Forsaken World (Book 1): Innocence Lost

by Watson, Thomas A.

  “These are single-gun cases,” Ian said, opening another case as Lance handed him an AR. Walking over, Jennifer took it and laid it in the case and held out her hand for another one. Lance handed it to her, and Jennifer laid it upside down from the other one with the muzzles touching the magazine wells.

  Looking at the case for a second, Jennifer moved both rifles down until the stock of one was an inch from the end. Then, she held out her hand, and Lance handed her another AR. She laid it in the case and held out her hand, taking another, and placed it upside down to the other one like the first two.

  Stepping back and wiping the gun oil off her hand on her pants, she said with a smile, “There, four instead of one.”

  Lance and Ian looked at the case then at each other. They turned and stared at the almost two dozen cases they had already packed. “They teach that shit in the Girl Scouts?” Lance asked, feeling really stupid.

  “No, I had to learn how to pack a lot of stuff in two suitcases for softball, track, cheerleading, and gymnastics tournaments.”

  Walking over to the stacks of gun cases they had loaded, Lance and Ian emptied them and packed them up like Jennifer did. On the first stack, they went from twelve gun cases to three. “Think you could do that with the trailer?” Ian asked hopefully.

  “Just don’t even think about moving those fucking ice chests,” Lance said, moving back to the gun safes.

  “I’ll get Allie and Carrie to help me.” Jennifer smiled and bounced out.

  Ian watched her bounce out and shook his head, continuing to put guns in cases. “I can tell she took one of those pills.”

  “Damn thing almost made me go to sleep,” Lance said, closing a case.

  “Take another one,” Ian said, closing a case and stacking it with the others.

  “Uncle Doug said only one every day,” Lance huffed, pulling out a gun.

  Dragging more cases over, Ian looked up. “Fine, if you want to be tired.”

  Lance walked over to the bag, digging around until he found the bottle and took another one. “I better not freak out,” he said, going back to loading cases.

  “It just makes your head tingle like your hair is growing,” Ian laughed, pulling out a gun. “Hey, this is a SAW.”

  “Can’t be. Aren’t they all illegal? It must be like the one we saw at that gun show and was only single shot,” Lance said, moving over, but found it was indeed a SAW or at least a SAW copy. “How did Uncle Doug get this? That one at the gun show was ten thousand dollars and was only semiautomatic.”

  “Who cares? Even if it is a civilian version, I can put a belt in and squeeze the trigger two hundred times before reloading.” Ian grinned, looking at the machine gun.

  “Where did you get it?” Lance asked, and Ian pointed at the end safe. Moving over, Lance saw several different guns that he had only seen in video games. Seeing three ARs and one with a big barrel, he grabbed it. “A grenade launcher,” he mumbled, pulling the weapon up and staring at it in awe. His eyes got big, and his knees felt weak. “Whoa.”

  Ian looked up and noticed Lance’s face was pale. “What?” he said, putting the SAW in a case as Lance just stared at the selector switch on the AR with the grenade launcher. Getting up, Ian stepped over and looked at the selector switch. He saw- Safe, Single, Auto. “Fuck me, that’s an M-4.”

  “Uncle Doug said he could only keep the machine guns at his training ranch. Why did he bring it here?” Lance asked, lowering the rifle.

  “I don’t care. You think he has any bloopers?” Ian grinned.

  “Ian, this isn’t Call of Duty. This is a machine gun with a grenade launcher. I really doubt Uncle Doug has forty millimeter grenades for it.”

  Ian dove in the safe. “It still looks cool as hell,” he said, pulling out another rifle. “I think this is a SCAR.”

  “What?” Lance said. He put the M-4 in a case and turned around. They looked the weapon over and pulled out more. They knew some, and they had no idea what others were. “Hey, we need to quit drooling and get to work,” Lance said, seeing weapons strewn across the floor.

  “Think we can take all of them?”

  “We’ll leave the clothes,” Lance said, going to his knees, and started arranging guns in cases. He soon realized it was like putting a puzzle together. Most of the cases they were able to get three or four assault rifles to fit. In one case, they put six P90s and another ten pistols with a few submachine guns they didn’t know; only “KRISS .45 ACP” was stamped on the guns. In another case, they put more submachine guns in, but they didn’t know what they were. On the side, they said “HK MP7.” They recognized the MP5 from Rainbow Six and several movies.

