by A. American
Sarge launched himself out of the seat with more agility than I would have ever thought a man of his age had.
“Dammit, Morgan! You don’t think I want to help them? You don’t think I want to wade out there and kick some ass? We can’t stand toe-to-toe and fight these bastards; we’ve got to pick when and where, and do it on our terms. Didn’t that little shoot-out that forced you out of your home teach you anything?”
“It just doesn’t seem right. They’re willing to fight the good fight. To leave them there to get their asses shot seems wrong.”
“Not everyone wins. Not everyone goes home. They may pay the price today, but there isn’t shit we can do about it right now. Instead we’re going to watch and see how these bastards operate, what they do. That way if they do get wasted today it won’t be for nothing—they’ll be teaching us.”
Sarge climbed back in the buggy and went back to watching the screen. During our argument, Taylor had backed away. I could see her out of the corner of my eye, looking uncomfortable. The guys sat through the argument as though nothing were happening, but I guess they’re used to it. On the screen, the DHS goons closed in on the group, and soon the shooting stopped. Two men were dragged out from behind the Blazer and forced to kneel on the road with their hands over their heads.
“Let’s see what they do now,” Sarge said.
We watched as they were searched. I could see Calvin shouting at them; the other must have been Shane, his son. I wondered where Daniel was. Calvin was pushed to the ground and his hands secured behind his back. He was still yelling, and one of the DHS men came up with a piece of duct tape and put it over his mouth, then black hoods were pulled over both of their heads. Calvin was dragged toward one of the Humvees, and then Shane was too, kicking and screaming.
“Looks like they’re going by the book,” Sarge said, more to himself than anyone else.
“What book?” I asked.
“Ted, what do you remember from field manual three three nine point four oh?”
“That’s the internment resettlement manual, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Something about the five Ss,” Mike said.
“Yep, what were they, remember?”
“Let’s see, shit, shower and shave, I know those,” Mike said with a grin to Taylor. She thought it was funny and smiled back.
“Shut up, stupid,” Sarge said, causing Taylor to laugh out loud before clamping a hand over her mouth. Mike looked over and shrugged.
“Search, silence and segregate,” Ted said. “I can’t remember the other two.”
“Speed and safeguard,” Sarge said. “They’ve already done the first three; the last two don’t really matter right now.”
“I can’t believe we just sat here and let them be taken like that,” I said.
“If we’d have tried to help, then we’d be right beside them, Morg.”
Once the search was over, one of the DHS men pulled the pin on some kind of a grenade and tossed it into the truck before running off. There was a small explosion, more of a pop, and the truck rapidly caught fire. Soon it was burning intensely and we could see the smoke over the trees.
Sarge panned the camera around some more. “See any bodies?”
“No, I was curious too. They only took two away, but I don’t see any,” Ted said.
“I wonder where the guys on the ATVs are,” Mike said.
“Good question. Let’s wait a bit and see if they show up.”
Taylor tapped me on the shoulder. She said she was scared and wanted to go home.
“We will soon. It’s all right. They don’t know we’re here.”
“What if those guys tell them?”
I was surprised by the question. She was smarter about this than I thought. Sarge answered it for her. “They didn’t or those guys would already be out here looking for us. They might later, but not right now.”
We waited about an hour, but the ATVs never showed. We discussed whether we should go out and check the scene, but we decided the chances that someone was left behind was too big a risk. We all mounted up and headed back toward the river, leaving the smoking carcass behind.
The trip back would pose a bit more peril as we would be traveling in broad daylight. With this in mind I told Taylor to watch her side, keeping an eye out for people. She took it seriously and turned slightly, keeping the muzzle of the H&K pointed out. On the ride I noticed for the first time that it was considerably warmer now. I leaned my head back and watched as the light winked through the canopy of trees. The smells of the forest wafted around us: pine, oak, dirt. It was peaceful for a moment. At least, until the buggy lurched to a stop, bringing me back around to the reality of where I was.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“The paved road is up ahead. Ted’s going to walk up and check it out,” Doc replied.
“Is something wrong?” Taylor asked.
“No, it’s just a precaution.”
