by Steven Bird
“What’s wrong?” Jessie asked. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m making sure they see me, or us, rather. I don’t want them thinking it’s those dead bastards coming back for more. They may not be very welcoming, and I don’t wanna get shot by a friend.”
Waving his arms while standing in front of the truck, Isaac saw the front door to the old, elegant white farmhouse open, then a young man stepped out onto the porch. After a moment, the young man waved back.
Climbing back into the truck, Isaac shut the door, and instructed, “Head on in, but go slow.”
Jessie ground the old manual transmission into gear and continued toward the home. As they neared the house, several folks came out onto the wraparound porch, each holding a rifle or shotgun. “Looks like they ain’t takin’ any more chances,” remarked Isaac.
Pulling to a stop, a young man carrying a double-barrel shotgun walked up to the driver’s side, then turned and shouted back to the others, “It’s okay! It’s Isaac, and he’s got Tina!”
With word of Tina’s return reaching the home, a flurry of activity began, and several people ran toward the old truck.
Sliding off the seat and out of the truck, Tina embraced the young man, saying, “Where’s Mom and Dad?”
Looking her in the eye, the young man’s eyes welled up with tears, and before he could answer, Tina ran for the house shouting, “Momma! Daddy!”
“What happened, Billy?” Isaac asked the young man who appeared to Jessie to be in his early twenties.
“Those bastards were beating Daddy pretty bad, and when they started to drive away with Tina, Momma ran toward them, screaming and yelling for them to let her go. One of them shot her in the stomach…”
Struggling to maintain his composure as the painful memories flooded back into his mind, he continued, “and the bastard just laughed about it.”
Becoming increasingly choked up by his own words, Billy continued, “I... we should have done more. We shouldn’t have let Mom be the one to stand up to them.”
Reaching out and placing his hand on Billy’s shoulder, Isaac said, “Now, Billy...” but he was interrupted by several others who had rushed out to join them.
“What happened? Where are those bastards? How’d you get the truck back?” asked an impatient man in his early thirties.
“Why, I don’t think we’ve met,” Isaac replied hesitantly.
“This is my cousin, Paul,” Billy said. “His family moved in with us recently. We needed the help around here, and things weren’t going so well for them where they were.”
Turning to Paul, Isaac could see a stout man in his mid-to-late thirties with a look about him that told Isaac he wasn’t going to put up with any more trouble around the Williams farm. Nodding, Isaac reached out to shake Paul’s hand, and said, “Hello, Paul. The men who were here earlier won’t be bothering you again, but more are gonna come in their place. That’s somethin’ we need to get hot on. We’ve got to put a plan in place to deal with the retribution that will most certainly be heading our way.”
“Who’s this?” asked Billy, gesturing toward Jessie.
“This is my friend, Jessie Townsend. He’s got no love for the McCulloughs, either. You can take that to the bank. That’s actually how we met.”
With distrust in his voice, Paul asked, “How long have you known him? How do you know we can trust him?”
“I’ve not known him all that long, but I’ve got a bloody ax at my house that’ll vouch for his stance against the McCulloughs. I’d be dead right now if it weren’t for him.”
“And me as well,” Jessie interrupted. “I’d be dead if it weren’t for Isaac, so we’ve got pretty good grounds to stand on as friends.”
“Well, all right, then,” Paul replied. “Let’s get inside.”
Hearing an agonizing scream from within the house, Isaac and Jessie flinched as Paul said, “She died. Aunt Millie died from the gunshot wound about ten minutes ago. I’d imagine Tina is facing that reality now.”
“Damn this day,” Isaac said as he removed his hat and silently said a word of prayer. Looking back up at the men, Isaac wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, and said, “You boys help me and Jessie get the cattle out of this trailer and back with the herd. Then we’d better get on with the business at hand.”
~~~~
With the cattle put away and the truck and trailer hidden in the barn, Isaac, Jessie, Billy, and Paul gathered around Archie’s bed, where he lay, recovering from his beating.
