by Victor Zugg
Tiff caught a glimpse of Frank at the far end of the property, ducking his head back and forth from behind the pump shed.
Tiff decided she couldn’t wait any longer for Sam and Chet to get into position. The longer she waited, the more chance there was she or the others would be spotted. All Frank’s men had to do was turn around and look.
***
Sam and Chet crouched below the rim of the embankment and scurried along the water’s edge. As they approached the tree line that separated his property from the woods, Sam dropped to his knees and crawled the last few feet. He lifted his eyes above the dirt line, but kept his head hidden in the wispy grass on top of the rim. He surveyed the situation. Sam counted seven, no eight men arranged roughly in a parabolic arc facing the north side of the cabin. The men at the tips of the arc had a firing angle on the back door and front door. There was no way out. Frank stood behind the pump shed with his back to the stream.
Given the lack of concealment from due north through the woods, Sam figured Tiff had probably moved in from the road. He stared across the property to the trees just north of the driveway. He caught a bit of movement from behind a tree. Tiff was in position.
Sam slowly raised his rifle as he nodded to Chet.
Chet moved a few yards farther down the bank and slid into position behind the embankment rim. He brought his rifle up and over, ready to fire.
Sam put his crosshair on Frank’s back, moved his finger to the trigger, and began applying pressure. The rifle boomed and jumped. Sam quickly reacquired targets and pulled the trigger.
Chet began firing.
Sam saw puffs of smoke and heard the bangs from the trees next to the driveway.
Sam saw Frank drop, but then saw him drag himself around the pump shed. Unfortunately, that made him a target for Tiff, Hank, and Pete. Sam saw the dirt and grass next to Frank being chewed until Frank stopped moving.
All of Frank’s men were caught completely by surprise. Most weren’t able to tell where the gunfire was coming from until it was too late.
It was over in less than a minute.
Sam stopped firing and soon all firing ceased.
Sam got to his feet, shouldered his rifle, stepped over the rim, and walked toward the carnage that lay on his property.
He and Chet stopped at each man in their path. Some were dead; some were badly wounded, about to be dead. They kicked the weapons away from the bodies.
Sam saw Tiff, Hank, and Pete step from the trees and move toward the men on the ground at their end of the property.
They met in the middle as Charlie, Emma, and Diego came running around from the front of the cabin. Charlie and Diego carried a rifle.
Pete grabbed Diego in a bear hug as Charlie, Emma, and Tiff hugged. “Where’s Juan?” Pete asked.
“He was hit through the window,” Charlie said, “the first few rounds. He’s dead.”
Sam clinched his jaw, ground his teeth, and stared up at the sky.
Pete walked off toward the cabin.
“What about Lance and Wanda?” Emma asked.
“They’re gone, too,” Chet said. “Found them a short distance from the bridge, on the stream bank.”
“They did their part and then tried to make it back to the cabin,” Tiff said.
Sam nodded.
“Are any of them still alive?” Charlie said, as he looked around the property.
“I don’t think so,” Tiff said, “but we should check again.”
Everyone moved off in various directions and knelt next to each of the bodies.
Sam and Chet rechecked the ones closest to the stream.
“Found one breathing,” Chet said, as he bent over a body leaning up against the pump shed. Sam joined Chet and knelt beside the man. The man’s eyes blinked open as Chet moved the man’s face. He opened his mouth to say something, but then went limp and lifeless.
Chet stood up. “I don’t know if humans are innately evil, or just plain stupid.”
“I think a lot of both,” Sam said, as he stood. “Survival trumps morality. That’s probably why we’re still here.”
“I guess,” Chet said, as he surveyed the property. He looked to the sky. “It’s going to be a nice day.”
Sam looked to the sky. “Unfortunately, we’ll spend it digging graves.”
***
Pete opened the driver’s door of the pickup while everyone else gathered around.
“Are you sure you want to chance Marysville?” Sam asked. “People are still pouring out of town. There’s bound to be chaos and random shootings.”
Pete looked up at the sun already above the trees as he slid into the driver’s seat. “Juan needs to be buried next to his father. I should have done it yesterday. We’ll be in and out in a flash.”
Hank opened the passenger door and got in.
Diego jumped in the back of the truck and took a seat against the cab next to Juan’s body, covered in a blanket.
“I appreciate your help with getting all of Frank’s men buried yesterday,” Sam said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to leave Diego here?” Chet asked.
“I appreciate the offer,” Pete said. “But I don’t think we could pry him out of the truck. He wants to be there when his cousin is buried. Besides, like I said, we’ll be in and out quickly. And we have Hank here to help.”
“We’ll be fine,” Hank said. “Shouldn’t take more than two or three hours.”
“And then you’re headed back to Townsend,” Chet said.
“Yeah, need to sort that mess out,” Hank said. “There’s still all that food in the police department. We’ll see if anyone is interested in getting the kitchen going.”
“We’ll finish cleaning up around here,” Sam said, “and meet you around twelve or one at the police department.”