She nodded and went back to watching her side of the buggy. I watched Ted disappear down the trail. After five or so minutes he called over the radio, giving the all clear. We pulled up and he hopped back in with Sarge. Once on the other side of the road we only had one more to cross. At the second road we stopped to repeat the process. This time Ted called for Sarge to come up. I was curious, so I hopped out too.
“Dad, can I come?” Taylor asked.
“Sure. I don’t think it’s anything big. Come on.”
We walked up to the road to find Ted standing just inside the tree line.
“What’s up?” Sarge asked.
Ted pointed up the road. “It’s the neighborhood fruit loop.”
Up the road, standing on the center lane was the guy from Alexander Springs. He had his arms out like he was balancing himself, walking on the yellow line.
“I think that ole boy’s nuttier than squirrel shit,” Sarge said, shaking his head, “but I don’t think he’s anything to worry about.”
“I think he’s been alone too long,” I said.
Sarge turned to go back to the vehicles. “Come on. Let’s get back.”
“Who was it?” Taylor asked when I got back.
“Just that weird dude we saw at the park.”
We started across the road; the guy was still in the middle of the road. His back was to us and after a few steps he turned about, facing us. Sarge was already across the road when the nut job drew a pistol. I watched as he raised it and fired a shot, with a Joker-like smile on his face. Taylor screamed and ducked, and my arm flew out instinctively to protect her.
When the shot rang out, Sarge floored it, as did Doc. There wasn’t any time to react to it—we were gone as fast as it happened.
“Who the fuck was that?” Sarge shouted over the radio.
“It was that damn crazy guy out walking on the road,” I answered.
“He shot at us?”
“Yeah, as we were crossing he drew a pistol and loosed a round. He was smiling the whole time.”
“We’ll have to deal with him later. Friggin’ nut.”
We made it the rest of the way without any issues. As we pulled up beside the cabin I saw Thad, Danny and Jeff skinning a hog that was hanging upside down from the limb of a big oak tree. Thad and Danny were on either side of the animal working knives, cutting the hide away. Jeff was cutting chunks of fat from the hide and dropping them in a bucket.
I smiled when I saw Little Bit poking the gut pile with a stick. Taylor and I walked over. She scrunched up her face. “That is so gross.”
Little Bit lifted up a stick with a piece of intestine on it. “Taylor! I’m going to eat your brains!” Taylor squealed and ran in the opposite direction of her sister.
“So, we smoking a pig today?” I asked.
Thad smiled and wiped his forehead with the back of
his hand. “Yeah, I’m gonna smoke it tonight, good an’ slow.”
“Cool, that’ll be some good meat. Why now, though? You couldn’t wait to use a real smoker, I bet.”
He pointed off in the direction of the pigs. “I think that sow’s carrying a litter,” he said, then slapped the ham of the one strung up. “This boar here’s been cut, so I figured we could go ahead and butcher him to give that momma a little more feed.”
“Plus we can use the meat,” Danny said.
Sarge and the guys strolled up. “Damn, I can’t wait for some of that porker,” Sarge said.
Thad smiled again. “Yeah, we even found some sauce for it. Morgan had a few bottles in some of that mess under the cabin. But for now, we’re going to make up a brine and soak the meat for a few hours, then I’ll get it on the smoke,” Thad said.
“Can’t wait,” Sarge added. “I’m going to have to go down the creek and meet with that Guard captain. We’ll be back before dark.”
“You need me?” Mike asked.
“Naw, you want to stay here?”
“Yeah, I’ll help the guys out with the wonderful pork goodness.”
“Fine by me. Doc, you wanna go?”
“Sure. I haven’t been down there. I’ll go.”
“All right then, let’s load up. We got some planning to do.”
Sarge and Doc headed down the river. Smoke from the outboard drifted on top of the water like a fog. I watched them as they left, marveling at the fortune that brought us all together. I looked at Thad and thought for a moment about the terrible losses he’d suffered, and yet here he was skinning a pig with a smile on his face. Danny was Danny, he was upset about his house, but looking at him you’d never know. He was very stoic and his face never revealed his emotions. And his wife Bobbie was just as solid as he was when it came to adversity. Jeff, kneeling beside the bucket, was probably the least affected among us, as far as I knew. He was perpetually upbeat, nothing ever seemed to bother him. I remembered that night on the road, watching him methodically kill those men. He was completely emotionless, performing the task as if it were any ordinary chore.
