by Joe Nobody
Then, from a roadside pickup, three men appeared in front of the escaping raider. Jack watched in horror as their weapons came up and took aim at him. The first shot sailed his way just as the commander slammed on the bike’s brakes.
The back tire slid around, the slick ash nearly causing Jack to lose control of his ride. In a whirling blur, he found himself facing back the way he’d come.
Adversaries were now scurrying from all directions, jockeying for superior positioning in the ensuing brawl. Jack realized his only choice was to move out of the trajectories of the whizzing, hot lead. Quickly assessing the locations of the active shooters, the commander noted bullets flying from the front, back, and his left. Just one option offered refuge and the hope of survival … the area where the young woman had fallen. Jack pointed his bike in that direction, more from instinct than any conscious thought.
A moment later, he was climbing the driveway and heading directly toward the injured female. It didn’t escape the desperate officer’s attention that the rounds stopped whizzing his way as soon as he drew close to the woman. “What the hell?” Jack hissed, “I wonder what that could mean.”
Hopping off his bike, Jack ran directly at her. Brutally grabbing one arm, she was completely surprised to find herself being dragged toward the garage.
It took her a moment to realize his intent was to take her with him. She began to flail, thrash about, and scream profanities that would have impressed even the hardiest of sailors.
“You son of a bitch,” she barked, trying to shake herself free of his grip. “Let me go! Let me go!”
It then dawned on Jack that all of his equipment and supplies were abandoned on the bike. He hefted her up and onto his shoulder and turned to retrieve his ride.
With the kicking, aggressive woman on his shoulder and his carbine tucked under one arm, he lifted the bike with his free hand and then scanned his surroundings for someplace to hide. Jack expected to be a sitting duck when he retrieved the cycle, but evidently, the locals liked the blonde, as not a single shot zipped his way.
“Hey, lady. I don’t know who or what you are, but you surely make a great bullet stop,” he quipped. “Keep up the good work.”
“I’m going to kill you!” she growled from over his shoulder. “You piece of shit! Let me go or you will have to worry about more than a little buckshot! My boys will boil your guts and crush your balls with a hammer. Let me go!”
A moment later, Jack tried the knob on the garage’s aged oak side door, but it didn’t yield. His boot slammed into the wood, the entrance splintering on impact. He then dropped the clawing hellcat off his shoulder and shoved her inside. The bike rolled in next, and finally the commander himself.
With her bad leg, Jack’s hostage wasn’t moving very well, and it was probably a lucky thing for him. He entered the dark interior to discover her glaring up at him, eyes brimming with spite and hatred as she struggled to stand.
The commander ignored her, closing the carriage house door and peering into the shadows for something to brace against it. Only the light from a single window illuminated the dark interior, but it was enough for Cisco to identify several boxes of junk, a well-equipped workbench, and an extension cord hanging on a nearby wall.
With lightning speed, a wheelbarrow leaning against the workbench was quickly propped against the busted doorknob. The exterior threat cursorily addressed, Jack stepped toward the extension cord, thinking it would be useful to secure his hostage. His bayonet flashed from its sheath, the movement not lost on the frightened woman.
His prisoner carefully observed her captor, attentive to every detail. The appearance of the blade startled her, the breath catching in her throat. He’s going to kill me, she thought.
Staring at the sharp steel as if she were about to meet her maker, her demeanor changed abruptly. A single entreaty … one word was all she could muster. “Don’t,” she whimpered. A lone tear puddled in her eye before sliding down her cheek, “Please … don’t.…”
Pulling up short, the commander hesitated. “What is your name?” he inquired in the calmest voice he could summon.
“I’m Toni,” she replied, her eyes never leaving his knife.
She was maybe 30 years old, thin, and very pretty despite having hair that hadn’t been washed in a few days, zero makeup, and a bullet wound seeping all over the floor.
“Okay, Toni. Tell me. Why did your people start shooting at me?” he continued, trying his best to sound gruff.
