Holding Their Own: A Story of Survival

by Joe Nobody

  The Brazos Blockade

  They were about a half mile away from the bridge and slightly higher in elevation. As they looked down, Terri was the first to realize the lights were actually campfires. Bishop had traded his M4 for an AR10. The two rifles looked similar, with the AR10 being slightly oversized. It fired a .308 Winchester cartridge that was much more powerful than the smaller .223 used in the M4. The .308 had been a favorite of military snipers for years because of its range and was considered a standard by most hunters. Bishop had not brought the big gun to hunt, but rather to use the scope that was mounted on it. But looking at the scene before him he thought, The extra firepower might come in handy as well.

  He raised the big rifle and braced it against a tree, adjusting the focus and magnification of the scope, which was almost as long as the rifle barrel.

  Terri quietly whispered, “What is going on down there?”

  “Both sides of the bridge are blocked by military Hummers and an armored vehicle. Cars are parked on both sides of the road for as far as I can see. It looks like people are just camping at the bridge. I can see sleeping bags and makeshift tents. And there are kids running around playing.”

  He pulled the rifle down and let Terri have a look. She scanned the bridge for a few minutes and then let Bishop take the rifle. “That doesn’t make any sense. If the bridge is closed, why do all of those people stay? If not, why don’t they cross? I don’t understand it.”

  Bishop responded, “I can’t figure it out either. If we can’t cross here, then we have to go through a town, or go to I-10 or 290 and try there. If this crossing is that congested, those will be worse.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I don’t have enough information to make a decision. I guess I’ll ninja down, snatch a prisoner, and make him talk.”

  “I have a better idea.”

  Terri told Bishop her idea, and he didn’t like it one bit. It took her a few minutes of whispered conversation, but she finally convinced him that her idea was safer.

  He handed Terri two energy bars from his vest. Terri handed Bishop her rifle and proceeded to walk toward the bridge with Bishop following her.

  She came out of the woods, zipping up her pants like she had been using the bushes. She walked along the road where people were sleeping, sitting around fires, and talking. Nobody paid any attention to her. She walked a few hundred feet until she saw two children playing with a tennis ball. She sat down along the side of the road, pulled out her energy bar, and started eating it. It took the kids about 10 seconds before they noticed the pretty lady eating something. They stopped and just stared at her.

  Terri held the energy bar up and made a motion of “come on over and have a bite.” Both kids ran over.

  When they got closer, Terri could see they were filthy. A boy of about 10 and a girl a little younger stood in front of her and nibbled on little bits of the energy bar.

  “What are your names?”

  “I’m Troy,” replied the boy, holding out his dirty hand for another nibble.

  “And my name is Chrissie,” chimed in his sister, “and I’m eight years old.”

  “How long have you been here at the bridge?”

  Troy replied between bites. “Three days, maybe more - I kinda lost count.”

  “Where are your parents?”

  Chrissie pointed down the road and said, “They are back there. Mom is sick, and Dad told us to go play somewhere. He’s been kind of mad since we got here.”

  Terri passed out the last of the energy bar and then reached for the second one. Both kids’ eyes got big when they saw it. She opened it and tore off a little bite for each.

  “I just got here. How come the people aren’t crossing the bridge?”

  Troy spoke first, “The soldiers, or at least that’s what they say they are, won’t let anyone cross.”

  Chrissie quickly chimed in, “Dad says they aren’t soldiers. He says that’s bullshit.”

  “Chrissie, shhhhh, that’s a bad word,” chided Troy. He continued, “Two days ago, a bunch of men with guns tried to get across. The soldiers killed them all. The soldiers have big guns, and they shoot really fast. Babababababababa.”

  Chrissie held her hands up to her ears when he started the machine gun noise.

  Terri looked up to see a man pause and look their way. She could sense, more than see, Bishop’s rifle rise up behind her in the woods. The man started walking over to them.

  “What’s going on? You kids okay? What are you doing, lady?”

