“What are you talking about?”
“I want you to fully understand what we’re up against. I’m going to have to explain it to the others in the valley, so I want you to hear it first. It’s something I couldn’t tell Sarah.”
Catherine waited in silence.
“This gang that attacked us, they killed everyone left in Clifton Furnace. The kid in the tall grass filled me in. They raid farms and small villages. They rape, kill…and they eat the people they capture. That’s what we’re up against.”
Catherine looked at him in horror. Jason wondered if he had said too much. “I guessed they were very bad,” she said, “killing and raping. But I never guessed they would be cannibals. That’s disgusting. You’re right, you can’t tell Sarah.”
“That’s why we have to win.”
An hour later they were headed back to the Walsh farm with Andy Nolan and Clair, his wife, and John Sands. John’s wife, Natalie, stayed back with their daughter. The group entered the living room. Ray Turner was already there sitting off to one side with his son, Billy. The others took seats that had been set out for the meeting. Betty, Tom’s wife, directed Jason and Catherine to the couch which was the focus of the circle. They sank back ragged and exhausted from the gun fight.
Immediately the questions began. They came faster than could be answered. Betty went to get them some water. When she returned from the kitchen she stepped to the middle of the room, “All right. Everyone quiet down! We need to let these two tell us what happened. Let them talk, please.”
The commotion stopped. Everyone stared at the two veterans of the morning’s battle. Their eyes never left them as Jason recounted the day’s events. They were all dumbfounded at hearing the details of the ferocity of that morning.
“I’m amazed you could return fire fast enough to keep them from rushing the house,” Tom commented when Jason had finished his tale.
“The shooting positions on the second floor and the roof made all the difference. They were sandbagged and gave us protection. We’d have died without that.”
Tom shook his head, “That’s quite an accomplishment,” he said.
“It wouldn’t have done any good except that Anne and the girls have gotten to be very good shots. It took all of us to hold them off.”
All eyes turned to Catherine who did her best not to look awkward.
“Why do you think they’ll come back?” Andy asked. “My God, from what you’ve told us it seems you dealt them a real blow.” Andy Nolan and his wife, Claire, were a comfortable couple who seemed to get along just fine, even after the power went out.
“There were about fourteen in the attack, from a gang of fifty to seventy. They’ve already killed everyone in Clifton Furnace. This was a raiding party targeting this valley. Some of them escaped and they’ll take the story back to the others. I don’t think the gang leader can let us have our victory. And we have his machine gun.”
“If it’s a matter of the machine gun, couldn’t you just drop the pickup off at the bridge? Let him have his truck and machine gun, like a peace offering? Then he wouldn’t have a reason to come back into the valley,” John suggested. John was the architect who had worked out of his remodeled farmhouse.
Jason looked at him in surprise. Was he serious?
Tom spoke up, “John, that gives the gang back a very dangerous weapon, one they could use on us.”
John turned to Tom, “So you agree we should go to war with these people?”
“It seems like they’re already are at war with us. If what Jason says is true about Clifton Furnace, why should we think they’ll bypass us?”
“What do we have to offer? There’s nothing here for them. I don’t see it,” John said.
Andy spoke up. “Maybe we could construct a road block at the bridge, something that would keep the gang out. Then we could give them back their machine gun without worrying about it being used on us.”
“That’s a great idea,” John added.
“That might work,” Jason said, “but how do we do that? And, more to the point, how do we do that in the next twelve hours?
“Why so quickly?” John asked.
“We don’t know when they might come back—” Jason began.
“If they come back at all,” John said.
“That’s not an ‘if’ I’m willing to bet on,” Tom said.
Jason continued, “If they come back, we don’t know when it might be. But I can guarantee you that it won’t be long in coming. They only have to gather their men and weapons before they set out to avenge the defeat we gave them today. If we act too late, we are wide open with no defense.”
Tom spoke again, “We don’t have any dynamite to create a landslide and we don’t have the heavy equipment to dismantle the bridge. And if we did, how do we get out later? We can’t be locked in this valley forever. Sure we’ve made it on our own so far, but if we need to leave, we must have a way out without backpacking over the mountains. And anyway, what’s to stop them from removing any barricade we could set up? From what Jason says, they have a lot of man power. Sorry, Andy, I don’t think it’s a workable plan.”
“But how can we beat them? It’s just the few of us against…how many did you say…fifty of them? I don’t see how we win that battle,” John declared.
Jason thought for a moment. “There aren’t any good choices, the way I see it. I’ve survived, my family has survived, by being ready to repel force with force—”
“But not against these odds,” John said.
“Yesterday we had four of us against fourteen and we won, so it is possible to win against superior numbers.” Jason studied the group. Ray Turner just scowled at him and the others. He was amazed that Tom succeeded in getting him to come. He probably just wants to find out about the shooting and that’s all. Tom seemed to be on board. He understood evil and violence. Andy seemed to be pretty down to earth, if uncommitted. John seemed to be in denial that this idyllic valley would be violated. All of them had adjusted to living off the grid when the power went out. In varying degrees they were making it here in the valley. Would they realize their need to defend it?
