by M. C. Allen
The rear cargo area was loaded with extra gear that I could dig through later, but for the time being, I needed to get things moving. I missed my kids. And those bodies needed to get processed. And I had a feeling that the unknown enemy was getting ready to wipe me and everyone I had contact with off the face of the earth. We had done too good of a job and attracted too much attention to ourselves. We needed to get ready to move out of this area. But first, I wanted to free as many normal folks as I could. I would need an Army to fight these thugs.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
“Don’t shoot! It’s me—David!” I called out to the sentry manning the 240. They had been busy, and the position was well dug in and protected. I had opened my driver’s side door a crack, held my hands out, and waved them around. “I don’t know the challenge and password. I forgot to set that up before I left.” That got a chuckle from the other side of the road near my partially opened door. The road was blocked by two trucks pushed together nose to nose.
“Where the heck did you get that?” Joseph’s smooth voice called out.
“I got it off a dead guy. Well, a lot of them to be exact. Can I come in and turn around? We need to get the ball rolling.”
Joseph stepped out from behind cover and made a hand signal to someone back behind the trucks. An engine started and the truck on the left began to back up.
“These trucks will never run again, so we stripped them down and emptied the fuel. We attached a cable and a pulley to one of the trucks that is not too road worthy to act as a door opener. It’s on a hill so the truck will just roll back into place when the cable goes slack again.” It was a great idea, and it showed that they had really been busy.
I drove through the gap and pulled a U-turn in the open field. The Hummer took the uneven terrain in stride. It had a horrible turning radius, but the added armor negated that detractor. When I returned, the two trucks were back together. I saw the beat-to-crap farm truck used to move the other truck now that I was on the other side. Again, great idea, but I didn’t know if it would be enough. Even with the added .50-caliber machine gun, we would be overwhelmed if they hit us with several of these vehicles with even better weapons. I put the beast in park and shut it down. When I got out, I was hit on two sides by Regina, who went low, and Alex, who went high. They took me to the ground by the Humvee.
“I wore my vest this time, kids! Don’t hurt me.” They were happy to see me. Alex smiled for the first time in three months. It was an honest-to-goodness grin. For once, she did the talking.
“Did you get that for me?” She pointed at the machine gun up top.
“Yup, you and Kofi have to share though. I could only find one.”
She looked hurt. “I always have to share. If I were an only child, then I could have anything I want.” She followed that with a small stomp of her foot. I was still flat on my back with Regina wrapped around my waist. She finally got in a word.
“If you got the gun for them, what did you bring me?”
Well, I was stumped. What do you bring your ten-year-old “daughter” during the apocalypse? “I found a mansion up the road with all sorts of cool electronics that should have been fried during the pulse, and a nifty generator. I bet we can find something for you and Dale up there. The owners aren’t around. There are two other houses I found with people who I need to check in on.”
I finally got up and shook Joseph’s hand. He looked at me curiously.
“How many houses did you find? I thought you were just scouting.” He shifted and waited for me to admit my failure to follow my own instructions.
“The first two houses were easy. The owners were being held there and forced to work on their own land. The third one can be ours except for the ladies who I freed there. But first, we need the tractor to follow me. And can you send two trucks to check on the first two houses and meet me at the ‘big house’? Lisa and Danielle are going to be needed too. These ladies have been mistreated.” I stopped at that as Dale and Angel walked up from the house.
Dale smiled and waved before asking the uncomfortable question. “So, can we stay here? It seems to be a lot better off than the campground.” He pointed back at the farm that had once seen some pretty gruesome stuff.
“We need to make plans to leave here. Strip it of everything of value, load it on anything that can move, and get the heck out of here.” Everyone stopped and looked at me like I had finally lost it. I needed to continue so I just barged over their questions.
“The radio setup I found was used to listen in on our radio signals. They knew we were at the campground, and that we had taken this farm by force. They are getting ready to move in and wipe out anyone who can fight and enslave the ones they want. Their base of operation is around the Interstate 20 and Interstate 30 corridors. Those two interstates are close to each other, north of here and that is where they are expanding from. This is just a small piece of their bigger operation.” That was a lot to take in. I stopped and let them think for a second. Finally, Joseph broke the silence.
“Do we have enough equipment and fuel to move everything and everyone?”
I shrugged before I answered. “Either we do, or we don’t. The deuce can haul a lot of gear, and we need to find a trailer for the tractor. With what I have recovered so far, we can move everyone who wants to leave. We need to clean out those cars back at the campsite for fuel and anything usable. Think about it. We have to bring our tools with us to start over.”
Kofi hadn’t said anything yet, but now he finally did. “We need to get the truck. It’s got a lot of your gear that we are going to need.”
“Yes, and we will use the Hummer to go back and get it. We should be able to run through any bandits we come across, but first we need to consolidate everyone here and you need to learn to drive. Oh, and you need to learn to operate that .50 up there.”
Dale was a little let down, but I explained that the operating mechanism required a lot of arm strength to operate, but the 240 might be more to his liking. His eyes lit up at that suggestion. “Wait, you are going to let me learn to shoot the 240?”
