m glad, and a bit surprised that you didn’t freak out. I like seeing you calm and thoughtful.”
“Actually I surprised myself; that’s my baby girl.”
“What if we get serious and they get serious? Will that be weird for you?”
I smiled and said, “I am serious about you, and I like Paul. You have done well by him. If he chooses Callie to be his mate, it just shows that he has good taste. At the right time tell him that her father has a gun and he’d better not break her heart.”
“Paul is a good boy. I don’t see him just playing with a girl just to get sex.”
“Darn, don’t say sex when we’re talking about my little girl.”
She laughed and said, “Dad, get used to it. Your little girl has grown up.”
“I know, but just let me slowly get used to the idea.”
“Oh, by the way, I have a big gun. Don’t break my heart.”
“I won’t. We’ll date, have a good time and see if we even like each other. That should give us time to get over the deaths of our loved ones.”
“Does one ever get over the death of a loved one?”
“No, you just have to move on.”
I left Ally and started thinking about the past few months that had taken me from the coyote ugly incident in Oregon to the tractor ride across Middle America with Geena and Sally to the recent fight with the drug gang and now Ally. I have progressed from a faithful father and husband to a drunken whoremonger to a leader of the finest people on earth during a struggle for survival and falling for the woman who I was meant to grow old with the rest of my life. Then I thought I stole that scenario from a movie where the hero was looking over the battlefield remembering how he got to that point in his life. I was no hero, but I would do the best I could to be the man these people, my daughter, and Ally needed. I need a beer to wash those thoughts down. Damn my girlfriend actually brews ale. I am the luckiest man in post-apocalyptic America. I wondered if she knew how to distil alcohol? We could trade alcohol and ale.
***
Ally and I gave Jacob’s crew an escort over to Sailsberg, which was 65 miles east of the farm. There were several roadblocks that had to be dealt with and luckily, locals who were just protecting their turf against outsiders manned them all. I talked with their leader each time and told them about our plan to start rail service through their communities, and all but one was very pleased with the idea. Jacob and I agreed that there was something fishy about the people manning the roadblock at Beaver Lake. They didn’t give us any problems but didn’t look like people from a farming community. Don’t get me wrong I have a couple of tattoos, and even Joan has a tramp stamp that I thought was gorgeous until Callie asked for one at 12 years old, but these guys had the full sleeves, wallets on chains and do-rags. Pretty obvious. A damn biker gang had taken over Beaver Lake.
“Jacob, we can’t do anything now, so don’t poke the bear now. We will deal with these guys after we deal with Bonner. If they try to stop the rail from going through, we’ll deal with them earlier. Let’s make tracks.”
Ally and
I had several hours to tell each other our life stories and were both open with everything. Her husband had cheated on her several times, but she stayed with him for the children’s sake. He was a good father and actually a good husband, but just couldn’t stop chasing women. I told her about Joan leaving me for Todd and my subsequent fall into woman chasing and excessive drinking. I told her that I never cheated on Joan and was devastated when she left me. She never judged me or made any comments.
“Is that part of your life over?”
“Well I slipped a bit on the drinking when Geena was killed, but I won’t go overboard ever again. I like beer and will drink. I just won’t drink to excess, and I won’t chase women now that I am seeing you. Hell, I haven’t been with a woman since the lights went out. Geena and I came close, but something always got in the way. God knows Joan tried to get me into bed, but you know how I feel about her.”
“And you’re okay with going slow?”
“No, I’d rather go much faster, but it’s what you need, and I care for you a lot.”
We chitchatted the rest of the way, and the more I was around Ally, I knew this wasn’t a passing fad I was experiencing.
We arrived at Sailsberg, and as expected, there was another roadblock. I asked to speak to their leader, and they brought the Police Chief out to meet us. I told him that I was from the Owensville area and Bert had told me to look him up when I got to Sailsberg. The Chief knew Bert, and that helped us get our foot in the door. We met with the town council, explained what we wanted to do, and they were in favor of getting the railroad back in operation. The community was doing fairly well since the initial rioting and brief lawlessness. The Mayor and Police Chief appeared nervous about our visit but were very accommodating. The area was peaceful and reminded one of a rural town before the turn of the century. They had a large Amish community nearby and sought out their help in adapting to the new life without electricity. They were using horse and buggies and never even tried to get any vehicles running and had no plans to in the future.