Holding his father’s hand, Billy mumbled softly, “Hang in there, Daddy. We all need you around here.”
“Has he been awake at all?” Jessie asked.
“No,” Paul replied. “He was unconscious after the beating they gave him, and other than a few moans, he hasn’t given us any sign of being aware of his surroundings.”
Looking up to see an attractive woman with light brown hair in her mid-thirties enter the room, Paul said, “Isaac, Jessie, this is my wife, Allison.”
Allison had been an elementary school teacher in the pre-collapse world. Her presence at the Williams place had been a true blessing to everyone. She held daily classes for the children on the farm, which gave them a sense of normalcy that had almost been forgotten.
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Isaac replied with his hat in hand.
“Ma’am,” Jessie said with a respectful nod.
“Tina told us what you both did,” Allison said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “Thank you so much. We couldn’t have handled losing another family member today. It’s… it’s been overwhelming.”
Speaking up, Jessie asserted, “I don’t mean to be rude or callous, and I know I’m nothing to anyone here, but I can tell you, we need to have everyone put their feelings aside for now. We need to know everything we can about what’s going on with the McCulloughs, and who it is they teamed up with that made them ratchet up their demands for food. We can’t simply be reactive. We’ve got to act before they do, that is, if you are up for the fight.”
“You’d better damn well believe we’re up for the fight!” Billy exclaimed. “Do you think we’d just turn tail and run or something?”
“Hear him out,” Isaac insisted in a strong but calming voice. “Not only has he been through a lot more than most of us, but he also used to be a sheriff as well. He, better than anyone here, knows what it’s like to deal with a lot like this.”
“Let’s get everyone together to talk about this,” Jessie said. “Everyone needs to be on board, if an armed response or defensive measures are to be taken.”
With everyone gathered in the living room, in addition to Isaac and Jessie, there were nine family members in attendance. Billy, Tina, Paul, Allison, Billy’s older brother Frank, Billy’s younger sister Michelle, Paul’s brother Mike, Mike’s wife Shauna, and their two children, Mike, Jr. and Lisa, ages twelve and nine respectively.
Once all the introductions had been made and pleasantries exchanged, Jessie got everyone’s attention and said, “Isaac, can you keep an eye out the window while we talk? I want everyone here to be able to really think things through and not be distracted by what may be going on outside.”
“Sure thing,” Isaac said, and he took his post by the large front window near the door.
“First, let me give you a little background about myself,” Jessie said as he stepped in front of the group. “My wife, myself, and our two kids moved into the mountains just north of Cortez, Colorado when we saw the writing on the wall. We knew the direction the country was headed in at the time pointed to an eventual collapse, or at least a degrading of what it had always been. Our only miscalculation was it all came a lot sooner than we expected.
“For the first year after the attacks began, we managed to ride things out pretty smoothly. We were in our own little world, surviving off our flock of sheep and the fruits and vegetables we grew, in addition to our prepositioned stockpiles of rice and other staples.
“Eventually, though, the worl
d caught up with us. I still look back on the events that transpired with shock and disbelief. I mean, we were the good guys. We were minding our own business. We were working hard and doing the best we could, but that didn’t mean the evils of the outside world would pass us by. No, on the contrary, it made us easy targets in their eyes. I guess you probably feel the same. Your family was and is obviously a hard-working bunch. You’re obviously upstanding people with a work ethic that allows you to feed yourselves during these trying times.
“Unfortunately, that isn’t just obvious to you; it’s obvious to those who would take advantage of you, too. Being good and being right doesn’t mean you’ll win your battles, either. I lost my entire family to the brutality of this new world. Now that our once peaceful society has been taken from us, being in the right doesn’t mean all that much anymore.
“After the devastating events in my mountain homestead took place, I had a hard time for a while. It took everything I had to keep it together.
