“Ok, you guys wait here. I’m going up to cut the fence open. Keep an eye out for anything you see that might be suspicious. I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” Bill said.
After a round of nods, even Phillip seemed excited in his nervousness. Bill got down on his stomach and crawled across the grass to the fence. When he was close, and sure that no one could see him from inside the fence, he got up on his knees. He pulled out a pair of side-cutting pliers he had grabbed from the tool kit he kept in the 4Runner, and he cut a line straight up, half as tall as a man. Then he cut a horizontal line, forming a T across the top of that, and a long section of the bottom wire that was there to keep the fence from being pulled up. He rolled back the two sections and inspected his work.
He turned and waved the first man forward. Once all five were inside the fence and crouched behind the small building, Bill took the longer section of straight wire from the bottom and wove it though the vertical cut, essentially sewing the two halves back together.
“Are you crazy? Aren’t we supposed to leave that way?” Phillip asked in disbelief at the fact that Bill had just locked them in.
“Yes, I am, but that has nothing to do with the fence. This way, if they have a perimeter check, it won’t be painfully obvious how we got in. They will most likely just glance over this section and, in their haste, miss the opening. Then, if we do have to leave this way, all we have to do is pull up on this wire, and ta-da! The fence is open again.”
“Oh. That is actually kinda smart.”
“Thank you. Ok, guys, if we get somewhere and can’t talk, use the click method over the coms like we talked about on the way here.”
They crept to the northwest corner of the small building and peered around. From their vantage point, Bill could see up the driveway to the southern main gate. He pulled out binoculars from his backpack and spotted two men standing there. They were focused on the road, looking for a big rig, and not what was happening behind them. He could tell that these were not trained soldiers, just more opportunists. He figured there would be two men at the other gate as well. The driveway was set up so there was only one way in and out. Then he glassed the large building in front of him, which, according to the map, was the correctional facility. There was another building marked as the jail, and Bill didn’t know which one the Red Wing Militia was in. Without giving it too much more thought, he snuck over to another small cluster of trees and looked at the building again to see if he’d caught the eye of anyone. When he was sure it was clear, he proceeded over to the next small building. Then he turned and signaled for the others to begin crossing the same way he had.
Bill peered around the north side of the building. He could see portions of the correctional facility he hadn’t been able to previously see. It still looked deserted.
“Here is what we do next. Based on how the guys at the exit gate were dressed, if we just walk up like we own the place, we will fit right in. I want Phillip and Andre to wait here. The other three of us will mosey on up there and check things out. Everyone, switch your coms to voice-activated and maintain radio discipline unless absolutely necessary. Any questions?”
Bill stood up straight, brushed himself off, and started walking towards the first door on the southeast corner of the corrections building. The doors on this side of the building were locked. Bill peered into some of the windows and didn’t see anyone. Just as they rounded the corner to the front of that building, they were spotted.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”
Bill looked at a man about his age wearing jeans and a long-sleeved button-down shirt that was untucked. The man was carrying an M4 very similar to the ones that Bill’s group had picked up back in San Angelo, Texas. He was also wearing a ball cap.
“We’re doing a perimeter check. Boss wanted more men on the lookout in case that weird new group we heard about tries to sneak in,” Bill replied very confidently.
“Yea, ok. But why are there three of you? Normally we only run patrols of two. Did he approve that too?”
“Mike here is new. The boss man thought it would be a good idea if he joined us in the event that something happens. That way, there are two of us that know our way around.”
“Well, that doesn’t seem right to me. Let’s go ask him. You know it is my job to enforce the rules around here. And he didn’t say anything about it to me.”
“Yea, sure, sounds fine to us. Let’s go.”
The man turned and walked towards the jail building. As they were passing the road that led to the “IN” gate, Bill noticed that it only had two men as well. He motioned to Q, who nodded in response. A guard shack they passed was also empty. Just inside the door to the jail, the man turned and stopped suddenly.
“What did you say your name was?”
Bill took a side step up the hall, causing the man to turn his back slightly to the other two men.
“I didn’t, but name’s Bill.”
Q took the opportunity. He pulled out his knife, grabbed the man with his left hand over his mouth, and pulled his chin upwards. The sharp steel opened his neck just below the voice box, preventing any air from passing through it. The man’s eyes bulged as he struggled, his hands clamped around his neck, desperate to stop the blood flow. Q dragged him to the nearest room and gently laid him down on the floor of a linen closet. Bill covered him up with a blanket.
Back in the hallway, they could hear some commotion up ahead and around a corner, so they walked towards it. In one of the cells was Jane, surrounded by ten men. She was standing, hands tied above her head to the bars, facing the hallway. All she had on was her underwear. The man behind her was holding a knife and was about to cut her underwear off when Bill, Q, and Mike opened fire on the men. None of them were expecting a gunfight, and only two of them even had a gun on them.
Jane began to weep. “Oh my God. I’m so glad to see you.”
“I bet you are. I warned you this would happen. Now, don’t go anywhere. We’re going to find Sasha.”