“We know why you’re here, and we are sick and tired of you people stealing our stuff,” the blonde responded harshly.
Jack peered down at her jeans, noting that somehow Toni had managed to remove her belt and apply a tourniquet during the firefight. The wound was, however, still oozing crimson. “How’s the leg?” he asked, not knowing what else to say to the woman he had wounded.
“Sign me up for the Boston Marathon,” she scoffed, glancing down at the bullet wound three inches above her kneecap. “How can I ever thank you?” she continued, her voice thick with sarcasm and agony. “If I don’t somehow bleed out here, you probably just signed my death warrant by infection. I bet that makes a man like you happy, doesn’t it?”
The commander disregarded her scornful response, instead moving close to inspect the wound. He decided to take control of the situation with a more traditional avenue of questioning. “So, Toni, what did you do for a living … before everything went to hell?”
“I was a nurse at the local clinic,” she responded with a hint of pride. Then her anger returned, “Why don’t you just rape me, or cut me, or kill me and get it over with? Why bother with the fifth degree? Are you some sort of sick bastard who likes to torture your victims before slicing their throats?”
Nodding toward the outside, Jack chuckled and said, “Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t come here to wreak havoc on your little community. I just needed some parts for a water pump. I didn’t figure anyone would miss a few nuts and bolts. You guys started shooting at me, remember?”
“You know, we’ve got lookouts now. We watched you loot Bisbee’s. We saw you kill Crazy Frank. We know you are just another scout. We know you’ve been probing us.… And,” she paused for effect, “we know the rest of you filthy heathens will show up soon enough.”
“And who was Crazy Frank? Why did he jump me?” Jack asked, disregarding her accusations.
Shaking her head, Toni’s voice grew sad. “Frank used to work at Bizbee’s. He lost his marbles after the collapse, and sometimes he would think the store is still open. We would see him every now and then, standing at the cash register, as if he was just ringing up somebody’s purchase.”
“Jeez,” Jack replied, tilting his head. “No wonder you called him Crazy Frank.”
Toni didn’t seem to appreciate his flippant remark. “Not everyone handled the end of the civilization so well,” she snapped. “A lot of people went off the deep end before infection … or starvation … or raiders like you showed up and slaughtered them. I know of at least eight people who kicked and clawed their way through the initial threat, endured the quakes, clung to life during the tsunami, and survived unimaginable odds, only to kill themselves after a couple of months.”
A noise outside distracted Jack, the sound of footsteps crunching through the ash on the driveway outside. “Better let her go, mister. You’re not going to make it out of Pinemont alive if you hurt her.”
Jack didn’t answer the distant voice. Instead he turned to Toni and said, “Tell them to back off. I need time to think.”
Her eyes darted back to the large knife still in his hand. Still, there was something in his voice that made her question her harsh judgement of him. Nodding, she turned her face toward the door and called out, “I’m still alive, Mickey. I’m trying to talk some sense into this guy. Give me some time.”
Jack stepped to the bike and pulled out his medical kit. “If you’re a nurse, you probably know how to use this better than I do. There is a lot of good
stuff in there, or so I was told. Probably something to prevent that infection if you dig around.”
He tossed the thick bag toward her and then stood back and watched as she cautiously sorted through its contents. When the first item she withdrew was a pair of shears, Jack questioned the wisdom of handing her the complete contents of the first aid kit. After all, she could do a lot of damage if she lunged at him with the sharp scissors. His fears subsided immediately when she snipped off the denim cloth covering her leg.
A trench of skin was missing from the inside of the woman’s thigh. It was more than a flesh wound, but his shot had avoided significant muscle or bone. Jack imagined the wound hurt like hell and would no doubt leave a long, ropey scar.
“Even though the bullet went all the way through,” she noted, “I’m probably still a dead woman. We ran out of antibiotics over two months ago.”
