by A. American
“Ted! Ted! Don’t shoot! Stop, stop!”
At the mention of his name, Ted swiveled around. It was then he realized who had called his name: Jess.
“Don’t shoot him, Ted. He let us out. Don’t shoot!” Jess shouted again.
Ted lowered the weapon. “Jess?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” she said as tears again began to run down her face. Ted looked back at Sarge. He was lying just outside the door, stuffing a dressing into his wound and cussing a storm. Jess and Ted both moved toward him. Ted fell to his knees. “How bad is it?” he asked frantically as he ripped open Sarge’s IFAK.
Jess dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Sarge’s neck. “Oh my God, oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here,” she began to cry. “I thought about you all the time, I prayed you’d come and here you are.” She was crying uncontrollably.
Sarge patted her on the head. “It’s all right, Annie—you don’t think I could leave you here, do you?” Jess smiled at the mention of the nickname he had given her what seemed like years ago.
“Jess, move out of the way, please. I need to wrap this up.” Ted looked at Sarge. “How do you feel?”
Sarge was leaning on one elbow, gritting his teeth. “Well, it ain’t good.” Sarge looked over at Aric. “What about that little shit, is he dead?”
Jess looked over to see Fred kneeling beside Aric. Fred was crying and trying to stop the bleeding from Aric’s right bicep. He was having a difficult time breathing, heaving slowly. Three of the four rounds hit the ceramic plate in his armor, and the fourth created a through-and-through wound in his arm.
“Aric, hang on!” Fred cried. “We’ll get help for you.”
Sarge groaned, and then cursed. The bullet had struck him in his left side where his leg met his hip. Ted helped him get the dressing on it and the bleeding under control.
“We’re going to have to get you to a doctor,” Ted said.
“No shit! Don’t look like it hit the artery, though,” Sarge replied.
“Hopefully. Let’s get you up and into the Hummer.”
“Don’t worry about me, check on his ass.” Sarge jutted his chin toward Aric. “Jess said he was helping them?”
“Yeah, she said he let them out.”
“Check on him, see if he’s going to make it.” Sarge looked down at his bloodstained pants, “Dammit, these were my best pants.”
Ted chuckled. “Then quit leaking all over them. You’re lucky he didn’t shoot your dick off.”
Ted moved over to Aric. When he knelt down Aric looked at him, unsure of what was going on. Ted glanced into his eyes for a moment, then picked up the Glock and shoved it into a cargo pocket.
“Do you have an IFAK?” Ted asked as he started to cut the sleeve of Aric’s blouse.
Aric was going into shock. All he could manage was to shake his head no. Going against all the rules of using your personal first aid kit, Ted pulled a dressing from his own, wrapping it around Aric’s arm.
“He’s going to be all right. Elevate his feet to prevent shock. The dressing will stop the bleeding.”
In a surreal moment, Fred grabbed Aric’s legs, lifted them up and swung them over on top of Cortez’s body, setting them on the dead man’s chest.
Calvin and Shane were standing there, stunned as the scene unfolded before them. Shane helped his father over to where Sarge was now leaning against the door.
“I’d like to say I’m glad to see you, but this turned into a hell of a cluster fuck,” Calvin said, shielding his eyes with his hands.
Sarge looked up. “I agree, Calvin, our first meeting was a little better. You look like shit.”
“You don’t look so good yourself.” He laughed.
“So what happened? They put the boot to you?”
Calvin rubbed his side. “You could say that. They grabbed us right after our meeting with you.”
Sarge nodded. “I know, we saw it. I’m sorry we couldn’t help.”
“I damn sure wish you had, but I understand why you didn’t. What are you doing here?”
Sarge smiled. “We just took control of the camp.”
Calvin let out a small laugh, then grimaced and grabbed his side. “Well, no shit.”
“No shit,” Sarge replied with a smile.
“I didn’t hear any shooting,” Shane said.