“What? You’re leaving me here?”
“Yes, for now. We will be back shortly.”
They dragged the ten dead men into the next cell, and Bill pulled the sheet off a bed and half-assedly wiped up the blood with it. He didn’t want to touch it, so he just pushed it around with his boots. Q took a wool blanket and covered the bodies. They heard footsteps coming from down the hall, so Mike jumped into the cell with Jane, got behind her, and grabbed the sides of her panties. Q and Bill followed his lead and stood in the hallway like they were about watch the show. As three more men appeared around the corner, one of them spoke.
“What the hell is going on down here? I thought I heard gunshots.”
“Naw, man, just this one here is spunky and he had to knock her head into the bars a few times to show her who’s boss,” Q replied.
As the new men got closer to ogle her boobs, Q and Bill quickly stabbed two of them in the temple. They dropped like flies, and Q quickly turned on the third. The man was fast and strong, though. He grabbed Q’s wrist and started to pull out his gun, but Bill was able step around Q and stab the guy up through the base of his skull.
“All right, guys, let’s go and find Sasha.”
“Wait, you can’t just leave me here. What if someone else comes along?”
“Well, we can’t take you with us. If anyone sees us, they will know what we’re doing and will shoot without asking questions,” Bill said.
“Wait, I have an idea. It will cause a distraction,” Mike said.
Then he walked back into the cell, found some tape, and put it over Jane’s mouth. Q looked at him like he was about to kick his ass.
“Hold up. It’s not what you think.”
Then he cut Jane’s wrists down and tied them behind her back.
“Bill, you still have that silenced .22 on you?” Mike asked.
“Yea.”
“Ok, good. Take it out, ’cause Q and I are going to lead her by the arms and you’re going to keep
that behind her. Then use that to shoot anyone that stops to question us in the face. As soon as any of these men see her nakedness, they are going to stop in their tracks to find out what’s going on. Jane, I need to take your panties off. This will work better if you’re completely naked. These hornballs will focus on one thing, and that will give us a few precious seconds to kill them.”
She just nodded as more tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Mike, that’s a good idea. Jane, I know you’re scared, but we’re with you now,” Q reassured her.
Mike gently slid her underwear off and stuck them in his back pocket so she could have them back in a few minutes. The four of them went down the hall and around the corner where the other men had just come from. They found two more men standing at another gate. As soon as the men saw Jane, they both transfixed on her lady parts, and Bill quickly shot both of them with the little gun. It barely made more than a clicking sound.
“Looks like this is going to work as long as it’s only a few at a time,” Q said.
Jane seemed to relax a little bit. They hid the two men back behind the guard desk. Through the gate and left down the next hall was another group of men standing and cheering on something. They didn’t even notice the four newcomers approach. Bill could hear grunting amongst the cheering. As they got closer, they could see Sasha tied up exactly like Jane had been, only she was not as lucky. A man was behind her, thrusting in time to the grunts Bill had heard as they’d approached. Mike and Q let go of Jane and pulled their guns up. Bill pushed Jane behind him as he pulled his gun up and opened fire. Twelve more dead men later, they freed Sasha from her bonds and removed Jane from her façade as prisoner as well.
“I’m so sorry, honey. I’m so sorry that I talked you into leaving the group,” Jane pleaded though her sobs.
Sasha just stared wide-eyed at the wall while tears rolled down her cheeks.
“This is why I hate men. All they do is hurt and rape and kill. I’m just glad that guy had a little dick,” Sasha said just above a whisper.
“Ladies, we need to get a move on. Let’s find you some clothes and get the hell out of here,” Bill said as he looked at the tattered remains of what Sasha had worn that morning.
“Over here. It looks like there are some jumpsuits,” Q offered. “I know it’s not ideal, but it will get y’all out of here.”
He grabbed two of them and some slip-on shoes. Once the women were dressed and armed again, the five of them proceeded to clear the building. They only found two other men guarding another entrance.
Back outside, Jane, Sasha, and Q waited by a couple of trees while Bill and Mike snuck closer to the two men guarding the entrance gate. Once they were close enough that the main building would help shield the sounds of gunfire from the exit gate, they shot the guards.
The five of them continued to walk towards the first gate Bill had seen though the binoculars and made those two men hostages. They tied them up to the gate, and Bill and Q began to interrogate them. Q asked them how many people were in the Red Wing Militia. The men thought there were about thirty-five but weren’t sure. Q wanted to know where the rest of them were. The men said they didn’t know. Bill took out his pliers and threatened to cut off one guy’s finger.
“Look, man, we don’t know really!” the man pleaded as he looked his hand.
“I swear we are gate guards, and that’s it. All I know is that the two women were found and brought here. The boss man said he was going to fuck the skinny one first, and the guys could fight over who got the other one first. Then it would be a free-for-all. Us two wouldn’t get inside to have our turns till after we got relieved of duty.”