Watching her apply some sort of powder and then wrap the wound in several layers of bandages, Jack responded, “By the way, my name is Commander Jackson Cisco, United States Navy. I’m on my way from San Diego to Texas. Nice to meet you, Toni and sorry for the … uhm… ‘misunderstanding.’”
For the first time, Jack caught a flash of humanity behind his captive’s eyes. It didn’t last long. “Commander? US Navy? Since when did high ranking officers start looting small town USA?”
“I’ve seen very, very few people since I left the big city,” he responded. “Even if there were still folks left in this community, I really didn’t think anyone would miss a few spare parts. If the owner of Bisbee’s is around, I’ll be glad to hand over my credit card. Besides, the nuts and bolts aren’t for me. They’ll be put to very good use, growing food.”
She grunted at his last statement, “I beg to differ with you, Mr. Navy Commander. Nothing will grow in this shit. We’ve tried. Even with good water, there’s not enough sunlight for photosynthesis, and the soil is so acidic.”
“Speaking of good water,” Jack countered, reaching for one of Archie’s bottles. “Given the blood you’ve lost, you’re probably thirsty. Here, this is straight out of the ground from a spring. There’s no ash in it.”
She seemed taken aback by his statement. “So we’re not the only ones who figured out the ground water was poison. I suppose that’s good news in a way. We lost a lot of people before we switched to a well.”
“You might try growing crops in a greenhouse. I’ve seen it work,” Jack continued, seeming to enjoy rubbing it in. “Configure the glass to magnify the sun, like a hothouse.”
Her head didn’t move as she studied him, her expression making it clear that she still didn’t trust the naval officer. Jack really didn’t care.
“So tell me, Toni, how did a nice, medical professional like you become the leader of the Pinemont Survivor’s Society? No offense, but you don’t seem like the type.”
Grunting, she shrugged, “Who says I’m in charge?”
“Modesty? From a woman who was trying to fill my carcass with bullets just a few minutes ago? Somehow, I find that a little difficult to swallow. Was it your idea to run across the street screaming like a tiger was about to eat your ass? Is that how you typically lure your victims in?”
This time, she smirked, “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. These are tough times, Commander Jackson Cisco.”
Tiring of the banter, Jack began to pace in the garage, his mind trying to figure out how he was going to get out of his current mess. Movement drew his attention to the single window, two men with rifles visible in the distance, one of them pointing in the commander’s direction as he spoke.
“Your friends are going to be getting a little frisky if our standoff continues for much longer. I hope they don’t try something stupid.”
“Then let me go,” Toni replied. “I promise – we’ll let you leave town without any bullshit.”
“Is that so? Well, tell me, Ms. I’m-Not-The-Leader, how can you make such a commitment if you’re not in charge?” he countered with a sheepish grin.
Sighing, she capitulated, “Okay, you win. Yes, I’m the leader of our merry, little band. You have my word, Commander – I’ll let you leave unharmed.”
It was Jack’s turn to grunt. “I don’t know. Maybe you should tell me first what special expertise or talents earned Nurse Toni her command?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me,” Cisco responded with a wink. “These days, I’m very gullible.”
Spreading her hands in frustration, she exhaled a full chest of air. “Fine. I ended up calling the shots because I owned an electric car.”
“You what?” Jack responded, spinning from the window, sure he hadn’t heard her correctly.
“I told you. I just said you wouldn’t believe it. I have, or had, an electric car … the only one in town.”
Scratching his chin, Jack tried to connect the dots. It didn’t take him long to give up, and he said as much, shaking his head in frustration. “I don’t get it.”
“The ash destroyed a lot of cars long before the gas ran out. Then, those people who had managed to keep their engines running couldn’t get fuel after the first few weeks. When the looting began in earnest, gasoline had been declared the biggest prize after food. A month after Yellowstone blew its top, I had the only vehicle running in town.”
“And?”
“I kind of became the town’s ambulance, delivery wagon, police cruiser, and fire truck. People would see me driving around town and ask favors. They wanted me to fetch their sick mother or ferry a trunk full of blankets to the families holed up at the courthouse. I got so busy I eventually found a small trailer that my little car could tow through the ash.”