“We hadn’t fired a shot till now.”
Ted then appeared and helped Sarge up out of the building and toward the truck. Calvin and Shane also made their way out of the detention center behind them, moving slowly and methodically.
Just as Sarge sat down in the passenger seat, two Hummers came racing toward them.
“Dammit,” Ted groaned. “What are we going to do about this?”
Sarge shifted in the seat, trying to raise the wounded leg. “Let’s see who shows up.”
The two trucks slid to a stop. Livingston, Sheffield, Ed, and Tabor stepped out of the lead truck. A group of Guardsmen piled out of the second.
“What the hell happened up here?” Tabor said.
Sarge saw an opportunity and quickly started to seize it. “I think we found some of your insurgents.”
Tabor looked at the open door, then back at Sarge. “Are you all right?”
“They put up a little bit of a fight, but we took them out.”
Sheffield and Livingston stepped forward. “How bad is it?” Livingston asked.
“Does it look any kind of good to you?” Sarge asked, the pain beginning to make him even more cantankerous.
Livingston looked at Tabor. “You got a clinic here?”
“We do. Let’s get you over there,” Ed said. He did a double take, noticing Calvin and Shane. “Why are these prisoners out of their cells?” he demanded.
“We took them out to interrogate them. They aren’t going anywhere. Can you go see if you recognize the asshole who shot me?” Sarge asked, gesturing toward the door.
Ed and Tabor nodded and moved toward the door, and Sarge quickly motioned for Ted. He waited until the other two men stepped through the door. “Put those two in one of them cells. Take some of these guys with you and lock their asses up.”
Ted nodded and waved at the Guardsmen, who ran over and followed Ted toward the door.
When Ed and Tabor stepped through the door they stopped in their tracks, shocked by the scene. Two of their men were dead, another was wounded, and the prisoners were all out of their cells.
“What the hell’s going on in here?” Tabor yelled.
Fred and Jess both let out an audible gasp.
“Kay, what the hell are you doing in here?” Tabor asked. The look on her face was one of complete fright.
Ed stepped past Tabor and got in Ted’s face. “What in the hell is going on in here? Why are these prisoners out?”
The four Guardsmen rushed by and took Tabor to the ground, pushing him inside a cell. Then, Ted planted a knee into Ed’s crotch, dropping the man. Ted bent over and stripped the pistol from Ed’s belt, tucking it into a cargo pocket. Curled in a fetal position, holding on to his manhood, Ed looked up at Ted and moaned, “What the fuck was that for?”
Ted grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up, pushing him through the cell door. Inside, Tabor was trying to fight the four Guardsmen holding him down.
One of the Guardsmen stood up and brought the butt of his rifle down on Tabor’s sternum several times. “Go to sleep!” the Guardsman shouted. The blows knocked the air from Tabor’s lungs. He immediately went limp, exhaling a forceful groan.
With Tabor subdued, the soldiers dragged him to the cell Ed was in. Ed looked down at his boss, then back at Ted. “What the fuck is this about? Why in the hell are you doing this?”
“You bastards are getting what you deserve, or at least you probably will, later,” Ted spat.
“
What we deserve—what the hell have we done? We run a refugee camp, for Pete’s sake!”
Ted pointed at Ed’s face. “That’s the first time you’ve used the term refugee. They’ve always been prisoners or detainees, but now that your ass is in the fucking sling you’re singing a different tune. That’s why you’re in here,” Ted said, slamming the door.
He made his way to the door, ordering the Guardsmen to help assist the ladies out of the center. In their weakened condition, it was difficult for them to walk normally.
Outside Sheffield and Livingston were standing beside the Hummer, talking to Sarge.
“Just got word they’ve got the DHS boys all herded together and the situation has been explained to them. The jig is officially up now,” Livingston said.
“Good. They got them all? Any trouble?” Sarge asked.
