Prepper's Betrayal: post-apocalyptic survival action and adventure thriller

by AJ Newman

  Tom scratched his chin and watched the screen. “Maybe searching the barn and ranch will give us time to move the herd. They were bound to find the ranch and probably the bunker. I will concentrate on getting the herd to safety and starting a diversion on the Aryan Sons’ west side. Team, look for any small groups of the asshats on the west end of Green Springs Highway from the airport while I get the other team going over to move the cattle.”

  By supper the next day, the team had moved the cattle to a safe area on the banks of Hyatt Lake. The Aryan Sons hadn’t found the barn. Tom, Rick, and Colt had left the cave around three o’clock in the afternoon and headed toward the abandoned train in Tom’s pickup. Jackie and Kate flew drones above them while Kendra kept surveillance on the Aryan's headquarters. Tom drove around south Ashland until his truck was spotted by a patrol of Mendoza’s.

  Colt shot and hit the gang’s pickup just before Tom hauled ass away from them on Green Springs Highway. He drove slow enough to keep them in sight behind him until they were two miles from the airport. He motioned for Colt and Rick to shoot at the truck again and then sped away.

  Tom had been a bit too cocky about running away from the truck they’d just attacked to get it to follow them. The vehicle was quickly on their tail, and the crew was shooting at them. Bullets barely missed Colt and Rick before Tom floored the truck and went around a curve. Tom drove as fast as the old truck would go and then suddenly slowed about two hundred yards from the Aryan Son’s camp. He moved into a stand of trees beside a dirt road and disappeared. Tom shut the motor off and heard the gang’s pickup fly by on the road.

  A minute later, there were gunshots, and the Aryan Sons’ machine gun opened up on Mendoza’s men. The fight was fierce, and the machine guns pinned Mendoza’s men down. The pickup had surprised the Aryan Sons, and only that kept Mendoza’s men alive for a few minutes. The battle was over but not before one of Mendoza’s men had radioed back to headquarters. The pickup and men had been chewed to pieces by the machine guns, and the fight was over.

  ***

  Carlos screamed, “Who in hell would attack my men?”

  One of his men said, “Perhaps it was the vigilantes. A pickup was sighted earlier, and I sent a team to find and capture it. Our men followed the pickup into a trap.”

  Carlos stared at the man. “Take plenty of firepower and eliminate these people who attacked my men.”

  The man replied, “Yes, sir! I’ll send them now!”

  Carlos yelled, “Go with them and lead them to victory or don’t come back.”

  The man said, “I’ll find them this evening and attack them at sunrise. We’ll catch them by surprise and wipe every man, woman, and dog off the face of the Earth.”

  Carlos shook his head. “Just killing them will be fine.”

  The man was one of Mendoza’s lieutenants and knew defeat meant death. He called for his most trusted men and told them to bring several light machine guns, hand grenades, and a half-dozen RPGs. “We need to overwhelm the enemy and bring their heads back to Carlos. I’m going so I can direct the attack myself. Let’s not let Carlos down.”

  ***

  Green Springs Highway, west of the Oakhurst Airport

  Tom checked his old truck and saw three bullet holes. One had hit the tailgate, and two had hit the left fender. “Crap! One of the bullets hit the tire! It’s flat! I’ll get the jack while Colt lowers the spare tire.”

  Colt lowered the spare while Tom jacked the truck up. Colt rolled the tire out from under the vehicle and stood it on end to pass to Tom.

  Rick thought the tire looked a bit low and checked it. “Tom, you can stop jacking. This tire is also flat. There are two holes in it. One went in, and the other blew a big hole on its way out. I think we’re walking.”

  Tom knew they’d better leave the area before the Aryans sent out scout teams. “Grab your packs and weapons. We have a long uphill walk to the cave.”

  Colt said, “Well, at least there are four or five fewer gang members from Ashland, and maybe a few skinheads died in that fight.”

  Tom said, “I kind of hope one or two lived long enough to tell them about Mendoza and his little empire. We could be jumping from the skillet into the fire. This gang could be worse than Mendoza and his mob.”