Hank closed the passenger’s door. “Sounds like a plan.”
“We’ll bring Frank’s truck and most of the rifles and ammunition from Frank’s men,” Sam said. “You’ll be able to reform the militia if you want.”
“We can talk about that,” Hank said.
Sam nodded as he closed the driver’s door.
Pete started the engine, put the truck in gear, waved, and pulled away.
Everyone standing behind Sam waved as the truck sped down the drive.
“We need to cover that window on the north side of the cabin,” Tiff said, as she started walking toward the garage. “I saw some leftover lumber.”
“It was the only one on that side that still had glass,” Emma said. “We won’t be able to see out the north side of the cabin.”
“Maybe we can rig a way to open and close it,” Tiff said.
Charlie glanced at Sam and Chet as he passed them on his way to join Tiff.
Emma turned back to the cabin. “It’s a mess inside, I better get to it.”
“Any more battles here and we won’t have much of a cabin left,” Chet said, as he headed toward the garage.
***
“Do you think Hank will want to reform the militia, defend the town, and set up the kitchen as before?” Chet asked, as he wheeled the Hummer around the last curve, heading west into Townsend.
Sam looked in the mirror on his door at Tiff keeping pace behind the Hummer in Frank’s pickup. “I don’t know. I think losing Bill, Lance, and Wanda might make a difference. It would for me.”
“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me,” Chet said.
“What?”
“Something Gomer Pyle USMC would say,” Chet said. “There’s no way to defend this town. It would be foolish to try a second time.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Sam said, as he pointed ahead. “Looks like Pete and Hank returning from Marysville.”
Chet turned on the lane leading to the police department and stopped.
Tiff pulled up behind.
Pete turned in and stopped next to Sam’s window.
“How did it go?” Sam asked.
“A tota
l breakdown, chaos, some shooting,” Pete said. “We took the back roads to the south side of town and got Juan buried next to Marty without any trouble. In and out.”
“We picked up some souvenirs,” Diego said from the back of the truck, as he lifted two bicycles for Sam to see.
“We could use a few more of those,” Sam said. “Six more months and the available fuel will be too degraded to fire the pistons.”
Pete nodded, waved, and then drove ahead, taking the lead down the lane.
As they rounded the curve, and the police department building came into view, Sam saw there was another vehicle parked next to the disabled pickup and sedan.
“Is that Toby’s flatbed truck?” Chet asked.
“Looks like it,” Sam said, “I wonder what he’s doing here.”
CHAPTER 23
Toby, three other men, and Jess, all carrying AR style rifles, stepped from the front entrance of the police department as Sam and the others got out of the vehicles.
Sam approached Toby and extended his hand with a smile. The two men shook. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” Sam asked.
“I should be asking that question,” Toby said. No smile.
Sam raised an eyebrow.
Hank stepped forward. “What do you mean?”
Toby motioned with his hand to the building behind him. “We found the place unoccupied. Abandoned. We now occupy it, and own all property inside.”
Hank glanced over to Sam and then back to Toby. “This building and what’s inside belongs to the town.”
“You don’t have a town,” Toby said. “There’re a few people moseying about with no organization, governmental structure, or leadership. That’s not a town.”
“We just finished defending this town against a bunch of thugs,” Tiff said. “Hank is the leadership at the moment.”
Toby moved his rifle from his left hand to his right. “Sorry, we don’t recognize the town or Hank. We occupy this building. Everything inside now belongs to us. End of story.”
Sam rubbed his entire face with one hand and then looked at Hank. “This shit just never ends.”
Hank nodded.
“We have enough people and resources to retake the building,” Chet said, as he reached in the Hummer and retrieved his rifle.
Jess took a step forward and aimed her rifle at Chet. She then moved the barrel toward Tiff. “Say the word.”
The other men adjusted their grip on their rifles.
“You can try,” Toby said, as he brought his rifle to the ready position with his left hand on the rail and the rifle angled across his chest.
Sam looked back and raised his hand to Chet, and then faced Toby. “Do you really want to do this? I thought you had plans to bug out.”
Toby glanced at Jess and motioned for her to lower her rifle barrel.
She pointed the barrel at the dirt.
“Plans change,” Toby said. “We saw an opportunity. We also lay claim to anything in the parking lot.”
Tiff slowly eased back until she stood beside Frank’s pickup, partially behind the still open door.
“Look, town or not, the people here need that food,” Hank said. “We’re going to start a soup kitchen in the school. You’re welcome to eat here along with everyone else.”
Toby shook his head without saying a word. He adjusted his grip on his rifle.
Sam grabbed Hank by the shoulder. “We need to leave.”
Hank glanced at Sam and then back to Toby. He then nodded. “Don’t get too comfortable,” he said as he turned to leave.
Everyone got back in their respective vehicles, engines started, and they pulled out and headed back the way they came.
Sam looked in the side mirror at Toby and his men standing their ground, watching.
***
“Holding those supplies was always going to be a chore,” Chet said, as he took a seat on the floor of the cabin living room. Everyone else, including Charlie and Emma, were already sitting.
