“Be careful, dogs aren’t pets anymore honey, they’re wild animals.” Jimmy got down on his haunches, waiting for the dog to make a move. After a few minutes, the dog slowly came out of the bushes, standing a few yards away. Other than looking a bit thin and matted, he seemed in good condition. The dog looked black and gray, but after a much needed bath, the gray would probably turn to white.
Once the dog cleared the bushes, he turned back and bared his teeth, growling at something, neither Sue, nor Jimmy could see. Sue had an idea what it was though and stepped up closer, to get a better look. Out from the bushes came a zed, the dog backing up, while continuing to growl. Sue slowly approached the male zed, towering, at least, a foot over her.
“Come on big guy.” Sue pulled her knife from the sheath. Jimmy stood up, but Sue put her hand up, stopping Jimmy in his tracks. She let the zed get closer, before landing a heavy boot to It’s right knee, causing the zed to go down with a thud. After that, Sue stabbed It thru the head, effectively ending It’s misery. Sue looked down at the dog, who was still keeping his distance. Jimmy went back down on his haunches, before giving the dog some encouragement.
“Hey fella.” Jimmy watched, as the dog’s tail began to wag back n forth. It took a little time and convincing on Jimmy’s part, but the dog approached hesitantly, now only a few feet away. Taking the canteen from his belt, Jimmy poured some water in his hand, the dog inching over, closer to Sue and Jimmy.
Sue looked around the immediate area, seeing a small plastic cup on the ground, she grabbed it, handing it to her son. Jimmy poured some more water in the cup, setting it on the ground in front of him. The dog, cautiously, moved closer, before sticking his tongue in the cup and lapping up the water.
“I think you made a friend.” Sue smiled at her son. After a few more cups, the dog allowed Jimmy to pet his head, still a bit weary of the contact. Sam and Tom walked up, both surprised to see the dog there.
“I haven’t seen a dog in a long time, at least not a friendly one.” Sam said. The dog backed off some, seeing Tom and Sam, but eventually sat down, letting Jimmy pat him.
“So?” Sue asked, pointedly. She knew Tom had reservations about the park, just by the look on his face, but Sam seemed enthused, like maybe they’d found a home.
“Well, the park seems secured and we can secure it even more…” Sam pointed to a security camera on the fence. “...and if I can get those up and running, we’ll be able to see outside the park, pick up any threats, before they even make it to the gate.”
“It's so big, a lot of land to protect.” Tom interrupted.
“But I think we can do it Tom, we’d have living quarters, a greenhouse, hopefully power and a place to call our own.” Sam countered.
“He’s right, Tom.” Sue agreed. She knew, sometimes, her husband could dwell on the darker side and needed some convincing, especially when there was so much more good, than bad.
Tom looked, between Sam and his wife. Even though he was feeling apprehensive, he had to admit, the place offered protection and maybe even comfort. They could all be together, with plenty of room to move around. “ Let’s take it back to the others, see what they think.”
While the adults talked, Jimmy got better acquainted with his new friend. He’d given the dog the rest of the water in his canteen and was now rubbing his belly, as the dog lay on the ground. Tom and Sue knew what was coming next. “Can we take him with us?” Jimmy looked, pleadingly, up at his parents.
“I don’t know son, just one more mouth to feed.” Tom replied, but he knew that excuse, wasn’t going to satisfy Jimmy.
“I’ll share my food with him, please dad?” Tom looked at his wife, who also seemed smitten with the dog.
“If he wants to come fine, but we aren’t forcing him in the car, ok?” Jimmy nodded, happily.
After another walk around the outer fence, the group headed to the car. The dog had followed them, as they made the last walk around, but stopped, when they made it to the car.
“Come on boy.” Jimmy called, but the dog stayed put. Jimmy tried a few more times, but the dog didn’t move.
“I’m sorry son, maybe he’ll still be here when we come back.” Tom said, before getting behind the wheel. Jimmy waited another minute, then got in the car, shutting the door. Tom slowly turned around, driving back the way he came. Once they made it back to the lot and started toward the exit, barking could be heard. Jimmy stuck his head out the window, to see the dog running after the car.
“Stop dad!” Jimmy exclaimed. Tom stopped, letting the dog catch up. Jimmy opened the back door and the dog jumped in. “I knew you’d change your mind.” Jimmy said, the dog wagging its tail and licking Jimmy’s face.
“Ok, ok…” Sue said, being on the receiving end of the wagging tail. Their new friend, also smelled like he hadn’t had a bath, in a very long time. “I hope you can coax him into the tub for a bath, young man.” Sue said, but it sounded more like an order to Jimmy.
“First we come back with a U-haul and now a dog.” Tom joked.
“A good guard dog?” Sue added. “I mean, he did warn us about the zed, he could really come in handy.” By now, the dog had his head out the window, enjoying the breeze.
“Either way, I think he’s already part of the family.” Sam declared.
Will, you got a lot to learn, before you go up against a bunch like this." Turk expressed.
"If they've hurt Emma, they'll be sorry." Will replied.