“Yes, it’s time we all get trained up. We have some food too. The rations suck, but you can live on them if you have to. Joseph, I want your group to come with us when we leave.”
“What do you mean my group? They are yours, David. All of them will follow your lead. I’m your second in command. I go where you do.” Joseph slapped me on the shoulder and smiled.
I loaded up the kids and Joseph brought another truck for Angel to ride shotgun. A man I didn’t know was driving the tractor, and two other trucks were brought out. We made for a motley convoy. Kofi, wearing a newly acquired helmet, was standing at the .50 but not touching it. He was there for show. In the passenger seat, Alex kept watch on the right with Regina behind her. Dale sat behind me and kept a running commentary on how cool the Hummer was.
“How far can this thing go on a tank of gas?” he inquired.
“Well, it runs on diesel for one thing. I don’t see it going three hundred miles without filling it back up. This armor is heavy and will slow it down some.” I grinned before I added, “At least we don’t have to worry about getting shot up just rolling down the road, and if Kofi keeps his head down, he might just avoid becoming a sack of meat.” I gently tapped him on his shin to get his attention.
“Keep your eyes just above the armor, don’t poke out too much or someone will take your head off. I don’t want to clean up the mess.” Kofi grinned and nodded at my gallows humor. Yup, we were sick individuals.
When we came upon the first driveway, I stopped the creeping convoy and took the last truck in line up the path to the distant house. I told everyone else to stay on alert, and I would be right back. When we reached the house, we were greeted with the husband aiming an M4 at us. Good for him, he was learning, but not smart to try to face down an armored vehicle. I called Kofi back down and killed the engine. I got out slowly and called out my familiar line, “Don’t sho
ot, it’s David from the other day. I hope you are all well. We brought you some help.”
The man finally recognized me and called back to the house, “He’s back, and he brought friends! Don’t shoot.” The wife and daughter stepped out of the house looking a lot cleaner and better clothed than they had the other day. I pointed to the truck with two men in the cab.
“These guys are here to help you get ready to move out of here. The raiders might be coming back with too much force to stop them. Do you want our help, or are you going to stay? I can’t guarantee your safety if you stay.”
The man looked angry and confused. “But you took care of them, right?”
“I killed a bunch of them, but they are only a small part of the larger group. Can we get some clothes for some ladies down the road? I think there are seven of them, and I have no idea if they have anything to wear. I can keep stripping the dead, but things like shoes and undergarments would help.”
The man was a little shocked at that pronouncement. “How far did you go?”
“I got two houses up. The big house slowed me down. They had a lot of guys there.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He pointed at the truck parked up by the house. “I can use their truck to move some stuff around. The keys were on the ring you gave me, and it runs great.”
“Good, I’m sorry. I never did get your names. I’m David Metcalf, and these are my kids.” I introduced my kids, and just told the man it was a long story. He introduced himself as Gene Patrick, and his wife, Corrine, along with his daughter Stacy.
Stacy came up to me and tentatively gave me a shy hug and a gentle, “Thank you.”
Alex touched Stacy on the shoulder to get her attention and gave her a warm embrace. She quietly whispered in her ear, “You are with friends now.” With that, Alex let her go and nodded to me. She had this.
“Mr. Patrick, get everything of use and load it up in the trucks.” I pointed to my unnamed helpers sitting in their truck. “These guys will help. Once you get it loaded come on down to that big house up the road. Do you know it?” Gene nodded.
“That’s the Session’s place. They bought it and fixed it up a few years ago. It’s a huge house.”
We loaded back up, told the Patrick family that I would see them in a few hours, and we headed back down the driveway to meet my convoy. At the end of the drive, I turned right and proceeded down to the next house. I again peeled off and took one of the trucks with me to meet the gardeners. They greeted me with weapons too, and again I repeated my battle cry of, “Don’t shoot, please.” The family came out to see me and introductions were again made.
Like the Patricks down the way, they also had a working truck from the captors as well as some useful farming implements, and a trailer for us to use. Score! Things were coming together. This family, the Grangers, needed little coaxing to get ready to leave. They also agreed to help with the clothing issues at the “big house.”
The father, Elijah, said that their captors had tried to treat them humanely and didn’t abuse them too much. That was a blessing, especially since the daughter was about eight. Little Sofia still had her sweet innocence. Based on what she had seen so far, she might turn out to be the best adjusted of us all. Her mom, Jennifer, was a hard woman who started giving orders to my two helpers almost from the word go. Her poor son, Daniel, jumped to it. He was about seventeen and looked strong if now cowed by a domineering mother. Elijah seemed to be immune to the constant barrage from Jennifer. Enjoy her, Elijah, I thought, for whatever time we have left. We continued down the road to the “big house.”
I told Kofi to get all the way down before we turned into the driveway, in case the ladies got a little twitchy and shot at us. They did. The guard point at the gate fired at the Humvee right when I turned. I stopped with the driver’s side protected and slowly got out. The shots didn’t do anything to the vehicle. I waved and yelled, “Hey, I said I was coming back! Did you forget about me so soon?” The firing slowed as a magazine was changed, then another. Two shooters. I waved again. They finally stopped. I pulled the armored vehicle up to the guard point. I yelled out, “I told you to run away if anyone showed up!”