The group was silent for some moments then John spoke again, “I have a seven year old daughter. I’d like her to grow up with a father. If we fight these people, even if we win the fight, some of us may be injured or killed. What price do we pay for victory? Are you all ready to be killed? Because that’s what could happen if we fight this gang. We need to find another way.”
Jason could see Catherine was getting more and more agitated as the conversation progressed. He was about to respond when she spoke up.
“I’m pretty young so maybe I should let you adults speak and decide, but today I killed some adults, so maybe I’ve earned the right to speak. I didn’t want to fight this morning and I don’t want to do it again, but I will if that’s what it takes to stay alive.” All eyes turned to her. With a nervous swallow she continued, “Jason filled me in on who these people are. They raped, killed and ate the remaining people in Clifton Furnace.” She stopped to let that sink in. The room was silent. “If they had won today, they would have killed Jason and raped me, my mom and my sister, Sarah. Maybe they would have eaten us as well. They would have gone on up the valley and done the same to all of you.” She paused again, turning to John, “Mr. Sands, your little girl. Think about what they would do to her… and your wife.” She stared hard at him, not wavering.
John turned away from her.
“John, do you think you can reason with someone who will eat people?” Jason added.
The room’s silence was broken by Ray Turner clearing his throat. “I fight my own battles. I’m not joining your war. They come to my place they won’t find me. I’ll melt away in the woods. They come into the woods they’ll find me all right. I’ll put a bullet in their head before they know I’m there. These city slickers ain’t any good in the woods. I’ll pick ‘em off like crows on a wire.”
“We could all go up into
the woods and wait for them to leave,” John offered. “That might be safer then fighting them.”
“What will you come back to?” Tom asked. “You need shelter and food to make it through the winter. They’ll take your resources and maybe burn your house down as well.”
“Why would they do that?” John asked.
“Are you willing to bet your house they wouldn’t? From what Jason has said, that’s how they operate. They take what they want—pretty much everything, kill anyone in their way and they don’t seem to care about leaving things unharmed. They’re vandals as well as thieves. ” Tom replied.
“Andy, what do you think?” Jason was taking a chance but he needed another man on his side.
Andy sat silence for some time. “Not sure what I think. This is hard to digest. The gang may or may not come back. If we prepare and they do, we’ll have a horrendous fight on our hands…and maybe lose. Even if we win some of us may be killed or wounded. But if we don’t prepare and they come back, our only option is to flee into the woods and maybe lose everything.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not so quick on my feet when it comes to fleeing. And Claire even less so.” He squeezed her hand as he spoke.
“I agree with Andy. I don’t want to leave what we’ve gathered and worked to build since the power went out. I don’t think I could survive in the forest without shelter,” Claire said.
“So where do you stand?” Tom pressed.
“I guess I want to defend the valley. I’d rather trust in myself and the rest of you,” he looked around the room, “than trust in what this gang might or might not do.”
Ray jumped up. “You all are a bunch of fools. You gonna to make this guy your general? Gonna to march off and kill this gang? Gonna to get yourselves killed is what you’ll do.”
“Billy, how do you feel about this?” Jason asked.
“Billy thinks the same as me.” Ray shouted back at him. “You come into this valley. You think you’re some kind of hero? Killing all the game in the hills, taking all our food. Don’t think I’m gonna to listen to you. What the hell do you know? For all I know this trouble followed you. Maybe you’re the reason this gang is here.”
Billy looked like he was going to answer but didn’t when his dad’s tirade continued.
Jason looked straight back at Ray. “We didn’t get off to a good start and I’m sorry about that. I didn’t bring them here, but I’ve run into the likes of them outside this valley. If you want to see what happens when they attack, come down and look at our farm. And if you want to see what we can do together, come down and look at our farm.”
Catherine stood up, her fists clenched at her side, her dark eyes now blazed in anger. “Mr. Turner, we just had to fight for our lives today. Without Jason, my mother, my sister and I would be raped, enslaved or dead right now. So, don’t you talk to him like that. You have no right. He hasn’t done you any harm and he saved our family.” Tears began to well up in her eyes. She fought them back and stared directly at the old man, her body shaking with emotion.
Jason stood up and put his arm around Catherine. “She’s right.” He turned to John Sands, “John, help us. Together we can save ourselves—this valley. We need your help.”
“All right, I’ll help. But it scares me. I don’t know much about guns and shooting, but I can try.” John responded.
“I’m in,” Andy said. “I don’t move so well but I know how to shoot.”
“Both Betty and me are in, aren’t we?” Tom looked to his wife who nodded.
“I’ve hunted for years,” Betty said.
“She’s a good shot too,” Tom added.
“This will be like hunting, only it’s more dangerous game,” Betty said. “I don’t want to give scum like that a chance to do us harm. I had friends in Clifton Furnace…we all did.”
“I can run that M60. Is there any ammunition for it?” Tom asked. Jason nodded. “Okay, where do we fight them?” he continued.
“The best place to set up an ambush is at the bridge. It’s single lane and the road is hemmed in by the cliffs cut into the ridge. We set up on the high ground, we stop the vehicles on the bridge and the gorge on the valley side becomes a killing zone.”
