by Eric Vall
“Hey, boy,” Bailey called out the window and the black headed dog started to wag his tail.
I followed Winchester the rest of the way up the driveway and parked the jeep. The heater had kept it nice and warm inside, but I knew it would be cold outside from the blast of air we had gotten when Bailey rolled the window down.
“Tav?” a voice called, and I stepped out of the jeep and looked up to the roof. I couldn’t make out who was up there, but I could see the outline of a person, and I knew they were the one who had called down.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I said as Winchester ran over and jumped up with his front two paws on my chest so he could lick my face. “Hey, buddy.”
“Okay,” the person said, and then I recognized the voice as belonging to Joe, one of our civilians. “I thought it was you guys.”
“Is anyone awake inside?” I asked.
“Rolly must be,” he said. “He let Winchester out just a few minutes ago.”
“Thanks,” I said.
The light was on in the living room of the dorms, but I didn’t want to take that to mean that people were awake, it could have easily gotten left on by accident. Part of me hoped that everyone was asleep, but I knew that they wouldn’t be. There was too much at stake, and I doubted that I’d be able to sleep at a time like that, either.
“Let’s get the kids inside,” I told Tara and Bailey.
“Tav?” Rolly’s voice called out, and I turned to see him in the doorway of the dorm building.
“It’s us,” I said.
“I figured as much,” the old man said, and he started to walk out toward the jeep.
Rosy and Donald started to stir as the girls each attempted to pick up one of them so they could carry them inside.
“Where’s Henry?” I asked Rolly.
“He’s right inside,” the old man said.
“Rolly?” Rosy asked, and suddenly her eyes flew open and she started to struggle to get away from Tara. “Rolly!”
The platinum blonde let her go and the little girl ran around the jeep and flew straight into Rolly’s arms. The old man bent down to catch her, but he nearly toppled over as she made contact. Rosy was small, but she ran to him at full speed. I could hear her small sobs against his chest, and it broke my heart.
“It’s okay, baby,” Rolly said, and he wiped a tear from his own eye.
“Rolly,” Donald cried, and she slowly walked over to the old man.
Rolly wrapped the boy in his arms as well, and he caressed both of their hair and kissed the tops of their heads. Winchester ran over as well and licked both of their small faces, obviously excited to see them again.
I looked over to Tara and Bailey to see that they were about to cry just from watching the scene unfold, and I had to admit, it was quite emotional.
“Let’s get you inside to see your grandpa,” Rolly said after a moment.
“Is he okay?” Rosy asked.
“Your grandpa?” Rolly asked, as if it was a shock that she would ask such a question. “He’s tough as nails, of course he’s alright. He looks a little purple, though.”
“Does he have a black eye?” Donald asked as they walked hand in hand toward the dorm building.
“He does,” Rolly chuckled. “Two, actually.”
“That must hurt,” Rosy said. “Uncle Tav has a black eye, too.”
“Does he now?” Rolly asked, and he looked back at me. It was pretty dark out so I wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t noticed. “I’m sure it hurts a little bit, but he’s going to be so happy to see you that he won’t even care, I guarantee it.”
I knew that Rolly was right, and that was the reason we’d brought the kids back in the middle of the night in the first place. It was a good thing, too, I should have known that Henry and Rolly wouldn’t be able to sleep, not with the kids missing. Even with how much pain Henry must still be in, I doubted he’d gotten a good night’s sleep since we left.
The girls and I followed Rolly and the kids inside, and as soon as Rolly opened the door the kids ran toward their grandfather who was on the couch. There was a bottle of bourbon opened on the table, and Betty sat in one of the chairs nearby with a wide smile on her face as she watched the children with their grandfather.
The kids were clearly happy to be back with their grandfather, but they began to cry hard, just as they had done outside with Rolly. It was hard not to tear up at their outpour of emotion at seeing the grandpa again.
“Come here,” Henry said, and he lifted the children onto his lap and cried into their hair as he rocked them back and forth.
“I’ma need this real quick,” Tara said, and she grabbed the bottle of bourbon from the coffee table and took a swig. “Otherwise I’m going to cry again.”
“Take all you need,” Betty chuckled, then she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I assured her.
“You look about as bad as Henry did when he showed up,” Betty said. “Can I get you something? Some pain meds?”
“No, I’ll be okay,” I said with a smile. “It doesn’t really hurt.”
“Okay,” Betty agreed, but then Rolly walked over to us and we all went quiet.
“I can’t believe you got them back,” Rolly said, his eyes filled with tears. “I mean, I can, I just…”
“I know,” I said, and I clapped him on the shoulder, but the old man surprised me and pulled me in for a tight hug.
“I want in on this,” Bailey said, and she wrapped her arms around the both of us.
“Me, too,” Tara said, and she added herself to the group. “Betty, get in here.”
“How can I not?” the old woman asked as she joined in on the group hug as well.
After everyone pulled away Rolly looked at me, his milky blue eyes full of emotion.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
“You don’t need to thank me,” I told him. “We just did what was right.”
“You all want a drink?” Betty asked. “Tara’s already got one, but I think you’ve more than earned a victory shot.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile, “but we’re going to get back to the refinery. The other girls are still there.”