“Before long, I came across a sign from God that is was time for me to move on and take the next step. He sent a father and his young daughter up on the mountain to seek shelter, where they found me.
“I saw in them a reason to keep pushing and to keep moving forward. They reminded me that although we’re surrounded by evil and suffering, there are still good people out there who are worth fighting for.
“Once I was mentally back on my feet, I moved on in search of my sister who lives east of here in Tennessee. Now, I guess somewhere deep down inside, when I set out in search for her I knew the odds of finding her, if she was even still alive, were slim to none. But I had to have a goal. I had to have a reason to wake up each day. I needed someone in my life. Without family, and without people to share your life with, it’s just…”
Pausing to collect himself, Jessie continued, “For you, that reason is each other. During my travels since leaving the homestead, I’ve encountered groups like the McCulloughs. They’ve become commonplace. Where there is a lack of repercussions, there will always be evil men like them to take advantage of the rest of us who just want to play by the rules and be left alone.
“I’ve fought those men, over and over again. Whether they’re the McCulloughs or some other group of low-life scum, the one thing I’ve learned is the good guys don’t overcome them unscathed. This isn’t Hollywood. What happened with Isaac and me earlier, when we took all of them out with no losses on our side, is the exception, not the rule. If you go into a fight with ten people who are important to you, you have to acknowledge the fact that some of them won’t still be alive when the dust settles. That’s just the cold hard truth of things.
“The alternative is to leave everything behind—everything you and your family have worked so hard for, in an attempt to avoid such losses. The problem with that is you may just be trading one casualty for another. It’s a rough world out there. I’ve encountered many people during my travels who have lost a significant portion of their groups, some being the sole survivor.
“On the other hand, if you run, which I’m not saying is a bad option, you leave people like the McCullough bunch to grow in power, allowing them to become even stronger and to tighten their grip on those who remain.
“I can’t give you advice as to whether you should stay and fight or whether you should pack up and leave. That’s your decision to make. Just know that whatever path you choose, you're liable to find heartache.”
Looking around the room, Billy stood up and vowed, “We fight! They killed my mother and may have killed my father. They’ve stolen from us since the beginning, and now they’re taking so much, they’ll eventually leave us to starve. They tried to take Tina today, too! Who will be next? Where will it end?”
“It ends here, that’s where it ends,” Mike proclaimed, standing up to face the room. “I didn’t serve two tours in Iraq just to come home to be brutalized and bullied in my own country. I didn’t fight for this nation to end up in a position where my wife and children will have to live life on the run.
“We saw coming here with Paul and Allison as taking our last stand. We didn’t want to come and just see if things worked out. We came here to bust our asses and work hard to carve out a living for ourselves in the world, like the generations who had it tough before us. Archie and Millie were kind enough to take us all, in exchange for our hard work and loyalty, and our hard work and loyalty are exactly what they’re gonna get.”
Looking around the room and seeing a consensus on the faces of the farm’s residents, Jessie nodded, “Okay, then. Well, first off, we need to determine exactly what our resources are. What do we have for weapons and ammunition?”
“We’ve got several rifles and shotguns,” Mike answered. “Several of which are ARs and one is an SKS. We’ve also got a few good long-range bolt guns. A .308 and a 7mm Mag.”
“That’s a good start,” Jessie replied.
Piping in from his position at the window, Isaac added, “Weapons and ammunition aren’t a problem. We can get more from my place.”
“What we don’t have is an overwhelming force,” Jessie said, turning back to the group. “Who do we have for allies in the area? Are there any left?”
After a few moments of silence, Isaac spoke up and suggested, “What about the Hofstadter place? Ol’ Ken Hofstadter had a few boys that served, didn’t he? And a few more that didn’t, if I remember correctly. He was also one of those anti-government types long before it was a popular opinion to hold. I’d imagine he has himself set up pretty well.”
