by Eric Vall
“What the fuck,” Tara breathed.
“Is someone here?” Paige asked with a panicked voice.
“One way to find out,” Anna said, and she took off toward the door.
“Wait!” I called, and I yanked our rifles out from under the bed and tossed one to the redhead.
We all grabbed our weapons, then followed Anna out to the wall where the guards were. I could hear men hollering in the distance as a few more rounds were released.
“What the hell is that?” Anna asked.
“It sounds like rowdy teenagers,” Tara said.
“Close,” Brody said as he came up behind us.
“What is it?” I asked seriously.
“The Guard,” the dark haired man said, and he pushed past us.
Chapter 4
I rushed after Brody and peered over the wall. The large man had come out of nowhere after none of my group had seen him all day, and I made a mental note to come back to that later, but for the moment I looked over the wall to see that there was a modified jeep filled with six men carrying M16s. They shot into the air and hollered while they did donuts on the road. The men weren’t overly large, but it looked like they at least knew how to handle the weapons they had on them.
They wore wife beaters, camo pants, and bandanas.
“That’s route 22,” Paige said.
“Yes,” Brody agreed. “They came from that way.”
“What the fuck are they doing?” Anna asked.
“They do this every so often,” Brody said with a shrug. “They like to play with their food before they eat it.”
“They’ve taken out your men?” I asked with concern.
“A few,” the dark-haired man said with a nod.
I watched as one of the men in the back of the jeep lined up a shot at one of the guards on the wall.
“Get down!” I yelled.
The men ducked just in time, and I pulled my team down as well.
“We need to get rid of these assholes,” I said through gritted teeth.
“On it,” Bailey agreed.
“Get a vantage point,” I told the blonde.
“I got this,” my sniper assured me, and then she ducked below the wall and headed further down the strip.
“Tara,” I said. “Head down to the outer wall and see if you can get a shot with your Rugar.”
“You got it, boss,” the platinum blonde said, and she gave me a sloppy salute before she ran down the nearest stairs.
“Paige, go with her,” I commanded.
“Already on it,” the brunette called as she followed the platinum blonde.
“Killin’ it,” Brody chuckled and hit me on the shoulder. “Damn, it’s good to see you work again, Tav.”
“Where are we at?” Anna asked me.
“How about the LW?” Brody asked with a raised brow.
I looked at Anna and gave her a grin.
“Let’s go,” I said. Even if I wasn’t sure about Brody still, and we hadn’t decided on his mission, I wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to have some fun with a large and undeniably powerful weapon. It was strong enough to take out that jeep and all the men in it if the hit landed right.
Brody took off toward the howitzer, with Anna and I on his tail.
“Now this thing isn’t the easiest to load,” Brody said as we reached the large machine. “So don’t waste your shot.”
“Alright,” I agreed with a nod.
I showed Anna what to do, and which lever to pull, then I told her to wait for my signal. We wouldn’t use that weapon unless we had to, as fun as it would be, they weren’t exactly manufacturing bullets for them anymore.
I crawled to the wall and peered over. The jeep moved back and forth across the wall as the men inside kept a watchful eye out for their next target. They were speeding down the strip, flipping around, then speeding back down the other way. I knew their actions were intended to taunt us, but it pissed me off more than anything. Even if Brody had pissed these guys off before, making a spectacle out of yourself was no way to get revenge. Not only was it stupid, but it was also incredibly annoying.
“Come out, come out!” a man with long, dark hair shouted from the back of the jeep.
I didn’t have eyes on Bailey, but I had eyes on Paige and Tara. I knew they would wait for my signal, so I pulled my pistol out, took aim at the guy with the long hair, and took a shot. The jeep moved so erratically that it just hit the guy in the shoulder, but that was fine by me. I hadn’t expected it to be a headshot, I only needed to do one thing, and that was give the girls my signal.
The long hair guy fell backward from the impact of the shot, and I heard him yell out in pain while one of his buddies reached over to steady him. It seemed my shot had pissed him off more than anything, but a split second after my shot had landed, I heard Bailey’s rifle crack, and the long-haired guy took a bullet to the head. Blood sprayed out onto his buddies, but they quickly pulled his weapon off of him and pushed him over the side of the jeep. Along with that they sped up and up ducked down. It seemed a shoulder injury was enough to check on your pal, but a bullet to the head meant you got sent overboard.
I looked at the poor asshole’s lifeless body on the ground as his friends sped away from him.
I took a second to assess the situation and search for their weak points and how my team could get them. I knew Bailey was ready to take them out, but most of the men had ducked down into the back of the jeep, and their accelerated speed would make a kill shot that much more difficult.
“Tires!” I shouted down to Paige and Tara.
I saw the girls line up their shot, but the jeep swerved and jerked and sped up so they had no real chance of hitting the target.
The men in the jeep were up to something, I knew it, but I didn’t know what. Had they heard me yell about the tires? I doubted that they heard anything between the noise of their jeep and the fact that they were ducked down when I yelled.
