HARD ROAD: Heaven Bound

by Terry McDonald

  After a few minutes, he began to think about the ones he loved and about those, he and Beth had rescued. He thought about Lester propped against the side of the bus with blood flowing from his belly. He pictured James lying on the pavement with his head in a pool of blood. He saw the three young children huddled together in terror.

  He thought about John Saint, and the atrocities he and his men were committing. When he was sure Sam and the others were finished, he steeled himself to do what he was about to do, and returned to the truck.

  He opened the tailgate, reached in, grabbed a handful of hair, and pulled the man to an upright position with his bound legs dangling over the edge. The wire binding his hands dug deeply into his wrists and the wire was looped around his belt, immobilizing his arms. Jake removed the gag from his mouth. As soon as he could speak, the man began whining.

  “Mister, you’ve got to get these wires off my hands, that lady said they’d die if they weren’t off. They’re turning black.”

  Jake responded by slapping him hard in the face.

  “You need to shut your mouth and listen to every word I say,” he said, in a voice devoid of emotion. “You’re going to be dead in a little while, there’s nothing to be done about it. You are a murderer. You shot an unarmed man in the stomach. You shot another human being in the head, and you were about to kill a young man when we rushed you. I want some answers from you. The only choice I’m going to give you is the choice to die easy.”

  “Go to hell you son of a bitch. When John Saint—.”

  Jake slapped his face even harder, causing the man to fall backwards, his head slamming against the hard metal of the truck. Jake again used his hair to pull him to a sitting position.

  “You can forget about John Saint, you murdering bastard. He will be dead soon enough. Right now, you have me. I will repeat what I said before. You can die easy or hard. I want answers to some questions, and by god you’re going to give them to me.”

  “I’m not telling you shit, you bastard,” he replied. He hacked a wad of phlegm, and spat into Jake’s face.

  Jake responded by jabbing him hard in the eye with two stiff fingers. He felt the eyeball burst. The man screamed, shaking his head violently side to side. Jake stepped away to avoid the flying gore from the ruptured eye and wiped the spit from his face with his sleeve.

  “I’ll repeat what I said before. I have no choice, but you do. I have friends and loved ones to protect. You'll tell me what I need to know because every lie will hurt you."

  *

  It was a long trek back to the camp. Jake was limping and his leg was throbbing when he came within view of the others sitting at the table eating. Sam saw him and ran to assist him the rest of the way in. They stopped by the water spigot. Sam pumped it while Jake rinsed his hands, and then his face. He finally sat with a groan on the concrete bench of the picnic table beside Sheldon.

  Beth came over to him. Sheldon smiled, and stood to make room for her to sit beside Jake, taking his plate and cup with him.

  “Guess that man won’t be coming back,” she said. “We sent the kids to the bus to eat so they couldn’t hear him cussing and screaming?”

  “It was terrible, but it’s over.”

  “Did you get anything from him?” Agnes asked.

  “I did,” Jake, replied. “For one thing, Saint is pissed about what we did to his roadblock yesterday, not to mention the other people we’ve killed. He’s preparing to move his entire force into this area to hunt us down.”

  “When’s he planning ta move out?” Connie asked. “I hope ya got a plan, ‘cause we ain’t got enough men ta put behind guns ta even slow him down.”

  “You’re right about that Connie,” Jake agreed.

  “What are we going to do?” Agnes asked. “I know we said we’d fight them every inch of the way, but if he comes with three hundred men, we’re not going to last a foot.”

  “Let’s not get in a tizzy ‘til we need to,” Connie said. “Ain’t nobody shootin’ at us right now.”

  “They may be soon,” Sheldon said, speaking in a high-pitched voice, obviously near to crying. “That horrible man may have called us in. If he did, Saint and his men may be on their way. We should be fleeing.”

  Agnes was standing close to where Sheldon was sitting. She moved to put her hand on his shoulder. “Calm down, Sheldon, we’ll be all right. Like Connie said, no one’s shooting at us.”