Speaking up, Billy said, “They’re still around, but they don’t really get out and about. We’ve not talked to them for quite a while.”
“They wouldn’t have a reason to help us, that’s for sure,” balked Paul. “If they don’t associate with us now, why would they risk their butts to help us out?”
Giving Paul a stern look, Billy maintained, “Because if they don’t, it will eventually be their hides on the line with no one left around to team up with. The McCulloughs and whoever the hell they’ve teamed up with aren’t gonna stop what they're doing. As long as threats and cruelty continue to keep them fed and supplied, they’ve got no reason to alter their course. The Hofstadters may be left alone for now because they’re seen as a hard target, but that won’t keep them safe once the easier targets are all gone.”
Seeing tension build between Billy and Paul, Jessie stepped in and asked, “What makes the Hofstadters such a hard target?”
“They’re a harsh bunch,” Isaac explained. “Ol’ Ken Hofstadter was a rough ’un back in our younger years. He killed his own daddy when he was just twelve years old. Now, don’t get me wrong, his daddy had it coming. Old man Hofstadter was a heathen and a drunk. He’d raised his hand to Ken’s momma one too many times.”
“What’d he do?” asked Allison.
“Ken was hooking up the mule team to plow when he saw his momma stumble out of the house, battered and bloody. That had, unfortunately, become an all too familiar scene. Before she could get away, his old man grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back inside. According to Ken’s little sister, Iva, Ken took a long rope from the barn, tied it to the yoke, then walked into the house, dragging the slack of the rope along behind him.
“After a few minutes, she said Ken came out from the house and closed the door behind him, with the rope coming out of the house from beneath the door.
“She said she saw Ken walk toward the mules as if in slow motion. As if in some sort of a trance. When he got to the mules, he unhooked the plow and hit them violently with his whip, sending them running across the field.
“As the slack of the rope was quickly taken up, the door came crashing off its hinges with Old Man Hofstadter bouncing along behind the mule team, leaving a trail of blood behind him.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Allison shrieked, recoiling from the brutality of the story. “What happened in the house?”
“Iva didn’t know,” Isaac replied with a shrug. “She said Ken followe
d the trail of blood until both he and the mule team were out of sight. After about an hour, he was in the field plowing like nothing had happened. Iva didn’t ask. And she said her momma didn’t speak for months.
“Ever since then, Ken has been a harsh fellow and the de facto patriarch of the family, even though he wasn’t the oldest of the Hofstadter boys. The few poor souls that picked fights with him after that didn’t fare well. He’s like an abused pit bull that’s been in the pit too many times.
“He just ain’t right in the head. As a matter of fact, a few years before the collapse, he fell behind on his property taxes by a few too many years in a row. When the sheriff was informed that his duties required him to pay Ken a visit on the matter, he and his deputies took up a collection to ‘help out a lifelong citizen of Yell county’. The truth is, they didn’t want to roll up on his place and find themselves in the world of hurt and on the evening news as missing persons.”
With skepticism in his voice, Jessie asked, “Do you think he would want to get in the middle of our fight? I mean... he doesn’t sound like a neighborly fellow.”
Shrugging, Isaac responded, “He doesn’t like people intruding on his property, so that might be just enough to get him to lend us a hand so it doesn’t make its way to him in the long run. All we can do is ask. The fact is, everyone else I would have called on in the past is either dead or gone. Last year was an especially bad year for folks around here.”
“I’ll go,” Billy proposed with confidence. “I went to school with a few of the Hofstadter boys. They’ll remember me.”
“Were they friends of yours?” Isaac asked.
“No, not friends, but they know they didn’t have anything to worry about with me, and vice versa.”
“That’ll work,” Isaac replied. “And since I know the older generation, I’ll go along with you.” Turning to Jessie, he added, “Jessie, you stay here and help Mike organize some sort of defensive strategy. We’ve got to be ready, in case the McCulloughs and their pals retaliate before we get back.”