“Yeah, there was a little trouble, but they didn’t have to shoot anyone. Couple of them took a bit of a beating, though. Guess some of the guys were a little wound up.”
“A little beatin’s good for ’em. God knows they’ve been inflicting it on others,” Sarge said.
“We need to do something with the civilians. They’re scared, now that they know there are no guards around. We need to make an announcement to let them know what’s happening,” Livingston said.
“I agree, but we also need to maintain the camp as it currently is until we can determine who’s who. Then we can make an announcement,” Sarge said. He groaned loudly and clutched his hip.
Sheffield shook his head. “We need to get you over to the infirmary.”
“Teddy!” Sarge yelled.
“Yeah?”
“Hurry up! I’ve only got so much of this red shit in me!”
“Go ahead and take him, Ted. We’ll take care of this situation and post a couple of our guys for security to deal with these bodies,” Livingston said.
Ted looked back at Jess and Fred, who were still with Aric, eyes averted. “He needs to go to the infirmary too. So does that other woman.” Livingston ordered the Guardsman to help Aric and Mary into the truck.
Ted helped the girls up, wedging them into the back of the Hummer.
“Ted, we need sunglasses or something. The light hurts our eyes,” Jess said.
“We’ll find something for you soon as we get to the infirmary. Speaking of which . . .” He keyed his mic. “Hey, Doc.”
“Go ahead, Ted.”
“Get to the infirmary. The old man’s been hit.”
Before Doc could reply, Mike broke in. “Is he all right? How bad is it?”
Doc came back. “Ted, I’m on my way, is he stable?”
“Yeah, he’s stable and cantankerous as hell.”
“Roger that, I’ll be waiting.”
“I’m on my way too,” Mike said.
• • •
Sheffield and Livingston were discussing how many men to leave behind when they noticed that Shane and Calvin were staring at them.
“Sorry to interrupt, fellas. But what are we supposed to do now?” Calvin asked.
Livingston looked at the man, who was bent over and couldn’t stand straight. “Who are you and what in the hell happened to you?”
Calvin stabbed a finger at the retreating Hummer. “We were captured right after meeting with them. My name’s Calvin Long. This is my son, Shane.”
“So what happened to you, Calvin?”
“We put up a fight, but there was too many of them. When we got here they put the boot leather to me”—Calvin looked at Shane—“and done worse to him.”
“Why’d they come after you?” Sheffield asked.
Calvin thought about the answer. “We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They saw us and started shooting when we pulled away from the meeting.”
“You know the old saying, roads are for people who want to be ambushed,” Livingston said.
“Truer now than ever before, I guess,” Calvin said.
“Why were you out on the road?” Livingston asked.
“We found a guy who escaped from here, and from how he described it, the conditions were awful. I had a feeling that Sarge’s crew was in the area for a reason, and this camp was the only reason I could think of. I reached out to them and we met up to give them some intel we had on the camp layout. Then we got ambushed,” Calvin explained.
“So you guys were the source of the map?” Sheffield asked.
“The guy that we had found was the source. He was killed in the ambush,” Shane replied.
Sheffield nodded. “I see.”
“So, again, what do we do now? Can we go home?” Shane asked.
“Uh . . .” Livingston looked at Sheffield, then back at Calvin. “Yeah, I guess so. Where’s home?”
Calvin chuckled. “You’ll understand if I don’t want to tell you that, won’t you?”
“Oh sure, I understand,” Livingston said.
“Hop in with us. Let’s take you to the infirmary and get you checked out before you head home,” Sheffield said.
“Thanks,” Calvin said. The father and son supported one another as they walked toward the Hummer. Even though they were in rough shape, the fact that freedom was so close to being theirs again put a little pep in their step.