  “What are we going to do, Jake?” Beth asked.

  “He told me Saint is moving out tomorrow morning. Another thing is he didn’t call in the encounter with the school bus. He wanted to capture us himself to win points with Saint.”

  “Do ya think he was telling the truth?” Connie asked.

  “In the end, the truth was his only escape. Saint's man was not defending a lofty ideal, he was merely a thug among thugs,” Jake answered. “Part of my Special Forces training was interrogation of enemy combatants, and we’re taught how to recognize when someone is lying. Even if he did lie, it’s going to take time for Saint to organize such a large group. I doubt he’ll move out with a smaller force, he’s already lost too many men to chance it.

  “You’re right about what you said, Agnes," Jake continued, “It’s easy to make bold statements. We said we’d fight them every inch of the way, but that’s not the way it’s going to happen. I’m going to assume the man was telling the truth about not calling in the incident with the bus.

  “It’s 8 a.m. In three hours, Beth and I are going to Bainbridge and put a crimp in John Saint’s plans. We’re taking the fight to him. I need to get off my leg and get some sleep before we head out. Beth needs rest too. While we’re sleeping, I need the rest of you to disconnect and empty the trailer, and sort out the weapons we packed in there. There are enough rifles and ammo to arm everyone… Connie, in the trailer there are boxes of shoulder fired rockets, along with grenade launchers. I want at least ten of the rocket launchers in the MaxxPro, along with several of the grenade launchers with…”

  “I know what you’re getting at,” Connie said, interrupting him, “You want me ta outfit ya truck for war. I can handle that. We’ve got good mix of home-made diesel in the bus ta top off yer tank too.”

  “Connie and I will get the camp armed and organized,” Agnes asserted. “If Saint does manage to get past you two, we may lose the fight, but he’ll pay for it.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Eva spoke from where she was sitting next to Sheldon. “You and Beth have been shot and lost a lot of blood. You two won’t stand a chance against that many people. I agree with Sheldon, we should be on the road right now!”

  “We’re not running,” Agnes said, leaving Sheldon’s side to be close to Eva. “Here we can establish some kind of defense. If we’re on the road, and they catch us, we won’t stand a chance.”

  “Folks, I’m exhausted,” Jake said, ending the discussion, as he stood. “Agnes, you’ll need to set a guard schedule and see that someone wakes us.”

  “I’ll be in soon,” Beth, told him. “I want to talk to Janie and Al.”

  She soon joined him in the tent, bringing with her a large container of water and some salt pills, Eva, told her they had to take. She let him know, that for some reason, she was exhausted too, and her leg was itching unbearably.

  He drank as much water as he could and swallowed the two pills. Beth made a pillow from clothing rolled in a towel and used it to elevate his injured leg. He knew exactly what she meant about her wound. His leg was itching so bad he wanted to rip the bandage away and dig at it.

  “Just so you know, I’m not okay,” Jake said to her as she worked. “I did something … I had to hurt him to get him talking.”

  “I know. I saw it in your face while you were walking towards us.” Beth finished padding his leg and moved to lie beside him, propping her head on her hand in order to see his face. “I’m glad I wasn’t there. Just hearing him scream was bad enough.”

  “I should have gone further away,” Jake, sa
id, with disgust, “I thought we were far enough away that you wouldn’t hear.”

  “As bad as it was, I’m glad we could hear him. In a way, it was good for us to hear one of Saint’s men suffering, even the kids…no, especially the kids. We’ve all been hurt by him and his men. It’s good they know that bad people have to pay for their wrongs. I’m glad we’re going to Bainbridge. We’ve reached a point where we’re not taking anymore. From now on, we’re giving it back. I agree with you. It’s time to put an end to this.”

  *

  Jake was startled from sleep by shrieks and screams. Beth placed a restraining hand on his chest as he positioned himself to rush from the tent.

  “It’s just the children,” she told him, “they’re playing. Sam came by a moment ago. It’s time for us to get moving.”