  “I found a couple of energy bars in the glove box. These kids looked like they could use a bite.”

  “They didn’t take your food?” He asked looking nervously in the direction of the bridge. He lowered his voice and said, “Lady, that’s up to you, but I wouldn’t be doing that out in the open. There are people here who would take those from you in a New York minute.” He looked over one more time and continued walking down the road.

  Terri continued, “Do the soldiers take people’s food?”

  “When we came to the bridge, a bunch of soldiers made us pull over. They took Daddy’s pistol and put a hose in our gas door. They made us get out of the car, and Mommy started crying.”

  Terri handed out the last bit of the energy bar, and then the kids ran off without another word.

  She turned around and after checking to see that no one was watching her, ducked back into the woods.

  Ben and Maggie

  Terri stumbled through the woods in the half-light of the campfires. She was beginning to think Bishop had lost her, but she kept walking. She was in almost complete darkness when he appeared out of nowhere and held his finger to his lips.

  He handed her an NVD, and they headed for the truck. When they were almost in sight of the vehicle, he whispered to her, “They have snipers up in the trees. I saw two of them. We were damn lucky they didn’t notice you feeding the kids.”

  “Bishop, what the hell is going on back there? Did you hear what those kids told me?”

  When they got back to the truck, Bishop double checked the area. He wanted to make sure no one had found the truck and was waiting for them to get back. Terri and he got something to eat out of the boxes and sat on the tailgate eating and talking.

  “Terri, I saw at least 20 men on that bridge. They have a Bradley fighting vehicle, which to us is essentially a tank. They have at least two Ma Duce machine guns mounted on Humvees. They have snipers in the woods. We might as well try to rob Fort Knox as cross that bridge.”

  “What is a ‘ma duce’?”

  “A big machine gun – an M2 or Ma Duce.”

  “Oh, okay. So, who are those guys on the bridge, the Army?”

  “I don’t know. We weren’t close enough to make out any insignias or markings. They could be an Army unit gone rogue, but I doubt it. They could be a bunch of guys that looted an armory – who knows. One thing for sure is that they are acting like criminals.”

  After they finished eating, they continued to sit and rest. Bishop noticed Terri was swinging her legs like a kid who couldn’t reach the ground from her chair, and it made him smile. In a normal world, they would have been sitting and listening to the crickets chirp and the distant sound of the river. Instead of enjoying the cool air of the night and looking up at the stars, they had to keep watch for bad men with guns.

  “I’m at a loss,” Bishop said, feeling defeated, “I have no idea what to do. I’m sure the bridges in the towns are worse, even if we could get through to them. The interstate bridges are out of the question. This sucks.”

  Terri looked at her watch and commented that it would be dawn soon. They should find someplace safe to spend the day. Bishop got out the atlas, and they started the truck to check their position on the GPS. He wanted to put some distance between them and the bridge before he could relax. They picked a small country road a few miles away. After a few minutes of travel, Bishop asked Terri to stop.

  He was using the night vision and scann
ing the road when he saw an old barn. He got out of the truck and went on foot to check it out. He could see where years ago there had been a house, but nothing other than the edge of the foundation remained. There was no equipment or feed in the barn. It was empty. One wall had several planks missing and another had partially collapsed. He found the gate a little further down the road and had Terri pull through. They parked the truck in the barn, hoping a big storm would not come along and knock the dilapidated building down on top of them.

  When the sun rose the next morning, Bishop walked the road to see if the truck were visible. It was. He found some fallen lumber from the other side of the barn and randomly stacked the planks to block the view of the truck. He sat up some trip lines and was happy with their spot for the day.

  They snacked again and took turns sleeping. There was nowhere to bathe, so they used a little of their bottled water and a towel to clean up.

  Terri had to “use the facilities,” and took Bishop’s cute little camping shovel to dig a cat hole. She walked away from the barn to the woods. After she had finished, she was stepping out of the woods and looked up to see an older man and a young boy staring at her. Both had rifles.