  The scoped rifles they pulled out from the massive safes weren’t like the ones their dads had. They all had big scopes, stocks that weren’t made from wood, bipods, and detachable magazines. Try as they might, they could only fit two in a case, but they were able to add some pistols.

  The top shelf in the middle safe was filled with suppressors of different sizes and calibers. Lance took all of them out, putting them on the desk. He looked at the laptop showing the empty cabin, wishing they were already there. “These go in the Hummer with us.”

  Ian looked over, wiping sweat off his forehead with his forearm, and nodded, getting to his feet. Grabbing several pistol cases, he helped Lance load the suppressors. “I’m feeling much better about our chances.”

  “Dude, we still have to figure out how to shoot some of these damn things. Uncle Doug only let us shoot real M-4s once last year when he took us to his training ranch. He let us use some of his ARs at the cabin and suppressors, but this is a lot of shit we know nothing about, and video games don’t count,” Lance said as he closed a case.

  “Remember, Doug has that program on his computer about every gun made. He let us use it at the cabin when the new Call of Duty came out,” Ian said with a grin.

  Snapping his eyes over on the laptop, Lance grinned. “Well, it was coming with us anyway.”

  Ian laughed and moved over to the middle gun safe and found a stack of papers. He pulled one out and saw a stamp in the corner. “What the hell do you need a stamp for that cost two hundred dollars?”

  “Huh,” Lance said, moving behind Ian to read over his shoulder. “Why do you need a stamp for a suppressor? Do they have to mail it to you?”

  “I’d just go and pick the thing up. You could buy another X-box for what they charge to ship it to you,” Ian said, putting the paper back. Reaching down, Ian pulled out a massive barrel with a bipod. “Lance, he has one.”

  Turning around, Lance’s eyes got wide. “No way, a big mac.”

  Ian passed the barrel over, and Lance grunted at the weight. 50 caliber. Ian dove in and pulled out a monster receiver. “Oh man, it’s on like a chicken bone now,” he grinned, holding the massive lower.

  “It’s going to take two cases just for this one gun.”

  “We’ll leave some of the frozen shit.”

  “Bullshit,” Lance snapped and looked up, ready to fight. “I saw stars when I picked that shit up. Be damned if we leave it.”

  “Okay, we can strap it to the front if we have to,” Ian said, laying the receiver in one case, and it filled it from end to end. They were able to put several pistols and a tactical shotgun in with the barrel.

  When all the safes were empty, Ian turned around and saw Lance counting. “Thirty-two cases for assault rifles, ten with sniper rifles, and fifteen pistol cases.”

  “You do realize if Jennifer wouldn’t have come in here, we would’ve run out of cases and had to leave most of them,” Ian said, standing up.

  Lance nodded. “Yes, Ian, I do. She is awesome, so there,” he said, grinning. “Let’s start carrying them out.”

  They each grabbed two cases and headed to the garage. They walked out to see Allie and Carrie passing stuff into the trailer. “She unpacked the trailer,” Lance said, dropping his head.

  “I’m sure she had a good reason,” Ian said, passing him by. �
��Didn’t like how we did it?” Ian asked, setting the cases down.

  Jennifer stuck her head out. “I’ve seen how you two pack your backpacks, getting a ton of crap in them, but that idea seems lost to each of you packing anything else.”

  “Hey, we are doing the best we can,” Ian said, putting his hands on his hips.

  “Yes you are, so let me be in charge of the packing,” Jennifer said, taking stuff from the girls, and disappeared in the trailer.

  Shaking his head, Ian passed the girls and stepped into the trailer. “Momma Mia,” he mumbled. Stepping back, he looked outside and noticed only a few more things for Allie and Carrie to pass up. “How the fuck did you do this? This trailer was almost three quarters full. Now, it’s barely a quarter.”

  Lance dropped his cases and jumped over the girls, landing in the trailer. “Are you leaving shit and hiding it somewhere to make us look like jackasses?”