Turk shook his head. "Now that is the first thing you gotta learn. You go off half cocked and they'll kill you before you start. I'll teach you everything I know, just one question, fast or slow?”
Will gave Turk a perplexed look. “What's the difference?”
Turk chuckled. “You learn quicker with fast, but it hurts a lot more.”
The two took Turk's old willys north, towards Kentucky. “I’m doing a lot of reading between the lines, on the notes your Emma was writin. If I’m readin it right, this True Believer group is based near Bighill Kentucky. Which is just a stones throw off I-75. We could just get close to Bighill and waylay them on the road. I just can’t suss out how we do that and not put them kids at more risk. At the border to Kentucky, is the Indian Mountain park. I’m hopin they’ll stop there, before making the last stretch. If I’m right and they do that and our timin ain’t off, you and me can bushwhack them fellers.”
“What if your wrong, or we just missed them?” Will's concern, as to the odds of success, obvious.
Turk laid out the rest of the plan. “We'll give it two weeks, if we don't see them by then, you and me are going to be True Believer initiates. I don't fancy the idea of walking into that snakes den, lets hope this plan pays out.”
Turk first started out, teaching Will the art of hand to hand fighting. True to his word, he dealt a lot of discomfort onto Will. Turk was impressed, no matter how many times the boy got knocked down and bloodied, he got back up again.
“I keep tellin ya Will, you can't get pissed off like that. Anger is one thing, you can use it, but when you lose your head, your dead.”
“I'm tryin, I just get frustrated.”
Turk patted Will’s shoulder “You’re getting a heap load better at this boy. Hell, you knocked me down six times in this last hour. Let’s take a break and go huntin, you need to work on how you move in the woods.”
"Will pick up your dang feet. Shufflin along like that you make such a ruckus anything out there knows we’re a comin long before we get there. To move fast in the woods you need to slow yourself down. Step where I step try not to leave a trail.", expressed Turk in hushed tones.
Suddenly, Turk came to a halt and raised his hand. "That's a clearin up ahead, next to the lake. Slow it up, boy."
After assuring themselves that it was safe to proceed, the pair moved into the clearing. It was obvious right off, that this was used as a regular campsite. A well used two-track, led to the site and a good supply of firewood, was stacked and ready.
"Tell me
what you see, son?"
"Well somebody comes here often, there aren't many weeds in the two track. The bark is rubbed off the trees here, this must be where they run a rope to set their perimeter. With all that firewood, they must be planning on coming back."
"Very good. Go check the fire pit, tell me when they were here last."
"It’s cold, there is leaf litter in it. Looks like the last rain, washed some mud and gravel into it. We've been here four days and it hasn't rained that whole time, so I'm guessing at least a week."
"Damn boy, I'm not sure I'd of caught that last one. Back outta here and cover our tracks, let’s find someplace to hunker down, we’ll wait and watch this camp."
"And hope." Will added.
After two more days of watching the camp, they were rewarded, seeing a pair of vehicles enter the camp site. “That's her, that is Emma. We gotta go now and get her.”
“Whoa, hold up there Will. If we rush in there now, we are both dead and maybe Emma too.” Turk cautioned, in hushed tones.
“Right, I can take the shot from here.” Will suggested.
Turk shook his head. “Yes you could and maybe take out one or two, but your girl still ends up dead. Let’s back away and figure this out.”
After some longing looks back at Emma, Will eventually consented to back off. Once out of ear shot, Turk explained to Will how they needed to do this.
“Will, the moon is gonna be nearly full tonight, we need to wait, till they are bedded down. They'll have one, or two on watch. I'll take those out first and finish the others, as they sleep. You need to know where Emma and the kids are sleeping and get them back to where we stashed the willys.”
Turk handed Will, a pair of binoculars, “Watch em, learn what you can.”
“Turk, thank you. If it wasn't for you, I would never gotten this close to her again.”
“Don't mention it, been a slow month up to now, boy. I don't know how much of this is due to me. I'm the first to admit, that providence has shone on us.”
Three hours after sundown, Turk and Will crept a little closer to the camp. A smaller man, just came on guard duty. They had a simple rope perimeter, with a half dozen of the fallen, staked about every twenty feet. They kept a low campfire burning. Their two vehicles were parked outside of the perimeter, ready to move back up the two track. It was a warm night and they were bunked down on the ground. The smoke from the fire, gave them some relief from the mosquitoes, that the lake drew. Emma and the kids, had a simple tarp lean to, giving them extra protection, Turk and Will, edged closer to that lean to.
“I want to give it a couple more hours, I want them to be in a deep sleep. If the opportunity comes though, I'll take it.”
As Bub walked the perimeter, he would take long pauses at the lean to, watching Emma sleep. Bub wanted that girl bad, but if he tried to grab her, she'd scream and Cain would kill him. If he killed Cain first, he could never convince Grady and Alan to go along with him. They had bought into the True Believer line and would never go against, what the Mother requested.
Shortly before the end of his shift, Bub needed to take a dump. Grabbing some tissue, Bub slipped out of the perimeter and into the woods.