  Jake lay back and listened to the sounds of the children. The calls of, “Run Janie run, look out, you’ll be it, no you didn’t touch her Daniel, you’re still it,” all mixed with shrieks and cries of joy.

  “That’s a lovely sound isn’t it?”

  “The most beautiful sound in the world,” he agreed. “I see what Janie meant when she said we didn’t know how to play with her.”

  “We’re not kids. I can’t remember being one. Were you ever a kid Jake?”

  He thought a moment. “Yes I was, but in a very restrained way. My dad was an officer in the Army. Loud noise and boisterous behavior was frowned upon, but I remember having a lot of fun.”

  “Let’s build a world where kids can always have fun, where they can always be kids.”

  “You want us to build a world? That’s a big hunk to bite off, beautiful. We’ll be lucky if we can build a safe little corner on this one.”

  “You’ve got to think bigger than that, mister. Our kids are going to have a world they can play in.”

  “Our kids,” Jake said teasing her, “who said anything about kids?”

  “Oh, we’re going to have kids, buster, four of them, all girls.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. Girls are nothing but trouble. Take you, for example. Nothing but trouble since the day I met you. You honestly want me to have to deal with four more of you. Uh, uh. No way.”

  “You’ll have what you get,” Beth said, punching him roughly on his shoulder, “and you’ll like it.”

  “I know I’ll like the process of making them, matter of fact I wouldn’t mind practicing making one right now.”

  “We could,” Beth, replied leaning close to rub her breasts across his face, “only according to Doctor Eva, we might not be just practicing right now.”

  Jake pulled her to him and hugged her tight. “I’m teasing you darling, when the time’s right, we’ll have our children. Four girls if that’s what comes. Now let’s get out of here and pay John Saint a visit.”

  Their wounds still itched, but the water and salt Eva prescribed, along with the sleep, had worked wonders. Jake felt revitalized and ready to face life again. The camp was bustling with purposeful activity. He saw Agnes coming from the bus and hurried to her, his injured leg much less painful. Agnes saw them and changed course.

  “You look better than you did a few hours ago, Jake.”

  “I feel a lot better too, Agnes, but thanks for the compliment. Wait ‘till you see me after I shave. You’ll probably swoon. The water and the salt probably helped.”

  “You’ve even got your whacky sense of humor back. I can’t wait to tell Doctor Herman that she’s worked another miracle cure. Actually, Eva is a little jealous. She said if the nanobots are doing the curing, at least she can give them supplies to work with.”

  “You’ll be telling the truth. I do feel fine, and my leg doesn’t hurt, but it itches like hell. Beth says hers is itchy too. Now I feel bad about teasing Al when he had his cast on. I had no idea nanobots had his leg itching this badly... What’s going on?” He asked, waving his hand to indicate the hurried activity.

  “We’ve been busy. We made Lester a soft place at the back of the bus and rigged restraints to keep him from rolling around in case we need to make a fast get away. He’s feeling better, with no fever. Eva is in a positive mood about his recovery.

  “We sorted food and other things from the trailer. Eva made sure you had plenty of MREs, water and other necessities in the MaxxPro. She was a little frightened earlier, but she put it behind her, and got into the effort to get you two ready. Good thing she did too, because she thought of the little, big, things like toilet paper. Connie finished arming and fueling your war wagon. You’re set to go.”

  “What happened to that wild bunch of kids I heard earlier?” Jake asked.

  “Eva has them in the bus, reading ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to them. Little Julia must have two hundred books with her.”

  Jake and Beth ate the food Agnes had ready for them and went to the bus to say a hurried goodbye to Al and Janie. The kids’ faith in their ability was such that all Al asked was, that they be careful, and Janie told them to hurry and kill John Saint so they could go to Heaven.

  Sam approached Jake as they were entering the MaxxPro.

  “Connie’s got security set up. I talked to him about coming with you, and he says he can spare me.”

  “I appreciate your willingness to help, but Beth and I work very tight as a team. What we’re about to do is extremely risky, and I’m leery about adding an unknown element to the pot.”