  The old man said, “Howdy,” and nodded.

  Terri said, “Hello there. You startled me.”

  “Is that your truck in my barn?”

  “Yes, it is. I needed some place to stay the night. I meant no harm.”

  “Oh, you couldn’t do anything to that old barn if you tried. My name is Ben. This is my grandson, Ben.”

  “My name is Terri. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Where ya from?”

  “Houston.”

  “Seems unusual for a pretty lady from Houston to be out here all by herself.”

  “Houston is not a very good place these days. I had to get out.”

  “I’ve heard some stories from passers-by. Are you hungry?”

  “No, thank you, but no.”

  “Well, my house is over those two hills. Ben and I were trying to bring down a deer to butcher. My wife Maggie, she’s at home cooking green beans and wild onions. You’re welcome to some hot food if you like.”

  “Thank you, really. I’ll be on my way soon if you don’t mind my staying in the barn a little longer.”

  “Ma’am, I think it is best for both of us if you don’t stay too long in that barn. Those men at the bridge wander up this way now and then. If you’ve got gasoline or food in your truck, they’ll take it. A pretty gal like you might even have more trouble than that. They tried to bully me into giving them what we had, but I convinced them we didn’t have anything.”

  Terri saw Bishop moving quietly behind the old man and the boy. She tried desperately not to look at him and give it away. He was now within 20 feet of them and creeping closer.

  “Thank you for the advice. To be honest with you, I’m not exactly alone.”

  Ben looked at her for a second with wide eyes. He glanced down at little Ben and then back at Terri. In a real low voice, he said, “He’s got the drop on me, don’t he?”

  Terri smiled and nodded.

  There was a moment of silence and without turning around, Ben said, “Mister, we meant no harm to this young lady. Please let my grandson go.”

  Bishop replied, “Ben, I’m not going to hurt anyone. I only wanted to thank you for your hospitality. You and your grandson have nothing to worry about from me.”

  Ben slowly turned around and looked at Bishop standing behind him. Bishop smiled, winked at little Ben and then slowly walked up and extended his hand to the older gent.

  “Lordie. I must be gettin’ old. No man could have snuck up on me like that five years ago. Damn.”

  “Terri’s beauty has distracted many men. You shouldn’t feel bad at all. Now what were you saying about green beans, onions and deer meat?”

  Ben convinced Bishop and Terri that moving the truck from the old barn to the new one by his house was safer, and besides, Maggie and he would enjoy some company. Bishop agreed, and they packed up and left. The house was only a mile away, and Bishop liked the layout. The house and barn could not been seen from the road.

  They met Maggie and she, as Bishop said later, was a “Grand ole Texas gal,” complete with big hair, apron and unending charm. Maggie was busy working in the kitchen and apologized about their lack of meat. The smell of the food being prepared made Bishop’s stomach growl, and everyone laughed. Terri thought they could help with the meal, and she returned with a can of smoked ham they had in stored the truck.

  After their bellies were full, everyone sat on the front porch and talked. The women and little Ben decided to retire early while Grandpa Ben and Bishop finished a game of checkers. When they were alone, Bishop’s tone turned serious. “Ben, I have to get across that river. I thought this bridge was our best bet, but now I’m stuck.”

  Ben packed his pipe and struck a match on the side of his chair. He puffed a few times, filling the air with a sweet smell and thought about it for a little bit. “I wish the Dayton Ferry were still open. Old man Dayton would have given anyone a ride for five dollars. The ferry is still there, but there hasn’t been a cable for years.”

  “You mean the boat part is still there?”

  “Last time I looked it was. We all went hog hunting over that way about two years ago. I worked on the ferry in the winter when I was a kid. While we were hunting, I walked over on the hill, and the ole barge was still tied up right where it had finished its last trip.”

  “Which side of the river is it on?”

  “This side, but I know what you are thinking. There’s no cable. It was sold for scrap a long time ago.”