Suddenly, the men in the back popped their heads up and one of them hopped onto the back of the jeep.
What was he doing?
I realized then that they had a makeshift slingshot attached to the cage of the vehicle. The guy pulled it back and set a bottle into it while another guy lit the top.
Shit. They had molotov cocktails, and with a slingshot that size there was a chance that they could make it over the wall. Even with running water, if they hit ammunition or landed into one of the bedrooms that was filled with furniture and cloth, we were all fucked. Especially if those bottles were filled with gasoline or alcohol like I knew they were. We had to do something fast.
“Bailey!” I shouted.
“I can’t get a shot in!” I heard her call back. “They’re moving around too much!”
I waited until the jeep slowed just slightly so they could aim the slingshot properly.
“Anna, now!” I shouted.
The LW155 Howitzer went off with a thunderclap and the Earth shook from the force of the artillery piece. The shell landed about fifteen feet from the jeep at the same time that Bailey’s rifle cracked and took out the driver.
A massive dust cloud arose from the impact, and the shrapnel blowback hit the jeep with enough force to pierce the sides. The tires popped from the explosion, and the jeep scurted to a sloppy stop while the men inside panicked. The molotov cocktails had been spilt, and soon the entire jeep was engulfed in flames.
You could hear men scream, and a couple tried to hop out, but they were already coated in flames and they didn’t get far before they fell to the ground for the last time.
“Nice shot,” I told the redhead.
“Thanks,” she said with a grin.
“Mission accomplished?” Brody asked, and he ran over to look over the wall.
“Mission accomplished,” I confirmed.
“Nice job,” he said with a clap on my shoulder.
“Thanks,” I said sincerely. Though we hadn’t decided what to do about his offer yet, it was nice to be useful, especially with
these civilians around. I knew they couldn’t protect themselves, and Brody said those assholes had already gotten a few of his men before. I was happy to have not had a casualty.
I called Bailey, Tara, and Paige back up to me, and we stared over the wall as the jeep burned.
“They do that often?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Brody said. “Never brought the molotov cocktails before today, though.”
“Why didn’t you take them out before this?” Anna asked.
“Well, I’m only one man,” the dark haired man said with a grin. “As you can see that was obviously a team job.”
That comment only solidified the fact that these civilian guards were nothing more than placeholders meant to intimidate. It was dreadfully obvious that none of them knew what they were doing, and I wondered if Brody even let them carry loaded rifles.
“Why would they do that?” Bailey asked.
“They want the fort,” Brody explained. “They’ve wanted it for a while. This is the same group that owns the refinery.”
“Why, though?” Tara asked. “They have the refinery.”
“The refinery is great for making fuel,” the dark haired man said. “But the fort is a far better place to last out the winter, and a more secure place to keep their product.”
“Who are they?” I asked with real interest.
“They’re a bunch of ex cops and ex Guard guys,” Brody said.
“How do you know?” Anna asked.
“I captured one of them alive once,” he said. “I interrogated him and he told me about the refinery and all his buddies, that’s when I decided to try to make a trade with them.”
“And how long have they been here?” I asked.
“Since just before winter,” Brody explained.
“So they’ve come after you just since spring happened?” Bailey asked.
“As soon as the snow started to melt,” he agreed.
“Well, that’s part of them you don’t have to worry about anymore,” I said with a gesture over my shoulder.
“Thanks, brother,” Brody said with a grin.
“Don’t mention it,” I said. Part of me felt bad for Brody. Maybe he had been in a hard way recently and there was a reason he ran things the way he did. I still didn't agree with it, but I wondered if he would explain it if I couldn’t see his viewpoint.
“Dinner will be ready soon,” the dark haired man said. “I’ll get your answer from you then, but in the meantime come join me for a drink.”
“Alright,” I said. “We’ll be there in a moment.”
“I’ll count on that,” he laughed and headed toward the dining hall.
“Is nobody going to clean up the burning jeep?” Tara whispered, and we all turned to look at the wreckage.
Smoke wafted from the burning piece of machinery, and I could smell burnt rubber and engine oil. The jeep was still up in flames, but the men around it had mostly gone out, each of them a charred, body shaped thing on the ground.
“I guess not,” I chuckled. “The fire won’t spread with how wet it is.”
“It will tell someone we’re here,” Anna pointed out.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But I’m sure everyone already knows that Brody’s here by now, and if they didn’t, then the howitzer shot definitely woke them up.”
“Fair point,” the redhead retorted.
“So what’s our plan here?” Tara asked quietly. “Are we taking this mission or not?”
“I think we should,” Bailey said quietly.
“Alright,” I said, and I leveled with the blonde. “Why?”
“Seeing those guys attack made me feel like maybe Brody’s on to something with them,” Bailey explained. “They don’t seem like good guys. So we could do something good, and get fuel out of it at the same time.”
“Good points,” I agreed.
“I hate to say it,” Anna sighed. “But I think I’m with Bailey.”
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Yeah,” the redhead said. “The fuel is too good to pass up.”