Hank nodded. “I know, but what gives them the right?”
“The only thing that gives anyone the right these days,” Sam said. “Firepower.”
“Actually,” Chet said, “we didn’t need an apocalypse for that to be true. It’s always been that way. History is written by the winners.”
Charlie cleared his voice. “The question is, do we want to risk more of us to recover the food?”
“That is the question,” Sam said.
“We can try to round up more people,” Tiff said. “There were only four men standing there.”
“We only saw four men,” Chet said. “I have a feeling there are more.”
“Maybe,” Sam said. “Maybe not.”
Hank stood up. “Look, even if we were able to wrestle possession away from these guys, what about the next group of guys, and the next?”
“As of right now,” Pete said, “we’re not on bad terms with this Toby fellow. Might be better if we kept it that way.”
Hank let out a long exhale as he paced in a circle. “I think I’m done. At least for now.”
“What then?” Tiff asked.
Hank stopped pacing and looked at Tiff and then at Sam. “My ex-wife and son in Saint Louis. I think it’s time I try to find them.”
Sam nodded his head. “I can understand; I have a brother there. But Saint Louis has got to be a total war zone by now.”
“Marysville, and even Townsend, are war zones,” Hank said.
“Yeah, but Saint Louis would be on a whole different scale. How would you get there?”
“If no one minds, I thought I’d take Frank’s truck,” Hank said. “If all goes well, I could be there and back in four days, maybe five. It can’t be more than five hundred miles, one way.”
Sam glanced around the room.
Tiff threw her hands in the air in a mild gesture; Chet shrugged his shoulders.
Hank took his seat again. “Look, I should have already tried to find them. I didn’t have the means to get there before; now I do. If I know my ex, she’ll try to hang close to home. The longer I wait, the less chance she’ll be there. Or be alive. Travel during winter will be impossible. If I wait until after winter, the vehicles may not run. I need to go now.”
“I can’t speak for everyone,” Sam said, “but I think it’s important for me to stay here and protect this cabin. I still think this is our best chance for survival.”
“I have a son to worry about,” Pete said.
Hank stood up again. “I understand. You all have your priorities. This is something I need to do.”
“Going to Saint Louis would be extremely dangerous,” Tiff said. “Going alone would be suicide.”
“I’ll go alone if I have to, but I thought I might try to round up someone from town,” Hank said.
“I’m pretty sure Jimmy is still around,” Chet said. “I didn’t see him among the dead.”
Hank nodded. “Yeah, Jimmy would be fine.”
“We’ll make sure you are well provisioned,” Sam said. “When do you plan to pull out?”
“In the morning,” Hank said.
Sam stood. “Okay, let’s get some supplies together. Guns and ammo are no problem. With Frank’s contribution, we have plenty of both. And we have some ready to eat stuff, good for on the move.”
“And I’ll go into town with you in the morning to try to find Jimmy,” Tiff said.
“I’ll go, too,” Chet said.
“Might as well count me in,” Sam said, as he looked at Pete. “As long as you’ll be here to help hold down the fort.”
“No problem,” Pete said. “Maybe Charlie can show Diego and me how to set more traps.”
Charlie nodded.
“And Chet, Tiff, and I can bury the guys we lost at the barricade,” Sam said.
Emma got to her feet and traipsed toward the kitchen. “Let me put some dinner together.”
“What about this Toby guy?” Charlie asked.
“As far as I’m concerned,” Sam said, “if he
doesn’t bother us, we won’t bother him.”
“What about the food and the rest of the people?” Pete asked.
Sam turned toward Pete. “It’s like we said in the very beginning,” Sam said, “each person has to find a way to survive on their own.”
***
Sam admired the sun just beginning to filter through the trees while he waited for Chet and Tiff to finish loading Hank’s truck with provisions.
Pete put a length of garden hose and a gas can in the back and then shook hands with Hank.
“With any luck, I’ll be back here in a few days,” Hank said. He then turned and slid into the driver’s seat as he waved at Charlie, Emma, and Diego standing in front of the cabin.
Sam, Chet, and Tiff hopped into the Hummer. Chet fired the engine and waited for Hank to pull out.
Hank waved through the open window a final time and pulled away.
Chet followed the truck out the drive and onto the pavement.
“I wonder if it would be possible to repair one or both of those vehicles at the police department,” Tiff asked from the back seat.
Sam looked back at her and furrowed his brow. He thought for a moment. “Maybe. There’s a guy in town known for his mechanical skills. A lot of people rave about his ability to fix anything on a car, especially the older models. Fred, I think.”
“Only worth the effort if Toby will give them up without a fight,” Chet said.
“We can ask,” Sam said. “Maybe one for him and one for us if we can get them both running.”
“We can trade a rifle and some ammo for the work,” Tiff said.
Sam nodded.
Chet followed Hank around the main curve heading into town.
“Does he know where he’s going?” Chet asked.
“He mumbled something yesterday about knowing where Jimmy might be,” Sam said.