“Well, sounds like we already shot your boss, then,” Sasha replied as she kicked the man in his junk. Then she kicked him in the knee repeatedly until an audible crack could be heard. After that, she turned and fell into Jane’s arms and wept. Bill shot the two men in the head and put them out of their misery.
“Let’s head back to the vehicles, get you two some respectable clothes, and then go back to camp. I want to come back to town after that though. I have some shopping to do,” Bill said.
They grabbed Phillip and Andre on the way back to the hole in the fence. Bill had Phillip pull the wire out and hold back one side for the ladies while Andre held the other. This time, they just left it open. If there were any Red Wing Militia left, they wouldn’t be coming after them, of that, Bill was sure. They got back to Q’s parents’ house, and everyone was assured that all parties were relatively unharmed.
Bill rounded up the same four guys and Dennis. He shared his plan for the rest of the day, and they headed off back to town. It was already late in the afternoon, but Bill wanted to make the most of the remaining daylight. This time, Phillip rode with Dennis in the semi-truck. They went past the jail, and a few hundred yards to the northwest was another Army National Guard armory. Bill was pretty sure it had already been hit by the militia, but he wanted to see what was left. They pulled into the driveway and stopped in the middle of the parking lot. The 4Runner guys got out and went up to the building. Just as Bill had suspected, the lock had been shot and the door kicked in. Inside, Bill hollered out, but there was no response. He followed the hallway until he found the main vault, and it was wide open. Someone had known the combination and opened it. Bill walked in with Q right behind him. Most of the stuff was still there. It was obvious that a bunch of the M4s had been taken, and a couple of stacks of magazines, but the vast majority of things were still neatly in their proper location.
“I guess they decided to leave the shit here and take what they needed, when they needed it, instead of hauling it all the way across the country,” Q said sarcastically.
Bill laughed. “Yea, lucky for us it is here so we can do exactly that. I can hardly believe the amount of ammo we have used in the last couple of weeks. Like, hundreds of rounds a day. I know, or at least hope, that when we get to Washington, ammo consumption will go down.”
“I think you’re ri—HOLY FUCK! Dude! Look at this,” Q said excitedly as he practically sprinted to the back of the vault.
“Wha—oh my God. Is that? Is that a rocket launcher? Fuck yea, man. Let them assholes from Kentucky come after us again. We will make sushi out of them. MIKE! Come in here.”
“Yea?”
“You ever use one of these things?”
“The fuck? No, I have never even seen one in person.”
“Well, get familiar with it. When Charles and Vinny come for us again, I’m giving you the honor of making them into as many small bits as you see fit.”
“Fucking hell, man. This is so RAD!”
“Wow. Rad. There’s a word I haven’t heard in a hot minute,” Phillip said as he came in. “What’s all the yelling and excitement about?”
Mike turned and showed him. Then, for the first time since Bill had picked him up, Phillip seemed to truly be excited too.
“Wow is right. Ok, let’s get Dennis to back his truck up to this door over here, and I want this place cleaned out. Not even a crumb left for a mouse, like the fucking Grinch on Christmas Eve,” Bill instructed.
Three hours later, and working by flashlights, they found in another room a stockpile of rifles, ammo, rocket launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades, C4 with blasting caps, more helmets with NVGs and built-in coms, and a couple boxes of claymores.
“Good job, men. Let’s head back to camp.”
Before they left, Bill posted a note on a dry-erase board:
Anyone who would like to join a new community to ensure the future of mankind: make your way to Central Washington State and find us. We are interested in rebuilding a new society but not in having our shit pushed in by some dark overlord.
Then he drew a crude map with the location and directions on how to find them.
That night, Q grabbed a few mementoes from his parents’ house, a couple of photo albums, and his family’s collection of hunting rifles.
While the guys were back
in town, Sasha had a thorough medical examination by Memaw. She was fine physically but would be mentally scarred for the rest of her life. At dinner, the two women apologized to the group for taking off like they had. Jane had thought that since it was a small town, there would be no one left, and they’d wanted to have some alone time. Now, with the full realization of what Bill and D had been trying to convey back in Pensacola, Jane vowed to never leave the group again.
Chapter 8. Grand Forks.
The morning of ZP11, everyone was up and ready to go by sun rise. They avoided Red Wing altogether and headed south on Highway 58. The first stop of the day was a tiny town called Goodhue. Dennis pulled up the semi to one side of the diesel island, and Papaw parked Behemoth on the other side. Bill found it odd how some towns still had power while others didn’t. He guessed that the grid was failing in sections, not all at once like he’d originally thought would happen.
It was Sam, Sally, and Leah’s turn to clear the building. They were getting quite proficient at it. Sam’s thriller bites from Montgomery were healing nicely. She would always be weak in her left-hand due to the missing muscle tissue. She was learning to be more reliant on her right, but Sam had always been a lefty.
Bill made sure that the extra gas cans they already had were full. Then he and Q went next door to the AG store and grabbed a few more five-gallon jerry cans. These, they gave to Dennis in case he or Papaw needed diesel.
Beginning of the New Beginning, Vol. 2 Page 12