“It will be super helpful for the farm equipment,” Paige said. “We’ll be able to farm and harvest a lot more with it, and if we can get gas every six months, we’ll do really well.”
“That’s true,” I agreed.
“I think we have to do it,” Anna said, though her mouth was pressed in a thin line.
“Alright,” I agreed. “We’ll let Brody know tonight.”
“He said dinner would be ready soon,” Paige said. “I am kind of hungry.”
“And I could use a drink,” Tara said with a grin.
“No,” I said sternly. “No drinks for you tonight.”
“What?” the platinum blonde asked with wide eyes.
“One,” I started, “if we’re taking this mission then we’ll head out early in the morning. Two, you had more than your fair share last night and nobody is going to have to take care of you tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, alright,” Tara said. “I get it. I just wanted to have some fun.”
“That’s fine,” I said softly. “But you went a bit overboard last night.”
“Yeah,” the platinum blonde sighed. “I get it. I’ll be DD tonight.”
“Thank you,” I chuckled.
“Guess we can get fucked up then,” Anna said as she looked around to the other girls.
“Hey!” Tara pouted. “If you don’t have to take care of me, then I’m not taking care of you.”
“Who gave you a snack last night?” Paige asked with a raised brow.
“And who gave you water this morning?” Anna asked, and she pointed to Bailey.
“You’re such a meanie.” Tara blew a kiss at the redhead.
“I know,” Anna said with a grin, but then her face went sour. “We really should go find Brody though, I guess.”
“He’s kind of a dick,” Tara said. “But I don’t see why you hate him so much.”
“You only like him because you’re kind of a dick, too,” Anna laughed.
“Bitches get along with bitches,” the platinum blonde said with a wink.
I followed the girls to the dining room and thought about our situation as we walked. Anna was right, we had to take the mission, but I wondered who would benefit from it most. Sure, we would get our supply of fuel, but we would definitely need to come back before harvest to get more, probably more than once.
With fuel for the equipment, though, we would be able to harvest and store enough food for several years. Instead of only having gardens to use, we would have the whole of the fields that surrounded the farms.
I figured we would have to set up some sort of trade deal with Brody, but considering he had most everything he needed, and what he didn’t have we were about to acquire for him, I wasn’t sure what on earth we could trade for fuel. It was probably one of the most valuable resources after food and water.
“Tav?” Anna asked as we walked.
“Hm?” I said as I looked over to her.
“Are you alright?” the redhead asked.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“What are you thinking about?” Bailey pushed.
“A trade deal,” I said.
“A trade deal?” Tara asked with a raised brow.
“For the fuel?” Paige asked.
“Brody said we could have half,” Tara said.
“He did,” I agreed. “But we’ll still need to come back for more before harvest.”
“You’re right,” Paige said.
“And I’m betting Brody won’t let us have more just because we did the initial dirty work,” Anna said with a set jaw.
“I’m betting not,” I sighed.
“So we’ll have to figure out something to trade,” Bailey said. “That doesn’t seem so hard.”
“Yeah,” Tara said. “We’re pretty good at acquiring things.”
“But what will he want?” I asked.
“It does seem like he has pretty much everything here,” Anna said. “And we�
��re about to get him fuel.”
“We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it,” I said as we reached the door. “We’ve made our decision. We’ll stick to it and get what we can out of this deal.”
“Alright,” my second in command agreed, and she gave a look full of trust and resolve.
I pushed the door open to the dining hall and found Brody at the head of the table as always, a jug of potato vodka to his right.
“Tav!” the dark haired man exclaimed. “I was just about to pour us drinks.”
“Thank you,” I said as I took my place at the table.
“Dinner should be ready soon,” Brody said with a grin as he filled the glass in front of me.
“We can help,” Bailey offered once more.
“Oh, Miss Sniper,” Brody laughed. “You are too kind, you’ve already done enough today. It will be ready soon. Here, drink some vodka.”
“Um, okay,” the blonde hippie said as she took the glass. “Thank you.”
“I appreciate your help out there today,” he said with a look at each of the girls and myself. “You did good work, exactly what I need for this mission I hope you’ll accept.”
If Brody hadn’t believed me about my team before, he definitely did after the incident earlier. There was obviously no doubt in his mind that we were capable, and my thoughts went back to his comment about it being a ‘team job’. That was clearly directed toward us and what we could do.
He had been warm to my team since we arrived, but it seemed he was especially kind this evening, and I figured that their skills had to be the reason. Brody wasn’t one to give respect where it hadn’t been earned. I realized that even back in the Rangers with him.
I took a sip of my vodka, smiled, and nodded. It seemed yet again the civilians would not join us for dinner, but perhaps Bailey was right, perhaps he ran things differently because we had had different experiences. It didn’t explain it to me, and I was still suspicious, but maybe Brody wasn’t as worthy of my suspicion as I had initially thought. I did know the guy before the world went to hell, after all. Perhaps I was overprotective of my girls and my new life. Brody had said he wouldn’t go back for anything, and as much as I missed the old world, I loved the people I had now, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, either.