“Will stay put, I'll take care of that one, don't do anything rash.”
Turk was putting up a brave front to Will, but the truth was, he had never killed a person before. He had done in plenty of the dead ones, but that was more like doin them a favor. He had been in plenty of scuffles, but killing was not part of his code.
In one swift move, Turk placed a hand over Bub's mouth and drove his knife, up under Bub's jaw. Bub died instantly, but his warm blood poured over Turk's hand. Turk didn't have long to think about, what he had just done. Bub's relief was up and looking for him. The fallen seemed to sense the fresh blood and were becoming restless.
“Bub, where you at?” Alan called out, in a whisper, afraid to wake Cain, if this turned out to be nothing. Turk used the commotion of the fallen, to move in close to Alan and dropped him, like he had Bub. Turk pulled his club from the sheath at his back and moving quickly on the balls of his feet, drove the point of the staff through the head of the nearest sleeping man.
“Now that tain't nice friend” Cain said, calmly.
Cain drew his pistol, but Turk was close enough to knock the gun from his hand, with a swing of his club. “Now Will, get your girl and the kids out of here.”
One of the children screamed, when a fallen tried to follow Will to their lean to and Turk took his eyes off Cain, to see what was happening. Cain took the opportunity to tackle Turk, causing Turk to lose his grip on his club.
Turk threw Cain off of him and jumped to his feet, pulling his knife. Emma hugged Will tight against the neck, “I knew you would come, I just knew it.”
Embarrassed, Will stammered. “No time for this now Emma, we have to move.”
Cain drew his own knife. “Looks like we're all alone now friend. Don't matter them kids got away, they'll get scooped up again eventually. We've got teams going out all the time, sooner or later, we'll have everyone that’s left alive. Those children are a blessing and the future. Once Mother sets them on the true path, they’re going to own this world and this little rescue of yours, is just a speed bump.”
“Maybe so, but you ain't gonna have these three and if anyone comes to scoop em up again, they gotta go through me.” Turk replied.
“Brave words, for a dead man.”
The two men begin to circle each other. Cain was a master at knife fights, he loved to toy with his opponent making cuts, until he bled out. Cain saw his chance and flicked out his knife and cut across Turks shoulder. Turk winced and stepped back, exposing his chest and Cain’s knife slashed again, opening a wide gash. Turk feigned a move with his shoulder. This time, when Cain went to slice the arm again, Turk caught his wrist and plunged his own knife to the hilt in Cain's chest.
Cain fell back, coughing up blood. “You did me in friend, do me a favor, don't let me turn.”
Cain rolled to his side to spit out the blood, oozing up from his lung. Then rolled back, holding a pistol he had secreted away. “I may be joining the fallen, but I'm not going alone.”
Will directed Emma, Margo and Prescott, back to where they had stashed Turk's station wagon. Once there, they pulled off the branches and netting, used to hide the vehicle and Will put Margo and Prescott inside. Will helped Emma climb on the roof of the car, handed her his shotgun and climbed up next to her.
“Will, I was so afraid I'd never see you again. Those men … they … they, I don't know, they were just bad.” Emma choked out.
Will a little clumsily, draped an arm around her. “I was worried about you too, but Turk, he called it and we were able to set up the ambush.”
Emma could sense the change in their relationship. “That man, Turk, he said get your girl, am I your girl Will?”
Will looked at her quizzically. “Emma, I traveled a hundred miles, let a crazy hillbilly beat the crap out of me and spent the last two days squattin in the woods, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, what do you think?”
Emma pushed. “Will, I need to hear you say it, I need to hear I'm your girl.”
Will a bit tentative and a little shy, slipped his hand under Emma's chin and kissed her for the first time. “Yes you're my girl, you have been ever since that day, you skinned your knee.”
Emma laid her head on Will's shoulder. “Was that a gunshot?”
“Yes.” Will whispered.
Emma tugged at Will. “We gotta go, Cain is gonna be coming for us.”
Will shook his head. “We don't know who that was, I can't believe anybody could get the best of Turk.”
“Will … please.” Emma pleaded.
Will pulled his arm from around her and held the shotgun, in both hands. “Its okay, I'm ready. If its Cain, I'll knock him clean out of his boots.”
The pair waited for, what seemed like, an eternity. Will could hear Emma's heart pounding and her breath came in short g
asps. Suddenly, a voice called from the woods. “Will it’s Turk, I'm comin out take er easy boy, it’s all over.”
“We heard a shot.” Will exclaimed.
“Yea that snake had a belly gun, but he’s was to busy coughin up his own blood to hold it straight, bullet went wild.” Turk answered.
Turk was bleeding heavy from the shoulder and chest, when he got to the car, he opened up the back and pulled out his med kit. “Miss, I’m gonna need your help closin up these cuts. Will, I've been drippin blood all the way back here, you be ready in case anything comes trailin me.”
Turk peeled off his shirt and handed Emma a jar of clear liquid. “Pour a good dose of this, on the cuts.”
Red Rises (Book 2): Dead To Rights (HZA, Vol. 4) Page 6