  Using the bottom of her shirt, Jennifer wiped her face, and Ian spun around, bright red, and Lance’s jaw fell open. “No, asshole. I’m packing the shit right,” Jennifer snapped, dropping her shirt. “How many of those cases?”

  “Like fifty big ones and fifteen little ones,” Lance droned, gawking at Jennifer’s chest.

  “Bring them, and I noticed a room downstairs that had those metal boxes in them. Are those bullets?” Lance just nodded as a little drool ran out of the corner of his mouth. “Are those the bullets Doug wanted us to take?” Lance shook his head and pointed behind her at the wall of ammo cans in the trailer.

  “So this is the ammo he wanted us to bring?” she asked, and Lance nodded. “Are we taking those?”

  Ian glanced over his shoulder. “As much as we can,” he said, yanking his eyes away from Jennifer’s chest.

  “I have something on my shirt?” Jennifer asked, looking down at the sweat-soaked shirt.

  Breaking into a run, Ian yelped, “I’m going to get more cases,” and jumped over the girls. Lance didn’t say anything and took off after Ian.

  Jennifer looked at Allie and Carrie. “Why are they acting weird?”

  “Duh, they’re boys,” Allie said, shaking her head.

  Lance found Ian in the office, panting and leaning over the desk. “Holy cow,” Lance said, grabbing two cases.

  “Dude, she’s not wearing a bra,” Ian said, spinning around.

  “Yeah, kinda figured that when I saw hooters,” Lance said, picking up the cases.

  “They weren’t like the real hooters of those girls on the website had, but they were hooters. Kind of like training hooters,” Ian offered, grinning.

  Relishing the sight in his mind, Lance smiled. “It’s a good day.”

  They carried out the cases and avoided any eye contact with Jennifer at all cost. They arranged the ammo cans in the room and started carrying them out. Moving from room to room, Lance and Ian pulled out what they thought they’d need or looked really cool. At midnight, Lance called a stop and looked in the trailer.

  There was only a little room at the front of the trailer, but the rest was packed tight, and they still had the back of the Hummer. “How about we take a break and practice with the night vision like Doug told us to?” Lance said, proud of the group.

  “Shit, sounds good to me,” Jennifer said. “I’m taking a shower and putting on some of those clothes I got out of that room.”

  Lance didn’t look at her as he stepped out of the trailer. “Use the bathroom downstairs; it has shutters over the windows so light can’t get out.”

  They all moved into the house, and Ian took off upstairs as the girls laid down on the couch. Lance moved over to the dozen hard cases in the dining room that Doug had pulled out. They had found shelves in the basement filled with more, and Lance opened them up, taking several different kinds. It was when Ian pointed at one case with stenciled letters that said “Thermal” that Lance ran to the dining room and saw half of the cases were thermal and the other half night vision.

  Downstairs, they found monoculars, double eye pieces, binoculars, and scopes. Taking several of each, they loaded those in the trailer. Doug wanted them to have these, so they were going in the Hummer. The rest got crammed into the trailer. Lance opened one up that Doug had set to the side and pulled out a bulky piece that was four tubes. Figuring out how to put it on and that he needed a harness, Lance realized he was going to be looking through those tubes. Looking in a cabinet on the other side of the dining room, he found some helmets.

  Getting up, he stopped from getting the helmets and went over to the list. Ian had come in and marked off the items they had loaded. They had completed it long ago, but at the bottom were the cases in the dining room and helmets in the dining room. Doug gave a description of how to clip each one to the helmet or a harness. The last line said, “The PNVG18, the really fucking big ones with four tubes, wear with a helmet or you will get a headache. Use these to drive with; bigger field of vision and you have a better idea of depth perception. Don’t have helmets small enough for the little ones so use a harness with them but they have helmets. Make everyone wear a bullet proof vest like I gave each of you. In foot lockers upstairs last room on right are combat vest. If you have room take them and you don’t have to wear the vest under them.”

  Putting the list down, Lance remembered the vest and seeing soldiers on TV wearing them, but the damn things were heavy. Sighing, he mumbled, “We’ll take them because we can make room.”

  “You talk to yourself a lot,” he heard Jennifer say, scaring the shit out of him and making him yelp.