  “Would you need a cable for just one trip? Would a heavy rope do?”

  “It’s hard to tell. That ferry is over 30 tons of steel. That’s why it is still sitting there. It’s not worth the cost of the equipment it would take to move it out. The river is low, but still moving pretty well.”

  “What do you think would happen if the ropes mooring the ferry broke?”

  “The cable did break back in ‘64,” he said as he stoked the pipe. “The barge took out the bridge. Slammed into the west side support and down she went. When they built the new bridge, they redesigned the original structure, making it stronger. The barge would probably just get stuck against the bridge support nowadays.”

  Ben and Bishop were soon joined by a long-eared bloodhound that Ben introduced as Cooter. Cooter smelled Bishop’s hand and then rubbed his leg with his nose. Bishop scratched behind the dog’s ears for a few minutes and told Ben he wanted to set the truck’s alarm.

  “No need for that Bishop, Cooter will let us know if anyone comes around. He’s no attack dog, but we’ll know if anyone gets close to the place.”

  The Ferry

  The next morning, Ben agreed to show Bishop the ferry road. They drove Bishop’s truck, and it didn’t take long to find the overgrown track about two miles north of the bridge. Bishop got out and hacked through some saplings. After about an hour, they were looking down at the ferry. It was just where Ben had said, tied to the east bank looking like it was ready to cross the river. Bishop walked down the ramp and onto the rusty barge. He stomped around on the deck to see if it were rusted through. It seemed solid enough. He checked the ties and found they were simple chains that could be lifted off the bollards.

  As they drove back to Ben’s house, Bishop kept thinking about all of those people trapped at the river. He kept seeing the faces of the little kids Terri had talked with. He had an idea, but if it didn’t work, Terri and he would be trapped on this side of the river for a long time.

  I can’t fix every problem he thought. My responsibility is to Terri.

  When they got back to the farm, Bishop pulled Terri aside and explained to her what he was thinking. She listened without question as he told her that if he plan didn’t work, they were trapped. When he had finished, she chose her words carefully. “Bishop, I didn’t sleep last night thinking about thos
e poor people.”

  “I know how you feel. I had trouble too.”

  “Do it, Bishop.”

  Bishop went to Ben and laid out their plan. “I can cause a distraction. I can confuse the men on the bridge for a short time. What I can’t do is organize the people stuck at the bridge. I don’t know how to communicate with them. For this to work, we will need their help.”

  Ben thought for a moment and then replied, “I think I know someone who can help with that.” After telling Bishop a short story, he headed into the kitchen. A little later, Maggie came into the room.

  Maggie folded her apron and sat down with Bishop and Terri.

  “Ben said you needed to speak to me?”

  “Maggie, Ben told me you and some ladies from the church delivered fresh water two days ago to the bridge people. Can you do it again? Will you do it again?”

  She thought about that for a minute and replied, “I don’t see why not. We used a horse and hay wagon from over at Shirley’s place. The men at the bridge have no use for an old plow horse, so they let us pass. I don’t think they are desperate enough yet to eat the horse.”

  “Maggie, I need you and the ladies to do something dangerous. I need you to deliver a message to some of the men trapped at the river. If you get caught, I don’t know what they will do to you. Do you think you can do that?”

  “Oh my!” she exclaimed putting her hands to her cheeks. “This sounds exciting. Will it help those poor people?”

  “I hope so.”

  “What’s the message?”

  “Be ready to rush the bridge one hour after dark.”

  She moved her hands to her lap and smiled. “This is going to be such an adventure!”

  Rum Runners

  Bishop and Terri drove to the ferry, where he began chopping down small saplings with an ax Ben had loaned him. He stacked all of the wood he could cut and gather in the center of the barge. He then rolled six empty steel drums, once used to hold diesel fuel for the barge’s motor, onto the ferry and set them around the edges. When he had finished, he had a stack of wood that would create one heck of a bonfire.

  They returned to Ben’s house.