“So what’s next?” John asked.
“Catherine and I will take you and Andy and Claire back to your farms. Gather some food and water and meet at our farm. Do you have a way to get there? We need to head back after we drop you off to collect weapons and ammunition.”
“I’ve got a pickup that runs, still have some gas left,” Andy said. “I’ll collect everyone and bring them down.”
Ray stood and motioned for Billy to follow him. Billy looked at Catherine, his eyes wide. He had been staring at her ever since she spoke.
“Ray, are you going to join us?” Jason asked as he shuffled past. Ray just glared back at him and left without a word.
“Ignore him,” Tom said.
“We’ll go over weapons when you get to the farm. I suggest you all stay there tonight. We can head for the bridge first thing in the morning to set up our ambush,” Jason said.
“John, why don’t you have Natalie and Lisa come to our house. They can stay with me while you’re gone,” Claire said. “They’ll be as safe as they can be at our place.”
John nodded and the meeting broke up. Jason and Catherine dropped John, Andy and Claire off and set out for home. It was mid-afternoon. Exhaustion from the battle and the stress of negotiating with the others finally caught up with them. He could see Catherine’s head nodding as fatigue overwhelmed her. She finally slouched over on the bench seat, laying her head on Jason’s leg, and fell fast asleep. Jason hung his head out of the window, trying to stay awake.
When they reached the farm Catherine was still asleep. Jason left her in the cab and went in to Anne and Sarah. Anne had moved Sarah to the couch, away from the mess left in the kitchen from the battle. Sarah was half reclining. Her forehead was tightly wrapped and she held bandages on the side of her head over the deep cut.
“How did it go? Are the others going to help?” Anne asked as he entered the room.
“Everyone is going to help except for the Turners.”
Looking past Jason, Anne asked, “Where’s Catherine?”
“She’s asleep in the pickup. The stress of the battle and talking with everyone was too much for her.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“The others are coming here later today. We’re going to plan our defense and set up tomorrow.”
Anne looked around in distress, “The house is so torn apart. There’s no time to clean it.”
Jason took her in his arms and hugged her, “My sweetheart, earlier the warrior and now the hostess. Don’t fret. We’ll have all the time we need to clean and repair things, but not now.”
“Will we? Tell me truly. I need the truth about what is going to happen. You must be honest with me…about our chances,” Anne said.
“It will be hard. We’ll defend ourselves at the bridge—ambush the gang there. It’s our best chance to defeat them. Afterwards we will have time to clean. How can I think otherwise?” His stomach tightened as he made the promise. How would this all turn out? Would this small group of defenders, mostly novices, be able to stand against hardened outlaws? Besides himself, they had only one combat veteran. Even with their advantageous position, he wasn’t sure this was not a suicide mission; one he was sending Catherine on as well as the rest. Doubt began to creep into his thoughts; he forced it down. Now was the time for hardness, not doubt. He had set the group on this path and it would need hard men and women to make it successful.
He turned to Sarah, “How are you doing my warrior princess?”
“I’m impersonating the mummy,” she said and tried to smile.
“You look beautiful to me,” Jason said.
“No I don’t. I’m going to have big scars all over my face.” Tears began to well up in her eyes.
“No. There may
be two small scars but they won’t overcome your beauty. Your beauty is too great. They will only add intrigue.”
Sarah tried to smile.
“I think we are all feeling overwhelmed,” Anne said.
“Let’s get some food together. Then maybe we should get Sarah to bed.”
“I don’t want to move. I don’t want to be alone,” Sarah said.
“If you want to stay downstairs when everyone comes, you can,” Anne replied.
“We need to eat something now,” Jason said as he led Anne into the kitchen.
Quietly he said to her, “As I told you before, suturing Sarah’s wounds will have to wait. I have to get everything together—the guns and ammo—and plan our defense. Early tomorrow morning we’ll go down to the bridge. If they’re coming, it could well be tomorrow.”
“So you are sure they’ll be back?”
“Whether or not I’m sure, we have to be ready. It’s foolishness not to be.”
“I understand, but do you think they actually will come back?” she pressed him.
Jason paused and looked at Anne, “Yes, I think they will return.” Anne saw his face begin to change, his eyes becoming dark. She shuddered as she looked at the man she loved.
“There will be more killing, a lot of it…” Her voice trailed off.
Jason just looked at her. His face was now hard with a cold intent growing inside. There was no tenderness now. Something dark was there, something to do with killing. No matter what the rest could do, he had to be a lethal force. “There will be killing, but I am the one who will be doing it.”
Anne shuddered again both at his countenance and his words.
Chapter 8
It was late in the day when the survivors of the attack, in their shot-up pickup truck, arrived back in Clifton Furnace. One of Big Jacks’ captains saw them pull up. He could see the destroyed windshield and bullet holes in the truck’s bodywork. He turned and ran to get Big Jacks. The men were not able to melt away before he came out of the house. He took one look at the truck and strode over to it with a dangerous expression on his face.
After the Fall (Book 1): Jason's Tale Page 17