“Oh, right,” Betty said with a frown. “I guess I was so caught up I didn’t even notice. Why are they still there?”
“We had to go into the fort as stealthily as possible,” I explained. “Only Tara and I went in, with Bailey on the outside as insurance.”
“Right,” Betty said. “I bet they’re still up wondering where you are just like we were. You should go to them.”
“You can let them know we’re on our way back if you want,” Bailey suggested. “The radio is still working, right?”
“Of course,” Betty said.
“It’s alright,” I told her. “If they are asleep I don’t want to bother them, but I do want to get back to them. We’ll be home in the morning, though.”
“I’ll make breakfast,” Betty said with a smile.
“You better make some hoe cakes for Paige,” Tara laughed.
“I’ll make all of your favorites,” Betty said, “don’t you worry.”
“I can’t wait,” Bailey said.
A slight stirring sound came from behind the couch, and Betty rushed over and picked up baby Anthony.
“Hey, little guy,” Bailey said as Betty walked him over.
“We must have woke him up with all the excitement,” Betty said, and the sleepy baby leaned against her neck.
“He’s so cute,” Tara said as she reached out to stroke his small cheek.
While the girls talked about how baby Anthony had been while Kimmy had been gone with us, I watched Henry and the grandkids. Henry held them each close as little tears still streamed down their cheeks. They seemed to have calmed down some, though, and it looked almost like they were about to fall asleep against him. I couldn’t blame them, they must have been exhausted after everything they’d been through.
Henry must hav
e felt me watching him, because he looked up and made eye contact with me. His lip shook as he took in a deep breath, then he mouthed the words ‘thank you’ and I smiled and nodded in return.
The old man still looked beat up, but his wounds weren’t quite as fresh as they had been.
Rolly sat in the chair next to his friend and poured each of them a drink. I could tell he was still trying to hold back tears, but I didn’t say anything about it, I was just happy to see everyone together again.
It had been so utterly wrong for the children to be caught up in this whole situation, and part of me felt responsible for it. Brody had only taken them as a way to get to me. I knew I couldn’t control his actions, and it wasn’t actually my fault, but still, I felt a sense of responsibility for the situation and for the children.
I was just happy I had gotten them home safe, and while the girls had pointed out that we couldn’t force Henry to stay, I hoped that he would choose to stay with us now. I couldn’t have something else happen to him or those kids, it would be too much to handle. I’d only met them a couple of times, but they still felt like family, especially because of how much Rolly loved them all. I knew the old man would be crushed if something happened to them, and I hoped he could convince Henry that they needed to stay with us from now on.
We had plenty of room still, and Henry could still take his boat out to fish every so often, just with a few others for protection. I didn’t want to stop him from living his life, I just wanted him to stay safe.
I’d leave it be for now, though, and I’d talk to him about it in the next day or two when he had a clearer head. I didn’t want him to feel pressured into making a decision, especially not if it could lead him to resent us in the future. I wanted him to be confident in whatever he chose to do and to know that we’d be there to help regardless of the choice.
“Tara, Bailey,” I said. “Are you ready to go?”
“I think so,” Bailey said.
“Yeah,” Tara agreed, and she reached out and tickled baby Anthony’s foot.
“We’ll see you in the morning,” I told Betty, then I gestured to Rolly and Henry. “Don’t let them stay up all night, eh?”
“No promises,” the old woman chuckled.
We said our goodbyes and headed to the door, seeing Henry and Rolly with the kids just made me miss my girls even more. It had been a long night without them, and I wanted to get back to them, no matter how late it would be.
As we reached the door Winchester ran out in front of us and over to the jeep.
“I think he wants to come with us,” Bailey said with a frown.
“Let him come, then,” I said with a smile.
“Really?” Bailey asked, and her lips parted into a grin.
“Why not,” I said with a shrug.
“About time he got a bit of an adventure,” Betty said behind me. “He’s always sad to see you all go.”
“I’m sad to leave him,” Bailey chuckled, then she called over to the black headed dog. “Come on, buddy, you wanna go for a ride?”
“Fine, but he sits in the back with you,” Tara said.
“Of course,” Bailey agreed.
“You sure you don’t want to stay the night?” Betty asked.
“Nah,” I told her. “I miss the girls too much.”
“Alright,” she said with a smile. “Go on, then. And be careful.”
“You know we will be,” I said, but before I could follow the girls Betty made me wait an extra minute and she went and grabbed me a bottle of vodka.
I smiled and thanked her, then I headed to the jeep.
Once everyone was loaded up I started down the driveway, and Bailey rolled down the window a bit so Winchester could poke his head out. He panted, and his tail wagged ferociously so I was reminded that it had been quite a while since we’d brought him anywhere with us besides over to the farm.
He was a good dog, and he deserved a drive every now and then, and I knew Paige would be happy to see him. She had been the one who had saved him when we first got him, but of course he’d taken to Bailey more than anyone. Still, we all loved the four legged critter, even though Tara would rarely admit it.
I pulled out onto the highway and my headlights lit the way as we headed south toward the refinery.