  “I’m putting a bell on you,” he said, glaring at her as she leaned against the kitchen table with an armload of clothes. Then, he started to blush. Jerking his head away, Lance walked past her to the dining room.

  “What is with you two?” she asked, following him. “I tried to talk to Ian, and all he can do is mumble and look at the wall.”

  “Nothing,” Lance said, picking up a helmet and trying it on. It was low cut and very light. Snapping the chin strap on, he tightened the leads from the side until it fit snug against his head.

  “Come on; tell me. Did I make you two mad when I yelled at you?”

  “Ah, no, you were right. We can’t pack for shit.”

  Grunting, Jennifer put the clothes on the dining room table then put her hands on her hips, looking at Lance avoiding looking at her. “Look at me,” she snapped. Slowly, Lance turned toward her. “Hello, I’m not stupid; you’re looking over my right shoulder.”

  Lowering his eyes, he looked in her face and felt his cheeks getting warm. “I’m looking at you.”

  “Yeah, and blushing,” she said, crossing her arms. “Did you and Ian talk about me or something?”

  “No,” Lance snapped, and his eyes dropped lower, and he jerked them up. “Why don’t you ask Ian?”

  “I did, and he wouldn’t turn away from the wall. You’ve already surpassed him,” she said, getting mad. “What did I do? If we are going to do this together, I have to know.”

  “Ah, well…” Lance said, looking away. “You aren’t wearing a bra, and you used your shirt to wipe your face,” he barely mumbled.

  Shocked, Jennifer’s arms fell to her sides. “That’s it?”

  “Uh, yeah,” Lance said, turning around to the other helmets.

  “Hell, yours and Ian’s cones are bigger than mine,” she snapped.

  “Ah no, why didn’t you just keep the bra you had on?” Lance asked, feeling his face on fire.

  “Hello, I haven’t had one on since I ran out of my house. I was in my night clothes and don’t wear a bra to bed.”

  “You could’ve got some of my mother’s bras. I showed you where they were.”

  She walked over and spun Lance around. Seeing him look off, Jennifer grabbed his chin and turned his face to hers. “For one, your mother is a C, and second, she’s a thirty-six.”

  Lance scoffed, “My mom is forty-two, and made straight As in school.”

  “Hello, not her age, her bra size. The C
is her cup size. I’m a size A, and C is much bigger than A.”

  Totally blown away, Lance stepped back. “There’re different sizes of bras?”

  “Lance, don’t be an idiot,” Jennifer snapped. “Everyone doesn’t wear the same size pants.”

  “Yeah, but…you know, hooters like, don’t have bones in them, so they can mold, right?”

  With a hopeless expression, Jennifer stepped back, shaking her head. “Your parents told you about the facts of life, right?”

  “Duh, yeah, when I was nine, they told me all about sex.”

  “They left a lot out,” she said, turning around and grabbing her clothes.

  “Uh, I’m…like sorry…um…if I made you mad,” he stuttered.

  She laughed and turned around. “No, I just never would’ve believed this from you two.”

  Glancing around nervously, making sure they were alone. “Jennifer, can I ask you a question since I answered yours?” he whispered.

  “Sure, why are we whispering?”

  He stepped closer. “I don’t want anyone to hear.”

  “Okay.” She smiled.

  “What’s a tampon for?”

  Jennifer’s face turned instantly red, and the red flowed down her neck. “I’m going to take a shower,” she yelped and took off running.

  Seeing her run off, Lance shook his head. “A tampon must be bad.”

  Chapter 10

  March 13

  “Lance, wake up,” he heard a soft voice say and felt a hand shake his shoulder. Slowly, Lance opened his eyes to see Ian leaning over him with a huge grin. Lance opened his mouth to talk, but Ian put his hand over it. “Shh, don’t wake them,” he whispered.

  Sitting up on the sectional, Lance looked at his watch and saw it was nine a.m. Blinking, Lance looked around the sectional and saw Allie and Carrie curled up together and Jennifer sprawled out on the couch across the room. Lance stood and stretched as Ian came around the couch, grinning. “Dude, come on; you’re not going to believe what I found.”