  Tom thought about how organized the new gang was and keyed his walkie-talkie. “Go silent and drop to me.”

  Kate’s drone was over Tom’s team, and she already knew about the flat tire. She lowered the drone and landed a few feet from Tom. She said, “Are you worried the gang or Aryan Sons are listening in on us?”

  Tom said, “Yes, on the Aryans. We have to walk home. Could you have someone meet us at Green Springs Inn?”

  Kate replied, “Will do on the transportation. Of course, we’ll keep watch over you.”

  Tom replied, “Thanks. Maybe we should even keep this type of communication to a minimum. Bye.”

  Tom stayed off the highway as much as possible as they walked west toward the Inn. They were about halfway there when Rick called out. “A vehicle is approaching behind us.”

  They left the road and hid behind several fallen trees. They could hear the vehicle’s noise become louder as it got closer to them. The vehicle was moving slowly and stopped in front of a house they’d passed a few hundred yards back. The vehicle started moving again and came into view. It was an older F150 with a machine gun mounted in the bed. The truck had steel plates welded to the front, back, and sides of the vehicle. The driver only had a few small slits to watch the road.

  The four men in the back of the truck were actively searching the woods and behind them. These men weren’t typical gang members. They were disciplined and acted like trained military soldiers.

  Tom and the others stayed hidden as the truck moved out of sight. Tom said, “We need to be really careful now. They could have dropped a few men behind us. Let’s keep going but stay out of sight of the road. I’ll warn the others.”

  Tom keyed the mic on the walkie-talkie. “Watch for vehicles.”

  Tom heard a noise coming from in front of them that sounded like the truck had stopped. Suddenly, another truck came roaring up from behind them. Tom cringed when he saw a man with a radio direction finder in the bed of the vehicle. Tom whispered, “Let’s cut across country to Hyatt Lake road. They know we’re here.”

  Tom knew Kate’s drone was over them and should have seen the trucks. He hoped she knew it was too dangerous for anyone to pick them up with the enemy on their tails. The walk through the woods up and down the hills was brutal, but they finally arrived at Hyatt Lake Road about a mile up the road.

  Tom stopped and told Rick and Colt to take a break while he went to the road to check for the Aryans. He didn’t see any of the enemy, but he heard a buzzing and looked up. A drone dropped down and landed.

  Jackie’s voice said, “I had Jerry attach walkie-talkies and a servo to push the mic button on two drones. I’m flying toward Ashland, and you can guess the rest.”

  Tom smiled, “I’ll kiss you when I get home.”

  *

  Chapter 19

  The Aryan Sons

  Zack burst into the room. “Henry, the radio transmissions are now coming from Ashland and a couple of locations southwest of us. The dumbasses don’t realize we can hear every word they say. I’m not too worried about them. Their weapons are just ARs, AKs, and handguns.”

  Henry looked up from a map on the table. “A rifle or pistol bullet will kill you just as quickly as a machine gun bullet. Don’t underestimate any group that has survived so far.”

  Zack huffed, “These are stupid Mexicans. They won’t be a problem for our men.”

  Henry shook his head. “Zack, that crap is what the men need to hear, not me. These are men from a Mexican Cartel. Jorge Mendoza is someone to fear. Even his asshole son in Ashland will be a formidable foe. A bullet can’t tell a white man from a black or brown man. Be careful, my friend.”

  Zack balked. “We came here to take over the area
and make it our home. The sooner we run them out, the sooner we can rest and enjoy life without the law breathing down our necks.”

  Henry pounded on the table. “Zack, slow down. We don’t want to walk in blind, start a war, and find ourselves on the short end of the stick. Stay with my plan. We scout the area, find the weaknesses, and eliminate their men in small controlled attacks while keeping them from being attacked. Find out how they found us.”

  Henry was the leader of the local Aryan Sons. He had been a Major in the army and was caught stealing weapons and selling them to motorcycle and drug gangs. He only joined the Aryans because he’d cheated the jailed leader of the Aztecs Motorcycle Club. They put a hit out on him, and he ran to the leader of the Aryan Sons in prison to protect him if he supplied them with weapons when he got out of jail.