A woman’s voice chuckled. “We took a vote, and we agreed to fight if they came back.”
I pointed back to the road where the rest had stopped and waited for the all clear. “I brought a tractor to dig the holes and some friends to help. The neighbors down the road are coming and bringing some more clothes. I figured you would be tired of wearing men’s clothing.” The woman I had talked to earlier popped out of the sentry point and walked over.
“I’ll take you up to the house. I’m Tammy.”
“Tammy, I’m David. Hop in and I’ll introduce you to my family. Regina, can you scooch over for her?” Regina smiled and shifted over next to Kofi. Tammy didn’t look as crazy as she had when she was manically stabbing someone. She got in and pointed back to the sentry still on duty.
“That’s Abagail Ruiz. She volunteered to help out.” Tammy was pretty with long, wavy, brown hair. I hadn’t seen her eyes yet but my guess was a light blue. Alex watched me do a quick scan of our newest rider. She smirked at me and gave a knowing nod. I just shook my head at her. They knew better. I needed time. More time than I thought I would ever have. Tammy was probably in the same boat, and any advances were probably not just unwelcome but downright creepy for someone who had just been through what she had experienced.
We made it to the house and found that the ladies had moved the truck outside and had started loading it already. I looked back at Tammy. “Did you know we were going to need to bug out soon?”
“I caught part of your conversation with that horrible bitch, Noreen Bachman. We know we can’t stay here. That radio in there is proof that there is more going on than a group of rapists and murderers. These guys are too well armed, and if there’s more of them, there ain’t no way in hell we can hold them off. Heck, they even have military rations to feed themselves. Well, they did until you killed them all. Good job, and thanks.”
I chuckled at her honesty. “Not a problem. I think this is a win for the not-so-good guys.”
Tammy looked at me strangely before going on. “We dragged all the bodies out back so we can start getting them under the ground. I figured we would be here for a few days getting ready to move. The bodies are already stripped. We got the washing machine to run, and we have a load of uniforms ready to dry on the line out back. Did you know that barn was full of ammunition and supplies?” Tammy pointed back to the metal barn. “There is another shed back there that they used to store extra supplies.”
More good news. The problem will be keeping them. If we get hit before we can get organized, we could end up losing everything. We are going to need more vehicles to move all of this. I nodded at Tammy. “Good to know. Everyone will be meeting here in a few hours. I’m going to turn my kids loose helping you. I’ll take the armored beast down and block the road. I have another vehicle stashed that I need to retrieve.”
I pointed to the house and turned to Kofi so only he could hear me. “I want you to go ahead and get a feel for our new friends in there. They are going to be skittish around a lot of things—noise, new people, and possibly males. I don’t know how they are going to respond yet.”
Kofi looked at Dale and Regina. “So, we are going to use our secret weapons? Do you think that is extreme?”
“Sure thing, nothing can stand up to the beaming personality of your sister and of course Dale.” I smiled at Dale. “Remember …”
Dale finished my thought. “Don’t hit on the ladies, they are ‘delicate little flowers’ right now.”
Alex smacked him lightly on the back of the neck before she admonished him. “Don’t be too much of a smart ass, Dale. That is not cool around people not used to your brand of humor.”
“Alexsandra, language.” I mockingly glared at her. It was good to see the prissy teenager coming back. The angry wraith she had become after her trauma had wo
rried me for a while. “Don’t make me take away your new toys.” Alex exaggerated a frown that curled her lower lip in an extreme fashion. I had to laugh at her antics, and tweaked her dimpled cheek.
Please Lord, let me live long enough to make sure my kids end up having semi-normal lives. Their eyes still had the glazed, dead look that had frightened Joseph when we first met, but at least now they were smiling. The smiles never did quite reach their eyes. I’m sure my smile looked like a rictus grin at this point. It’s a good thing my beard covered most of my face.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
“You want to do what?” The question hung over the cleaned up living room of our “new” house. The blood had been wiped up, and the washing machine was running slightly off balance down the hall near the pantry, where Tammy and her cohorts had been confined. Barbara had just asked me if I had lost my damn mind. I knew they felt comfortable here, but we had to move. I knew where we could go, but I had to keep that to myself for now. My friends could not afford this to leak out.
“Barbara, everybody, please just hear me out before you string me up.” I was seated in one of the chairs and not standing up lording over the packed room. Joseph sighed, and as always, chose his words carefully before he spoke.
“David, I agree, but some have the idea that we can hold this spot. Since we cleaned out the rest of the houses on the road, our amount of food might get us through the winter ahead of us.” He was playing devil’s advocate as I had hoped. He was pointing out the weaknesses in my argument. I had an instant comeback, but I needed to tread carefully or I would lose a lot of support.
“Do we have seeds to plant in the spring? The gardens that are producing right now will play out, and they are mainly hybrid plants that will not be able to grow next spring. We can’t rely on the gardens past this season. Any ideas?” I tossed that gently to the room. I knew there really wasn’t another option. Heirloom seeds hadn’t been found in the farms we had liberated. I had some sealed in a can back with my truck with the rest of my goodies.