Then there was Mike. He was younger than the rest of us here, but his life in the Army had made him wise beyond his years in the business of death. Together with Sarge, Ted and Doc, he was a formidable force. Mike’s youthful exuberance was contagious and he was always fun to have around. Even now, only hours after watching the gruesome incidents of this morning, he was beside Little Bit playing in a gut pile. She would squeal and laugh when he picked up the organs, cutting a lung loose and blowing it up like a balloon.
I looked over to the cabin where Mel and the other girls were staying. Mel and I had obviously had our differences about moving here, but she was holding our family together, and for that I was grateful. Taylor and Lee Ann were still coping well. Lee Ann had rebounded from the shooting better than I thought. She seemed unfazed by the fact she had taken a bullet to the leg. Before, I could only imagine the drama and therapy such a situation would require. Taylor, unlike her sister, seemed to be gravitating toward the worst of this new life. Her interest in firearms and wanting to venture away from the relative safety of our little cabins on the river were a real concern.
In the Before, my girls were always good. No trouble with boys, drugs or drinking. The only addiction they ever had was to technology. The Internet, iTunes and whatnot were their constant companions. They were of that generation, the ones born into these things. To them, Googling something was second nature, not like when I grew up and the encyclopedia held all the answers. Hell, they had no idea what an encyclopedia was. But even without their technological luxuries, they were rolling with the punches. It was easiest on Little Bit; she was young enough that that stuff hadn’t been too big a part of her life yet.
Food. Food is always on everyone’s mind. Maybe this is how it used to be, but we’ve gotten into the habit of eating only twice a day. Not because of a lack of food, really, more because of the effort acquiring and preparing a meal took in our primitive condition. We weren’t starving, but food preservation wasn’t what it once was. We did have a DC fridge run by the solar system, but it was small. Small as it may be, it was a godsend. I would venture to guess we were the only ones for a hundred, maybe two hundred miles with a working fridge.
While life was simpler, it was physically harder. Maybe that’s how we were supposed to live. Maybe we’d grown soft in our technological wonder of a life. For better or worse, for now and for the foreseeable future, that wonder was gone. In the Now, we had to try and recover some of the lost wisdom of those who came before us. I only hoped we were half as ingenious as they were.
Epilogue
Sarge sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, and looked at Sheffield. “What do you think?”
Sheffield looked at the crudely drawn map on the table before him. “I think we need a little more info. It’s a big-ass target.”
“You’ve got enough men. We’ll have to hit them hard and fast, use the shock to our advantage.”
Sheffield rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. We have any idea how many men they got in there?”
“Nothing realistic, we’re going to have to do some recon first to get an idea of their strength.”
“That I agree with, we’re definitely going to have to get some eyes on it. I wish we had some assets we could use.”
Sarge sat up, leaning his elbows on the table. “I have a little something.”
Sheffield raised his eyebrows. “Really? What?”
“I’ve got a recon vehicle, like a big ATV. It’s got a mast I can put up with a camera. Night-vision and thermal capable. If we find the right place, we can stand off and have eyes on the target.”
“I like that. . . . keep some distance between us and them.” Sheffield looked at the map again and tapped it with his finger. “I’d like to make a more accurate map too. Draw something with a little more detail.”
“We can do that. One of my guys has been through the marine scout sniper school. I’ll let him take care of that,” Sarge said.
Sheffield nodded. “One of our guys has been through it too. Maybe we could team them up and let them handle the recon. They can do the best range drawing, estimate ranges and all.”
“That’s a good idea. Send a small security detail with them, maybe keep a quick reaction force nearby in case they get their dicks caught in their zippers.”
“Excellent. So a little more intel, and we’ll get a plan in action.” Sheffield sat back in his chair. “When do you want to start?”
Sarge stood up with a grin on his face. “Soon as you can get that marine dressed and his hair combed.”