  The ex-army major then infiltrated the Aryan Sons with his corrupt army comrades and took over the northwest chapter just before the shit hit the fan. He was tired of Idaho and decided to move his gang to the coast of Oregon.

  ***

  The Cave

  Kate controlled the drone that stayed with Tom and his team while Jackie flew her drone with the walkie-talkie to Ashland. Kendra flew her walkie-talkie-equipped drone to a location several miles south of Oakhurst Airport. Jackie had Bill be the voice on her walkie-talkie, and Jerry was the voice on Kendra’s walkie-talkie.

  The location south of the Aryan Sons was chosen by Jackie to be the most remote she could find. This would make it rough on the direction finder to find them. Kate and Jackie knew Tom didn’t want to start a war now, so they just started the Aryans on a wild goose chase.

  Bill used his best Hispanic voice. “Carlos is impatient. Find those skinheads today, so we can plan an attack.”

  Jerry answered, “Boss, there’s a lot of country out there to search. Carl’s transmission ended before he said where his crew had been attacked. We’ll find them and then spy on them until further instructions.”

  Jackie moved the drone along several old logging trails several times. This made the Aryan Son’s searchers think Mendoza’s men were just staying a step ahead of them. This went on for the rest of the day, and then Kate had them cease transmitting just before midnight when Tom, Colt, and Rick arrived home. They were weary and just wanted to sleep.

  Colt joined Greta in their room, but Tom and Rick stayed awake to receive an update from Kate and Jackie concerning the deception they perpetrated on both gangs.

  Tom said, “If we’re careful, we can sting each group with gunfire from the drones and build them up to a frenzy. I don’t want them to fight a war in Ashland, but getting to Mendoza might mean a fight in the city unless we can convince him that he’d be safer elsewhere.”

  ***

  The Cave

  Kate snuck back into their room to find Tom yawning and stretching. “You’ve slept most of the morning, sleepy head.”

  Tom rubbed his eyes and pulled Kate into bed with him. He kissed her passionately and started to pull her T-shirt over her head.

  Kate chuckled, “Sorry. There’s no time for that this morning. Everyone is waiting for you to join us so we can make plans to handle Mendoza and this new threat.”

  Tom hugged his wife. “There’s time to talk about killing people but no time for making love. I don’t want to live in that world.”

  Kate rose and pulled her T-shirt over her head. “Well, when you put it that way, the others can wait.”

  Rick saw Tom and Kate coming down the hallway. “You’re late. I’ve been up for hours.”

  Bill laughed. “Or have you been busy with homework?”

  Tom laughed and ignored Bill. “Rick, it sucks to be you. I needed some rest and time to unwind.”

  Granny B brought a plate full of fried eggs, fried Spam, and homemade cat-head biscuits along with homemade butter and blackberry jam. Tom ignored the others and began eating. He kept his eyes focused on his plate until he’d wiped it clean with a half biscuit and then finished eating the biscuit.

  He looked up and said, “Let’s go to one of the empty supply rooms so we can get some privacy. Kate, would you fetch Colt, Greta, and Lou and ask them to join us?”

  Tom led the rest of the group to the room. He waited until Kate brought the others in with her. “Granny B, Kate, Jackie, and Rick, I’ve expanded the number of people that I trust to handle this task to include everyone in the room. Lou, Bill, Colt, and Greta are welcome additions to our inner circle. Don’t let me down by failing to keep what’s said in this room to yourselves. I want to start by filling the new folks in on our current situation.”

  Tom proceeded to tell them about there still being a spy in the group and that James had been a spy. He covered the situation with the vigilantes, Mendoza’s group, and the new threat from the Aryan Sons.

  Greta said, “Well, now the trip Colt and you two made makes sense. Now, how do we poke two bears but not get mauled in the fight?”

  Tom answered, “Very carefully. That’s one of the reasons I want to contact the vigilante group. I think they can help keep either group from focusing on us.”

  Jackie asked, “I guess we’ll have to use the drones to set up the meeting, won’t we?”