Chapter 20
The nose of the canoe ground into the bank. I hopped out, followed by Taylor, Little Bit, and the bucket of snails. Danny came out last with the tangerines. Mel and Bobbie came gliding up next. I grabbed the bow of Mel’s boat and pulled her up. Danny did the same for Bobbie. Little Bit took my hand as we walked up toward the picnic tables. As we got closer I saw Lee Ann sitting by the fire, talking animatedly with Thad and Jeff. I was surprised to see her there and a smile crept across my face.
Mel caught up to me. “Look, Lee Ann’s out here,” she said.
“And she looks happy. I wonder what’s up?”
We all took chairs around the fire. I sat across from Lee Ann, who smiled at me. “Did you find the tree?”
“We did.”
“Can I have one, please?”
“Sure,” Danny said, tossing her a tangerine.
Before long we were all peeling and eating them.
“They’re a little dry, but not that sour,” Lee Ann said.
“Not as sour as I remember,” I said, looking at Danny. “Remember when we found that thing?”
He was chewing on a section of the fruit and started laughing, revealing a mouth of tangerine guts. “Oh yeah, we were camping on that little island upstream.”
I chuckled. “That’s the night I caught that big-ass catfish.”
Danny’s head rocked back. “Yeah, and made that rice stuff with the summer sausage.”
“Ooh, don’t say summer sausage, gonna get me hungry,” Thad said. “Speaking of meat, I’ve been thinking, we really wasted a lotta that that last hog we had. I want to do it right this time.”
“What do you mean, do it right?” Danny asked.
“I want to butcher one, scald it, and use it all. Make bacon, crackling, and everything else we can.”
Almost in unison, everyone shouted out, “Bacon?”
Thad was bombarded with questions about bacon. He started to laugh and held up a hand. “Yeah, I know how to make bacon, it’s easier than you think.”
“Then why, for God’s sake, didn’t we make it before?” I asked.
Thad shrugged. “We were kind of in a hurry last time.”
“How do we make it?” Mel asked.
“All it takes is salt and sugar. We got both of those. I’ll make a brine and soak it, then smoke it.”
“How do we store it without keeping it cold?” Bobbie asked.
“You just hang it up. It’ll keep. This isn’t the kind of bacon you buy at the store, it’s actually preserved meat as is,” Thad said with a smile.
“Back before refrigeration, this is how people did it.”
“I’m all for some meat candy,” Jeff said.
“Me too, I’m game,” I said.
“I want bacon!” Little Bit shouted.
“It’ll be a few days, Ashley,” Thad said, patting her on the head.
Everyone’s joy at the thought of bacon was short-lived, as it started to rain. The weather forced us under the small shelter we’d constructed over the picnic tables. What we discovered was that while it kept the tables dry, it was woefully inadequate in protecting all of the benches. We were forced to one side of the table, facing the river. Luckily we had enough bench space for everyone.
At first the rain was no big deal—it was almost welcomed—but after several hours of nonstop downpour, it dampened our spirits as much as it did the fire in the pit outside. That was another oversight. While the canopy covered the tables, it didn’t cover the fire. I threw a piece of scrap plastic over the stack of firewood, and kept my fingers crossed that it wouldn’t be too difficult to light after the storm.
“Daddy, I’m bored. How long is it going to rain?” Little Bit asked.
“I don’t know, kiddo.” I looked over at her older sisters. “Why don’t you guys go into the cabin and play a game or something?”
Lee Ann spoke up. “Let’s go play Monopoly.”
Little Bit jumped up. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go play!”
“I’ll play,” Taylor said.
“This is pretty miserable. I’ll play too,” Bobby said. “Mel, you want to?”
“Sure, you girls get it ready and we’ll be there in a minute,” Mel replied.
The girls jumped up from the table and ran off toward the cabin, splashing through the mud and laughing. Mel waited until the girls were gone, then looked at me. “What’s happened to her? She seems like a different person.”
I shook my head. “I have no idea. I was wondering the same thing.” Looking at Thad, I asked, “What happened while we were gone?”
Thad looked at both of us. “Nothing, we just talked a little. I think she’ll be all right.”