“Ugh, Bailey, make him stop with the panting,” Tara said. “And roll the window up, it’s cold in here.”
“Alright, boy,” Bailey cooed, and she rolled the window up and instructed the dog to lay down by her. There was plenty of room in the backseat and Winchester stretched out across the seat and put his head in Bailey’s lap so she could stroke his ears.
“Thank you,” Tara said.
“He was just excited, that’s all,” Bailey said.
“Well, I just want to be warm,” Tara chuckled as she turned the heater up. It was a chilly night out, though nighttime in the north was always a bit chilly. We didn’t have the hot and humid nights like they did in Georgia. I remembered my training at Fort Benning and how warm it would be, even on night patrol, it was almost enough to make you sweat. I’d never experienced something like that in the north. When the sun went down it got cold, that was just how it was.
I almost liked it better that way, though. I didn’t like to be too hot, and dressed in full gear on night shift was always a pain in the ass.
I’d take the north over the south any day.
“You think the girls are still up?” Bailey asked.
“I know I would be,” Tara said.
“Me, too,” I agreed.
“It was weird going on a mission without them,” Bailey said.
“I had Tav,” Tara said. “So it kind of just felt like we were paired off, but it was weird knowing that there wasn’t anybody else around.”
“Yeah, being alone was kind of sucky,” Bailey laughed. “It wasn’t too bad, I’m used to being alone on missions a lot, but this time it was just a really long time.”
“It was nice to know that you were there,” I told her with a smile.
“Thanks,” Bailey said. “I wish I could’ve helped more, but I didn’t want to give you guys away.”
“You did good,” I told her. “Knowing when not to fire is just as important as knowing when to.”
“Yeah, but one’s more exciting than the other,” the blonde hippy chuckled.
“Still, it was definitely good to know that you were there to have our backs,” Tara said. “Things didn’t go quite as expected.”
“No?” Bailey asked. “What do you mean?”
“Just some guards not being where they were supposed to be,” the platinum blonde said with a shrug. “Minor stuff, but it makes a big difference at the time.”
“It does,” I agreed. “You both did well, I’m really proud of you.”
“I didn’t do much,” Bailey said.
“It was a big comfort knowing that you were out there,” Tara said. “I knew that if anybody tried to come after us and got to the wall then you’d take them down. You did more than you think.”
“She’s right,” I said. “Having a deadeye on your side is always a nice comfort. It gives you an added feeling of security.”
“Well, I’m glad to be of service, then,” Bailey chuckled.
“You know Anna and Paige are going to insist on their own mission now, right?” Tara asked.
“I hadn’t thought about it,” I laughed. “You think so?”
“Definitely,” Tara said. “I would, at least.”
“Well, we’ll have to wait for something else to come up,” I said.
“I’m sure that won’t take long,” the platinum blonde grumbled.
“It does seem like every time we take out one group of assholes another one is waiting to take their place,” Bailey said.
“That’s the way of the world, ladies,” I said with a small smile. “But we just keep doing what we do.”
The girls were quiet then, and we drove on in silence for a while. I was excited to see Anna and Paige, but
I wasn’t sure how to feel about Kimmy. I was excited to see her, but after the kiss we’d shared before I left, I didn’t want her to feel awkward around me. I’d never want to push her to do anything too quickly, and I hoped that she didn’t greet me with a cold shoulder. I wanted to kiss her again, but I’d have to wait and see how she reacted to seeing me before I tried anything.
I drove on with only the moon above me, and my headlights in front of me. I looked in the rearview mirror to see that Bailey and Winchester were fast asleep. The blonde hippie’s head rested against her right shoulder, and her left hand was placed on Winchester’s neck. Her head bobbed slightly with the motion of the car, but she looked peaceful and sweet.
I checked the passenger’s seat then to see that Tara’s eyes were closed as well. The platinum blonde had one foot propped up on the seat, and one arm propped up on the side of the door. Her chin was cupped in her hand, and her mouth was parted slightly so I could hear her even breathing.
I smiled to myself about how adorable they each were. They had put in a long, hard day, and I knew they had to be exhausted. I was tired myself, but we had already driven to campus, I saw no reason not to make the rest of the trip to the refinery.
I really was incredibly proud of both Tara and Bailey. Neither of them had complained once we were in our barrels, and Tara had really come through as we made our way through the fort. If she hadn’t caught the gun that almost fell then we could have been in even worse trouble, and it was her who ended up giving Brody the final stab. As much as I had wanted to drain the life out of him with my own two hands, I thought it was more fitting that he be taken out by a woman.
He’d used and abused so many, it seemed right that a woman would be the one to put an end to him for good.
I breathed a sigh of relief as that thought crossed my mind. It was the end of him. Brody had a strange reign of terror, and it seemed like forever that we’d been dealing with his bullshit, but now it was over. He was gone, and the children and civilians were both safe.
Not only did it seem right that a woman had taken him out, but it also was humorous to me that the people he’d used for so long would now be the ones to take over the fort. He was so fond of that place, and he thought it made him invincible, and it might have if he had treated his people well. That’s what really had brought him down, his own behavior.