  Kate said, “I think so. Kendra and I have been watching the group and finally spotted Samantha yesterday. We may have seen her before, but winter clothes and parka hoods made identifying people almost impossible. Anyway, she’s obviously in charge of the group.”

  Tom rubbed the top of his head and cracked his knuckles. “We still need to know who Sam and Lucy are to know if they can be trusted. Fly a drone over the vigilantes before noon, and I’ll try to talk with them.”

  The room broke into laughter, and Kate poked Tom on the ribs. “Darling, that only gives me five minutes.”

  Tom looked up at the clock and said, “And make it snappy.”

  Kate gave him a puzzled look. Tom said, “Grandpa said snappy instead of quick. Anyway, get your butt in gear and make contact.”

  Kate gave Tom a fiery look. Bill saw the flames in her eyes. “Boy, did you step in it.”

  Tom’s eyes were wide open. “Babe, please make it snappy.”

  ***

  Shale City Road

  The vigilantes were performing maintenance on their vehicles when the drone arrived over them. The sun was high, and there weren’t any shadows to hide their activity. Kate was surprised to see a woman who constantly scanned the sky with binoculars. Kate kept the drone positioned so the woman would be blinded by the sun as the drone was lowered.

  Kate said, “Tom, I think they are worried about someone flying over them. Hey, wait a minute.”

  Kate moved the drone quickly to place the drone between the approaching plane and the sun. “There’s a small plane circling the area. I only noticed it because the scout kept turning in a circle.”

  Tom watched the monitor. “Hey, the team that’s working on that farm truck isn’t pulling maintenance. They have a Ma Deuce mounted in the back. They’re waiting on the plane to get closer before trying to shoot it down. That .5o caliber Browning will rip the plane to pieces. I hope they have plenty of ammunition.”

  Rick said, “I recognize the plane. It’s one of the Aryan Sons’ planes. Let’s shoot it down, if we can.”

  Kate said, “We only have the .22 short rifle and some fragmentation bombs on board. I can shoot the plane with the .22, but the chance of hitting it is small.”

  Jerry said, “I can make something that will bring down a small propeller driven plane for the next encounter. The only way to bring it down now would be to crash the drone into the plane. That should set off the bombs.”

  The plane circled lower, and then the truck-mounted machine gun opened up with short blasts in front of the aircraft. The plane dodged the stream of bullets by dropping down to tree top level and flying directly over the compound below. That was a mistake because the vigilantes opened fire with their light machine guns and rifles. The pilot lost control, and the plane nosedived into a
short-lived spiral. He tried to regain control, but it was too late. The aircraft hit a tall tree and exploded. The plane’s burned hulk caught in the tree and dangled. A body fell from the plane and hit the ground sixty feet below with a thud. Then the remains of the plane fell on top of the pour soul.

  Tom said, “Lower the drone while they’re busy with the crash.”

  The drone’s landing didn’t go unnoticed. A woman yelled, “Drone!”

  Tom called out over the speaker. “I need to talk to your leader.”

  He saw several guns pointed at the drone. “Lower your weapons. If you fire, my other drone will begin bombing the ones who shot.”

  Tom heard a voice he recognized. “Hello, Sam. I see you’re doing okay. You seem to have lost your daughter.”

  Sam replied, “I don’t have a daughter. Lucy works for me. She had you fooled for several months. What do you want?”

  Tom chuckled, “It’s what you need that I’m here to discuss. That plane you shot down belongs to the Aryan Sons, and they have larger armed planes and ten times the firepower you have. You need to load up and get out of there – now!”

  Sam said, “Where will we go? If you’re right and they catch us on the move, they could blow us to pieces.”

  Tom answered, “Wait a second. I have an idea.”

  Tom switched the mic off. “Folks, they could hide their larger vehicles at the quarry and move into the far end of the cave. They don’t have to know the cave goes all the way up to our part.”

  Kate said, “I don’t like it, but we can’t let them get massacred.”

  The rest agreed with Kate, so Tom switched the mic back on and spoke. “We have a place that will work for you until you find a better one. Go to the old quarry about four miles down the mountain from where Shale City Road intersects with Dead Indian. I’ll meet you there and lead you to the hiding place.”