  “I agree with him, Sam. Besides, if something bad does happen, you’ll be needed here.” Beth added. “We’re depending on you and Connie and Agnes mostly to keep these people safe.”

  “We’ll do that,” Sam responded, disappointment shading his voice. “Be careful, and get back in one piece.”

  CHAPTER 19

  They were moving fast. Beth was driving and Jake was riding lookout in the turret, his eyes glued to the road, looking for obstructions or any sign of John Saint’s crew. They had already traveled this road and knew there were only a few bad spots.

  Beth was using the tracks of crushed vegetation as a guide, doing her best to keep the wheels of the big truck in line with them. Still, there were sections of broken and rutted pavement that made for a rough ride. Jake struggled not be thrown from the gunner’s platform.

  The miles flew by. Beth poured on speed whenever her view of the road was clear, slowing only at the rough spots to ensure she did not kill them both. About ten miles past the city of Moultrie, Jake did lose his footing, and took a hard tumble into the passenger section.

  He called for a break and as soon as the vehicle stopped, he went out the side door and waved for her to join him. “I need to stretch,” he told her. “I’m getting beat to death in that little hole.”

  “You’ll have your turn bouncing me around. My shoulders are killing me.”

  “You did a great job. We need to make as many miles as we can while the sun’s up. I’ve been making and refining a plan while you drove. We want to be in Colquitt before nightfall.”

  “Why Colquitt,” Beth asked, confused.

  Jake smiled at her. “I know, all the way back to where it began. We’re going to approach his camp from that direction because there’s a good chance, with his mind wrapped around us being to the east towards the I-75, he won’t have any troops out to the west. Besides the fact there’s nothing there of value for him, he’s already been there, and will consider it to be a clear area.”

  “I bet you were good in the Army. I’d have never thought of that. You know what I’d like to do if we’ve have time darling?” She stumbled over the term of endearment and a sad look crossed her face.

  “What’s wrong, beautiful?” Jake asked.

  “Daddy called Mamma, darling, all the time. They never fussed or argued. They just loved each other. Those sons of bitches came and took it from them. I think that’s what hurts the most.”

  “I wish we could turn back time, if—.”

  “I’m okay Jake,” she said, smiling at his concern. “It happened, and can’t anything be done about it. I�
�m glad we found love like they did. It’s good to have someone to call darling.” Beth paused to take a breath. “What I was about to say is, I’d like to shoot off one of those rockets so I know how, and maybe one of those grenade guns.”

  “This would be a good time, he agreed, “We’re far enough away from any towns.

  Connie had uncrated the LAWS, and ten of them were strapped to a passenger bench. Jake removed one and passed it out to Beth. A moment later, he rejoined her, holding two M-79 grenade launchers in one hand, and a box of rounds for them under his other arm. Beth followed him to the front of the transport.

  “Lay the LAAWS down. We’ll get you familiar with the grenade launcher first.”

  Beth did as he suggested and accepted the fat-barreled weapon he handed her.

  “The M-79 is a single shot breech loading weapon,” he said, falling into the vocal cadence of a military instructor. “All that means is... now watch me and do the same with yours. You push this, and the barrel drops down.” He stopped talking to open the box of rounds and removed one, handing it to Beth.

  “Once the breech is open, you slide the round in place and close the breech,” he continued, motioning for her to do so as he spoke. “Now the weapon is loaded.”

  He took several moments explaining the proper methods of aiming the launcher. With the two of them using the MaxxPro for a shield, he had her target a small tree about six hundred feet away, reminding her to duck down after she fired. The round hit the ground and exploded about ten feet in front of the tree. A cloud of smoke and debris flew from the impact zone.

  “Damn it,” Beth exclaimed, “I missed. All I did was knock some bark off it.

  “No, that was an excellent shot. With these, you don’t have to hit the target. When the round explodes, it sends out hundreds of little pellets and fragments. Anyone within twenty feet of where it hits will die, and it can cause casualties….wounds a lot further away”