“What happened to it?”
“It’s right beside you, silly.”
Jack stared at the sole automobile parked beside him. Sure enough, it was one of the more popular imports that was advertised as being, “Pure Electric.”
“The pumice got so bad my solar panels wouldn’t charge the batteries anymore. Ironic isn’t it?”
Again, Jack didn’t follow.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Toni explained, “Here I was, Little Miss Global Warming, trying to buy a car and a charging system that would save the planet. It seems so silly now. Even so, it saved a lot of lives, so I guess it wasn’t a complete waste of time and money.”
Her voice then dropped low and sad, all of the sarcasm and sass dissipating. “When the raids started, the sheriff approached me and asked if I could haul a group of his men to the edge of town. How could I say no? A bad element seemed to trickle in from all directions. First, a gang charged down from the mountains. Next, a mob of ne’er-do-well refugees wandered in from the interstate, and then some drug traffickers just strolled in from nowhere. We seemed to be due a weekly dose of shooting and stealing and raping.”
Jack detected her body involuntarily shudder at the memories. Toni shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts. “The sheriff’s luck ran out one day, and he fell to a band of attackers. He was an honorable man, and it broke my heart when I saw him get cut down, along with most of his men. What’s even more unsettling is that this was a planned ambush. The Lumberjacks had been lying in wait for the officers. The remaining Pinemont men started freaking out, scared, looking like they were about to throw down their guns and run. I knew we’d lose the entire town if that happened. I knew those assholes from the mountain would run wild through the streets and take everything we had. So I ran and picked up one of the deputies’ rifles and began shooting. Ever since them, people have come to me for guidance. I do my best.”
“Lumberjacks? Seriously?”
Toni smiled for the first time since she’d been in Jack’s company. “That’s what we call them. Lumberjacks, loggers, timber men … the Native American Reservation up on the mountain leases certain sections of its land to be cut every summer. The loggers have small camps scattered in the nooks and crannies of the higher ranges, well off the beaten path to the lo
cal Wal-Mart. They had weeks of food stored up and probably hunted to supplement their provisions. When their provisions all ran out and the game died off, they headed down here to take what they wanted. What’s left of our population is still fighting them. We figured you were one of their ilk.”
“You said they send scouts?”
“Yeah. That’s been their most recent tactic, but their plans continue to evolve. Last week, they even tried a distraction to force us out in the open, and it almost worked. After all, it is a little hard to maintain cover when part of Main Street is in flames. Even so, we’ve been hurting them lately. It took us a while to get organized, but now I’ve got lookouts along the routes they take coming into town. When we get the signal, we send organized groups with guns to fight them off.”
Jack understood now, Toni’s qualifications to lead being far and above just owning a special car. She was methodical, logistics minded, bright, and no doubt brave as hell. As a military officer, he’d been trained to spot such traits in the ranks. He would have promoted the woman sitting on the garage floor in a heartbeat.
“Look,” he began, “I have no quarrel with Pinemont, you, or the men outside. But a friend of mine is growing food and building what I believe is an extremely critical seed bank. I just need this handful of parts to make it work for him.”
Reaching into his pack, Jack extracted one of Archie’s avocados and tossed it to his hostage.
She inspected the fruit with doubt. Jack realized instantly she wasn’t impressed.
“So? Let me go, and we’ll let you leave,” she repeated.
Jack found her reaction odd. She wasn’t exactly overweight, nor had any of the men outside needed a crash diet. Why did someone on the edge of starvation ignore food? What the hell was going on in Pinemont, California?
The situation was further complicated by the fact that, for some reason, he didn’t believe that all of her cards were on the table. Additionally, he had a lot of respect for the woman’s strategic instincts, and that was the root of his skepticism. She was a survivor, and probably had learned to say or do anything to stay alive. Besides, he didn’t know much about the potential hotheads outside or how they would react to a cease fire.
